New Delhi, June 17 (IANS): The union cabinet on Wednesday cleared the transfer of a portion of land and building of the erstwhile National Instruments Limited to the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on long-term lease.

The land will be transferred by Jadavpur University in West Bengal for establishment of a defence research centre namely the Jagadish Chandra Bose Centre for Advanced Technology (JCBCAT), an official statement said.

The decision in this regard was taken at a meeting of the cabinet here, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Transfer of a portion of the land and building of the erstwhile National Instruments Limited to DRDO for establishment of a defence research centre will be beneficial as research and development efforts are expected to result in reduction in import dependence in the strategic sector, the statement said.

The National Instruments Limited (NIL) at Jadavpur was a Central Public Sector Enterprise under the administrative control of the Department of Heavy Industry. NIL's assets, liabilities and manpower were transferred to Jadavpur University after it was declared sick.