Bureaucratic norm of administering scientists must end: PM

Highlighting the growing difficulty in attracting and retaining high quality scientific manpower, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday said that to make India a scientific and technological powerhouse, the current system of administering scientific and technical departments should be changed.

Addressing scientists during the annual DRDO awards function, meant to honour individual scientists or teams of DRDO for their outstanding contributions in furthering India's efforts in self-reliance, Dr Singh said: "What is clear is that we have to change our current bureaucratic system of administering scientific and technical departments, particularly if we have to inspire young scientists to participate enthusiastically in the task of building India into a scientific and technological powerhouse.

"Organizationally too, the DRDO should aim at becoming leaner and making the best use of its human, financial and technological resources. I am very confident DRDO will continue to serve the nation with excellence in year that lies ahead."

"DRDO scientists have worked tirelessly in developing military technologies and infrastructure in a wide range of areas and activities. The recent successful test firing of the Agni-5

missile is a particularly significant milestone. It shows the depth of our technical talent and our capacity to manage large and complex projects when we put our heart and mind to them," Dr Singh said.

He further said that the initial operational clearance of the Light Combat Aircraft Tejas and the first flight of a fully modified Aircraft for the Indian Airborne Early Warning and Control System are also noteworthy and praiseworthy achievements of DRDO.

Commenting on a net deterioration in the international strategic and security environment, he said: "Political uncertainties in our immediate and extended neighbourhood, civil strife and turmoil in the Middle East, terrorism and threats to cyber security present complex challenges that require both conventional as well as technological responses.

"The government is fully committed to modernizing India's armed forces and providing them with the wherewithal they need to secure our frontiers. The question is how we can procure the requisite cutting edge technologies and platforms, even while promoting indigenously developed technologies that meet the required time and quality assurances standards."