The AP government has appointed four prominent people in various fields as honorary advisors. They are Bharat Biotech MD Suchitra Ella, former DRDO Chief G Sateesh Reddy, Forensic expert KPC Gandhi and ISRO scientist SP Somnath. Chief Secretary Vijayanand has issued orders appointing them as advisors.
Suchitra Ella was appointed as an honorary advisor for the development of handlooms and handicrafts. The order states that Suchitra Ella will hold this post for a period of two years with cabinet rank. The government has decided to take advice from her for the development of handlooms and handicrafts.
Satheesh Reddy has been appointed as the honorary advisor to the Aerospace and Defense Manufacturing Hub. He will continue in this post for two years with cabinet rank. Satish Reddy is currently an advisor to the Union Ministry of Defense.
The state government has asked him to give advice on the establishment of defense sector industries. The government has asked Satish Reddy to provide advice and suggestions on setting up industries in industrial corridors, clusters, testing facilities, AI, robotics, cyber security, and deep tech. He will also provide advice on providing skill training to the youth.
KPC Gandhi has been appointed as the honorary advisor of the AP Forensic Science Lab with a cabinet rank for two years. Sridhar Panikkar Somnath has been appointed as the honorary advisor of AP Space Technology. He is currently working at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Center.
The government has asked him to provide advice on administrative affairs, industries, and research. Similarly, the government has asked Somnath to provide technical advice on smart cities, disaster management, satellites, remote sensing, and communication technology.
It said that advice and suggestions should be given to AP universities in geographic information systems, satellite navigation, artificial space analytics, public-private partnership in space applications, and space technology. It sought advice on the use of space technology in agriculture, urban planning in disasters, and climate change.