Ideas Of India Summit 2024: On the first day of 'Ideas Of India Summit 3.0', the third edition of ABP Network's flagship event, three stellar Indian women who are making the country proud through their contributions to the disciplines of space, astronomy, physics, and astrophysics gave their insights into how women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) are 'working in the trenches' and 'reaching for the stars'. Two of them are from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), and one is associated with the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA).
These women, who spoke at the session titled ‘Women In STEM’, were: Nandini Harinath, Deputy Director, Spacecraft Operations Area, ISRO Telemetry, Tracking, and Command Network (ISTRAC), Bengaluru; Dr Nigar Shaji, Project Director, Aditya-L1 mission, ISRO; and Professor (Dr) Annapurni Subramaniam, Director, IIA, Bengaluru.
Indian journalist Shaili Chopra was the anchor for the session.
Here are some of the key takeaways from what the STEM stalwarts said.
You have to find and convince yourself what you want to achieve: Annapurni Subramaniam
Subramaniam said that one needs to convince themselves what they think is achievable, and also identify what they want to do and not.
"You have to find and convince yourself what you want to achieve," Subramaniam said.
She also said that one cannot do everything everyday. "Sometimes, work overtakes family, and sometimes, family overtakes work."
According to Subramaniam, the support system was not geared up at her time, but her parents and husband have always been supportive. "My husband had to manage everything at home".
She said that she has a framework at home that everyone has to make their own breakfast. "My children exactly know how to survive."
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Women have earned the tag of being reliable and dependable: Nandini Harinath
Harinath said that her grandparents ensured that all their children were well-educated. She was born to working parents.
"My parents, especially my father, would analyse and explain to us physics, global politics, economics and sports in a very concise way. Parents are the beacon of inspiration and I hope to do the same for my children too," Harinath said.
She also said that juggling family and work is like "walking a tightrope", but the mantra is "teamwork". But in her family, everyone pitches in, she said. "Women should not shy away from taking support from their family and society because it is definitely not possible to do everything alone."
According to Harinath, it is ironic that today, women have earned the tag of being reliable and dependable, unlike earlier times. "We need to change the mindset of people".
She said that she loves to have her "me time", even if it means having a cup of coffee alone. "Everybody has to find their own me time, and that is a part of having good health. Good health and good personality are interconnected."
The idea of India should be to lead to the space sector: Nigar Shaji
Shaji, who is also known as the 'Sunny Woman of India' as she led the Aditya-L1 mission, said that she always liked to do what others were not doing.
Shaji pursued engineering despite the fact that her parents were sceptical. She said that she wanted to do mechanical engineering, but at that time, there were not many women in that branch.
As a result, she did not get the opportunity, and had to choose electronics instead. But this is not the case with ISRO, she said.
"In ISRO, there is no gender parity. ISRO gives you opportunities," Shaji said.
According to Shaji, it is important to ensure that one does not feel guilty that they did not balance their work and life.
"Without a wall, you cannot draw a picture. Every day, I allot half-an-hour for walking. In my free time, I go trekking. I love doing household work. I do not do anything exclusive for my mental health, but I keep a positive attitude," Shaji said.
Explaining the importance of the Aditya-L1 mission, Shaji said that one should understand geomagnetic storms in detail, and also about solar storms and flares because they can affect the spacecraft in orbit. "Space weather is not very predictable. It is important to understand space assets."
She explained that another important goal of the Aditya-L1 mission was to keep India at par with the world in the space sector. "Aditya-L1 helped us in gaining respect in the world."
According to Shaji, it should be the idea of India to lead the space sector.
She also said that the implicit gender bias in society must be removed.
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In the next 10 years, India will have its own LIGO: Subramaniam
Explaining India's contribution to astronomy, Subramaniam said that India has made progress with night-time astronomical observations. "India is being looked up as a resource as well as a support for future astronomy missions, be it ground-based or space-based."
She said that in the next 10 years, India will have its own Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO).
It is time to think about living on other planets: Harinath
Explaining the importance of the private sector in space, Harinath said, "If we have to establish ourselves as the leader in space, we need to have advanced satellites. These satellites should directly impact society and change the way we live. I think it will become a lot easier with so many private players being involved."
She said that it is time to think about living on other planets.
Harinath said that it is important to celebrate women more. "Visibility is important. Celebrating success means to let the world know that women are doing a lot. More needs to be done at the grassroot level to get more girls to study."
Subramaniam said that many of her students find it difficult to strike a balance between family and work. "We are losing resources here. That should not happen. We need to address that to bring more women up-front."
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More about the speakers at Ideas of India’s ‘Women In STEM’ session
Harinath is the mission systems lead for NISAR (NASA ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar) and RISAT-2A (Radar Imaging Satellite-2A), a radar imaging satellite that will perform disaster management and weather monitoring operations by taking images of the Earth. It will also be used for military surveillance.
She was the deputy operations director for Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) and the mission director for RISAT-2B, a radar imaging Earth observation satellite that provided services in the fields of agriculture, forestry, and disaster management.
She will also be the mission director for the ResourceSat-2A mission, which will provide remote sensing services.
Harinath is the recipient of several awards such as the Astronomical Society of India Team Award for Mars Orbiter Mission 2014, and ISRO's Team Excellence Award for Satellite Recovery Experiment for RISAT-1.
Shaji is an Indian aerospace engineer at ISRO. In 1987, she joined ISRO's U R Rao Satellite Centre. She is the study director for Shukrayaan-1, India's first mission to Venus. She will also serve as the Associate Project Director for ResourceSat-2A.
Subramaniam is an Indian astronomer whose areas of research include star clusters, star formation, galactic structures, magellanic clouds, and stellar populations. She is also a member of the International Astronomical Union.
About Ideas Of India 3.0
Ideas Of India 3.0 is being held on February 23 and 24, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Mumbai. Over 50 dignitaries from different disciplines will speak about affairs concerning India during 19 sessions spread over the two days.
The theme for 'Ideas of India 3.0' is 'The People's Agenda'.
Watch the livestream of Ideas of India 3.0 on Metaverse.