Former ISRO Chairman Dr. K. Kasturirangan no more

Bengaluru:  Former ISRO Chairman and Chairperson of the Drafting Committee behind the new National Education Policy (NEP-2020),  Dr. K. Kasturirangan, passed away in Bengaluru this morning. He was 84.

According to a statement by ISRO, Dr. Kasturirangan died at 10.43 am. His body will be kept at Raman Research Institute in Bengaluru on Apr. 27 between 10 am and 12 noon for the public to pay their last respects.

Dr. Kasturirangan is survived by two sons, Rajesh and Sanjay. His wife Lakshmi had predeceased him in 1991.

Dr. Kasturirangan headed Isro between 1994 and 2003, a turbulent time period for India’s space agency since it faced a number of international restrictions, including access to cryogenic technology.

Known as the man behind education reforms listed in NEP, he had served as Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University and Chairman of Karnataka Knowledge Commission; served as a Member of the Rajya Sabha (2003-09) and as Member of the Planning Commission of India.

He also served as Director of ISRO Satellite Centre, where he was involved in developing INSAT-2, IRS-1A/1B and scientific satellites. He was the Director of National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru. He was Project Director for India’s first earth observation satellites, Bhaskara I and II, and oversaw major milestones like the PSLV and GSLV launches.

Dr. Kasturirangan has been conferred Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan for his contributions. It was during his leadership that ISRO embarked on a path of self-reliance and began planning for big missions like Chandrayaan. An astrophysicist by training, his research interests included high-energy X-ray and gamma ray astronomy. He had made significant contributions to studies on cosmic X-ray sources, celestial gamma rays and their effects on Earth’s atmosphere.