DRDO To Become More Efficient? Setting Aside Concerns, Government Sets August Deadline For Implementing New Reforms

Casting aside all reservations from Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientists, the Government of India (GoI) is going ahead with implementing reforms recommended by ex-principal scientific advisor Professor K Vijay Raghavan.

For this, GoI has also set a deadline for the implementation — 31 August.

An overseeing committee has also been formed by DRDO headquarters to ensure the implementation of reforms by the August 31 deadline. It will be led by DRDO Chief Samir V Kamat and two of the DRDO's senior director generals.

For the reforms that are unable to be implemented by the 31 August deadline, their milestones and estimated completion timelines should be specified.

According to an India Today report, the first meeting of the overseeing committee will be held this month, and an overall roadmap for the implementation of the reforms will be presented to the government.

This comes after various senior scientists of DRDO met with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and even did a presentation in front of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, voicing their concerns regarding some of the methods suggested in the recommendations.

The scientists, although largely appreciative of the end result of the reforms — making DRDO more efficient — were apparently concerned about the way the reforms will be implemented.

The Prof. Raghavan committee submitted its recommendations in a report titled "Redefining Defence Research and Development" in January.

The report advocates for having mechanisms for better project management to avoid delays in project delivery, the inclusion of industry, academia, and MSMEs in the project development process, making DRDO attractive for bright talents and evaluating the performance of scientists.

It also includes the creation of a Defence Technology Council and the reorganisation of the 50-odd DRDO labs.

In essence, these reforms are intended to make the DRDO a leaner organisation that focuses more on fundamental research, project delivery within a specified timeline, and avoid cost overruns.