Antony asks DRDO to buck up

At a time when the DRDO continues to resist — at all levels — the P Rama Rao Committee’s recommendations on reform, the Defence Minister AK Antony today asked top scientists of DRDO to desist from taking up too many projects and thereby lose focus; instead, concentrate on high technology and critical areas to help the country achieve self reliance in strategic fields.

Addressing the DRDO Research Council here, Antony asked the scientists to set a goal of achieving indigenisation of 70 per cent from the current level of 30 per cent in ten years in the manufacture of defence products. According to a statement, he said “Over dependence on foreign suppliers is not conducive to national security in critical times”. It went on to add that the Defence Minister favoured involvement of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and the private sector for the transformation and paradigmatic change of Defence industry in the country.

He asked the country’s defence scientists to have continuous interaction and build synergy with the services for greater success and acceptance of the products by the forces. He also asked the top brass to decentralize and delegate decision making to the numerous laboratories across the country, as far as possible. Antony asked the scientists to give special attention to the quality of products and their timely delivery.

The DRDO Research Council consists of the Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister, eight Chief Controllers (R&D), Additional Financial Advisor and three distinguished Scientists. The body is responsible for providing directions and guidance for executing Research and Technology projects in different disciplines by over 50 laboratories of DRDO.

What I’m still foxed about is just why DRDO continues to resist the P Rama Rao Committee’s report.

10 thoughts on “Antony asks DRDO to buck up”

  1. DRDO continues to resist the P Rama Rao Committee's report because that would mean many senior serving scientists would have to remain jobless and some have to take retirement.

  2. desist from taking up too many projects and thereby lose focus; instead, concentrate on high technology and critical areas…..[this DRDO really need] 100% agree!!!!!!!!

  3. AK Antony is an inbred idiot. ???** will never admit that the problem with DRDO is not number of projects, but how they are managed and funded.

    No one wants to change the management structure at DRDO. The insiders because it would mean weeding out the non-performing majority, and then there's organizational inertia. The outsiders also don't want things to change, because if the changes brings improvement someone might get the idea to implement reforms at IAS level.

    And we can't have that, now can we? So the few "cream" competent young DRDO engineers continue to suffer, or give up and join private sector. The filth though continues to accumulate at DRDO, they are happy collecting the monthly cheques and a pension, to them it is just another job.

    In a country with slum level infrastructure and no domestic manufacturing to speak of, DRDO engineers are "given target" to manufacture a jet engine or CMOS sensor at a price of a Mercedes S-Class.

    And "managing" these projects are unqualified, washed out clowns who have never done any "physical" engineering, all their experience is in paper pushing only. If you ask anyone of them to weld a piece of steel or even stick together two pieces of plastic with superglue, they will look at you as if you are mad.

    Low quality people nurture and promote other low quality people. DRDO is caught in a vicious circle. Something fundamental has to change in the country's governance structure before DRDO can start delivering world class products. Why blame Antony only, in this great country the PM ???? ??????? ???? himself asks the private companies not to focus "too much" on profits.

    Fucking ridiculous.

  4. and as for ARMED forces criticizing DRDO for not being competent then the ARMED FORCES are wrong about this because all the people with officer's like quality are selected by ARMED FORCES and then there is nothing left in country for DRDO so that it can hire good engineers so its not DRDO's problem

  5. "What cannot be measured, cannot be managed"

    This goes in to the deeper problem of govt employees not having any performance measures to achieve. Do whatever, whenever… If the government was serious they should put in targets of achieving certain milestones and if you repeatedly dont, you get fired.

  6. most of the senior scientists are worth their in weight in gold!No text book explains their lifetime experiences to the younger generations!

  7. as somebody who works in the org i can tell you that the P Rama Committe e reccomendations are the normal stuff most committees in india produce. they are rubbish. the committee didnt even try to understand interlinkage between tactical and strategic projects. using terms and jargon, they want drdo to take away a structure that has taken 2 decade of hard work and many trial and error attempt to perfect and create new bureaucratic structure nobody knows will work or not. already correct structure exists in terms of clusters focusing on systems and this has delivered very well over past decade but now this committee comes along and suddenly decides to do some crazy stuff. even more funny is that they want drdo to do only strategic systems, what they are not even understanding is that strategic systems cannot be achieved without mastery of tactical systems to high degree. you cannot make AESA radar for PAD project unless you work on ESA system for Akash.

    p rama rao committee suggestions are nonsense and only lapped up by media and drdo bashers who routinely believe such stuff.

    last anon, yes many seniors are worth their weight in gold. lot to learn from.

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