New Delhi, March 27, 2005, Gautam Datt (Asian Age)

The Defence Research and Development Organisation, which has drawn flak for delays in the development of high-tech weapon systems, has said that its projects jump the deadlines due to technological complexities, sanctions and poor infrastructure.

Defence minister Pranab Mukherjee, in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha last week, submitted that indigenous development of high technology weapon system by the DRDO are delayed.

Some of the reasons cited are the technological complexities, technological embargoes and sanctions and control regimes, non-availability of infrastructure within the country, extended and long-lasting user trials and chance and enhancement of user requirements in the middle of the project.

The problem is now being sorted as some major steps have been taken to speed up the process of developing modern weapon system. The DRDO will now ensure that the timely review and monitoring for financial and technical progress will be handled by a multi-tier review mechanism.

To settle the problem of money, the DRDO will now encourage joint funding by the services which are the end users of the product. It will also ensure the commitment of the services to the earliest completion. Promotion of better synergy among the services, DRDO and production agencies has also been planned. There have been instances, particularly in the case of the MBT Arjun tank where the Army is not particularly satisfied with the machine developed by the DRDO after much delay.

The Army has yet to place order as the operational aspects of its induction are still being assessed. As of now, it is being said that the tank meets with the Army’s requirements.

The other measure planned is to adopt technology evaluation and assessment before taking up fresh projects. It has been suggesting that a concurrent engineering and joint venture approach for development and production should be planned. Sticking to the deadlines is one of the major problems faced by the DRDO which is handling many key projects that are important for the indigenisaton process of the defence equipment.

The three services want to cut down its dependence on the foreign countries to meeting the requirements of hi-tech equipment.