Space sector achieved several big feats in last few years
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday recalled the 1975 ’emergency’ imposed by the former PM Indira Gandhi and asserted that during that period an attempt was made to crush the ‘democracy’.
He also termed ’emergency’ as the ‘dark chapter’ in India’s history.
“In June, 1975, ’emergency’ was imposed in the country. In that, all the rights were taken away from the citizens of the country. One among those rights was the ‘Right to Life and Personal Liberty’ provided to all Indians under Article 21 of the Constitution. At that time an attempt was made to crush the democracy of India,” the PM said in his monthly ‘Mann Ki Baat” address, as he asked the youth in the age group of 24-25 whether they knew that their parents ‘right to life’ was once snatched away from them.
He further said, “During the emergency, the country’s courts, every constitutional institution and press were put under control. The condition of censorship was such that nothing could be printed without approval. I remember when famous singer Kishore Kumar refused to applaud the government, he was banned. His entry on the radio was done away with. ”
Lauding those who resisted the emergency, the PM said it was our democratic mindset that eventually prevailed.
“The people of India got rid of the emergency and re-established democracy in a democratic way. It is difficult to find such an example of defeating a ‘dictatorial mindset’, a dictatorial tendency in a democratic way, in the whole world,” Modi said.
Talking about the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ , the PM said, “Today, when the country is celebrating 75 years of independence as ‘Amrit Mahotsav’, we should never forget that ‘dreadful’ period of emergency. The generations to come should also not forget.”
The ‘Amrit Mahotsav’ not only encompasses the victory saga of freedom from hundreds of years of slavery, but also the journey of 75 years after independence, he added.
Space sector achieved several big feats in last few years
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also said that many big feats related to the space sector have been accomplished in the country in the past few years.
“Today, when our country is touching the sky of success in so many fields, how can the skies or space remain untouched by it. In the past few years, many big feats related to the space sector have been accomplished,” the Prime Minister said.
One of the achievements has been the creation of an agency named the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe), an agency promoting new opportunities in the space sector for the private sector of India, Modi said.
This beginning has especially attracted the youth of the country, he said.
On June 10, the PM had inaugurated the headquarters of IN-SPACe in Gujarat’s Ahmedabad.
“A few days ago, when I had gone to dedicate to the people the headquarters of IN-SPACe, I saw the ideas and enthusiasm of many young start-ups,” he said.
The PM further said, “Till a few years ago, in our country, in the space sector, no one even thought about start-ups. Today, their number is more than a hundred. All these start-ups are working on ideas, which were either not thought about earlier, or were considered impossible for the private sector.”
Citing Chennai and Hyderabad based start-ups – Agnikul and Skyroot, Modi said, ” These start-ups are developing launch vehicles that will take small payloads into space. Through this, the cost of Space launching is estimated to come down significantly. ”
Similarly, Dhruva space, another start-up of Hyderabad, is working on high technology solar panels for satellite deployer and satellites, he added.
Recalling his meeting with Tanveer Ahmed of Digantara, another space start-up which is trying to map waste in space, Modi said he gave him a challenge that they should evolve work technology, which can solve the problem of waste in space.
Both Digantara and Dhruva space are going to make their first launch from ISRO’s launch vehicle on the June 30, he informed.
The PM also said he met Neha, founder of Astrome, a space start-up based in Bangalore, which is also working on an amazing idea.
He further said the space sector was like a secret mission a few years ago, but the country undertook space reforms, and the youth were now launching their own satellites.
