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Who Is Nigar Shaji? Know Qualifications, Salary & More Of ISRO Solar Mission Project Director

On September 2, 2023, India successfully launched its first solar mission, Aditya-L1 under the directorship of ISRO scientist, Nigar Shaji. Aditya-L1 is a spacecraft designed by ISRO to study the solar atmosphere. The successful launch came at the heels of India’s successful launch of Chandrayaan-3, ISRO’s moon mission. 

Aditya-L1 is India’s first mission to explore the sun and its successful launch is the culmination of years of hard work, strategizing and dedication by a team of talented scientists, technicians and engineers. And this team was led by none other than project director Nigar Shaji. 

“This is like a dream come true. I am extremely happy that Aditya L-1 has been injected by PSLV. Aditya L-1 has started its 125 days of long journey. Once Aditya L-1 is commissioned, it will be an asset to the country and the global scientific fraternity. I want to thank the entire team for their support and guidance in making this mission possible,” Shaji, on the successful launch of Aditya L-1. 

Who Is Nigar Shaji?

59-year-old Shaji started working with ISRO in 1987. She started her ISRO career at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, located around 140 km from Chennai, in Sriharikota.

In the last 35 years, she’s published papers in system engineering, image compression, and space internetworking, served as the Associate Project Director of Resourcesat-2A, the Indian Remote Sensing Satellite for National Resource Monitoring and Management, and made significant contributions to the Indian Remote Sensing, communication, and interplanetary satellite programs. 

Originally hailing from the Tenkasi district of Tamil Nadu, Shaji attained her graduation degree in electronics and communications from Madurai Kamaraj University. She then went on to attain her master’s degree in electronics from BIT Ranchi, while working at ISRO. Yes, Shaji landed a  job at ISRO right after her graduation - and then continued her post-graduate studies. 

Interestingly, Shaji, who has always been an academic topper, was actually selected for medicine after school. But she chose a career in engineering. And now, with the discoveries that Aditya L-1 may make, she might just engineer a new future - for not just India, but the whole world. 

Shaji has two children, a son, and a daughter. Her husband is an engineer working in a Gulf country. Her son is a scientist working in the Netherlands. She currently stays in Bengaluru with her daughter and mother. 

ISRO Project Director: Salary & Qualifications

To work with ISRO as scientists, individuals need to hold a BE/B.TECH/M.E/M.TECH with I Class degree.

ISRO scientists are assigned various grades, which correspond to their experience and position in the organization. Engineering graduates, like Shaji when she started, usually start at the SC levels before gradually attaining the Scientist/Engineer-SD designation. 

As they garner more experience, they keep ascending through the levels, to ultimately achieve the top-most position, i.e. Outstanding Scientist (recognized for their exceptional qualifications) and Distinguished Scientist (the highest grade attainable within ISRO). 

Know more about the ISRO scientists’ salary and grades here. 

A distinguished scientist draws a monthly salary of INR 75,000 to INR 80,000, excluding benefits like HRA (House Rental Allowance), TA (Travel Allowance), etc. As per several reports, a project director with ISRO draws a monthly salary of anywhere between INR 2-3 lakh. 

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Srishti Magan
Sr. Content Editor

I’m a reader first and a writer second, constantly diving into the world of content. If I’m not writing or reading, I like watching movies and dreaming of a life by the beach.

Updated On: 6 Sep'23, 06:00 PM IST
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