World now knows 'hum bhi kuch kam nahin hai': Narendra Modi to DRDO scientists behind Mission Shakti

Hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced in a televised address about the successful launch of an anti-satellite weapon (A-SAT), which targeted a live satellite on a low earth orbit, he interacted with scientists behind ‘Mission Shakti’ on Wednesday. Talking to them via video conferencing, Modi first congratulated the experts and said their “hard work had led to fruition”. “If those who do not think ill of others become powerless, it gives opportunity for the bad ones to further spread evil. Which is why, it is very important that people who do not desire bad of others are also one of the most powerful,” the prime minister said.

He added how these scientists have helped the nation’s dreams of a ‘Make in India’ movement come true. “You have given the message to the world that hum bhi kuch kam nahi hai (we are no less),” the prime minister said. [caption id=“attachment_1466179” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] In what was dubbed as an “important message” to the nation, Modi announced during the televised address that India has entered the “elite space power” league with the A-SAT. The operation was a “difficult target” to achieve, Modi had said. The other three nations to have achieved this feat are the United States, Russia and China. The prime minister also added that the mission was completed successfully within three minutes of launch. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) chairman G Satheesh Reddy was quoted by ANI as saying, “We have mastered anti-satellite capability and have today shown that we can hit satellites at long ranges with a few centimetres accuracy.” In the meanwhile, former DRDP chief and NITI Aayog VK Saraswat also said how India now has the technological capability to match adversaries wanting to militarise the space.

A-SATs are space weapons that are designed to incapacitate or destroy satellites for strategic and military purposes. As of now, only India, Russia, China and the United States have demonstrated their capability to successfully shoot down defunct satellites.