Alur Seelin Kiran Kumar appointed as Chairman of ISRO

Alur Seelin Kiran Kumar was on 12 January 2015 appointed as Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Kiran Kumar became eighth Chairman of ISRO after succeeding K Radhakrishnan who retired on 31 December 2014.

He was re-employed on contract basis for a tenure of three years from the date of assumption of the charge of post. Kiran Kumar will also be the Secretary of the Department of Space and also the Chairman of Space Commission.

His appointment was approved by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet.

Background
Former ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan had retired on 31 December 2014. Following his retirement, Secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences Shailesh Nayak was given the additional charge of ISRO till the appointment of a new head.

Kiran Kumar Alur Seelin
• A Physics graduate from the National College of Bangalore University, Kumar started his ISRO career with the Space Application Centre in 1975.
• He played a crucial role in developing image sensors for Bhaskara, India's first remote sensing satellite launched in 1979.
• He was appointed as the Director of Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad in 2012 for Space borne Electro-optical imaging systems.
• Credited with developing key components of India's Chandrayaan-1 and Mangalyaan missions, Kumar was awarded the Padma Shree in 2014.