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Eminent nuclear scientist and former Atomic Energy Commission chairman Dr Rajagopala Chidambaram, has been appointed as the new Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India, after Dr A P J Kalam stepped down on Friday.
Chidambaram, who played a leading role in Pokhran II in 1998, received the appointment letter from the Prime Minister's Office on Friday evening, Department of Atomic Energy sources said on Saturday.
On his appointment as principal scientific advisor, Chidambaram said, "I am happy to take over the post from my illustrious colleague and close friend Kalam."
A distinguished experimental physicist, Chidambaram also played a leading role in the design and execution of the peaceful nuclear explosion at Pokhran in 1974.
A fellow of the Third World Academy of Sciences, Trieste (Italy), Chidambaram is currently DAE Homi Bhabha chair professor at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, and has recently taken over the chairmanship of the council and governing body of Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council.
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