'One Has To Persevere': Scientist Behind India's Indigenous Aircraft Landing System Shares Her Journey At News18 Amrit Ratna
'One Has To Persevere': Scientist Behind India's Indigenous Aircraft Landing System Shares Her Journey At News18 Amrit Ratna Published By, Last Updated: June 17, 2026
'One Has To Persevere': Scientist Behind India's Indigenous Aircraft Landing System Shares Her Journey At News18 Amrit Ratna Published By, Last Updated: June 17, 2026, 21:22 IST Dr Shubha V. Iyengar, Padma Shri, received the Amrit Ratna for leading development of Drishti, an indigenous runway visibility and landing system used at over 100 Indian airports Shubha V Iyengar, Padma Shri, gets felicitated with the Amrit Ratna at News18 event. (Image Courtesy: News18/File) Veteran aerospace scientist Dr Shubha V. Iyengar, Padma Shri, was honoured with Amrit Ratna at an event by News18 Amrit Ratna, for developing Drishti, India’s indigenous runway visibility and aircraft landing guidance system, which is now operational at more than 100 airports and Indian Air Force bases across the country. From First Rank To CSIR Fellowship Iyengar, who was born in Bengaluru, secured first rank in her MSc physics examination in 1974 and received a Government of India merit scholarship. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research subsequently awarded her a Junior Scientific Fellowship, bypassing the standard written examination and interview process entirely on the strength of her academic record.
“The choice was whether I can work in any CSIR lab or Indian Institute of Science," she said during an on-stage conversation at the event, recalling the fork in the road that set her career in aerospace research. She joined the CSIR- Aerospace Laboratories and spent the next four decades working on aviation technologies. Describing her early research years, she noted that scientific publication in the 1980s happened without internet access or the communication tools that are now standard in laboratory work. “My three papers that I published way back in 1986 had no Internet and other things. But it was recorded in NASA as a report with our names, which was very surprising to me," Iyengar said. What Drishti Does, & Why India Needed It The bulk of the event’s discussion centred on Drishti, the landing guidance and runway visibility system Iyengar led to completion at CSIR-NAL. Before Drishti, India imported equivalent systems from Finland and Australia, according to the event moderator.
The system allows aircraft to land in weather conditions that would otherwise ground flights, including dense fog, seasonal smog, rain and dust storms. Its deployment now covers both civil aviation operations and military aviation across Indian Air Force bases. As Kishore Ajwani put it whilst moderating the event: “Every time a plane takes off and a plane lands, remember this is Dr Shubha Iyengar’s contribution to the nation." On Ethics, Moral Values & Integrity Iyengar also offered a personal reframing of a phrase familiar to most Indians from home loan paperwork. “In banking terms, EMI is Equated Monthly Instalments – when you take a loan. But in our life what we have to do is EMI, Every Moment Implementation of Ethics, Moral Values and Integrity is what I teach all the people," she said, as she accepted the Amrit Ratna honour to applause from the audience. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit About the Author Anoshito Banerjee Anoshito Banerjee is a digital journalist at CNN-News18, specialising in Indian foreign policy, global diplomacy, South and West Asian geopolitics, and strategic affairs.
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