The ISRO chief will have a team of about 3-5 armed commandos with him every time he travels to any part of the country

ISRO chairman and renowned scientist K Sivan has been accorded a security cover of central paramilitary commandos by the Centre, officials said on Friday.

A ‘Y+’ category of CISF cover has been accorded to the chairman who is also designated as the secretary (space) in the Union government, an official said.

The ISRO chief will have a team of about 3-5 armed commandos with him every time he travels to any part of the country, the official said, adding that the team has already taken charge.

The chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is traditionally given this sort of a security cover and hence the same has been extended to Sivan after his appointment to the post in January, the official added.

The security cover of the earlier ISRO chairman AS Kiran Kumar is also in place, the official said.

Sivan was working as the director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre before he was appointed the ISRO chief. He has completed his PhD in Aerospace engineering from IIT, Bombay.

Sivan joined the ISRO in 1982 in PSLV project and has contributed immensely towards end to end mission planning, mission design, mission integration and analysis.

The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) guards 72 VIPs at present, which includes senior functionaries like National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval.