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Photo Source (https://tarmak007.blogspot.in/2013/12/nal-technologies-for-tejas-to-
set.html)

Such was his dynamism and dedication towards his work that, in 1962, he was appointed

the Director of IISC. Not only was he the youngest to be appointed to the prestigious
position, he would go on to remain the institution’s longest-serving, and undoubtedly most
distinguished, Director.

After serving as IISc Director for nearly nine years, in 1971, Dhawan went on a year’s
sabbatical to Caltech, his alma mater in the USA. It was during this time that he got a call
from the Indian embassy, conveying Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s request that he return to
India and take charge of the Indian space programme following the sudden death of Vikram

Sarabhai on December 30, 1971.

The founder of India’s space programme, Sarabhai was passionate about harnessing the

power of space science to find solutions to the hurdles India was facing in the fields of
communication, meteorology, and education. His association with Dhawan had already
begun a little earlier when he wrote to him asking him for technical advice in setting up a
solid rocket motor facility in India.

After Sarabhai’s tragic death, Dhawan acquiesced to take over the helm of the country’s
space programme but on two conditions — that the headquarters of the space programme
was to be in Bengaluru and that he be allowed to continue as IISc’s Director (he would later

go on to describe IISc as his first and greatest love). Indira Gandhi agreed to both and the
eminent scientist returned to India after finishing his commitments at Caltech.

It was in May 1972 that Dhawan took over as the Secretary of India’s Department of
Space (until then, the space programme had come under the Department of Atomic
Energy). This was also when ISRO and the Space Commission were formally born, with
Dhawan becoming the Chairman of both.

Photo Source (http://connect.iisc.ac.in/2017/08/dhawan-introduced-a-new-personality-
to-iisc-roddam-narasimha/)

Ever since, these three posts have been concurrently held — ensuring seamless integration
between conceptualization, funding of programmes, and timely delivery of technologies!

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