Defence and Research Development Organisation (India)

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The Defence and Research Development Organisation (DRDO) is an agency of the Government of India which deals with military technology and its development in India. It is responsible for developing weapons systems such as the Akash surface-to-air missile and the Agni ballistic missile.

DRDO maintains the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur.

Before India became an independent nation in 1947, the defence of the country was the responsibility of the Defence Department (under the British rule). Soon after India became independent, the Defence Department became the Ministry of Defence, headed by a Minister of the Cabinet Rank.

According to the Constitution of India, the President of India is the supreme commander of the Armed Forces and executive responsibility for national defence rests with the Union Cabinet of which Defence Minister is an important member. The official designation of the Defence Minister is Raksha Mantri (RM) who is assisted by a Ministry of State called Rajya Raksha Mantry (RRM) assisting the RM. Sometimes there maybe more than one RRM.

DRDO was formed in 1958 from the amalgamation of the then already functioning Technical Development Establishment (TDEs) of the Indian Army and the Directorate of Technical Development & Production (DTDP) with the Defence Science Organisation (DSO). DRDO was then a small organisation with 10 establishments or laboratories. Over the years, it has grown multi-directionally in terms of the variety of subject disciplines, number of laboratories, achievements and stature.

Today, DRDO is a network of 51 laboratories which are deeply engaged in developing defence technologies covering various disciplines, like aeronautics, armaments, electronics, combat vehicles, engineering systems, instrumentation, missiles, advanced computing and simulation, special materials, naval systems, life sciences, training, information systems and agriculture. Presently, the Organisation is backed by over 5000 scientists and about 25,000 other scientific, technical and supporting personnel. Several major projects for the development of missiles, armaments, light combat aircraft, radars, electronic warfare systems etc are on hand and significant achievements have already been made in several such technologies.

Vision and Mission Statement:

To develop state-of-the-art defence technologies.

To achieve self-reliance in defence technologies & systems and provide indigenous systems to Defence Services.

To create synergy in the efforts of Research & Development organizations, Ordnance Factories, Public Sector Units, academia and industries of the country to achieve self-reliance in Defence Systems.

Core Competence:

Having developed several advanced defence systems, DRDO has acquired expertise in a wide spectrum of defence technologies. Areas of the core competence of the organisation include: Systems Design and Integration of Complex Sensors, Weapon Systems and Platforms; Development of Complex High-end Software Packages; Development of Functional Materials; Test and Evaluation; Technology Transfer and Absorption. In addition, Expertise and Infrastructure have been built up for carrying out basic/applied research in areas of relevance to Defence Science and Technology, Quality Assurance and Safety, Project and Technology Management.