Sekhar Basu

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Dr. Sekhar Basu

| image = Sekhar Basu.jpg

| alt = Sekhar Basu

| caption =

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1952|09|20}}

| birth_place = Muzaffarpur, Bihar, India

| death_date = {{death date and age|2020|9|24|1952|9|20|df=yes}}

| death_place = Kolkata, West Bengal, India

| residence = Mumbai, India

| nationality = Indian

| alma_mater = Ballygunge Government High School
Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute, Mumbai

BARC Training School

| other_names =

| office = Chairman Atomic Energy Commission

and

Secretary Department of Atomic Energy

| termstart = 23 October 2015

| term_end = 17 September 2018

| office1 = Director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre

| term_start1 = 19 June 2012

| term_end1 = 23 February 2016

| profession = Nuclear scientist

| awards = Padma Shri (2014)
Indian Nuclear Society (INS) Award (2002)
Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) Award (2006 and 2007)

| predecessor = Dr. Ratan Kumar Sinha

| successor = Shri Kamlesh Nilkanth Vyas

}}

Dr. Sekhar Basu (20 September 1952 – 24 September 2020) was an Indian nuclear scientist who served as the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).{{Cite web|title=Dr Sekhar Basu takes charge as Chairman, AEC and Secretary, DAE|url=http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=129924|access-date=7 July 2017|website=pib.nic.in}} He also served as the Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), the Project Director of Nuclear Submarine Program, and later as the Chief Executive of the Nuclear Recycle Board at Bhabha Atomic Research Center.{{cite web|author=Bhabha Atomic Research Centre|date=23 February 2016|title=Dr. Sekhar Basu|url=http://www.barc.gov.in/leaders/sbasu.html|access-date=23 December 2018|archive-date=22 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181222103747/http://www.barc.gov.in/leaders/sbasu.html|url-status=dead}} He was a recipient of India's fourth highest civilian honor Padma Shri in 2014.{{Cite web|date=25 September 2020|title=Nuclear scientist Sekhar Basu succumbs to Covid|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/nuclear-scientist-sekhar-basu-succumbs-to-covid-6609781/|access-date=25 September 2020|website=The Indian Express|language=en}}

He is credited for his efforts in building the nuclear reactor for India's first nuclear powered submarine INS Arihant, nuclear waste recycling plants in Tarapur and Kalpakkam, and the Indian Neutrino Observatory in Theni, Tamil Nadu.

Education and career

Basu was born on 20 September 1952 in Muzaffarpur, in the Indian state of Bihar.{{cite web|author=Press Information Bureau | date=23 October 2015 |url=http://pibphoto.nic.in/documents/rlink/2015/oct/p2015102302.pdf |title=Sekhar Basu Writeup - Press Information Bureau |publisher=Press Information Bureau |access-date=9 August 2017}}{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/calcutta/scientist-sekhar-basu-passes-on/cid/1792950 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925084853/https://www.telegraphindia.com/west-bengal/calcutta/scientist-sekhar-basu-passes-on/cid/1792950 |title=Scientist Sekhar Basu is no more |publisher=The Telegraph Online |date=25 September 2020 |archive-date=25 September 2020}} He attended Ballygunge Government High School, Kolkata, and graduated in mechanical engineering from Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute, University of Mumbai in 1974.{{Cite web|url=http://www.barc.gov.in/publications/nl/2014/2014030412.pdf|title=Padma Shri Award for Shri Sekhar Basu, Director, BARC|website=BARC|access-date=9 August 2017|archive-date=12 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712215903/http://www.barc.gov.in/publications/nl/2014/2014030412.pdf|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|title=Padma Shri Award for Shri Sekhar Basu, Director, BARCBARC|url=http://www.barc.gov.in/publications/nl/2014/2014030412.pdf|access-date=9 August 2017|archive-date=12 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712215903/http://www.barc.gov.in/publications/nl/2014/2014030412.pdf|url-status=dead}}

After completion of a year at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre's training school, he joined the Reactor Engineering Division in the same institute in 1975. He went on to work as a project director of the Nuclear Submarine program and as the chief executive of the Nuclear Recycle Board at BARC India.

He further went on to become the Director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in 2012 and was appointed the chairman of the Indian Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) in 2015, and served in this position through September 2018.

Projects

= Nuclear recycle plants =

In his role as the Chief Executive of the Nuclear Recycle Board, at BARC, Basu's research spanned design, development, and operation of nuclear reprocessing and nuclear waste management. He was involved in the design and building of reprocessing plants, fuel storage facilities, and nuclear waste treatment facilities at Trombay, Maharashtra, Tarapur, Maharashtra, and Kalpakkam, Tamil Nadu.{{Cite news|date=28 October 2012|title='Our policy is to reprocess all the fuel put into a nuclear reactor'|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/interview/our-policy-is-to-reprocess-all-the-fuel-put-into-a-nuclear-reactor/article4041223.ece|access-date=25 September 2020|issn=0971-751X}}

= Nuclear power deployment =

File:PHWR under Construction at Kakrapar Gujarat India.jpg

As the secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) between 2015 and 2018, Basu supported initiatives to accelerate the pace of nuclear power deployment in India. In May 2017, the Government of India gave its approval to DAE's plan for construction of 10 pressurized heavy-water reactors (PHWRs) and two pressurized water reactors (PWRs).{{Cite web|url=http://dae.nic.in/?q=node/974|title=Government Approves Mega-Project for 10 Indigenous Reactors {{!}} Department of Atomic Energy|website=dae.nic.in|access-date=9 August 2017}} In this period, the DAE took pm simultaneous construction of 21 reactors, with the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam being in advanced stages of commissioning.{{Cite web|title=PIB's Press Release on Cabinet's decision to transform domestic nuclear industry {{!}} Department of Atomic Energy|url=http://dae.nic.in/?q=node/973|access-date=9 August 2017|website=dae.nic.in}} In this period, DAE also initiated actions for increased uranium exploration and mining in India.{{Cite web|title=BHAVINI :: Welcomes You|url=http://www.bhavini.nic.in/Userpages/ViewProject.aspx|access-date=9 August 2017|website=www.bhavini.nic.in|archive-date=9 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809171846/http://www.bhavini.nic.in/Userpages/ViewProject.aspx|url-status=dead}}

He also oversaw the launch of various projects at the Department of Atomic Energy, including the commercial power production of the second 1000MWe nuclear reactor at Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant, and construction of two further nuclear power plants, KKNPP Units 3 and 4, of the same capacity, starting in June 2017.{{Cite web|url=http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=155689|title=Year End review: Department of Atomic Energy|website=pib.nic.in|access-date=9 August 2017}}{{Cite web|title=PIB - DEPARTMENT OF ATOMIC ENERGY|url=http://pib.nic.in/ndagov/Comprehensive-Materials/compr45.pdf|access-date=9 August 2017}}

= Fundamental science projects =

File:Sekhar Basu and CERN Director-General Dr. Fabiola Gianotti signed agreement for India to be an Associate Member of CERN. November 2016.jpg (CERN)]]

His fundamental science research and partnerships spanned Superconducting Accelerators, Laser Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory (LIGO), International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER), and the India-based Neutrino Observatory.

In his role as the Secretary of the Department of Atomic Energy, he signed a Memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the National Science Foundation in 2016, to establish an advanced Gravitational wave detector in India. When completed, the Indian Initiative in Gravitational-wave Observations or INDIGO will be the fifth large scale gravitational wave detector in the world, and the third LIGO detector in the world after LIGO US, and VIRGO gravitational wave detector in Italy.{{Cite web|title=LIGO India MOU signed|url=https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/LA/news/ligo20160404|access-date=25 September 2020|website=LIGO {{!}} Livingston}}{{Cite news|agency=Press Trust of India|date=30 March 2016|title=India-US to sign MoU for building LIGO project|work=Business Standard India|url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/india-us-to-sign-mou-for-building-ligo-project-116033001245_1.html|access-date=25 September 2020}} A site near Aundha Nagnath in the Hingoli District, Maharashtra has been selected, with a predicted date of commission in 2024.{{cite news|date=8 September 2016|title=First LIGO Lab Outside US To Come Up In Maharashtra's Hingoli|journal=NDTV|url=http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/first-ligo-lab-outside-us-to-come-up-in-maharashtras-hingoli-1456355}}{{Cite journal|last=Mann|first=Adam|date=4 March 2020|title=The golden age of neutron-star physics has arrived|journal=Nature|language=en|volume=579|issue=7797|pages=20–22|doi=10.1038/d41586-020-00590-8|pmid=32132697|bibcode=2020Natur.579...20M |doi-access=free}}

In November 2016, during his tenure at the DAE, he signed an agreement for India to be an associate member of the European Organization for Nuclear Research ([https://home.cern/ CERN]). The agreement would allow Indian companies to bid for engineering contracts at the CERN, and would also allow for Indian engineers to participate in projects at the CERN.{{Cite news|date=23 November 2016|title=India joins CERN as an associate member|language=en-IN|work=The Hindu|url=https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/India-joins-CERN-as-an-associate-member/article16685867.ece|access-date=26 September 2020|issn=0971-751X}}{{Cite web|title=India to become Associate Member State of CERN|url=https://home.cern/news/press-release/cern/india-become-associate-member-state-cern|access-date=26 September 2020|website=CERN|language=en}}

He also signed a MoU in April 2018, with the then US energy secretary Rick Perry to expand collaboration between India and the US in neutrino research paving the way for collaboration between the Long Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF), Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) in the US, and the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) in Theni, India. The MoU built on the previous agreement between the two countries to collaborate on the manufacture of particle accelerator components.{{Cite web|date=1 June 2018|title=US and India team up on neutrino physics|url=https://cerncourier.com/a/us-and-india-team-up-on-neutrino-physics/|access-date=26 September 2020|website=CERN Courier|language=en-GB}}

= Healthcare and societal outreach =

During his time at the DAE, the agency drove initiatives to develop radiotherapy equipment and low cost radiotherapy treatment for developing countries. Bhabhatron, a low cost radiotherapy machine and a digital simulator was shared with Tanzania, Kenya, and Mongolia. Efforts were also undertaken for the development of indigenous cancer care drugs.{{Cite news|agency=Press Trust of India|date=17 May 2015|title=Modi hands over Bhabhatron to Mongolia for cancer treatment|work=Business Standard India|url=https://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/modi-hands-over-bhabhatron-to-mongolia-for-cancer-treatment-115051700356_1.html|access-date=25 September 2020}}{{Cite web|date=28 September 2016|title=Statement by Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission|url=https://www.iaea.org/sites/default/files/16/09/india2016.pdf}}

In this period, he also coordinated with the Government of India's Startup India Skill India program, to provide spin-off technologies available for entrepreneurs to use.{{Cite web|title=DAE condoles the sudden demise of Dr Sekhar Basu at Calcutta in the early hours of 24.9.20|url=http://pib.gov.in/Pressreleaseshare.aspx?PRID=1658759|access-date=25 September 2020|website=pib.gov.in}}

Awards and honours

Indian Nuclear Society Award (2002)
DAE Awards (2006 and 2007){{Cite web|title=Dr. Sekhar Basu, Director, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre|url=http://www.barc.gov.in/leaders/sbasu.html|access-date=25 September 2020|website=www.barc.gov.in|archive-date=22 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181222103747/http://www.barc.gov.in/leaders/sbasu.html|url-status=dead}}
Padma Shri, Government of India (2014)

He was also a Fellow of the Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE) and the Indian Society for Non-Destructive Testing (ISNT).

Death

Basu died from COVID-19 in Kolkata on 24 September 2020, four days after his 68th birthday, during the COVID-19 pandemic in India. He was also suffering from kidney ailments at the time of his death.{{cite web | title=Nuclear scientist Sekhar Basu dies of Covid-19 - India News | website=The Times of India | date=24 September 2020 | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/nuclear-scientist-sekhar-basu-dies-of-covid-19/articleshow/78291571.cms | access-date=24 September 2020}}