Pradeep Kurulkar Age, Wife, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Full name	Pradeep M. Kurulkar
Profession(s)	Engineer, Scientist
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 173 cm in meters- 1.73 m in feet & inches- 5’ 8”
Eye Colour	Dark Brown
Hair Colour	Salt and Pepper
DRDO
Service Years	1988 - till his arrest in May 2023
Grade	H Grade
Awards, Honours, Achievements	• Science Day Award (2000) • DRDO Agni Award for Excellence in Self-Reliance for his role in the development of the Agni missile (2002) • DRDO Award for Path-breaking Research/Outstanding Technology Development for his role in the development of the Akash missile (2008) • DRDO Award for Performance Excellence for his role in the development of MRSAM (2016) • Award for Excellence of Technology from DEMA (2016) • Institution of Engineers (India) fellow • D.Litt degree from Ajeenkya DY Patil University (ADYPU) (January 2023)
Personal Life
Date of Birth	19 November 1963 (Tuesday)
Age (as of 2022)	59 Years
Birthplace	Pune, Maharashtra, India
Zodiac sign	Scorpio
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Pune, Maharashtra
College/University	• College Of Engineering Pune (COEP) Technological University, Pune (1981-1985) • Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
Educational Qualification(s)	• B.Tech (Electrical Engineering) from College Of Engineering Pune Technological University • Advanced Power Electronics Coursework degree from IIT Kanpur with specialisation in drives and applications. [1]LinkedIn [2]DRDO Note: He passed his B.Tech with distinction.
Controversy	Leaking vital defence information After a senior official of the Vigilance and Security Department of DRDO complained against Pradeep, the ATS of the Maharashtra Police registered a case against Kurulkar and arrested him on 3 May 2023 under the Official Secret Act of 1923. According to the ATS, Pradeep came into contact with a Pakistani woman, an agent of the Pakistani intelligence unit PIO, via social media in early 2022. Later, he started conversing with the woman through WhatsApp messages and video calls. The ATS revealed that the woman forced Pradeep to divulge crucial information on Indian military hardware by threatening him of leaking his private text messages and photos to the public. [3]ABP An official of the ATS, in an interview, said, "While carrying out his official duties, was found to have had contact with the operatives of Pakistan`s Intelligence Agency (PIO) through WhatsApp messages and voice and video calls. Despite holding a responsible position, the DRDO official has misused his post thereby compromising sensitive government secrets, which could pose a threat to India`s security if it falls into the hands of any of the enemy nation. Despite knowing that the official secrets in his possession, if obtained by the enemy country, can pose a threat to the security of the country, provided the details to the enemy country. A case has been filed against the accused under the relevant sections of the Official Secrets Act (OSA) by the Kalachowki unit of the ATS in Mumbai. Further investigation is on." The ATS thereafter took his electronic devices into custody to conduct a thorough investigation to find out how much of the information was leaked to the Pakistani establishment by Pradeep through his chats.
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Married
Family
Wife/Spouse	Bharati Kurulkar (doctor) Note: Wife's image in Children's section.
Children	Son- Keyur Kurulkar (engineer, musician)
Parents	Names not known
Money Factor
Salary (as an H Grade Scientist)	According to the 7th Pay Commission, he earned Rs. 1,82,200 + other allowances. [4]DRDO

Some Lesser Known Facts About Pradeep Kurulkar

• Pradeep Kurulkar is an Indian engineer and a DRDO scientist. He was affiliated with DRDO in many military-based research and development projects. He hit the headlines in May 2023 after the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of Maharashtra Police took him into custody for providing top-secret information to the agents of Pakistan.

• Pradeep was born into a Marathi Hindu Family in Maharashtra.

• He joined the Combat Vehicles Research & Development Establishment (CVRDE), a Pune-based research facility of the DRDO, in 1988. At CVRDE, Pradeep gained expertise in designing and developing Missile Launchers, Military Engineering Equipment, Advanced Robotics, and Mobile Unmanned Systems for Military Applications.

• Thereafter, he was appointed as the project leader and system manager of the DRDO’s Akash Surface to Air Missile project.
  

  A photo of Akash Surface to Air Missile firing

• He later worked with the renowned missile scientist Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam in designing the rail and road-based versions of the Agni Inter Continental Ballistic Missile.

• Pradeep has held the position of team leader and lead designer in the design and development of DRDO’s missile systems such as Programme AD, Medium Range Surface to Air Missiles (MRSAM), Nirbhay Subsonic Cruise Missile System, Prahar Missile, Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile (QRSAM), XRSAM (eXtra-long Range Surface to Air Missile), Hyperbaric Chamber and Mobile Power Supply, and High-Pressure Pneumatic Systems.
  

  A photo of Nirbhay missile

• Later, he was promoted and sent to the Pune-based Research & Development Establishment (Engrs.) as an ‘F’ grade scientist.

• He was one of the lead designers of India’s first Anti-Sattelite Ballistic Missile, Shakti, which was successfully tested on 27 March 2019.

• Following the testing of the Shakti missile, he assumed the post of director of Research & Development Establishment (Engrs.).

• The R&DE, under his command, undertook numerous research and development tasks and developed technologies such as High Performance High Power Servo Drive Technology, Platform Stabilization Technology, AFPM based Alternator Technology, VSCF based Power Source Technology, Electric Propulsion Technology, Missile Canister Technology, Autonomous Navigation Technology for small UGVs, Intelligent Robotic Manipulators for hazardous military applications, and Linear Electric Motor Technology.

• His written research articles have been featured in many national and international scientific journals. Some of his works include Hall sensor fault detection and fault tolerant control of PMSM drive system (July 2015), Implementation issues of sliding mode observer for sensorless field oriented control of PMSM using TMS320F2812 (June 2016), Power supply systems for defence applications a review part-I: Gensets (December 2017), and Power supply systems for defence applications a review part: II power conditioner system (December 2017).

• Pradeep was taken into custody by the ATS in May 2023, i.e., six months before his retirement.

• For his feats in the field of scientific research, Pradeep has not only received memberships from the Fluid Power Society of India (FPSI) and The Robotics Society of India but has also received lifetime memberships from the Indian National Society for Aerospace and Related Mechanisms (INSARM) and the Institute of Smart Structures and Systems (ISSS).

• Pradeep has shared his experiences through many talk shows on different occasions.
  

  A photo of Pradeep Kurulkar taken while he was giving a motivational speech