The appointment of the Director General (DG) of BrahMos became the subject of a prolonged legal dispute after concerns were raised regarding the selection process.
Sivan Subramanyam, the senior-most Distinguished Scientist (DS) in DRDO, challenged the appointment before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), contending that the prescribed selection procedure had not been followed. After examining the matter, the CAT directed the DRDO Secretary to revisit the appointment process and conduct a fresh selection in accordance with the applicable rules and procedures.
Instead of implementing the Tribunal’s directions, the DRDO Secretary challenged the CAT order before the Hon’ble High Court of Telangana at Hyderabad. After extensive hearings, the final arguments were concluded on 8 July, and the matter now awaits judgment.
Throughout this legal battle, one individual stood firmly for the cause of justice—Advocate Shri Srinivas Chamarthy. Despite the complexity and significance of the case, he rendered his legal services without accepting a single penny in professional fees. His commitment to the rule of law, fairness, and institutional integrity reflects exceptional dedication and selfless service.
This case is not merely about one appointment; it concerns adherence to established procedures, transparency in public institutions, and the principle that every public authority must remain accountable to the rule of law.
Dr Kamat is a Helpless Head of DRDO because during his one-year extension he is not able to preforms his responsibilities given by GOI.
Like first and most important task was to implementing Dr Raghwan Committee recommendations why because he has not had the charisma to convenience his colleges the clear massage of PMO vision of future DRDO.
As per one DG comments that DR Raghavan Committee recommendations and PMO given us directions and in reply we told the whatever suits us will implement and whatever not suit we denied. Rest that DRDO having mastery in manipulations.
And still DRDO running in the direction of Dr Sarswat and reference is an example that like Dr Sarwat made Dr Raja Babu direct Scientist G from Group Captain in SPIC by tailor made vacancy and second case Commander Patel (Dr Twssy’s husband) recruited Scientist G by tailor made advertisement and instructed all directors that if any deserved scientist apply his application should not recommended. So same legacy is maintaining by Dr Kamat as everyone knows in DRDO how Dr Sudhir Mishra given Chair, and after that Sh J R Joshi rewarded as DG Barhmos. Joshi is the junior most among the all candidates. Regarding this I have already altered DR Kamat prior to interview as our Honourable Prime Minster Modi ji ‘s called every citizen is Chowkidar. Mai Bhi Huin Chaukidar as Dr Sudhir Mishra and his nexus hijacked the DRDO Chief see the below my what sup massage to Dr Kamat on 21st October 2024. I got inputs that Dr Sudhir Mishra was called Philippines and boasted that his man Dr J R Joshi will become DG Barhmos and told that now he will command the show of Brahmos empire. J R Joshi was the member of inquiry committee which gave clean chit to Dr Sudhir Mishra in spite of all evidences.
NEW DELHI: A powerful group in the DRDO believes that these changes could weaken their hold over the institution.
Hectic parleys and lobbying have begun for the post of the chairman of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), whose existing chairman, Samir V. Kamat will retire on 31 May, unless he is given an extension. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) decides on the appointment of the chief of the DRDO.
With the country going through Lok Sabha elections, the last phase of which is scheduled for 1 June and the results for 4 June, it is to be seen whether a new appointment is made on or before 31 May or Kamat is asked to continue to lead the organisation temporarily till the ACC decides on a new name or gives him a full extension as has happened earlier in the case of Directorate of Enforcement and Research and Analysis Wing among others. Those in line to succeed him include his colleagues, B.K. Das who is presently the Director General (Electronics & Communication Systems); Dr Suma Varughese, leading the Micro Electronic Devices, Computational Systems and Cyber Systems division; and Dr Ummalaneni Raja Babu who is the head of the Missiles and Strategic Systems division. Of the three, Das holds the most senior position. The three are scheduled to retire in August, January and April 2026, respectively. Sources say that the possibility of Kamat getting an extension post 31 May is not ruled out.
Various individuals, including former chiefs of DRDO, retired secretaries, individuals who deal in the sale and purchase of arms and advanced weaponry, who claim to have got the eyes and ears of the offices who will decide on who the new DRDO chief will be post 31 May, are pushing for their respective candidates.
However, what is going to make the job of the incoming new chairman more challenging than his predecessors to an organisation that had a budget of Rs 23,000 crore last year—which will rise to Rs 35,000 crore in the coming few years—is that the new chairman is now likely to work under a new system that will be based on what the K. Vijay Raghavan Committee had suggested in its report. The committee submitted its report in January this year, after it was constituted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August last year to suggest a way to reform the organisation and handle the decades-long complaints of DRDO was simply not giving outputs that would justify the massive funding that it was getting each year.
CHANGES NEEDED IN DRDO WORKING STYLE Among the significant changes this nine-member committee, headed by the former principal scientific advisor, suggested was to bring the working of the organisation under the Prime Minister’s Office to ensure accountability and swift action. Several such committees in the past—A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Committee (1992), P. Rama Rao Committee (2008) and the V. Ramagopal Rao Committee (2020)—have shared recommendations with the single objective of making DRDO accountable when it comes to cost overruns and meeting the deadline that it promises. But all such previous recommendations have been pushed under the carpet because of a strong pushback from within the DRDO, aided by outside entities who gain due to these project delays and cost overruns.
The nine-member committee, apart from Raghavan, that made the report included former Deputy Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Subrata Saha (retired); former Vice Chief of Navy Staff, Vice Admiral S.N. Ghormade; former Chief of Integrated Staff, Air Marshal B.R. Krishna; Director General of the Manohar Parrikar Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses, Sujan R. Chinoy; Professor Manindra Agarwal of IIT Kanpur; President, Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers, S.P. Shukla; J.D. Patil of Larsen & Toubro Defence; S. Unnikrishnan Nair, Distinguished Scientist; ISRO and Rasika Chaube, Financial Advisor in the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Sources aware of the matter claimed that the current leadership of DRDO had conveyed its protst against the recommendations, and that in March a delegation had met the concerned offices in Delhi to register their protest. Among the recommendations that are being resisted is the abolition of the posts of director general and director, in place of which there will be “members” and “lab-in charges”. A recommendation has been made to establish a specialised department dedicated to overseeing government funds, ensuring that they are appropriately utilised for defence projects. This department would also address cost-related issues faced by the organisation, including but not limited to the prevention of embezzlement.
The creation of a separate body—Defence Technology Council (DTC)—which will be headed by the Prime Minister and will have the Defence Minister and the National Security Advisor as members, apart from two members each from academia and industry to bring diverse perspectives, has also met with stiff resistance from some in the organisation who are unwilling to see changes in the functioning of the DRDO despite the need for them in view of challenging new tasks set by the Prime Minister.
Some of DRDO top offices are also against setting up of a separate department under the MoD—the Department of Defence Science, Technology and Innovation (DDSTI) with the aim to promote R&D in academics and encourage start-ups. More importantly, the committee has called for the bifurcation of the post of Secretary, R&D, in the MoD, which is presently held by the DRDO chairman. The proposed changes are viewed by a faction within the DRDO as potentially undermining the longstanding autonomy and operational freedom enjoyed by its senior officials. This powerful group in the DRDO believes that such changes could weaken their hold over the institution.
A December 2023 Parliamentary Standing Committee (PSC) report titled, “A Review of the Working of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)”, which was chaired by Jual Oram, had expressed concerns about 23 out of DRDO’s 55 mission mode projects facing significant delays. A December 2022 CAG report had stated that 67% (119 out of 178) of the DRDO projects that were examined, failed to adhere to proposed timelines.
The oversight on DRDO’s working by the Prime Minister’s Office is being strongly resisted by a group as the organisation has a massive budget which is going to increase in the coming days.Given its long-standing problems and the fact that they have continued to persist despite regular encouragement, it is expected that the PMO is unlikely to back down in front of these demands
from a few groups that want the system to run as it has been running. The proposed new system will also mean that the functioning of DRDO officials, when it comes to taking decisions worth crores of rupees, will now be watched closely.
NEW DELHI: Samir V. Kamat is being faulted by some within the DRDO for ‘continuing to sit on the findings of BrahMos’ own internal committee’.
In the first week of September 2022, a three-member Fact Finding and Investigation Committee (FFIC) that was constituted in January 2022, submitted its report to the present Defence and Research Development Organization (DRDO) chief Samir V. Kamat. The said committee was formed on the directions of scientist Atul Dinkar Rane, who was appointed as the chief executive officer and managing director of BrahMos airspace on 20 December 2021 after his predecessor Dr Sudhir Kumar Mishra had retired on 30 November 2021.
While taking over the charge from Mishra, Rane was also given the details of the documents, both sensitive and general in nature, as a part of “handing over”. However, on 28 December, Mishra returned a set of “secret” documents back to BrahMos headquarters, which were not in the list of documents that Mishra had shown to be in his possession during the handing over process earlier. This action prompted Rane to constitute the three-member committee to find out if any other sensitive documents were unaccounted for and if any other things which should not have been taken out from the premises of BrahMos were taken out.
During their probe, the committee members found that from 27 November till 30 November, Mishra had engaged private packers and movers who packed 40 cartons that contained stuff lying in his office. The statement of the packers and movers revealed that 20 paintings, 8 cartons of books, medals in 10 cartons, 10 cartons of liquor amounting to 100 bottles and 8 cartons of blankets, bedsheets and towels were allegedly taken from the BrahMos Headquarters to the residence of Mishra at Vasant Kunj. The Sunday Guardian has accessed the statement of the transporter. No inventory register of these things was maintained, but the committee found videos and stills of the cartons from the cameras that were installed at the entry and exit of X-ray machines.
When the committee sought to check the CCTV footage of these three days, it found that footage of the corresponding days were missing. As a result of these lapses, Lieutenant Colonel R.S. Suri (Retd), the Chief General Manager (CGM) responsible for data security, document handling, and outgoing materials at BrahMos Aerospace, was transferred to Hyderabad, but he chose to resign.
The committee also found that Mishra was still in the possession of over Rs 7 lakh (depreciated value) worth laptops, desktops and mobile phones and inventories that belonged to BrahMOs. When he was asked about it, he sent a cheque of Rs 1.71 lakh on 23 March to BrahMOs in lieu of the stuff that was lying in his possession. The then Personal Assistant of Mishra told the committee members that he took a lot of documents outside the headquarters after photo copying them. Such a claim remains unverified. However, the committee members decided to end their probe abruptly after they found INSAS guns, rocket launchers, ammunition and live bombs inside the BrahMos campus. They decided that the matter was now a case for the probe of specialized agencies like the National Investigation Agency.
The said report was then submitted to DRDO chief Kamat through BrahMos chief in September 2022. Kamat ordered that the said arms and ammunition should be sent to Armaments Research & Development Establishment (ARDE) for further investigation. Till now no action has been reported as being taken on these series of lapses that occurred under the watch of Kamat and Mishra. Kamat, on his part, is being faulted by some within the DRDO for “continuing to sit on these findings of BrahMos’ own internal committee”. The entire incident would have continued to be unknown if Mishra had not recently applied for a non executive advisory consultancy position (Raja Ramanna Chair) in DRDO.
Kamat after receiving the application from Mishra wrote to BrahMos seeking their suggestions on his application, it was then that the officials in the defence establishment and Kamat were made to recall the findings of the three-member committee, which the DRDO chief has allegedly refused to act on for almost 20 months now. Sources said B.P. Sharma, who is the Chairman of Recruitment & Assessment Centre (RAC) in DRDO, has refused to move ahead with the application of Mishra in wake of the findings of the said committee.
Mishra on his part has called the revival of this entire matter as a “malicious campaign and propaganda” against him by some “vested interests” which stems from his application for the consultancy position (Chair) in DRDO. Mishra has said that he retired more than two years ago from DRDO and if there was any security breach then why it was not flagged and reported earlier. According to him, as per protocol, he had handed over all the documents including files marked “classified” and “confidential” to his successor in the presence of the company secretary. He said that on the day of his retirement he did carry back his “personal belongings”—the souvenirs given to him during his seven-year tenure as DG, DRDO; from 2014 to 2021, the degrees and honours he had obtained and other personal belongings in five to six boxes.
While responding to these developments, DRDO had said that it had “received a complaint against Dr Sudhir Kumar Mishra, Ex CEO & MD of BrahMos Aerospace. Based upon the complaint, a Fact Finding Inquiry Committee was formed by Secretary DDR&D and Chairman DRDO. However the committee didn’t find any evidence to back the allegation levied.”
However, sources aware of the matter said that the inquiry committee was not formed on the basis of a complaint, but an internal concern raised by the top officers of BrahMOs. Secondly, the fact finding committee had reportedly found multiple lapses, including the presence of unexplained arms and ammunition inside the campus. A section of DRDO officials said it was a failure of Kamat to “sit on this entire findings” that included unexplained presence of ammunition, failure of working CCTVs which indicates major lapses in the organization.
Messages sent to Mr Kamat seeking his response on the matter including the inaction on the findings of the committee elicited no response till the time the report went to press.
NEW DELHI: Aeronautical Development Establishment, a Bengaluru-based DRDO lab that developed the Lakshya aircraft, has been visited by the CBI.
Possible misuse of hundreds of crores of rupees related to a premier pilotless aircraft system, which was developed by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), has come to the notice of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) last month, after which the CBI has started its preliminary enquiry in the matter.
Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), a Bengaluru-based lab of the DRDO, that developed the pilotless target aircraft, “Lakshya” has been visited at least twice by the CBI officials in the past one month.
The alleged scam, in which critical components needed for this project like small aircraft and trucks, were procured but only on paper while some went “missing”. Despite the ADE top officials who are handling the project, being made aware of these discrepancies at least since 2015, did not report these to the CBI but rather allegedly victimized the official who brought it to their notice, while refusing to be a part of the coverup.
As per rules, whenever an item or material is purchased for the development of any program, Lakshya in this case, and when it is brought physically to the ADE campus, an entry is done in the ledger detailing the said product. The said ledger is handled by a permanent employee of the DRDO and once he moves out either due to retirement or new posting, the said ledger is then handed over to another employee, who first checks all the inventories are there as mentioned in the books before taking over the possession of the ledger.
There are two ledgers that are used to ensure products don’t go “missing”. The first one is the Personal Ledger (PL) in which an item purchased under the “general head” is entered.
Then there is the Project Personal Ledger or PPL in which items purchased under “project head” are entered.
This is done to ensure that whatever was paid for by the Government of India is actually bought and delivered and it’s the accountability and responsibility of the officer holding the ledgers to make sure that details in the ledgers match the material in the campus and the lab.
As per the details accessed by the CBI, a “PL number 613”, which contains products and materials purchased for Lakshya, was till 31 January 2011 being handled by B.R. Suresh, a Scientist-D with ADE.
When he retired on that date it was revealed that materials including pilotless target aircrafts, trucks, electronic sub system were missing and hence the matter was recorded internally and the post-retirement benefits of Suresh were withheld, but were subsequently released after four years, said sources.
In January 2015, the project director of Lakshya, V. Subramaniam asked one of his juniors to take over the PL that was earlier the responsibility of B.R. Suresh. Sources said that till then, the responsibility of the PL was not entrusted to anyone.
As was required under the rules, the said officer, before taking over the responsibility of PL-613, went to the lab to verify whether all the listed and purchased material were present or not.
crores, that were listed in the PL, were missing.
The missing inventory included at least 5 aircraft, 10 trucks, 50 tow bodies and 10 gyroscopes.
As per the information received by the CBI, Subramaniam asked the said officer to take the responsibility of the PL register, without mentioning the discrepancies, which Subramaniam claimed he would “manage’ by manipulating the content. In lieu, the said officer was promised swift promotion. The said officer, however, refused to accept the responsibility of the ledger.
Upon witnessing the refusal to take the handover of the PL, Subramaniam is alleged to have taken away access of the said scientist to his workplace and started harassing him.
The said officer, who had reached out to the other top officials in the lab to inform them of these discrepancies, received no help and for 28 months, no salary was given to him.
Those close to Subramanian say that such charges against him are baseless and motivated. In a response to The Sunday Guardian’s queries on the matter, DRDO, while confirming that a CBI probe at ADE, Bengaluru with regards to the Lakshya project was going on, stated that, “As per statements of ex Lakshya Project Personnel and available records, no discrepancies related to material needed for this project were communicated to the top officials anytime during 2011 or in 2014.”
Messages sent to Subramaniam did not elicit any response till the time the report went to press.
In 2019, Subramanian, now in the position of “Scientist-G” who was not originally on the interview panel that was constituted to interview and promote his erstwhile junior, made himself a member of the panel and ensured that the junior was denied the promotion. This happened despite the said scientist requesting the Human Resources head to not be interviewed by a panel that had his former boss as the member.
In November 2021, a memorandum of major penalty was filed against the scientist for “unauthorised leave” during the period when his access to his lab was withdrawn by Subramaniam which did not allow him to mark the attendance.
It is pertinent to mention that ADE and DRDO both had come under severe criticism from relevant government bodies for their failure to execute Lakshya on time despite the government releasing funds and other resources without any delay.
Subramaniam, who retired in May 2023, is still coming to the ADE campus regularly despite having been accorded no responsibility that would necessitate his visit to the campus, especially when an inquiry has been going on with regards to the discrepancies in Lakshya ledger that was his responsibility.
Last month, amidst the ongoing CBI investigation, crucial files related to the said project were allegedly dumped in the dump yard of the campus to be destroyed.
This happened after the CBI officials visited the campus on 28 March. The agency officials visited the campus again on 19 April.
Lakshya had a total of four projects—Lakshya, Lakshya LSP (Limited Series Production), Lakshya 1-D (partially digital version) and Lakshya 2, which was the fully digital version. The project has been a huge technical success.
Mishra, who retired from his roles at BrahMos Aerospace on November 30, 2021, is alleged to have improperly handled sensitive documents, triggering a severe investigation into breaches of security protocols at the defence firm.
In a developing story that has sent shockwaves through India’s defence community, Sudhir Mishra, a former Director General of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of BrahMos Aerospace Private Limited, is under intense scrutiny. Mishra, who retired from his roles at BrahMos Aerospace on November 30, 2021, is alleged to have improperly handled sensitive documents, triggering a severe investigation into breaches of security protocols at the defence firm.
The DRDO Vigilance Department initiated an investigation after discovering that Mishra returned about three dozen files, including documents classified as ‘CONFIDENTIAL’, on December 28, 2021. This return prompted a deeper look into the security measures at BrahMos, uncovering a critical lapse: a 15-day gap in the CCTV surveillance records, which has significantly hampered the probe.
Further scrutiny revealed a more disturbing oversight—a failure to maintain a mandatory 90-day backup of CCTV footage per the Ministry of Defence (MoD) guidelines. This deficiency has severely limited the investigation committee’s ability to conduct a thorough audit of the security protocols and trace past breaches effectively.
In the wake of these findings, Lieutenant Colonel RS Suri (Retd), the Chief General Manager (CGM) responsible for data security, document handling, and outgoing materials at BrahMos Aerospace, has been transferred. This move came after it was discovered that the facility’s CCTV systems were malfunctioning.
Amid these security lapses, the investigation also noted several undocumented removals of materials from the BrahMos headquarters and its guest house during late November and early December 2021. These removals were facilitated by Big LogisticsIndia Pvt Ltd, which was responsible for packing and transporting items from Mishra’s office.
Documentation accessed by this correspondent from the logistics company detailed the items moved, which included 20 wall paintings, several books, documents, an undisclosed number of medals, about 100 bottles of alcohol, and various gift items. These were transported over four days in 40 cartons of varying sizes.
Sudhir Mishra is a prominent figure in India’s defence sector. He has held significant roles on defence committees such as the Indo-Israel Management Committee (I2MC) and the Indo-Russia Inter-Governmental Committee (IRIGC). His accolades include receiving the DRDO’s ‘Scientist of the Year’ award in 2010 for his significant contributions.
These developments raise critical questions about the potential motives behind Mishra’s actions and the destination of the sensitive documents he had in his possession. As the saga continues, it goes on to reveal the extent and impact of what appears to be a grave security lapse in a sensitive
DRDO Responds to Financial Express Online Query Related to the investigation
In response to these allegations, a DRDO spokesperson stated, “DRDO had received a complaint against Dr Sudhir Kumar Mishra, Ex CEO & MD of BrahMos Aerospace. Based upon the complaint, a Fact-Finding Inquiry Committee was formed by the Secretary DDR&D and Chairman DRDO.”
“However, the committee didn’t find any evidence to back the allegation levied,” the Directorate of Public Interface (DPI) of DRDO stated to Financial Express Online.
Responding to Financial Express Online, here is what Dr Sudhir Mishra said
Dr Mishra stated that the allegations are purely a result of vested interests, terming them as opinionated imagination and illogical. He highlighted that he had already been superannuated in November 2021 and that the allegation that classified documents had left the government premises reflects poorly on the accusers.
He further clarified that he only removed items that were personal belongings, such as souvenirs and honorary degrees received during his tenure as BrahMos chief. He assured that no items belonging to BrahMos Aerospace were taken and even mentioned that he had paid for the mobile phones used.
Lastly, Dr. Mishra reiterated that a high-level committee of DRDO had already investigated the matter. He provided clarifications, and other officials present shared their views. The committee, after careful consideration, has unequivocally termed these allegations as baseless, maliciously motivated, and misleading.
Certain sources defending Mishra’s claims highlighted that the DRDO was about to issue an appointment letter to Dr Mishra for a consultative advisory post of Dr Rajaramana, Chair in the DRDO, triggering false allegations.
Preparation to give Raja Ramanna Chair to former BrahMos CEO Sudhir Mishra, investigation committee constituted on complaints gave clean chit, had taken Indo-Russian secrecy file home after retirement.
Amit Bhatt, ROUND THE WATCH Dehradun: Sudhir Mishra, a senior scientist of Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), to whom preparations are being made to hand over the prestigious Raja Ramanna Chair under the organization after retirement, has faced many serious allegations. Even When he took his belongings home from office after retirement, it also included 100 bottles of foreign brand liquor. Out of the carton of documents he had taken with him, he later had to return a sensitive file like Indo-Russian secrecy. Later, 01 AK-47, 01 rocket launcher and 04 bombs were also found from his office. Who had no entry in the office. However, the inquiry committee to hand over the chair to Raja Ramanna It gave a clean chit to the former CEO.
Without resolution of all the issues, questions are being raised even on this clean chit. In such a situation, a demand is being raised whether there is no need to conduct a fresh investigation into the matter by a high level or any independent agency?
After retirement, Sudhir Mishra was trying for Raja Ramanna Chair for a long time. However, things could not work out due to various complaints being filed against him.
Therefore, in view of this situation, a committee was formed under the chairmanship of Director General Electronics and Communication Systems (ACS) Dr. BK Das on the instructions of other senior officials. The decision was postponed for some time in view of the allegations made in the complaint against the former scientist, but, possibly due to high interference, he was given a clean chit. It has also come to light that there was pressure on the committee chairman to submit the report quickly. It is being told that the committee talked to many people before giving the clean chit.
But it could not be confirmed at any level whether the allegations made in the complaint are baseless or true. No one told whether 08 cartons of documents contained sensitive files related to BrahMos or not. Or did the committee ask the persons involved in the interrogation what kind of documents were in the carton? Had he seen the documents? Did the committee examine the allegations made in the complaint point by point?
20 What was the nature of the wall painting?
The former CEO of BrahMos also took with him 20 wall paintings from his office. There is also mention of 20 wall paintings in the letter of the logistics firm which was authorized to carry the goods. The investigation committee should also clarify the nature of these paintings. Because, this stuff has also gone out of the office under the Defense Ministry. In today's environment, a painting can be worth lakhs or even crores of rupees. It should also be seen what was the source of the paintings and their specialty. Was this office property?
It is necessary to resolve these allegations and points
-How did 100 bottles of foreign brand liquor come to the office of former CEO Sudhir Mishra?-Why was there no entry for the weapons and bombs found after the retirement of former CEO Sudhir Mishra? If these were justified then why was a special vehicle later ordered from Pune-based Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE) to carry them.
-How many sensitive documents were there in the 08 carton documents that Sudhir Mishra took with him?
-Why did Sudhir Mishra take a sensitive file like Indo-Russian secrecy from the office to his home. This file was also returned on demand.
List of materials taken from Sudhir Mishra’s office after his retirement from the post of CEO of BrahMos.
DEHRADUN: The ministry of defence (MoD) has issued an order to stop admissions at all schools aided by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in the country for this academic session while one DRDO school in Mussoorie – the Institute of Technology Management (ITM) School – was shut down on April 1. Former President, APJ who served in DRDO for almost four decades, had mooted the idea of DRDO schools to develop scientific temperament among students He had also envisaged the schools benefiting children of officials of DRDO, which has a network of 50 laboratories working on defence technology. Some of these labs are in remote, isolated areas. DRDO has nearly 30,000 employees
Of the 11 DRDO-aided schools in India, three are slated to be transferred to Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS): one each in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kochi
Seven others, including one each in Dehradun (Raksha Anusand Vidyalaya), Chandigarh (Ballistics Vidyalaya), Pune (R&D E(E) English Medium School), Odisha (Range School, Chandipur Balasore) and Andhra Pradesh (NSTL Visakhapatnam), and two in Telangana (Defence School Lab, Kanchan Bagh, Hyderabad and DLS Vignyanakancha, RCI Hyderabad) are to handed over to other agencies.
The order, issued December 21, 2021, bi Vishnu Chandra Jha director, management services MoD reads “The competent authority has decided that there shall be no new admissions tin the entry level classes as well as all other classes in these schools for the next academic session 2022 -23” When quarried about the reasons behind the news, BK DAS, director of instrument and Research Development establishment IRDE of DRDO Dehradun said we are following instruction of the Defence Ministry which said running school doesn’t fall under the mandate of DRDO. The matters are decided at the headquarter level not by is, We are not closing idea is simply to hand over the management of these schools from DRDO to some other reasonable agencies. “ while the reason of handover of the school was not was not made immediately clear, sources pointed to fund crunch as a possible reason. A source in the know said, The decision was taken at the PMO level to curtail the expenses of DRDO”
Teaching staff and the parents of the student in these schools meanwhile expressed disappointment with the MoD decision
Pryanka Bisht, resident of Mussoorie whose children used to study in the ITM School said covid-19 has hit everyone financially my husband works at the small shop and we cannot afford English medium is education for our children at a private school, the fee was affordable at ITM where my son studies in class 1 and daughter in class 4 we are still banking on the school for reopen.
Badal Prakash vice president of Landoir cantonment board in Mussoorie where the school is located wrote a letter on Friday to officials to reconsider the decision to close the school “Teachers in this school have been working for 15 to 30 years. Now they are unemployed. The school currently 106 students who will have to travel far to gett quality education as there are no English medium school within the 5 km radius” Prakash said.
Incident draws attention to need for regular psychological tests of key official sPradip R Sagar By Pradip R Sagar Updated: March 23, 2022 RHE WEEK
The inquiry into the misfire incident of an Indian missile into Pakistan has pointed towards ‘human error’. An air vice-marshal, a two-star rank officer of the air force is heading the probe, which is expected to be completed in a month and is mandated to fix responsibility for acts of omission and commission. It appears several officials handling the missile system are likely to be indicted for the lapse.
“It’s a case of immature operation or handling (mishandling) of the missile system, as there is no question of missile missing its target,” a key defence official said. Another officer said the process takes at least four hours to launch the missile with multiple electronic and mechanical locks. “Deviating from its flying path (trajectory) is next to impossible in case of BrahMos,” said an officer, indicating towards ‘human error’ for the misfire incident.
The incident also drew attention to the need to carry out regular psychological tests and background checks for all the officials handling such strategic arsenal.
During routine maintenance and inspection, a missile was accidentally released at around 7 pm on March 9. It was later learnt that the missile had landed inside the territory of Pakistan in Mian Channu town. While no one was hurt in the accident, India has regretted the misfire of its missile.
Though officially New Delhi has not named the missile, sources said that it was a supersonic cruise BrahMos missile, which landed 124km inside Pakistan territory.
Official sources maintained that it was a practice missile without a warhead and target coordinates were realistic but the missile was not meant to be launched. And, conventional missiles like BrahMos do not have to self-destruct mechanisms and a “fire and forget” missile. While other strategic and nuclear ballistic missiles like Agni and Prithvi do have such features. Once launched, the missile (BrahMos) cannot be aborted and flies at almost three times the speed of the sound of Mach 2.8.
Last week, defence minister Rajnath Singh, in a statement in Parliament has said standard operating procedures (SOPs) for “operations, maintenance, and inspection” of such systems were being reviewed, while adding that India attaches highest priority to safety and security of its weapon systems. “If any shortcoming is found, the same would be immediately rectified,” he said.
While assuring the House that the missile system is very reliable and safe, Rajnath Singh said that our safety procedures and protocols are of the highest order and are reviewed from time to time. He added that Indian Armed Forces are well-trained and disciplined and are well-experienced in handling such systems.
Rajnath’s response came two days after the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs sought “a joint probe to accurately establish the facts surrounding the incident” as the missile had landed in Pakistani territory. Terming it as a “profound level of incompetence”, Islamabad went into to call upon New Delhi to explain if the missile was indeed handled by its armed forces or some ‘rogue elements.’ Earlier, India’s ministry of defence had issued a statement, in which, it had inadvertently mentioned that “in the course of a routine maintenance, ‘a technical malfunction’ led to the accidental firing of a missile”. The word ‘technical malfunction’ has upset the developers of the BrahMos missile.
Developed by BrahMos Aerospace, it is a joint venture between India’s Defence Research and Development Organisation and Russia’s NPO Mashinostroyenia. And the supersonic cruise missile can be launched from land, air and water.
Touted as India’s most advanced missile, BrahMos is India’s only missile that will be exported. Philippines has become its first customer.
Appeal to clean DRDO of corrupt and anti-national officials
