Govt dismisses DRDO chief in order to restructure the body

Avinash Chander

The Modi government has dismissed DRDO chief and missile scientist Avinash Chander almost 16 months before the end of his tenure. He is also the scientific advisor to the defence minister.

The move is seen as an attempt by the Modi government to start systemic reforms in DRDO.

DRDO :

1. DRDO has a vast infrastructure of 52 labs, 7,800 scientists and over 530 R&D projects worth over Rs 48,000 crore
2. DRDO has a long history of failing to deliver cutting-edge weapon systems to the armed forces in time.
3. DRDO’s poor performance and reluctance to reform as well as the growing greying profile of its scientists, was probably seen as an obstacle to the government’s `Make in India’ policy.
4. India is considered to be the world’s largest arms importer.
5. Indian armed forces get over 65% of their requirements from abroad. This fact also makes India strategically-vulnerable.