Article Posted on : - Dec 30, 2012

CHENNAI (PTI): DRDO is developing multi-calibre guns which can load and fire both small and large bullets to meet the requirements of Indian Army, a top official has said.

".. the Army is to now go for a different variety of guns and ammunition. So, they are planning to go for, what is called, multi-barrel guns... and that we are doing already," DRDO chief Vijay Kumar Saraswat told reporters in Chennai on Friday.

The guns were being developed by DRDO's lab at Aerial Delivery Research & Development Establishment Armament in Pune and they were "undergoing trials," he said after inaugurating 'DRDO Research and Innovation Centre,' in collaboration with Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M).

He said the proposed Defence Technology Commission (DTC) was under the Government's consideration. "Lot of discussions has taken place in the constitution, empowerment as well as the functions of this commission. And it is awaiting the approval from the Government. So, as soon as the approval comes, we will institute it," he said.

DTC's basic role will be to increase the self- reliance index (SRI) in defence technology in the country and to create a synergy between production, R&D and delivery of the systems to the user in a timely and cost effective manner, Saraswat, the Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister, said.

To a query on the marketing arm of DRDO, he said, "We have already constituted its functionalities and the charter. It will have some parity with the Antrix (of ISRO). But it will have some differences also, because we have a very large user in terms of the armed forces, whereas Antrix has users who are civilians. So, there will be some differences."

He said that some of DRDO's commercial items were facing competition from the marketing efforts of multi-national companies in the field.

"..the companies which got the technology from DRDO do not have the same amount of resources for marketing. So, now that is one big handicap for the product," he said.