The Author is Former Director General of Information Systems and A Special Forces Veteran, Indian Army

It was reported in these columns in mid-March 2024 that the government-appointed nine-member committee, headed by K. Vijay Raghavan, former Principal scientific Advisor to the government, for restructuring the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), for developing high-end technologies for future warfare, has submitted its report to the government. In addition to its main agenda of recommending ways to reform the DRDO and create an indigenous defence production ecosystem, the report also recommended:

K. Vijay Raghavan,
former Principal Scientific
Advisor to the Government

• A larger role to the private sector in defence, limiting DRDO's role to research and development (R&D) without being involved in developing prototypes or technology demonstrators.
• Any production and further development should be done by selected private players or public sector undertakings (PSUs).

Highlights of recommendations of the committee for reorganisation of the DRDO, somewhat similar to the structure of America's Défense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), are as under:

• Structure – setup Defence Technology Council (DTC) headed by the prime minister, with RM and NSA as vice presidents, empowered committee under DTC co-headed by CDS and PM's Principal Scientific Advisor, separate posts for Secretary DRDO and Chairman DRDO, DTC Secretariat with 17 technology DGs, define National Defence Technology Roadmap, and technology hubs in top academic institutions.
• Functional – setup a Board under the head of DRDO to oversee reinvention of DRDO and be accountable for functioning, create tech, admin and financial board to support the apex board.
• Manpower – reduce the median age of DRDO to 35, hire 100 graduates annually tom campus, and energise lateral entry.
• Laboratories – restructure 41 DRDO labs into 10 national labs.
• Research – focus on research in deep-tech areas, on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) technology, as well as in areas like life sciences, and international collaboration.

The K. Vijay Raghavan Committee recommended limiting DRDO's role to research and development (R&D), while production and further development should be handled by private players or public sector undertakings (PSUs).

The government gave the DRDO headquarters three months to assess, review and share feedback, if any, before implementing the panel's recommendations in a phased manner. The above mentioned Board being created under the head of DRDO (comprising the CTO, Armed Forces Interface Officer, Chief Administrative Officer and CFO) was to examine the complexities and give feedback to the government; the crucial part being how earnestly the recommendations of the K. Raghavan Committee are implemented.

Dr Samir V. Kamat
Secretary, Department of Defence
R&D and Chairman, DRDO

In May 2024, the DRDO headquarters set up an Overseeing Committee, chaired by Samir Kamat, the organisation's Chairman and Secretary, Department of Defence Research and Development. Kamat received a one-year extension beyond his scheduled retirement on May 31 this year. 13 specialised committees, led by DRDO DGs, were also formed to ensure timely implementation of Raghavan committee recommendations, with August 31, 2024 set as the deadline for completion or at least establish clear milestones where implementation is not considered feasible.

Despite these efforts, resistance within the DRDO persists, complicating the implementation of reforms. In a key development, pointing to Kamat's critical role in overseeing implementation of the proposed changes. However, the ongoing pushback from within the DRDO raises questions about whether the long-anticipated reforms will move forward in time.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has repeatedly criticised DRDO for delayed projects, cost overruns, and substandard outcomes, highlighting that 119 of 178 declared successful projects failed to meet key objectives or schedules.

DRDO conducts maiden flight-test of Long Range Land Attack Cruise Missile off Odisha coast on November 12, 2024.

News reports of October 3, 2024 have quoted an unnamed defence official stating that while multiple rounds of meetings have happened within the DRDO, no major reforms or changes have been seen on the ground. In fact, a section in the DRDO headquarters believed that implementation of the reforms was held "in abeyance". Despite multiple meetings and initiatives within the DRDO, no major restructuring has been achieved due to resistance from senior officials. The government's plan to revamp the DRDO has run into hiccups despite being a key element of the NDA-3's 100-day agenda in its third term.

The reasons of the senior DRDO officials stonewalling the organisation's restructuring are not difficult to fathom. For decades the DRDO has ruled the roost, claiming all research; grabbing development by private entities in the garb of jointly making prototypes and co-production. This involves lakhs and crores of money-making, which is shared with the "deep State" to maintain status quo; giving DRDO the name - "Goose that Lays Golden Eggs".

Senior DRDO officials are reportedly resistant to reforms, fearing the loss of control and financial benefits tied to prototype development and co-production, a dynamic that reinforces the organisation's reputation as the "Goose that Lays Golden Eggs."

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has criticised the DRDO many times for delayed projects, cost overruns, sub-standard products and product costs higher than the same products available off-the-shelf in the open market. A CAG report, tabled in Parliament in December 2022, pointed out that 119 of 178 projects declared successful by DRDO did not achieve key objectives and time schedules; overall, delays ranging from 16 to 500 per cent.

Ironically, one fallout of the above was introduction of the bogey of "self-assessment" and the CAG going practically quiet – probably instructed to do so, which does not bode well.

There is no denying that DRDO's failures over the decades have contributed significantly to India becoming the world's biggest weapons importer. The US military is well equipped because the arms industry is privatised, which is not the case in India; the defence sector is gradually being opened to private players but not in the measure it should to speed-up self-reliance in defence.

Finally, it is quite apparent that giving a larger role to the private sector in defence, not getting involved in developing prototypes/technology demonstrators, production and further development to be done private players or DPSUs and limiting DRDO's role to R&D is anathema to the senior DRDO leadership. The government will need to act firmly to restructure the DRDO in the interest of the nation.