If indeed Arjun tank is world class, then DRDO can earn billions by trading it on the international market. The question is will it sell. Secondly, some of our esteemed guys who understand R&D so well say that a country of billion people should wait another 20 years for the technology & DRDO to mature. The question is will China or Pakistan wait that long to attack India if they know that India's advanced tank tanks easily? And the above article very well says that Arjun Tank should be labelled "Assembled in India" and not "Made in India". I hear that's what all the electronics giants do with their products...assembled in China, but instead put it as Made in China. So, what kind of R&D are we talking about. What is so indegenious about Arjun tank except that it has a Indian name. DRDO continues to function like our government. If insurance, banking and postal sectors can be privatized, why not DRDO? Given Indian army's apetite, I would definetely buy some of its shares if it is privatized and traded on the BSE.
Salaries may be low in DRDO compared to the industry. But that's true for all national laboratories. I don't think DRDO with the budget and time it had, can hide behind that salary argument for defense.
