by Pranav Kulkarni | New Delhi | Published on:April 1, 2015 1:49 am – The Indian Express
Two months after it sacked Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) chief Avinash Chander, the government has denied extension to a top DRDO scientist. Bikash Bhattacharya, who was on his first extension as the director of Pune-based High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), retired Tuesday. Besides him, the government in the past six months has denied extension to at least three top DRDO scientists.
While Chander was sacked unceremoniously citing the need for appointing younger scientists, the Modi government has on several platforms made public its intentions to streamline DRDO.
Sources in DRDO said the HEMRL director’s extension was recommended by Chander and was considered by the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC). It was, however, rejected by the government “about 10 days ago”. Bhattacharya was formerly associated with ISRO.
Bhattacharya, 62, who took over as director, HEMRL on September 11, 2011 was already on one extension after he completed 60 years on March 23, 2013. As per DRDO’s existing promotion policy, two extensions are permitted for a tenure of two years after the scientist completes 60 years, the retirement age.
Bhattacharya is the fourth scientist to have been denied extension by the Modi government in the past six months. Others who were denied extension are directors of Defence Research & Development Establishment (DRDE), Defence Bioengineering and Electromedical Laboratory (DEBEL) and Electronics & Radar Development Establishment (LRDE) — M P Kaushik, V C Padaki and Venkatnarayana Raju, respectively.
The denial of extensions by the Modi government has reversed the trend of the UPA government which was criticised for making extensions a “norm” instead of an “exception”. In 2012 for instance, 11 top scientists were on extension at various laboratories across the country.
By Pradip R Sagar Published: 02nd Nov 2014 06:06:55 AM The New Indian Express – The Sunday Standard
Vigilant Indian soldier – Siachen
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s surprise visit this Diwali to the world’s highest battlefield, Siachen, to applaud the Indian army troops deployed there again brought into national focus the difficulty of operating under such adverse climatic conditions.
A study by Defence Research and Development Organisation, India’s premier defence research institute, to find solutions and shorten the acclimatization period has been junked by the Army.
Keeping unforeseen events in mind, the Army wanted to reduce the pre-acclimatisation training period to faster deploy its troops to high-altitude locations in cases of emergency. And for this, the DRDO was mandated to carry out a study on how to reduce the pre-acclimatisation training period in May 2009 with budget of over `3 crore. Delhi-based Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Sciences (DIPAS), a wing of DRDO, carried out the study for which they selected 210 soldiers. In order to study the soldiers’ physiology changes, they were asked to stay in a make-shift chamber filled with nitrogen for intermittent periods. But the Army has rubbished the study report and criticised the methods adopted by the DIPAS scientists.
In a strongly worded four-page letter to DIPAS on 10 September, the office of the Director General Armed Forces Medical Services (DGAFMS) has raised serious objections and sought explanation on various key points related to the study including selection of troops for the study, use of multiple investigators to collect data, use of master step test as an indicator of exercise performance for high altitude and disparity in heart rate date from the same cohort at different points of the report.
DIPAS had used intermittent hypoxia study at sea level before dispatching soldiers to high-altitude locations. Explaining the terminology, a DRDO scientist said that Intermittent Hypoxic Training (IHT) is a test protocol usually given to the individual with reduced oxygen concentration as prevailed in high altitude for pre-acclimatising them at sea level in a normobaric hypoxic chamber, before they are deployed for high mountain warfare.
On the basis the outcome of the study, two costly normobaric hypoxic chambers were planned to be set up in Chandigarh to cater northern command and Sukhna for eastern command troops with a cost of over `10 lakh.
Reacting strongly to the samples of troops taken, that had men who had already served in high-altitude postings, the DGAFMS raised concerns on the validity of conclusions drawn from the data presented. While seeking justification for the selection of re-inductees as study subjects, the Army has said, “Current knowledge on the phenomenon of de-acclimatisation is limited. It is accepted by many experts in the field that certain physiological changes induces on exposure on high altitude may persist beyond one month of return to sea level.”
“Hence the choice of re-inductees as study subjects raises questions about the validity of date being presented, especially since the aim of the project is to extrapolate the findings to healthy soldiers being rapidly inducted to high altitude, in all probability, for the first time,” DGAFMC said in his detailed response to DIPAS study.
When contacted, DRDO spokesperson Ravi Gupta refused to comment as it is a classified matter.
To, 5th August 2014
Dr. RB Sharma, CPIO
DRDO HQ, Min. of Defence
DRDO Bhawan, Rajaji Marg
New Delhi-110011
Hello,
Kindly provide me with the following information requested under the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 in respect of Explosive Detection Kit (EDK) of DRDO. DRDO filed a patent application No 524/DEL/1996 dated 12-Mar-1996 for “A PROCESS FOR EXPLOSIVE DETECTION AND IDENTIFICATION”. The patent granted vide patent no 238663 dated 16 Feb 2010. As per GOI website of Intellectual Property of India the name of Patentee -THE CHIEF CONTROLLER RESEARCH, Applicant Address- B-341, SENA BHAWAN DHQ P.O. NEW DELHI 110011, INDIA Copy enclosed
Inventors:
1 RABINDRA KUMAR SINHA
2 USHADEVI RAMACHANDRAN NAIR
3 HIRA LAL YADAV
4 JAMAN SINGH GHARIA
As per HEMRL letter No HEMRL/TS/3341 dated 8th March 2010 mentioned that Ms Reny M Roy, Scientist C is the innovator of EDK. Copy enclosed.
CNN-IBN & Infosys present – Innovating for a Better Tomorrow also present Dr Reny M Roy, DRDO scientist-For developing the Explosive Detection Kit (EDK) that uses chemicals to trigger reactions and detect explosives
Provide the document on which HEMRL letter No HEMRL/TS/3341 dated 8th March 2010 mentioned that Ms Reny M Roy, Scientist C is the innovator of EDK.
Provide the document of approval for participation in CNN-IBN program Innovating for a Better Tomorrow to Dr Reny M Roy, DRDO scientist
Note : Matter is directly related to corruption and not exempted under Section 24 (1), as enclosed letter of HEMRL and information available in website of Intellectual Property of India are contradictory, it is the clear cut case of abuse of power by DRDO officials.
A PROCESS FOR EXPLOSIVE DETECTION AND IDENTIFICATION (EDK)Statement of Case for US Visit of Ms Reny M Roy, Scientist C is the innovator of EDK
CNN-IBN & Infosys present ‘Innovating for a Better Tomorrow’
Posted on : 13 Feb 2014 12:50 pm
MUMBAI: As the world around us evolves rapidly, several innovations are born to help us keep pace. CNN-IBN, in partnership with Infosys, is all set to bring to the fore exemplary innovations that have not only transformed the lives of MILLIONS of Indians but have also left indelible impressions globally. The exclusive nine-episode series ‘Innovating for a Better Tomorrow’ will showcase innovations with significant business and social impact.
The series will begin on February 15, 2014 with an hour-long discussion between CNN-IBN Deputy Editor Sagarika Ghose and Infosys Co-Founder and Executive Chairman N R Narayana Murthy. The episode will touch upon various topics revolving around innovation. It will discuss the opportunities, growth prospects and challenges for innovators, while also outlining the role of corporates in encouraging innovation.
The 14 compelling innovations to be featured on the show are:-
Business Innovations
Dr Reny M Roy, DRDO scientist: For developing the Explosive Detection Kit (EDK) that uses chemicals to trigger reactions and detect explosives.
US to manufacture, market DRDO’s Explosive Detection Kit PTI Aug 3, 2013, 03.21PM IST
WASHINGTON: In a first of its kind of reverse technology sharing between India and the US, an innovative Explosive Detection Kit developed by Indian scientists would be manufactured in America and sold globally for quick detection and identification of combinations of explosives. ………………………………………………… Reny M Roy, the Indian scientist who developed this technology, said that the EDK kits have been successfully used in preventing several terrorists’ attacks and even immediately detecting the type of explosive used in the event of a bomb blast.
“I got the idea for making an EDK kit in pellets form when I saw my daughter working with her colour palette,” says Roy.
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?id=176599852443443&story_fbid=362256593877767
Change india
August 4, 2013 · Chennai · When Reny Roy was assigned a project 15 years ago, she had no idea it would one day get a Washington DC debut as India’s first defense technology transfer to the United States. The project headed by Roy, a scientist at DRDO’s explosives lab in Pune, led to the creation of Explosive Detection Kit (EDK), which makes it easy to detect all kinds of explosive, especially those used by terrorists.
The kit was launched in Washington on Friday for production and sale in the US and other countries in the region, by Crowe and Company, a South Carolina firm.
It is currently undergoing tests by US military and other security agencies but may soon be headed for use by coalition forces in Afghanistan through a non-profit.
AND THE PATENT IS OF COURSE OF INDIA……
When DRDO’s party in the US almost went for a toss
August 09, 2013 11:30 IST
—————-
—————–DRDO Director General Dr Avinash Chander, Dr S Radhakrishnan, Director, Services Interaction and Technology Acquisition, DRDO, Dr S Sunderesh, Chief Controller, R & D, DRDO, Dr Reny M Roy, Scientist at DRDO who lead the team that develop the EDK, and others, immediately from the airport after dumping their baggage at THE HOTEL, had to rush to the US Chamber of Commerce building where hundreds of administration officials, defence industry representatives and fellow scientists had assembled for the official launch
“In a first of its kind of reverse technology sharing between India and the US, an innovative Explosive Detection Kit developed by Indian scientists would be manufactured in America and sold globally for quick detection and identification of combinations of explosives.
———-
———- This was probably for the first time that technology developed by Indian Defence Research & Development Organisation(DRDO) was being manufactured and marketed in the US, officials and industry partners said.
US grabs wallet-sized bomb detector created by Indian scientist
Yashwant Raj, Hindustan Times Washington, August 03, 2013
When Reny Roy was assigned a project 15 years ago, she had no idea it would one day get a Washington DC debut as India’s first defense technology transfer to the United States.
The project headed by Roy, a scientist at DRDO’s explosives lab in Pune, led to the creation of Explosive Detection Kit (EDK), which makes it easy to detect all kinds of explosive, especially those used by terrorists.
——
——- “It feels great,” said Roy after the launch with her boss SN Asthana, a man of few words, standing by her side.
Roy got the project “around 1997” with a brief to develop something to stop terrorists. But it was not a priority, not like DRDO’s more glamorous Agni, Arjun and the LCA projects.
15 Years ago this project was assigned to Reny Roy, at that time she was not aware of that one day Washington DC introduction as India’s first defense technology move to the United States.
The project head Roy, a scientist at DRDO’s explosives lab in Pune, lead to the formation of Explosive Detection Kit (EDK), which makes it simple to sense all kinds of explosive, particularly those used by terrorists all over world.
Bangalore Mirror Bureau | Mar 11, 2014, 02.00 AM IST
Rajabala was alone at home in heavily-guarded premises
The wife of a scientist with the Defence Research and Organisation Development (DRDO) was found murdered in her residence in the heavily-guarded DRDO quarters in Byappanahalli on Monday. Police say Rajani Rajabala, 49, the wife of A Packia Dhas, scientist ‘D’ with the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) of DRDO, was killed between 11 am and 11.30 am on Monday.
The incident came to light when neighbours found the victim lying in a pool of blood. Her throat has been slit and she had also suffered stab injuries to the neck, police said.
Rajabala was staying on the third floor of an apartment in ‘F’ wing in Block No. 22 of the DRDO quarters. She was alone at home. Her husband had gone for work and daughter, a first year engineering student, had left for college. The family is from Kanyakumari, but have been staying in the city for the last six years. Her son studies engineering in Chennai.
Police found no evidence of forced entry and suspect the killer fled by jumping from one of the floors to the ground. Salva Kumari, a resident of the ground floor of the same building, told police that at around the time of the crime, she heard the sound of something falling from a top floor and had rushed out. She found an unidentified man sitting on the ground near the building. The man later got up and walked away.
Along with Karthika Devi, another neighbour, Kumari climbed to the top to find out what had fallen. The door to Rajabala’s apartment was open and they entered to find their neighbour lying in a pool of blood. Byappanahalli police, who are investigating the crime, say the killer may have taken something from the house.
“Dhas and his daughter are still in shock and did not speak to us,” said K V Sharat Chandra, joint commissioner of police (East, law and order). “Once we speak to them and find out what’s missing, we will know if it was murder for gain or for personal rivalry. There is huge security for the quarters, but security staffs don’t do much checking in the morning. It is only after 8 pm when security is tight. There were no CCTV cameras installed.”
A Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) scientist was on Sunday booked for allegedly raping his wife.
“A case has been lodged case against Tapas Kumar Majumdar, who is working with food research laboratory wing of DRDO, on the complaint lodged by his 30-year-old wife this evening,” Raipur Superintendent of Police O P Pal told reporters.
According to the woman, who is a school teacher in Raipur, the accused had married her in 2011, while keeping her in dark about the status of his earlier marriage.
He had told her that he had taken divorce from the first wife and then got married with the complainant, who later came to know that Majumdar had not taken divorce, the SP said.
“A case has been registered against Majumdar under sections 376 (rape), 419 (cheating by personation), 496 (marrying fraudulently) and 498 (A) (subjecting wife to cruelty),” the SP said.
Majumdar is currently posted at Mussorie in Uttarakhand.
Further probe is on and suitable action will be taken in this connection, the SP added.
Express news service : New Delhi, Sat Dec 01 2012, 04:02 hrs
The DRDO Friday suspended a senior scientist, Dr Arun Kumar, just three hours prior to his superannuation for alleged irregularities in recruitment.
The Central Vigilance Commission had passed strictures against Kumar in August as well as asked the Defence Ministry to reconsider his daughter’s appointment as scientist ‘C’ by the DRDO. Another senior official, Dr Neelam Bhalla, had accused Kumar of favouritism.
However, an internal panel had given Kumar a clean chit in June 2012, stating that “no favour or undue advantage was given to his daughter”.
The DRDO spokesperson refused to comment but Dr W Selvamurthy, Chief Controller R&D for Life Sciences confirmed Kumar’s suspension.
DRDO lab seals suspect’s workstation – Deccan Chronicle -September 1, 2012 By B.R. Srikanth | S.V. Krishna Chaitanya DC Bengaluru/Mysore
Dr W. Selvamurthy, Chief Controller, R&D (Life Sciences), stated that
“This is the first time in the history of the DRDO that an insider has been arrested for suspected terror links. It came as a shock to the entire organisation. Generally, all top scientists, engineers and other officials of the technical and administrative divisions of the DRDO and offices are monitored by the Central Intelligence Bureau (IB). It’s one of those stray incidents,”
DRDO scientist was faculty member of Tripoli varsity
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE
Posted: Mon May 05 1997 IST
HYDERABAD, May 4: Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) scientist Srinivasulu, who was nabbed by Intelligence Bureau (IB) officials and city police here on Thursday night, was found to be working as a faculty member in the Tripoli University in Libya.
IB officials, acting on a tip off, sought the assistance of city police, who arrested the B-grade defence scientist at the Rajiv Gandhi International airport when he was about to board the Dubai-bound Air-India flight.
According to sources, Srinivasulu neither submitted his resignation nor obtained permission from the DRDO authorities for working in Libya. He obtained a passport without the knowledge of DRDO which is statutory. He left for Libya an year-and-half back and joined as a faculty member in the university at Tripoli.
During interrogation, Srinivasulu reportedly confessed before IB officials that he was taking some secret documents with him and one of his colleagues at Tripoli university, Kumar, was also involved in the spying.
Sources added that Srinivasulu has planned to go to Sharjah by the Dubai-bound Indian Airlines flight and then to Malta Islands in Africa by air. From there he was to catch a ship for Tripoli.
HYDERABAD, May 4: Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) scientist Srinivasulu, who was nabbed by Intelligence Bureau (IB) officials and city police here on Thursday night, was found to be working as a faculty member in the Tripoli University in Libya.
IB officials, acting on a tip off, sought the assistance of city police, who arrested the B-grade defence scientist at the Rajiv Gandhi International airport when he was about to board the Dubai-bound Air-India flight.
According to sources, Srinivasulu neither submitted his resignation nor obtained permission from the DRDO
authorities for working in Libya. He obtained a passport without the knowledge of DRDO which is statutory. He left for Libya an year-and-half back and joined as a faculty member in the university at Tripoli.
During interrogation, Srinivasulu reportedly confessed before IB officials that he was taking some secret documents with him and one of his colleagues at Tripoli university, Kumar, was also involved in the spying.
Sources added that Srinivasulu has planned to go to Sharjah by the Dubai-bound Indian Airlines flight and then to Malta Islands in Africa by air. From there he was to catch a ship for Tripoli.
A CAG audit, inquiry by a high-powered committee spell disaster for NTRO
Created in the aftermath of the intelligence failure in Kargil, the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) was supposed to be at the cutting edge of gathering intelligence via technical means. But just six years after its birth on April 14, 2004, the outfit is gasping for breath.
Mired in corruption and known for operational inefficiency, it has become a hub for nepotism and has the dubious distinction now of being the first intelligence agency in the history of independent India to be subjected to a financial audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India.
More than the audit, though, it’s the ongoing inquiry being conducted by a one-man high-powered committee that threatens to shake the agency’s very foundations. The man heading the committee, P.V. Kumar, retired as a special secretary from the Research and Analysis Wing last year and was absorbed into NTRO as its advisor. Kumar has now been given the unenviable task of inquiring into the murky waters around the organisation in the hope that it can be brought back on track.
Topping Kumar’s agenda are the alleged misdeeds of the agency’s second-in-command, Dr M.S. Vijayaraghavan, a former DRDO scientist who was inducted into NTRO under mysterious circumstances. Why was someone who had spent his professional life working with semi-conductors and heading a facility that dealt with silicon chips chosen to head a technical intelligence organisation? His detractors attribute it to his proximity to the scientific advisor to the prime minister, R. Chidambaram.
The high-powered committee has been asked to look into some of the allegations of misappropriation and misconduct against Vijayaraghavan. These are:
* He chaired several price negotiation committees, including one that purchased a large number of routers from US firm CISCO Systems in an order worth US $1 million. Subsequent to the purchase, Vijayaraghavan’s daughter was employed by CISCO. Did the promise of a job influence the deal?
* Kumar is also looking into the details of Vijayaraghavan’s travels abroad as well as the total expenditure incurred by NTRO on the same. Documents available with Outlook show that NTRO spent Rs 18.22 lakh in 2007-2008, Rs 16.72 lakh in 2008-2009 and Rs 8.04 lakh in 2009-2010 to sponsor his travels.
* Vijayaraghavan’s appointment was allegedly made without a search committee or an advertisement. Did this not violate the recruitment rules of the government?
* There are several other issues as well. For instance, Vijayaraghavan was staying at a posh, two-storeyed bungalow in Delhi’s upmarket Hauz Khas locality for almost a year. While the rent for the bungalow ran into several lakhs a month, he didn’t have to pay a single rupee.
The most worrying aspect of Vijayaraghavan’s current tenure, however, is that while being appointed as advisor to NTRO, he was also allowed to continue in his earlier capacity as head of a DRDO lab as well as serve as the executive director of a non-government society seen as a lobby for the electronic industry. Known as the Society for Electronic Transactions & Security (SETS), it paid for a huge bungalow in Bangalore where his family stayed while he resided in Delhi. Interestingly, while the gazette notification states that he was appointed in the pay scale of Scientist “G”, his current appointment is a grade higher.
But Vijayaraghavan’s indiscretions are not the only anomalies at NTRO. The agency appointed Vaibhav Vikrant, a man with a financial background, to fly by remote control its Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. Usually the preserve of experienced IAF pilots, Vikrant only had to take a snap course in flying aero-models in Hissar for his appointment to sail through.
Then there are security breaches. Ruchi Srivastava, an NTRO official, allegedly purchased a computer mainframe of Chinese origin, without bothering to seek the approval of the agency responsible for clearing such purchases, the Cipher Policy Committee. Similarly, a portable satellite communication system was purchased from a Singapore-based company blacklisted by the Indian government.
Worried about the massive security and financial implications, the government asked the CAG to begin an audit in Feb 2010. Kumar likewise was asked to begin a thorough investigation into the other allegations. Sources say the report, when ready, could sound the death knell for NTRO. The organisation, built on the patterns of the American National Security Agency, is now busy fighting its internal demons, rather than stopping terrorists preparing to wage a covert war against India.
Appeal to clean DRDO of corrupt and anti-national officials
