The post had been vacant since May after the then Chief Dr. S. Christopher stepped down
The Government on Saturday appointed eminent scientist Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy as the Chairman of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
The top post of the DRDO had been vacant since May after the then Chief Dr. S. Christopher stepped down.
“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Dr. G Satheesh Reddy, Scientific Advisor to Raksha Mantri to the post of Secretary, Department of Defence Research & development and Chairman, DRDO for a period of two years with effect from the date of assumption of charge or until further orders, whichever is earlier,” a Government order said.
A missile scientist, Dr. Reddy was holding charge as the Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister and also as Director General of the strategic missiles division.
As head of the Research Centre Imarat (RCI), he is credited with the indigenous development of seeker technology, a critical component in missiles.
Abhinandan Mishra, Sunday Guardian: August 18, 2018
‘Selecting a new DRDO chief has become like walking on a landmine’.
The post of the chief of Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) has been vacant for nearly three months now, courtesy the apparent pressure tactics being employed by various quarters—both from inside the government and outside it. A few posts had fallen vacant in the last week of May after the incumbent DRDO chief Selvin Christopher retired following a three-year long tenure which included a year long extension. The post of SA to RM (Scientific Advisor to Raksha Mantri), which was held by G. Satheesh Reddy for three years, including a year-long extension till 4 June 2018, is vacant too. DRDO chairman is also the Secretary of Defence, Research and Development.
Since the retirement of Christopher, Sanjay Mitra, a 1982 batch IAS of West Bengal cadre, is the Defence Secretary, and he is also holding the additional charge of the post of Secretary, Department of Defence Research & Development and Chairman, DRDO for a period of three months, beginning 29 May.
Official sources said that this was for the first time that the DRDO was staying headless for this long. They attributed this situation to various stakeholders who are involved in the functioning of the organisation. The DRDO has an annual budget of Rs 20,000 crore; it spends the same on the upkeep of over 50 laboratories across India.
“The post of the DRDO chief is a very coveted one and apart from merit, other factors like political interference, regional interference, import lobby and foreign vendors play a crucial role in the whole exercise. The government is not giving a very good message by displaying indecisiveness. Ideally, the next chief should have been identified and notified even before the term of the incumbent ended,” a former top official who worked with the organisation for more than three decades, said.
According to officials, selecting a new DRDO chief had become like walking on a landmine in recent times. “So many names are floating in the media; many of them are being planted by their adversaries, many by the claimants themselves. There is not a single name whose candidature will not generate controversy unlike at the time of appointment of Abdul Kalam or V.K. Aatre or V.S. Arunachalam, all of whom were well-known scientists. Earlier, the DRDO was headed by scientists who were really reputed, but now the situation has changed,” a scientist, posted with one of the DRDO laboratories, said.
Sources said that the government had come close to appointing a new chief when Selvin Christopher’s term was about to end, but at the very last moment, there was a “negative intelligence report” on the one who had been shortlisted and the whole process was abandoned.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi had repeatedly expressed his concerns and apprehensions about the working of the DRDO. However, these concerns cannot be taken care of if the DRDO chief is appointed not because of merit, but due to his proximity to a particular minister or to a region,” the official said. In a not-so-covert hint that the organisation could be externally influenced, V.K. Aatre, who succeeded Kalam as DRDO chief, had once said that there were three non-state actors that influenced the working of DRDO: foreign vendors, mass media and the import lobby.
“If one traces back the history of the DRDO, one would come across names like Dr V.S. Arunachalam who had absolute freedom to walk into the office of successive PMs. He was close to Indira Gandhi and was able to secure a lot of money and autonomy for the organisation. Before him, we had people like Dr Daulat Singh Kothari, Professor S. Bhagavantam, Dr B.D. Nagchaudhuri, Prof M.G.K. Menon and Dr Raja Ramanna, who were scientists of international repute and were known for their work across the globe. Now it is not the same,” a senior official of the organisation said.
According to officials, the 2015 bifurcation of the post of the DRDO Chairman, Secretary of Defence, R&D and the SA to RM, which were earlier headed by the same individual, had led to two competing power centers within the organisation.
“This should not have been done as this has affected the value of the chair of the DRDO chief. Do you expect the SA to RM to give importance to the DRDO chief? Now every proposal that is brought by the DRDO is vetted by the SA to RM. There was a lot of friction between Selvin and Reddy because both of them thought they were more senior to the other,” an official of the organisation explained.
Former officials recalled how someone like Kalam, decorated with the , led the DRDO in the past. “He was the brain behind Pokhran-II; he was someone who stood shoulder to shoulder with the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a stalwart Prime Minister. We are missing a man like him. He needed no recommendation or political approach to become the chief of DRDO. People like Kalam had assumed a huge stature much before they had joined the DRDO,” an officer recalled.
(File) Visitors look at a display of DRDO communication aircraft at the DefExpo 2018 in Chennai | AFP
The Narendra Modi government has undone one of its own major defence sector reforms. Soon after it had come to power, the Modi government had bifurcated the posts of the chief of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and of scientific adviser to the defence minster for better efficiency and ease of functioning. Now, both posts are vacant.
The last scientist to head the DRDO, S. Christopher, retired on May 29, and the government has not yet found a scientist to succeed him. So it has asked the defence secretary, an IAS officer, to also function as head of the prestigious body of defence scientists.
And two months ago, the term of Satish Reddy, scientific adviser to the defence minister, ended. The post has been lying vacant since.
Earlier, the director of the DRDO also used to function as scientific adviser to the defence minister. As many as 12 eminent scientists had held the post, including such illustrious names as A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, V.S. Arunachalam, V.K. Saraswat and Avinash Chander. Under their stewardship, the prestigious body with nearly 8,000 defence scientists—and having an annual budget of about Rs 20,000 crore and about 50 laboratories—developed a host of ballistic missiles, Light Combat Aircraft, Arjun battle tank and hundreds of critical weapons systems and components, which are not even available for import.
After the Modi government came to power, it first granted an extension to the then DRDO chief-cum-scientific adviser Chander, who was to retire in November 2014. The extension was for 18 months, but less than two months later, the Modi government abruptly cancelled the extension, sent Chander packing, and asked the defence secretary R.K. Mathur, an IAS officer, to function also as DRDO chief.
The then defence minister, Manohar Parrikar, defended the Modi government’s decision to cut short Chander’s tenure, saying that the government wanted someone younger to head the DRDO, as at that time, nearly a dozen of its topmost scientists were on service extensions after retirement.
Subsequently, the Modi government bifurcated the posts. The DRDO chief’s job was given to aeronautics scientist Dr S. Christopher, while Dr Satish Reddy, a missile scientist, was appointed scientific adviser in May 2015, both for two-year terms. When their terms expired, the government gave both of them one-year extensions.
Finally, Christopher’s tenure expired on May 29, on which day he demitted office. The post has since been held as an additional charge by Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra, an IAS officer, for the period of three months.
Reddy’s extended tenure ended on June 4, and he has since gone back. The post he held in Delhi, that of the scientific adviser, “has since been lying vacant, and no fresh order for extension of his service or naming his successor has come,” said an informed source.
There is a buzz in the defence ministry that Reddy, who is also director general (Missiles & Strategic Systems) is being considered for the post of DRDO chief. Other names being considered include P.K. Mehta, director general of armament and combat engineering systems; Jillelamudi Manjula, currently posted as the director general, electronics and communication systems and Sudhir Mishra, head of BrahMos.
There is also speculation that the Modi government is toying with another experiment—of merging the posts of secretary, Research and Development (who is also chairman, DRDO) and secretary, defence production. The ‘IAS lobby’, too, is learnt to be pushing for the move because the defence production secretary’s job is held by an IAS officer.
Christopher was in May last year given a one-year extension. His extended term ended today.
NEW DELHI: The Defence Research And Development Organisation (DRDO) could stay headless for as many as three months with the government failing to find a replacement for incumbent Selvin Christopher who retired on Monday. Efforts till late to grant him another extension in service could have delayed the appointment of a successor, with a search committee looking at probable names to recommend to the cabinet appointments committee.
Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra will hold additional charge of the organisation till the government approves a scientist to take over the top position, an official notification said.
The past few weeks has seen jostling for the post. DRDO has an annual budget of `17,861 crore. Outgoing chief Christopher who was already on a year’s extension of service beyond the prescribed age but had been hoping for yet another extension.
This search committee list is expected to include the three senior most scientists of DRDO, besides the first woman to have made it to the post of director-general in the organisation. Sources said that those in the fray include missile scientists G Satheesh Reddy, the scientific advisor to the defence minister and the head of the Brahmos missile project, Sudhir Mishra.
While Mishra and Reddy come from the missile scientist community that has traditionally ‘ruled’ DRDO, also in contention is Pravin K Mehta, who heads the Armament cluster of the research organisation from Pune. A surprise entrant to the selection shortlist could also be DG Jillelamudi Manjula who heads the Electronics & Communication Systems vertical at DRDO.
As reported by ET, several top level appointments are pending at the defence ministry. The crucial posting to Northern Army Commander is still to be announced
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.
Mohammed Akhef | TNN | Updated: Oct 1, 2016, AURANGABAD: A city-based associate professor has sent a fresh complaint to the defence ministry alleging discrimination during a recruitment process by Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT) in Pune.
In support of his claim, the associate professor has attached a bunch of “self-contradictory” documents from the DIAT received under the RTI Act. The DIAT – a deemed university funded by the defence ministry – had published an advertisement on April 25, 2015, inviting applications for the post of assistant professor in the technology management. It received as many as 18 applications.
In an RTI reply, the DIAT clearly stated that the scrutiny committee shortlisted nine applicants – all holding a postgraduate degree in management. Subsequently, the shortlisted candidates were called for an interview on September 12, 2015. The interview was attended by all the shortlisted candidates, following which one was provisionally selected and his name was published on DIAT’s website on the same night.
Unconvinced with the selection, the Aurangabad-based associate professor, Dr Nitin Untwal, challenged the decision of the selection committee and sent a letter to the DIAT, claiming that the appointment was in violation of the University Grant Commission norms. Untwal holds an MBA, MCom, PhD and has cleared UGC SET.
Taking cognisance of Untwal’s letter, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has initiated a probe into the recruitment as the seat was reserved for an OBC candidate. Untwal has also lodged a series of complaints with the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). The PMO, in its reply, cited a Supreme Court judgment in the case between one P Sushila and UGC for carrying out the recruitment process.
According to Untwal’s complaint, out of the 18 applicants, nine were disqualified on the grounds that they did not have a PG or a master’s degree in management. He added that eventually a candidate with an M-Tech degree was not only shortlisted, but selected.
Moreover, an RTI query with the National Institute of Technology in Calicut revealed that M-Tech under mechanical engineering (industrial engineering and management) is not equivalent to postgraduation in management.
In a fresh complaint, Untwal cited that a letter sent by the DIAT to the UGC – a copy which has been obtained under RTI on September 28, 2015 – the DIAT stated that the essential qualification for the post were as per para 4.4.5 of the UGC regulation 2010, which is a post graduate degree in management declared equivalent by AICTE/AIU.
In its RTI reply, the DIAT on May 23, 2016 stated that the essential qualification for the position were as per para 4.4.6.1 of the UGC regulation 2010, which says that “the essential qualification for the post is a postgraduate degree in engineering and technology”.
When contacted, DIAT officials refused to comment. But in a reply to a query posed via email, DIAT’s joint registrar (administration) T V Ananthasubramanian said, “I am directed to forward the following as our response: Dr Untwal was a candidate for the position of assistant professor for technology management. He was not found suitable by the duly constituted Selection committee and hence, not selected. His various queries to DIAT and various other agencies and authorities, including the Hon’ble Raksha Mantri/Chancellor, DIAT have been replied. The DIAT has nothing more to add to the answers given earlier.”
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The Goel Story of DRDE: A stark example of Murky Underbelly of Nepotism and Opportunism in DRDO
Nepotism is the major killer of quality research in DRDO, either a scientist is a relative of the boss or he is good at fulfilling all vested interests of the boss to get undue favours and it is the sure shot opportunity to reach to top and spread venom further in the organization. Out of those opportunists, many could manage one or more bosses to get promotion to next ranks, there few crooks in DRDO who can able to mould themselves according to all type of bosses and they can go to any extent to get all undue benefits and eat away the system within. The great Scientist DR AK Singh is the best example till now, but let me introduce DR AK Goel whose crookedness will raise your hair. He is the modern shakuni of many dhuryodhanas of DRDE, the latest one is Dr. Loku, the great feku of gobar gas a.k.a bio toilet.
Let me introduce the humble beginning of Dr AK Goel, the great goel passed out from not so well known Haryana Agricultural University locally called HAU with a PhD in Agri. Microbiology a subject which has more relevance to plant pathology, n least relevant to any defence application. But you all know very well that to enter into life science research labs of DRDO you don’t need to pass any exam, with an interview you can become Sc ’B’. Now our Goel after joining DRDE as Sc ‘B’ being a natural crook have seen that nepotism is prevalent in DRDE during Er. K Sekhar as director started buttering him by fulfilling all wishes of tharki and alcoholic sekhar. All of a sudden the alcoholic sekhar got promoted to CC R&D but he wished to take his saaki along….. what next???? Khuda mehar baan to gadha pehalvaan” Our Goel told the drunkerd “Sir its a prestige issue if a CC’s humwaal sorry staff officer is just a newly promoted Sc ‘C’….. now the drunkard promised him that I will make you ‘D’.
His gang member Dr. Ilavzhagan (Illegal appointment of his wife T Bhanu fame) readily agreed to advertise a vacancy for Sc ‘D’ in bioinformatics. Now our great don’t have any experience in bioinformatics except searching internet for science papers so he requested to the alcoholic boss to fix the interview board with experts from HAU as expected he was directly selected for the post of Sc ‘D’ in bioinformatics without knowing ABCD of bioinformatics and unfortunately the other guy who appeared in the interview holding a post degree and a PhD in Bio informatics was kicked out. Now the real story starts, The great Goel without doing science has jumped from Sc B to D has proudly joined DIPAS at Delhi without even transferring his inventory and lab. He continued to being saaki of CC R&D. Mos interesting point is now all of a sudden even DIPAS felt Bioinformatics is no required so they conveniently transferred Sc ‘D’ Dr Goel to DRDO HQ within six months without even utilizing his great bioinformatics capabilities.
Now as staff officer of Sekhar, Goel started getting all undue benefits including weekly trip to Gwalior to meet his family, you all may get astonished our Goels many times Goel’s monthly travel expenses on Govt account to visit his family is more than his own salary. With his boss clout and timidnessof the then Director Raghavan he could able to keep students for him where as all other working scientist were deprived of helping hand, he enjoyed purchasing equipments and earn handful of money from DRDE even being posted at DRDO HQ, Our Goel is also expert in speculating in share market. With the help of his boss Sekhar LSRB was pressurised to grant research project to Jiwaji Univeristy on making fermented jamun drink which has nothing to do with defence or bio defence. He made his wife to get appointed as RA in that project illegally and both husband and wife siphoned off DRDO money conveniently during full tenure of the project. After one your of serving in HQ, he was again transferred to DRDE on public interest, now the Bioinformatics specialization which was initially at DIPAS is required in DRDE. Now came the era of dushyaasan in DRDE the great farzi paper producer Prof. MP. Kaushik (ChemPro scam fame) our Goel could effectively manage him too whom whole DRDE think only a lady can manage. Dr Goel got a super outstanding call for his outstanding contributions as saaki and his great manipulating abilities. No one knows what great services Dr Goel has done to Alcoholic and Tharki Sekhar, just 15 days before his retirement he himself sat in the assessment board and got him super outstanding promoted to Scientist- E. From scientist B to E in just 7 years!!!!! All hard working and patriotic scientists, learn something from his story, DRDO promotes these crooks and kick on your ass.
This great Goel story did not end here, here comes the era of Tuglak in DRDE, the great Dr. Lokendra Singh who is fooling whole country by farzi bio toilets which are nothing but Gobar Gas plants, even this tuglak wihsed a great saaki and manipulator and he knows Dr Goel is the best Choice so now he made him “Officer On Special Duty” in netaji estyle…. Dr Goel is running the show in DRDE as proxy director and he is soon going to get out standing promotion to Sc ‘F’…… I think AK Singh needs to learn more from this AK Goel.
I wonder if our honourable Rakha Mantri can able to do something to weed out these pests from DRDO before it is too late….. These crooks make whole system rotten generations after generations and real and patriotic scientists perish from the system.
LIFE SCIENCES IN DRDO HAS GOT GREAT POTENTIAL TO WORK TOWORD ACHEIVNG DEFENCE GOALS BUT THESE CROOKS DESTROYING DRDO OF ITS CAPABILITIES
By Manu Pubby, ET Bureau | 30 May, 2015, 05.44AM IST
NEW DELHI: The government has sent a firm signal against the rampant culture of service extensions at Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) with the appointment of its new head, S Christopher, who has superseded the top four scientists who are all on their second extension at the country’s premier research body.
While questions are now being raised about the future of the four scientists – who are designated as director generals of different branches at DRDO headquarters and are several years senior in service to Christopher – the government has made its preference for promoting younger scientists clear
When DRDO chief Avinash Chander was removed from his post in January, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had said that one of the reasons for the change was that the government wanted younger scientists to come up. Going by this principle, the government considered only Christopher and AM Datar for the post, with Christopher making the cut on the basis of seniority, officials said.
While Chander was removed from the job with a terse message from the cabinet secretariat, the future of the four scientists on second extension – which allows them to serve till the age of 64 against the retirement age of 60 – may not be too bright.
The second top appointment at DRDO is also being watched with much interest. The choice of GS Reddy, a missile scientist, to the newly created separate post of Scientific Advisor to the Raksha Mantri, is believed to be part of a new deep selection approach to groom talent.
By IANS Published: 29th May 2015 01:37 PM – The New Indian Express NEW DELHI: Radar specialist S. Christopher took charge as the new director general of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and its secretary at on Friday morning, with the appointment being welcomed by defence scientists and officials.
Christopher was on Thursday night appointed chief of the premier defence research agency for two years by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.
The DRDO was without a full-time chief for around four months ever since Avinash Chander was unceremoniously removed on January 31.
Christopher was heading the Bengaluru-based Centre for Airborne Systems and the project to develop an airborne early warning and control system before his new appointment.
Earlier, DRDO chief was also the scientific adviser to the defence minister, but the post has now been split.
Missile scientist G.S. Reddy was appointed as the scientific adviser to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar for two years on Thursday night.
DRDO scientists and officials welcomed the appointment, saying that functional difficulties had cropped up due to the absence of a full-time DRDO chief.
“It is a welcome step; without a full-time chief cost DRDO in the last four months; impacted the work as coordination was suffering,” a senior DRDO official told IANS.
Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar recently said that the absence of a full-time DRDO chief was being compensated with more powers to cluster heads.
A DRDO official, however, maintained that it did not solve the problem.
“Coordination between clusters is needed for smooth running of things. That is where the problem was,” said an official aware of the developments.
A senior scientist, meanwhile, said that some tests also suffered due to lack of clear guidance.
“Some tests suffered because there was lack of clarity. There was no clear boss; it makes a lot of difference,” said the scientist.
Officials also appreciated the decision to split the post of DRDO chief to appoint a separate scientific adviser to the defence minister.
“The role of scientific adviser must extend beyond the DRDO. There are other departments, like ordnance factories, which also need to be focused upon. This is a good move,” a senior scientist told IANS.
“The DRDO chief and scientific adviser will have to work in close coordination though; a new structure is now expected to evolve,” the scientist added.
Christopher’s predecessor Chander held the posts of director general, DRDO, and scientific adviser to the defence minister, and secretary DRDO.
Defence Secretary R.K. Mathur was later given the additional charge of secretary DRDO.
After a gap of several months, DRDO has finally got a new leadership with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar pushing through a new concept to divide the top post into two parts.
After a gap of several months, DRDO has finally got a new leadership with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar pushing through a new concept to divide the top post into two parts.
The government on Thursday appointed S Christopher who heads the centre for airborne systems as the new Director General of DRDO with the rank of a secretary.
Splitting the top post, the government also appointed the younger GS Reddy – a missile scientist – as the scientific advisor to the defence minister. Reddy will directly report to Parrikar and will be the pointsman for the minister for defence research projects.
Both top officials have got a term for 2 years, though Reddy is expected to continue after that and would be a contender for top job of DG DRDO.
The new appointments come after DRDO chief Avinash Chander was removed from his post in January with Parrikar saying that the government wants to have a new, younger leadership for the organisation.
The splitting of the post ks first among a series of structural changes that are expected at DRDO in coming months.
It is still not clear how the responsibilities will be divided among the two as the ministry has not come out with a detailed notification.
Both officials are expected to be based in Delhi.
Appeal to clean DRDO of corrupt and anti-national officials
