September 1, 2012 By B.R. Srikanth | S.V. Krishna Chaitanya DC Bengaluru/Mysore
The top brass at the Centre for Airborne Systems (CABS) moved swiftly to seal the computer used by terror suspect Aijaz Ahmed Mirza, one of the 11 men arrested Thursday for links to banned terror groups HUJI and LeT.
Documents found on his table were stored with the computer in the organisation’s confidential room.
Scientists at CABS were reportedly shocked about Mirza’s links with LeT and HuJI as the engineering graduate who joined CABS as a junior research fellow in January 2012, was appointed after his antecedents were verified by local police.
Relieved officials said Mirza, who went home to Hubli ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr, did not get a chance to check out the modified Embraer jet, acquired by the organisation to serve as the platform for made-in-India eye-in-the-sky, airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) system, which is now parked in the hangar of CABS.
DRDO: Mirza had no access to sensitive info
The Defence Research and Development Organisation clarified on Friday that Aijaz Mohd Mirza, one of the 11 terror suspects arrested, was not an engineer or a scientist, with access to sensitive information that could prove a threat to national security.
Dr W. Selvamurthy, Chief Controller, R&D (Life Sciences), DRDO, said Mirza was a low cadre temporary recruit, who was appointed as Junior Research Fellow (JRF) on a two-year contract in January, 2012 at the Centre for Airborne Systems which didn’t deal with sensitive information.
“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,” he said.
SUNDAY, 18 MARCH 2012 00:27 J GOPIKRISHNAN | NEW DELHI
While the Prime Minister’s Office and the National Security Advisor are trying to hush up the wrongdoings by powerful technical intelligence agency, NTRO, by not tabling the CAG report in Parliament, the CAG response to an RTI query confirms blatant violations in purchase and recruitments in the sensitive organisation.
The CAG submitted its report to the President in mid-February 2011. As per tradition, this should have been tabled in Parliament in the next session. But the Government has not mustered the courage to table it even after more than a year.
The Government may attract breach of privilege notices from parliamentarians as it is going to submit the report to the Supreme Court on March 19. All the CAG reports are first placed in Parliament, which makes it public.
This will be the first time the Government will bypass Parliament and submit a CAG report to the Supreme Court. The SC had ordered for production of the controversial CAG report in a sealed cover on a petition filed by former joint secretary of National Technical Research Organisation VK Mittal.
“We have noticed lack of transparency and non-compliance of rules and procedures in procurement of systems/stores/equipment and deficient procurement management resulting in cases of excess payment/wasteful expenditure/loss to exchequer,” said the CAG’s office in the RTI reply sought by whistleblower VK Mittal.
“We have noticed cases of appointment of ineligible candidates and lack of transparency in recruitment of regular employees also in NTRO…. We have noticed lack of transparency in appointment of contractual employees… We have noticed instances of misuse of official position,” added CAG’s office.
CAG decision to audit on NTRO affairs in December 2009 was vehemently objected by then National Security Advisor MK Naryanan and later overruled by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. NTRO, which was formed after the Kargil war, works under NSA who reports to the Prime Minister.
The CAG submitted its performance audit on the NTRO, the first such audit report on an intelligence organisation in mid-February 2011. The report, according to sources, exposed the style of functioning and rampant corruption in secret service organisation, nepotism and siphoning money in the name of national security. The findings of the CAG were pointing directly towards the “arbitrary decisions” of then NSA and higher officials in the PMO, said sources.
Among the major findings, the blatant violation of UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) purchases by manipulating the decisions of Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS). The CAG report, a copy of which is also with National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon over the past one year, has indicted former NTRO Chairman KVSS Prasad Rao and its Advisor MS Vijayaraghavan for misdeeds in several purchases.
The CAG’s Special Audit on Performance and Finance of NTRO has revealed that the agency, in a bid to favour the Israeli vendors, never informed the CCS on adding extra cost of Rs 150 crore. The CCS sanctioned Rs 300 crore for purchase and NTRO manipulated the accounting procedures and hiked the purchase amount to Rs 450 crore.
More over CAG found that the entire such purchase to favour the Israeli vendor lead to inferior quality and the entire UAVs are still non-operational.
The CAG in its report on the functioning of NTRO found that as many as 143 posts in the sensitive organisation were filled not according the procedures and observed severe nepotism in such postings. The CAG decided to audit when Mittal, who quit from the organisation and complained on illegalities.
After Government hushed up the CAG report by not tabling before Parliament, he approached Supreme Court through noted lawyer Prashant Bhushan. In a recent hearing, Justices HL Dattu and CK Prasad directed Solicitor General Rohinton Nariman to submit the controversial CAG report on March 19 in a sealed cover. Several legal experts point out that non-tabling of CAG report before Parliament and presenting it in a sealed cover before court may invite breach of privilege by Parliamentarians.
Published: Monday, Mar 5, 2012, 9:15 IST
By Saikat Datta | Place: New Delhi | Agency: DNA
An aggressive audit of the country’s premier technical spying agency, the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), by the CAG — the first time an intelligence agency has been audited — has revealed large-scale irregularities, corruption and several instances of official position/s being misused.
The report is unlikely to be made public or even placed before Parliament, but is bound to raise questions on National Security Adviser (NSA) Shiv Shankar Menon’s role as he has not taken any action on the report for months. The NTRO does not come under any ministry and it reports directly to the NSA.
India is one of the few democracies where Parliament has no supervisory control over intelligence agencies. The report comes at a time when there is tremendous churning within the intelligence community with calls for greater accountability and transparency.
The CAG summarised its findings while replying to former NTRO joint secretary VK Mittal’s query under RTI seeking details of the audit. It says the CAG has “noticed cases of appointment of ineligible candidates” confirming fears that the agency has been flouting rules while recruiting senior people.
A source told DNA that this has resulted in people being recruited based on their “connections” rather than merit. In fact, IPS officer Jaijeet Singh (Maharashtra cadre) who joined the NTRO last year is probing such cases. So far, five people — either of the rank of joint secretary or director — are under the scanner. The “illegal recruits” include Commander Manoj Modi from the navy, LtCol Sachin Burman, part of the cyber-espionage team, Pramod Prasad, Ruchichandra Srivastava and HS Dhillon.
The CAG found that contractual appointments of senior officers were not transparent. Financial rules were flouted while recruiting Brigadier Anil Malhotra on contract. Malhotra dealt with counter-intelligence and internal security.
The report also talks of several senior officers “misusing” their positions. Chief among them is MS Vijaraghavan, currently the second-in-command in the NTRO.
The fact that he used a prime property in New Delhi’s posh Hauz Khas enclave as his personal residence — rent bills ran into lakhs — left the organisation embarrassed. The CAG recorded several instances of “misuse of official power”, many being committed by Vijayraghavan. Despite all this, he still holds a sensitive post because the government has chosen to ignore the charges against him.
PV Kumar, the present NTRO chairman, too investigated the mess and sent his report to the NSA, Menon. But he has been sitting on both reports for months. And the picture is unlikely to change because neither report would be tabled in Parliament. The reason: the reports are confidential.
The CAG said in an earlier reply, November 28, 2011, under RTI that neither the NTRO nor the NSA has sent any “action-taken” report. DNA has learnt that the CAG has found at least 143 instances of illegal recruitments. It has also found “non-compliance of rules” in procurement of systems and equipment. This means kickbacks could have been part of the several purchases made by NTRO.
The NTRO was set up after the Kargil war to coordinate all technical intelligence efforts. But the organisation has failed to take off because of nepotism and corruption. Even Union home minister P Chidamabaram refused to include the agency in his daily intelligence briefings. The home ministry recently denied it the status of a notified agency that could legally intercept phones and emails of the people of the country.
The Government of India in its pursue to provide leader ship to an organisation like DRDO/ISRO/BARC etc always selects the chief through a selection process whose search committee examine the whereabouts of the individual whom the responsibility is to be given.
Unfortunately due to over confidence or may be the political interference a leader who do not deserves the post is selected to lead the organisation. And the ultimate looser is the poor tax payers. The KARGIL WAR proved the biggest failure of DRDO and its leadership.
As former Army chief V P Malik, who led the army during the 1999 Kargil war, has said casualties in the conflict could have been reduced had DRDO “not come in the way” in the acquisition of weapon-locating radars.
“We had one or two incidents particularly on the weapon locating radar. If the DRDO had not come in the way we would have got them before the Kargil war and that would have definitely reduced our casualties,” he told Karan Thapar during a show.
Asked whether DRDO was “slight boastful” in claims over developing weapons, Malik said “well that has been our (armed forces’) experience over the development of weapons and equipment the DRDO has delivered or not delivered.“
Following is the example Vision/Working/commitment/Long Term Planning/Communication with fellow workers – Dr V K Atre then SA to RM commented about DRDO is following.
Today there is lot of hue & cry about the Chinese presence along with border from NEFA to POK, every Indian hearing through news channels and it is talk of the common people about our preparations vis-a-vis the Chinese capability.
Some of the activity which were suppose to be taken early was ignored by DRDO as then SA to RM due to his poor fore slightness ignored the real requirements of our Defence Services.
(Total pages —9) Page 1 of 1
Record of Discussions
Venue Room : Room No -137 South Block. New Delhi Office of Scientific Adviser to Raksha Mantri
Dr V.K. Aatre
Time :12.30 Hrs
Date : 10 April 2001
Visitor Slip No. : 83097 10th April 2001
The following were present
Dr.V.K.Aatre Scientific Adviser to Raksha Mantri Secretary (R&D), DRDO, Director General (R&D), Ministry of Defence, Government of India
Dr. A K Dutta Chief Controller, DRDO Hqrs
P D Dandriyal Charge man – II/ Technical Assistant/ Sr. Technical Assistant
Background of the Meeting
P.D.Dandriyal brought on to notice or Scientific Adviser to Raksha Mantri, Defence Minister, Prime Minister and Honorable President of India, the immoral character of Dr. Amarjeet Singh Bains, Director DEAL, DRDO, Dehradun. Ministry of Defence, Government of India
The representation highlights the sabotage of national interest, misappropriation of Government funds, misinterpretation of Government rules, regionalism, castism by Dr. A.S Bains. In support of this statement P.D. Dandriyal submitted two cheques of his take home salary to Prime Minister’s National relief fund as Dr Bains stopped giving him any work in retaliation. The cheqees were returned by PMO letter No 365/11/C/2/2000IPOL dated 05.06.2000 and R&D Hqr letter No DOP/P/2/20027/MISC/M/0 I dated 0202/2001 with the assurance of appropriate action.
An official confirmation for meeting with SA to RM on 10/04/2001 at 1230 hrs was given to PD Dandriyal at 1300 Hrs on 09/04/2001. The individual submitted and earn Leave for three days to attend scheduled meeting as he was denied Ty. Duty
Page 1 of 2
P D DANDRIYAL May I come in Sir
SA: Please come in
PD: May I sit
SA: Yes, please.
SA: So, you are the only honest person in lndia( laugh)
PD : No. Sir,I am one of them
(SA feels that. 99% oIl Indians are dishonest, but I strongly feel that the 97% Indian people are honeM)
SA: So, where you want to go?
(till date in any controversy the DRDO Hq transfer the employee without giving scrious thought over tie problem posed)
PD: Sir, I donot understand what is your motive?
SA: So you are writing that in DEAL 80% people have no work so I want to give you some work elsewhere..
PD: Sir, if you want to put me in any mission of national interest then you can send me right from Leh to Cochin. As I already liwe showh in capabilities by staying at Antarctica and also provided critical communications as well as witnessed the Agini-II hitting the target near Andman Sea.
SA: No no. you just tell me where :you want to go,
PD: Sir just listen to rme I have already performed a very useful project work in mountaineous terrain of Himachal for solving, night time communication problem faced by army during Kargil war we have solved the communication problem by using NVIS techniques.
SA: What is NVlS?
PD: Sir, Near Vertical Insidenanc Sky wave mode of radio cornniunicauon
(during mid Kargil war the army faced a serious problem of night time communication where no communication equipment whether HF/VHF/UHF were able to communicate. The matter was taken by army Hq and then the Defence Minister imported HF communication sets from M/s Tadiran, Israel. Unforutently these sets did not worked, however army conducted some trails along with Israeli engineers near Delhi and the
Page 1 0f 3
system was functional. He was not able to through light on the problem erupted at KARGIL. Then he Defence Minister handed over the problem to SA to RM who in turn asked Director, DEAL for quick solution. The solution was obtained immediately after carrying NVIS communication trials in Himachal Pradesh having Kargil like uneven mountain terrain. Unfortunately the report has been buried by Dr Bains/DRDO Hqrs.
SA: OK, I will stop NVIS studies further.
PD: Then Sir, you can give me work in the JEMCAB requirement of hardening of advance air base against nuclear EMP. As the JEMCAB secretariat has asked to assess the feasibility of above from DEAL, but our Director has flatly refused to take up to this activity and written to JEMCAB that give this to LRDE as we are preoccupied.
SA: No EMP project whether projects are from army, navy or air force this my privilege what to take and what not to take.
(This show to what extant SA has attachment with national security and for keeps his ego up to what extant he can compromise with national security)
PD: But Sir, we have infrastructure and expertise on EMP and our people are interested to take this challenging task.
(the team has developed a nuclear hardened shelter for JEMCAB a mini lab for nuclear simulation has also setup at DEAL and waiting for such assignment. SA forgotten the parliament (Loksabha) question D No.11042 dated 18th March 1999 and his comment to honorable Parliament for protecting our communication network against threat of Nuclear EMP and this is clear case of contempt honorable Parliament.)
SA: No, I will stop this activity this is my previlage. Before you one senior scientist of DEAL reported that I have not enough work and he has been transferred do you know?
(SA trying teach me that he can go to any extent and he is ready to stop any activity which are working in real national interest.)
PD: Yes Sir, Shri R C Chakarborty was transferred as Director, DTRL
(Sh R C Chakarborty was project Director “ SARVADRISTA” which was supposed to give real time image of enemy territory by using remote sensing data collected by earth station at DEAL he was on his job but to drive maximum advantage from the success of this project Dr.Bains removed him from the project director right in the middle of KARGIL WAR and takeover the command himself, the result was no further image was useful for army. People suspect that Dr Bains has been planted by some foreign agencies to sabotage the national program.)
Page 1 0f 4
SA: So, you would you like to join Chakorborty
PD: No Sir not at all. Because my background propagation and communication and he is engaged with image processing bun Sir DEAL is a propagation and communication,
SA: You know we already stopped propagation work there. So then Balasore, are you interested?
(NASA and NOAA in US have been carrying out the propagation studies right from VLF to Sub millimeter wave to enhance their defence preparation till date.)
PD: Sir, whenever and wherever DRDO needed my services I did l it honestly. In Balasore initiated the remote control of HF sets in Long Wheeler Island for Agni-ll. Why don’t you put me CNR because of communication background?
SA: No, I can’t
PD: Sir, you can send me in any mission mode project activity anywhere in country but if you will transfer me without justifying the points raised by me I have no option other then handover these Documents to public in front of parliament and to draw attention of the countrymen against the siphoning of pretty FE in the name of US sanction. I will go for self-immolation in front of Parliament
SA: (Stunned for a while) pause No, I am not transferring you but I warn to know where you want to go. Everyone parsing your work, we want to utilize your enthusiasm.
PD: Now it is up to you Sir, but without justification I will not leave Dehradun. Since, I have worked devotedly whenever any critical assignment was given to me. As an example then SA to RM Dr.Kalam gave a problem of Landmine detector to DEAL.As you know the casualties due to landmine can upset the total movement of army personals in battlefield. SA wanted to a most modern microprocessor based landmine detector to be developed by DEAL. To carry out the feasibility Director DEAL made a small committee and Sh Kundu, Sc ‘D’ was asked to explore internet for explore relevant information available elsewhere, for two days Mr. Kundu tried his best but failed to get useful information. Later my boss asked me to explore as he knows my capabilities, used PC at home and spent my own time and brought 125 pages with full of useful information pertaining history, design and development parameters etc. report was prepared and submitted to R&D Hqrs and a presentation on this
minutes of SA's meeting5minutes of SA's meeting6minutes of SA's meeting7minutes of SA's meeting18minutes of SA's meeting9
Express Investigation: Delayed Research; Delayed Organisation – Part – Six
Why they don’t line up for DRDO job interviews
Amitav RanjanPosted: Fri Nov 17 2006, 00:00 hrsNEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 16:
While there could be a thousand and one reasons to explain the Defence Research & Development Organisation’s dismal success rate in defence projects, no rocket science is required to explain why it can neither attract — or retain scientific talent.
In latest testimony before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence, available with The Indian Express, the DRDO admitted that 1,404 scientists had left for greener pastures in the last 10 years which, incidentally, coincided with the information technology boom in the country. Worse, this exodus has progressively eroded nearly 10 per cent of DRDO’s technical strength during these years. The DRDO confessed to the Committee on June 7: “The problem is not of the numbers and not of the lack of training but of retaining the scientists.”
In the same breath, however, DRDO said that the “reason” for the attrition was that a large chunk of the 1,404 left on “personal/domestic grounds” – an unbridled expression that could encompass anything from fatter pay packets to the exasperation of working on stalled projects within a sarkari structure. A 16-point list of incentives for its scientists, including royalty-sharing schemes, upgrading allowances, providing financial assistance for laptops and conferences, proposed to the ministry by former DRDO chief V K Aatre in July 2001 languishes in the recesses of the South Block.
Five years later, on July 12 this year, DRDO testified to the Committee that nothing has moved. “DRDO is striving to meet the rising expectations of scientists to attract and retain them in the organisation. Proposed incentives have been submitted to RM (Defence Minister) through RRM (Minister of State for Defence).”
The lack of success, quite apart from compensation at DRDO, is also a dampener in attracting talent. (See table). It is no wonder, therefore, that the IITs – some of the few institutions at which DRDO holds campus recruitment programmes – sends almost none of its students to the organization when they graduate.
Says Professor Y P Singh, formerly Head of Electrical Engineering at IIT Kharagpur and now consulting for a DRDO project: “DRDO was never a preferred place for our students. Most development there is reverse engineering and hardly any original work. Somehow, they have got lost. There is no dearth of talent in the country.”
His remedy: If DRDO could get even a handful of talented youngsters and took good care of them in every way, there would would be no limits to what could be achieved. DRDO today is, therefore, attractive for an internship or a short-term stint for a promising young scientist – there is never a shortage of research resources and equipment – but probably the last place he or she would look at for an enduring career in cutting edge research and development.
That all of DRDO’s biggest programmes are led from Southern laboratories, mostly in Hyderabad and Bangalore, from 1996 onward, the organisation has provided easy pickings for the IT and industrial R&D base there. DRDO chief M Natarajan himself testified on June 7, “A number of MNCs are establishing R&D centers in India, many in the cities where DRDO has a cluster of laboratories and establishments.”
What Natarajan wouldn’t say is that DRDO is also afflicted by a bizarre level of stagnation, in which project directors spend a decade or more on projects, undermining both growth at the lower levels, and a freshness of perspective vital to keep programmes on their toes. The problem is well known – what lies beneath is not. So DRDO scientists are no longer just leaving for better salaries. Groups of scientists and engineers from DRDO are coming together now to form high-tech startups with seed funds from venture capitalists. Salaries are low, but what’s driving them – “entrepreneurial aspirations” (See box).
According to an official estimate, in 2005-06, 42 scientists left DRDO to join startups run by their contemporaries. But a glance at the 16 incentives being asked for, now in the hands of Defence Minister AK Antony, is a revelation of what DRDO scientists want:
* Enhance professional update allowance for scientists from Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000, reimbursements of Rs 1,000 for internet access and telephone for all scientists, in addition to a Rs 80,000 laptop grants for all scientists, air travel and field trial duty allowances of Rs 500 per day and a Rs 1,000 hard station posting allowance.
* Enhance study leave to 36 months and total absence of 48 months for doctoral degrees among its staff, a study leave living allowance of Rs 3,000 per month, financial assistance of Rs 1 lakh for scientists at international conferences (which they should be allowed to attend once every two years), a reward of Rs 10,000 for scientists who get their papers published in international journals, grant of sabbatical leave for a maximum of 24 months in two spells after a minimum 10 years service.
* Royalty sharing scheme on the lines of CSIR, reward schemes for scientists who get their products inducted into the services , authorisation for individual consultancy to the private sector for three days every month and permission to hold an adjunct appointment for a month every year.
Even if these are approved, experts say, the larger problem remains: the lack of original work in DRDO’s labs, as IIT’s Singh underlined; the bureaucratic structure, the lack of accountability at all levels on project delivery. The same reasons as the ones behind its failure to deliver on projects.
Govt orders review, revamp of DRDO, forms expert panel
Shiv Aroor
Posted: Fri Jan 19 2007, 00:00 hrs
NEW DELHI, JANUARY 18:
Rejecting the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO)’s assertion that its internal workings are adequately monitored, the Government has set up an independent and external committee of experts to conduct a comprehensive review of the DRDO and produce a report by the end of this year to suggest how the organisation be made more efficient and professional.
The dismal track record of the DRDO, highlighted by The Indian Express through a series of investigative reports in November last year, had found an echo in Parliament with Defence Minister A K Antony promising a new system of accountability to keep delays and cost over-runs in check.
The eight-member committee has been asked to conduct a thorough review of DRDO’s administrative, financial and personnel procedures and audits of scientific research work undertaken by the organisation’s laboratories. It will keep tabs on whether the interests of armed forces are being served, monitor time and cost overruns of weapons programmes, draw a roadmap for synergy with private industry and foreign consultants, and recommend strategies on utilising offsets that will now be part of all foreign weapons contracts.
Committee chairperson, Professor P Rama Rao, a former Secretary at the Department of Science & Technology and currently Dr Brahm Prakash distinguished professor at the ISRO, told The Indian Express from Hyderabad: “I will begin applying my mind on the task as soon as the government letter reaches me.”
The other committee members are former financial advisor at the Defence Ministry A K Ghosh, former HAL chairman Dr Krishnadas Nair, Samtel Group chairman Satish Kaura and Professor T P Ghoshal from Jadavpur University. The three representatives from the armed forces, all retired, are former DG Artillery Lt Gen C S Cheema, former IAF vice-chief Air Marshal Ajit Bhavnani and Vice-Admiral Pravesh Jaitly, formerly the Navy’s chief of materials.
With the creation of this committee, the Defence Ministry has finally acted upon a crucial recommendation made by the Vijay Kelkar committee almost two years ago, that DRDO’s functioning as a research body needed to be under the purview of a panel of independent experts.
The committee’s mandate is significant considering that the DRDO, last year told the Parliamentary Standing Committee on
NEW DELHI: In view of some Western countries unwilling to part with strategic defence technologies, the government on Tuesday said it would further strengthen the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) for providing strategic defence with suitable delivery systems.
Amid concerns expressed by members of a Parliamentary consultative committee on defence on project delays and poor quality of some products developed by DRDO, defence minister A K Antony told MPs that the research organisation has put India in an elite club with the development of interceptor ballistic missile system.
Since its inception, DRDO formulated a task which was to assist three services in their day to day technical requirements. Dr. Daulat Singh Kothari the First Scientific Adviser to RM followed by Prof. Suri Bhagavantham and Dr. Basanti Dulal Nagchaudhuri laid the foundation to strengthened the three services with technical backup. The then Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi provided all out support to R&D organisation. The missile program, the explosive research, the communication research and including acoustic were facilitated. Based on the foundation the charter duties were laid such that there won’t be duplication of work. There was honesty in the system, the greed was the lowest level, and people respected their jobs, worked hard, tandem with service officers. There was a mutually agreed, unwritten accountability. This was continued till Dr. Raja Ramanna was Scientific Adviser to RM.
When Dr.Vallampadugai Srinivasaraghavan Arunachalam took over charge of Scientific Adviser to RM, being Shanti Swaroop Bhatnager awardee, he gave a new direction to accelerate the research activity, so as to put Indian defence in forefront of self reliance. However, his long tenure as Scientific Adviser to RM will remembered as the period of “Infrastructure Development” , acquisition of plenty land(unused available in prime locations), building constructions(thousands square feet covered area now unutilized standing with most of the labs and one of the major source of siphoning money in the name of maintenance) , recruitment of huge manpower (low quality via RAC) and proposition of major programs( Arjun Tank, IGMDP, LCA etc) were the key features.
Due to his close proximity with power corridor of the government, he had the blessing of holding absolute power as a result absolute corruption piped in to DRDO corridor.
Estate Management Unit (EMU), DRDO took over from Military Engineering Services (MES) for all major infrastructure development activities. Money started flowing in DRDO corridors, and scientific community also started developing a taste for money flow.
Now aim and objectives of top DRDO force start detourting, under major programs scientists/technologist stopped reinventing the wheel and started importing the items and derailed process of learning in various stages of development. The aim to develop import substitute left in the background and proving the concept came into the forefront by importing the obsolete technology mainly from Russia, Israel, USA, etc.
All the develop countries took minimum 15 years of time from the concept to prototype development, to user trials, to production of the equipment/systems. When output fails in user trails, DRDO authority gave a plea that “we are 100 crores people and nobody can attack on us”.
1999 Kargil war however exposed our systematic approach of development, questioned our efforts in strengthening the national defence. The infighting started in between R&D organisation, each national lab blamed each other for their incompetence. The gadria moving goats identified the intruders but our over surveillance systems failed to identify the barracks developed by intruders at LOC.
The subsequent Scientific Adviser to RM Dr. Vasudev Kalkunte Aatre, when assumed the charge stated to media that “in ten years we have not developed any products”. Unfortunately he was number-2 in DRDO for the last ten years. Then who did he blame.
In today’s scenario as far as product from DRDO is concerned we are no where except the demonstration capabilities to the user.
We have imported AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System), BFSR (Battle Field Surveillance Radar), Sea Skimmer Missiles and Land Mine Detectors. Who will analyze for this deterioration of R&D scenario. Crores and crores are spent on salaries, infrastructures developments, TA/DA for attending marriages, transport allowances, even though government transport are used.
Today the 52 labs of DRDO do not even have 52 products (each lab one end product)
Who is to blamed for this deterioration of premier R&D organisation?
