MK Stalin, the chief minister of Tamil Nadu, honored nine outstanding ISRO scientists from the state with a grand ceremony and a significant financial award of 25 lakhs apiece. Luminaries who have made their marks in the history of space research, such K Sivan and Mylswamy Annadurai, were present at the ceremony. The eloquent Chief Minister hailed these outstanding individuals for their vital services to the country.
MK Stalin paused to consider the prophetic words of the late Chief Minister C N Annadurai, who once questioned why Tamil Nadu had not yet produced luminaries on par with the likes of physicist Albert Einstein and inventor Thomas Alva Edison, as the audience basked in the aura of this remarkable event. Stalin exclaimed with pleasure that Tamil Nadu now had a constellation of scientific giants.
With his leadership of ground-breaking initiatives like Chandrayaan 1 and 2, K Sivan, the former chairman of ISRO, stood out among the esteemed honorees. Mylswamy Annadurai, the experienced project director of Chandrayaan 1 and 2, and V Narayanan, the Director of Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre-ISRO, joined him in receiving this well-deserved honor. These great minds have made a vital contribution to India’s space odyssey.
The praise didn’t end there. Among those honored for their extraordinary service were M. Sankaran, a renowned ISRO scientist, and A. Rajarajan, Director of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre. The creator of Chandrayaan-3, P Veeramuthuvel, also attended to honor the occasion. The other distinguished scientists recognized by CM Stalin included J Asir Packiaraj, the Director of the ISRO-Propulsion Complex, M Vanitha, and Nigar Shaji of the ISRO.
During the occasion, CM Stalin made two noteworthy announcements in a stunning act. First, as a mark of thanks for their unwavering dedication, each of the nine distinguished scientists will get 25 lakhs. He fervently pleaded with them to carry on with their outstanding effort and bring more honor to India.
Second, the Chief Minister declared the launch of a program for scholarships honoring distinguished scientists. This program seeks to encourage and support postgraduate engineering students as they pursue a career in innovative science. For this aim, a sizeable corpus of 10 crores would be established, paying all costs for the chosen kids, including tuition and hostel fees.
It’s important to note that the PG scholarship is available to students from government schools who pursued undergraduate engineering degrees and benefited from the government’s financial aid program in addition to the 7.5% reservation offered to students from state-run schools.
Tamil Nadu’s government has set a laudable example of rewarding excellence and encouraging scientific innovation as a fitting tribute to the brilliance of these scientists and a promise to support the following generation of scientific brains.
