The Defence Research and Development Organisation ( DRDO ) is an agency of the Republic of India , charged with the military 's research and development , headquartered in New Delhi , India. It was formed in 1958 by the merger of the Technical Development Establishment and the Directorate of Technical Development and Production with the Defence Science Organisation. It is under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defence , Government of India . With a network of 52 laboratories, which are e ngaged in developing defence technologies covering various fields, like aeronautics, armaments, electronics, land combat engineering, life sciences, materials, missiles, and naval systems, DRDO is India's largest and most diverse research organisation. The organisation includes around 5,000 scientists belonging to the Defence Research & Development Service (DRDS) and about 25,000 other scientific,technical an...