Procedures

Sanction of Projects

Research & Development projects to be framed out under this scheme originate as follows

• Projects of interest to national needs formulated by the Aeronautics & R&D Board are referred to universities / research institutions / industry etc.
• Proposals for research, design, development & operation in the field of Aircraft, helicopter, missiles and all other air-borne vehicles may be submitted by the universities / research institutions / industry etc.
• Proposal for projects involving storage, handling and usage of explosives would be scrutinized and sanctioned, only if the safety regulations as stipulated in procedure for projects involving storage / handling & usage of explosives are met by the agency seeking grants from AR&DB.

All proposals will be referred to the appropriate specialist panel of the Aeronautics R&D Board. In the case of projects / schemes for which no single specialist panel can be identified, the Secretary will make alternative arrangements for formation of an ad-hoc committee / special panel consisting of at least 4 specialists including coordinators / members of panels. For all practical purposes this ad-hoc committee will be considered as a specialist panel.

Based on the recommendations of the panel, the Secretary AR&DB may approve project / scheme and issue sanction letters where the cost of the project / scheme does not exceed Rs 10 lakhs. For projects costing more than 10 lakhs but less than 25 lakhs, the Chairman AR&DB may approve the project / scheme after vetting by AR&DB Sectt. For projects costing more than 25 lakhs, the project / scheme would also be referred to Technical Committee. Based on the recommendations of the panel & Technical committee, Chairman AR&DB may approve the project / scheme in consultation with Addl. FA (DRDO) and another member of board located at Delhi. All letters of sanction will be issued by Secretary AR&DB/O i/c AR&DB. All approvals by the Chairman / Secretary must be reported to the Board at its next meeting. See Terms of Reference of Technical Committee under Misc. Tab

Within the amount sanctioned, Secretary AR&DB / coordinators of concerned panel may approve reasonable requests for re appropriation of funds, manpower, equipment, etc. Coordinators while approving such requests would do so under intimation to the Secretary AR&DB. For projects costing more than 10 lakhs Secy. AR&DB may approve cost revision (not exceeding 10% of the total cost) & PDC revision up to one year based on the recommendation of panel coordinators but without reference to T.C. &/or Chairman. Any subsequent revision of PDC / cost will have to be referred appropriately.

Secretary AR&DB may also approve the enhancement in the cost of the project on account of fluctuations in exchange rates for procurement of imported items in respect of projects costing more than 10 lakhs within a ceiling of 10% of the project cost.

Projects will be sanctioned for the entire projected period along with the total estimated cost with the year-wise breakdown. The grant shall, however, be payable yearly. The universities, institution etc. will be responsible for the administration of the scheme and maintenance of separate accounts etc. The grants shall be exclusively utilised for the purpose for which it is sanctioned. Funds for subsequent years will be released on satisfactory progress based on the recommendation of the appropriate panel and on the production of

• Annual progress report and
• Statement of accounts certified by the competent authority of the institution. Secretary AR&DB should be approached for granting temporary continuation of a project up to 3 months in such cases where delay in holding a regular meeting of the concerned panel is anticipated.

Request for extension of PDC and cost over-run should be sent to AR&DB through the concerned Panel Coordinator.

All accounts maintained by the university / institute will be subject to audit by the university / institute auditors. On termination of the project, accounts for the entire project / scheme duly audited by the auditors shall be submitted and the unspent balance along with interest earned thereon, if any of the funds sanctioned will be refunded through Demand Draft in favour of PCDA (R&D), New Delhi to Secretary AR&DB, A Wing, DRDO Bhawan, New Delhi-110011.

The project would be deemed to have become operative with effect from the date on which the grant is received by the institution. This date will be intimated to the Secretary, Aeronautics R&D Board and coordinator of respective panel.

During the progress of the projects, the institution concerned will provide all facilities to the scientists of the Research & Development Organisation / members of the specialist panels of the Aeronautics R&D board for visiting the institute for ensuring timely achievements of the objectives of the projects. The investigator(s) may visit appropriate R&D establishment within the country for consultations, seminar / symposia etc. provided such visits are of direct relevance to the project and within the sanctioned amount under TA/DA head. TA/DA would be regulated as per his normal entitlement within the institution. Such visits will be reported in the annual progress report of the project submitted to Secretary AR&DB.

Evaluation of products / processes developed under Grants-in-aid projects will be carried out by the appropriate specialist panel or monitors appointed by concerned panel of the Aeronautics R&D Board. The TA/DA of the monitor including a monitor from Govt. agencies could also be paid out of the TA / DA budget of the project as per the entitlement of the monitor by the grantee institution.

Continuation of the projects beyond the original sanctioned period will be permitted only under exceptional circumstances.

Once a project is sanctioned to an institution, the head of the institution would be the financial controlling authority for operating the grant.

Sanction of Facilities

a) The proposal is required to be submitted online through ardb.drdo.gov.in alongwith two hard copies to the AR&DB secretariat for financial support from the Aeronautics R&D Board for setting up of facilities. The proposal should be submitted directly by the institutions concerned in the same format as for a project. Alternatively the proposals can also be submitted on another email id: ardb[at]hqr[dot]drdo[dot]in. The proposal must clearly bring out an appreciation of how the setting up of facilities asked for would lead to better Aeronautical R&D / training and also how lack of such facility has handicapped the programmes within the country or programmes of the institutions together with a certificate that funds for taking up such a scheme cannot be provided from their own budget or other sources. This appraisal should be in a narrative form and should be comprehensive enough to enable the security of the proposal to be made and the need for setting up of facility appreciated.

Such proposals will be submitted to the Secretariat of Aeronautics R&D Board, Ministry of Defence (R&D), A Wing, DRDO Bhawan, New Delhi -110 011). The Secretariat would carry out a scrutiny of the proposal and if the proposal is complete in all respects it would be forwarded to the specialist panel concerned, if such a panel can be identified on the basis of the proposal. The further processing of the proposal would be done in the same manner as for projects. If the proposal is recommended by the panel and other scrutinizing committees if any, financial sanction would be issued by the Secretary, Aero R&D Board/ O i/c AR&DB after obtaining approval of the appropriate authority.

In case, however, the proposal for the facilities involves more than one discipline and no single panel can be identified for scrutiny of the project, the Secretary of the Aeronautics R&D Board will form an ad-hoc committee of at least 4 specialists including the coordinators / members of the different panels for scrutiny and recommendations. For all practical purposes this ad-hoc committee will be considered as a specialist panel and the rest of the processing of the proposal for sanction would follow the same procedure as for projects. For monitoring the progress of implementations of the proposal based on the sanction issued by Aeronautics R&D Board, Secretary, Aeronautics R&D Board may nominate a monitor who would report the progress to him. The annual review of the progress would be carried out by the same ad-hoc committee. If however, the membership cannot be the same due to various reasons, Secretary, Aeronautics R&D Board may nominate other appropriate specialists for the committee.

Procedure for sanction of grants-in-aid for conduct of seminars / symposia / presentation / courses etc.

Aeronautics R&D Board will also receive proposals for financial support for conduct of seminar / symposia / presentation / courses etc. Such proposals, which are in the interest of promotion of Aeronautics Research & Development and training of specialist manpower, will be supported by Aeronautics R&D Board, to the extent possible. Proposals in this regard will be submitted by the institution concerned in the prescribed performa for conducting Seminar / Symposium / Presentation / Short Course etc.

On receipt of the proposal, which should be submitted in two copies, the Secretariat of the Board will scrutinize the proposal for its completeness. In case any single panel can be identified for purposes of examination of the proposal, it will be referred to appropriate panel. If, on the other hand due to multi-disciplinary nature of the proposal or due to paucity of time, the matter cannot be referred to any panel, the proposal will be considered by an ad-hoc committee with Secretary, Aeronautics R&D Board as Chairman and not less than four members of appropriate specialization / experience from different agencies. Based on the recommendation of this Ad-Hoc committee or the panel, sanction will be accorded by Secretary AR&DB. An amount of 1.00 lakh per sanction would be the ceiling for financial support to such activities. In case a larger outlay is needed, the Technical Committee would have to consider the proposal either through circulation or in a formal meeting. Based on the recommendations of the panel & Technical committee, the Chairman AR&DB may approve such proposals.

On conclusion of the proposed seminar / symposia the sponsors will render a comprehensive report including the technical documents related to the concerned activity and submit to Secy. AR&DB a statement of expenditure duly certified for its correctness by executive authority of the institute concerned within one month after conclusion of seminar symposia etc.

The proposals for Grants-in-aid for conducting seminar / symposia, presentation, short courses etc. should be submitted to Secy. AR&DB at least 3 months in advance. (6 months in advance where cases involve invitation of foreign experts).

Procedure for grants-in-aid for inviting eminent scientists / engineers / from abroad to attend conferences / symposia / workshops etc. In india

The proposal in three copies should be forwarded to Secretary AR&DB complete with all information as stipulated in Performa for Seminars / Presentations etc. The proposal should bring out the professional background of the invitee and his contributions / achievements in his field of specialization. The relevance of the invitation to the identified gaps in technology & benefits accruing to our country in terms of our programmes should clearly be brought out. In case any visits to Defence Laboratory is also envisaged this should be specifically stated so as to ensure clearance from security considerations. The proposal would be examined by the concerned specialist panel / ad-hoc-committee / panel Chairman may approve the proposal based on the recommendations of the panel, Secy. AR&DB and Integrated Finance and the sanction conveyed by Secretary AR&DB / O i/c AR&DB.

Procedure for sanction of grants-in-aid for conducting intensive short courses of current interest to aeronautics including missiles

Aeronautics R&D Board will also receive proposal for financial support for conducting intensive short courses of current interest to Aeronautics including missiles. The proposal in this regard will be submitted by the institution concerned in the same format as indicated by Procedure for Seminar & Symposium and scrutinized by the concerned panel. Based on the recommendations of the panel, the sanction will be accorded by Secretary AR&DB if the outlay is up to Rs. 1.00 lakh. In case the requirement of the fund is more than 1.00 lakh the technical committee will also examine the proposal. Based on the recommendations of the panel and the technical committee, the Chairman AR&DB could approve such cases. However, no ceiling for financial support for such individual activity is proposed. Further, an overall ceiling of 10% of AR&DB budget per year would apply for all such courses and expenditure on other promotional activities of the board.

The AR&DB will also consider the extent desirable, proposals for inviting specialists from abroad for participation in such short courses, and procedures outlined in Procedure for Seminar & Symposium would apply.

The sponsors of Intensive short courses will also render a comprehensive report including lecture material, comprehensive analysis of the subject and the plan of action evolved to resolve the grey areas on completion of the course.

Norms for the Award of Honorarium

a) Award of honorarium per lecturer could be granted by Secretary AR&DB & in exceptional circumstances, Chairman AR&DB could approve honorarium to the extent of Rs. 3000/- per lecture.

In case a lecturer is required to send, in advance, extensive lecture notes including camera ready copies, he may be reimbursed expenses from AR&DB.

In case of foreign participants to Intensive short courses / workshop organised by AR&DB, invited lectures could be paid a token honorarium of US $ 100 per course and if considered essential they could also be reimbursed to the extent to $ 200 per preparation of camera ready copies of lecture notes. The payment in this regard would be made in rupees only.

Award of flying scholarship to aeronautical r&d scientists and students

a) A scheme for award of 'Flying Scholarship' has been introduced under the aegis of AR&DB with a view to indicates a realistic appreciation of performance and handling aspects of aircraft. It is expected that the opportunity provided through this scheme would result in improved interaction between the practicing aeronautical Scientists / Engineers and the Operation crew.

Applications for award of these scholarships will be received at AR&DB from Aeronautical R&D Scientists / Engineers / Students who are sponsored by their respective organisations with the confirmation that the sponsored candidate(s) would be accepted by the concerned flying club for flying training.

Flying under this scheme would be restricted to approx. 60-70 hrs. per year per trainee and the scholarship would be tenable at any recognized flying club. Also normally only a maximum of 70 hrs. Flying / candidate would be provided under this scheme.

The scholarship amount would be paid directly to the institution to which the Scientist / Engineer / Student is attached or to the concerned flying club.

A selection committee with Secretary, AR&DB as Chairman and Members drawn from DGCA, Aeronautical Industry, R&D Organisation, Academic Institution and a Test Pilot would be constituted. The Committee would review all applications received during the year and make suitable selections. The total number of flying scholarships each year would be limited to 15.

An upper age limit of 35 years would apply in all cases and the candidate would have to satisfy requirement regarding aptitude and medical fitness as per prevailing rules under DGCA. He will sign an indemnity bond in favour of his sponsor, AR&DB and the flying club.

The amount of scholarship will cover all expenses connected with flying, including flying club membership as necessary. Expenses on transport to and from the flying club would be regulated as per admissible Road Mileage allowances under existing rules. The scholarship will not cover any other incidental expenditure including examination fees, if any.

Procedure for sanction of grants in aid for deputation abroad

Aeronautics R&D Board will receive proposals for Grants-in-aid for partially (fully in exceptional cases) meeting the most of deputation of aeronautical scientists abroad for presenting papers in International symposia and for visit to advanced Aeronautical R&D facilities. The proposal in this regard will be submitted by the institution concerned in 20 copies to AR&DB Sectt at least 3 months in advance. Alternatively, 2 copies of the proposal along with the recommendations of the concerned AR&DB panel should be submitted, 45 days in advance.

In case the proposal for deputation abroad is related to AR&DB supported activity the deputation would be approved by Chairman AR&DB based on the recommendation of panel & Secy. AR&DB in consultation with Integrated Finance and financial sanction intimated by Secy. AR&DB/O i/c AR&DB

In case the proposed deputation is not related to any AR&DB supported project but has importance / relevance to the field of Aeronautics, the proposal would be submitted to Chairman AR&DB, on a case by case basis, through Integrated Finance, as at present; and the financial sanction intimated by Secy. AR&DB /O i/c AR&DB.

Procedure for release of grant

On receipt of the sanction letter, the institution will prepare a contingent bill (in triplicate) and will submit the same to Secretary AR&DB, Directorate of Aeronautics, DRDO Bhawan, New Delhi-110105 for counter signature and onward transmission to PCDA (R&D), New Delhi for payment.

On receipt of the contingent bill the concerned CDA will issue the cheque (if otherwise in order) in favour of the institutions and will send the same directly to the concerned authority of that institution. An intimation of the payment will also be sent by the CDA to Secy. AR&DB & the concerned project investigator simultaneously.

On receipt of the cheque by the institute authority a formal receipt of the grant will be issued by the institutions to the Secy. AR&DB & CDA. The date of receipt of the grant would reckon as the commencement date for the project / facility.