Centre sets up panel to modify the charter of DRDO labs

With disruptive technologies being the need of the hour, the centre has formed an expert panel to overhaul the charter of 52 DRDO laboratories so that the apex defence research organisation can play a more meaningful role in futuristic battle techniques by developing such technologies.

Headed by V Ramgopal Rao, Director, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, the panel has been given 45 days to submit its report to the government.

Other panel members are S Somnath, director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram; Air Marshal Sandeep Singh, Deputy Chief of Air Staff; Samir V Kamat, director-general, naval systems and materials at DRDO headquarters and Benjamin Lionel, director, Instruments Research and Development Establishment, Dehradun, who will serve as the member secretary of the panel.

This is the second external committee to review the function of DRDO in two decades after the P Rama Rao panel that submitted its report in 2008. The Rama Rao committee report that recommended some far-reaching changes, however, was not made public by the government.

The new panel will “study and review the charter of duties for all DRDO labs’ and “redefine the charter of duties of the labs on the current and futuristic defence and battlefield scenario.” The committee will also minimize the overlapping of technologies among the laboratories.

The Defence Research and Developmental Organisation often face criticism for the delay in executing the projects leading to cost and time overrun. Over the years several Parliamentary Committees too expressed their dissatisfaction on the "inordinate delay in execution of almost all DRDO projects", which had become a common phenomenon.

Incidentally, the government announced the formation of the new panel days after the Centre gave a two-year extension to DRDO chief G Satheesh Reddy.

In a 2018 report, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence noted that there were 93 on-going major projects in different DRDO labs, including Agni IV and Agni V ballistic missile, Nirbhay cruise missile, submarine-launched K-15 missile, anti-tank Nag missile, beyond visual range Astra missile, airborne radar, Arjun battle tank and Tejas Light Combat Aircraft.

Out of 30 major on-going projects (each costing more than Rs 100 crore), there were cost revisions in six and time revisions in 16 projects. Besides, 12 projects were more than five years old (sanctioned prior to 2011) while 17 major projects were approved during the 11th five-year plan (April 2002 to March 2007). None had been completed at the time of finalization of the House panel report.