NewsBytes
Noted scientist no more
(File Picture) Former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairman K Kasturirangan passes away at the age of 84 at his residence, in Bengaluru on Friday. (ANI Photo)
Advertisement
Former ISRO chief K Kasturirangan passes away in Bengaluru
Former ISRO chief K Kasturirangan, who was at the helm of the space agency for nearly a decade, passed away in Bengaluru on Friday, officials said.
He was 84 and is survived by two sons, family sources said, and added that he was suffering from age-related ailments for the past few months.
Advertisement
Condoling his death, Droupadi Murmu said on X: "Saddened to learn that Dr Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan is no more. As head of ISRO, he played a stellar role in the evolution of India's space programme." She also noted that Kasturirangan helped draft the National Education Policy (NEP), which is already making a profound impact on the shaping of the next generation.
From a renowned space scientist to an educationist, Kasturirangan put his stamp on key milestones in India's space missions and education reforms, earning him the title of "encyclopedia" in both arenas. He steered the Indian space programme gloriously for more than nine years as the ISRO chief, head of the Space Commission and secretary to the Government of India in the Department of Space, before laying down his office on August 27, 2003.
He was the project director for India's first two experimental earth observation satellites -- BHASKARA-I and II -- and subsequently was also responsible for the overall direction of the first operational Indian remote-sensing satellite, IRS-1A.
Advertisement
He was also a recipient of three major civilian awards -- Padma Shri (1982), Padma Bhushan (1992) and Padma Vibhushan (2000).
Chairperson of the drafting committee on the new NEP, Kasturirangan, had also served as chancellor of the Jawaharlal Nehru University and chairman of the Karnataka Knowledge Commission.
He was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 2003 to 2009. He also served as a member of the Planning Commission from 2009 to 2014 during the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) regime.
Born on October 24, 1940, at Ernakulam in Kerala, his family had settled at Chalakudy in Thrissur district. His mother was hailing from a Palakkad Iyer family. PTI
Uttar Pradesh tops Atal Pension Yojana enrolment with 1.20 crore registrations: Govt
Uttar Pradesh now has the most enrolments under the central income security scheme for people working in the unorganised sector, with over 1.20 crore people registered under it, the state government said Friday.
The top five districts in UP in terms of new enrolments under the Atal Pension Yojana (APY) are Prayagraj, Lucknow, Bareilly, Fatehpur, and Kanpur Nagar, a statement by the government said.
The APY, a central scheme launched in 2015 by the Government of India, aims to provide a monthly pension ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 5,000 to citizens aged between 18 and 40 years working in the unorganised sector.
The pension becomes payable after the beneficiary turns 60. Contributions are made via auto-debit from savings accounts, with flexible payment intervals (monthly, quarterly, or half-yearly).
In the event of the subscriber's death, the pension is transferred to the spouse, and the accumulated corpus is given to the nominee after the demise of both.
The government said the campaign to promote APY across both rural and urban areas has resulted in "record-breaking participation," particularly among workers in the unorganised sector.
"Uttar Pradesh surpassed its enrolment target for the last financial year by a significant margin. Against a target of 15.83 lakh enrolments, the state recorded 21.49 lakh new subscribers, the highest in the country during the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA)'s special campaign," it said.
"For this performance, the Uttar Pradesh State-Level Bankers' Committee (SLBC) was awarded the 'Award of Ultimate Leadership' for excellence in APY implementation. A total of 60 stakeholders, including 8 major banks, are involved in facilitating the scheme across the state," it added.
Advertisement
Advertisement