Def Minister reviews working of DRDO, asks it to focus on flagship programmes

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Friday visited the headquarters of Defence Research and Development Organisation here and reviewed its work in fulfilling requirement of the armed forces. Officials said Singh appreciated the commitment and dedication of DRDO scientists and directed them to focus on flagship programmes of national importance.

The defence minister also released a publication titled 'Roadmap of DRDO', which encapsulated its target for the next ten years. Singh was given a detailed presentation by DRDO Chairman Dr G Satheesh Reddy and other senior scientists on various projects being implemented by the organisation, officials said. "The presentation covered recent achievements, details of major ongoing projects and the roadmap of DRDO," the defence ministry said. It said Singh was apprised about the DRDO-developed cutting-edge, state-of-the-art technologies and systems accepted by the armed forces and those under development.

"The defence minister appreciated the commitment and dedication of DRDO scientists and directed that they should focus their energies on flagship programmes of national importance," said the ministry. Singh also appreciated the DRDO's initiatives to promote collaboration with academia and industry, and desired that such interaction should be enhanced to create a greater scientific temper and production base.

He also congratulated DRDO for its singular achievements in strengthening the national defence capabilities and enabling the nation to join a select club of countries by coming out with advanced defence technologies such capability to take down satellites in space. In March, India carried out an Anti-Satellite (A-SAT) test by shooting down a live satellite. With the A-SAT test, India joined a select group of countries to have capability to shoot down a satellite.

The defence minister also mentioned about DRDO's role in development of Tejas fighter aircraft, Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AEW&CS) and ballistic missile defence programme. Earlier, on his arrival at DRDO Bhawan, Singh paid floral tributes at the statue of former President and noted missile scientist Dr A P J Abdul Kalam.

At a separate meeting, the defence minister reviewed the working of department of ex-servicemen welfare. He particularly reviewed implementation of various welfare schemes including financial assistance and resettlement support measures to the ex-serviceman, widows and dependents. In a free flowing interaction with senior officials, Singh gave directions to the department and sought a response in a time bound manner on certain issues, officials said.

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