Vijay Raghavan Panel Report

A 9-member panel headed by the former principal scientific advisor to the government Prof. Vijay Raghavan have submitted its report.

Aim of the committee - To review the functioning of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Reasons - Several projects of DRDO suffer from huge delays and cost overruns.

According to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence, 23 of DRDO’s 55 mission mode projects could not be completed in time.
According to CAG report, 67% of the 178 projects scrutinised by it had failed to adhere to their initially proposed timelines.

Ministry of Defence (MoD) has set an ambitious defence exports target of Rs 35,000 crore by 2025.

Recommendations of the committee

Focus on research - The DRDO should focus on its original goal of research and development for defence.
It should refrain from involving itself in productization, production cycles, and product management, tasks that are more suitable for the private sector.
Defence Technology Council - The committee has also suggested a Defence Technology Council (DTC) chaired by the Prime Minister, with the defence minister and the National Security Advisor as its Vice Presidents.
It will also have an executive committee chaired by the Chief of Defence Staff (CoDS).
It will include representation from academia and industry, with two members from each sector.
The Council will determine the country’s defence technology roadmap and decide on major projects and their execution.

The Defence Acquisition Coucil (DAC) is an apex body for clearing major capital acquisitions for defence and it has been headed by the Union Defence Minister.

Separate Department - The panel has also suggested the creation of the Department of Defence Science, Technology, and Innovation under the Defence Ministry.
This department will be headed by a technocrat and it will serve as the secretariat for the Defence Tech Council (DTC).
Centralized Laboratory - The committee has recommended the setting up of close to 10 national-level laboratory facilities instead of the existing 40 or more DRDO labs across the nation.

Earlier in 2008, Dr P Rama Rao Committee was constituted to review the functioning of the DRDO and all the recommendations by the Committee were accepted by the DRDO except the creation of a Board of Research for Advanced Defence Sciences (BRADS).

Source:

Join Our Telegram

Somnath Temple

Ingenuity helicopter on Mars- USA

Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a and MASS EXTINCTION

25 Dec, 24
SHARE

Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a from the Paris Basin (Environment) Paper-3 PMP OAE 1a refers to a period during the Cretaceous Period (145 million years ago and ended 66 million years ago) when Earth's oceans became depleted of oxygen, causing a significant disruption in marine life. Cause: The event is believed to have been

Viksit Panchayat Karmayogi (Good governance)

26 Dec, 24
SHARE

Viksit Panchayat Karmayogi (Good governance) Governance GS PAPER-2 PMP Dr. Jitendra Singh launched the ‘Viksit Panchayat Karmayogi’ initiative on Good Governance Day, celebrated to mark the 100th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The initiative, which is part of the broader ‘Prashasan Gaon

Major programmes to control Air Pollution

23 Dec, 24
SHARE

Major programmes to control Air Pollution National Clean Air Programme? It was launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in January 2019. It is the first-ever effort in the country to frame a national framework for air quality management with a time-bound reduction target. The

Air pollution and Air quality Measures in India

21 Dec, 24
SHARE

Air pollution and Air quality Measures in India (Environment) GS Paper-3 P-M-P Air pollution may be defined as the presence of any solid, liquid or gaseous substance including noise and radioactive radiation in the atmosphere in such concentration that may be directly and/or indirectly injurious to humans or other l

Geopolitical Significance of Ports

20 Dec, 24
SHARE

Geopolitical Significance of Ports (IR) Act as geopolitical assets: Ports enhance the projection of strategic reach, which helps strengthen the country’s control over important sea and energy supply routes. E.g. Indian Navy’s staging base at Agalega Islands will enable marine patrols