Welcome to DRDO! As a new scientist of the DRDO fraternity, you will be posted to IAT Pune to undergo an Orientation course, upon completion of which, you will be posted to one of the 50 labs under DRDO. This write up details the information which I couldn't get when i was posted there, but felt would be useful to a newbie. If you have any queries regarding INFO or questions on DRDO, do feel free to contact me.
INFO (an acronym for Information & Orientation),is a programme to orient & inform new DRDO Scientist about the organisation,the various labs under DRDO and their research & products, other service related matters,etc. The course has tenure of 1 month to 6 months depending on the type of course. The course is usually held at IAT, Pune, and occasionally at ITM,Mussorie.
Institute of Armament Technology,Pune
IAT,Pune is one of the two training institutes of DRDO (the other being ITM,Mussorie). Various training programmes, CEPs & MTech courses are conducted for DRDO & defence PSU & service personnel. In addition, they conduct the INFO course for new DRDO Scientists. The institute is located on a picturesque campus on the banks of khadakwasla lake, which is about 22 km from Pune Railway Station on the Pune-Singhad Road. The campus is divided into a residential area and a technical area. The residential area includes the Single Officer accommodation, family quarters, Officers Mess, sports facilities, & Gole Market. The technical area includes the lecture theatres, staff rooms, the various labs & faculties, army, navy and air force wings. All the labs are well equipped with the various armaments & other weapons and is a visual treat for civilian officers. IAT also has a couple of working aircrafts & tanks uses by the defence forces.
The Campus
Single Officer accommodation is provided to info officers. Its a single occupancy room with a bathroom being shared between two adjacent rooms. Rooms are well furnished with a table, 2 chairs, dressing table, wardrobe, cot with mattress, pillow & covers, geyser,etc. All the rooms have a fantastic view of the vast expanse of forest which forms the campus.
The officers mess consist of a dining room, a bar (which disappointingly is barred for Info officers!), a gymnasium, TV room, library, & other sports facilities includingg a TT room, tennis court,Basket ball & foot ball field,etc. The food is quite good with both Veg & non veg food. You are also served hot tea in your rooms.
Gole market is the campus market featuring a provision store, hair dresser snack bars & restuarants. The campus also has STD booths, internet cafes,a postoffice & a SBI counter.
IAT is very strict about dress code & decorum, and hence all officers are expected to be suitably dressed at all times.Reporting Day
On your reporting day, report to the IAT reception at the railway station,& the IAT bus will take you to the campus.Once in the campus, report to the reception, where you will be alloted your room (A note here - earlier you reach, better your rooms, & incidentally the later you reach, more is the chance of your room being near the G (girls) Block. So decide for yourself!). Once you have checked into your room you are free until the next day. Make sure your on time for your meals, lest they close the dining hall. There is no restriction on venturing out of the campus. So go ahead & explore the Khadakwasla lake.
Technical area, Course Coordinator, OIC & inaugral
A bus will pick you up from the officers mess and drop you in the technical area. You are expected to assemble in the lecture room on the first floor of Electronics Faculty building. The chain of command is as follows;The Director & Dean of IAT is tha head of the institution.Next in line is the Course coordinator and followed by the Officer in Charge (OIC) to whom you will report for all practical purpose. On the first day of orientation you will have an Inaguration ,usually by Director & Dean ,followed by a tea party. IAT follows a 5 day aweek, with 3 sessions of 2 hrs each per day. Classes begins at 8:30 am continue till 10:30 am followed by a tea break and again from 11:00 to 13:00hrs.This is followed by a 1hr lunch break and the 3rd session is from 2:00pm to 4:00pm after which you are free.
Lecture
The pedagogy of the orientation programme is lectures by both internal faculty and by guest speakers from the various labs amd head quarters along with field visits. They mainly dwell on introducing the drdo organisation and structure, the various labs & projects/research handled in each lab.Depending on how interesting lectures are, you are at the liberty to fall asleep.
Sightseeing
Now for the interesting part. Pune has numerous sightseeing & picnis spots nearby. You are generally encouraged to do some roaming around. Transport will be arranged by the MTA on request (and upon payment of course). You can avail of the six seater autos which are available at the main gate to go to Pune city, ie upto Swargate, beyond which u can take a regular auto. A list of places and how to get there is given below.
InfoNite
This is the cultural nite of the Info Programme, usually held towards the end of the course.Trust me it is fun.
Posting,Joining,etc
While you are in IAT ,you will be asked your chioce of posting.Based on this you will be alloted your lab. You get 10 days joining time from date of being relieved from Pune ,which is usually the last day if the course, to report to your new lab.You are required to take charge in new lab on or before these 10 days.I recommend you report on the 7th or 8th day.For details on whom & how to contact in the various labs click here.
Valedictory
A function will be held on the last day of your course when you will be issued course completion certificate .Generally somebody from HQ will be the Chief Guest .You are free to leave IAT Pune by around 6 pm that day.
Disclaimer:The writeup presents my own views, and need not always reflect the official view. I have tried to represent the facts as best as i can remeber them. Do let me know of discrepancy/suggestion .