Lok Sabha Question No. 4927 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-31
Subject: Employees Working in DRDO
Ministry: DEFENCE
Asked by: T.G. VENKATESH BABU

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

## DEFENCE RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT ORGANISATION

## LOK  SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.4927

TO BE ANSWERED ON THE 31 ST  MARCH, 2017

## EMPLOYEES WORKING IN DRDO

4927.  SHRI VENKATESH BABU T.G.:

Will the Minister of DEFENCE j{kk ea=h be pleased to state:

- (a) the total number of employees working in the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in various grades, grade-wise including permanent and contractual basis;
- (b) whether frequent delaying of various projects of DRDO results in cost and time overrun;
- (c) if so, the details thereof, project-wise; and
- (d) the action taken by the Government to adhere to the time schedule and to reduce the costs?

## A    N    S    W    E    R

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF DEFENCE

(DR. SUBHASH BHAMRE)

र  ा रा य मं ी

(डा. सुभाष भामरे)

## (a)  The  total  number  of  permanent  employees  working  in  the  Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) are:

| Cadre                                           |   Strength |
|-------------------------------------------------|------------|
| Defence Research and Development Service (DRDS) |       7410 |
| Defence Research and Technical Cadre (DRTC)     |       9220 |
| Administration Cadre                            |       2936 |
| Allied Cadre                                    |       2880 |
| Service Officers                                |        334 |
| Other Service Personnel                         |       1617 |
| Total:                                          |      24397 |

(d) projects on-time.

:  2  :

DRDO  has  been  outsourcing  various  logistic  and  support  services (both  skilled  and  unskilled) but  not directly employing  the  staff.  Besides, DRDO also grants fellowship to Research Scholars and strategic consultancies from subject expert. (b) & (c): There  are  13  major  Mission  Mode  (MM)  projects  of  DRDOlagging behind schedule. Details are given at Annexure 'A'. DRDO has already undertaken the following steps to complete ongoing

- Consortium  approach  is  being  used  for  design,  development  and fabrication of critical components.
- Three-tier project monitoring approach has been instituted.
- Project Monitoring Review Committee (PMRC) and Project Appraisal and Review Committee (PARC)  meetings  are  held  regularly  to  monitor  the progress of ongoing projects.
- Concurrent  engineering  approach  has  been  adopted  in  technology intensive  projects  to  minimize  time-lag  between  development  and productionisation of the systems.
- Information Technology and modern management techniques are being applied.
- Encouraging joint funding by users to ensure their commitment towards earliest completion.
- Organisational re-structuring:
- Decentralization of authority and responsibility with Director Generals (DGs) of Technology Clusters and Directors of laboratories/ establishments
- High empowerment and accountability
- Involvement  of  Services  &  Production  Partners  during  development process  and  reviews  -  to  know  their  views  in  advance  including finalisation of GSQRs.
- Revised Procedures for Project Formulation  and  Management  (PPFM 2016) also elaborated on cost-benefit analysis and validation.

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## ANNEXURE 'A'    REFERRED IN  THE  REPLY  GIVEN  IN  PARTS  (b)  &  (c)  OF  LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED  QUESTION  NO.  4927  FOR ANSWER ON 31.3.2017

## Major Delayed Ongoing Mission Mode DRDO Projects (Cost more than Rs. 100 Crore)

| S. No.   | Project                                                                                                                                          | Probable Date of Completion   | Probable Date of Completion   | Original Cost (Rs. in   | Revised Cost (Rs. in Cr)   | Reasons for Delay                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
|----------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------|----------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| S. No.   | Project                                                                                                                                          | Original                      | Current                       | Estimated Cr)           |                            |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              |
| 1.       | Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) : Phase-II.                                                                                                          | Dec 2008                      | Dec 2015 (Under revision)     | 3301.78                 | 6933.08                    | • Technological challenges/ Embargoes. • Flight test program restrictions.                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
| 2.       | Full Scale Engineering Development of Naval Light Combat Aircraft (FSED Navy Phase I).                                                           | Mar 2010                      | Dec 2014 (Under revision)     | 561.67                  | 2103.21                    | • Due to co-dependence of basic infrastructure in Air Force and Naval versions. • Un-anticipated complexities faced in structural design.                                                                                                                                                    |
| 3.       | Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) 'Rustom-II' and Development of Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) at Chitradurga. | Aug 2016                      | Aug 2017                      | 1649.74                 | No revision                | • Design modifications/iterations in sub- systems which led to development delays. • Delay in availability of certified LRUs and associated software. • Export denial of critical items and delay in procurement of imported payloads. • Delay in completion of ATR facility at Chitradurga. |
| 4.       | 155 mm/52 Caliber Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS).                                                                                   | Sep 2015                      | Sep 2018                      | 247.90                  | No revision                | • Delay in realization of ordnance and recoil system • Delay in placing supply orders due to procedural issues for manufacturing of sub- systems.                                                                                                                                            |
| 5.       | Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C)System.                                                                                                | Apr 2011                      | Jun 2017                      | 1800.00                 | 2425.00                    | • Delay in finalizing operational requirements & platforms including additional requirements by IAF.                                                                                                                                                                                         |

| 6.   | D-Jag System (Internal RWJ System for Jaguar DARIN III Upgrade Aircraft).                  | Jun 2015   | Jun 2018                  | 268.27   | No revision   | • Critical changes in main systems.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             |
|------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------|---------------------------|----------|---------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 7.   | D-29 System (Internal EW system for MiG-29 Upgrade Aircraft).                              | Dec 2012   | Dec 2016 (Under revision) | 168.85   | No revision   | • Delay in structural modifications tasks for MiG-29 aircraft being done at RAC MiG, Moscow.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
| 8.   | EW Systems for Capital Ships, Aircrafts & Helicopter of Indian Navy titled as 'Samudrika'. | Jan 2016   | Jul 2017                  | 342.29   | No revision   | • Change in scope of ship-borne segment of the programme to include UETs and EA coverage from 180 o to 360 o for Project 'Shakti'.                                                                                                                                                                                              |
| 9.   | Long Range Surface-to-Air Missile (LR-SAM).                                                | May2011    | Dec 2017                  | 2606.02  | No revision   | • Mid-way major upward revision of performance requirements by IAI (Design Authority). • Number of new technologies developed first time. • Number of technical iterations required to establish Transmit-Receive Module technologies for Radar. • Design challenges in development of sub- systems byDRDO and foreign partner. |
| 10.  | Air to Air Missile System: Astra.                                                          | Sep 2012   | Jun 2017                  | 955.00   | No revision   | • Technology/ design challenges. • Delay in availability of critical components.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                |
| 11 . | Kaveri Engine for LCA.                                                                     | Dec 1996   | Dec 2009 (Under revision) | 382.8 1  | 2839.0 0      | • Development effort was underestimated, due to lack of experience. • Kaveri Core (Kabini) Engine development was initially not envisaged but added later based on experience of other engine houses. • Flying test bed trials was added as an additional project milestone as recommended by IAF and CEMILAC.                  |

|      |                                                |          |                           |          |             | • Lack of infrastructure for engine & component/ system level testing in India. • 1998 US Sanctions: Delay in delivery of critical components &systems.                                                                                                  |
|------|------------------------------------------------|----------|---------------------------|----------|-------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| 12.  | Advanced Light Weight Torpedo.                 | Aug 2013 | Dec 2017                  |   194.53 | No revision | • Indigenization development of 120 kW warshotbattery has taken time by the development agency HBL, Hyderabad. • Non availability of testing platform. • Restriction in time slots for sea trials.                                                       |
| 13 . | Medium Range Surface-to- Air Missile (MR-SAM). | Sep 2016 | Mar 2017 (Under revision) | 10075.7  | No revision | • During the development stage, systems/sub-systems has undergone multiple iterations during design, development and hardware realization. • Changes in system configuration. • Three verification flight trials included (not originally in the scope). |

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