Mars needs its orbiter, and India its fighter planes

January 20 , 2015

Achievements in aerospace have marched ahead in India while aeronautics is still plagued by bureaucratic inertia, writes Brijesh D. Jayal

Perhaps nothing summarizes the Indian Space Research Organization's achievement more succinctly than a report in the New York Times under the banner, "On a Shoestring, India Sends Orbiter to Mars On Its First Try".

It is befitting that during those nail-biting final moments of suspense on Wednesday morning, when the Mangalyaan was in the shadow of Mars and out of communication with its control centre, and when none knew whether it would emerge captured in Martian orbit or career uncontrollably into the deep space beyond, the prime minister of India was at hand to lend personal and moral support.

So palpable was the tense atmosphere within the mission control room at the ISRO headquarters in Bangalore that it seemed to hypnotize millions of ordinary citizens, who were glued to their television screens. When success came it was almost as if the entire nation had risen in a spontaneous cheer to mark not just the success of the mission, but to applaud the very professional culture of Isro and those within its fold.

That a scientific and technological challenge, where only three other space agencies have succeeded and none at the first try, was achieved at a bargain cost of some $74 million as against an almost simultaneous, although far more complex, mission of $671 million of the American National Aeronautics and Space Administration, can be considered icing on the cake.

Whilst the nation is fully justified in basking in the glory of this fine achievement in the field of aerospace science and technology, it perhaps also requires a moment of reflection on where we stand regarding another facet of this challenging field, namely aeronautics. In the academic, scientific and technological domains, aerospace and aeronautics are considered one and the same discipline. Different usages are merely associated with the former dealing with the entire spectrum of flight and the latter being limited to flight within the atmosphere.

Historically, aeronautics in India had a head start over aerospace. In the early 1960s, India had indigenously designed a jet fighter, the HF 24, becoming one of the very few countries in the world to have done so then. India had also designed both a basic trainer and an intermediate jet trainer. All these were produced in quantities at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and served the Indian air force well.

Even as these progressive steps were being taken in the aeronautics field, we were attempting the first baby steps in space with the scientific investigation of the upper atmosphere and ionosphere with small sounding rockets. But, back then, there were already negative voices questioning the relevance of space activities to a developing country. It is to the credit of Vikram Sarabhai that he was able to persuade the then prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, of the potential of this technology with regard to national development. That his vision prevailed has earned him the distinction of being considered the 'Father of India's space programme'.

But beyond this vision, Sarabhai also recognized that, to harness this potential, a sound organizational and management architecture was needed. According to the professor of aerospace engineering, Roddam Narasimha, in 1970, Sarabhai had proposed to the administrative reforms commission an organizational model with a ministry of advanced technologies. There would be separate commissions for atomic energy, space, the earth sciences and aeronautics. It is good that today we have commissions for atomic energy, space and the earth sciences, areas where progress is amply visible.

Why a commission for aeronautics stubbornly eludes us, in spite of the success of this model in the other fields and in spite of it being supported by expert groups remains a mystery. Clearly, this also points to why, in the field of space, the nation continues its progressive march whilst in aeronautics it has lagged behind and is dependent on imported technology.

It was former the American president, Dwight Eisenhower, who, in his farewell speech, had cautioned his people about the unwarranted influence of the military-industrial complex and its potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power. With India having achieved the dubious distinction of being the world's largest arms importer, having in recent years imported close to $10 billion worth of airborne platforms from the United States of America alone, one is left wondering whether Indian aeronautics is a victim of any such shadowy influences.

Today the ambitious indigenous light combat aircraft project conceived in 1986 is decades behind schedule with the programme cost having reached around Rs 13,000 crore from the projected cost of Rs 560 crore. Not surprisingly, the parliamentary standing committee had in its report in 2010 noted, "This is a very sorry state of affairs. Even after 27 years since LCA was sanctioned, it is yet to see light of the day." Except for the vintage Kiran trainer and the more recent Dhruv helicopter, every other airborne platform in service with the IAF, the fourth largest air force in the world, is an imported design.

There are other areas where there appear stark differences in the aerospace and aeronautical fields in India. Congratulating the scientists and engineers the other day, the prime minister complimented ISRO for cultivating the culture of progressively nurturing young talent in line with our ancient ' guru-shishya parampara', and exhorted all to push boundaries further.

In contrast, just over a month ago, whilst addressing an award-giving meet of Defence Research and Development Organization scientists, the prime minister was less upbeat. He exhorted the scientists to complete projects in time, telling them the world will not wait for us. Explaining that India did not lack the talent pool, he cautioned them about a ' chalta hai' attitude. Undoubtedly, delayed projects like the LCA, amongst others, were weighing on his mind.

He further advised the scientists to give more responsibilities to young people, even suggesting that in five of the DRDO's 52 laboratories, only those below 35 years of age should be vested with decision-making powers. What perhaps prompted these observations has only become evident through recent reports. These reveal the practice prevalent in a departmental peer review committee in the DRDO of granting extensions to fellow scientists. Reportedly 15 top DRDO scientists were on extension, with six to eight getting extensions every year.

This is proof, if any were needed, of the bureaucratic inertia that plagues the very culture within the DRDO and of the archaic non-functioning model of defence research. Not surprisingly, this top heaviness has been resulting in heavy attrition amongst the younger scientists at an average of 100 per year. In comparison, the former ISRO chairman, U.R. Rao, was quoted as saying, "Achievements like the Mars Orbiter Mission would attract graduates to Isro. You need passion to work in Isro. That's why people who join the organization seldom leave it for another job."

This writer is reminded of a time in 2006, when within a span of a few days Isro's launch of a GSLV rocket and the DRDO's launch of an Agni 3 missile both ended in failure. Since failures are part of the business of research and development, every dynamic aerospace institution is expected to be prepared for such eventualities and emerge wiser and stronger. ISRO accepted the failure, promised to investigate and announced its determination to re-launch in a year. The DRDO, on the other hand, ducked and offered no public comment. The defence minister later stated that the test was a partial success, leaving the public guessing what this meant. At the time this writer had said of ISRO, "It is this spirit that differentiates the men from the boys." And of the DRDO, "This is not how serious nuclear powers go about testing their front line delivery systems" ("Two Failures, One Lesson", The Telegraph, July 20, 2006). Nothing seems to have changed.

Judging by his exhortations to those at ISRO and the DRDO, clearly the prime minster has got the feel of the cultural and professional pulse of these organizations and the wide chasm that exists between their ethos, culture and performance. That the government has scrapped the DRDO's departmental review committee is also a pointer that, perhaps for the first time after Nehru and his appeal for a scientific temper, we have a prime minister with a keen eye and feel for what science and technology can do for the future of India, one who is willing to take positive steps and not treat institutions as holy cows.

In countries with advanced aeronautical industries, the primary driver of research and development has been the military. As technologies then mature and become commercially viable, they find application in civil aviation. It follows that if Indian aeronautics aspires to compete with the aeronautical majors of the world, it must be backed by robust research and development and industrial support, which in turn must be driven and initially funded by the Indian armed forces, but with both public and private sector institutions adding their weight. Whilst this calls for a high degree of professionalism and synergy amongst all the stakeholders, it also needs a unique management and organizational model, which cannot be provided by a government department like the ministry of defence. A lack of institutional teamwork, resulting in separate interests and lobbies, is the unpleasant reality of the management of aeronautics in India.

India has the capacity to both partner on equal terms or compete with the aerospace majors of the world. All it needs is the will to harness its collective resources to achieve this goal. If the government has the sagacity to heed Sarabhai's advice and give Indian aeronautics the organizational and management model guided by an aeronautics commission and backed by a department of aeronautics, it will not be long before Indian aeronautics also celebrates its version of Mangalyaan.

The author is a retired air marshal of the Indian Air Force