DRDO spends 25% of budget on R&D, says Chairman

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) Chairman Satheesh Reddy said they were spending 25 per cent of the budget on research and development (R&D).

"The DRDO has been spending around 20-25 per cent of the budget on R&D," Reddy said while talking about 'technology for national security' at the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, here on Friday.

"The percentage of what goes into basic, upgraded and translation research has to be seen. When you look at it as basic research and application research, we are trying to spend a good amount of money on it," Reddy said.

As much as 20 per cent of resources of each laboratory should be spent on research content of futuristic technologies, he added.

The government has been asking the DRDO to focus on R&D, while exploiting the opportunity and support being extended to it.

On the technology front, Reddy said the organisation was doing well but was lacking in areas of devises and senses.

"The DRDO has developed many technologies and is doing well. But the areas it is lacking in are devises and senses. It's an important area that asks for large infrastructure and we need to establish technologies and build senses and devices," he said.

Reddy said people were doing "extremely well in the artificial intelligence (AI) area" and hoped in the next one-two years the country would do wonders.

--IANS

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