New def secy given addl charge of DDRD

The wait for a chief will continue at the Department of Defence Research and Development (DDRD), which advises the government on scientific aspects of military equipment, as its additional charge was given today to the new Defence Secretary, G Mohan Kumar.
Kumar, who today took over as Defence Secretary from RK Mathur for a period of two years, has been asked to handle additional charge of DDRD for three months.
The Appointments Committee of Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asked Kumar, a 1979-batch Odisha cadre IAS officer, to hold additional charge of Secretary of DDRD till August 24 with the post having fallen vacant upon the sacking of Avinash Chander as DRDO head in January this year.

The department has remained under additional charge of the Defence Secretary since January 30 this year after Chander's extension was curtailed by the government on January 14, 15 months before his contract was to end.
DDRD comes under the Chief of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
Established in 1980, the DDRD advises the government on scientific aspects of military equipment and logistics and the formulation of research, design and development plans for the equipment required by the three Services.