Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan (born 24 October 1940) is an Indian space scientist who headed the
Indian Space Research Organisation
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO; ) is the national space agency of India, headquartered in Bengaluru. It operates under the Department of Space (DOS) which is directly overseen by the Prime Minister of India, while the Chairman ...
(ISRO) from 1994 to 2003.
He is presently Chancellor of
Central University of Rajasthan
Central University of Rajasthan (CURAJ) is a central university located in Ajmer, Rajasthan, India. CURAJ has 12 schools, 30 academic departments and one community college covering technology, science, humanities, commerce, management, public ...
and
NIIT University. He is the former chancellor of
Jawaharlal Nehru University
Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is a public major research university located in New Delhi, India. It was established in 1969 and named after Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. The university is known for leading faculties and r ...
and the chairman of
Karnataka Knowledge Commission
Karnataka Knowledge Commission (Karnataka Jńana Aayoga} is a commission constituted in September 2008 under the Chairmanship of Dr. K. Kasturirangan by B. S. Yeddyurappa, the former Chief Minister of Karnataka with an overarching aim of "transfor ...
. He is a former member of the
Rajya Sabha
The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...
(2003–09) and a former member of the now defunct
Planning Commission of India
The Planning Commission was an institution in the Government of India, which formulated India's Five-Year Plans, among other functions.
In his first Independence Day speech in 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced his intention to diss ...
. He was also the director of the
National Institute of Advanced Studies
National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) is a premier institute in India engaged in interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research in natural sciences, social sciences, arts and humanities. It was founded by J. R. D. Tata for providing an ...
, Bangalore, from April 2004 to 2009. He is a recipient of the three major civilian awards from 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 ...
: the
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, ...
, the
Padma Bhushan and the
Padma Vibhushan.
Early life and education
Early life
Kasturirangan was born on 24 October 1940, at
Ernakulam
Ernakulam () is the Central Business District of the city of Kochi in Kerala, India and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Many major establishments, including the Kerala High Court, the office of the Kochi Municipal Corporation a ...
in the erstwhile
Kingdom of Cochin
The Kingdom of Cochin, named after its capital in the city of Kochi (Cochin), was a kingdom in the central part of present-day Kerala state. It commenced at the early part of the 12th century and continued to rule until 1949, when monarchy w ...
, to C. M. Krishnaswamy Iyer and Visalakshi. Kasturirangan's forefathers hailed from
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...
and later settled down in different parts of
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
; his maternal forefathers settled in Nallepalli Agraharam, in
Chittur taluk,
Palakkad district
Palakkad District () is one of the 14 districts in the Indian state of Kerala. It was carved out from the southeastern region of the former Malabar District on 1 January 1957. It is located at the centre of Kerala. It is the largest district i ...
and his paternal forefathers settled in the town of
Chalakudy
Chalakudy is a municipal town situated on the banks of Chalakudy River in Thrissur district of the Kerala state in India. It is the headquarters of Chalakudy taluk. It is the base camp for travellers to Athirappilly Falls and Vazhachal Falls. ...
, near
Thrissur
Thrissur (), formerly Trichur, also known by its historical name Thrissivaperur, is a city and the headquarters of the Thrissur district in Kerala, India. It is the third largest urban agglomeration in Kerala after Kochi and Kozhikode, and t ...
. Kasturirangan's maternal grandfather Sri Ananthanarayana Iyer completed his school and college education and became a sanitary inspector in
Ernakulam
Ernakulam () is the Central Business District of the city of Kochi in Kerala, India and has lent its name to the Ernakulam district. Many major establishments, including the Kerala High Court, the office of the Kochi Municipal Corporation a ...
. He was well-respected in the community for his discipline and integrity. He and his wife Narayani had four daughters and a son, the eldest of whom was Visalakshi.
Kasturirangan's paternal grandfather, Chalakudy Manikam Iyer, being mindful of the importance of education, ensured that all his sons received a sound education up to graduation. Kasturirangan's father was a graduate in chemistry from
Maharaja's College, Ernakulam. He worked in a variety of administrative capacities at
Tata Airlines and retired as a senior accountant officer at the
Indian Airlines Corporation
Indian Airlines was a division of Air India Limited. It was based in Delhi and focused primarily on domestic routes, along with several international services to neighbouring countries in Asia. It was a division of Air India Limited after mer ...
. Kasturirangan and his brother Ravi spent their early childhood in Ernakulam in the care of their maternal grandparents after the death of their mother. At the age of ten, after the sudden death of his grandfather, he joined his father in
Bombay
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- ...
(now Mumbai) along with his brother.
Shortly after completing his
PhD PHD or PhD may refer to:
* Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification
Entertainment
* '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series
* ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic
* Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group
** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...
in 1969, Kasturirangan married Lakshmi. They have two sons, Rajesh and Sanjay. His wife died in 1991.
Education
Kasturirangan did his schooling at
Sree Rama Varma High School
Sree Rama Varma High School, officially Sree Rama Varma Govt Model Higher Secondary School and popularly known as SRV High School) is the largest government-owned school in Kochi, Kerala, India. It was founded by the Kochi Royal family as the ...
. Kasturirangan graduated in science with honours from
Ramnarain Ruia College, Mumbai, and obtained his Master of Science degree in physics from the
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 ...
. He received his Doctorate Degree in experimental
high energy astronomy High energy astronomy is the study of astronomical objects that release electromagnetic radiation of highly energetic wavelengths. It includes X-ray astronomy, gamma-ray astronomy, extreme UV astronomy, neutrino astronomy, and studies of cosmic ...
in 1971, working at the
Physical Research Laboratory,
Ahmedabad
Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...
. He has published more than 240 papers in the areas of astronomy, space science and applications.
Key contributions
Kasturirangan served as Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation for 9 years, Chairman of Space Commission and Secretary to the Government of India in the
Department of Space
The Department of Space is an Indian government department responsible for administration of the Indian space program. It manages several agencies and institutes related to space exploration and space technologies. The Indian space program und ...
, before laying down his office on 27 August 2003.
In ISRO he served as the director of
ISRO Satellite Centre
The U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), formerly ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC) ( hi, इसरो उपग्रह केंद्र) is an Indian Space Research Organisation centre for the design, development, and construction of Indian satel ...
, overseeing the development of new generation spacecraft, the
Indian National Satellite System
The Indian National Satellite System or INSAT, is a series of multipurpose geostationary satellites launched by ISRO to satisfy the telecommunications, broadcasting, meteorology, and search and rescue operations. Commissioned in 1983, INSAT is ...
(INSAT-2), the
Indian remote sensing
India's remote sensing program was developed with the idea of applying space technologies for the benefit of humankind and the development of the country. The program involved the development of three principal capabilities. The first was to desi ...
satellites (
IRS-1A and
-1B) as well as
scientific satellite
A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisoto ...
s. He was also the project director for India's first two experimental earth observation satellites,
Bhaskara-I and II.
Under his leadership, the programme witnessed several major milestones including the successful launching and operationalisation of the India's prestigious launch vehicles, the
Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle and the
Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle
Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) is an expendable launch system operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). GSLV was used in fourteen launches from 2001 to 2021. Even though GSLV Mark III shares the name, it is an ...
(GSLV). Studies on the advanced version of the GSLV, GSLVMk-III, were also completed, including defining its full configuration. Further, he also oversaw the development and launching of THE remote sensing satellites,
IRS-1C
IRS-1C was the fifth remote sensing Indian satellite built, and designed by Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). IRS-1C is first second-generation operational Remote Sensing Satellite. The satellite carries payloads with enhanced capabili ...
and
IRS-1D, realisation of new generation INSAT communication satellites, besides ocean observation satellites
IRS-P3 and
-P4. He also led the initiative for India to enter the
planetary exploration
This is a timeline of Solar System exploration ordered by date of spacecraft launch. It includes:
*All spacecraft that have left Earth orbit for the purposes of Solar System exploration (or were launched with that intention but failed), includi ...
era by extensive studies leading to the definition of
Chandrayaan-1. These efforts have put India as a pre-eminent space-faring nation among the handful of six countries that have major space programmes. As an astrophysicist, Kasturirangan's interests include research in
high energy X-ray and
gamma-ray astronomy
Gamma-ray astronomy is the astronomical observation of gamma rays,Astronomical literature generally hyphenates "gamma-ray" when used as an adjective, but uses "gamma ray" without a hyphen for the noun. the most energetic form of electromagneti ...
, as well as
optical astronomy
Visible-light astronomy encompasses a wide variety of observations via telescopes that are sensitive in the range of visible light (optical telescopes). Visible-light astronomy is part of optical astronomy, and differs from astronomies based on in ...
. Defining India's most ambitious space based
high-energy astronomy High energy astronomy is the study of astronomy, astronomical objects that release electromagnetic radiation of highly photon energy, energetic wavelengths. It includes X-ray astronomy, gamma-ray astronomy, extreme UV astronomy, neutrino astronomy ...
observatory and initiating related activities was also an important milestone under his leadership. He has made extensive and significant contributions to studies of
cosmic X-ray and
gamma ray sources and effect of cosmic X-rays in the lower atmosphere.
Kasturirangan is head of a committee tasked with creating the
National Education Policy 2020
The National Education Policy of India 2020 (NEP 2020), which was started by the Union Cabinet of India on 29 July 2020, outlines the vision of new education system of India. The new policy replaces the previous National Policy on Education, 1 ...
for India. Later in September 2021, he was appointed as the head of a 12-member steering committee which would be responsible for developing a new National Curriculum Framework. This committee, having been given a tenure of 3 years, will be the guiding document for the development of textbooks, syllabi and teaching practices of schools across the country.
Kasturirangan also serves as a member of the board of trustees of the Raman Research Institute Trust, Bengaluru.
Honours and awards
Kasturirangan is the recipient of
honorary doctorates from 27 universities.
Controversies
He was the superior officer of ISRO when
Nambi Narayanan
S. Nambi Narayanan (born 12 December 1941) is an Indian aerospace scientist who worked for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and contributed significantly to the Indian space program by developing the Vikas rocket engine. He led th ...
was accused of selling secrets to Pakistan. Kasturirangan's lack of help to the latter was noted in the movie
''Rocketry: The Nambi Effect''.
References
External links
India's Space Enterprise : A Case Study in Strategic Thinking and Planning
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kasturirangan, Krishnaswami
Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in science & engineering
Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in science & engineering
Recipients of the Padma Shri in science & engineering
Living people
1940 births
Indian Space Research Organisation people
Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha
Indian institute directors
Members of the Planning Commission of India
Maharaja's College, Ernakulam alumni
Scientists from Kochi
20th-century Indian educational theorists
Educators from Kerala
20th-century Indian physicists
Recipients of the Rajyotsava Award 2014
Recipients of the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in Engineering Science