Endeavours in Self-Reliance: Defence Research (1983-2018)

A historical account of Defence Research and Development in India is presented covering the period 1983 – 2018 which were decades of explosive growth and achievements, expectations and challenges. Annual budget grew from Rs. 300 crores to Rs. 17,000 crores. Output of the defence R&D efforts measured by financial value of indigenous production achieved went up steeply to Rs. 300,000 crores. Hundreds of development projects were completed covering every aspect of defence requirement. Through the efforts of a single generation of scientists, soldiers, managers and policy makers, the indigenous capabilities in nuclear weapons, guided missiles, fighter aircraft, aerial early warning system, UAVs, battle tanks, artillery guns, rocket launchers, strategic submarines, underwater sensors, torpedoes, radars, communications, electronic warfare and other domains including life support measures for the warfighters were inducted in service use. This chronicle describes the huge efforts made by the establishments under the aegis of the Department of Defence Research and Development, as succinctly and spontaneously as possible, based on the reports and descriptions rendered by the laboratories and by major contributors who participated in the vast national endeavour