crores , then what would we do ? When we met the Defence Minister in the evening , I had a hunch we were going to get some funds at any rate . But when he suggested that we launch an integrated guided missile development programme , instead of making missiles in phases , we could not believe our ears .
We were quite dumbfounded by the Defence Minister ’ s suggestion . After a long pause , Dr Arunachalam replied , “ We beg for time to rethink and return , Sir !” “ You come back tomorrow morning please ,” the Defence Minister replied . It was reminiscent of Prof . Sarabhai ’ s zeal and vision . That night , Dr Arunachalam and I laboured together on reworking our plan .
We worked out some very important extensions and improvements in our proposal , taking all the variables , such as design , fabrication , system integration , qualification , experimental flights , evaluation , updating , user trials , producibility , quality , reliability , and financial viability into account . We then integrated them into a single function of total accountability , in order to meet the needs of the country ’ s armed forces with an indigenous endeavour . We worked out the concepts of design , development , production concurrency and proposed the participation of user and inspection agencies right from the drawing-board stage . We also suggested a methodology to achieve stateof-the-art systems after all the years of developmental activities . We wanted to deliver contemporary missiles to our Services and not some outdated inventory of weapons . It was a very exciting challenge that had been thrown to us .
By the time we finished our work , it was already morning . Suddenly , at the breakfast table , I remembered that I was to attend my niece Zameela ’ s wedding at Rameswaram that evening . I thought it was already too late to do anything . Even if I could catch the Madras flight later in the day , how would I reach Rameswaram from there ? There was no air link between Madras and Madurai from where I could board the evening train to Rameswaram . A pang of guilt dampened my spirits . Was it fair , I asked myself , to forget my family commitments and obligations ? Zameela was more like a daughter to me . The thought of missing her wedding because of professional preoccupations at Delhi was very distressing . I finished breakfast and left for the meeting .
When we met Defence Minister Venkataraman and showed him our revised proposal , he was visibly pleased . The proposal of the missile development project had been turned overnight into the blueprint of an integrated programme with far-reaching consequences . It would have wide-ranging technological spinoffs , and was exactly what the Defence Minister had had in mind the previous evening . Notwithstanding the great respect I had for the Defence Minister , I was not really sure if he would clear our entire proposal . But he did . I was absolutely delighted !
The Defence Minister stood up , signalling that the meeting was over . Turning to me he said , “ Since I brought you here , I was expecting you to come up with something like this . I am happy to see your work .” In a split second , the mystery surrounding the clearance of my appointment as Director DRDL in 1982 was cleared . So it was Defence Minister Venkataraman who had brought me in ! Bowing in thanks , I turned towards the door when I heard Dr Arunachalam telling the Minister about Zameela ’ s wedding being scheduled for that evening at Rameswaram . It amazed me that Dr Arunachalam should bring up this matter before the Minister . Why would a person of his