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Who is Dr VK Saraswat, the new member of NITI Aayog?

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Moneylife Digital Team

06 January 2015   

Dr Saraswat, as former chief of DRDO has been also red-flagged by the Comptroller General of Defence Audit-CGDA over his several decisions that resulted in the Defence Ministry curtailing his financial powers

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) appointed Dr VK Saraswat as full-time member of newly established National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog. Dr Saraswat is former Secretary of Defence (Research & Development- R&D), but is more known as one of the high profile former chiefs of Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO). However, his inning at the DRDO was marred by controversies resulting in the government turning down his extension. He was even awarded a jail sentence for contempt of court.

Dr Saraswat was the key scientist in the development of the Prithvi missile and its induction in the Indian armed forces.

A PhD in Combustion Engineering, Dr Saraswat started his career in DRDO in 1972 at Hyderabad-based Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), he was responsible for the development of the country’s first Liquid Propulsion Engine, DEVIL. As Project Director of Prithvi, he steered the design, development, production and induction of the first indigenous Surface-to-Surface missile system into the armed forces. He is regarded as one of the key scientists in the team of former President of India, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, who is said to have had a deep influence on Dr Saraswat.

He was conferred the Padma Shri in 1998. He was also conferred the Padma Bhusan by the Government of India in 2013.

However, his career was not without controversies. In 2012, Dr Saraswat took a stand contradictory to the then Army Chief, General VK Singh, who had labelled Tatra trucks as substandard. Talking about Tatra trucks at a press conference, Dr Saraswat had said, “Tatra truck is an outstanding truck…They have a very good cross country capability and can move at good speeds.”

Earlier in 2010 too, he had torn into the armed forces for failing to overcome their ‘temptation’ to induct latest imported weapon systems. Speaking at the National Technology Day in May where the then Air Chief Marshal PV Naik, Admiral Nirmal Verma and Gen VK Singh were also present, Dr Saraswat had said, “Services also must understand that while the temptation may be overwhelming to field proven, state-of-the-art imported systems, they too have a role to play in the country’s economic and industrial growth. No foreign system can be customised to completely address our long-term requirements.”

Interestingly, as of now, both Gen Singh and Dr Saraswat have become part of the Narendra Modi government. While the former chief of DRDO has become full-time member of NITI Aayog, the former Army Chief is the Minister of State of External Affairs and Minister of State (independent charge) for North East Region, in the Modi government.

In a September 2012 report, the New Indian Express had said, “…a nightmare was revealed recently when Defence Minister AK Antony ordered the Comptroller General of Defence Audit (CGDA) to do a secret audit of India’s equivalent of the futuristic workshop of James Bond’s ‘Q’ — the Defence Research and Development Organisation that goes by the handle DRDO.”

Quoting the CGDA, the newspaper had said, “DRDO has been developing equipment which is either sub-standard or have extended deadlines and additional budgets. Many of the projects have been sanctioned without the requisite government approval. Only 10% of projects have come to the Ministry for clearance. Corruption and nepotism exists in the upper echelons and there is an exodus of qualified scientists.”

“The CGDA has questioned why he (Dr Saraswat) granted Rs2.88 crore to a mathematics institute to develop a futuristic radar when its scientists are not even remotely connected with research relating to the project. Incidentally, Dr Saraswat is the president of the institute’s governing body. The audit also stated that the institute lacked expert manpower and started recruitment only after getting DRDO funds that were released without due diligence. A Dehradun scientific lab was granted Rs14 crore to develop a communication link, while the institute headed by Dr Saraswat was also sanctioned Rs2.98 crore to develop the same technology — it doesn’t have even basic facilities like computers for individual researchers,” the report says.

Although DRDO denied all the observations of the CGDA report, it affected the career of Dr Saraswat.

Drdo

TRUTH OF AGNI MISSILE PROGRAMME (अग्नि मिसाइल कार्यक्रम की सच्चाई)

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To                                                                                                  Date 02 February 2015
Hon’ble
Shri Narendra Modi
Prime Minister of India
PMO, South Block
New Delhi-110011

 

SUBJECT: TRUTH OF AGNI MISSILE PROGRAMME

                      अग्नि मिसाइल कार्यक्रम की सच्चाई

Hon’ble Sir,

Sir, country thanks to your decision to revamp DRDO, it is requested to weed out all incompetent scientists who are sitting in top management without contributing a single product in national mission

With regards, I would like to bring the truth of AGNI missile programme of India under IGMDP. Some Scientist of DRDO who are not involved in key role the said project are making fake claims in media and interacting with media unauthorized manner violating conduct rules. DRDO is having its Directorate of Public Interface (DPI) and Shri Ravi Kumar Gupta, Director, Directorate of Public Interface is the only authorized officer in DRDO to issue any press release of DRDO and interaction with media. There is no gazette notification of MOD is available in respect of Sh Ravi Gupta as official spoke person of DRDO,MOD.

You can understand the frustration of senior scientists of DRDO who are facing such kind of discrimination where his contributions have been ignored by Shri Avinash Chander, DGR&D, DRDO, SA to RM and Secretary, DRD and credit of the work has been given to mediocre scientist. These scientist got promotions, appointment as Director, fame in media & public, awards and achieving a good positions in Government establishment based on fake claims, media hype and support of Shri Avinash Chander. It is astonishing facts that how these fake claims of scientist being approved and acknowledged by their Director, DG & Peer Committee constituted for promotion in senior position and appointment as Director.

Shi Avinash Chander has been given enormous administrative and financial power by Government of India and he is holding three posts simultaneously which is totally unjustified. The practice of misuse of power & post for personal gain by SA to RM is not new and DRDO is full of such examples. The appointments of DGR&D, DRDO, SA to RM and Secretary, DRD are politically motivated and real Scientists never get appointments as DRDO Chief.

This case is regarding fake claim in media, creating media hype in her favour by influencing media to write false article on her and award her imaginary titles by Ms. Tessy Thomas, Outstanding Scientist & Scientist ‘H’.

Before mentioning the full facts of the case, I would like to highlight the history of AGNI Missile Programme in brief.

  1. Realizing the importance of guided missile weapon systems in the modern warfare, a Special Weapon Development Team (SWDT) was formed in 1958. This team was later expanded into DRDL, a full-fledged laboratory in June 1961 at the campus of Defence Science Centre, Delhi. The laboratory was moved to Hyderabad in Feb’ 1962, from where starts the story of guided missiles in India.
  2. In 1972, Project Devil, a medium range Surface-to-Surface Missile was initiated. A large number of infrastructure and test facilities were established during this period. The main facilities established during this period included Aerodynamic, Structural and Environmental test facilities, Liquid and Solid propulsion facilities; fabrication and engineering facilities; Control, Guidance, FRP, Rubber and computer centres, ground and flight instrumentation and on board power supplies development facilities. The development of components / systems for Project Devil formed the technology bricks for the future IGMDP Programme. 1982 onwards DRDL took a quantum jump by taking design and development of various types of missiles systems simultaneously leading them to limited series production under Integrated Guided Missiles Development Programme (IGMDP).Prithvi– a surface to surface missile system, Trishul– a quick reaction short range, surface to air missile system, Nag– a third generation anti-tank missile system and Akash– a medium range, surface to air missile system, besides Agni– a technology demonstrator were taken up under the Programme.
  3. In order to meet the growing demands of development, integration, testing and quality assurance, three establishments namely Research Center Imarat (RCI), Composite Products Development Centre (CPDC), and Interim Test Range (ITR) came out under the parenthood of DRDL and a separate qualification agency Missile Systems Quality Assurance Agency (MSQAA) were established during this period. Later these establishments acquired independent status. In the year 1999 another laboratory called ‘Advanced System Laboratory’ was carved out of DRDL to meet the specific requirements of long range systems. This group of laboratories is now called Missile Complex. [DRDL information from DRDO website]
  4. APJ Abdul Kalam joined DRDO as Director, DRDL in 1982 and in the year 1983 IGMDP was sanctioned by Smt Indira Gandhi. Under this programme it was decided to develop five missiles with names Agni, Prithvi, Akash, Nag and Trishul. Much prior to joining Dr. Kalam in DRDL, Hyderabad, DRDO was working on R&D of missiles with good infrastructure as stated above.
  5. Development Program’ (IGMDP).The IGMDP is one of India’s most successful defence research project, as all the missiles – Prithvi, Akash, Trishul, Nag, Agni – have been successfully tested and inducted by the Indian armed forces.IGMDP team formed a consortium of DRDO laboratories, industries and academic institutions to build these sub-systems, components and materials.
  6. The Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP) was a Ministry of Defence (India) program for the research and development of a comprehensive range of missiles. The program was managed by the Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and Ordnance Factories Board in partnership with other Indian government research organisations. The project started in 1983 and ended in 2008 after these strategic missiles were successfully developed. The last major missile developed under the program was the Agni 3 intermediate-range ballistic missile which was successfully tested on 9 July 2007. On 8 January 2008, the DRDO formally announced the successful completion of the IGMDP.

FATHER OF INDIA’ AGNI MISSILEPROGRAMME – SHRI RAM NARAIN AGARWAL

  1. Shri Ram Narain Agarwal, Padam Sri (1990), Padam Bhushan (2000)is eminent missile scientist and an aerospace engineer of India known as “Father of AGNI”series of surface to surface missilesprogramme of India. Even before joining of Dr. Kalam as Director, DRDL in 1982, Shri R. N. Agarwal he was working on technology development for missiles that were later on used in Agni missilesand he was as Head of Aerodynamics Test Facility Group in DRDL, Hyderabad. His group was then engaged in building a supersonic wind tunnel and high-altitude test facility for high-enthalpy tests. Project report on the re-entry test vehicle for re-entry technology and also for setting up the high-altitude test facility was prepared by Shri R.N. Agarwal.[Source: Article: Missile Technology –A success story Volume 22 – Issue 20, Sep. 24 – Oct. 07, 2005]
  2. Shri Ram Narain Agarwal has worked as Program Director (AGNI) since 1983 to 2005 and as Director Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL), Hyderabad. DRDO, Agni missile project Chief Shri R.N. Agarwal retires after 22 years working as Programme Director of Agni Project on 31 July 2005. He was recipient of DRDO’s Lifetime Achievement Award “for pioneering the development and establishment of long-range missiles systems” in the year 2004. He was fondly called as `Agni’ Agarwal’ in India’s missile circles. He has been involved from day one in this most ambitious missile project Agni, which gets international attention every time a new development is announced.The importance of Shri R.N. Agarwal in Agni  Programme can be analysed as even after eligibility & seniority for Chief Controller at DRDO HQ , Ministry of Defence did not shifted him to DRDO HQ from ASL, Hyderabad. His was name was considered for SA to RM but despite being Programme Director and having seniority, his junior Shri M. Natrajan piped him and Shri M. Natrajan was  appointed as SA to RM in the year 2004. This creates lot of frustration in missile scientist of DRDO.
  3. Shri R.N. Agarwal hails from Jaipur, Rajasthan, where he had his early education. After graduation, he joined the Madras Institute of Technology (MIT) at Chromepet, Chennai, for his post-graduate course in Aeronautical Engineering. After passing out from MIT, he completed his Master of Engineering in Aerospace Engineering from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. He has won several awards. They include Padma Sri (1990) and Padma Bhushan (2000); the Dr. Biren Roy Space Science Award (1990); the DRDO Technology Leadership Award (1998); the Chandrasekhara Saraswati National Eminence Award for Science (2000) and theDRDO Lifetime Achievement Award (2004).
  4. In July 1983, when Indira Gandhi launched the IGMDP, Shri Agarwal wasappointed as Project Director for Agni. Within six years, the Agni-Technology Demonstrator project team was ready with the missile for its maiden flight. But the flight had to be postponed twice – first on April 20, 1989, and then on May 1, 1989. The missile finally soared into the sky from the Interim Test Range at Chandipur-on-Sea, near Balasore, Orissa, on May 22, 1989. The country had looked forward to the launch of this intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM).
  5. Shri R. N. Agarwal, former Director, Advanced System Laboratory and former Program Director of Agni missile was considered to be the real architect behind the successful design of Agni Missile. Kalam himself credited in his autobiography “Wings of Fire” (अग्निकी उड़ान) the development of Agni missile to Shri Ram Narayan Agarwal, an alumnus of MIT.DRDO’s, Agni missile project Chief R.N. Agarwal retires on 31 July 2005 after his contribution in Agni from 1983-2005 for 22 years.
  6. The controversy that surrounds Kalam’s role as “Missile Man” and in 2008, Indian media questioned his claims over his inventions such as missiles, while working in a classified missile programme. Kalam took the credit of inventing the Agni, Prithvi, and Aakash missile system. All of these were developed, researched and designed by other scientists whereas Kalam was involved in getting the funds and other logistic tasks. As a director of DRDL, Kalam named all these missiles and got all the fame. Shri R. N. Agarwal, former Director, Advanced System Laboratory and former Program Director of Agni missile was considered to be the real architect behind the successful design of Agni Missile.

      However, Kalam  in his own Biography “wings of Fire”, Dr.Kalam has given the credit of “Agni” development to Shri Ram Narayan Agarwal. For the Prithvi Missile project he has named Col VJ Sundaram as the brain behind this project, for Trishul Missile he gave the credit to Cmdr SR Mohan.

  1. Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL) was established in the year 2001 as a consequence of restructuring of the missile laboratories and the missile programs. Advanced Systems Laboratory is responsible for design, development and induction of long range ‘AGNI’ ballistic missiles and development of associated technologies and facilities. Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL) does research and development on motors, jet vanes and structures for launch vehicles and missiles and Solid Propellant (missile fuel) in Agni Missiles was developed at High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), Pune of DRDO.
  2. The three AGNI re-entry technology demonstrators developed and test fired during 1985 to 1992 gave the impetus to design, develop and induct a series of long range missile systems of AGNI class(A1, A2, A3). AGNI I & AGNI II have completed the development flights and are being inducted in the Services. The long range AGNI III is under development and the hardware is under qualification for the first development flight In addition to the AGNI program, ASL is working on many other Technology Development (TD), Mission Mode (MM) and infrastructure projects for LCA and other systems. There are about 240 Scientists & Officers and 250 Staff working in the LabVarious DRDO Lab/Estt and about 40 public sector and private sector are involved with ASL in development of AGNI series of missiles. The percentage of indigenous parts used in missiles of Agni series is still not known to anybody.
  3. After retirement of Shri R.N. Agarwal, as Director, ASL on 31 July 2005, Shri Avinash Chander was appointed as Director, ASL. In the June 2011 Dr. V.G. Sekaran was appointed as Director of ASL.He served as Director, ASL from June 2011 to June 2013. Shri K. Jayaraman was Director, ASL from 13 June 2013 to 30 June 2014.Shri Avinash Chander was appointed as CCR&D(MSS) in 2011 and he was Programme Director of Agni till 31 May 2013. Later on Dr. VG Sekaran was appointed as CCR&D (MSS) in June 2013 and he is Programme Director of Agni. V G Sekaran has taken over as Director General – Missiles and Strategic Systems (MSS)with effect from 02 Sep 2013.
  4. The first successful test flight took place on May 22, 1989, when Rajiv Gandhi was the Prime Minister. The ASL is focussed on re-entry technology, carbon composites, CNT and Agni.The Agni-I, Agni-II and Agni-III missiles were developed under the IGMDP. (The DRDO formally announced the successful completion of the IGMDP after the third test of Agni-III on 7 May 2008.Agni III is a product of the Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL), Hyderabad, which is a unit of DRDO. The Project Director was Dr. V.G. Sekaran and ASL Director Avinash Chander was the Programme Director of this mission.AGNI-IV
  5. India Launches new Generation Strategic missile AGNI-IV on15 November 2011. It is a two-stage missile powered by solid propellant. It is 20 meters tall and has a launch weight of 17 tonnes. Ms Tessy Thomas was Project Director (Mission) for Agni- IV. Successful flight testing of AGNI-IVwas carried out by DRDO on19 September 2012.Ms Tessy Thomas was Project Director of Agni-IV.INDIA Successfully test fires AGNI-IV on20th January 2014. Ms Tessy Thomas was Project Director of AGNI-IV.[Press release of PIB & DRDO is enclosed].AGNI-V
  6. A new missile Agni-V with 5,000 km range and MIRV is being developed and was tested on19 April 2012. Agni-V shares the similar design as Agni-III with an extra stage added to further increase the range by 1500 km.First test launch of Agni-V was successfully done on 19 April 2012. Dr. R.K. Gupta was Project Director for AGNI-V. The second test launch of AGNI-V was successfully done on 15 September 2013 at 08:43 am IST from Wheeler Island off the Orissa coast. Dr. R.K. Gupta, Outstanding Scientist is Project Director of AGNI-V. The next test launch of Agni-V missile scheduled to be carried out in 2014 is to be of canisterized version.[Press release of DRDO is enclosed].
  7. R.K. Gupta, Scientist ‘H’ & Outstanding Scientist was Project Director of AGNI –V in the year 2012 and 2013 at time of both the successful launch of AGNI-V on 19 April 2012 and 15 September 2013 and Ms. Tessy Thomas was not project Director of AGNI-V but Ms. Tessy Thomas told to media that she was Project Director of Agni V and media make a fake hype in favour of Ms. Tessy Thomas with motivated interest and gave her fake titles like Missile Woman & Agniputri. Ms Tessy Thomas is Project Director of AGNI-V.
  8. Labs, Public Sector and Private Sector involved in Agni Programme
  9.  Development of the anti-ballistic missile system Agni began in 1999. Around 40 public and private companies were involved in the development of the systems. They include Bharat Electronics Ltd and Bharat Dynamics Ltd, Astra Microwave, ASL, Larsen & Toubro, Vem Technologies Private Limited and KelTech. Development of the LRTR and MFCR (Multi-function Fire Control Radar) was led by Electronics and Radar Development Establishment (LRDE). Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) – Manufactures the missile and also has an associated R&D lab. Solid propellant used in Agni V is solid HTPB, which has been developed by HEMRL. Besides DRDO Labs DRDL, RCI, VRDE, LRDE, HEMRL, ITR & TBRL are involved in development of missiles under AGNI Programme.
  10. Dr (Ms) Tessy Thomas, Outstanding Scientist/Scientist ‘H’ was appointed as Director, ASL, Hyderabad wef 25 July 2014. The competent authority has approved the appointment of Dr (Ms) Tessy Thomas, Outstanding Scientist/ Sc ‘H’ as Director, ASL, Hyderabad with immediate effect. Date of Order is 25 Jul 2014.
  11. On 13 June 2013, Shri K. Jayaraman, a senior scientist, who was instrumental in the development of home-grown CRMC (Composite Rocket Motor Casing) technology for strategic systems, took over as the new director of Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL).
  12. INFLUENCE AND CONTACTS WITH MEDIA BY MS TESSY THOMAS
  13.  After first launch of AGNI-V on 19 April 2012, The Indian Express published an article “In its moment of celebration, DRDO leaves out ‘Agni putri’“. Copy Enclosed. This news published on website of Indian Express at 23:41 hrs on 19 April 2012. The said article was having objections on DRDO Press Release dated 19 April 2012 in which Ms Tessy Thomas name was missing. Regarding this query Shri Ravi Kumar Gupta, director of public interface, DRDO, New Delhi, said Tessy Thomas was the director for Agni-IV. “Dr R K Gupta is the project director of Agni-V and Avinash Chander is the overall programme director,’’ he said. When asked why her name was left out, Gupta did not comment. When contacted, Agni Programme Director Chander said: “Tessy Thomas played a major role in the success of Agni-V. She was in charge of mission design and guidance systems and she was there all through. She was and still is the project director of Agni-IV but Dr R K Gupta is the project director of Agni-V. She was there at the launch today and she is a part of the team”.It establishes that Ms. Tessy Thomas influenced the media for publishing fake claims in her favour while she was not Project Director of AGNI-V but still she wants the credit of AGNI-V.
  14. Dr V.G. Sekaran, Distinguished Scientist and Director, Advanced Systems Laboratory has been appointed as Chief Controller R&D (Missiles & Strategic Systems) and Programme Director, AGNI w.e.f. 03 June 2013. He was appointed as DG (MSS) wef 02 September 2013.

agni ka sach table 1

 

agni ka sach table 2

 

DRDL, RCI and ASL are working on R&D of Missiles in DRDO. Tessy Thomas is junior most Scientist out of all Outstanding Scientists posted in three labs of DRDO viz DRDL, RCI and ASL of DRDO. Shri K. Jayaraman was transferred from post of Director, ASL to Director, DRDL to create a vacancy of Director, ASL while such kind of practice never took place in ASL or any other Lab/Estt. of DRDO. Ignoring ten senior and more eligible Scientist then Tessy Thomas, why Shri Avinash Chander appointed Ms. Tessy Thomas as Director, ASL? Is it another story of nepotism by Shri Avinash Chander, the Guru-Shisya story of DRDO in Guru paid shisya dakhina?

Ms. Tessy Thomas worked with Avinash Chander on Guidance Systems in DRDL and ASL, Hyderabad. In media Shri Avinash Chander told that Ms Tessy Thomas is my pupil and Ms. Tessy Thomas told to media that she is student of Shri Avinash Chander. It appears that Guru Avinash Chander gave his blessings to her student Tessy Thomas by recruitment of her husband as Scientist ‘G’ and appointment of her husband Mr. S.K. Patel asDirector, QRS and appointed her as Director ASL ignoring contributions & seniority of several senior Scientists of DRDO.

FAKE CLAIMS BY MS. TESSY THOMAS- THE AGNIPUTRI & MISSILE WOMAN

  • She claimed herself as Project Directorof AGNI-V two times in 2012 & 2013 – In fact Programme Director of AGNI-V was Dr. R.K. Gupta not Tessy Thomas. She is Project Director of AGNI-IV.
  • Went in media when her name was not in Press Release of DRDO dated 19 April 2012 for AGNI-V. [Indian Express- 19 April 2012]
  • Try to associate herself with Dr. Kalam by calling him as Guru but on other hand she accepted that she is student of Shri Avinash Chander. Dr. Kalam worked in DRDL, Hyderabad as Director from 1982 to 1992. Ms Tessy Thomas joined DRDL in 1988 and she was posted with Shri Avinash Chander.
  • SolidPropellantsused in AGNI –V were developed by HEMRL, Pune but she claimed in media that she developed Solid Propellants for AGNI-V.
  • Managed Media to give title “AGNIPUTRI’ and ‘MISSILE WOMAN’,

Sir, it is requested kindly encourage and protect the whistle blowers of DRDO, because the DRDO top management doing their best to harass the honest scientists who are raising their voice against corruption like –

Sh. D. Muthuraja, Scientist ‘E’ from R&D Eng, Pune transferred to Nasik for just harass him and he is sitting their without work. He raised voice against Sh Guru Prasad, Director R&D Eng, Pune for diverting government funds and man power to making Silver Rath for temple.

Now the honorable MP Sh Hemant Tukaram Godse, Nashik & Dr. Dharam Vira Gandhi, Patiala  asked questions regarding the Silver Rath adventure of Sh Guru Prasad, Director R&D Eng, DRDO

Sh Naveen Prakash Gupta, Scientist ‘C’, DMSRDE, Kanpur also raised corruption various corruption issues of Dr. A K Saxena, Director, DMSRDE. There are many cases of corruption allegations with documentary evidences are pending against Dr. A K Saxena. Sh Avinash Chander, Ex SA to RM also made to fact finding committees but only GOD knows what happened to facts finding of two committees. The DRDO top management specially the DOP, Dr A K Singh, is trying to his best to harass Sh Naveen Prakash Gupta by misinterpreting government rules. Sh Naveen Prakash Gupta is also transferred to Defence Lab, Tezpur a life science lab where there is no work for Sh Naveen Prakash Gupta as he is computer science background.

Dr. Gausal Khan, Scientist ‘D’ is a victim of Dr Shashi Bala Singh, Director, DIPAS and sister of Dr A K Singh, DOP, both duo harassing Dr Khan vindictively and now Dr Khan who came from USA to serve the country was again thinking to go back to USA, because now his 24 hrs utilizing to manage the court/Minority commission/police etc.

There are still lot of manipulations are going on in the name of consultancy, contracts, chairs, fellowship, IDST etc. DRDO is exploiting the technical manpower in the name of contract and other hand recruiting their incompetent, ineligible wards from their own recruitment center RAC/CEPTAM without any fear.

Regards

Prabhu Dandriyal,
21-Sunderwala, Raipur, Dehradun -248008
0135- 2787750, 9411114879,
prabhudoon@gmail.com www.corruptionindrdo.com

Drdo

DRDO Refuses to Divulge Information on Hi-tech Chariot

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By Pradip R Sagar Published: 29th December 2014 05:59 -Indian Express

NEW DELHI: The DRDO has refused to give out any information regarding making of a ‘chariot’ for a religious function.

The Express, in its report on dated 23 November, had exposed that a Pune-based DRDO laboratory Research and Development Establishment (Engineers) had developed and donated a hi-tech chariot to a temple.

DRDO-Chariot
DRDO’s Hi-Tech Chariot

This shocking piece of information came out after a young scientist of the same laboratory decided to rebel against this absurd venture and moved the Bombay high court and even the CVC. The DRDO developed the hi-tech chariot and ‘donated’ it to Alandi Temple, Pune.
The young scientist had to pay for raising his voice. The DRDO has not only stripped him off from the ongoing projects, but also transferred him out from the centre, where he is being left to waste.

A day after the Express report, a former DRDO scientist moved an RTI to the Ministry of Defence for seeking details of the government sanction to the DRDO for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and allocated budget for the same.

But on December 18, the R&DE (Engineers), in its reply to the RTI, had stated, “The DRDO is placed in Second Schedule of the RTI Act, 2005 and exempted from disclosure of information under Section 24(1), except information pertaining to the allegations of corruption and human right violations.”

The Section 24(1) of the RTI Act exempt security and intelligence agencies specified in the Second schedule to disclose such information. “This information, which I have asked for, has nothing to do with the national security and intelligence framework. But, the DRDO is using this as a shield to suppress information related to corruption in the organisation,” the scientist (identity withheld) told Express, who filed the RTI in the matter.

Dr. S Guruprasad, Director of the R&DE, Pune, had told Express that they had built this battery operated chariot in an year’s time and the DRDO had carried out the project under the head of the CSR. R&DE Pune has a mandate to design and develop Combat Engineering Systems, such as Military Bridging and Mine Warfare Systems, development of Field Defence Systems and NBC Collective protection Shelters, design and development of Weapon Launch System such as Prithvi, Agni, BrahMos, AD, MR-SAM and Nirbhay.

While numerous DRDO projects such as the Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, Nag missile, long-range surface-to-air missile and Airborne Early Warning and Control System have been delayed, and have cost much higher than their original estimates, expenses on such a ‘religious’ project have raised many eyebrows.

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Every fortnight launching a missile – hidden agenda of DRDO

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Sh. Narendra Modi ji, Honorable Prime Minister when asked about Indo-Pak relations he said “Talks get lost in the noise of bomb blasts.” It was a simple and effective way to convey the message to our neighbor.

Since 1999, when DRDO credentials were on stake due to the exposure of its strength in KARGIL WAR, the then Genral Malik openly criticized the role of DRDO.

DRDO planned to create a thunderous noise to divert the attention of the government and common people of India by simply launching missiles. After smelling the effect, it started missile launching roughly at the interval of fortnights with different variant of missiles like Prithvi, I, II, III, Akash, Agni I, II, III, IV, V, IV Nag, Trishul and ………….

All the developed nations have demonstrated the ability to analyze the failures and incorporated the corrective measures and are able to sell and generate revenue out of their research.

DRDO, however justifies the failures and with thunderous noise tries to divert the attention of government and common people of India who in turn pay crores and crores rupees for the development of missiles.

No practical data showed on photographs of missile launching or hitting the target has been shown to the nation. DRDO always released the launching flight scene but never demonstrated the kill probability. Why the matter of fact as per sources that last month Sh. Avinash Chandra witnessed the target hitting of a 100 KW laser Aditya which was suppose to hit moving targets. It was not able to hit static target, in fact it missed it by meters. The case of 20 KW Coil laser is also an example that without delivering the required output project main 16.58 Cr. equipment was mysteriously burned in fire accident but surprisingly DRDO announced that the project was successful and a successful completion letter from under secretary, MOD, Mr. Deb was put in project file to fool the government and common men of India who are paying the money for their misadventure. And the best part of this is that he project leader Dr. R K Tyagi got scientist of the year award from DRDO.

In 1991 Gulf war, Americans demonstrated the capability of Patriot missile’s hitting and intercepting the Scud missile and the scene was witnessed across the globe.

Can SA to RM demonstrate the same capability to our new Prime Minister Sh. Modi Ji? It will help him plan the defence preparedness to secure the boundary.

DRDO by far has a hidden agenda of launching a missile in every fortnight just to divert the attention of the government and common people of India from the rampant corruption of DRDO misappropriation of funds, misinterpretation of rules, the common practices noticed by the CGDA in special audit of DRDO.

Since the KARGIL WAR, incompetency has flourished in DRDO and has created a void as a result. Those who were supposed to retire from active service have managed during UPA government two to even three extensions with promotions ignoring Honorable Supreme Court and violating DoPT guidelines.

They are involved with 1000 crores of programs (of course without any end result) the commission/omission does not permit them to lose the extra income and perks and they are blessed by the competent authorities.

India has voted for a strong government in the centre and expecting new government will sense the weaker points and fix the accountability of DRDO. The government will look what was the compulsion of previous governments or in which circumstance they gave such unprecedented extension to such selected group of people like

Dr A S Pillai, CC&D, CEO, Brahmos touching 67 years CCR&D since 13th Sep. 1999.

Dr. SK Vasudeva, Ex Director, SPIC, DRDO after three successive extensions now working in contract

Sh Avinash Chander, SA to RM, DG, DRDO, Secretary, DRD presently in second extension and after November 2014 on contractual appointment.

5 Top DRDO senior officials are in second extension

Few directors of Labs are on second extension

And 60 to 62 years extension countless in DRDO

Extension business has created a vacuum in DRDO Hqrs. and if it continues probably there won’t be manpower available from active service to head the Lab and shoulder the responsibility of DRDO’s plan of action. “Here at present nobody is responsible for any outcome”

Drdo

Chinks in the Armour – What ail DRDO, India’s Premier Defence Organigation?

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Rediff.com – News-Special Part- IV

The DRDO has succeeded with missiles, but…

George Iype

In May 1998, the DRDO and its chief Dr A P J Abdul Kalam became symbols of national pride thanks to the nuclear tests. DRDO’s expertise in explosives and related technologies, and in systems engineering and integration was the key to the five devices tested by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government.

Four months after the event, the government entrusted DRDO with a Rs 20 billion ballistic missile defence project. This is perhaps the most ambitious programme that DRDO has embarked upon. It would need to integrate the Russian-made anti-aircraft and anti-ballistic missile systems, which the army and air force are planning to induct, with an Israeli fire control radar.

The project, along with the Integrated Guided Missile Development programme and the nuclear submarine programme that DRDO has engaged in over the years, is meant to lay India’s foundation of strategic missile programme and security stability.

But given DRDO’s track record in the IGMD and nuclear submarine programme, not many believe the new ballistic project could come out with flying colours, that too in time.

It is not that DRDO’s missile mission has not taken India to the rarefied heights of missile power. “If there is one area in which DRDO has succeeded with a certain degree of success, it is in missiles,” says Prakash Nanda, a security expert in Bangalore who is currently writing a book on the subject.

“Agni, Prithvi, Akash, Trishul and Nag. All these missiles have made us proud. But the problem is that though a number of flight tests of these missiles have been successfully carried out, DRDO has been unable to induct some of them into the forces,” he says.

For instance, for the last 16 years, DRDO has been building two types of anti-aircraft missiles — Trishul and Akash. According to the government’s defence plans, these surface-to-air missiles were to have replaced the Russian-supplied OSA-AK and Kvadrat systems by early 1990s. But DRDO has been unable to meet the deadlines.

To be specific, the Trishul project began in 1983. The original deadline was 1992. DRDO has spent more than Rs 2.6 billion on the missile, but it is still undergoing trials. Official sources say the major problem with Trishul is that the missile’s command guidance does not work.

Hence, though the defence ministry has entrusted DRDO with the Rs 20 billion project, it is not confident that the agency will accomplish its task in time.

“The anti-ballistic missile programme will languish like the nuclear submarine project, which DRDO has been working on for years now,” a ministry official comments wryly.

Fifteen years ago, the nuclear submarine programme was billed as India’s key to second strike capability after enunciation of the no-first use policy. But after spending millions of rupees, the naval headquarters is now demanding a technical audit of the Advanced Technology Vehicle project, as it is formally known.

The design and development of the nuclear submarine is a joint project of DRDO, the Department of Atomic Energy and the Indian navy. The DRDO, DAE and navy together have spent a whopping total of Rs 20 billion on the ATV — on its design drawings from Russia, civilian construction work, establishing test beds and testing facilities on the east coast and procurement of related equipment.

DRDO sources say the land-based prototype testing facility of the submarine reactor has been completed successfully and a training facility to familiarise with the nuclear submarine’s power plant has also been set up. The submarine’s power plant would use enriched uranium as reactor fuel.

But years after the ATV project was mooted, the submarine’s keel is yet to be laid because DRDO has been unable to decide on its construction design.

Drdo

Prithvi II tested successfully

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TNN | Aug 26, 2012, 01.07AM IST

HYDERABAD: The 350-km range surface-to-surface Prithvi II missile was successfully flight tested at the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, Balasore district in Odisha on Saturday giving the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) the Prithvi power.

“It was a text-book launch with very high accuracy. With this test launch, we can say that the SFC has demonstrated its expertise in firing the missile,” DRDO director general and scientific advisor to defence minister, V K Saraswat, told STOIon phone from Balasore.

Saraswat said the missile had an accuracy of better than 10 metersand this showed the standard of the missile. The single stage liquid propelled vehicle developed by DRDO was inducted into the armed forces and one of the missiles drawn from the inventory of the armed forces was test-fired by the SFC on Saturday. The vehicle is guided all through by an accurate Inertial Navigation System (INS) and controlled by the Thrust Vector Control and Aero-Dynamic Control Systems.

The missile developed by DRDO was flight tested from Launch Complex III by the SFC as part of its training exercise. The indigenous missile hit the target in the Bay of Bengal which was witnessed by a naval shiplocated near the target.

According to DRDO officials, all the radars, electro optical systems located along the coast tracked and monitored all the parameters of the missile throughout the flight path. The entire launch operation was carried out by the armed forces and monitored by scientists of DRDO.

Prithvi II has been successfully flight tested a number of times as part of development, induction and training exercises. Saturday’s launch, however, tested the Areliability of Prithvi and confirmed the successful induction into the services, a DRDO official said.

The team of armed forces and scientists were led by project director Siva Subramanyam and programme director Adalat Ali, director, DRDL, Hyderabad.

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Government baffled over DRDO chief’s claim on missile shield

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Manoj Joshi   |   MAIL TODAY  |   New Delhi, July 18, 2012 |  

The government of India has been baffled by DRDO chief V.K. Saraswat’s repeated claims that a ballistic missile shield is ready for deployment, and that two locations, presumably New Delhi and Mumbai, will be the first recipients of the ballistic missile defence (BMD) system. Speaking on a TV programme in early May, Saraswat said that “this system is now ready for induction”. Nearly two weeks later, the claim was repeated in an interview to Press Trust of India where Saraswat was quoted as saying, “The ballistic missile defence shield is now mature… We are ready to put phase I in place.”

Only six tests have been carried out so far and there is no confirmation if they worked.

Well-known defence technology analyst Prasun K. Sengupta is sceptical; he bluntly terms the DRDO’s claims as “sheer unabashed jingoistic kite-flying by DRDO, period”.

Only six tests, that too in highly controlled conditions, have taken place so far and there is no independent confirmation of whether they have been successful. As of now it is not clear which of the three services will even man the system. Former joint director of the Centre for Air Power Studies, Air Vice-Marshal (retd.) Kapil Kak says, “It is indeed surprising why the IAF – as the national instrument vested with the responsibility of India’s air defence – was not closely involved from the proof-of-concept stage itself.”

Mail Today requested the DRDO to respond to a series of questions early last week, but had received no response till Tuesday.

According to the DRDO, six of its seven tests have been successful. But, instead of carrying them out in realistic conditions, they have been done in laboratory conditions so far. The usual test comprises of the launch of a “hostile missile” from the Interim Test Range in Chandipur on the Orissa coast, and the counter-launch of an interceptor missile from Wheeler Island just 70 km away. DRDO scientists say that the target missile that was intercepted in the test of February 2012, for example, mimicked a 2,000-km range missile of the type that Pakistan possesses, yet it was actually launched from 70 km away.

Equally important is the fact that the “target” missile is a liquid fuelled slow-moving Prithvi, and as of now the DRDO has not tested its system against its own solid-propelled missiles like Agni I or Agni II. As Sengupta puts it, “Its (the Prithvi’s) slow speed during both the boost phase and the terminal phase “does not in any way mimic the flight profiles of the solid-fuelled Theatre Ballistic Missiles and Intermediate Range Ballistic Missiles with both China and Pakistan.”

With nuclear weapons around, only a shield that will guarantee blocking every single missile is the only one worth having. As of now there is no indication that the DRDO, or any other country, can achieve such a goal. None of the DRDO’s claims have been verified by third parties, say, any of our armed forces. In contrast, China’s January 2010 test was authenticated by the Pentagon whose spokesman said, “We detected two geographically separated missile launch events with an exo-atmospheric collision also being observed by space-based sensors.”

The Indian BMD system is something of a puzzle. It was initially mooted by APJ Abdul Kalam in 1997 and taken up in the 2000s, when key technology relating to tracking, fire control and guidance radars became available from Israel, France and Russia. However, none of the three services ever expressed any requirement for such a system. Their need has been for a system to counter shorter ranged, theatre ballistic missiles and cruise missiles.

Non-proliferation experts are appalled at the lack of any visible political guidance to the BMD. The obvious response of an adversary to a missile shield is to field greater numbers of missiles with nuclear weapons; that seems to be the track Pakistan is following. Kak notes, “For an unstable and fragile state like Pakistan, India’s BMD could indeed be destabilising, as this would substantially reduce the value of Pakistan’s nuclear and missile arsenal, tempting it to increase the same.”

MIT scholar Christopher Clary argues that, “Indian policymakers must be willing to make the calculation that whatever safety comes from missile defences of dubious effectiveness outweighs the risks that come from a Pakistani nuclear arsenal that is larger than it would be without Indian missile defences.”

Of course, there is the other question. In its claims DRDO says that the system will be ready for “two places”, presumably Mumbai and Delhi. But what about Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Lucknow and the rest of the country?

The government only has itself to blame for permitting a technology programme with such serious ramifications and not providing it any political guidance.

Drdo

DRDO contradicts Army chief, says Tatra trucks ‘outstanding’

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PTI | Mar 31, 2012, 08.18PM IST

NEW DELHI: Contradicting Army Chief General V K Singh, DRDO chief V K Saraswat on Saturday said Tatra trucks were “outstanding” and there was nothing substandard about the vehicles used as base for launching all important missiles like Prithvi and Agni.

“Tatra truck is an outstanding truck… They have a very good cross country capability and can move at good speeds,” Saraswat said at a press conference at Defence Expo here.

He was responding when asked about the performance of Tatra trucks in view of the Army Chief’s contention that these vehicles were substandard.

Noting that the launchers of all important missiles like the Prithvi and Agni are based on these trucks, the DRDO chief said the performance of these vehicles “has been good in armed forces and we have no complaints about it.”

Saraswat said “we will have more of them” if there was any further requirement of these trucks. However, if the government gives direction against using them, the premier research organization will stop doing so.

Asked to comment on the perceived tussle between defence minister A K Antony and the Army Chief, he said both were good people and should handle their differences, if any, with more caution.

“The harmony within the defence ministry with respect to our functioning and image is very important. I give my advise on technical issues but as a citizen of this country, I would say that I have known both the defence minister and the Army Chief and both of them are very good people.

Readers’ opinions (274)

sunny (Paris)
4 hrs ago (06:27 AM)
DRDO Chief is not a automobile engineer but a rocket propulsion scientist. Nice certificate for a truck, mate.

Joseph Stanis (India)
5 hrs ago (05:10 AM)
Hello DRDO Chief, Is it not your duty to also ensure that the price is right.The Internet price of a Tatra truck is about Rs 40 Lakhs but we are shelling out a Crore of Rs. Does it mean you will pay for a good item the moon? We are talking about cost effective defence equipment.The best for the least price. All these great defence organizations of the Nehruvian area are taking the nation for one BIG ride.

FREETHINKER (Switzerland)
8 hrs ago (02:10 AM)
IF THE DRDO THINKS TATRA TRUCKS ARE OUSTANDING THEN THERE IS SOMETHING RADICALLY WRONG WITH THEIR LEVEL OF STANDARDS. THIS IS THE SAME ORGANISATION THAT HAS MADE SEVERAL LOUSY PRODUCTS FOR THE ARMED FORCES STARTING FROM THE INFANTRY RIFLE TO ARJUN TANKS. NOT TO MENTION THAT ALL THAT HAS BEEN PRODUCED HAS NEVER BEEN ON TIME. THE DRDO SHOULD SHUT UP LIKE THEY HAVE BEEN ASKING THE ARMY TO DO SO THROUGH POLITICIANS.

Surinder Jeet (USA)
8 hrs ago (02:03 AM)
V K Saraswat has not answered the general’s allegations. The general has said that Tatra is too expensive. DRDO has not disputed it. That Tatra is delivering the service is like saying Bofors Guns are firing. They should. Can Tatra or similar truck be bought from other suupliers? Will they give more for the same money or will they cost less. DRDO would be wise not to drag itself into lime light. As it is it is in trouble for its own scandals and poor performance. My question now is,”why did they enter the fray?. What is their interest”?

jk (delhi)
9 hrs ago (01:48 AM)
Everybody is trying to cover their as***, DRDO is a joke, even after many decades what indeginious product has come out of their stable?, even if there is one or two, are they being mass produced and are they world class that they are being exported?. This and other public sectors are a drain on the economy. I have a feeling DRDO’s palm has been greased and money exchanged to go for these trucks.

RAhul (Delhi)
9 hrs ago (01:35 AM)
DRDO is scinetists are just feeding on tax payers money.If we need to procure defense equipment from pverseas suppliers…Why not close down DRDO.

mahe (india)
9 hrs ago (01:09 AM)
I thought DRDO is a Reasearch and Development organisations, only now I understand they procure equipments and review the procurements..

ajay (delhi)
10 hrs ago (12:53 AM)
precisely, that is why we have outstanding things being manufactured by DRDO after being allocated huge budgets! its a shame that DRDO has failed to match with or come at par with other countries R& D wings!

D. Shaw (UK)
10 hrs ago (12:40 AM)
Mr. Sarsvat, isn’t a shame that India has to depend on import of major requirement of weapons and army equipment from abroad? Isn’t a shame for the scientists and technicals experts of DRDO that after fifty years’ in existence it cannot meet the Indian military’s major weapons requirements? How is that a small country like Israel without any major resources invents and manufactures most sophisticated weapons and a country of 1.2 billion people has to import such weapons from Israel inspite of the fact the India spends millions of dollars on its research organizations like DRDO? Obviously, there is something rotten in working of these government research organziations which work like any other government organization. They are managed by corrupt and third rate bureaucrats appointed by corrupt politicians. Even the Almighty creator cannot save India unless the corrupt and criminal politicians, bureaucrats and businessmen are prosecuted and hanged in public.
“If they have any differences, they should be handled with most cautious approach,” he added.

jyoti (up) replies to D. Shaw 
8 hrs ago (02:37 AM)
last year i did my summer training at drdo. there what i found, most employees come to office for time pass and chip food.

DRDO (Jeopardy ) replies to D. Shaw
9 hrs ago (01:25 AM)
Pity, these so called scientists from DRDO cann’t even reverse engineer the imported arms. Chinese are way ahead of these wannabe resaerch organization.

Suv (US/Mum) replies to D. Shaw
9 hrs ago (01:18 AM)
congress already cleaned the honest heads from DRDO.. (the resignation of scientists).. the ones that remains now are congress puppets.. can’t expect anything more from DRDO… wait few mroe days.. new Army cheif (Congress puupet) will say everythign is better thn expected..

Ram (Doha, Qatar) 
10 hrs ago (12:36 AM)
DRDO took more than 30 years to develop one missile with 1000s of staff ‘working’. It is yet another white elephant to the the state’s exchequer and most corrupt. The DRDO Chief seems to be in a hurry to cover up DRDOs role in supporting these trucks.

krishan (Pune.)
10 hrs ago (12:34 AM)
Now DRDO chief Saraswat is backing the Govt. just trying to be a ‘Chamcha’ of the govt. Or received a big kickbag few crore rupees.Now, every body knows that Gen.Singh is retiring and his opinion is not important. This is a bad Luck of India that good people are never appreciated only thing is appreciated. In India always is important money…money..monnneeey.

raja (india) replies to Vijay Veer

tatra trucks may be good, but the problem is they are not supplying the trucks, instead it was sold as CKD(completely knocked down kit) by the vectra group (ravi rishi- broker) to BEML inturn they assemble the trucks and supply it to army… the main problem is even a new truck supplied by BEML has fault spare parts such as old battery, old tyres, the life of the spares is very low, it takes two years to replace a spares and it costs ten times more than that of other trucks…..

aks (USA)
11 hrs ago (11:43 PM)
EXcept one or two divisions in DRDO all others are either doing nothing or are useless for nation, the so called scientists go to office to search internet play computer games and to gossip… I have tonnes of friends in DRDO and what I am saying here is there daily routine Most of the things made by DRDO is either obselete or useless for army and airforce… therefore we have to go for an MMRCA or BARHMOS as DRDO is incapable ….even the engine for LCA has still to come …DRDO is a political agency , where people know how to make comments like our incapable , despicable politicians

dkddn2 (delhi)
11 hrs ago (11:35 PM)
Saraswat should be ashamed of heading of an organisation that cannot create anything but rebrand the foreign products. Is he not ashamed of the fact that DRDO had not been able to identify an Indian manufacturer for these missiles ? DRDO is infact a middleman now.

Arif (India)
11 hrs ago (11:28 PM)
That shows intelligence of DRDO chief. Either he is on drugs or does not understand issue. Issue is about :(1) Bribe (2) Middleman (violation of rule) (3) When Tata and Ashok Leland can produce better trucks then why Tatra?

kumar (delhi)
11 hrs ago (11:06 PM)
This DRDO never completed one project on time , project which needs to complete in 5 years , they are taking 15 years and now this crook is saying about performance and quality. Definitely for DRDO its good truck . In DRDO scientists are preparing for engineering services examination or doing some private work . They are not developing any thing and they are even not scientists , they are clerk managing imported missiles and equipment files. performance

sambhav (gurgoan)
11 hrs ago (11:04 PM)
DRDO waalon ki ek goli bananey ki toh aukat hai nahin….yeh toh choro ki sabsey badi organization hai

Love my Country (Austin,TX)
12 hrs ago (10:56 PM)
Corrupt societies produces such institution [DRDO] , to support its’ onslaught without any responsibility. Just wanted to give my personal experience, for the Cost of Guns .. I had been to my Arms show [ very common in Texas] and there show guns of all kinds and first time in my life I saw guns so accessible and so very in-expensive. Semi-automatic , AKs , krinkov , Rugers and many Guns which were in range of 500$-1200$. I bought one at 780$ [AK56 of Bulgarian made] .So the question is I can procure this gun at the price I told, so how is Govt. [ which buys thing in bulk] cannot get at the price said. Its’ anyone’s guess How much these guns would have been bought by Raksha Mantralaya. So, people Enough is Enough… Throw this system out …

Surinder (Delhi)
12 hrs ago (10:55 PM)
So we are supposed to believe the word of a DRDO babu who has reached the top by just being a sycophant instead of an army general who is fighting a corrupt congie govt.

DRDO Sux (India)
12 hrs ago (10:51 PM)
incompetent agencies like DRDO is responsible for our pathetic situation for trillion dollar Arms imports. They are the one to speak about quality.

Noname (India)
12 hrs ago (10:49 PM)
V.K. Sarswat’s bank account should be checked now to find out how much he has been paid to give such a generous certificate!

TN (india)
12 hrs ago (10:39 PM)
Looks like this DRDO chief has some vested interest in this deal. Why this idiot is trying to divert the attention from the main subject. Its not the question of quality here ( that needs lots of testing and confirmation) its the question of bribe.Some one please tell this idiot not to poke his nose and try to defend a corrupt retired General. Please tell this DRDO chief to look after the inefficient and corrupt white elephant – DRDO

harimohan (India)
12 hrs ago (10:22 PM)
DRDO scientists are jack of all but masters of none. DRDO has done nothing to produce the the defence Equipments indigenously. They are simply functioning as inspectors and certifying agents for the equipments being imported . yes, they have successfully produced the half cooked packed food items for soldiers but to be produced by private industry. All the claims of DRDO are bungus and Untrue. If by any chance some thing is assembled in DRDO LAB , it the just variant of imported item with zero reliability. Basically DRDO creats the the employment opportunity for the under qualified and low IQ children of politicians and the babus of various ministries because there is no accountability and efficiency criteria for service and promotion. The real scientists feel suffocated in DRDO and that is why the brilliant scientists just get away after some years and join foreign or private industry. The claim of DRDO CHIEF for the best vehicle as heavy transporter for tanks etc is false and misleading a DRDO HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE SUITABILTY of TATRA in the hand of user ie ARMY. DRDO CHIEF – please do no mislead the nation. Had DRDO BEEN EFFICIENT, INDIA SOULD HAVE PRODUCE SERVICE WORTHY ARJUNA TANKS AND DEPENDENCY ON RUSSIAN TANKS SHOULT HAVE BEEN ZERO and TATRA like vehicles should have been produced by now.

peetee (delhi) replies to harimohan
12 hrs ago (10:45 PM)
Basically DRDO Scientist are from mediocre institutions,and not from IIT,S,as such. Which is the biggest drawback in totality. When we count the achievement of an individual as well as the institution of reckon,we definitely go by the standards,which can deliver and prepare its product to prove beyond doubt,thus DRDO HAS EVEN FAILED TO PRODUCE OR DEVELOP TRUCKS LIKE TATRA FOR ARMY FORGET TANKS AND ANY OTHER HARD METALLURGY AND ITS AVIONICS…………..?????????????

BOLD TONGUED (Chennai) replies to peetee 
11 hrs ago (11:40 PM)
perhaps iitians will come to drdo if its core objective of maximum employment (for mantri sabs’ and babus’ beta betis) is given up in terms of time bound programmes with enough money for all resources for trial and error R&D, and provided all those wasters who made entry with dubious merit, due to influence, were kicked out with a two month pay as compensation to open pan bidi shops, and keeping only the unfortunate few with zeal and merit wrongly strayed into DRDO.

A CONCERNED CITIZEN OF INDIA (Mumbai)
12 hrs ago (10:21 PM)
Dear Sir, DRDO’s certificate about Tatra Truck is very surprising. The Army Chief’s remarks are contradictory and confusing.. A thorough enquiry needs to be undertaken to find out the truth. No substandard material must be tolerated at any time.

Rahul (Raipur)
12 hrs ago (10:20 PM)
The credibility of DRDO and their Men can be well known from the fact that inspite of spending billions of dollars to develop a homemade defence system ,We are world’s largest importer of arms and Ammunitions and import nearly 95 % of the weapons … Tanta commission must be shared among DRDO ..& MOD as a bonus for non performance…

Deepak (India)
12 hrs ago (10:12 PM)
It a shame for DRDO that we are buying trucks from a czech republic with population less than Mumbai alone and GDP of $ 218 billion (India is $1.8 trillion economy) Building such trucks is not rocket science. And yes, we already are experts in rocket science and IT. Then WTF is DRDO doing?. As per news Rishi(Tatra’s promoter) misused his position in the board of Tatra Czech [the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of Tatra trucks] to enable Tatra Sipox (UK) Ltd, a company Rishi’s Vectra Group incorporated in 1994 and now owns, to buy knock down trucks from Tatra Czech at below production cost. Tatra Sipox then sold the trucks to India’s BEML at a profit, causing huge losses to Tatra Czech since profits from the sale were being made by Rishi’s company, Does DRDO not understand that Tatra trucks are brought below production cost and sold at inflated cost to BEML. Sab chor mile huwe hai.

gd (india)
12 hrs ago (10:09 PM)
Have these jokers in DRDO and BEML ever heard of a company called Oshkosh?Just imagine the guts of BEML MD when he says Tetra technology is the best in the world! Do these clowns think that others have dropped from the sky yesterday!Disgusting!

Prof. D P Misra (IITK)
12 hrs ago (10:06 PM)
Sarasvat is one of the most incompetant people around to head DRDO. He has done nothing except delivering some failed missiles to India, which can blast in the Barrel and never hit the target, if they fly. DRDO has never been able to deliver any successful product which is useful for Nation and its army therefore a white elephant. His integrity is obviously doubtful because he is giving certificate to Truck, where he doesnt not possess any domain knowledge. May god help India, where people like him call all the shots in various spheres of science and engineering.’

MP (US)
12 hrs ago (10:02 PM)
The whole world knows that the Indian politicians and bureaucrats are corrupt from head to toe. Any substandard hardware not sold anywhere else in the world is easily dumped in India, and at a higher price. Tatra Trucks are good only in name, those supplied to India are handicapped lacking in specifications and quality, with very poor maintenance facilities.Gen. VK Singh is right; he knows better than the sycophant DRDO Chief. They are trying to protect their corrupt deal. It has always happened in the Army since no previous Army Chief had the courage to blow the whistle as Gen. VK Singh had done. Hope the succeeding Army Chiefs will maintain this tradition of honesty.

S Rajendran (Chennai)
13 hrs ago (09:37 PM)
VK Saraswat , the DRDO Chief must be investigated on his connections with Tatra organisation. I have heard employees of BEML opining that the Tatra Trucks is a con job and made over to the Army on an understanding reached between Ravi Rishi, owner of Vectra, the shell company that promotes Tatra to the Indian Army and makes the pay-offs.

venkat (dubai)
13 hrs ago (09:20 PM)
DRDO chief is lying as DRDO is specialised in missile technology and not automobile technology. It is like a sattelite technologist giving certificate to the booster Wrocket manufacturer which have separate technologies.DRDO , DMRL,DRDL which comes under MOD are white elephants.When DRDO chief gets salary from MOD he has to side with MOD and not the Army.

spati (noida)
13 hrs ago (09:18 PM)
Because of DRDO our country is not self sufficient. You 1st explain why DRDO is not able to produced these types of trucks which is a basic transport for defense after thousands of crores spend in the name of research?? Who are you to say about the quality? Only the arm-force who are actually using it can comment. So we can trust the army chief not a DRDO official. Those officials satisfy 10 janpath are appointed there.

KMR (Overseas)
13 hrs ago (09:05 PM)
This DRDO chief V K Saraswat (or BEML chief) making statement to fool the public with a spin as usual without touching the sale price of truck which is more than double, ie. cheating. These guys are un-trustable, probably he in the loop of beneficiaries and it’s evident from timing of his statement that he in support of top crooks ……. Now I really doubt this Prithvi and Agni what he is talking about is fire-crackers or missiles!

spati (noida)
13 hrs ago (09:03 PM)
Can the DRDO answer why truck like TATRA cant not be produced after 30-40 yeras even though a technology transfer agreement is in place? Why the tatra trucks are still left handed drive? Why the company selling it around 1 crore to indian army while anybody can purchase it around 40 lakh on open market? Can he informed us how many trucks are dumped because of shortrage of spare parts? If the trucks are so efficient then why they are offering bribe? We all know the credibility of DRDO. Just shot your mouth. The truth is out dont try to cover it. We all are with general v.k.sing.

Shirish (Mumbai)
13 hrs ago (08:58 PM)
This DRDO officer is doing chaplusi of the corrupt Defence ministry officals…..DRDO is one of the laziest organisation in India……this idiot has been told by Govt. to speak against General V.K Singh!!

RAJA (CHENNAI)
13 hrs ago (08:58 PM)
DRDO dont certificate other countries sub-standard product…, your duty is to improve innovation and improvement in indian defence technology….., let CBI investigate DRDO chief V K Saraswat first………… why every officer in BEML and now DRDO is certifying the czech trucks??????? i think TATA and ashok leyland are paying to low to these officers( increase the bribe amount)………………….

 

Drdo

Armed Forces wait as showpiece missiles are unguided, way off mark

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Express Investigation: Delayed Research; Delayed Organisation – Part – Two

Armed Forces wait as showpiece missiles are unguided, way off mark

Amitav Ranjan                                                                                                                            Posted: Mon Nov 13 2006, 00:00 hrs                                                                            NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 12:

 

It is the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s most prestigious undertaking. Yet the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) remains a venture matchless for its repeated and expensive failures.

Of the five missile families that the DRDO announced at the IGMDP launch in July 1983, two ballistic missiles, the tactical Prithvi and long-range Agni, have been inducted into the Services. But investigation by The Indian Express reveals that even these are far from operational readiness. Among the other three missiles, the situation is worse.

DRDO claims its first success, Prithvi-I, is fully operational. However, the missiles were forced upon the Army even before crucial terminal accuracy trials were complete, according to a 2003 report by one of DRDO’s own top scientists. Even now, despite DRDO’s claims, the Army does not rely on the Prithvi as an effective deterrent and cannot do so unless serious technological issues affecting launch preparedness are resolved.

Former deputy director of the Prithvi project and now DRDO’s chief controller of missiles and strategic systems Dr V K Saraswat’s report RCI/PGT/PGM/1 admits: “Accuracy of missiles like Prithvi is acceptable in surface-to-surface theatre role, but precision strike without collateral damage is not possible with this system.”

Agni-I and Agni-II, the only strategic delivery systems in the Army’s arsenal, are considered risky. DRDO has told the Parliamentary panel, in testimonies available to The Indian Express, that the missiles have been successfully tested five times. What it conveniently leaves unsaid is the fact that this is out of at least 10 tests. Either way, the Army feels a handful of tests is not enough to prove a missile’s worth.

The Agni-III, which plunged into the sea after just five minutes of flight in July, will be tested again only towards mid-2007 as the teams at DRDL and the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur try to unravel the disaster.

As for the remaining three, anti-missile system Trishul is a closed chapter proving to be only a technology demonstrator, by former Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s own recent admission, after it was decided that persistent beam guidance glitches could not be put behind the project.

Even though the system’s radar is ready and functional, the Trishul team has never been able to correct the missile’s flawed trajectory — in all tests it has escaped out of its envelope. The project’s manpower has already been distributed among PSU Bharat Dynamics Ltd in Hyderabad, the Indo-Israeli Barak-II next generation missile project, the Project Nag and the submarine-launched missile, designated K-15.

A notional one-year extension granted to the project till December 2007, after hectic lobbying, is being seen as an outrage by the Army and Navy.

The Akash medium range surface-to-air missile, which DRDO publicly claims “is in the process of induction” will, according to the Ministry in testimony to a Parliamentary Standing Committee, only begin Phase-II user trials in December on a T-72 platform, a change that could pile up the massive time overrun further.

An exasperated IAF, which calls Phase-I user trials unsatisfactory, has decided to buy Israeli Spyder missile systems instead.

Realisation of the ramjet propulsion system has crippled the Akash programme, which continues to flounder when the missile is fired at its ceiling range of 25 to 27 km. The IAF, in fact, has certified the missile to a range of just 16-18-km, virtually declaring it a dud at maximum capacity. Officers in the IAF fear the Akash may go the Trishul way, but Natarajan claims: “The Akash missile defence system has been successful.”

The third missile, the anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) Nag, which DRDO brags as an “imminent success,” has not been accepted by the Army. After 57 flight trials, it has encountered unforeseen problems with its Imaging Infrared (IIR) seeker, rendering it inaccurate until the seeker is properly miniaturized for use. User trials are slated for June-December 2007. Saraswat’s report calls for integrating Nag’s seeker with Prithvi to make the latter a precision-guided munition (PGM) but that hasn’t worked either, since the Nag’s seeker is far from ready.

The result: After over two decades of research in seeker technology and expenditure of upto an estimated Rs 800 crore, all Indian missiles, even the Indo-Russian BrahMos,fly with foreign seekers. This is especially troubling since the North Korean and Chinese missiles are known to fly with far superior terminal guidance technologies.

The IGMDP should have wrapped up each of the projects by December 1995 using Rs 388.83 crore, but it got a 10-year extension from the then Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao after the then DRDO chief APJ Abdul Kalam managed to convince him that only a two-three year extension was not acceptable. Its revised funding: Rs 1771.43 crore, a budgetary overrun of Rs 1,382.6 crore. The time line has been further extended to December 2007 under the current chief M Natarajan.

“The Akash was to come at a certain time, and it didn’t. I had to change everything to make up for the delay.”

Air Chief Marshal SP Tyagi

“It was a troubling scenario. On the one hand, DRDO assured us of Trishul’s success, and on the other our Western fleet was sitting completely vulnerable to a Pak missile attack.”

Admiral Sushil Kumar (retd)

Drdo

DRDO muddles through 439 projects

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DRDO muddles through 439 projects

Rajat Pandit, TNN Aug 16, 2006, 03.01am IST

NEW DELHI: From missiles, radars and electronic warfare programmes to even juices, mosquito repellents and titanium dental implants, the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) does it all. And, by and large, flounders in them all, with technical glitches, time and cost overruns.

Amid growing demand by armed forces and experts that DRDO “concentrate” only on “a few core and critical areas” to bolster the country’s defence preparedness, latest statistics show the organisation has as many as 439 ongoing projects at a total cost of a whopping Rs 16,925 crore. “DRDO, with around 29,000 personnel in 50 laboratories and establishments under its umbrella, certainly needs to get its act together. Not even 10% of its total budget (DRDO got Rs 5,454 crore in 2006-07) is spent on fundamental research,” says a senior defence official.

Adds an Army officer, “What is the use of having such a huge defence R&D set-up if it cannot even come up with basics like good bullet-proof jackets, webbing and light-weight ballistic helmets. Even the systems they manage to deliver to us suffer from operational problems.”

The long-standing aim to take the country towards self-reliance in military capabilities, of course, remains a mere pipedream. If in 1991-92, 25% of India’s total defence expenditure was spent on imports, the case remains the same even now.

DRDO, of course, has to contend with inadequate funds, with its allocation hovering just around 6% of the total defence budget. Moreover, it’s not able to attract top scientific talent in the absence of good career prospects and other incentives.

But even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently told DRDO he was “concerned by the problems of cost and time-overruns, which have plagued our defence industry for decades now”.

Consequently, it’s no wonder that the armed forces prefer the import route because of DRDO’s long track-record of delivering too-little, too-late. Of the 439 projects, for instance, the really big ones number around 20. But the progress in them, more or less, has been shoddy.

The Arjun main-battle tank project, for one, was sanctioned way back in 1974. After spending a huge amount of money, the first five Arjun tanks are still being tested for battle-worthiness, with the Army not too keen to induct them.

Similar is the story with Tejas Light Combat Aircraft, sanctioned in 1983 to replace the country’s ageing MiG fleet. Though its prototypes have completed over 530 flights, IAF is not fully convinced yet whether it will induct them by even 2012. This when government has already sanctioned Rs 5489.78 crore for Tejas till now.

The country’s integrated guided missile development programme, which kicked off in 1983, has only now shown some progress, with a few Prithvi and Agni missile variants being inducted into the armed forces.