Defence Minister A K Antony on Wednesday asked the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to concentrate on high-end research, particularly in critical and strategic areas and invest more resources in fundamental research.
Making this point to cut down delays in delivery schedules of various projects, he also asked the DRDO to lay more emphasis on major mission-mode programmes and pool together resources available in academic and R&D institutions.
Addressing the parliamentary consultative committee attached to his Ministry, Antony also told the DRDO to ensure that the Initial Operational Clearance and Final Operational Clearance of the light Combat Aircraft (lCA) are completed on schedule.
At present, 532 projects pertaining to mission mode, technology demonstrator, infrastructure facilities, science and technology are in various stages of implementation. While some projects have been completed, others are in different stages of production and induction, as well as in stages of development and trial.
MPs who attended the meeting included Murli S Deora, H K Dua, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Piyush Goyal, Navin Jindal, Gajanan Dharmshi Babar, Shivaji Adhalrao Patil, S S Ramsubbu, Gopal Singh Shekhawat, Sultan Ahmed, Ishwarlal Jain and Shivanand Tiwari.