DRDO chief flags industry players’ aggressive underbidding, says it delays key defence projects

Ahilyanagar: DRDO chairman Samir Kamat on Saturday said aggressive underbidding by industry players had hampered the progress of key defence projects.

Speaking on the sidelines of the flagging-off ceremony of the advanced armoured platform (wheeled and tracked) at Vehicle Research and Development Establishment in Ahilyanagar, Kamat told TOI, "I don't want to name the specific projects, but these were delayed because of lowest bids by private industries. The partner company couldn't execute the programme."



He said, "We want to have genuine commitment from industries to complete a project. We have sought suggestions from industries itself. We are discussing this with various stakeholders to see how we can resolve this."

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has launched the Development-cum-Production Partner (DcPP) model, designed to boost private sector participation in complex defence projects. "This model has worked for us as we could complete over 30 projects in the past couple of years. So, in a way, it has delivered desired results for us. We are working on certain issues to make it a more effective model to achieve self-reliance in the defence sector," Kamat said.

The model's framework involves selecting industry partners early in the development cycle to ensure a smoother transition from design to production. Under this approach, DRDO works closely with industry partners for major systems.

Kamat described the model as a "work in progress". He said while it had accelerated indigenous defence development, certain structural issues still needed to be resolved. "I am sure this process will evolve and we will come to a well-established mechanism, which is fair, transparent and will enable quick development," he said.

He cited the advanced armoured platform as a positive example of the model in action. According to Kamat, a DRDO lab, along with its partner labs and two industry partners, has moved from design to an actual prototype ready for rollout in just three years.

Kamat said the DRDO's role, as envisioned by the government, goes beyond system design. "We also work on subsystems and critical technologies to ensure that our dependence on foreign sources is limited to very few things," he said.

He expressed confidence that the DcPP model would mature over time into a more robust and credited scientists like Chandrika Kaushik, who is heading the model, for playing a key role in shaping the partner selection process.

The DRDO chief appreciated the growing role of tier-2 and tier-3 suppliers, along with startups, in strengthening the defence ecosystem. "Their innovations can provide the decisive edge in future conflicts," he said.
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