Padma Shri Conferred on Missile Scientist Dr. Chandramouli Gaddamanugu
New Delhi, June 23 (TNT): Former Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientist Dr. Chandramouli Gaddamanugu, who played a pivotal role in the development of India’s indigenous Akash surface-to-air missile system, has been conferred the Padma Shri in recognition of his distinguished contribution to science and engineering.
President Droupadi Murmu conferred the Padma Shri Award, one of the highest civilian awards of the country, at the Civil Investiture Ceremony-II held at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Tuesday.
A native of Madhira in Khammam district of Telangana, Dr. Chandramouli served as Outstanding Scientist, Project Director (Akash) and Programme Director at the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad.
Born on April 5, 1958, he completed his B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Warangal, in 1981.
He later obtained an M.Tech degree from IIT Delhi in 1992 and a Ph.D. from Osmania University in 2021.
Dr. Chandramouli joined Project Akash in 1983 as a young scientist when the programme was in its formative stages. Over the next three decades, he emerged as one of the key architects of the indigenous supersonic surface-to-air missile system, contributing to its design, technology development, system integration, flight testing and validation.
As Project Manager for configuration control, integration and flight testing, he led multidisciplinary teams across several organisations and supervised more than 100 Akash missile flight tests for design verification and performance validation.
He also played a crucial role in finalising the configuration of radars, launchers and command centres deployed on multiple platforms.
His contributions helped India become the first country to successfully design, develop, produce and deploy a command-guidance-based supersonic multi-target surface-to-air missile system. The Akash missile system has since become a key component of India’s air defence network.
As Project Director, Dr. Chandramouli guided stakeholders across the development, production, testing and induction phases of the missile programme.
Under his leadership, the Akash missile system was inducted into the Indian Army and Indian Air Force in 2015.
He later conceptualised advanced variants such as Akash-1S, Akash Prime and the Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile (QRSAM) system, while mentoring project teams in their development and testing.
His efforts not only strengthened India’s defence preparedness but also contributed to the growth of indigenous defence manufacturing by creating an ecosystem for the production of missiles, radars, launchers and command systems.
The programme generated substantial employment, reduced dependence on imports and facilitated defence exports.
Even after retirement, Dr. Chandramouli has continued to provide technical advisory services for tactical missile projects.
Over the course of his career, he has received several prestigious honours, including the DRDO Agni Award for Excellence in Self-Reliance, the Scientist of the Year Award, the FICCI Global R&D Award, the Distinguished Alumni Professional Achievement Award from NIT Warangal and several other recognitions for his contributions to science, technology and national security.
The Padma Shri honour recognises Dr. Chandramouli’s lifelong contribution to indigenous defence technology and India’s quest for self-reliance in strategic systems.
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