JOIN USTamil Nadu on Thursday honoured its ‘son of the soil’ and Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) chief K Sivan by presenting him with Dr A P J Abdul Kalam award.
Siva, the Isro chief who was born in Kanniyakumari and studied in a government school, was not present on Thursday to collect the award, due to his engagements.
The Kalam award is given to those who work for promoting scientific growth, humanities and students' welfare hailing from Tamil Nadu. The award carries 8 gm gold medal, Rs five lakh and a citation.
The citation hailed Sivan as "Rocket Man" and traced his humble origins and his splendid rise in career including a stint as director of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre and Liquid Propulsion Centre.
Sivan took over as Isro chief from A S Kirankumar in 2018 and oversaw the launch of India’s ambitious moon mission, Chandrayaan-2, in July.