Eminent rocket scientist S Somanath appointed ISRO chief
New Delhi, Jan 12: Eminent rocket scientist S Somanath has been appointed as the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) as well as the Space Secretary, a Personnel Ministry order issued on Wednesday said.
Somanath, who is at present Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), will succeed K Sivan who completes his extended tenure on Friday.
Sivan was in January 2018 appointed as the ISRO chief, Secretary of the Department of Space and Chairman Space Commission.
He was in December 2020 given a one-year extension till January 14, 2022.
Somanath's appointment as the Space Secretary and the Space Commission Chairman is for a combined tenure of three years from the date of joining of the post, inclusive of an extension in tenure beyond the age of superannuation in public interest, the order said.
The post of the ISRO chairman, the Space Secretary and the Space Commission chief is usually held by one person only.
Somanath, who will be the 10th chairman of the premier space organisation, took charge as the VSSC's head on January 22, 2018, after a two and a half years stint as the Director of Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), Valiamala, Thiruvananathapuram.
Previously, he served as the Associate Director (Projects) of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre and also as the Project Director of GSLV Mk-III launch vehicle, according to his official biodata.
Under his leadership, the first experimental flight of LVM3-X/CARE mission was successfully accomplished on December 18, 2014, it said.
Somanath did his B Tech in Mechanical Engineering from TKM college of engineering, Kollam, and Masters in Aerospace Engineering from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, with specialisation in structures, dynamics and control. He was a gold medalist.
Somanath joined VSSC in 1985 and was a team leader for the integration of PSLV during the early phases.
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Journalist Vaishna Roy faces online trolling over remarks on ‘operation sindoor’
New Delhi: Vaishna Roy, the editor of Frontline magazine under The Hindu group, is facing severe trolling on social media after she wrote on the naming of India’s recent counter-terror strike as “Operation Sindoor.”
Earlier this morning, under “Operation Sindoor,” Indian forces reportedly carried out strikes on nine terror camps—four inside Pakistan and five in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). According to reports, over 80 terrorists were killed in response to the recent Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 tourists were killed by Pakistan-backed militants.
The name “Operation Sindoor” refers to the traditional vermilion mark worn by Hindu women as a symbol of marriage. Roy, in a post on X, wrote: “On principle, I object strongly to the label Operation Sindoor. It reeks of patriarchy, ownership of women, ‘honour’ killings, chastity, sacralising the institution of marriage, and similar Hindutva obsessions.”
Following this post, Roy was heavily trolled by several right-wing accounts online. In support of her, journalist Neha Dixit posted, “Agree with @vaishnaroy and in complete solidarity. Shame on the trolls.”
Another user, @SanjuktaChoudh5, wrote, “I stand with @vaishnaroy. She is perfectly right in what she has written. I too echo here.”
Senior journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta also came out in support, saying, “The editor of ‘Frontline’ Vaishna Roy is being viciously trolled by shameless Right Wing trolls for her Tweet – please spread it far and wide.”
Amid the controversy and trolling, Vaishna Roy has reportedly locked her X account.
