Director of the Pune-based firm Integrated Circuit and InformationTechnology Pvt Ltd, Dr Pramod P Kale has won the prestigious Aryabhata Award, instituted by Astronautical Society of India (ASI), for development of astronautics in the country. The award is for the year 2006.
ASI had instituted the award in 1990 to recognise talented Indian individuals who have made significant contributions to astronautics. ISRO scientists won as many as seven of the other ASI awards for 2006, including the “Woman Scientist Award.” 
The Aryabhata award carries a citation and a cash amount of Rs 1 lakh, while the ASI Awards and Women Scientist awards each carry a citation and cash Rs 25,000. The team achievement award carries citation and Rs one lakh in cash.
The awards would be presented at a function to be organised in the City shortly.
ASI Awards: Rocket and Related Technologies: Mr T Sundarajan, IIT, Chennai; Spacecraft and Related Technologies: Mr S S Rana of Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad; Space Systems Management: Mr K Suryanarayana Sarma, ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore; Space Science and Applications: Dr V S Hegde, ISRO Headquarters, Bangalore.
ISRO-ASI Awards (Sponsored by ISRO): Rocket and Related Technologies: Mr John P Zachariah of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre,Thiruvananthapuram; Spacecraft and Related Technologies: Mr C L Nagendra, Laboratory for Electro-Optics Systems, Bangalore, and Dr V K Lakshmeesha of ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore.
Women Scientist Award: Ms M Vanitha, ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore, and Ms Jolly Dhar, Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad.
Young Scientist Award: Mr Ayesha Sidhick, Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, Valiamala; Mr Prateek Bansal, ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore; Mr Pankaj Priyadarshi, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre,Thiruvananthapuram; and Mr Anoop Kumar Shukla, Vikram Sarabhai SpaceCentre, Thiruvananthapuram.
Team Achievement Award: Dr A K Sharma, ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore.
ASI Gold Medals: Mr Sekar, ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore; Mr Sam K Zachariah, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram; Mr N Jeyan of Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre, Valiamala; Mr K K Santhakumari, ISRO Inertial Systems Unit, Thiruvananthapuram, and  Mr K Veera Raghavulu, Satish Dhawan Space Centre, SHAR, Sriharikota.