‘Successes should not,however,make us complacent’

In this connection,he drew the attention to the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) project and said DRDO must not extend further the date beyond 2014,set by the DRDO Chief Dr VK Saraswat,for the Final Operational Clearance of the Tejas for induction into the Indian Air Force.

The defence minister asked the DRDO scientists to focus on priority areas and said the ultimate test of success of the organisation lies in the satisfaction of the users i.e.,the armed forces. Referring to some recent developments which have put the defence acquisition process under the scanner,he said,such incidents highlight the need to look within and make us realise that there is absolutely no substitute to self reliance.

It is noteworthy that in the recent years,DRDO’s sustained efforts,supported by various stakeholders have brought down the import content of defence acquisitions from 70 % to around 45%.

“If our indigenisation goals are to be realised,DRDO will have to take the lead in this regard. Other stakeholders,for instance,the services,the MoD and private industry in the defence sector too must cooperate to ensure quick,honest and transparent acceptance of the systems”.

The minister suggested that all the stakeholders must meet at regular intervals to undertake periodic reviews and suggest corrective action. Both DRDO and the forces must place more trust and confidence in each other’s abilities and work with close synergy.

“The concept of block acceptance and spiral development that is being followed in most leading countries of the world must be embraced after due deliberations and required changes”, he added.

Responding to the DRDO’s request for enhanced budget, Antony said,allocation of funds will not be a constraint but at the same time,spending the money most judiciously and with all the transparency at our command must be your watchword.

He said,continuous funding would be required for R&D to survive,but with more emphasis on indigenisation and self reliance,we would save a lot of money in the long run,although,we might have to invest more to begin with.

The three day conference will cover topics related to long-term requirements of armed forces,technology development plan and meeting the requirements in the broader perspective of emerging technologies. Associated manufacturing technologies required to translate technological developments into quality products will also be discussed.

The conference will include round table discussions on the future threat scenarios and the technologies required to meet the associated challenges and the need to enhance the participation of private sector to accelerate indigestion.