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Role Model and an Inspiration for Women Scientists – Especially for DRDO

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“We feel Tessy Thomas serves as a role model and an inspiration for women scientists to achieve their dreams and have their feet planted in both worlds successfully,”

In January, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told the Indian Science Congress that Ms Thomas is an example of a “woman making her mark in a traditionally male bastion and decisively breaking the glass ceiling”.

Ms Thomas – the media also love to call her Agniputri, or one born of fire, after the missiles she has helped develop.

An expert in ‘solid propellants’, which fuels Agni missiles, she is based at the Advanced Systems Laboratory in Hyderabad. ????????

But the charismatic scientist says she has never faced any anti-female bias at her workplace ??????

The media loves calling her Missile Woman – and with good reason.- By Pallava Bagla, Science Journalist

‘Agni Putri’ Tessy Thomas breaks glass ceiling – Rajat Pandit, TNN

Women scientists enter IIT council – Akshaya Mukul, TNN | Sep 2, 2014

NEW DELHI: The IITs, predominantly a male club that never had a woman director or scientist in its council, is in for a big change.

HRD ministry has nominated two women scientists Tessy Thomas and Vijayalakshmi Ravindranath to the IIT council, the apex body of 16 IITs.

A senior HRD official said, “The idea behind getting women scientists in the IIT council is to show that science is not the sole preserve of men. Women can be at par with men in carrying out research.”

Some of DRDO women scientists truly inspired by Tessy Thomas and all DRDO witnessing the progress of those women scientists who are following  Tessy Thomas’s footsteps.

Few examples are

Ms J Manjula, Outstanding Scientist/Sc ‘H’ has taken over as Director DARE wef 01 July 2014.

Ms. AVACHAT SS, Scientist ‘G’ ARDE, Pune Expertise in Documention 

Dr. Manisha Sathe, Scientist ‘E’, DRDE – YOUNG SCIENTIST OF THE YEAR AWARD 2007

Dr. Vineeta Nigam, Scientist ‘E’ DMSRDE

And lot of other in queue

To                                                                                            9th September 2014
Ms Prisca Mathew, CPIO, Under Secretary,
Room No. 428-C,
TECHNICAL EDUATION BUREAU,
MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT,
SHASTRI BHAWAN, RAJENDRA PRASAD ROAD,
NEW DELHI – 110 001

 

Hello,
Kindly provide me with the following information requested under the purview of the Right to Information Act, 2005 in respect of Ms Tessy Thomas nomination by HRD Minister as director in  IIT council, the apex body of 16 IITs.

  1. File noting for nomination of Ms Tessy Thomas, Scientist-H, Director, ASL, Hyderabad (DRDO) as  Director in IIT council
  2. Whether any request were made from Min. of HRD for nominating/suggesting the name of candidate from DRDO for nominating as Director in IIT council (Y/N)
  3. If yes then provide certified copy of letter sent by Min. of HRD to the DRDO.
  4. Whether DRDO submitted/proposed the name/recommendation  of Ms Tessy Thomas to Min. of HRD (Y/N)
  5. If yes then provide the certified copy of the recommendation letter.
  6. Criteria for nomination for women Director in IIT council by HRD and list of names consider for nomination of women Director.
  7. Credential submitted by Ms Tessy Thomas or by DRDO for nomination of Director in IIT council.
Regards
 
Prabhu  Dandriyal,
21-Sunderwala, Raipur, Dehradun -248008 
0135- 2787750,   9411114879,  
prabhudoon@gmail.com    www.corruptionindrdo.com
 
Registration Number DOHED/R/2014/64247
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World won’t wait for you, PM Narendra Modi tells laggard DRDO

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Rajat Pandit,TNN | Aug 21, 2014, 05.46 AM IST
NEW DELHI: The “Chalta Hai” attitude will no longer do. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed the DRDO to ensure delivery of cutting-edge weapon systems to the armed forces in time to keep India ahead in the national security arena.

Though the stern message was couched in mild language, the intent behind it could not be lost. Most of DRDO projects, ranging from Tejas light combat aircraft to long-range surface-to-air missile systems, after all, are running years behind schedule with huge cost overruns.

The fact that India, which aspires to be a superpower, still embarrassingly imports over 65% of its military requirements is basically due to failure of successive governments to build a strong domestic defence-industrial base (DIB) as well as tardy performance of DRDO and its 50 labs, five defence PSUs, four shipyards and 39 ordnance factories.

India does not lack the requisite scientific talent and capability but this “chalta hai” attitude (lackadaisical) has put paid to all endeavours, said Modi at the annual DRDO awards function on Wednesday.

“The world will not wait for us. We have to run ahead of time. We should not say in 2014 that a project conceived in 1992 will take some more time,” said Modi. With defence technology evolving at a rapid rate around the globe, India cannot afford to conceptualize systems that are two steps behind what will soon hit the MARKET.

“DRDO has to decide whether it will only react to the situation, or become pro-active and set the agenda for the global community. I have hopes from DRDO because I know it has the capability to perform,” said Modi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the DRDO Awards 2013 function in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Defence minister Arun Jaitley also stressed that defence scientists had the “intellectual talent” to turn DRDO into “a hub for defence manufacturing” if they worked towards it in the right earnest.

But this might take some doing. For one, DRDO wants more FUNDS for R&D. For another, though it has over 7,500 scientists on its rolls, it wants to attract bright youngsters from top-notch institutions like the IITs with better incentives.

“Our intake of young scientists is down to just 70 per year. This is certainly not a good sign for an innovation-centric organization. Sanction of additional manpower at the rate of 300 per year for the next seven-eight years is essential for meeting technology challenges,” said DRDO chief Avinash Chander.

But it’s equally true that DRDO itself needs to be revamped and reformed. As reported by TOI earlier, the Rama Rao Committee (RRC) in 2008 held DRDO should focus only on 8 to 10 “critical technologies” of “strategic importance”, instead of making everything from dental implants and mosquito repellents to nuclear missiles and fighter jets.

Two key RRC recommendations, for instance, to establish a new Defence Technology Commission and a commercial arm for DRDO (as a private limited company with Rs 2 crore as seed capital) are yet to be implemented.DRDO missiles

 

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India, US agree on arms deal, but technology transfer remains key

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Rajat Pandit, TNN | Aug 9, 2014, 05.34AM IST

NEW DELHI: India and the US on Friday agreed to go in for co-development and co-production of advanced weapon systems, with Washington pushing New Delhi for early decisions on offers ranging from the next-generation Javelin anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).Modi-Chuk

But India will not jump headlong into any venture without first ensuring the US sticks to its promise to provide “ground-breaking technology” on par with its closest allies, even though the Modi government is keen to strengthen the moribund domestic defence production sector.

The decision to revive the floundering Defence Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI) between the two countries, as also work towards the extension of the 10-year India-US defence framework, was taken after visiting US defence secretary Chuck Hagel held delegation-level talks with his Indian counterpart Arun Jaitley.
But India is still not fully convinced about the US as a reliable long-term, high-end defence supplier, given its propensity to impose sanctions and stringent export control laws. The US, however, believes it can effectively marry trade and technology, with benefits for both.

Stressing that “security, stability, freedom of sea lanes, economic development and energy” is in the interest of the two countries as well as the Asia-Pacific region, Hagel said the US wants to be a partner in India’s military modernization and recognises its needs to strengthen its defence-industrial base.
The US will be led by its under secretary of defence acquisition, technology and logistics Frank Kendall in the DTTI. The Indian points-man, in turn, will be the defence production secretary, which is a comedown from before since former national security advisor Shivshankar Menon earlier led the initiative. Jaitley, incidentally, accepted Hagel’s invite to visit Pentagon when he goes to Washington to attend the annual meetings of IMF and World Bank.

Of all the joint development and production offers, the US is especially keen to push the case for fourth-generation Javelin ATGMs, which even President Barack Obama has personally pushed with Modi. The Indian ATGM project, after all, is going to be worth over $2.5 billion. Javelin is in contention with the Israeli “Spike” tank-killing missiles to bag the project, as was earlier reported by TOI.

With the 1.13-million Indian Army grappling with a huge shortfall of 44,000 ATGMs of different types, the project involves an initial direct acquisition of the man-portable “tank killers”, with a strike range of 2.5km, followed by technology transfer to defence PSU Bharat Dynamics for large-scale indigenous manufacture. The Army is keen to equip all its 382 infantry battalions with third and fourth-generation ATGMs.

Comments

Vladimir Sikorski (Ulyanovsk. Russia) 3 hrs ago
In the 50’s and 60’s the Russians supplied us with their MIG’s, T-72 tanks and other weapons. The technology was transferred at that time. What happened after that. Were you guys able to develop further from that platform and make your own planes. No. The French transferred their Mirage aircraft technology in the 70’s and 80’s. Did you develop your own from that platform. No. It took 30 years to develop a 3rd generation aircraft called the Tejas. The Arjun tank was forced on the Army. So why do you Indians keep harping about technology transfer. Even after we give you all the books and manuals and the design features for a product, your paan chewing babu’s of the DRDO and the Defence Ministry are unable to develop anything over and above that. It is way better and cheaper to employ German and Japanese engineers and scientists, pay them well in India and they will develop your arms industry for you. You don’t have much time. World War III is round the corner.

Himanshu Agarwal (Location) replies to Vladimir Sikorski 54 mins ago Bronze : 189189 PointsWordsmith 1News King 1Frequent Flyer 2
Yeah probably India should focus of Developing worlds class universities and then investing similar amount to restructure and new-hiring in DRDO.

Jagdish Sinha (Patna. Bihar) 1 day ago
The USA now is willing to give all the technology India wants as it knows that the idiots in DRDO cannot duplicate or build on anything. The technology for the MIG and the T-90 tanks was transferred by Russia long time ago but we are still unable to build on it and innovate based on the earlier model. It took 30 years to build the Tejas. What a joke it turned out to be. The tech for the French planes was also provided, but just to upgrade the planes they spent billions and had to send them to France. Poor show India.

Swami Vas (Hong Kong) 103 Followers1 day ago Gold : 19.5K19495 PointsInfluencer 7Wordsmith 7Networker 2
PULSE OF INDIA: The fact that India is unconvinced of the reliability of US as a trustworthy defence supplier is absolutely understandable and perfect, considering the past experiences where the US had utterly failed to keep its promises on some important deals. So, it is only right for India to insist that all major deals should be fair and wherever appropriate include transfer of technology which was rightly pinpointed by the Prime Minister. The US belief that it can “effectively marry trade and technology” benefitting both is simply yet another striking example of marriage of convenience! The defence needs of India are indeed varied and important, some even urgent, but the Indian requirements are also huge and long-standing. Thus, it is important for India to ensure continuity in the supply chain which can only be achieved by establishing manufacturing facilities within the country. The keenness of US to strike deals with India on the latest weapons is also equally understandable, especially considering the money-value of the deal as well as its own role as a leading defence equipment exporter but the US should know that from now on all deals with India will have to be on a win-win situation basis! However important or urgent the defence needs are to modernize its armed forces, India should indeed not hurry or plunge into any deals without knowing the depth! India is the largest democracy in the world followed by the US but whether they have been truly friendly or why the US has failed to extend a hand of friendship befitting that status are debatable issues. But one thing is for certain which the world should know that the 21st Century India presently under Modi leadership is going to be a power to be reckoned with! (cc: BJPCALL-LC / PMO /MOD)

Krishna Jha:22 hours ago US Is the leader in front line technology. Before signing any agreement we must ask for TOT. Why to reinvent the wheel. As our limitations to re engineer MIG has been unsuccessful but translating blue more..

 

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Desi defence showpieces powered by videshi parts

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Rajat Pandit, TNN Jan 13, 2014, 01.39AM IST

NEW DELHI: The Tejas light combat aircraft, 30 years in the making, is just 60% indigenous as of now. The story of the indigenous Arjun main battle tank is even worse. First sanctioned in May 1974, 55% of the tank is still made of imported parts. This is the recurring theme across India’s fledgling defence industrial base (DIB), with the government failing to whip DRDO and its sprawling empire of over 50 laboratories as well as the five defence PSUs, four shipyards and 50 ordnance factories into shape.
The defence ministry, with its constant flip-flops, has also failed to spur the domestic private sector into entering the defence production sector in a big way. Neither has it managed to attract foreign direct investment (FDI), notching up a measly $5 million in the last 14 years.toi1

AK Antony may often tom-tom “indigenisation” as one of his guiding mantras, which he feels can curb corruption, but the ground reality has hardly changed in the over seven years he has been at the helm in MoD. India continues to wallow as the world’s largest arms importer, with the armed forces still getting around 65% of their military hardware and software from abroad.
In sharp contrast, China has emerged as the fastest growing arms exporter around the globe after assiduously building a strong DIB. It’s now hawking fighter jets, warships, missiles and smaller arms to countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Bolivia and Zambia.

But a “proper ecosystem” has simply not been erected in India. As if the “high import content” in the so-called indigenous projects was not enough, insiders say even the much-touted transfer of technology (ToT) provision build into large defence contracts with foreign manufacturers is a bit of a sham.

“Indian PSUs focus more on just assembling knocked-down kits from foreign vendors instead of properly absorbing technologies,” said a senior official, pointing to the ongoing “licensed production” of the Russian-origin Sukhoi-30MKI fighters by Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL).

India has inducted almost 200 of the 272 Sukhois contracted for well over $12 billion from Russia, with HAL producing most of the fighters. “As per plans, HAL should have begun making Sukhois completely from raw material two-three years ago. But there has been a big delay,” he said.

“Moreover, the cost of each HAL-manufactured Sukhoi is almost Rs 100 crore more than if the same fighter was directly imported from Russia (the last 42 Sukhois ordered cost over Rs 450 crore each),” he added.

DRDO does have a point that funds allocated for defence R&D are not adequate. “We just get slightly over 5% of the total defence budget. The US defence R&D budget is around 12%, while China has 20%,” said a scientist.

But not many are impressed, pointing to huge time and cost overruns in almost all DRDO projects. While the indigenous development of Tejas, Arjun and other weapon systems is certainly to be cheered, the high import content in them remains another source of worry.

Take Tejas, which finally achieved its initial operational clearance last month. It has an American engine, British ejection seat, Canadian canopy sheath and Israeli radar. “A major chunk of its avionics and weapons are also imported. The series production of the Tejas Mark-II version, which is what IAF actually wants, is unlikely to begin before 2022,” said an officer.
The Army, in turn, has inducted 124 Arjun Mark-I tanks, while trials are currently in progress for the Mark-II version with 89 “upgrades or improvements”. The tank is just about 45% indigenous as of now, with its main laser guided missile being the Israeli LAHAT. “Arjun’s missile firing control system, laser target designator, engine transmission, suspension unit and running gear (track) are all foreign,” said an Army officer.

India has fared relatively better on the naval front, with all the 45 warships currently on order being constructed in Indian shipyards. Officials say India has achieved 80-90% indigenisation in the “float” (warship’s structure, hull etc), 50-60% on the “move” (propulsion) and 30% on the “fight” (weapons and sensors) components.

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Don’t delay Light Combat Aircraft project: Anthony to DRDO

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Rajat Pandit, TNN Nov 6, 2013, 08.19PM IST
NEW DELHI: Defence minister A K Antony on Wednesday directed the DRDO to ensure that the operational deadlines for the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft, first sanctioned 30 years to replace the ageing MiG-21s, are not delayed yet again.

Addressing the parliamentary consultative committee on defence, Antony said the under-development indigenous fighter’s initial operational clearance (IOC) planned for next month and the final operational clearance (FOC) in December 2014 should be “completed on schedule”.With DRDO currently handling as many as 532 projects, the minister asked DRDO to “mainly concentrate on high-end research, particularly in critical and strategic areas”. DRDO should invest more time and resources in fundamental research, lay more emphasis on major mission-mode programmes for the armed forces and pool together resources and talent available in academic and other R&D institutions, he said.

The long-running developmental sagas of the Tejas fighter and Arjun main-battle tank have come to symbolize the huge delays and cost-overruns dogging virtually all major projects of DRDO. While the MPs lauded DRDO’s success in the field of missiles, they were “bitterly critical” of the delay in such projects.

As earlier reported by TOI, the single-engine Tejas is unlikely to become fully combat-worthy anytime before end-2015. When the Tejas project was first sanctioned in 1983, the initial project cost was pegged at Rs 560 crore. The overall programme will now cost upwards of Rs 25,000 crore if the naval variant, trainer and the failed Kaveri engine are also taken into account.

It was in January 2011 that Tejas got IOC-I, which was initially heralded as the “full and final IOC” by the combine of DRDO, Aeronautical Development Agency and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd till better sense prevailed. The fighter can be certified as fully airworthy only after it passes the IOC-II stage.

The light-weight Tejas will be ready to go to war only after the FOC, which will include integration of all weapons and other systems to ensure it can fire guns, rockets, laser-guided bombs and BVR (beyond visual range) missiles as well as undergo air-to-air refuelling.

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DRDO revamp still in doldrums

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Rajat Pandit, TNN | Aug 13, 2012, 01.45AM IST

NEW DELHI: Like the unending developmental saga of Tejas light combat aircraft, now 30 years in the making, the much-touted revamp of the Defence Research and Development Organisation also seems to be progressing at a glacial pace.

Over four years after the Rama Rao Committee (RRC) submitted its report in February 2008, none of the major recommendations to make DRDO a better R&D organization capable of developing state-of-the-art weapon systems without time and cost overruns has been implemented.

Another committee led by the defence secretary subsequently watered down several steps suggested by the RRC to arrive at “a set of acceptable recommendations”. But even this “major DRDO restructuring plan”, grandiosely announced by the defence ministry in May 2010, is yet to see the light of day.

PM Manmohan Singh, last month, warned there was an urgent need to “change our current bureaucratic system” of administering scientific and technical departments.

“Organizationally too, DRDO should aim at becoming leaner and making the best use of its human, financial and technological resources,” he said.

With India still importing well over 60% of its military needs, experts feel it’s imperative to drastically overhaul the DRDO-defence PSU set-up as well as strongly push for private sector participation to build a strong domestic defence-industrial base.

But that seems a pipe dream. As part of the revamp of DRDO, which has an over Rs 10,500 crore annual budget, a new Defence Technology Commission (DTC) was to be established with defence minister A K Antony as its chairman. Quizzed about the delay, officials said “a note for the DTC has been initiated for the Union Cabinet’s approval”. DRDO, in turn, is pushing for an “empowered” DTC on the lines of the space and atomic energy commissions.

Writers’ Comments (1)

Rajat Pandit (New Delhi)

13 hrs ago

The recommendation for the creation of seven technology clusters (missile systems, aeronautics, armament & combat engineering, electronics & communication, material sciences, naval systems and life sciences), each headed by a director-general to ensure timely execution of major programmes, is also yet to take shape. Similarly, “notes for approval of the Cabinet” have so far only been “initiated” for the creation of a commercial arm of DRDO, which was to be created as a private limited company with Rs 2 crore as seed capital, and re-designation of the DRDO director-general as chairman

s_swamy (hyd) replies to rajatpandit

12 hrs ago

The IGMP of DRDO is one of the lone (partial)success story. Credit goes to Dr Kalam (for scientific & managerial inputs) and his successor Dr Saraswat et al for shear sweat. Elsewhere nothing much to brag about. LCA, Battle tank, artillery, torpedos… all are high priority where advanced countries may sell a few dozen, but India will end up a buyer for ever and cannot even find spares later. A very familiar story. DRDO’s effort? After 30 years of tardy development and a few thousand crores down the rat hole, wants to “tie-up” with a foreign know-how source. (Eg:GE for aeroengines, NPOE for Brahmos etc.).What next? No one appears to have any vision. Private companies are a huge let down. Some biggies have invested but Defence orders are far and few; they have shut shop or hiked the margins to keep alive. They have mostly tied-up with foreign suppliers and these items will be obsolete by the time they get first set of orders! They have no homegrown R&D back up, because they cannot find local talent or they don’t trust this. The picture is pathetic.

Raghubir Singh (pune) replies to rajatpandit

12 hrs ago

It is only good luck that RRC has been as slow as Tejas otherwise it would have created much chaos. All the successes we have been privy to in recent times from Agni to BMD’s- would perhaps have eluded us otherwise? Restructuring should be suggested by those who understand the basics of defence research & at least know how a gun fires and and what is the battle field environment. Best would be to have an internal review of the DRDO org structure by its senior CCR&D’s with some retired Directors and serving general rank officers & defence technologists and put up for review to the MoD.

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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.

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Sanctioned in ’83, LCA Tejas is yet to take off

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Sanctioned in ’83, LCA Tejas is yet to take off

Rajat Pandit, TNN Feb 12, 2008, 01.55am IST

NEW DELHI: When defence minister A K Antony witnesses a flight demonstration of the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) in Bangalore on Tuesday, he should take a close look at the fighter which typifies all that is wrong with defence projects in India.

The LCA project was sanctioned way back in 1983 at a cost of Rs 560 crore to replace the rapidly aging MiG fighters.

A quarter of a century later, with project costs already pegged at Rs 5,489.78 crore, the LCA is still at least four years away from becoming fully operational.

And when IAF finally inducts an LCA squadron, around 2012 or so, it will fly with American GE-404 engines and radars developed with Israel’s help, apart from several other ‘foreign’ parts in what is touted to be an ‘indigenous’ project.

Yes, developing a supersonic fly-by-wire fighter jet from scratch, with international sanctions in place for several years, is an extremely complex task. “But taking almost three decades is criminal,” said a senior official.

“All the agencies involved in it like the Aeronautical Development Agency, Defence Research and Development Organization, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd and even the IAF, which has frequently changed requirements of weapons and electronic warfare midway, have to share the blame,” he added.

For the record, the two LCA technology demonstrators and three prototype vehicles have clocked over 800 flights till now, accumulating 425 hours and covering a flight envelope of 1.4 Mach and 15-km altitude.

Last year, the LCA even test-fired its first air-to-air missile, prompting the defence ministry to proclaim it as “a historic event” marking the beginning of the “weaponization” of Tejas. But the fact remains that the deadlines for the IOC (initial operational clearance) and FOC (final operational clearance) of Tejas have been revised time and again. As things stand now, IOC is projected by 2010 and FOC by 2012.

IAF, on its part, has ordered only 20 LCAs so far, despite pressure from the defence R&D establishment, unsure as it is of the delivery date and whether the LCA will be a top-notch fighter once it is ready. Incidentally, IAF and Navy had earlier projected a requirement of as many as 220 LCAs.

The less said about the indigenous Kaveri engine, which was meant to power the LCA, the better. The repeated failures of Kaveri – its development cost has jumped to Rs 2,839 crore from the initial Rs 382 crore – has meant the first 40 LCAs will have the American GE-404 engines.

With no solution in sight, DRDO has invited proposals for foreign collaboration for the co-development of Kaveri now. Keeping all this in mind, the overall development cost of LCA will zoom well over Rs 12,000 crore before it becomes a reality.

 

Readers’ opinions (33)

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vivian fernandes (bombay)
12 Feb, 2008 09:21 AM
I have recently started working for the aviation industry and i have come to learn that although building a plane sounds easy there are so many parts that have to fit together that it is a mind boggling process.. However like many of the readers have mentioned,it should not take us 24 years to make a plane fly .. I do agree that the indian scientists are underpaid and i think it is high time we start bringing in private contractors like most of the western countries do.. so i think the only solution to this problem is to bring in people who know what they are doing and not leave projects in the hands of un educated,3rd rate politicians who might as well sold the parts for the plane on the black market to line their pockets..

Kotresh Tambrallimath (Bangalore)
12 Feb, 2008 09:00 AM
Indian Scientist salary is 5 to 10 times less than normal software Engineer salary. Because of this transition rates are high, so project is getting delay. Regarding cost of project, all are talking about 5000 cr. but how many billions of dollars US has invested to come to this position ??? Developing our own technology and building LCA is far far far better than Buying Black box(F16). I am very much thankful to all our scientists who are working in ADA and DRDO for there effort and dedication.

Krishna (Pennsylvania, PA)
12 Feb, 2008 08:31 AM
Well…I have worked on the LCA’s cockpit software programs in the early 90s. I know very well that we tried imitating F16’s fly by wire technology. We even followed USA DoD standard for software documentation. But I don’t understand why there is so much delay in taking off. I think we could not even copy something properly.

Prasad (Atlanta, USA)
12 Feb, 2008 08:24 AM
Even if we consider 12K Crore to develop an aircaraft from scratch (and belive, me there are many more things to an aircraft apart from the engine), I think it is not a bad price. Considering India has 12 lakh crores in its coffers as foreigh exchange and its income has multiplied manifold in past few years, 12 K crores for this project is not at all astronomical. We have to be cognizent of the fact that the project was executed by a government agency in complete isolation until recently without any private participation. India has learned a good lesson from it and is now encouraging privte participation in these kind of projects. I think we need to look at it much more positively. Every project is a learning curve and we have learned our share from this one too. I find such reports a bit too harsh towards all the good work which has gone into it. As a responsible mouthpiece of Indian media your esteemed publication should refrain from publishing such articles, which show our research establishments in bad light.

Rishi (Bangalore)
12 Feb, 2008 08:21 AM
Its time for the government to come out of the politics and took hard decision and recruiting from top premier colleges by offering them competetive pay.India have enough talent to build anything the only thing is that there should be strong will power behind it.

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Panel wants overhaul in DRDO’s set-up

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Panel wants overhaul in DRDO’s set-up

Rajat Pandit, TNN Mar 19, 2007, 12.13am IST

NEW DELHI: Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has taken yet another hit.

After being slammed for huge time and cost overruns in virtually all its projects, a parliamentary committee has now called for DRDO’s drastic overhaul if it’s to supply cutting-edge weapon systems to the armed forces in time.

 

And the “fundamental changes” must start at the very top. In its latest report tabled in Parliament on Friday, apart from recording Defence Research and Development Organisation’s “disappointing performance”, the Standing Committee on defence expressed its “displeasure”at the scientific advisor (SA) to the defence minister wearing so many hats.

In addition to being the SA, he is also director-general of DRDO, secretary (R&D) and director-general of Aeronautical Development Agency.

This must change, as also DRDO’s penchant for taking too many things on its plate. Venturing as it does even into making juices, mosquito repellents, titanium dental implants and the like, the committee said DRDO must concentrate only on “fundamental and crucial” defence research.

Urging the government to encourage the private sector to come into defence R&D and production in a major way, the committee said DRDO must be made more accountable and open to independent auditing.

A comprehensive national policy should also be formulated to recruit and retain “talented and experienced”scientists in Defence Research and Development Organisation, which has a shortage of around 1,400 scientists, as also promote its closer cooperation with IITs and universities.

Calls for a revamp of Defence Research and Development Organisation, of course, are not new. This newspaper, in several reports, has highlighted that it continues to flounder in developing desperately-needed military capabilities for the country.

Whether it’s the much-touted Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), sanctioned in 1983 but still at least four-five years away from becoming fully-operational, or the bulky Arjun main-battle tank, which the Army is being forced to swallow, the story has remained grim.

With the mind-boggling delays, the costs of most of Defence Research and Development Organisation projects have simply zoomed up. Take the LCA programme. Its initial projected cost was Rs 560 crore.

But now, it stands at Rs 5,490 crore, with another Rs 2,893 crore for its Kaveri engine. By the time the LCA becomes operational, if it does, over Rs 10,000 crore would have been sunk into it.

So, it’s no wonder that India has become the largest importer of military hardware and software in the developing world, notching up arms deals worth $11 billion in just 2004 and 2005.

It will spend another $30 billion over the next five years in armament imports. In view of all this, the parliamentary report expressed the “urgent need” for “a thorough review” of the functioning and organisational set-up of Defence Research and Development Organisation, which has 50 establishments and over 33,000 personnel under its umbrella.

Expressing dismay that DRDO had managed to achieve only 30% indigenisation target as against the 70% target set for the 10th Plan (2002-2007), the panel said the organisation has not been able to achieve its mission of self-reliance in defence production even 48 years after it was established.

Readers’ opinions (3)

asamanja ghose (paris)
19 Mar, 2007 02:16 PM
Dear Editor, Once again, the Parliamentary Committee should have gone much farther in its recommendations. We must institute a thorough judicial inquiry (independent of any and all administrative and political influence) as to why the LCA project and all other important Defence Projects have not yet been completed to date and resulted in such delays and heavy cost over-runs, while forcing the country to spend its meagre Foreign Exchange reserves to import military hardware. For instance, we are being forced to buy 126 Fighter Aircraft. If the LCA had been on time, this would not have been necessary, would it? In my opinion, military hardware-exporting countries and our corrupt politicians, corrupt political parties, and certainly some corrupt scientists in the DRDO are responsible for this state of affairs. They take bribes to design ways and means to delay our projects so as to continue exporting their outdated and “junk” products to India. How is it that no IT raids have ever been carried out on any of the above-mentioned categories of people, but only minor officials have been targeted, just for the form. Why have not the account books of the congress party not been seized and audited thoroughly after allegations that “thales”, the french manufacturer 0f the six diesel-electric submarines from whom india has ordered these, has paid sonia khan (sorry gandhi) a “bakshsish”‘ of 400 crores after the signing of this agreement. it is obvious that rajiv khan (sorry gandhi) did not have as big a stomach to digest the 64 crores that he had taken for the bofors deal and that he did share it with the congress party. Of course, the biggest “boffun” that the Bofors deal exposed was no one to do any thing with the congress, but the self-styled raja v.p. singh, who shouted himself hoarse before being elected prime minister saying that he will unveil the names of all the culprits of this international scandal, but once elected just forgot about it did nothing of the sort. Others like vajpaye and advani did not do much better. are we, as a nation, so cowardly that we are afraid of owning up to and take responsibility for our faults? if we aspire to be a superpower, should we behave like a bunch of sheep or tigers? Should we not start preparing for the day when we will have to tell the USA to get the hell out of the Indian Ocean, as that is our territory, and that they have nothing to do with that any more? Think over all this, dear reader. if these concepts seem too advanced for you, do contact me, i will explain. rest assured, it will be India that will the usa a bloody nose and make them eschew their haughtiness and misplaced sense of superiority. just ask yourself, what is that impostor, cheat and a plain highway robber be without his Indian software developers? What would the USA be without us Indians today? A. GHOSE

viswanath c (mumbai)
19 Mar, 2007 10:08 AM
Many organisations like DRDO are not at all performing well. The entire hierarchy needs to be revamped so that persons who can show results only can remain and exist there. In many cases, such Institutions does not allow youngsters to come forward and in desperation they leve the country. No need to make any hue and cry about depletion or loss of intellectual and technical personnel, let us do some homework to correct ourself!

balasubba raman guruswamy (bangalore)
19 Mar, 2007 08:18 AM
Internal nepotism is the bane of DRDO Labs. The best of brains are demotivated lot. It would be interesting if the ‘heads of the Labs’ are thoroughly investigated on the impact of their personal lives on the working of DRDO, over last 10 to 15 years.

Drdo

DRDO turns to NRIs to reverse brain drain

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DRDO turns to NRIs to reverse brain drain

Rajat Pandit, TNN Mar 13, 2008, 03.09am IST

NEW DELHI: Pack your bags, return to India and work in the cutting-edge defence technology arena to bolster the country’s military strength.

Often lambasted for huge time and cost overruns in strategic projects, the Defence Research and Development Organisation now wants to add some solid NRI firepower to its armoury.

After losing close to 1,500 scientists to much greener pastures of corporate world just since 2002, DRDO is stepping up its ‘talent search scheme’ to lure NRIs into its fold through some ‘reverse brain drain’.

The scheme for NRIs, though still in its infancy, has already netted at least 40 PhDs and MTechs working in academics or industry in countries like US, UK, Japan and Sweden.

“We are intensifying the drive. In 2007 alone, we received 150 applications from NRI scientists and engineers and finally picked up 22. The number of applicants is increasing, with the majority coming from US,” a top DRDO scientist told TOI on Wednesday.

Defence minister A K Antony, on his part, told Parliament that DRDO, faced with an ‘attrition rate’ of around 7% every year, was now processing applications ‘quickly’ in the NRI talent search scheme.

“They are being interviewed through televideo conferencing for their quick appointment in DRDO. The process is repeated three-four times a year to increase the intake of NRIs,” he said.

At present, DRDO has around 6,900 scientists against a sanctioned strength of 7,255. But the greater worry is the ‘quality’ of scientists, with DRDO unable to attract bright youngsters from institutes like IITs in sufficient numbers for its 52 laboratories and establishments across the country.

It hopes to gain some ground through the NRI scheme, both in terms of quantity and quality. “The NRIs bring new knowledge, expertise, work ethic and culture,” said the scientist.

But will the scheme attract good talent, considering that those selected will get a carry-home monthly package of just about Rs 35,000 to Rs 45,000? DRDO seems reasonably confident of it.

“NRIs in the 35 to 45 age-group, having worked abroad for 10 or more years, have enough buffer money. If they want to come back to their kith and kin, we can provide them with job satisfaction,” said a senior DRDO official.

“We also give value in terms of accommodation, working environment and facilities in our labs, health benefits, pension and the like,” he added. Then, of course, DRDO has demanded a ‘performance-based incentive package’ for scientists, over and above the revision in salaries, from the 6th Pay Commission.

This includes proposals like a Rs 10,000 award for every patent being filed or a paper being published in a reputed journal, as also a ‘technology-transfer fee’ for every lab-to-industry transfer.

DRDO scientists say Prime Minister Manmohan Singh himself has promised to them that careers in science will be made ‘more attractive from all perspectives’ to stem brain drain.

Apart from fiscal and career incentives, they say the government is also considering facilitating mobility between institutions, between institutions and academia, as well as from research institutions to the production and marketing sectors.

rajat.pandit@timesgroup.com

Readers’ opinions (33)

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Raja (India)
13 Mar, 2008 01:41 PM
India has always been a growing economy; esp. in last 7-8 years. India has very confidently entered in 21st century. Today, countries like: U.S., U.K., Japan have realised that. Canada and Australia have realised India’s potential too; but still – i believe it is just a matter of time before they start getting more serious like U.S., U.K. and Japan. This is an excellent move. And Guys… for many NRI’S; money is not the only criteria to be staying outside their own country. If they are getting similar opportunities in research and development sectors, growth opportunities – than why not? All the best.

arun (china)
13 Mar, 2008 01:32 PM
This move could be a good idea as well as dangerous move. But critising the idea and giving a wrong message (as done by some readers) is not a correct approach. It is accepted that the politicians (like Arjun Singh)spoil the whole education and working institutions. So we will try to put in our effort to protect our motherland for the enemies in our shoulders (china & pakistan). Bring in talents and dollars.

NAGRAJ (HYDERABAD)
13 Mar, 2008 01:23 PM
WHICH NRI WILL COME AND JOIN DRDO. THE DESERVING AND HARD WORKING SCIENTISTS WITH IN DRDO ARE SIDE LINED AND FORGOTTEN AND FELLOWS WHO DONT DO A NAYA PAISA OF JOB AND WHO ARE RHETORIC AND WHO HAVE GOOD RELATION WITH HIGHER UPS HOLD VINTAGE POSITION.LET DRDO RECOGNIZE THE TALENT WITH IN AND HONOR THOSE WHO DEDICATED AND BROUGHT THE MISSILE TECHNOLOGY TO THIS LEVEL SO THAT IT MAY SERVE AS MOTIVATION FOR THE YOUNGER SCIENTIST TO PERFORM BEFORE ASKING THE NRI TO PACK AND COME BACK. ASK THE NON PERFORMING FELLOWS IN DRDO TO PACK AND LEAVE AND ALL WILL BE WELL.

dev (australia)
13 Mar, 2008 01:21 PM
Though having no research qualif. etc..looking at your readers comments..anybody can realise the problem in getting back NRIs..India seems to be run by politicians and bureaucrats..In Western countries the tech people dont kowtow to anybody. If any pollie or bureaucrats create small problem for techie…it will end up in court quite fast. And the legal ppl also will not give any support to their fellow bureaucrats/pollies. So you can see, the babuji culture is the main culprit in india.One of your readers also suggest the solution..having entrance exam for politicians.

Dr. P. Metlapalli (USA)
13 Mar, 2008 12:29 PM
DRDO must be crazy to think anyone would come back from USA for Rs 35000 – 45,000 p.m. in the middle of pothole-ridden roads where no vehicle can move (soon all traffic will come to a standstill in India – with so many vehicles adding daily to the world’s lousiest roads). Politicians are busy with keeping their grip on power – they should first face legal action than try for elections. Their final aim to make 90% reserved – one day a reserved doctor will do their surgery and even then they won’t wake up. All this so-called “economic boom” will collapse the moment US stops outsourcing. India is simply doomed forever, unless they have a “government by merit” – politicians selected by entrance exam than elections. That way their link to elections will be cut and things will automatically get sorted out.

sac (India)
13 Mar, 2008 11:42 AM

Dear NRIs, Dont even THINK of returning to India. You will find your self in the middle of the Mud Reservior. And this mud reservior is a stincking one. India is and will always remain country of illeterate and goondas. It is and will always be ruled by Illeterate and roadside people called Politicians and Mantris. Most of the NRIs repent and look for jobs back in the better coutries in a period of year or 2. The way India is shown to the world is a myth. And in reality, this country and country politicians has no will to improve. The rulers of this country will keep this country poor, countrymen illeterate FOR EVER. Come to India only if you want to KILL your peace of mind, your career, want to beg for everything in front of corrupt beaurocrats, police and politicians and most important, if you want your children and all future generations to ABUSE and CURSE you FOREVER. Think 1000000000000000000 times before coming to India.

Rajivi (Mangalore)
13 Mar, 2008 11:41 AM

Instead of appealing to the NRIs, the DRDO, being a government organisation, should provide an atmoshpere of good working condition and good salary. Now a days, with the cost of education going up and up, the brilliant scientists would not want to work for peanuts,after spending huge amount on their education. Being a retired government employee, I know how the working atmoshpere is, and also the pain seniours experience, when they have to work under the Juniors, in the name of reservation.

Rajivi (Mangalore)
13 Mar, 2008 11:41 AM

Instead of appealing to the NRIs, the DRDO, being a government organisation, should provide an atmoshpere of good working condition and good salary. Now a days, with the cost of education going up and up, the brilliant scientists would not want to work for peanuts,after spending huge amount on their education. Being a retired government employee, I know how the working atmoshpere is, and also the pain seniours experience, when they have to work under the Juniors, in the name of reservation.

dms-sd_CA (California, USA)
13 Mar, 2008 11:32 AM

Just a note: If your hair has not turned gray and thinned out on the top – it is highly unlikely that you are truly a genious scientist !

Mitesh Joshi (Pune)
13 Mar, 2008 11:32 AM

I don’t feel that it is possible for DRDO to attract a “pure techie” from the Silicon valley of US, Hi-tech labs of Japan, Sweden etc… coz they are living a cool life with 4-5000$ per month.Money matters… envionment matters….Government strategy matters…. Nation’s International decision matters…. As we konw the bitter reality of our system i.e. it works for only-only for vote bank & money at any level of corruption. Real techie wants to work on realities & needs, not on time to time changing Govt. policies & courrupt enviornment. They actually have lost the faith in our country system & its leaders. Currently there is a drain of techie’s of middle level layer too in name of studies & marriages. They are now focusing on Australia as their next destination as US is already saturated.

Mitesh Joshi (Pune)
13 Mar, 2008 11:32 AM

I don’t feel that it is possible for DRDO to attract a “pure techie” from the Silicon valley of US, Hi-tech labs of Japan, Sweden etc… coz they are living a cool life with 4-5000$ per month.Money matters… envionment matters….Government strategy matters…. Nation’s International decision matters…. As we konw the bitter reality of our system i.e. it works for only-only for vote bank & money at any level of corruption. Real techie wants to work on realities & needs, not on time to time changing Govt. policies & courrupt enviornment. They actually have lost the faith in our country system & its leaders. Currently there is a drain of techie’s of middle level layer too in name of studies & marriages. They are now focusing on Australia as their next destination as US is already saturated.

Satyanarayan (Singapore)
13 Mar, 2008 11:20 AM

Ask Arjun Singh (our HRD minister) to call NRIs, it would be better. Ask him how much % given for NRIs. To get good scientist pls. stop reservation in indian secuirity. For development of India minority reservation should be totaly eliminated.For DRDO first stop pilitics inside and start working. Do not take your relatives if you are in selection board.

Ajay (Delhi)
13 Mar, 2008 11:17 AM

I think India is going in a right direction. By recruiting NRI specialist, India can grow much stronger and faster in right direction. Jai Hind.

EMC3 (India)
13 Mar, 2008 11:14 AM

Ok…Now we have american spies also inside DRDO…These NRI’s will get paid from CIA as well as from DRDO..The CIA will also create a good identity and resume for them…

krishan (singapore)
13 Mar, 2008 10:54 AM

I dont know how many scientists in the age group of 35-45 will be attracted to this kind of sums, above all we all know the commitments that Indian employees carry,,its just too lazy out there, no accountability. Good luck to DRDO but I dont think it will work out.

P.M.G.Pillai (<ANNAR ALLAPUZHA)
13 Mar, 2008 10:47 AM

The defence minister homself has admitted in the floor of loksabha that ther is an atrition rate of seven percent of scientists from DRDO.People should analyze why this is taking place?After all India need trained,itelligenct scientists for under taking research when that is the fact why this large scale migratio occurs?one can under stand about the LACK OF FACILOITIES,encoutagements from government because poltical leadershiplack VISION hence criticise every aspect of a project for delay with out under standing and knowing the real cause of this Another depatt the accountant general will criticise for over running the cist here also lack knowledge lastly the pay packet also will pinch the concerned. All these causes drive our yong and upcoming intelligent scientists searcg for avenues where they will be given red carpet receotion and lot of encouragment.Hence the attrition.The government must under stand this fact and remedy the situation to ensure that these bright yong men are given honoured positions to under take their research indisturbed

N. S. Talekar (Kunming)
13 Mar, 2008 10:43 AM

This again goes to show that we are not producing quality scientists (Ph. D.) in Indian universities. The NRIs that the government wish to attract hold Ph. Ds from universities abroad. If we produce quality Ph. Ds like American, Australian, and European universities do, such scientists can do the job that government wishes NRIs will do and be happy with the salary that government plans to offer to NRIs. Our top undergraduates (e. g. IIT products) are as good as any in the world, but I cannot speak that for our Ph. Ds. Solution to this quality problem is simple but I doubt the current government has will power to discipline the research universities to improve their research standard.

Yash (MD, US)
13 Mar, 2008 10:43 AM

Bull Shit, — $1000 -1100 a month ..even NRI Cabbies in NY ..or sweepers in heathrow airport ..or construction labor in gulf won’t bother to look at DRDO option.. wake up from Slumber DRDO .. India govt funded institutes have fundamental problem like reservation ..red tape .. sluggishness ..that cause good techies to shun them

james (delhi)
13 Mar, 2008 10:39 AM

Rather than trying to woo in NRI’s, the DRDO needs to make itself attractive to the young and upcoming scientists and students in india. india has never had a dearth of scientific talent. the way DRDO can do that is by actively participating in the various institutes and universities. Moreover DRDO needs to fix definite goals and reward scientists once that is reached. Merit needs to be rewarded. It should get rid of all reservatoins and only take in people with talent. It should start funding research groups who come up with innovative ideas and plans. DRDO needs to be much more dynamic. It has to get rid of that “babu” culture which is very much prevalent. It can learn a thing or two from ISRO and a lot from NASA. Right now DRDO is like a half dead horse with no intention of running.

V Shankar (Coimbatore)
13 Mar, 2008 10:23 AM

The DRDO initiative to attract NRI scientists is welcome. However, the Govt. S&T establishment should do serious introspection into why people leave in the first place. Not all talented people leave for better monetary benefits. They leave because the challenge or vision is not there. One problem is that the leaders are all the time worried about which post to apply for, which tour to go on next. They are also burdened (albeit self-inflicted) by a lot of exracurricular activities, so much so that the main thrust of their role is lost to the organization. It is all too easy to showcase a few achievements and get away with any kind of performance. The leadership is very happy creating good followers who will do what they say. Very few of our top scientists make time to handle and nurture top talent, given their preoccupations. It is time the government did serious introspection into how the top leadership in our S&T organizations, including universities functions. We need to take concrete steps to address systemic factors that remove focus from the mission and put institutional interests above individual goals. V. Shankar

vinay (Bangalore)
13 Mar, 2008 10:23 AM

Tell them to give 80% reservations. They should do good then.

snq (muscat)
13 Mar, 2008 10:14 AM

even after all emigrations to the greener west , india still has a lot of talent. whereas greener west makes a mountain of a mole hill of talent with its supportive environment, in india we even trash mountains of talent to mole hill because of politics of reservation as a vote ban

G S RAINA (NEW DELHI)
13 Mar, 2008 10:09 AM

THIS HAS NEVER BEEN SUCCESSFUL..NEITHER IT WILL BE,…FOR SURE..IN ANY CASE WOULD ANY NRI BE SATISFIED WORKING ON A TECHNOLOGY WHICH HE CAN ‘DEVELOP/ INNOVATE’ ABROAD..WOULD ONE LIKE TO BE THE USER OR THE INVENTOR?

Manjunath (Bangalore)
13 Mar, 2008 10:03 AM

DRDO seeing one more “Day Dream” !!

R.Varadarajan (Bangalore)
13 Mar, 2008 09:55 AM

A good idea to attract good scientists.

C V Pillai (Mumbai)
13 Mar, 2008 09:50 AM

Having worked in a well known Institute for nearly 30 years, I had tried to analyse the problems faced by the best talents who opt for employment in India. The main hurdle is their superiors, who refuse to accept their subordinate’s level of competancy. The pity is that many of these superiors are following the same British style hierarchy,(which is still being followed by our Babujis in NewDelhi) without realizing the situtaion. The situation means the facilities and status offerd by the private sector. Therefore the necessity is to change the attitude of the middle and high level persons in these establishments and then only the newly selected will able to perform well. Appropriate training / counseling may be given to these Officers to understand the changed environment. The Defence minister may please look into this at the earliest.

gadadhari_bhim (usa)
13 Mar, 2008 09:47 AM

I think what the DRDO fails to recognize that it’s not the technical quality of people which is creating a problem. The Problem is the environment where there is no accountability and lack of true meritrocracy. Of course there are issues of pay and other facilities to the scientists i.e. if you want to want to attract top people you have to give top pay and best working environment

Badri (Hyd)
13 Mar, 2008 09:45 AM

I think DRDO has taken a good step towords Brain Drain. It was late but they have implemented it..Govt company’s in India has got lot of potential only thing is they want proper process and mangement in place. My sincer advice atleast dont implement reservation at that high profile jobs….. hunt for talent.

Prabhjot (London)
13 Mar, 2008 09:44 AM

Brain drain has an exponential relationship with salaries. With a carry-home monthly package of just about Rs 35,000 to Rs 45,000, DRDO must be dreaming to attract back NRIs.

TruLies (Chennai)
13 Mar, 2008 08:50 AM

Why dont INDIA allow private R&D in defence projects. Govt can procure its weapons from them, save lot foreign exchange. With this govt can create more jobs. Latter these companies also will go export…

JK (MN)
13 Mar, 2008 08:26 AM

DRDO feels they are the god father of all the techies migrated to US.First you clean those mess then think about brains.

ashwani (canada)
13 Mar, 2008 08:06 AM

It is good to hear that we are finally planning to attract talent for DRDO but is it possible to keep DRDO away from rserved jobs at lower levels who finally also get promoted to higher levels.

Dr.G.Srinivasan (india)
13 Mar, 2008 07:32 AM

Ask Arjun singh and his coterie he will get you the necessary brains

rk (USA)
13 Mar, 2008 05:41 AM

Its time to scrap DRDO. Enough of tax payers money wasted.