India’s former top space scientist accused of corruption

Financial Times : Madhavan Nair, former head of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), has been banned from government employment because of allegations that he was involved in the underpriced leasing of space spectrum to the private sector, write James Fontanella-Khan and James Lamont for the Financial Times. Nair, who supervised 25 space missions during his tenure from 2003 to 2009, earned international recognition for his efforts to put India’s space program on a par with those of China and Japan. Since 2009, when he retired from ISRO, he has served as president of the Paris-based International Academy of Astronautics. Regarding the allegations, Nair claimed he was not given any opportunity to defend himself, and one space expert suggested that they were politically motivated. No criminal charges have been filed.