Sandip Dighe | TNN | Updated: Oct 23, 2017,
PUNE: The chairman of defence research and development organisation (DRDO), S Christopher, sounded hopeful on Sunday about the Indian Army accepting the Arjun Mark-II tank after certain modifications recommended by the army were incorporated.
Speaking on the sidelines of a function at the Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT), Christopher told TOI, “We have carried out certain modifications as recommended by the army. The tank will go through trials and there is every possibility that it will be accepted considering that the army has already agreed to induct the tank in two regiments.” 
The DRDO chief was on a visit to DIAT — a deemed university under the defence ministry — for the inauguration of the 21st batch of Post Induction Training School (POINTS), a programme for newly inducted DRDO scientists. He also held a meeting with senior scientists.
The army had recommended nearly 71 modifications to the tank and had asked the DRDO to redesign the hull and the turret structures and use new materials in order to reduce the weight. The weight of the Mark-I is 62 tonne while Arjun Mark-II is 68 tonne.
A senior army officer from the armoured corps, told TOI on Sunday, “The army has a major issue with the weight of Mark-II as it will not meet its operational requirements in the western sectors where the tank will be deployed in future. During the past trials, it had come to our notice that the tank is heavier than the existing culvert, thereby, making mobility a major issue. It was, therefore, paramount to recommend a reduction in weight of the tank from an operational point of view.”
A senior DRDO scientist closely associated with the project said, “The army had specified their operational requirement on three aspects — weight, missile firing capability and ammunition. We have addressed these issues. Besides, we have kept the agility and mobility of the tank at par with the existing one. We are confident that the tank will meet the army’s requirements in the trials.” The army has about 3,500 tanks mostly comprising the old T-72 and the improvised T-90 tanks.
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Home The Sunday Standard
Bio-toilet choked with complaints
By Pradip R Sagar | Published: 28th October 2017 10:17 PM |
Last Updated: 29th October 2017 08:49 AM | A+A A- |
NEW DELHI: Forget about missiles or battle tanks, the country’s premier defence research agency DRDO’s bio-toilets are getting blocked with major glitches. Indian Railways, the toilets’ main user, is getting hundreds of daily complaints from passengers from its 17 zones, and its top officials can’t find a solution.
Dr Y Ashok Babu, a senior microbiologist who was part of the E-loo project, has questioned the technology used and has written to the Defence Minister and Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). He claims the imported bacteria worked perfectly well in the laboratory but not in Siachen, for which a solar panel heating system was added to accelerate the ‘digestion’ process. He says the bio-toilets, which are nothing but gobar gas plants, involve no technology and can be built by a village mason. He claims that officials conspired with some vendors to fool people; they just added bacteria from Antarctica, which is available in cow and buffalo dung.
A senior Railway official involved in the procurement of the bio-toilets from DRDO said, “Nowhere in the world are such toilets used in rail coaches except in India.” In response to an RTI, Railways authorities revealed no study was carried out before installing the toilets in coaches. “These toilets are not approved by UIC (international union of railways) or any other Railways Standard Organisation,” he said.
Claiming to be a ‘big failure’, Railways officials said 95 per cent of these toilets are faulty. The Railways planned to install 2.5 lakh toilets in all coaches by October 2, 2019.
The bio-toilets were invented by Gwalior-based Defence
Research and Development Establishment (DRDE) and Tezpur-based Defence Research Laboratory (DRL) to decompose biological waste generated by soldiers in high-altitude regions such as Siachen and Ladakh in 2012. After the Ministry for Rural Development—which spent Rs 1,000 crore for the project—the Railways has become its biggest user. The DRDO has made the transfer of technology agreement with 56 companies, which are producing bio-toilets at a cost of Rs 15,000 to Rs 75 lakh. DRDO officials refused to comment when contacted.
Loo-se ends
Indian Railways, the toilets’ main user, gets hundreds of daily complaints from passengers
Railways officials said
95 per cent of these toilets are faulty
Railways planned to install 2.5 lakh toilets in all coaches by October 2, 2019
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The project cost Rs 1,000 cr
E-loo uses anaerobic microbial bacteria to decompose and convert biological human excreta into usable water and gasses