Roundtable Discussion on Proposed DRDO Reforms and Improvements in India’s Defence Technology Eco-system
Date: February 14, 2024 | Time : 11:00 am - 01:00 pm
The Delhi Policy Group (DPG) organised a roundtable discussion on proposed DRDO Reforms and Improvements in India’s Defence Technology Eco-system on February 14, 2024.
The Government of India had constituted a 10-member committee chaired by Prof. K. Raghavan to examine how the process of delivering much-needed cutting-edge technologies to the Indian armed forces can be speeded up.
The Raghavan Committee has made wide-ranging recommendations, suggesting major changes in defence technology decision making under the aegis of a Defence Technology Council headed by PM, with RM and NSA as members; reorganising the DRDO; and providing a greater role to the private sector and academia.
This roundtable, conducted under the Chatham House Rule, brought together senior representatives from the military, DRDO, and industry to discuss how far the reforms suggested by the Raghavan Committee will go in creating an effective indigenous defence technology eco-system that can enhance India’s military capability and deterrent power.
The Government of India had constituted a 10-member committee chaired by Prof. K. Raghavan to examine how the process of delivering much-needed cutting-edge technologies to the Indian armed forces can be speeded up.
The Raghavan Committee has made wide-ranging recommendations, suggesting major changes in defence technology decision making under the aegis of a Defence Technology Council headed by PM, with RM and NSA as members; reorganising the DRDO; and providing a greater role to the private sector and academia.
This roundtable, conducted under the Chatham House Rule, brought together senior representatives from the military, DRDO, and industry to discuss how far the reforms suggested by the Raghavan Committee will go in creating an effective indigenous defence technology eco-system that can enhance India’s military capability and deterrent power.
PARTICIPANTS
| MILITARY | |
| 1. | Lieutenant General Subrata Saha (Retd.), Member, Raghavan Committee |
| 2. | Lieutenant General Sanjay Varma (Retd.), Consultant, DRDO |
| 3. | Lieutenant General Amit Sharma (Retd.), Former Commander-in-Chief of Strategic Forces and Principal Scientific Fellow, office of PSA to PM |
| DRDO | |
| 1. | Dr. S. K. Vasudeva, Senior Scientific Advisor, PSA to PM |
| 2. | Dr. William Selvamurthy, Former Chief Controller R&D, DRDO |
| 3. | Dr. Gopal Bhushan, Former Director, DRDO |
| INDUSTRY/STARTUPS | |
| 1. | Vidyasagar, MD, SEC Industry |
| 2. | Rahul Nayar, Senior Fellow for Policy, FAST India |
| 3. | Vikas Khitha, Vice President & Head - Corporate Office Delhi, L&T Defence |
| DPG FACULTY | |
| 1. | Ambassador H. K. Singh, Director General |
| 2. | Vice Admiral Anil Chopra, (Retd.), Distinguished Fellow |
| 3. | Lieutenant General D.S. Hooda (Retd.), Senior Fellow for Military Strategy |
| 4. | Brigadier Arun Sahgal (Retd.), Ph.D, Senior Fellow for Strategic and Regional Security, DPG |
| 5. | Commodore Lalit Kapur (Retd.), Senior Fellow for Maritime Strategy |
| 6. | Jayantika Rao T.V., Research Associate |
| 7. | Anshita Arvind Shukla, Research Associate |
| 8. | Divya Rai, Research Associate |