The Chairman Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary, Atomic Energy Dr

Anil Kakodkar (born 11 November 1943) is an Indian

nuclear Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: * Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics *Nuclear space *Nuclear ...

physicist and mechanical engineer. He was the chairman of the

Atomic Energy Commission of India The Atomic Energy Commission of India is the governing body of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Government of India. The DAE is under the direct charge of the Prime Minister. The Indian Atomic Energy Commission was set up on 3 August 1948 ...

and the Secretary to the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

, he was the Director of the

Bhabha Atomic Research Centre The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) is India's premier nuclear research facility, headquartered in Trombay, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It was founded by Homi Jehangir Bhabha as the Atomic Energy Establishment, Trombay (AEET) in January 195 ...

, Trombay from 1996 to 2000. He was awarded the

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ("Lotus Decoration") is the second-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service" ...

, India's second highest civilian honour, on 26 January 2009. Apart from playing a major role in India's nuclear tests asserting sovereignty, Kakodkar champions India's self-reliance on

thorium Thorium is a weakly radioactive metallic chemical element with the symbol Th and atomic number 90. Thorium is silvery and tarnishes black when it is exposed to air, forming thorium dioxide; it is moderately soft and malleable and has a high me ...

as a fuel for nuclear energy.

Early life

Kakodkar was born on 11 November 1943 in

Barwani Barwani or Badwani ( hi, Baḍwāni) is a municipal town in Barwani district of Madhya Pradesh, India, that is situated near the left bank of the Narmada River. It is the administrative headquarters of Barwani district and has also served a ...

princely state A princely state (also called native state or Indian state) was a nominally sovereign entity of the British Raj, British Indian Empire that was not directly governed by the British, but rather by an Indian ruler under a form of indirect rule, ...

(present day

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

state) to Kamala Kakodkar and

Purushottam Kakodkar Purushottam Kesava Kakodkar (18 May 1913 Curchorem – 2 May 1998, Delhi) was a prominent politician and social worker from Goa. He served as a Member of Parliament in both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. Freedom fighter He took part in the Q ...

, both

Gandhian The followers of Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest figure of the Indian independence movement, are called Gandhians. Gandhi's legacy includes a wide range of ideas ranging from his dream of ideal India (or ''Rama Rajya)'', economics, environmentalism, ...

freedom fighters. He had his early education at

and at Khargone, until moving to

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

for post-matriculation studies. Kakodkar graduated from Ruparel College, then from

VJTI Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute (VJTI) ( Marathi : ''वीरमाता जिजाबाई टेक्नॉलोजिकल इन्स्टिट्यूट)'' is a state funded college located in Mumbai, Maharashtra, I ...

University of Mumbai The University of Mumbai is a collegiate university, collegiate, State university (India), state-owned, Public university, public research university in Mumbai. The University of Mumbai is one of the largest universities in the world. , the un ...

with a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1963. He joined the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in 1964. He obtained a master's degree in experimental stress analysis from the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...

in 1969.

Career

He joined the Reactor Engineering Division of the BARC and played a key role in design and construction of the

Dhruva reactor The Dhruva reactor is India's largest nuclear research reactor. It was the first nuclear reactor in Asia proper. Located in the Mumbai suburb of Trombay at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), it is India's primary generator of weapons-grade p ...

, a completely original but high-tech project. He was a part of the core team of architects of India's Peaceful Nuclear Tests in 1974 and 1998. Further he has led the indigenous development in India's Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor Technology. He worked in the rehabilitation of the two reactors at Kalpakkam and the first unit at Rawatbhata, which at one stage were on the verge of being written off. In 1996 he became Director of the BARC and since 2000 he has been leading the Atomic Energy Commission of India and also is the secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy. He has published over 250 scientific papers. He believes that India should be self-reliant in energy, especially by use of the cheap national thorium resources. He continues to engage in designing the Advanced Heavy Water Reactor, that uses thorium-uranium 233 as the primary energy source with plutonium as the driver fuel. The unique reactor system, with simplified but safe technology, will generate 75 per cent of electricity from thorium.

Other positions

Kakodkar
is a member of many boards, commissions, and other organizations. Some of them are: * Chairman, Board of Governors of the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay – 2006–15. * Chairman, Board of Directors of Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation Limited, Pune (current). * Member, Atomic Energy Commission * Member, ONGC Energy Centre Trust * Chairman, empowered committee on IIT reforms * Presently ^{updated April-2014} he is serving as a director on the central board of

Reserve Bank of India The Reserve Bank of India, chiefly known as RBI, is India's central bank and regulatory body responsible for regulation of the Indian banking system. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Finance, Government of India. It is responsible for ...

. *He is a Fellow of the

Indian National Academy of Engineering The Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE), founded in 1987, comprises India's engineers, engineer-scientists and technologists covering the entire spectrum of engineering disciplines. The Academy is registered under the Societies Reg ...

and served as its president during 1999–2000. *He is a Fellow of the

Indian Academy of Sciences The Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore was founded by Indian Physicist and Nobel Laureate C. V. Raman, and was registered as a society on 24 April 1934. Inaugurated on 31 July 1934, it began with 65 founding fellows. The first general meet ...

, the National Academy of Sciences, India and the Maharashtra Academy of Sciences. *He is a member of the—International Nuclear Energy Academy and Honorary member of the World Innovation Foundation. He was member of the International Nuclear Safety Advisory Group (INSAG) during 1999–2002 *He is on the board of Governors of

*He will head Rail safety committee as per Rail budget speech by Railway Minister in 2012 *He is chairman Rajiv Gandhi Science and Technology Commission, Government of Maharashtra, Mantralaya, Mumbai. *He is chairman of steering and monitoring committee of Biomedical Engineering and Technology (incubation) Centre, a network of 11 engineering and medical institutes for medical device innovation. *He is chairperson of Dr. B R Ambedkar National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar. *He is Chairman of Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation Limited

Awards

National awards

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

in 1998 *

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

in 1999 *

in 2009

Other awards

*Highest civilian award of the Maharashtra state-

Maharashtra Bhushan Award The Maharashtra Bhushan is a highest civilian award presented annually by the Government of Maharashtra State in India. When the Shivsena- BJP alliance came to power in 1995, it proposed to institute this award. The Maharashtra Bhushan was first ...

(2011–2012) *Highest civilian award of the Goa state-

Gomant Vibhushan Award Gomant Vibhushan Award is the highest civilian honour of the State of Goa. It is given annually by Government of Goa to people of Goan origin for exceptional work in any field. The award was instituted by Goa Directorate of Art and Culture, Gover ...

(2010) *Hari Om Ashram Prerit Vikram Sarabhai Award (1988) * H. K. Firodia Award for Excellence in Science and Technology (1997) *Rockwell Medal for Excellence in Technology (1997) *

FICCI The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) is a non-governmental trade association and advocacy group based in India. History Established in 1927, on the advice of Mahatma Gandhi by Indian businessman G.D. Birla an ...

Award for outstanding contribution to Nuclear Science and Technology (1997–98) *ANACON – 1998 Life Time Achievement Award for Nuclear Sciences *Indian Science Congress Association's H. J. Bhabha Memorial Award (1999–2000) *Godavari Gaurav Award (2000) *Dr. Y. Nayudamma Memorial Award (2002) *Chemtech Foundation's Achiever of the Year Award for Energy (2002) *Gujar Mal Modi Innovative Science and Technology Award in 2004. *Homi Bhabha Lifetime Achievement Award 2010. *Acharya Varahmihir Award (2004) by Varahmihir Institute of Scientific Heritage and Research, Ujjain (M.P.), India

References

External links

Biography
*MKCL {{DEFAULTSORT:Kakodkar, Anil 1943 births Living people Marathi people University of Mumbai alumni Alumni of the University of Nottingham Indian mechanical engineers

nuclear physicists Nuclear may refer to: Physics Relating to the nucleus of the atom: * Nuclear engineering *Nuclear physics *Nuclear power *Nuclear reactor *Nuclear weapon *Nuclear medicine *Radiation therapy *Nuclear warfare Mathematics *Nuclear space *Nuclear ...

Engineers from Madhya Pradesh Fellows of the Indian Academy of Sciences Indian nuclear physicists Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in science & engineering Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in science & engineering physicists Recipients of the Padma Shri in science & engineering Recipients of the Maharashtra Bhushan Award Mechanical engineers 20th-century Indian engineers People from Barwani