Hyderabad :

A woman defence scientist, having roots in Nellore district, has now become an inspiration for many women aspiring to work with the country’s defence establishments.

J Manjula, director of Defence Avionics Research Establishment (DARE), was on Thursday posted as the director general, Electronic and Communication Systems (ECS), at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).This elevation makes her one of the top seven defence scientists in the country who report to the overall head S Christopher. It was only last year that Manjula was posted as director of DARE.

In fact, this is the second time in the span of a few months that Nellore district has seen one of its own being elevated to a position of eminence.

Before 53-year-old Manjula, it was Dr G Satheesh Reddy who made the district proud by being appointed as the scientific advisor to Raksha Mantri. He heads the Research Centre Imarat in Hyderabad.

Manjula’s appointed as DG has brought much cheer, especially among fellow women scientists. The “missile woman of India”, Tessy Thomas, was one of the first to congratulate Manjula. “It really is a great thing that Manjula has got to the top position. It was her sincerity and dedication to her work that led her to where she is now,” Tessy Thomas, director of Advanced System Laboratory , DRDO in Hyderabad told TOI. Manjula had worked at the Defence Electronics Research Laboratory in Hyderabad for more than 25 years in the field of electronic integrated warfare.”We are already seeing a lot of enthusiasm from college students towards science. We expect more would be interested in getting into defence research,” Tessy Thomas, who was the project director for Agni IV , said.

Manjula, a school principal’s daughter, was born in Nellore and did her schooling there. Later, she pursued her higher education in Osmania University in electronics and communication engineering. She worked with the Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) in Hyderabad before joining DRDO in 1987.

“She has been busy in meetings all through the day . She works till late in the night. Today she took over as the DG and after that was engaged in a video-conference,” an official at Manjula’s office in Bangalore said. Attempts to speak to her did not yield results as Manjula was said to be `extremely busy’ because of her new assignment.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> Hyderabad / TNN / September 11th, 2015