Defence Minister A.K. Antony. Defence Minister A.K. Antony.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation has lost close to 700 scientists in the last five years. They have all been lured by better opportunities available abroad.The government on Wednesday claimed in Parliament that though the most common stated reason for this exodus was domestic issues, "It is assumed that the increased opportunities or incentives available in other organisations and industries is the main reason for such resignations."Around 637 Indian scientists resigned between 2007 and 2011. Another 50 had quit by October 31 this year.had recently reported that a large number of top defence scientists were on extended tenures stifling promotion opportunities for others though DRDO claimed only those with expertise were allowed to continue beyond retirement.It has also made a strong pitch for increasing the retirement age of the scientists.Defence Minister A.K. Antony has also clarified that DRDO does not enjoy any special power or autonomy because of the strategic nature of the work it undertakes. The clarification was necessitated after an internal audit pointed out several irregularities in the functioning of DRDO.It led to curtailing of the financial powers of the defence scientific establishment which has often drawn flak for causing delay in key projects leading to cost escalations. "Revised delegation of financial powers of director general of DRDO was carried out in 2010 to address a long standing requirement and was done after due process and deliberation," Antony said."The process of exercise of these powers has been further rationalised and a corrigendum was issued by the Department of Defence (Research and Development) on November 21, 2012 as a partial modification to the earlier financial powers". The defence ministry has taken note of the audit findings and claimed that the DRDO has furnished its response. There has been a criticism of the functioning of DRDO in the recent years and the defence ministry was worried about the spending.It has sought to streamline the system so that the financial health of the projects could also be checked at every stage. Several DRDO projects get delayed leading to a passing-the-buck game between the scientific establishment and the armed forces which have often expressed dissatisfaction with the indigenous technologies.