How do you ensure a work environment that is conducive to creativity and excellence in such a high-pressure field?
"The basic mantra is nobody is punished for a wrong thing. All of us can miss out on simple things. Nobody does it on purpose. So, this approach gives the confidence for youngsters so that over time they are confident enough to tread even the unknown path."
"Everyone does their own thing and it all adds up at the end of the day and the benefits are collective."
In a country like India, how do you put the expenditure on space research in perspective with so much poverty around?
"In a different context. I was at a school two days ago. I asked them why do you study in this good school instead of making all other schools good and study anywhere. Not to justify anything, an independent study by a business school has found that ISRO has given back one-and-a-half times more than what has been spent on it."
"And our budget is 3 per cent of what the National Aeronautics and Space Administration gets. Tweleve per cent of the ESA. And one third of what China spends. It is what you can call a shoestring budget.
"Finally, you have to remember that you are spending only on a healthy building block of the country."
Image: Chandrayaan Mission Director George Koshy making his presentation at the golden jubilee celebrations of IIT-Bombay in Bengaluru. | Photograph: Sanjay Sawant
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