Defence minister's scientific adviser gets 1-year extension

G Satheesh Reddy has been given a one-year extension in service as the scientific adviser to the defence minister.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved extension of his tenure for one-year with effect from June 4, an order issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) said.

Reddy, a distinguished scientist, was in May 2015 appointed to the post for a fixed two-year term.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is looking after the charge of the defence ministry, following the appointment of Manohar Parrikar as the Goa chief minister. Reddy is an eminent missile scientist and has made pioneering contribution in navigation and avionics technologies.

He was appointed as the scientific adviser after former Defence Minister Parrikar had decided to split the post of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) chief.

Earlier, the DRDO head used to be the scientific adviser to the defence minister.