An internal audit report ordered by the defence ministry has raised questions over the functioning of the DRDO and the grant of Rs 2.8 crore by its chief V K Saraswat to a society under him.
Defence Minister A K Antony on Tuesday indicated a revamp of the Defence Research and Development Organisation, to give it capability to produce futuristic systems within the country."DRDO will have to play a crucial role in providing strategic defence with suitable delivery systems to the nation," Antony said. The DRDO and the end-users, the armed forces, would have to work with greater synergy to achieve the goal of self-reliance and minimise dependence on foreign nations.
Defence Research and Development Organisation plans to make the country "missile import free" by 2022, the agency has told the Prime Minister's Office.
With the world's worst outbreak of COVID-19 severely straining the health system in the country, the government has made sweeping changes in the way departments procure medical supplies, including allowing procurement of the same item at different rates.
Facing flak for time slippages in Light Combat Aircraft Tejas programme, DRDO chief V K Saraswat on Friday attributed the delay to "setbacks" caused by international sanctions and inadequate development of aerospace industry in the country.
Against the backdrop of long delays in its projects, the Government today asked the premier research agency Defence Research and Development Organisation to accelerate the work on its major military development programmes and complete them in time. The Cabinet Committee on Security headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was briefed by the DRDO on its major projects including the futuristic Agni-6 and the recently launched Agni-5 long-range missile programmes.
Defence Minister A K Antony has asked the Navy and the DRDO to maintain highest safety standards in the nuclear submarine fleet of the country after the mishap at the site of an under-construction vessel at Vishakhapatnam in which one person was killed.
It has been developing missiles and other state-of-the-art equipment for the armed forces, but the Defence Research and Development Organisation is now ready to take on the oldest human enemy -- mosquitoes -- that are vectors of diseases like malaria, and dengue with a new insect repellent cream.
This visa issue had gotten so embarrassing that former Defence Secretary William Cohen, now a member of the US-India Business Council's board of directors, who was presiding along with Ambassador Nirupama Rao at the launch, had to prevail upon Secretary of State John F Kerry and get the visas okayed.
A terror suspect, who allegedly conspired to kill prominent politicians and journalists in three states, was released on Tuesday night after a special court granted statutory bail since the National Investigation Agency failed to file charge sheet against him.
Connect with professionals in your field through LinkedIn, industry events and workshops. Attend job fairs, conferences and meetups to expand your network. Apply for internships or short-term projects to gain practical experience, suggests rediffGURU Aasif Ahmed Khan.
India is on course to test-fire the over 5,000 km range nuclear-capable Agni-5 missile next year and a successful mission would put the country in an elite club of nations with Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) capabilities.
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressing on the need for increasing arms exports, the Defence Research and Development Organisation has said India can sell combat aircraft and missiles whose production cost would be "much lower" than some of the weapons sold by countries such as China.
Bio-toilets developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation on Tuesday earned praise from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who said that these could go a long way in solving the problem of open defecation in rural India.
One hopes the new Lok Sabha will mark a break from a dismal tradition -- lack of interest in defence and security policies, argues Colonel Anil A Athale.
After a detailed deliberations, it was decided a standard draft international agreement for establishing hotlines and a set of standard operating procedures will be prepared by DRDO and MTNL, which will be used for negotiations with foreign partners, the sources said.
The much-maligned DRDO has developed and implemented several new initiatives designed to make life easier for the Indian soldier stationed in high altitude areas, reports RS Chauhan
'Pralay' is a 350-500 km short-range, surface-to-surface missile with a payload capacity of 500-1,000 kg. The solid-fuel, battlefield missile is based on the Prithvi Defence Vehicle.
2 engineered prototypes of the robots are under trial.
The Indian Navy, which was earlier looking towards the US for design expertise, technical know-how and operational practices, is now considering the advantages of working with the Royal Navy.
Seeking to enhance its precision strike capabilities, India is planning to replace its 150 km-range Prithvi ballistic missiles with the newly developed quick reaction Prahar missiles.
"We will be embarking on UCAV, which will be an unmanned aerial vehicle with weapons. This will not only do surveillance but fire on identified targets," Dr V K Saraswat, Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister and DRDO Director General, told media-persons in Bengaluru.
The Mark-1A will be more sophisticated and capable than the Tejas Mark-1.
The prime minister has been unveiling a slew of development projects running into lakhs of crores of rupees at various places as he turns the spotlight on his government's development and welfare agenda in the run-up to the general elections expected to be held in April-May.
The Comptroller and Auditor General has pulled up the Defence Research Development Organisation pointing out "deficiencies" and "procedural irregularities" committed by it in taking up new projects and splitting sanctions for them to bring it within financial powers of the organisation head.
HAL has integrated the ASRAAM (advanced short range air-to-air missile) for the Tejas Mark 1A. The Tejas Mark 1A will carry twin ASRAAM missiles with a range of 60 to 70 kilometres.
Some officials, despite repeated warnings, continue to browse the Internet and visit social networking sites from the very same computer in which classified information is stored, says Vicky Nanjappa
This is the first of a four-part series on the DRDO, which has instituted fundamental changes in the way it will approach equipment development.
Neither the BJP, nor the Congress before it, made any manifesto commitments on defence spending, even though allocations have plummeted from 4 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the late 1980s to less than 2 per cent today, points out Ajai Shukla.
The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered an FIR against a freelance journalist for allegedly collecting sensitive information related to the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Army, and sharing them with intelligence agencies of foreign countries, officials said.
Scientists at the Leh-based Regional Research Laboratory have cross-bred the region's famous yaks with high yielding Swiss cows to produce a new breed, which can withstand extremely high altitudes.
Nearly 700 scientists have resigned from India's premier military research body Defence Research and Development Organisation in little less than six years from 2007, Defence Minister A K Antony said on Wednesday.
The bone of contention is the 450-seat convention centre built in the new DRDO building behind South Block at an additional cost of Rs 6.40 crore which has been taken objection to by the Comptroller and Auditor General.
The first launch of the missile last year was a failure.
IAF feels DRDO fronting for French engine, citing 'joint development'.
'It is extremely difficult to predict as to how many days it would take...But, as I had said that day, that they would decay in a few weeks, and majority of them have decayed'.
Observers of India's struggle to design and build defence equipment might wonder why the indigenous missile programme has been so much more successful than many other projects that the Defence Research and Development Organisation has taken up.
Nishant, a remotely piloted vehicle (RPV) designed and developed by ADE, has an endurance of four to five hours and a range of 100 km in its primary roles. Flying at a speed of 40 to 60 metres per second, the UAV is capable of relaying data in real time to the army units moving forward in a battlefield condition.
The country's largest stainless steel maker Jindal Steel (Hisar) on Wednesday marked its foray into the defence sector by forging a pact with DRDO for transfer of technology relating to high-nitrogen steel for armour applications.