Samir V Kamat appointed as DRDO chief; G Satheesh Reddy named scientific adviser to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh

New Delhi: Distinguished scientist Dr Samir V Kamat was on Thursday was appointed as Secretary of the Department of Defence Research and Development and Chairman of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), a order by Personnel Ministry stated Dr Kamat, who holds the post of Director General, Naval Systems & Materials, at the DRDO will succeed G Satheesh Reddy who has now been named as scientific adviser to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. Notably, DRDO is the research and development wing of the Defence Ministry. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Kamat as Secretary of the Department of Defence Research and Development and Chairman of DRDO from the date of his assumption of charge till he attains the age of 60 years, it said. The ACC also approved the appointment of Reddy as scientific adviser to the defence minister, the order said. Reddy was appointed as DRDO chief in August 2018 for two years. He was given two years’ extension in the post in August 2020. Who is Dr Samir V. Kamat? Dr Samir V. Kamat, a distinguished scientist, has on 1 July 2017 assumed charge as Director General Naval Systems & Materials (NS & M) at DRDO. He obtained B. Tech. (Hons) in Metallurgical Engineering from in 1985 IIT Kharagpur and in 1988 he completed his PhD in Materials Science and Engineering from The Ohio State University, USA, specialising in the area of mechanical behaviour of materials. In 1989, he joined DRDO at DMRL, Hyderabad, as Scientist ‘C’ and elevated to the position of OS/Sc ‘H’ in October 2013. Later, he took over as the Director of the lab on 17 August, 2015. In 1986, Dr Kamat received the Indranil Medal by the Mining, Geological and Metallurgical Institute of India, in 1998 he got DRDO Young Scientist Award; Binani Gold Medal (jointly) of the Indian Institute of Metals in 2006; the National Metallurgists’ Day Metallurgist of the Year Award by the Ministry of Steel in 2008; the National Science Day Oration Silicon Medal in 2009, the DRDO Scientist of the Year award in 2012, and IIT Kharagpur Distinguished Alumni Award 2018. With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.