Defence Materials And Stores Research & Development Establishment (Dmsrde), Kanpur

This place is located right on GT Road in Kanpur. It’s a government facility, so there’s a lot of security and rules to follow every day. We’re part of the Ministry of Defence, which sounds very serious, and I guess it is. Most of the people working here are researchers or lab techs. We spend our time looking at materials and figuring out how to make them better for the military. It’s not the kind of place where you’ll find plush carpets or fancy lobbies. It’s mostly labs, storage rooms, and desks piled with reports. The GT Road can get pretty loud with all the traffic outside, but inside we’re usually focused on whatever test is running at the moment. We deal with stuff for the stores and development side of things. It’s a big site and it takes a while to get from one end to the other. There is a lot of history here in Kanpur with this establishment. We don't really do much in the way of public relations. We just come in, do the research, and make sure the materials meet the standards required. It’s a lot of meticulous work. Sometimes a test doesn't go right and we have to start all over again. That's just part of the job. It feels good to be doing something useful, even if it’s just looking at chemicals all day. We just keep our heads down and work.