Chairing man of Science Roddam departs over ISRO

Top aerospace man of science Professor Roddam Narsimha , who was a appendage of the BK Chaturvedi committee  inquiring Antrix-Devas deal , has quit from the Space Commission to resist against blacklisting of scientists, admitting former ISRO  chiefGMadhavanNair.

Seventy-eight-year-old Narsimha was the senior-most member of the Space Commission and had been affiliated with the commission for over two tens. Sources about the scientist sounded out that he had been upset all over the authorities blacklisting the four scientists. Instead of Nair, the government had taken action at law against former scientific secretary A Bhaskarnarayana, ISRO’s former satellite centre director KN Shankara and former Antrix Corporation executive director KR Sridharamurthi. The four scientists were excluded from holding any government post.

Roddam Narasimha has aired his resignation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday. Asked about the resignation, government minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office, V Narayanasamy, said the scientist had better reconsider his conclusion. “Prof Narasimha is a identical famed scientist. We hold him in very high respect. I request Prof Narasimha to reconsider his decision,” the minister said.

In February, 2011, the prime minister had appointed a high-powered committee comprising Narsimha and Planning Commission member and former Cabinet secretary BK Chaturvedi to inquire into the $300 million S-band spectrum contract between ISRO’s commercial arm Antrix Corporation and the Bangalore-based Devas Multimedia Services. Narasimha said there had been lapses. “These have been identified in detail in the report of Mr Chaturvedi and myself. The report found no evidence of short-charging on the spectrum, but recommended various reforms that were needed in our opinion to ensure that the identified lapses would not recur in future. These reforms have also included some concerning the Space Commission.” He said the second reason he was quitting was that he didn’t want to be part of the commission when reforms needed to ensure such lapses didn’t occur again were made. “The Prime Minister has not (as of now) accepted my request.” In light of the contestation, the government had avoided the contract in February, 2011, appealing its autonomous right.