The Centre has appointed V Narayanan as the new Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Secretary of the Department of Space. Mr Narayanan will assume office on January 14. He will succeed the current ISRO chairman, S Somanath. Mr Narayanan currently serves as the Director of the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC) of the ISRO in Valiamala, Kerala. He is a distinguished scientist with nearly four decades of experience in rocket and spacecraft propulsion. He is a rocket and spacecraft propulsion expert, joined ISRO in 1984, and functioned in various capacities before becoming director of LPSC.