Defence Research Development Organisation......... Aeronautics Research Boards

AERONAUTICS RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT BOARD (AR&DB)

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Aeronautics Research and Development Board (AR&DB) was constituted by the Government of India in February 1971. The Board replaced the Aeronautical Research Council of CSIR and Aeronautical Research and Development Panel of DRDO. AR&DB is a national body for coordination and funding futuristic research and development programmes in aeronautics, including guided missiles. Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister is the Chairman of the Board and Members include high standing professionals in aeronautics, drawn from academic, R&D and production agencies concerned with aeronautics/missiles/space and also from the Ministries of Defence and Civil Aviation.

The AR&DB has fostered R&D activities in several academic institutions and research laboratories in the country. It has instituted grants-in-aid schemes to nurture available research talents and to develop facilities in IITs, universities, higher technological institutes and other research centres including the industries in the country for promoting research, design and development programmes in aeronautics and allied sciences. The Board has supported creation of large number of national facilities in selected areas in R&D institutions. The Board has also been supporting a large number of various other activities like seminars, symposia, workshops, etc, related to aircraft and missiles.

AREAS OF WORK

Formulation of research, design and development programmes in aeronautics and allied sciences
Implementation of programmes through appropriate institutions and individuals by sponsoring research, design and development projects
Ensuring adequate quality manpower through promotion of educational and training programmes
Promotion of promote all relevant R&D activities in the country through appropriate scientific meetings
Dissemination of appropriate technical information through journals and documents

COMPOSITION OF THE AR&DB

The Board is chaired by The Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister and has at present fifteen members including the Defence Secretary; Secretary, Defence Production & Supplies; Secretary, Department of Space; Financial Advisor (Defence Services); Principal Scientific Officer incharge of Planning in Aeronautics & Missiles of Army, Navy and Air Force; Chief Advisor (Technologies); Programme Director, Aeronautical Development Agency; Director General, Civil Aviation; Director, National Aerospace Laboratories, Bangalore; Director, Gas Turbine Research Establishment, Bangalore; Director, Dte of Electronics & Instrumentation, R&D Hqrs, New Delhi; Director, Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory, Hyderabad; and Director, Aeronautical Defence Establishment, Bangalore.

SPECIALIST PANELS OF THE BOARD

The Board has constituted nine specialist panels, each with a coordinator and members drawn from different institutions to promote R&D in their respective disciplines and provide appropriate inputs to the Board to enable it to take decisions. The panels are:

Aerodynamics Panel
Aerospace Information Panel
Aircraft System Panel
Human Engineering Panel
Materials and Processes Panel
Manpower Development Panel
Operational Problems & Airworthiness Panel
Propulsion Panel
Structures Panel

Besides the above Panels which are current, Missiles Panel also was constituted in the formative years. The Panel had promoted a large number of projects (86) in many institutions in the areas of missiles aeronautics, missiles structures, control and guidance systems, and specialised materials, besides solid and liquid propulsion systems and propellents. This Panel, however, was discontinued after the formation of Integrated Guided Missile Board. Through these Panels, the Board has sanctioned 1020 projects.

The task of these panels is largely of advisory nature. In general, a Panel covers the following activities:

To scrutinise R&D in the specialist field and to make recommendations thereon to the Board
To promote aeronautics R&D work in their respective specialist fields
To review progress on sanctioned projects/studies at suitable intervals and to make recommendations for harnessing of the fruits of such studies/projects
To identify gaps in R&D efforts and to recommend methods for bridging them in the best possible manner

SANCTION OF PROJECTS

Only projects or schemes of value to aircraft, and related weapon systems preferably those having Defence interest are supported. The order of priorities for sanction of projects is as follows:

Projects whose successful completion would satisfy and existing need in Defence R&D and/or production
Projects whose successful completion satisfy an identifiable defence requirement in the near future
Projects related to civil requirements and exports
Exploratory research/studies which are likely to throw up data for defence/civil use
Other projects and research studies

All proposals are examined by appropriate specialist panel of the AR&DB. Based on the recommendations of the panel, the proposals are further examined and may be approved by the Board. Once approved, the progress of the project is monitored by the specialist panel with the cooperation of the investigators.

The projects are sanctioned for entire projected period along with the year-wise break-down. The grant is however paid yearly and is duly accounted by the grantee establishment. Funds for subsequent years are released on satisfactory progress and on the production of annual progress and statement of accounts certified by the competent authority of the institution.

FINANCIAL POWERS AND RULES FOR GRANTS-IN-AID

AR&DB gets Rs 50 million including Rs 7.5 million in FE, annually to cover sanctions for R&D projects, creation of basic facilities and promotional activities related to R&D in aeronautics and allied fields. The Grant can be utilised

To meet salary of research and laboratory staff specially recruited for the project

For purchase of special equipment, consumable stores, chemicals, etc. or for obtaining special services not normally provided by the institution such as computer time, calibration and testing of equipment and subsystems, fabrication within workshop of the institution, etc

To cover contigency expenses, viz. postage, typing, printing, stationary, etc

PUBLICATION OF RESEARCH RESULTS

The investigators have to take prior permission of the AR&DB for publishing the results or making any commercial use of the investigations carried out under this aid or for presenting a paper based on the work at scientific/technical conferences and seminars. Normally papers based on such works are published in the Defence Science Journal. However, in exceptional cases permission is given by AR&DB for utilising the results in other journals including foreign ones.

PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES

AR&DB also provides financial support for other activities such as organising seminars, publishing of books, participation in international conferences abroad, etc. Detailed rules for such grants are elaborated in the GRANTS-IN-AID-SCHEME.

AR&DB has also plans to create Centres of Excellence in some of the thrust areas identified. As a first step, a Centre of Excellence in Computational Fluid Dynamics has also been created at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore as nodal centre at a total cost of Rs 43 million under Phase-I of the project. Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur and Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai will be the associate centres. Another Centre of Excellence in Composite Structured Technology is proposed to be created at National Aerospace Laboratries, Bangalore shortly.

To attract talent to the Aerospace field, the Manpower Development Panel of AR&DB has instituted scholarships for students of Aeronautical Engineering in IITs; PEC, Chandigarh and MIT, Madras.

FUTURE PLANS AND AR&DB VISION

In future AR&DB plans to undertake and promote appropriate program elements (long term needs) of major projects, promote upstream R&D at academic R&D institutions, undertake airworthiness related activities for many state-of-art technologies, provide thrust for helicopter/civil aeronautics/hyperplane, undertake technology forecasting, updating of existing infrastructure, create Centres of Excellence, train manpower of requisite quality.

The vision that AR&DB has is to act as a catalyst, seeding futuristic technologies at identified institutions. To transform itself in it functioning to match the vision beyond current programmes, with synergic approach towards national needs and priorioties, yet keeping in focus the global advancements, in order to develop competence in key areas and secure our rightful share in aerospace market.