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DRDO Restructuring: Boosting Self-Reliance?

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, known for delivering his message in a subtle manner was frank enough to ask the state owned Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) to speed up research and development of new military technology as “our competitors have often moved at a faster pace.” Speaking at the National Technology Day held in New Delhi on 26 May, Singh pointed out that “it is a fact that some defence projects have been delayed while others have faced difficulties during the stage of operational induction. It is essential that the DRDO learn from these experiences and work more closely with armed forces and the industry.” Singh’s statement assumes significance in the context of the plan to revamp the DRDO. But to what extent the restructuring of this premier defence research enterprise would lead to the development of high tech weapons sans time and cost overruns—with the active participation of the Indian industry- is difficult to guess. Even so, the reality is that the highly centralized and top heavy institutional set up of DRDO has been responsible for ‘inefficiency and underperformance’.

Set up in 1958 as the primary technology generator and systems developer for the Indian defence forces, DRDO has been the target of criticism for its failure to make India self-reliant in the development and production of defence hardware. As pointed out by the Defence Minister AK Antony, import of hardware accounts for 70% of the Indian defence procurement.  Indeed, there is displeasure over the fact that that a technologically dynamic country like India should continue to import a substantial volume of defence hardware. In fact, with 40 ordnance factories and eight state owned high profile defence enterprises around, it is inconceivable that India is far from self sufficient in meeting the needs of its armed forces. Entrepreneur and Member of Parliament Rajeev Chandrasekhar points out that the need of the hour is to transform India’s state owned defence outfits from being a just manufacturing hub into defence and aerospace powerhouses on the lines of the Brazilian Embraer.

Antony is keen that DRDO, with a chain of around 50 laboratories spread across the country, should fine tune its ‘operational strategy and mission goals’ to reduce the import of defence hardware. However, if one looks back at the achievements of DRDO over the last five decades, this premier defence research and development entity has failed to meet many of the objectives set for it. Indeed, observers wonder, if India’s space and nuclear research establishments could catapult India into the ranks of advanced countries through their achievements in the frontiers areas of research, what prevented DRDO from turning India into a major hub of defence production.

But then there is no denying the fact that right from the outset, DRDO has been buffeted by a variety of problems including  a lack of vision and motivation, interference from bureaucracy and  military establishment ,wrong and distorted policies as well as the devious and all-pervasive  influence of a powerful import lobby. In fact, VK Saraswat, Head of DRDO has minced no words in stating that the temptation to induct latest weapon systems from abroad is quite overwhelming and as such it is grossly unfair to blame DRDO for poor levels of self reliance. “The responsibility should be shared by all stake holders of defence ministry and cannot be placed on DRDO alone,” remarked Saraswat.

DRDO has made significant contributions to the development of a range of ballistic and guided missiles featuring cutting edge technology to boost the combat effectiveness of the Indian Armed Forces. Meanwhile, in a move aimed at making India self-reliant in defence production, Antony has approved a set of measures to transform and revitalize DRDO. The revamping of DRDO seeks to turn the organization into a leaner and more performance oriented entity. DRDO would be trimmed by   merging some of its research laboratories with other public funded institutions focussing on similar disciplines. A major change mooted is the decentralization of DRDO management by constituting as many as seven clusters on specific areas, each headed by a director general. For instance, the aeronautical cluster will be located in Bangalore while the missile cluster would be based in Hyderabad. But here again defence analysts have expressed doubts over the feasibility of creating an additional layer of bureaucracy to give quickening impetus to the projects of national importance.

Further, a new commercial wing would be created to focus on spin-off products and technologies that have civilian applications. Similarly, the setting up of defence technology commission which will be headed by the Defence Minister; is expected to contribute to the generation of newer and novel technologies for  attaining self reliance in defence production.

The restructuring of DRDO was suggested in 2007 by an expert panel headed by P Rama Rao, the former Science and Technology Secretary.  Gurmeet Kanwal, Director of the New Delhi based Centre for Land Warfare Studies is of the view that reforms aimed at DRDO should be “combined with other long pending steps like greater participation by the private sector.” Indeed, the biggest handicap nagging the Indian defence sector is the lack of coordination and a growing gap between the DRDO, the armed forces and the production agencies.