DRDO, PSU and Private Defence Sector News

[rahulrds1]

--'Cool vests' for jawans to brave the desert heat--

JAISALMER: The defence research and development organization (DRDO) has prepared a 'cool vest jacket' for BSF jawans guarding the international border in extreme hot conditions. The vest, along with a cap, was recently put on trial in Shahgarh Bulge area. According to BSF sources, there is still scope for improving the vest and the BSF panel supervising the trial has forwarded its suggestions.

The BSF jawans, deployed on duty in 50 to 55 degrees Celsius near the international border adjoining Pakistan, often have to face lot of problems due to prolonged exposure to heat.

According to DRDO officials, the cool jacket has 12 pockets in the front and back, in which packets of phase change material (PCM) are kept. PCM packets help to keep the body cool for approximately four hours. After that, they have to be kept in a deep freezer for recharging. After recharge, these packets can be re-used.

The jacket provide respite to jawans by keeping their body temperature below 30 degrees Celsius. The PCM packets absorb body's excessive heat, thus cooling the soft tissues and blood as it circulates through the cardiovascular system, said an official.

The cost of the jacket is nearly Rs 2,000 and weighs between 1.5 kg and 2kg. It is easy to wear and the shelf life of a PCM is nearly six months. Once it is approved, these jackets will be made available in open market.

It works on the principle of latent heat absorption, said Col S D Goswami, defence spokesperson. The Army had also carried out trials and forwarded the report to DRDO, he added.

source: www_timesofindia.com

 

[sayareakd]

CLGM missile

 

[sayareakd]

Kunal sir looks like CLGM is almost completely Indian made.

 

[Kunal Biswas]

CLGM missile

 

[Shaitan]

Defence Minister of Kyrgyzstan handles the Modern Sub Machine Carbine [MSMC] developed by DRDO

 

[LurkerBaba]

DRDO spending crores, but no positive outcome - India News - IBNLive

New Delhi: The Defence Research and Development organisation, country's premier body for development of defence related technology, has allegedly spent crores of rupees in the name of expenditure on technology, but there has been no positive outcome.

A top secret audit of DRDO ordered by Defence Minister AK Antony has revealed that there is virtual lack of transparency in decision making mechanism in the organisation, which was created to look after country's defence needs. With a budget of over Rs 10,000 crore DRDO has enjoyed full mandate from successive governments for over six decades.

The audit accessed by CNN-IBN reveals that financial sanctions are being split so that they don't have to go to higher authorities. Programme for development of main battle tank Arjun was sanctioned at Rs 69.99 crore. However, the entire programme was split into smaller sub-heads so that higher ups within the system could be avoided.

The fact that projects under DRDO have been delayed extensively is well known. Now the report also raises questions about how the DRDO is taking decisions.

Product support and product improvement of NAG weapon system was sanctioned at a cost of Rs 28.35 crore, despite the fact that the Cabinet Committee on Security approved similar programme was still in the pipeline.

The cost of UAV and aerostat was brought down just to ensure that no higher authority could question the financial approval given.

Several split sanctions were also issued for renovation of DRDO Bhawan while unauthorised sanction of Rs 49.15 crore to develop vehicle testing facility from public accounts mainly for civilian use was also granted.

The report further says that a project for development of satellite signal monitoring was sanctioned at a cost of Rs 29.96 crore without any formal requirement from the defence services. While the project was still on, a sanction of Rs 24.5 crore was given for procurement of a similar technology.

There have been several arbitrary costing of products under garb of development like sanction of Rs 14.5 crore for development of four stroke cylinder engine technology. But the parties chosen by the DRDO didn't have adequate research capabilities. The report goes on to say that the DRDO has facilitated entry of foreign companies in certain areas and the projects being undertaken are not for development but for the entry of foreign vendors.

The report says that Dr VK Saraswat gave an improper approval for a grant of Rs 2.8 crore to a society which he heads himself. Further scrutiny even revealed that the body which got the aid didn't have expert manpower.

Several irregularities have also been detected in appointment of chairpersons of different organisations with huge amounts being spent on it.

However, the defence minister has refused to react to these findings.

On the other hand the DRDO has refuted the allegations.

"DRDO strongly refutes observations made in the report and is in the process of compiling its responses despite the fact that the findings of audit already stand vitiated. Since laid down procedure was not followed and the report was issued without authorisation, the matter is under examination and correspondence with the concerned. All laid down procedures are being followed by DRDO in a transparent manner and interests of the State are the sole consideration during the process of decision making," said DRDO Director Ravi Gupta.

Now through this report questions are being raised about how DRDO is taking decisions.

 

[Kunal Biswas]

 

[Bhadra]

What about billions of unaudit money DODOs spend on Journalist to fight their media wars... they only fight that war as they have nothing to do with real wars... I am yet to see a single DOD product increasing war fighting potential and capability of the soldier over last thirty years..

They are only fighting for their survival.... through bhoot Mirchi.....

 

[amitkriit]

I visited 509, Army Workshop Agra yesterday. This was my second visit, but during my visit I saw a few things I would like to share:
a) Foreign suppliers are milking us, they sell dinosaur-era equipments to us at sky-high price because we do not manufacture them, but we need them.
b) There is a shortage of important equipments and Indian Jugad is in naked display, because either the components are no longer in production or they are too costly. We are facing a logistical nightmare.
c) Our research institutions are either ill-funded or they are wasting money on copy-paste stuff.
d) We are importing equipments which are not exactly rocket-science, and which we can easily be manufacture in India at 1/10th or lesser price. But we are not being able to do so for some unknown reason.
e) We have got huge budget for rockets and missiles but when it comes to smaller things which can save a soldier's life, we run out of money. This is how much we respect the lives of our soldiers.
f) Instead of throwing away the faulty equipments, army has been forced to somehow repair them and use again. This is extremely dangerous.
g) Contrary to common perception, Indian Army is actually quite keen to support the development of indigenous equipments and to adopt them, provided they can meet the quality standards of the army and at least are as capable as the current equipments the army uses.
e) DRDO thinks that the user is stupid.

That is all I have to say.

 

[Bhadra]

I visited 509, Army Workshop Agra yesterday. This was my second visit, but during my visit I saw a few things I would like to share:
a) Foreign suppliers are milking us, they sell dinosaur-era equipments to us at sky-high price because we do not manufacture them, but we need them.
b) There is a shortage of important equipments and Indian Jugad is in naked display, because either the components are no longer in production or they are too costly. We are facing a logistical nightmare.
c) Our research institutions are either ill-funded or they are wasting money on copy-paste stuff.
d) We are importing equipments which are not exactly rocket-science, and which we can easily be manufacture in India at 1/10th or lesser price. But we are not being able to do so for some unknown reason.
e) We have got huge budget for rockets and missiles but when it comes to smaller things which can save a soldier's life, we run out of money. This is how much we respect the lives of our soldiers.
f) Instead of throwing away the faulty equipments, army has been forced to somehow repair them and use again. This is extremely dangerous.
g) Contrary to common perception, Indian Army is actually quite keen to support the development of indigenous equipments and to adopt them, provided they can meet the quality standards of the army and at least are as capable as the current equipments the army uses.
e) DRDO thinks that the user is stupid.

That is all I have to say.

Very practical observation and I am glad the word DRDO does not come in between as many of our friends in the forum like.

and why did you visits that electronics dump yard?

 

[LurkerBaba]

I've renamed the thread and merged some others. Lets hope the debate is constructive

 

[amitkriit]

Very practical observation and I am glad the word DRDO does not come in between as many of our friends in the forum like.

and why did you visits that electronics dump yard?

To carry out up-gradation of some equipment.

 

[LurkerBaba]

To carry out up-gradation of some equipment.

Can you share more information ?

 

[LurkerBaba]

Embarrassed DRDO Lambasts TV Report

On August 13, television news station CNN-IBN aired a story (text and video) titled 'DRDO spending crores, but no positive outcome' on an internal government audit that had made troubling observations about the DRDO's conduct and the manner in which it was going about ramping up weapons self-reliance in the country.

Saw the story? Ok. Five days after the story went on air, DRDO issued a statement to the entire media, responding to the CNN-IBN TV report. I'm putting that response here in full. My take: It's full of unnecessary platitudes, typically diversionary irrelevancies, insinuations that the TV station is working for arms dealers and an expected sentimentality on indigenous development. I wonder why the DRDO has such a problem dealing with the report head-on. Over 14 points, it just barely touches upon the substance of the audit report, and that too to say they are not final, and can still be struck down. Here it is in full, verbatim:

1. DRDO's response to reports in certain section of media about an internal audit report pertaining to Ministry of Defence, leaked out to them (as claimed by these media reps)

2. The report referred is a confidential document pertaining to the MoD. It is not understood how the contents have reached public domain in total violation of laid down orders on handling of such documents. Response to the audit authorities by DRDO is being similarly rendered under confidential classification only.

3. The original objective of the internal audit was to conduct an internal review of the wings of the MoD namely, Army, Navy, Air Force , Ordnance factories and DRDO.

4. Since laid down procedure was not followed and the report was issued without authorization, the matter is under examination and correspondence with the concerned authorities.

5. As already indicated, notwithstanding the fact that the report was vitiated by a faulty audit process, DRDO is recording its responses.

6. However, for the sake of clarity it is stated that the issues raised are essentially in the nature of preliminary observations which, in accordance with the laid down audit procedure, are required to be discussed with executive authorities during formal entry and exit meetings before compilation of audit report. Normally, the internal audit observations are settled by clarifications from the concerned department. Such preliminary observations are required to be formally issued and replies to the same should be sought prior to compilation of any report. Only if the replies are not satisfactory is the next step of making a preliminary report taken. In the extant case, the laid down procedure was not followed and to that extent, the process of audit stands vitiated. Thus, even before seeking replies of DRDO, presumption and baseless conclusions appear to have been arrived at.

7. The draft report, as per procedure, is also required to be submitted to the competent (audit) authority for its approval before it is issued to the executive authorities. This also does not appear to have been done.

8. The observations are apparently based on individual perceptions and hasty presumptions rather than facts and are a curious mix of fact and fiction issued without seeking the formal replies of the executive authorities. In several instances, the statements have taken the shape of undue criticism and derogatory remarks.

9. DRDO strongly refutes observations made in the report and is in the process of compiling its responses despite the fact that the findings of audit already stand vitiated. The replies to audit will be sent in due course as per procedure.

10. All laid down procedures are being followed by DRDO in a transparent manner and interests of the State are the sole consideration during the process of decision making.

11. DRDO is committed to the cause of indigenous development of state of the art weapon systems for the Indian Armed Forces with total focus on transparency, probity and accountability.

12. Unfortunately, the perverse campaign has been launched at a juncture when DRDO is making rapid strides into high end defence technologies and indigenously churning out one after another, contemporary weapon systems and equipment, sharply reducing the dependence on imports, the efforts have helped India to raise the level of indigenous content in meeting its requirements of defence systems to around 60%; the figures are rising steadily. Thus, anyone can easily guess, who will be the beneficiary's this campaign and who is going to loose. Not only the manner in which the audit has been conducted but also the manner in which sensitive information pertaining to India's Defence Research Programs has been leaked out is unfortunate.

14. It need be borne in mind that R&D projects involving development of complex system such as missiles, combat aircrafts, battle tanks etc, as well as those involving development of newer technologies, require a large number of experiments and iteration before success is achieved. It involves handling uncertainties and as such predicting the exact number of iteration is not feasible. Allowing flexibility in the system and confidence in the project team are essential to achieve success.


Livefist: Embarrassed DRDO Lambasts TV Report

 

[Jim Street]

Kindly keep in mind that DRDO was in the sanction list after 1998. along with ISRO which delayed its technological progress....and you can't build everything perfect...i admit there are unreasonable delay, but one should also look at what they have done.....Also they should work first then speak.

 

[Armand2REP]

DRDO, A White Elephant

 

[The Messiah]

Bastard media should look at themselves first before blackening the name of DRDO.

DRDO is atleast doing something despite many problems. There is room for improvement.

What has media done ? creating faults in CWG and feeding same to foreign media outlets to embarass India.

 

[Armand2REP]

DODO's only defence is that it shouldn't have been released and no one consulted them on the findings.

 

[roma]

1) Why we expect 100 percent components of LCA or Arjun to be indigenious All countries use imported parts in their so called indigenious equipment

2) DRDO has done a lot for Indian defence And slowly DRDO is ACHIEVING and completing its old projects one by one


3) today JVs are the name of the game Even if we are partially successful but through JVs we can pool human resources resources and money
and get things done

4) Be positive and patient The future is very bright

5) This year at least the Big ticket items such as LCA LSP 7 and 8 will be ready ; Agni 5 will fly ; Arjun Mark 2 will be successful and we will all be happy :thumb:

i agree whole heartedly with your (1) and (3) ..indeed JV's is the way for india to go and it is not wrong to have imported components AS LONG AS THEY ARE NOT CRITICAL components

(2) and (4) - you know better and i shall give benefit of doubt

i hope you are right on (5) and if so, then yes! it is reason for celebration and indeed we can gradually return an increasingly higher level of trust in DRDO etc

 

[roma]

If they have been provided laptops, they would have obviously got it out. Its common sense. If they have not been provided with one, they cant use their personal laptops here. Your IQ should have let you conclude that its the process/budget to blame and not that particular person in the pic.

i feel a bit sorry for the guy in the pic - perhaps it was just a photo-shoot and they told him "never mind yaar , forget about laptop , it's too small and cant be seen too well in the photo , use something bigger, get your PC !! "

hey guys, it's just a photo »??