Both projects were overseen by the Defense Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL) of India, which had begun in 1958 with a specialization in anti-tank missiles but expanded in subsequent years.
The money came with a veil of secrecy; the Union Cabinet had publicly declined the funding request, but Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had granted it secretly through her discretionary powers.
That year, the DRDL began to expand rapidly, increasing its workforce from 400 to 2,500 people over a two-year period in an effort to meet staffing needs of both the Valiant and Devil projects.
[4] In 1972, the lab began to work on designing and developing various components for the Valiant,[5] and the project reached the phase of ground testing on 10 May 1974.
[5] That same year, the Union Cabinet asked the director of the DRDL to evaluate whether civilian uses could be found at the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for Valiant's liquid-fuel engine.