Ajay Sood, one of India’s leading physicists and a professor at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru on Wednesday has been appointed as the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Union government for the next three years.
Sood will replace K Vijayraghavan, who completed his tenure last month after serving the government in various positions for close to a decade.
“The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Ajay Kumar Sood, member, Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council to the Prime Minister as Principal Scientific Advisor (PSA) to the Government of India on usual terms and conditions as may applicable for a period of three years,” the Department of Personnel and Training said in an order.
The DoPT order says that Sood would be having a monthly salary of Rs 2.5 lakh.
Known for his pioneering research on nanotechnology and condensed matter physics, Sood currently is an honorary professor of physics at the IISc. He earned his masters degree from the Punjab University in 1972 and Ph.D from IISc in 1982.
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