The  Defence Research and Development Organisation ( DRDO ) is an agency under the Department of Defence Research and Development in the  Ministry of Defence of the  Government 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 of the  Indian Ordnance Factories with the Defence Science Organisation under the administration of  Jawaharlal Nehru . Subsequently,  Defence Research & Development Service (DRDS) was constituted in 1979 as a service of Group 'A' Officers / Scientists directly under the administrative control of the Ministry of Defence