Sriharikota: A nation’s development is a product of its technological prowess, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Sunday after the launch of ISRO’s 100th mission.
“Questions are sometimes asked about whether a poor country like India can afford a space programme and whether the funds spent on space exploration, albeit modest, could be better utilised elsewhere.
“This misses the point that a nation’s state of development is finally a product of its technological prowess,” Manmohan Singh said after Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched an Indian rocket carrying French and Japanese satellites.
Prime Minister at Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle site in Sriharikota. Image from PMO’s Twitter account
Congratulating the organisation on the occasion of its 100th mission, the Prime Minister said that in the beginning many had questioned the need for a space programme in a poor country like India.
However, he said that when looking at the enormous national benefits and technology that the organisation had brought the country, there was no doubt in his mind that the vision of Isro’s founding fathers was exactly what India needed.
“The founding fathers of our space programme faced a similar dilemma, but they persevered in pursuing their vision. When we look at the enormous societal and national benefits that have been generated in diverse fields, there can be no doubt that they were right,” he added.
With inputs from Agencies
