Jagdeep Dhankar, Vice President of India, has advocated a three-pronged approach for Navratna Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) to contribute to the GoI's mission to realise the dream of a Viksit and Atmanirbhar Bharat: lead the semiconductor revolution -from design to manufacture; establish a place for India in the global supply chain by hand-holding start-ups; and three, foster collaborations with academia to drive innovation. The Vice President was at BEL-Bangalore today to present R&D Excellence Awards to the young R&D engineers and scientists of BEL at the company's annual R&D Excellence Awards ceremony held today at the BEL Academy of Excellence, Nalanda. Of the overall 500 R&D awardees, the Vice President presented awards to the Best R&D Division - BEL-Ghaziabad; and Key R&D Contributors. He also presented awards to Manoj Jain, CMD, BEL (for receiving 7 Patents) and Principal Scientist, BEL's Central Research Laboratory- Bangalore, for receiving 14 Patents. BEL has a total of 267 patents to its credit. "The spirit to innovate and engage in research must be instilled in school and college students. We cannot rest on our past laurels. Atmanirbharbharta will become a reality only when the world looks at as a crucible of research and development," the Vice President added. Dr Sudesh Dhankhar, the Vice President's wife, and the Governor of Karnataka, Thawar Chand Gehlot, were present. The Vice President and other dignitaries planted saplings on the occasion.