SHOCK WAVES IN DRDO: Perform or Perish is the New Mantra

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and Former DRDO Chief Dr. Avinash Chander

The government's decision to sack Chief Controller of DRDO Dr. Avinash Chander has shaken the defence establishment and sent shock waves through the Defence Public Sector units (DPSU's), it even caught Dr. Chander offguard. The all important DPSU's which is in a way the secondary line of defence of the nation following the armed forces, have been literally hijacking the development and manufacture of defence related equipment in the country. There is a severe lack accountability in these organisations and DPSU's have never been put through a stringent science audit. Over the past several decades there has been virtually nothing noteworthy the DPSU's have contributed to strengthen the nations security against two potent adversaries on either side of our borders. Our safety & security can only be attributed to the resolve and bravery of our armed forces who have been stacked against all odds over the years in the defense of the nation.

Lt Gen Harwant Singh (retd), in a scathing report said "DRDO in stand-alone mode has achieved little and will not be able to meet the future needs of the armed forces. It has shown little skill and capability in the field of even reverse engineering of comparatively simple equipment. This is legacy of the Nehruvian policies of entrusting all this to the public sector (DRDO in this case). Since then vested interests have opposed any change in this moribund policy".

So why did the government sack Dr. Avinash Chander?

• Was he inefficient as an administrator
• Did he indulgence in corruption? 
• Was he advocating cronyism or nepotism in his administrative capacities? 

It is an emphatic no? On the other hand, it is a perceptible and overt message to all concerned that this government means business when it comes to critical results and does not brook any compromises or delays! Besides, such an earth shattering event has never occurred in the history of any defense public sector units in the country. There is a unvarying notion that government run agencies are holy cows which cannot be touched by any departmental agency or for that matter execution of extemporary government termination of personnel is an inconceivable notion, has been shattered by this singular action. Simple, this dispensation is unlike any other the country has seen, it is marked by a strong intent and purpose and principally it gives great emphasis on national security and national interest. It is notable to mention that this decision was not executed by any powerful bureaucrat or under-secretary in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) but by the nation's Defence Minister himself, of course the green signal must have come from the PM who must have authorized the exit of the chief controller. In short, the sacking of the DRDO chief had a strong corporate typecast flavor to it, perform or perish.

LCA Tejas Naval Prototype NP-1

The death knell was sounded in August 2014, the PM had sent a strong feeler to the DRDO, attacking its “chalta hai” (laid-back or lackadaisical) culture, asking it to complete projects before or on time to put India ahead in the world. The Prime Minister also added “The world will not wait for us. We have to run ahead of time. That is why whatever we do, we should try hard to do it before time. It should not be so that a project is conceived in 1992 and in 2014 (we say) it will take some more time. The world will go ahead.”

DRDO has faced criticism for the past several years for delays and cost over-runs in crucial projects for the armed forces. Though Dr. Chander was one of the most prominent scientists in the country and the developments indicate that the government was not happy with the performance of the DRDO and Avinash Chander as its chief. Mr. Chander is one of the key scientists behind the Agni missile project including the 5,500 km-range Agni-V ICBM that had given the country a credible nuclear-capable deterrent against China.

A report by Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence presented in Parliament on December 22, 2014, had criticised DRDO for chronic inefficiency and delays in executing numerous programs. The committee said "projects are not executed according to their schedule, and inordinate delays in execution of almost all the projects [are] common phenomena".

Some of the critical projects that have been subject to endless delays include: (Please note that this is not an exhaustive list but an indicative one)

• Nearly 70% of our defense equipment is imported and this includes even low-technology items
• Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas fighter, a much delayed project was conceived in 1990 and the LCA-Tejas has taken more than two decades to evolve as a credible fighting system and it is still limping toward its crucial Final Operational Clearance (FOC) which has been pushed for the umpteenth time to December 2015.
• In the same vein the Naval version of the fighter has seen inordinate delays owing to downright shortsightedness on the part of ADA in its design, development and implementation phases.
• The failure of the Kaveri engine is a great setback to DRDO, however developing an afterburning turbofan engine is a very sophisticated technology to master, even developed countries like France struggled to develop a new turbofan engine. Snecma a seasoned player and prominent engine developer with several decades of experience of various engine types, took more than 15 years to perfect its M88 engine for the Rafale. DRDO should have set realistic targets with regard to the Kaveri engine and because of this lack of foresight the program had to be eventually cancelled, though the engine is still being used for other applications.
• The failure of DRDO to provide reliable and effective modern guns to the armed forces
• Arjun Main Battle Tank program, the delay cannot be entirely blamed on DRDO, the Army has shown great animosity for the indigenous tank program and favored imports (there is so much money to be made in imports) more clamantly, the army due to its misplaced idiosyncrasies has been back pedaling on the induction of sizable volumes of the tank since it had set unrealistic targets for DRDO. However, DRDO has also delayed on the technologies that had to be developed in its development.
• Advanced Air Defence (AAD) & Prithvi Defence Vehicle (PDV) ballistic missile defense system has gone into deep slumber mode. The last AAD test was conducted in November 2012 and the PDV in April 2014.
• Intermediate Jet Trainer IJT-SITARA delayed due to design blunders (HAL Stakeholder)
• Development, testing and induction of Arjun MK-2 & MK-3 
• K-4,K-5 & K-15 Series of Submarine-Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBM) test and induction
• Delay in testing and induction of NAG anti tank guided missile (ATGM) for the Army, to compensate for the delay India is procuring Spike ATGM missiles from Israel
• Rustom-II UAV test and induction
• India's concept super secret AURA stealth Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (Stealth Bomber) prototyping to be completed
• Completion of Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) System
• 155mm Gun test and induction
• INS Arihant test and induction
• AMCA test and induction
• Astra MK-1 & MK-2 test and induction
• Induction of Long Range Surface to Air Missile BARAK-8 in collaboration with Israel yet to be inducted
• Multi-Caliber Gun test and induction
• Advanced Sub Machine Gun test and induction
• F-INSAS test and induction
• Future infantry fighting Vehicle for the Army test and induction
• HTT-40 Trainer test and induction (HAL Stakeholder)
• Light Combat Helicopter test and induction (HAL Stakeholder)
• 12 tone Class Utility Helicopter test and induction (HAL Stakeholder)
• Light Utility Helicopter development, testing and induction (HAL Stakeholder)

Unless the government takes concrete steps to resolve issues that exists in DRDO and the status quo broken, the Prime Minister’s expectations of India developing high-end defence equipment and becoming self reliant in this field will only remain a pipe dream.