Tag Archives: SATCOM

RTI – DESIDOC

To                                                                                          25th February 2013
The CPIO                                                   RTI/DESIDOC/RKA/25/2/2013
Defence Scientific Information & Documentation Centre (DESIDOC)
Metcalfe House
New Delhi – 110054

 

Hello,
Kindly provide me with the following information requested under the purview of the Right to Information Act, 2005 in respect of DRDO Newsletter September 2012 page No -14. In which the details of Outstanding Scientists of the DRDO. Sh, R K Agarwal, Outstanding Scientist, DEAL   “ his main contribution has been the development of NARAD, the first semi-static and transportable terminals developed in the country. These terminals were immediately deployed in SRI LANKA during operation PAWAN where they have played a vital Role.”

  1. The certified copy of his claim for working or association with Project NARAD.
  2. Number of temporary duty if done by Sh R K. Agarwal in connection with Project Narad including deputation to SRI LANKA or any place in India during operation PAWAN.
  3. Provide the copy of DO Part –I published reflecting that Sh R K Agarwal was deputed or associated with Project NARAD, in DEAL, Dehradun
  4. Copy of appreciation letter regarding providing communication during Operation Pawan to IPKF by GOC, IPKF and then S O –in- C.
  5. Number of technical papers published as first author on design aspects of SATCOM systems by Sh R K Agarwal in various publications? Provide the name of Journals /year/page no of publications and issues/ volume numbers.
  6. On  “Throughput Acceleration Satellite Adaptation Unit (SAU)”  and the role and contribution of Sh R K Agarwal  in its patent filing. –

Find the application fee for the request attached with this application. If you feel that above requested information does not pertain to your department then please follow the provisions of Section 6(3) of the RTI Act, 2005/Also as per the provisions of the RTI Act, 2005 please provide the details (Name and Designation) of the first appellate authority w.r.t to your department with the reply to the above request., where I may if required file my first appeal.
I do hereby declare that I am a citizen of India. Kindly provide me with the information at the address mentioned with the application. I request you to ensure that the information is provided before the expiry of the 30 day period after you have received the application.

Note: above required information is directly related to corruption and not come under schedule -II

Whoever does anything with the intention of causing wrongful gain to one person or wrongful loss to another is said to do that thing dishonesty”  

Enclosed- Rs 10 Postal order 98E 528550

Regards,

Prabhu Dayal Dandriyal
21-Sunderwala, Raipur, Dehradun-248008
Phone – 2787750, Mobile- 9411114879,
e-mail id  prabhudoon@gmail.com,  website- www.corruptionindrdo.com
 
http://drdo.gov.in/drdo/English/index.jsp?pg=rightlinks_archives.jsp
 
DRDO News Letter September 2012

 

Deccan Herald | A costly intelligence asset of no use now

Deccan Herald

A costly intelligence asset of no use now

Chandan Nandy, Bangalore, Mar 21, 2012, DHNS:

Rs 30-cr project scrapped after technical panel found flaws in encryption system

The use of Chinese processors in an encryption system for ground mobile satellite communication terminals for use by the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) was considered a breach of security for which the project was scrapped on the directions of the National Security Council (NSC).

Following strong objections by the NSC, the “Sampark” network was shot down and is not being used by the NTRO, leading to the loss of Rs 30 crore (including capital and recurring expenditure) that was spent on purchasing the asset.

The wasteful expenditure incurred as a result of non-use of the system has come under the scanner of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) which is learnt to have classified it as among several other “suspect” NTRO acquisitions and procurements between 2007 and 2010. The CAG undertook a massive special audit of the NTRO after the head of the communications intelligence organisation blew with the whistle on several questionable procurements and other irregularities.

The audit findings have been submitted to the Supreme Court in a sealed envelope.

In late 2009, the NSC was apprised by the Scientific Analysis Group (SAG) within the Defence Research and Development Organisation that several ground mobile SATCOM terminals, which the NTRO had procured from the Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) for positioning in various parts of the country for communication “during operations”, contained Chinese processors.

The sensitive issue came to the notice of the NSC when the Indian Air Force, which procured the same encryption system from BEL the same year, sought to have it cleared by the SAG. On further examination, it was found by SAG scientists that the encryption system contained Chinese processors which, it was suspected, could potentially compromise all special operations within the country.

An encryption system is an essential feature in SATCOM terminals as they help in protecting transmission of and securing sensitive communication which could otherwise be intercepted. The NTRO procured “bulk encryption systems” in early 2009 as part of a project that was called “Sampark”.

According to sources in the country’s security establishment, senior NTRO officials procured the systems, worth Rs 30 crore, without taking due clearance from the SAG which is the government’s sole certifying authority for such hi-tech and sensitive equipment which the security agencies, including the Intelligence Bureau, use for operations.

The encryption system was used by the NTRO for at least six months during which time intelligence information was transmitted without clearance from the authorities concerned.

DRDO passes its expertise to NTRO – I

All the stalwarts of DRDO who were master of manipulating government funds, misinterpretation of government rules having expertise in inculcating a negative attitude towards self reliance and always planning commission and omission through bulk purchases were shifted to NTRO an agency established by the government after KARGIL debacle. The modus operandi of DRDO & NTRO experts/bosses are twin in appearance, if CBI enquires in depth the enquiry will reveal that the entire procurement/ recruitment system are identical.

Deccan Herald

Under veil of secrecy, elint outfit gobbles funds

Chandan Nandy, Bangalore, Mar 20, 2012, DHNS:

Less spying and more misuse of resources in elite security set-up

Eight years after its creation, the National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO), which was established on the lines of Britain’s Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) and America’s National Security Agency (NSA), is in a mess. 

 Far from performing the responsibilities it was entrusted with after it was found that the country’s security establishment lacked effective technical/communications intelligence capabilities, the NTRO is battling serious allegations of corruption.And the lid has been blown off from within: a former NTRO scientist, V K Mittal, has been able to fight his way through the webs of secrecy and official pressure and intimidation to force the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) to institute a special audit which the Supreme Court is now seized of.According to one estimate, misappropriation of funds in the NTRO is to the tune of Rs 800 crore, which was alloted Rs 9,832 crore in the 2011-12 financial year. The organisation spends approximately 62 per cent of the money on purchase of equipment and maintains a secret service fund of about Rs 36 crore. Most of the procurements were through single tenders.According to a February 29, 2012 CAG reply to Mittal’s RTI application, the audit body “noticed lack of transparency and non-compliance of rules and procedures in procurement of systems/stores/equipment and deficient procurement management, resulting in cases of excess payment/wasteful expenditure/loss to the exchequer.”Investigations by Deccan Herald revealed that despite objections from the chief of communications intelligence, senior NTRO officers procured satellite communication terminals worth Rs 18 crore in early 2009 from a blacklisted company, Singapore Technology.

The previous year (May 2008), Mittal, as head of NTRO’s Centre for Communications Applications (CCA) wrote to the then NTRO chairman K V S S Prasad Rao claiming that the use of satellite communication (SATCOM) equipment on board unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) was “never a part of the original request for proposal (RFP) or tender” and “hence no technical evaluation was carried out” at any stage by his division.

Although the SATCOM equipment were to be procured from two Israeli companies, Israeli Aerospace Industry (IAI) and ELTA, visits by CCA officers to these firms in Israel yielded little. “In all meetings (at least four times in Tel Aviv) CCA has been requesting IAA/ELTA to give details of the antenna and other systems associated with SATCOM onboard the UAV. Despite our concerted efforts and repeated demands, IAI/ELTA have refused to part with necessary information,” documents in possession of Deccan Herald say.

Alarmingly, the trials of the SATCOM for UAVs, instead of being carried out in India were undertaken in Australia despite strong objections on the ground that the tests should be carried out in Indian conditions. “The offer of trials outside India was firmly turned down by CCA due to various technical reasons in July-August 2007. Hence the rationale for trials oustide India, despite our strong opposition is not clear to us,” the document of May 9, 2008 says.

The main reason why trials (which were to be witnessed by representatives of the Army, Air Force and the Navy) in Australia were not considered feasible was the IAI/ELTA had provided incomplete information about the antenna proposed for SATCOM onboard UAVs. Besides, it was found that the antenna was “suboptimal” and “did not meet the requisite standard of radiation”, and that power amplifiers required modifications “to be able to meet digital modulation requirements.”

Documents in Deccan Herald’s possession suggest that the Israeli companies failed to demonstrate any SATCOM specialisation for the equipments, including electronic intelligence payload for the UAVs, a project that cost Rs 40 crore.

It was after Mittal was served a memo by the then NTRO adviser (in the rank of additional secretary) M S Vijayaraghavan for objecting to the SATCOM equipment deal that he quit the NTRO and blew the whistle on the goings-on in the country’s communications intelligence organisation. Subsequent internal inquiries and special audits by the CAG in January 2010 (the NTRO was outside the purview of any government audit when it was formed) led to the chargesheeting of seven officers.

A retired senior intelligence officer blamed “those in control of the country’s security apparatus” for NTRO’s “miserable condition.”

Under the scanner

* Internet monitoring system (Rs 30 cr)
* Information processing software (Rs 5 cr)
* Satellite communication monitoring system (Rs 30 cr)
* Civil works contract in Dehradun (Rs 40 cr)        
* Electronic intelligence payload (Rs 30 cr)

“Today, 85% of NBC defence inventory held by armed forces has been developed by DRDO, and produced by defence PSUs and around 60 private companies,” said DRDO chief controller Dr W Selvamurthy.

9th January 2012

Good Morning Dr Saraswat Ji

                                                               A very happy new year and I pray to almighty that you get well soon.

I was exclaimed along with the common people of India when Honorable Prime Minister was talking for a fundamental change in scientific development to match the development of science at least equivalent to China.

Our CC R&D Dr W Selvamurthy sang the coras and announced that DRDO has supplied items costing 1200 crores for defence applications.

Sir, nobody can digest and appreciate because DRDO with 28000 strong professional manpower, annual budget of 7000 t0 9000 Crores and with a infrastructure of One Lakh Twenty Thousand  Crores Rupees, only delivers 1200 Crores worth products. What is this R&D. The bank interest for total asset and annual expenditure comes ten thousand crores, please rethink.

DRDO needs total restructuring of charter of duties of individual Labs and the mission mode activities to address the defence requirements and needs.

With the achievement of SATCOM microwave communication link lost the attraction as SATCOM was cheaper than microwave communication network. If DRDO have microwave activity on its charter of duty a sensible effort was needed for transform the microwave activity for other than communication as the developed nations preferred to use microwave from kitchen to battlefield.

Thanking you

Regards

Prabhu Dayal Dandriyal
21-Sunderwala, Raipur, Dehradun 248008
Phone – 0135-2787750, Mobile 9411114879
E-mail id prabhu@dandriyal.com Website –  www.corruptionindrdo.com/