In memory of Arun Srivastava

Arun Srivastava (centre) with the late Dr Sekhar Basu, Secretary at the DAE (left), and Dr Ashutosh Sharma, then-Secretary at the DST (right) celebrating the opening of the Vigyan Samagam mega-science exhibition in Kolkata. CREDIT: IBG News

Arun Srivastava, who passed away on 18 August 2021, headed the Institutional Collaborations and Programs Division of India’s Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), and was the representative of the Government of India in the SKA Organisation since India joined in 2015, as well as in the recently formed SKAO Council.

Born in August 1961, Arun graduated as a chemical engineer from Laxminarayan Institute of Technology (LIT), Nagpur, India, in 1983, and joined the BARC Training School of the DAE immediately after that. Later he did his postgraduate diploma in Management Studies at Mumbai University in 1992 and Chartered Financial Analyst course at the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India, Hyderabad, in 1996. From 1999, he was involved in strategic planning and analysis-related activities in the DAE, and in July 2010 was appointed to the key position of Secretary, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), the highest policy-making body of the DAE. Arun also received a “Special Contributions Award 2006” from the AEC chairman in recognition of his valuable contributions in the field of nuclear science and technology.

Over the last 10 years or so, he was pivotal in taking forward the joint mega-science projects initiated by India’s Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the DAE. At the national level, he was involved in project committees including the India-CERN Task Force, DST-DAE Coordination Committee, India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) and LIGO-India Apex Committees, and also the SKA India Steering Committee. He played a key role in organising the first ever,eight-month long travelling megascience exhibition in India, Vigyan Samagam, which had a footfall of about 600,000 visitors in four major cities of the country.

At the international level, he held various positions in the boards and executive councils of large international projects where India is involved, such as Member of the Executive Councils of FAIR and TMT projects, and Council Member of CERN. He was also Council Chair for the ITER project during 2018-19. In the SKA project, he was the Board Director from India since 2015, and led the Indian delegation in the negotiations leading to the framing of the SKAO Convention, as well as in the Council Preparatory Task Force.

Arun’s warm and positive approach, clear views and vast experience will be deeply missed by the international science and technology community, including those who knew and worked with him across the SKA project.

By Prof. Yashwant Gupta (NCRA)

Arun Srivastava played a key role in major science projects at both the national and international level.