NEW DELHI: The Indian Army’s efforts to digitalise its communications system for future warfare has taken a hit with the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) slamming the premier defence research agency DRDO for wasteful expenditure of Rs 123 crore, as the system that it made failed to meet the standards desired by Army.
In its report, CAG called the expenditure “unfruitful” and “unable to meet the desired end” of the defence services. DRDO, however, has blamed the Army for constantly changing needs.
Targeting digitalisation of future battle scenarios, the Army proposed a communications system in all its 11 Corps at a total cost of Rs 615.46 crore in three phases in 1998. Phase I was sanctioned in May 1999 by the defence ministry at Rs 110 crore, jointly funded by DRDO and the Army.
In October 2011, DRDO handed the communications system to the Army for deployment in 58 formations. The expenditure on its development and maintenance worked out to Rs 123 crore.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has pulled up DRDO, the country’s premier defence research agency, for wasteful expenditure of Rs 123 crore, as the communications system that it made failed to meet the standards desired by the Indian Army.
While scrutinising the project, government auditors found that the system—named Combined Information Decision Support System (CIDSS)—offered only ‘learning value’ for subsequent development and did not meet ‘user requirement’.
In November 2015, in response to the auditors’ observation, DRDO blamed the Army, saying that CIDSS Phase I was developed and deployed as per the projected requirement, which was changed by the users after its development.
In a communication to the Director of Bengaluru-based Centre for Artificial Intelligence Robotics (CAIR), the auditors sought a detailed response to their report on government defence services, so the final report can be tabled in Parliament at the earliest.
The Army wanted a Tactical Command Control Communication and Intelligence System that enables rapid acquisition and dissemination of information for future battle scenarios. The existing manual system will not be able to handle vast amount of data for modern sensors, weapons systems and other agencies, and provide timely information to enable instant decision-making.
