The government has sacked Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) chief Avinash Chander much before he completed his term without giving any specific reason.
Dr. Chander, who was also the scientific advisor to the defence minister, has been sacked almost 16 months prior to completion of his tenure.
His exit order was put up on the Department of Personnel and Training website even before he received the notice but dropped within few hours.
“I am hearing this from you. It has come as a shock to me. I haven’t received any order from the government,” Chander told a daily.
The 64-year-old Chander had retired in November, 2014 but got an extenstion by UPA government to continue till May 2016 on a contractual basis.
“It is the government’s decision to end my contract but I had no indication this was coming. No idea why it has happened,” Chander added.
The decision came soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his unhappiness over the functions of DRDOs. The Prime Minister criticised repeated delays and cost overruns in key military programmes by DRDO.
DRDO which has 52 labs, 7800 scientists and over 530 R&D projects worth over Rs 48,000 crore, has disappointed in delivery many times in recent times. Thus the step also being seen as a part of systematic reform in DRDP as promised by NDA government.
A successor to Chander would be picked by search panel headed by the cabinet secretary in few days.
Tags: Avinash Chander DRDO DRDO chief sacks Narendra Modi
