Avinash Chander is an Indian scientist who was Scientific Adviser to the Defence Minister, the Director General of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), and Secretary, Department of Defence Research and Development. He had succeeded V. K. Saraswat in this post but was sacked by the union government due to incompetency. Avinash Chander is new DRDO chief
He is the chief architect of the Agni series of ballistic missile systems. Chander is a recipient of the Padma Shri from the Government of India
Education Chander joined DRDO after completing his training in Electrical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi). He subsequently pursued an MS in Spatial Information Technology and Doctorate from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad (JNTU, Hyderabad).
Sacking from DRDO After completion of 42 years of Service in DRDO, on 14 January 2015, the Department of Personnel and Training advised his contract to end due to poor performance on 31 January 2015.
Awards Chander is recipient of numerous awards, some of which are listed below: IIT Delhi Alumni Award Padma Shri DRDO Scientist of the year, 1989 Astronautical Society of India Award, 1997 Awarded by Dr. R. Chidambaram, Principal Scientific Advisor to Govt. of India. AGNI Self-Reliance Award, 1999 Dr. Biren Roy Space Science Award, 2000 DRDO Award, 2007 Outstanding Technologist Award, 2008 DRDO Technology Leadership Award, 2008 Fellow, Indian National Academy of Engineers Fellow, System Society of India Fellow, Andhra Pradesh Academy of Sciences Vice-president, Astronautical Society of India Chairman – Sensors Research Society, India Aryabhata Award - Astronautical Society of India. Eminent Engineer Award, The Institute of Engineers (India) 2016.
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