This book discusses the journey of Dr. K Kasturirangan who shares his experience during his
long tenure at ISRO including the Chairmanship of ISRO subsequently membership of the Rajya
Sabha the Planning Commission and many other responsibilities. Over the past five decades of
public and professional service to the nation Dr. Kasturirangan has graduated from a young
researcher in astrophysics working under Vikram Sarabhai to leading India's space program
(ISRO) being entrusted by five successive Prime Ministers besides dealing with several other
domains of responsibilities beyond space all of which have significantly impacted India's
development.This book centers around select 12 public invited lectures Dr. Kasturirangan
delivered ranging from developing hi-tech space systems to managing an organization as
intricate as ISRO which was guided by the wisdom of mentors including Vikram Sarabhai M G K
Menon Satish Dhawan and U. R. Rao to tackling multi-faceted socio-economic issues including
India's nuclear deal report headed by him on the Western Ghats ecosystem and the new National
Education Policy 2020. Scientists historians policy makers management strategists
journalists or anyone with a keen interest in understanding the processes behind such
large-scale science technology and socio-economic endeavors - right from planning creating
appropriate institutional mechanisms working with multiple stakeholders to ensure that these
programs deliver tangible benefits to society articulating these benefits with clarity to
political leaders to assure public support - will find this book deeply instructive and
illuminating. It will be of interest to the scientific education and management community as
well as to policy makers and researchers affiliated with multifaceted developmental issues.
