Temujin Khaghan Posted June 10, 2015 Posted June 10, 2015 Abdul Kalam posted a small anecdote about "Make in India" yesterday in his Facebook account. good read --- In 1975, ISRO needed Beryllium Diaphragms for a new device. Today, you can see this Diaphragm in high quality audio speakers. But, four decades back, a few nations had the ability to make them. Hence, we approached a US based company which agreed and the paperwork was readied. Just when we were about to complete the transaction, the US Government had blocked the sale as this material was being used in their strategic missiles. Denied of a critical product, we started learning more about it. The US diaphragms, were made from Beryllium rods produced in Japan. We further discovered something startling. Beryllium is a rare element, and only a few countries possess it. India was among top-4 producers of raw Beryllium. The Japanese company which produced the rod, imported Beryllium from us. We were dismayed to know that a product whose raw material we possessed, almost exclusively, was being denied to us. Then a committee of top research laboratories was constituted and given the challenge to make a Beryllium Diaphragm of our own. In four months, we triumphed. --- :finger: USA :hatsoff: ISRO
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