President Droupadi Murmu lauded the Indian Space Research Organisation – ISRO’s contributions in taking forward India’s space program to greater heights. In a video message on the occasion of Sardar Patel Memorial Lecture 2024 in Akashvani’s Rang Bhawan, New Delhi, on Saturday President Murmu paid her tributes to Sardar Patel in her message. The President highlighted that Sardar Patel is the architect of modern India through the political integration of various princely states into the nation after independence. The President also mentioned that the Statue of Unity is a befitting tribute to Sardar Patel’s rich legacy.
Delivering the Sardar Patel Memorial Lecture on “Indian Space Odyssey in Search of New Frontiers”, ISRO Chairman, Dr S Somanath said that India aspires to expand its contribution to the global space economy to 10 percent in the next 10 years. He said that currently India’s contribution to the global space economy is just 2 percent and the country wants to expand it.
The ISRO chief emphasized on the need for increased collaboration from more stakeholders engaged in the space sector.
The ISRO Chief said that government has taken several steps to bring reforms in the Space sector. He informed that the Government has launched the Indian Space Policy 2023 and liberalized FDI for the space sector. He said at present, there are over 200 startups in the space sector whereas it was only one startup in 2014.
Talking about the progress of indigenization of the space sector, Dr Somnath said that India is working towards reducing its import dependency.
Speaking about India’s upcoming space missions, Dr Somanath said that ISRO is planning to launch its first uncrewed mission, Gaganyan, in the coming years. He said India will test its home grown electric thrusters to steer satellites to its desired orbit.
Speaking on the occasion, Prasar Bharati Chairman Navneet Sehgal said that achievements like Chandrayaan give the nation confidence and make the countrymen proud.
Prasar Bharati CEO, Gaurav Dwivedi and Director General of Akashvani, Dr Pragya Paliwal Gaur were also present at the event.
The Sardar Patel Memorial Lecture is organized by Akashvani in memory of Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, a great visionarywho had National cohesion uppermost in his mind. It has been an honored tradition since 1955 and eminent personalities like C. Rajgopalachari, Dr. Zakir Hussain, Morarji Desai, Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam, Jayant Narlikar, M.S. Swaminathan, Arun Jaitley, Ajit Doval and S. Jaishankar are among those who have delivered this prestigious memorial lecture in the past on wide-ranging subjects on India and its socio-economic strides. The recording of the lecture will be broadcast across the entire network of Akashvani at the end of this month, on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel, now known as National Unity Day.
