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The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), India’s premier military research agency, is expected to get a full-time Chairman within days, with the government’s selection process entering its final phase after over a month-long vacancy at the top.
The post has remained vacant since Dr Samir V. Kamat’s retirement on May 31, with Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh currently holding additional charge as interim Chairman.
According to senior Defence Ministry sources, the recommendation of the Search-cum-Selection Committee has already been forwarded to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for final approval.
“The selection process has been completed at the committee level. The file is with the competent authority, and the appointment is expected after the Prime Minister returns from his three-nation visit on July 12,” a senior Ministry of Defence official told BharatShakti.
Another official familiar with the process said the government was “carefully evaluating leadership requirements for DRDO’s next phase of technological transformation, particularly in areas such as missiles, artificial intelligence, autonomous systems and advanced weapon technologies.”
The high-powered Search-cum-Selection Committee, headed by Cabinet Secretary Dr. T.V. Somanathan and comprising Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and a former ISRO Chairman, interviewed five distinguished scientists on July 3. The panel shortlisted them from a pool of 15 Distinguished Scientists recommended by the Defence Ministry. Officials noted that under the established selection process, the committee is also empowered to recommend candidates beyond those interviewed, if considered appropriate.
Among those interviewed were B.K. Das, Director General of the Electronics and Communication Systems (ECS) Cluster; Prateek Kishore, Director General of the Armament and Combat Engineering (ACE) Cluster; Dr. Jagannath Nayak, Director General of Missiles and Strategic Systems; Dr. Anupam Sharma, who heads the Systems and Platforms Segment; and Dr. Anindya Biswas, Director of Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad.
Officials said B.K. Das and Prateek Kishore have emerged as the leading contenders, although no final decision has been conveyed.
“B.K. Das is the senior-most scientist in the field and has extensive experience in strategic testing, electronics and indigenous defence technologies. Prateek Kishore, on the other hand, has led several flagship indigenous armament programmes and still has a longer service, which is also a factor the government may consider,” a senior MoD source said.
Das, being the senior-most, currently serving on an one-year extension granted on April 30, has spent over three decades in DRDO, heading institutions such as the Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, and the Instruments Research and Development Establishment (IRDE), Dehradun. Under his leadership, the ECS Cluster has expanded work on indigenous electronic warfare systems, AI-enabled defence technologies and long-term collaboration with industry and start-ups.
Prateek Kishore heads the Armament and Combat Engineering Cluster in Pune, which has spearheaded several of India’s flagship indigenous weapon programmes, including the Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS), the Pinaka multi-barrel rocket launcher, the Project Zorawar light tank, and next-generation armoured combat platforms.
The race narrowed earlier this month after directed-energy weapons expert Dr. Jagannath Nayak assumed charge as Director General (Missiles and Strategic Systems) on July 1. Widely regarded as one of the architects of DRDO’s fibre-optic gyro guidance technology and anti-drone directed-energy weapon programme, Nayak had been considered a strong contender before his elevation to the strategic systems portfolio.
The appointment comes at a crucial juncture for DRDO as it accelerates indigenous development of next-generation missile systems, hypersonic technologies, combat aircraft, electronic warfare capabilities and autonomous military platforms under the government’s push for defence self-reliance.
Ravi Shankar
Dr Ravi Shankar has over two decades of experience in communications, print journalism, electronic media, documentary film making and new media.
He makes regular appearances on national television news channels as a commentator and analyst on current and political affairs. Apart from being an acknowledged Journalist, he has been a passionate newsroom manager bringing a wide range of journalistic experience from past associations with India’s leading media conglomerates (Times of India group and India Today group) and had led global news-gathering operations at world’s biggest multimedia news agency- ANI-Reuters. He has covered Parliament extensively over the past several years. Widely traveled, he has covered several summits as part of media delegation accompanying the Indian President, Vice President, Prime Minister, External Affairs Minister and Finance Minister across Asia, Africa and Europe.
