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Nirmala Sitharaman likely to back J Manjula as next DRDO chief

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The research body has remained headless – though defence secretary Sanjay Mitra has been accorded additional charge – since incumbent S Christopher retired in June.

By Manu Pubby, ET Bureau|Jul 21, 2018,
With the race for the next head of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) heating up, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman is believed to be putting her weight behind a surprise candidate — Jillelamudi Manjula, the first woman director general of the body.

Government sources said that though Manjula — currently posted as the director general electronics and communication systems — is junior to several other scientists in DRDO, her name is in consideration after a strong push by the minister.

A decision on the next DRDO chief is expected to be taken by the appointments committee of the Union Cabinet in the next few days.

The research body has remained headless – though defence secretary Sanjay Mitra has been accorded additional charge – since incumbent S Christopher retired in June.
Manjula, who belongs to Andhra Pradesh, is not as experienced as other competitors, who have been shortlisted for the appointment but is the first woman scientist to be appointed to the senior post.
If selected, she will have an unusually long tenure as the chief that can stretch up to eight years, given past precedence when DRDO chiefs have been given an extension till the age of 64 years.

Another name doing the rounds is that of Pravin K Mehta, who heads the armament cluster of the research organisation in Pune.

 

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As S Christopher completes term, DRDO to remain headless for 3 months

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By Manu Pubby, ET Bureau|Updated: May 29, 2018

Christopher was in May last year given a one-year extension. His extended term ended today.

NEW DELHI: The Defence Research And Development Organisation (DRDO) could stay headless for as many as three months with the government failing to find a replacement for incumbent Selvin Christopher who retired on Monday. Efforts till late to grant him another extension in service could have delayed the appointment of a successor, with a search committee looking at probable names to recommend to the cabinet appointments committee.
Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra will hold additional charge of the organisation till the government approves a scientist to take over the top position, an official notification said.

The past few weeks has seen jostling for the post. DRDO has an annual budget of `17,861 crore. Outgoing chief Christopher who was already on a year’s extension of service beyond the prescribed age but had been hoping for yet another extension.

This search committee list is expected to include the three senior most scientists of DRDO, besides the first woman to have made it to the post of director-general in the organisation. Sources said that those in the fray include missile scientists G Satheesh Reddy, the scientific advisor to the defence minister and the head of the Brahmos missile project, Sudhir Mishra.

While Mishra and Reddy come from the missile scientist community that has traditionally ‘ruled’ DRDO, also in contention is Pravin K Mehta, who heads the Armament cluster of the research organisation from Pune. A surprise entrant to the selection shortlist could also be DG Jillelamudi Manjula who heads the Electronics & Communication Systems vertical at DRDO.
As reported by ET, several top level appointments are pending at the defence ministry. The crucial posting to Northern Army Commander is still to be announced

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Race for next DRDO chief heats up, incumbent eyes extension

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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DRDO chief is hopeful about Arjun Mark-II tank getting accepted by army

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Sandip Dighe | TNN | Updated: Oct 23, 2017,
PUNE: The chairman of defence research and development organisation (DRDO), S Christopher, sounded hopeful on Sunday about the Indian Army accepting the Arjun Mark-II tank after certain modifications recommended by the army were incorporated.
Speaking on the sidelines of a function at the Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT), Christopher told TOI, “We have carried out certain modifications as recommended by the army. The tank will go through trials and there is every possibility that it will be accepted considering that the army has already agreed to induct the tank in two regiments.” 
The DRDO chief was on a visit to DIAT — a deemed university under the defence ministry — for the inauguration of the 21st batch of Post Induction Training School (POINTS), a programme for newly inducted DRDO scientists. He also held a meeting with senior scientists.
The army had recommended nearly 71 modifications to the tank and had asked the DRDO to redesign the hull and the turret structures and use new materials in order to reduce the weight. The weight of the Mark-I is 62 tonne while Arjun Mark-II is 68 tonne.
A senior army officer from the armoured corps, told TOI on Sunday, “The army has a major issue with the weight of Mark-II as it will not meet its operational requirements in the western sectors where the tank will be deployed in future. During the past trials, it had come to our notice that the tank is heavier than the existing culvert, thereby, making mobility a major issue. It was, therefore, paramount to recommend a reduction in weight of the tank from an operational point of view.”
A senior DRDO scientist closely associated with the project said, “The army had specified their operational requirement on three aspects — weight, missile firing capability and ammunition. We have addressed these issues. Besides, we have kept the agility and mobility of the tank at par with the existing one. We are confident that the tank will meet the army’s requirements in the trials.” The army has about 3,500 tanks mostly comprising the old T-72 and the improvised T-90 tanks.

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Will be ever improve ?

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To – prabhudoon@gmail.com>
date: Thu, Jan 5, 2017 at 2:09 PM

Sir,

I am herewith sending you the letter addressed to Sri Narendra Modi, PM

as on date, no action was taken.

Regards

K.Surya Kumari.

Visakhapatnam,

D/21-9-16

From

Smt. K.Surya Kumari (Retd.),

R/o H.No.13-24, LN Nagar,

Sujatha Nagar Post,

Visakhapatnam – 530051 (AP)

To

Dr. Narendra Modi,

Prime Minister of India,

7, Race Course Road,

New Delhi – 110001

Sir,

Sub: Non-issuance of Pension

Ref: 1) Cabinet Committee report on Sexual Harassment constituted

Vide Cabinet Secretariat order No.501/IV/3/2012-VCC dt.5-8-13.

2) CAT, Hyderabad orders on OA Nos.309 and 310 / 2010

3) High Court, AP order on WPMP No.36603 in WP

No.29554 / 2011

4) DRDO Hq. Letter dt.14-9-2012 on non-posting anywhere else.

5) Cabinet Secretariat Memo dt.9-12-2015 to S.Christopher,

Secretary, DG DRDO.

6) On line grievance No.DDRDO/E/2016/00111 dt.20-7-16.

I have served in NSTL, DRDO for 35 years 10 months and retired on 29th Feb. 2016 as Technical Officer-B (Class-I Gazetted).  I gave complaint against Sri SV Rangarajan on sexual harassment dt.18-12-2007.  Without any proper enquiry, DRDO  served me 3 charge sheets and suspended me for 33 months period.

Vide 2nd reference CAT stated that the pendency of disciplinary proceedings, making allegations against several officers by petitioner also cannot be a ground for extension of suspension.  DRDO revoked my suspension on 7th Oct. 2011 and transferred me to NPOL, Kochi on the same day.  Vide 3rd reference, on 29th Aug. 2012, High Court suspended the transfer order stating that they are prima facie of the opinion that in effect it is an act of victimization and amounts to punishment.

Vide 4th reference, DRDO stated that my joining at NSTL cannot be permitted as the Department has filed a vacate petition at AP High Court.  High Court has dismissed the Vacate petition filed on transfer order suspension on 4th Feb. 2013.   From 1st Nov. 2011 to 3rd March 2013 i.e., my transfer period and joining not permitted period were not regularized till date.

….2.

-: 2 :-

Vide 1st reference the Committee stated that hostile environment creation by Sri SV Rangarajan (Page No.11), DRDO is lack of sensitiveness, lack of attention to the application of rules and procedures (Page No.12), attitude and action of DRDO administration which has shown a casual and insensitive approach in dealing with the case (Page 13), DRDO and NSTL created a hostile environment in which the petitioner found it difficult to function (Page No.13) which conforms that NSTL and DRDO officials have harassed me in several aspects.  No action was taken by Cabinet / Ministry on the findings of the Report.

Suspension period was regularized after my retirement (i.e, after 4 years) with imposing a penalty (though the matter is pending at High Court).  Transfer period and non-posting period was not regularized so far and my pension and retirement benefits were not settled (even after 7 months of retirement) by which I am facing hardship, mental egony.

The PGPORTAL online grievance as referred 6 above also disposed off as per false and baseless information provided by Dr. Hina Gokhale, DOP, DRDO without proper investigation.

Now the organization processed the partial pension without 2 increments (2013 and 2014) for transfer period which is even less than the provision pension as per PGDA phone inquiry.  Therefore, it is requested to instruct the concerned to take immediate action on the 1st reference report, Court cases, and release of proper pension and settlement of retirement benefits as early as possible (Gratuity, Commutation and Earned leave encashment).

Thanking you,

Yours faithfully,

(K.SURYA KUMARI)

 

Copy to

1) Dr.S.Christopher, DG (DRDO), DRDO Bhavan, New Delhi-110011.

2) Hina Gokhale, DOP, DRDO Bhavan, New Delhi-110011

3) Director, NSTL, Butchirajupalem, Visakhapatnam-530027

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Government asks CBI to probe in allegations of corruption in purchase of three Embraer aircrafts

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By Express News Service Published: 15th September 2016 – The New Indian Express
NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has started analyzing allegations of Brazilian aviation major Embraer hiring a UK-based agent and paying commissions to swing the $208 million deal for three Emb-145 aircraft inked with India during UPA rule in 2008.

The government had asked the agency to probe in allegations of corruption in the purchase of three Embraer aircraft for Defence Research and Development Organisation in 2008

The agency sources said officials are going through the reference and any decision to start a probe in the matter will be taken soon after analysing all the documents.

If the agency is satisfied that it has enough prima facie evidence to initiate an FIR, it will start or else it might register a preliminary enquiry to gather enough material for registering a regular case, they said.

Government had stated that the allegations were of a serious nature and the CBI will probe.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had earlier this week said that, “If there is a criminal angle, then the CBI will probe as the Ministry cannot”. “If only procedural issues are involved, then the Defence Ministry can do an internal investigation,” he had said.

The deal for purchase of three Embraer aircraft during the UPA regime has kicked up dust with US authorities going into alleged payment of kickbacks. The deal has come under the scanner of the US Justice Department which has been probing Embraer for alleged payment of bribes to secure contracts.
Soon after, the reports of irregularity surfaced, the DRDO has already sought a report from the Brazilian firm, which has said it has been looking into graft allegations over the last five years.

DRDO investigation through report from Brazilian firm is a separate investigation. Parallel investigation has been started by CBI

The Special Investigation Team probing AgustaWestland bribery scandal will also probe this scam.

The deal was signed in 2008 between Embraer and the DRDO for three aircraft equipped with indigenous radars for AEW&C (airborne early warning and control systems). The first “modified” aircraft was delivered to DRDO in 2011, with the other two following later.

After several missed deadlines, the AEW&C project is now slated to be completed by December. Present DRDO chief S Christopher was the AEW&C programme director and head of the Centre for Airborne Systems (CABS) before he was chosen to head DRDO in May 2015 by the NDA government.

Sources claimed that role of the committee, comprised of officials from IAF and DRDO is also under scanner, which shortlisted the Embraer deal.

Brazil’s top newspaper, the ‘Folha de Sao Paulo’, had reported on September 8 that the possible bribery in the 2008 Indian deal was under the scanner of the US justice department, which has been investigating Embraer since 2010, after a contract with the Dominican Republic raised suspicion. The scope of the investigation has now been widened to examine Embraer’s dealings with eight other countries, including India and Saudi Arabia.