About us...

RAC, the unique Recruitment and Assessment Centre of DRDO was set up on 23 July 1985 after exemption from the purview of Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). It is situated at Lucknow Road, Timarpur, Delhi. RAC has undertaken various recruitment programmes to induct about 1000 scientists each year in variety of scientific and engineering disciplines relevant to DRDO Laboratories and assessed the suitability of more than 1400 scientists for promotion to next higher grade through duly constituted Assessment Boards and more than 150 senior scientists have been assessed for their promotions through Peer Review System.  RAC is presently headed by Dr. K.V. Raghavan as the Chairman and Dr. Arun Kumar as its Director.

The primary responsibilities of RAC

1. Recruitment of Scientists (Group 'A' Class I Gazetted Post) in  DRDO

2. Assessments of Scientists of DRDO for promotion to the next higher grades

3. Selection of candidates for higher study course (ME/ M. Tech/ MSc Engg) under Research & Training Scheme of DRDO and Post Graduate Training scheme of Army, Navy and Air Force

4. Any other assignment specified by Director General Defence Research & Development Organisation and Scientific Adviser to Raksha Mantri (SA to RM)

Defence Research and Development Services (DRDS) Cadre

In pursuit of self-reliance in critical technologies relevant to national security, DRDO formulates and executes programmes of scientific research, design, development, testing and evaluation of various systems, subsystems, devices and products required for defence of the nation. DRDO employs highly qualified and competent scientists and technologists who constitute the Group `A' (Class I Gazetted) known as Defence Research & Development Service (DRDS). The emoluments of DRDS Scientists as per CCS (RP) Ruler - 2008 are as given below in INR:
Designation Initial Pay in Pay Band Grade Pay Basic Pay Gross Pay
Scientist 'B' 15,600 5,400 21,000 33,860
Scientist 'C' 18,750 6,600 25,350 40,211
Scientist 'D' 21,900 7,600 29,500 46,270
Scientist 'E' 37,400 8,700 46,100 70,506
Scientist 'F' 40,200 8,900 49,100 74,886
Scientist 'G' 43,000 10,000 53,000 80,580
Scientist 'H' 47,100 12,000 59,100 89,486
SA to RM 80,000 - 80,000 1,23,800

 

Salient features of DRDS

DRDO takes utmost care of the career-advancement of its scientists and operates a fully Flexible Complementing Scheme (FCS) which means that with each promotion, based purely on merit basis, the posts in the grades of Scientist 'B' to 'G' are upgraded automatically to the next higher grades.

In addition to the Basic Pay, DRDS scientists are entitled to get House Rent Allowance upto 30% of  Pay (Basic+Dearness) in case of non-availability of Government accommodation and other allowances viz, CCA, DA, Transport  etc as admissible to Central Government employees.

Perquisites like Leave Travel Concession, Medical facilities, Advances for PCs/Conveyance/House Building are also admissible. In addition, DRDS Scientists are also eligible for grant of amount equivalent to two increments in the grades of Sc `C' to `F' and Special Pay of Rs. 2000/- to Scientist `G'  per month, Professional update allowance of Rs 5000/- per annum and reimbursement of expenditures on newspapers/periodicals also admissible in accordance with provisions of relevant rules.

DRDO not only offers employment but also lays emphasis on Human Resource Development. DRDO trains its personnel at it own training institutions in Pune and Mussourie and also at prestigious academic institutions viz, IITs, IISc Bangalore etc. for acquiring higher educational qualifications. Opportunities also arise for foreign deputations for training/presentation of papers/specific assignments.

                         

             RAC had been lead by eminent scientists :

Former Chairmen RAC

  1. Prof. Sampath (Sep 1986 - 15 Jul 1990)

  2. Shri RK Garg (15 Jul 1990 - 30 Jun 1994)

  3. Dr. CS Jha ( 1 Jul 1994 - 30 Jun 1997)

  4. Dr. SK Joshi (1 Jul 1997 - 30 Jun 2000)

  5. Dr. VK Aatre (1 Jul 2000 - 31 Oct 2000)  

  6. Dr. P. Rodriguez (1 Nov 2000 - 31 Oct 2003)

  7. Dr. VK Aatre  (1 Nov 2003 - 18 May 2004)

  8. Dr. KV Raghavan (19 May 2004 - 30 Sep 2008)

 
Former Directors RAC

  1. Dr. ID Gaba  (7 Jun 1985 - 9 Apr 1989)

  2. Shri MB Singh (10 Apr 1989 - 23 Mar 1994)

  3. Dr. IC Sharma (24 Mar 1994 - 30 Apr 2000)

  4. Shri SS Prasad (1 May 2000 - 22 Jul 2003)

  5. Shri SC Jethi (23 Jul 2003 - 31 Aug 2005)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our Philosophy

Vision

Mission

To become a centre of excellence and

- Provider of Quality deliverables in stipulated functional domains

- Generator of new knowledge in Scientific Performance Measurement

- Trainer to create a seamless community of HRD practitioners in advanced selection techniques

 

 

To realise the vision by

- Adopting highly professional approach in our job execution

- Acquiring state of art capabilities and facilities

- Strengthening our knowledge generation competencies through R&D

- Nurturing total quality management culture

- Establishing strategic linkage with the world's best agencies

Motto

Acting with Accuracy, Confidentiality and Timeliness

Quality Policy

           Quality Objectives

     We are committed to provide quality services to DRDO in terms  of smooth execution, timely completion and delivery of output for:

1.   Recruitment of Scientists

2.  Assessment of Scientists for promotion to the next higher grades

3.  Selection of candidates for Research & Training scheme of DRDO and Post Graduate Training scheme of Indian Armed Forces

 

    We are also committed to effect Continual Improvement in

    our services for the enhanced customer satisfaction

1.

 

 To accomplish Recruitments and Assessments within   the stipulated period as defined by HQ or estimated by RAC
2.

 

  

To enhance the customer satisfaction in providing the recruitment and assessment services by maintaining Customer Satisfaction Index more than 80%

 
3. To minimise & rectify the customer complaints

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RAC mission mode Programmes (1. Recruitment, 2. Assessments and 3. R&T/ PGT Selections)

 

Recruitments

Every year RAC recruits Scientists in DRDS mostly at entry level (Scientist 'B'). Depending on the requirements in specialized areas of research & development, limited number of scientists are also recruited in higher grades (Scientist 'C' to Scientist 'G').

 

Induction of Scientists in Science/Engineering category

Essential Qualifications 

(i) At least first class Master's Degree in Science Subjects, Mathematics or Psychology or First Class Bachelor's Degree in Engineering or Technology or Metallurgy from a recognised University or equivalent (applicable only for feeder entry to DRDS as Scientist 'B' )

(ii) Experience of at least 4 years for Scientist 'C', 8 years for Scientist 'D', 10 years for Scientist 'E' & 'F' and 12 years for Scientist 'G' in research/ design/ development or production in the required area..

Desirable qualifications

(i) Knowledge of Chinese, French, German, Japanese or Russian (applicable only for feeder entry to DRDS as Scientist 'B')

(ii) Doctorate degree in Science, Mathematics or Psychology or Master's degree in Engineering or Technology or Metallurgy in the subject concerned (applicable for Scientist 'C' & above)

 

Induction of Scientists in Medical category

Essential qualifications 

(i) A medical qualification included in the First Schedule or the Second Schedule or Part II of the Third Schedule to the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 (102 of 1956). Holders of medical qualifications included in the Part II of the said Third Schedule should also fulfill the conditions specified in Sub - section (3) of Section 13 of the said Act.

Or 

(i) A dental qualification included in the Part I, Part II or Part III of the Schedule to the Dentist Act, 1948 (16 of 1948).

(ii) Completion of compulsory rotating Internship.

(iii) Post- graduate degree and (applicable for Scientist 'C' & above) experience of at least 3 years for Scientist 'C', 8 years for Scientist 'D', 10 years for Scientist 'E' & 'F' and 12 years for Scientist 'G' in practical & administrative field and also in the required field of medical relief, medical research, medical education or public health organisation.

 
Age Limit
  1. For Scientist `B': not exceeding 28 years
  2. For Scientist `C': not exceeding 35 years
  3. For Scientist `D' and Scientist 'E': not exceeding 45 years
  4. For Scientist 'F' and 'G': not exceeding 50 years.

The upper age limit is relaxable upto 5 years in case of Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe candidates and 3 years for Other Backward Communities (OBC) against the post reserved for them. Relaxation of age for candidates in regular service of Central /Union Territory is as per rules in vogue. The offer of appointment is subject to verification of requisite certificates and medical fitness required for Group 'A' (Class I Gazetted) technical posts of Government of India with field service liability.

Composition of Recruitment Interview Board

  1. Chairman RAC/ Co-Chairperson from approved panel

  2. Two External Members

  3. Two Departmental Members

  4. A co-opted member (SC/ ST rep) as per requirement

 

 

 

 

 

  Assessment of Scientists

Assessment Boards for promotion of DRDS Scientists in the grades 'B'/'C'/'D'/'E' to next higher grade are held during mid April- mid June at locations of major concentration of DRDO Labs/ Estts. viz Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad, and Pune. Depending on number of candidates in different disciplines, the interviews may be conducted at other locations also viz Balasore, Chandigarh and Dehradun. In Delhi, interview boards are conducted at RAC. The Assessment Boards are chaired by Chairman RAC or a Co-Chairperson from a panel which consists of reputed Scientists & Technologists. The Core Committee constitutes a Chairperson, two Core Members and the other members includes a Departmental Expert and two External Experts from the Subject. Normally, one External Expert of the Subject is from an academic institution and the other one from a scientific institution engaged in activities similar to DRDO, to assess both academic foundation as well as applied research & development. For each candidate Director of the Lab or his Representative is also the Member of the Assessment Board and SC/ ST rep is co-opted on requirement basis.

Procedure for Interview

The Lab Director is requested by the Chairperson to brief the Board on the type of responsibilities entrusted to the candidate and the contributions made by the Scientist appearing in the interview. The board is supposed to interview the Scientist in the discipline indicated for assessment in the confidential performance appraisal report (CPAR). After the Scientist enters the Board Room, the Chairperson reviews the Bio-data, and, then invites the Scientist to make a brief presentation (10-15 minutes) of the achievements and the future plans of action. The Scientist is required to highlight only personal contributions and achievements. After the presentation all the members of the Board are requested to interact with the Scientist turn-wise.

The Assessment Board, which consists of carefully selected Departmental and External Experts can help converge to a satisfactory judgment. There are some situations in which the Assessment Boards take adequate precaution to arrive at a decision e.g.

(a) In a joint project, the contribution of the individual has to be clearly identified. An individual may have done very little in a highly successful and prestigious project.

(b) Some candidates are good speakers and excellent presenters. Other are not so well endowed. The gift of good oration should not overshadow the real merit of the candidate.

If the overall caliber of the Scientist as judged by the Assessment Board matches with the prescribed qualifying marks required for the current residency period, the candidate is recommended as `Fit For Promotion'. Otherwise the recommendation is `Not Yet Fit For Promotion'.

Hindi may be used as a medium at the interview if desired by the candidate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Selection for Post-Graduate Courses

Selection of candidates to be sponsored by DRDO for pursuing ME/ MTech/ Ph.D Courses under the Research & Training (R & T) scheme of DRDO is done by RAC. The number of vacancies in different disciplines and institutes/universities where ME/MTech courses are to be conducted, are announced for every academic year.

The Ph. D courses are conducted at DIAT, Pune. The candidates should have a minimum of 3 years continuous service in DRDO as on 01 January of the academic year.

RAC also conducts interviews for selection of candidates for ME/MTech courses under Post Graduate Training (PGT) scheme for Army, Navy and Air Force personnel.

The interviews for R&T/ PGT Scheme are conducted in April.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

RAC Activity Calendar/ Schedule

Sl. No.

Programme

Events

Date

Target Date
1 SET (Scientist Entry Test for Scientist 'B')
All India Test  1st Sunday of September
Interviews November - December
Compilation & Recommendations December

 December
2 Campus Selection (for Scientist 'B') Phase I: Interviews for 18 institutes i.e. all NITs, IIT Madras, ISM Dhanbad Result & Recommendations July - December

 December

Phase II: Interview at IISc Bangalore & 6 IITs (Delhi, Bombay, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Guwahati, Roorkee)  Result & Recommendations December

 January
3 LDCE  (for Scientist 'B') Written Exam September

 December

Interviews October - November
Results and Recommendations December
4 ROSSA (for Scientist 'C') Short listing by Committee October

 November

Interviews October - November
Results and Recommendations November
5 R&T/PGT Selection Nominations February

April
Short listing   & Scheduling March
Interviews April
Results and Recommendations April
6 Lateral Entry ( Scientist 'C' onwards) & Recruitment of Scientist 'B' for the Non-SET subjects Advertisement  September

February
Short listing by committee October - November
Interviews December - January
Results and Recommendations February
7 Assessment through Interview (Scientist 'B', 'C', 'D' & 'E')   Eligibility list from DOP (HQ) March

30 June  
Interviews April -June
Compilation and Recommendations June
8 Peer Review (Scientist 'F' onwards)  Receipt of Biodata March June
Peer Committee Meeting April - May

 

Please note
The target date/ schedule for above mentioned programmes from Sl. No. 1 to 6 may vary as per requirements or other activities, therefore candidates are advised to visit this site regularly for latest updates.