Veteran atomic scientist and former Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission Dr Sekhar Basu passed away amid COVID-19 on Friday at a private hospital in Kolkata.

The 68-year-old was also suffering from kidney ailments.

"Dr Basu was suffering from COVID-19 and other kidney ailments. He died at 4:50 am," the official told Press Trust of India.

The veteran engineer was honoured for his contributions to India’s atomic energy programme. In 2014, he was awarded Padma Shri.

Basu had also founded the highly complex reactor for India's first nuclear-powered submarine INS Arihant. He was conferred with the Indian Nuclear Society Award in 2002 too. He was the brainchild behind the model, creation and operation of nuclear recycle plants in Tarapur and Kalpakkam and also played a major role in the development of the Indian Neutrino Observatory in Tamil Nadu. He had also worked as the project director of the Nuclear Submarine Programme at BARC, before becoming its director in 2012.