The Occasional Paper attempts to analyse the performance of India's defence research and development machinery and especially that of the DRDO. The Paper concludes by bringing out the lessons and concurrently suggesting the way ahead for India.
The Technology Development Fund (TDF) is an important Grant-in-Aid Scheme of DRDO under Technology Management Cluster, for the purpose of inculcating defence R&D culture in private sector.
The success of the co-development-cum-production push in Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020 would depend on the commercial viability of the co-developed product, apart from overcoming a host of conceptual and procedural challenges.
While the steps stipulated in draft DAP-2020 to enable smooth acquisition of systems indigenously designed by DRDO and other public sector entities are a right move, they need to be strengthened further to make procedures more robust and conducive for timely completion of projects.
The government’s decision to allow the private sector to undertake the development of complex defence equipment is a step in the right direction. It will help forge a larger innovation system to meet the diverse requirements of national security. However, caution may be required to avoid duplication of efforts and prevent indirect import.
There is a need to make it clear in the text of Paragraph 72 of DPP 2016 that no vendor other than the Development-cum-Production partner or the nominated Production Agency will be permitted to enter the tendering process at the post prototype development stage.
The future of an organization is less determined by outside forces than by its history and the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) is no exception. This article analyses the major achievements and shortfalls of the DRDO. It models the strategic dimensions of organization development. The value of production from defence industries arising from DRDO technology transfers is rapidly escalating, enabling the government’s goal of self-reliance.
Though public-private partnerships is encouraged, privately the government continues to retain its monopoly on research and development and defence production through the DRDO, the ordnance factories and the defence PSUs.
The Agni-VI and Prahaar both signify unnecessary missile projects, which have been developed in the interests of DRDO technical and bureaucratic ambitions rather than the stated interests of India’s nuclear doctrine.
