The Mars mission should not have been a priority at this stage for India which, instead, ought to have devoted time and energy on getting its rocket operational again and give momentum to the human space flight programme, former ISRO chief G Madhavan Nair said.
The film was recently awarded as the second best film at the Kerala State film awards.
Former Indian Space Research Organisation chief G Madhavan Nair and three other senior scientists, who were barred from holding any government posts, have been indicted by the country's top space body-appointed committee for acts of commission in the Antrix-Devas deal.
Seeking to fend of attacks on his credentials in the Indian Space Research Organisation row, the space body's chief K Radhakrishnan on Tuesday said probe reports on Antrix-Devas deal that led to punitive action against his predecessor G Madhavan Nair and three fellow space scientists will be released after getting due clearance.
The punitive action on January 13 against four scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation in connection with the Antrix-Devas deal leaves many questions unanswered. It does however make it apparent that there have been lacunae in the functioning of one of India's premier scientific institutions, its commercial arm, and the overseeing body.
Former Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman G Madhavan Nair on Thursday rubbished suggestions of a scam in the scrapped controversial Antrix-Devas deal and maintained that estimation of huge loss to the exchequer is "totally erroneous".
Taking action in the controversial Antrix-Devas deal, the government has barred former Indian Space Research Organisation chief G Madhavan Nair and three other eminent space scientists from holding any government jobs.
Government on Thursday said former Indian Space Research Organisation chief G Madhavan Nair was given a "due and adequate chance" by a high-level panel to put forth his views on the action taken against him in connection with irregularities in the Antrix-Devas deal.
The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on Tuesday criticised the roles of the Department of Space and its former secretary, G Madhavan Nair, in the Antrix-Devas deal, saying the deal was a "classic case of public investment for private profit".
The government on Thursday dismissed former Indian Space Research Organisation chief G Madhavan Nair's claims that he was not given a chance to give his views on the action taken against him in connection with controversial Antrix-Devas deal.
Most senior scientists have complained of repeated questioning by the expenditure department, bureaucratic delays in clearances, more focus on procedure than on result and the lack of an environment for science to grow, reports Akshat Kaushal
The government is yet to take a call on former Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman G Madhavan Nair's request to the Prime Minister's Office to order an inquiry into the reasons behind annulment of the controversial Antrix-Devas deal and the procedure followed.
The Indian Space Research Organisation row has intensified with its former chief G Madhavan Nair writing to the Prime Minister's Office to order an enquiry into the reasons behind the annulment of the controversial Antrix-Devas deal and the procedure followed, in a fresh salvo at his successor K Radhakrishnan.
A top aerospace scientist has quit as the member of the Space Commission to protest the government's decision to blacklist former Indian Space Research Organisation chief G Madhavan Nair and three other scientists over the controversial Antrix-Devas deal. "We submitted the report after identifying the lapses and suggested measures to make sure that they do not happen again. We found no evidence of wrong-doing or fraud or personal gain," Professor Roddam Narasimha said.
Indian Space Research Organisation Dr Radhakrishnan, who has been accused of waging a "personal battle" against him by former ISRO chairman Madhavan Nair, refuted the latter's claims in Bengaluru on Monday. Nair and three other scientists have been barred from holding any government posts because of their alleged role in the Antrix-Devas deal, in which the private firm was allotted scarce S band spectrum by ISRO by allegedly violating rules.
Picking holes in the high-level team report that indicted him in the Antrix-Devas deal, former Indian Space Research Organisation chief G Madhavan Nair on Sunday said it had "inconsistencies and inaccuracies" and attacked the Department of Space headed by his successor K Radhakrishnan for "cowardice" in releasing only "convenient portions".
The murky controversy raging over damning debar on former Indian Space Research Organisation Chief and secretary of Department of Space G Madhavan Nair and three other scientists is blamed on its current chief Dr K Radhakrishnan for misleading the government in the Antrix-Devas deal probe for a sadistic revenge.
What kind of a nation have we become where the commanders of the country's armed forces and satellite mission are trashed without a whimper, asks Tarun Vijay.
The Department of Space is in the process of getting clearances for release of reports of two committees on the controversial Antrix-Devas deal, on the basis of which former Indian Space Research Organisation chief G Madhavan Nair and three other scientists were barred from holding any government posts. This was announced on Tuesday by ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan, who is also the DOS secretary, in a brief statement in his first comments on the issue.
Hurt at the action taken against him over the Antrix-Devas deal, former ISRO chief G Madhavan Nair on Wednesday accused space agency Chairman K Radhakrishnan of being behind the move and pursuing a "personal agenda" to mislead the government.
The Indian Space Research Organisation has declined to give details of its correspondence with former chief G Madhavan Nair on the report of a high-level probe into the Antrix-Devas deal, on the basis of which he and three others were barred by the central government from any re-employment.
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Former Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman G Madhavan Nair is pinning hopes on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to revoke the order banning him and three others from government jobs despite Union Minister V Narayanasamy ruling out its review, as he reiterated there is "no issue" vis-a-vis the Antrix-Devas deal.
The ISRO row showed no signs of abating as former chief of the space agency, G Madhavan Nair on Tuesday hit back at his successor K Radhakrishnan dubbing as "another lie" the latter's claim that an inquiry was conducted into charges and lapses relating to the Antrix-Devas deal.
Battling the action against him and three other top scientists in the controversial Antrix-Devas deal, former Indian Space Research Organisation chief G Madhavan Nair on Monday demanded that the order barring them from government posts should not only be revoked but an apology should be tendered by those responsible for it. "They owe an apology not to me but to the whole country. Somebody has taken the law into their hands and they have to apologise," said Nair.
The government on Sunday said it was ready to hear the points of view of four scientists, including former Indian Space Research Organisation chief Madhavan Nair, who have been barred from occupying any government posts in connection with the controversial Antrix-Devas deal.
Reflecting a sense of disquiet, senior ISRO scientists, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it was a sad episode and the space agency's image has certainly taken a severe beating.
'What is the future of ISRO?' Professor Rao asked from his hospital bed. 'What we see now is the continuation of programmes we started long ago.' 'What are we planning in the space science arena?' 'What is our plan for human space flight?' Former ISRO chairman Madhavan Nair recalls his last meeting with Professor U R Rao, the pioneering Indian space scientist who passed away on Monday, July 24.
'These accusations of my film being a copy only makes our chances at the Academy harder.'
Indian Space Research Organisation chairman G Madhavan Nair, Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bindra, historian Ramachandra Guha and noted billiard player Pankaj Advani were among the 63 personalities who received the Padma awards in New Delhi on Tuesday. The recipients also include social activist Sunderlal Bahuguna and veteran actor Helen Khan. President Prathibha Patil gave away the Padma awards at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
India has initiated steps to build its first indigenous civilian transport aircraft under a public-private partnership project that will be undertaken in a national mission mode.
The UPA government looks set to give the contract a decent burial and, in turn, redeem ISRO and itself.
There was no major design flaw in the Indian Space Research Organisation's Geostationary Satellite Launch Vehicle, which crashed seconds after take-off on December 25 last year, said a fact- finding panel.
The decision to provide Z grade security was taken by the Karnataka government following specific threats to ISRO scientists by the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Dawaood Ibrahim.
India's ambitious unmanned lunar mission `Chandrayan' is likely to soar into the skies in the second week of October, Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman G Madhavan Nair said on Wednesday."The satellite integration is almost complete. And we would be entering the thermovac in about a week's time. It takes about 45-50 days for the launch after thermovac, after which we would declare the date. The earliest is October," he said.
"The level of education and knowledge being imparted by many colleges... they are not up to the mark. Instead of concentrating on quantity, these institutions should concentrate on quality," he told PTI in an interview.
A jubilant Nair was addressing a press conference at the ISRO headquarters in Bangalore on Friday after a NASA payload aboard the Chandrayaan-1 found Hydroxyl, a molecule consisting one oxygen atom and one hydrogen atom, in the lunar soil.
ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair told PTI that the agency has invited the scientists and expects representation from scientists behind Indian payloads (scientific instruments) as well those from guest instruments, including from NASA and the European Space Agency. An ISRO official said, "It will be a closed-door meeting. The scientists will analyse data from preliminary findings".
Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman G Madhavan Nair is all set to become the first non-American to head the International Academy of Astronautics.
India has completed the design of Chandrayaan-2, its next mission to the moon -- this time in collaboration with Russia -- that would have a lander and rover that can collect samples of the lunar soil and analyse them and send back the data.
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