Indigenously built spacecraft will soon attempt to enter Mars orbit; government mulls Ministry of Planetary Affairs

NEW DELHI: How about a ‘ Ministry of Planetary Affairs’ manned by officers from the ‘ Solar Family Exploration Service’ and departments handling missions to Moon, Mars, Venus and Saturn? This is what a rather imaginative Modi government had come up with to explain a new cadre review policy while an indigenously built Indian spacecraft will soon attempt to enter the orbit around Mars, the Red Planet, after a gruelling 680-million-km journey.

Many ministries have been left foxed as well as amused by a ‘Model Cadre Review Proposal’ circulated to them last week by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), whose charge is with PM Modi himself.

The draft has been made by the DoPT to facilitate the various cadres for the exercise and a 10-page long proforma has been sent across on September 12 on how to prepare the note for the Committee of Secretaries for the cadre review. DoPT has circulated the proposal marked ‘Secret’ for a non-existing and imagined ‘Ministry of Planetary Affairs’.

The note cites a template to say the proposal under consideration is for the review of cadre of the ‘Solar Family Exploration Service’, calling it a Organised Group ‘A’ Service under the Ministry of Planetary Affairs. “The officers of this service are responsible for managing the material supply chains to provide procurement and logistic support for solar missions of Government of India,” the note says.

“Apart from postings in the main ministry, i.e., the Ministry of Planetary Affairs, the officers of the Solar Exploration Service are also posted in the field formations and some other important ministries/departments like PMO, Ministry of Science and Technology and Organisations like ISRO. The field offices are situated at Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata,” the DoPT note mentions.