Ritu Karidhal is a senior scientist in the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and has played a key role in realizing the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), the first mission to reach Mars in its first attempt.

She is also the Mission Director of Chandrayaan-2 and an integral part of the Chandrayan-3 team. She did an M. Sc. in Physics from Lucknow University and then an M. Tech from the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore.

She joined the ISRO in 1997 and has worked and managed many prestigious mission-critical ISRO programs since then. As the Deputy Operations Director for MOM, she was responsible for executing the critical operations of Leaving Earth and Capturing Mars, which were realized flawlessly, along with her team.

Further, as the Mission Director of Chandrayaan-2, she was responsible for executing the entire mission operations from liftoff to reaching the Moon. She has also been an integral part of the Chandrayaan-3 Mission in finalizing its Mission Configuration.

Mrs Ritu Karidhal has published 25+ research papers in International and National Publications. She is a Corresponding Member of the International Academy of Astronautics.

She has been the recipient of many awards including

• The Young Scientist Award in 2007 by Dr. Abdul Kalam, the then President of India
• The Lakshmipati Singhania Young Leader Award” in Science and Technology by the Hon’ble President of India Smt. Draupadi Murmu in 2023
• ISRO Team Award for MOM in 2015
• ASI Team Award
• Women Achievers in Aerospace, 2017 by SIATI (Society of Indian Aerospace Technologies & Industries (SIATI)
• The Baroda Sun Achievement Award by the Bank of Baroda.
• Member of the Gender Equality Advisory Council of G7 under the UK Presidency during 2021
• Honorary Doctorate from U.P Governor Mrs Anandiben Patel at Lucknow University Lucknow
• An IISC Alumnus Award 2019 at Bangalore

support.

Through the KKS website, Mr. Ramesh Chandra Srivastava becomes the first member to join the KKS. Mr. Ramesh Chandra Srivastava, who belongs to Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, worked in SBI for nearly 40 years in UP, Maharashtra, and Karnataka and retired as General Manager. Post-retirement, he decided to settle down in Bangalore with his son who also works for SBI, and was looking for a Kayastha community to get associated with. He knew a few Kayastha families in Bangalore but they were also unrelated to any Kayastha community group. His wife encouraged him to browse the Internet /Google to find out about any Kayastha community association/society in Bangalore to join them and contribute to the betterment of his community. While browsing, he came across the website of KKS (Karnataka Kayastha Samaj) which contains all the details on how to become a member of KK Samaj online. We downloaded the application form and paid the membership fees online through the KKS website and thus became a life member of KKS on 12th March 2023. The KKS website has a lot of information about the various initiatives in progress, history, life members, membership forms and payment options, scholarships, charity and social events, office bearers, event photos, etc. He wholeheartedly appreciates the team working on the website to make it information-rich and user-friendly. He conveys his best wishes to all his fellow members in KKS and the office bearers for doing a wonderful job wonderfully. He is committed to continuing with KKS with his full support.

UPCOMING EVENTS