The Hindu Business Line : Space for a high achiever

She is the first woman to head a vital arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation in its 50 years of existence. Far from the glamour of satellite launches, Geeta Varadan, has silently been putting together the centres that receive and convert satellite data into valuable products of national and commercial importance.

Recently, she was elevated as Director of ADRIN (Advanced Data Research Institute), Hyderabad, which develops software packages to analyse and process satellite data. This less-know centre employing nearly 175 professionals is also engaged in highly-sensitive and strategic work.

Deftly balancing the dual responsibilities of home and work, she has made a mark in the male-dominated world of science and technology. Lauding the work culture in ISROshe says, “If you work hard, your work is recognised. We don’t have gender discrimination. In satellite integration, for example, you can see women working round the clock at ISRO.”

But for women it is still a “dual task” of managing home and office. “Good management is a must for women. Many women withdraw after some achievement for various reasons and fade out. I have been lucky to stick on for 32 years, thanks to the continued support from my parents and now husband and child,” she adds. She also points to an interesting parallel in her life. “As my son grew, so did my career. It does not happen to everyone. At every important stage, my family stood solidly behind me,” she recalls.

“I always tried to live close to my parents’ place, so that my son was looked after whenever I was working late or travelling.”

This engineering graduate was among a handful of women studying at Osmania University way back in 1973. “In the Electronics faculty I was the only girl. Recently, when I went back to the university as the chief guest for an event, I was thrilled to find that nearly 50 per cent of the students in Electronics were girls.” Her first job was in Bangalore at the LRDE (Electronics Research Development Establishment) of the DRDO, which she joined in 1976. “I got transferred to the DLRL (Defence Electronics Research Laboratory) in Hyderabad, but soon shifted to the National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA), under the Space Department, in 1979 as I wanted to be in Hyderabad.”

She played a big role in setting up a string of Regional Remote Sensing Service Centres (RRSSC) across the country. There are nine such centres, which process satellite data for civilian applications such as management and optimal utilisation of water resources, forest cover, soil, crops and so on. Her expertise was sought by the Mauritius Government to help set up a centre in that country.

She was instrumental in evolving the National Resource Information System (NRIS) and developing the software for crop acreage estimation, which is now extensively used by the Agriculture Ministry.

Was she ever tempted to go abroad or move to the private sector for greater financial prospects? “In the early 1990s some of my colleagues left for the private sector, but I liked my job challenge at ISRO. The continuous breaks and growth held me to the Space Department,” says Geeta.

It’s no wonder then that she has been designated Project Director for Special Projects at the ISRO headquarters in Bangalore — a dual responsibility alongside her role at ADRIN. She leads a ‘think tank’ for increasing the use of satellite data.

At ADRIN, efforts are on to speed up the conversion of satellite data into usable formats. At present it takes two hours as compared to 12-14 hours previously. The centre is attempting to make it real-time within a year, she says.

On the challenges ahead, her aim is to see more users for the data, especially in rural areas. Telemedicine, tele-education and village resource centres offering farmers total solutions under one roof are some of the efforts that need to gain wider acceptance.

Her hard work has fetched Geeta the coveted ISRO Merit Award 2008, which she received from Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh — again, the first woman to do so.

So, when she is not focused on the wide open spaces above us, how does she unwind at home? “I am typically a family person and not the outgoing type. I enjoy spending time with family, cooking and reading, watching Hindi movies and listening to music — a good homemaker, perhaps. I also like visiting temples and read a lot of spiritual writings,” she says.

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Space for a high achiever