ISRO Chairman Dr V Narayanan said that 10 satellites are continuously working for a
strategic purpose to ensure the safety and security of the country’s citizens. Speaking at the convoca-
tion ceremony of the Central Agricultural University in Manipur’s Imphal on Sunday, he said India is becoming a “vibrant space power” and
will have its first space station by 2040.
“Today, 433 satellites of 34 countries are lifted from India and placed into orbit…I am also happy to inform you that today, 10 satellites are continu-
ously working 24/7 for a strategic purpose to ensure the safety and security of the citizens of the country,” the ISRO chief said during the
programme. His comment came amid the military conflict between India and Pakistan. The country launched Operation Sindoor on early May 7 to destroy terror infra structure in Pakistan and Pak-
istan-occupied-Kashmir in retaliation to the Pahalgam terror attack last month.Narayanan said, “If we have to ensure the safety of our country, we have to serve through our satellites. We have to monitor our 7,000 km-long seashore. We have to monitor the entire northern part continuously. Without satellite and drone technology, we can’t
achieve that.”He said the Indian Space Research
Organisation (ISRO) is developing a satellite for G20 countries to study climate change and air pollution and monitor weather.”Today, to our credit, we have developed a generation of launch vehicles. We had our first satellite in 1975. From there, till today we have conceived and built 131 satellites of various types and capabilities,” he said.
India and the US would jointly build an expensive and advanced earth-imaging satellite, which will be launched from the country, he said.
“When the country attained Independence
in 1947, 97.5 per cent of the population were
below the poverty line, and the average life
expectancy of Indians was just 32 years. Today,
it has gone up to an average of 72 years. There
has been growth in every field,” he said.
The ISRO chairman also said the country
did not have any space programme in 1947,
and the entire space initiative began in 1962.
Narayanan recalled, “1969 was a historic
year as the Indian Space Research
Organisation was formed in that year. We
were 70 years behind advanced countries
when we started our space programme…We
didn’t have any satellite technology.” credit-FPJ
