Following from the Sentinel. SYSTEM failure? What a surprise ! cm :-)
****************************************************************************** A System Failure It is pretty clear that India's much-hyped defence research organization - the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) - is more myth, less substance. And this, despite the fact that a man like APJ Abdul Kalam, hailed by the country as Missile Man, headed the organization in its happening years. An investigative series by The Indian Express has revealed that the DRDO is all about ''delayed research, derailed organization'', and that the failures of the organization are manifold stemming basically from its having the unique privilege of a government organization that does not bother about transparency and accountability. Whether missiles or tanks or light combat aircraft, the DRDO story is one of flaws, hiccups and, worse, laxity. This is indeed a tragedy for a country that spends huge amounts in defence research and development (because it is surrounded by untrustworthy neighbours), while at the other end the country suffers from chronic poverty and an uncared hungry population. Given the frustrating DRDO story then, the country seems to splurging without being really able to afford so. The DRDO authorities must remember this if they have time - and the attitude - to bother about the country. It is disgusting that even the Agni missile venture is crippled by technical snags and flawed engineering. Most of our missiles have flawed trajectories and, as the Army feels, are risky. India's indigenous main battle tank Arjun also seems to be a showpiece. Brigadier DK Babbar, who was the Army's pointman for the Arjun project at the Mechanized Forces Directorate until he retired last year, has this to say about Arjun: ''The Arjun tank has no future. It still cannot fire straight. The T-90, a far superior tank, can kill the Arjun. We would not cross any border with these tanks.'' Readers would do well to know that the Arjun project was sanctioned by Indira Gandhi's Cabinet 30 years ago, the DRDO extended its deadline by 11 years (from 1984 to 1995), and the cost overrun was almost 20 times the original estimate. And now the DRDO says that it is working on a hybrid variety of tank called Tank-X that involves the mounting of an Arjun gun turret on a T-72 chassis. The Army is not excited. As for the DRDO's light combat aircraft (LCA) project, it is a 23-year-old story since its inception in 1983 but whose deadline has been revised thrice - the new deadline being 2010 - and the Indian Air Force is not ready to certify the LCA technology until its clearance in 2008. There are many who feel that the LCA technology may be outdated by the time it is inducted. In the wake of such discouraging facts and figures as to the DRDO's style of working and 'achieving', one now has experts in the field deliberating as to how the DRDO's is in fact a story of system failure. The fault lies in the very system called the DRDO. According to retired military generals and defence analysts, the focus should shift from bureaucratic positioning and pompousness to laboratories and workshops. Equally guilty is the higher defence management framework within which the DRDO works. Has the political leadership ever bothered to hold the DRDO accountable for its delayed or failed projects and its breach of commitments? Has anyone bothered about the fact that in a democracy an organization like the DRDO should also be audited? It spells doom for the country if an organization like the DRDO, on which ordinary people repose faith when it comes to their security and hence the nation's security, continues to bask in fake glories without having to correct its systemic loopholes that create an atmosphere not conducive to scientific excellence. _______________________________________________ assam mailing list assam@assamnet.org http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
