Tag Archives: Nirmala Sitharaman

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DRDO whistle-blowers seek Sitharaman’s intervention

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Abhinandan Mishra
May 26, 2018 – Sunday Guardian Live

Defense Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Arun Jaitley had ordered action against two senior scientists in a case in DRDO.

Whistle-blowers and scientists working with the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) have written to Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, seeking her intervention in an alleged corruption case within the DRDO. Sitharaman’s predecessor Arun Jaitley had ordered disciplinary action against two senior scientists in this case, but no action has been taken yet. This newspaper is in possession of a correspondence that was shared by the whistle-blower with the Defence Minister. As per this correspondence, R.K. Jain (Director, Joint Cipher Bureau of the DRDO) and A.K. Singh (Director, Institute of Nuclear Medicine & Allied Sciences) were allegedly found to have been involved in “wasting” government money by conducting interviews for the promotion of scientists in DRDO, despite statutory rules barring such interviews. The DRDO had later stated that even though Rs 1 crore had been spent on calling 255 scientists for the interview, the results of the interview were not used to decide the promotions.

At the time of the interviews in 2011, R.K. Jain was the director of DRDO’s Recruitment and Assessment Centre (which takes care of recruitment and promotions), while A.K. Singh was the director of Directorate of Human Resource Development.

As per DRDO’s own admission, the amount spent on conducting similar interviews in subsequent years (2012 and 2013) was far less than what had been spent in 2011, though a greater number of scientists were interviewed—333 in 2012 and 376 in 2013. When contacted, Manish Bhardwaj, the spokesperson of DRDO, sought some time to respond and told this newspaper on 17 May: “The matter is being examined by a committee on the direction of Hon’ble Raksha Mantri. The committee shall submit the report in 3-4 days. After submission, DRDO would be in a position to provide the information sought by you.” However, no further information regarding the submission of the said report was shared by the spokesperson with this newspaper.

Official sources within the DRDO stated that no such committee was ever constituted in the matter.

The entire incident had come to light when a whistle-blower from DRDO first wrote to the Defence Minister and the Chief Vigilance Officer in July 2014, detailing how public money was wasted and that the whole process was used by the individuals concerned to indulge in alleged corruption.

“Instead of taking action against the two officials for their deliberate misconduct, DRDO rewarded them by awarding R.K. Jain with ‘Best techno managerial services/popular science communication award for his performance in 2011. A.K. Singh was promoted from the grade of Scientist F to the grade of Scientist G in 2011,” reads the latest communication to Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. In June 2017, the then Defence Minister Arun Jaitley had ordered disciplinary action against Jain and Singh for causing a loss of Rs 1 crore to Government of India. “DRDO is known for using delaying tactics to shield officers. It deliberately sits on disciplinary orders of defence ministers to make sure that the officials in question retire without facing any punishment. They did this when Jaitley was the Defence Minister and are doing the same under Nirmala Sitharaman,” one of the whistle-blowers said.

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Race for next DRDO chief heats up, incumbent eyes extension

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By Pradip R Sagar May 02, 2018 18:29 IST  – THE WEEK

DRDO chief S. Christopher (left) with Arun Jaitley, during his brief tenure as defence minister in 2017 | Facebook account of DRDO

With the tenure of S. Christopher, current chief of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), coming to an end later this month, the race for the top post in the country’s premier defence research organisation has begun. Christopher, who was given a one-year extension at the last moment in May 2017, though, is also eyeing another extension. But whether he will be second time lucky is unclear.

Hectic parleys have begun for the coveted post. The key players who are in the race to lead the DRDO include Sudhir Mishra, director general of BrahMos missile system division, and G. Satheesh Reddy, who is presently serving as director general (Missiles & Strategic Systems) and scientific advisor to the defence minister. Besides Mishra and Reddy, P.K. Mehta, who is currently heading the office of the director general of armament and combat engineering systems, is considered to be in the race to head DRDO, which has an annual budget of nearly Rs 20,000 crore.

According to sources in South Block, Reddy is the senior-most scientist in the organisation after Christopher. His name figured prominently last year also, but Christopher managed to get an extension at the last minute, meaning Reddy would need to wait for a year. Former defence minister Manohar Parrikar had bifurcated the post of DRDO chief and scientific advisor to the defence minister, which earlier used to be occupied by one person. Christopher is completing his tenure on May 29.

Mishra, head of BrahMos missile system division—a joint venture between India and Russia— is also among candidates vying for the top post in DRDO.

Mehta, who is heading the Pune-based cluster of armament and combat engineering systems, can be a dark horse in the race due to his proximity with top BJP leaders, sources claimed.

Christopher, who took over as the head of DRDO in May 2015, did his best to impress Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman by showcasing the work done under his leadership towards self-reliance in the recently concluded DefExpo in Chennai. A special pavilion under the ‘Make in India’ theme was inaugurated by Modi, in which all major equipment designed and developed by DRDO were showcased. Last year, Christopher had directed all the labs to remove his photographs, just two weeks before he was to retire. But only at the last minute, he was given extension for a year by the government.

DRDO has often been criticised for delayed projects, as most of its ventures, ranging from the Tejas light combat aircraft to long-range surface-to-air missile systems, have been repeatedly missing deadlines, with huge cost overruns. In the absence of self-reliance in defence, the Indian armed forces continue to be heavily dependent on imports. India continues to top the list of global importers of military hardware, with over 70 per cent of armed forces’ requirements being met by foreign firms. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his first interaction with DRDO scientists in 2014 had sent a stern message to the defence research agency against their ‘chalta hai’ attitude.

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Lobbying on as officers eye top DRDO job

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Abhinandan Mishra
April 8, 2018, Sunday Guardian
With the tenure of the chief of Defence Research and Development Organization Christopher (DRDO) ending next month, the officers eyeing his post have started meeting bureaucrats and politicians to push their candidature.

Even Christopher, who was given a one-year extension on 29 May last year, is interested in another tenure with the premier defence organisation and is banking on Defence Expo 2018, the largest land, naval and internal homeland security systems exhibition in the Asia-Pacific region, which will be held in Chennai from 11 to 14 April.

The defence expo, which will be inaugurated by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, will also see the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 12 April.

Sources said it is during this event that Christopher intends to showcase the “impressive work” done by DRDO under his leadership, ever since he took over as the chief of the organisation in May 2015, to give a message to the PM that he deserves another extension.

The other officers who are fighting it out to lead the DRDO, which has an annual budget of close to Rs 17,900 crore, include P.K. Mehta, who is presently Director General for armament and combat engineering system in the organization; Dr Sudhir Mishra, who is the Director General of BrahMos missile system division of the DRDO; and G. Satheesh Reddy who is presently serving as Director General (Missiles & Strategic Systems) and Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister.

Mehta, according to sources, is being backed by a very powerful leader from a western state, while Mishra is getting the support of some members of Niti Aayog.

Reddy’s appointment, according to sources, was almost finalised last year.

Last year, Christopher, who was given an extension at the last moment, had directed all the labs to remove his photographs from the lab, just two weeks before he was to retire.

Christopher in an internal communication had stated that “Old colonial practice followed by the Services, to display prominently, photos of their Chiefs and Commanders, is followed inadvertently by some of the labs. This practice is also not required. I request all DRDO establishments to display the photos of the President and Prime Minister of India only, and not the Chairman of DRDO. This may please be implemented at the earliest and not later than 15 May 2017”. He had stated that he was among the first few officials in the MoD who never used a red beacon, much before PM’s recent directive came. Sources within the organisation said that all the four people who were in the fray, had an exceptional profile.

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Army moves to court martial officer accused of sexually abusing subordinate

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By Pradip R. Sagar March 24, 2018 -THE WEEK

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman with a group of women Army officers | Facebook account of Indian Army’s ADGPI

The Indian Army has initiated court martial proceedings against the former commanding officer of a Alwar-based military unit after a 27-year-old woman Army captain levelled allegations of sexual harassment against the officer.

Captain Poonam (name changed) joined the Army’s Signals Corps as a technical officer in 2013.

In August 2015, she filed a sexual harassment complaint against the commanding officer of her unit while she was posted at the Alwar military station in Rajasthan.

In her complaint to higher authorities, the woman officer alleged that her commanding officer started sexually abusing her soon after joining her unit. He allegedly touched her private parts and made remarks like “Do you have a boyfriend?”

When her complaint went unheeded, the victim wrote to then Army chief general Dalbir Singh Suhag, saying she approached him “bypassing all channels for redressal of my grievances because an earlier attempt through proper channel failed to provide justice.”

In fact, her father wrote to then defence minister Manohar Parrikar by making an emotional appeal, “If this is the way the Indian Army treats its daughters, I’m not sure if any parent will ever send their daughters to the Army.”

Eventually, Army Headquarters started a court of inquiry in late 2015, when her issue was highlighted by the national media.

After two years of extensive proceedings of the court of inquiry and subsequently the summary of evidences, which established prima facie guilt of the commanding officer, court martial proceedings were ordered to commence from Saturday (March 24).

“General Court Martial of the former Commanding Officer of 12 Field Sub area will commence from March 24,” an Army order stated; the order mentions two brigadiers have been made witnesses.

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Rustom-II takes to skies as mystery over transfer of its project director continues

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By Pradip R. Sagar February 26, 2018 THE WEEK
Over a month after ‘unceremonious departure’ of the project director of Rustom-II drone A.P.V.S. Prasad, DRDO on Sunday carried out test flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in Challakere in Karnataka’s Chitradurga district.

After the test, DRDO came out with a statement that a medium-altitude long-endurance UAV was “successful”.

However, colleagues of Prasad—“scientist-G”who was made project director of the Rustom-II UAV programme of DRDO in 2015—are still curious to know the reason behind Prasad’s sudden transfer from the project, which he actually revived. Insiders claim that Prasad’s departure was linked to his objection to the lobby, which was pushing for a particular engine for the Rustom-II. Rustom was being developed with an Austrian engine, but a few people in the organisation wanted to replace it with the engine made by an Indian firm, despite the engine’s failure to meet the ‘technical parameters’ to be used in the UAV.

Sensing foul play, Scientists Association of Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE)—DRDO’s laboratory making the UAVs—has approached Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to look into the matter (copy of the letter is with The WEEK). Following the complaint, a discreet inquiry is being conducted by the intelligence agencies.

On January 16, 2018, DRDO’s headquarters issued an order for transfer of Prasad to an another DRDO lab on grounds of “public interest”. Incidentally, Prasad was honoured with the best scientist award in 2017.

According to the letter from the ADE association, Prasad, who was in the DRDO for over 30 years, was promoted as the programme director of coveted Rustom-II in 2015. He actually rejuvenating the project, which was lying in a pathetic condition, and within a year of taking over, he managed to carry out first test flight of Rustom-II, the letter reveals.

When contacted, DRDO spokesperson Manish Bhardwaj declined to comment on the issue saying “he was unaware of the internal developments”.

On Sunday, DRDO came out with a statement saying “DRDO successfully flew its Rustom 2 today at its Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) at Chalakere at Chitradurga. This flight assumes significance due to the fact that this is the first flight in user configuration with higher power engine.”

Unarmed drone Rustom-II is being developed to carry out surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) roles for the armed forces with an endurance of 24 hours, on the lines of Predator drone of the US forces.

According to the officials, Rustom-II is capable of carrying different combinations of payloads like synthetic aperture radar, electronic intelligence systems and situational awareness payloads.

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DRDO lab up in arms against scientist’s transfer

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The employees of the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), which is regarded as one of the most distinguished labs of the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), are up in arms against what they have called arbitrary transfer.

By ABHINANDAN MISHRA | New Delhi | 28 January, 2018 Sunday Guardian

The employees of the Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), which is regarded as one of the most distinguished labs of the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), are up in arms against what they have called arbitrary transfer of a scientist who last year was named the “best lab scientist of DRDO”.

According to ADE officials, the said scientist, who has been working with the DRDO for 30 years, is being victimised for not agreeing with his seniors who wanted materials for a project to be procured from a particular company, despite the said company not matching the requirements of the project.

On 16 January 2018, on the ground of “public interest”, A.P.V.S. Prasad, “scientist-G”, who was made the project director of the coveted RUSTOM-II UAV programme of the DRDO in 2015, was moved out of the ADE to another DRDO lab in Bangalore without any notice and without taking the permission from his director.

However, official sources said that Prasad was being pressurised to give his permission to procure products for the UAV programme from a company whose product did not match the requirements of the project and when he did not relent, he was transferred.

Prasad has been credited with making sure that the much delayed India’s UAV programme got the needed push. Within two years of Prasad taking over the project, RUSTOM-II completed its maiden flight, earning him the best DRDO scientist award in 2017. An angry employees’ union of the ADE has now approached Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to intervene in the matter. Speaking to The Sunday Guardian, S. Narayanappa, who is president of the ADE civilian employees’ union, said that discriminatory transfers like this affect the morale of the scientists.

“I have been trying to speak to Dr S. Christopher (chairman of DRDO) on this issue but he is not taking my calls or responding to our messages. It was due to this that we were forced to approach the Defence Minister directly. Prasad is a very capable scientist which is clear from the work that he has done. His transfer, without taking even his director into confidence, is shocking. We are still awaiting a response from the Defence Minister. You can just imagine the kind of damage these kinds of things do to an official’s morale. He was offered multiple employment opportunities from various private corporate entities to head their division but he rejected them all,” Narayanappa said.