Bengaluru
Veteran space scientist G Madhavan Nair has warned against structural changes in the ISRO, as he sought to draw similarities between the space agency and Elon Musk's SpaceX in terms of having a unified command for delivering efficient performance.
The former Chairman of ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) said some of the recent media reports project an alarming picture about Indian space programme on its ineffectiveness to make industrial participation and an idea of possible restructuring to bring about more expansion. "The public has the right to know the factual situation considering the evolution and growth so far," he insisted.
ISRO, Nair said, is the best performing government organisation which has not only mastered most sophisticated space technologies totally indigenously, but also provided space missions in a timely manner meeting common mans requirements as well as security needs.
It's the far sighted approach which has enabled India to get a front seat among the global space players, he said.
ISRO is a unique organisation not only doing high tech R&D but also applications for societal benefit like tele- education, tele-medicine, disaster management, applications for agriculture, fisheries and infrastructure development, he pointed out.
"India had undertaken planetary missions to the Moon and Mars as well, not leaving out Indian constellation for navigation satellites. All these were accomplished in a shoe- string budget. India's annual (space) budget is slightly above USD one billion compared to about $3 billion of China and about $25 billion of the US.”
