Former DRDO Director General Avinash Chander was given the prestigious Astronomical Society of India (ASI) Aryabhata award in Bangalore on Thursday by Principal Scientific Advisor to Government of India, Dr. R. Chidambaram, and ISRO Chairman, Dr. A. S. Kiran Kumar. He was presented the award for his lifetime contribution to aeronautics and astronautics in India. It consists of a citation of Rs.1,00,000 in cash. Describing Dr. Avinash Chander as the main architect of India’s long range missile programme ranging from 300 km Agni 1 to the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, Agni-V, the citation said that his outstanding work on defence technologies and defence systems in general, and development of variety of missile capabilities in particular, had made India self-reliant in many vital areas of defence.
Associate Director of Research Centre Imarat, B H VS Narayana Murthy was also conferred with Rocket and Related Technologies Award for his outstanding contributions in design, development and production of onboard computers for various tactical and strategic missile programmes taken up by DRDO and Indian armed forces.
