Country that used to carry rockets & satellites on bicycles, bullock carts now ranked first in many fields globally: ISRO chairman

The country that “used to carry rockets and satellites on bicycles and bullock carts is now ranked first in many fields in the world,” ISRO Chairman Dr V Narayanan said on Monday. Narayanan was addressing the 74th convocation of the Gujarat University in Ahmedabad. Giving a picture of India’s development journey after Independence, Dr Narayanan emphasised that successes such as Chandrayaan and the Mars Mission prove that India’s education system and talent are second to none in the world.”

He said, “We in ISRO are very happy as just last week, we had a successful launch of our Bahubali rocket LVM3, placing the heaviest satellite from Indian soil-BlueBird-Block 2… placed in precise orbit. For benefiting our Indian Navy just last month we had another launch success of LVM3 placing NVSO3 the heaviest Indian satellite so far. Just four months ago, we had a great milestone launch when our GSLV F16/NISAR launch was a great success. The Chandrayaan-4 programme is approved and this mission shall be planned as a sample return mission, The Bharathiya Antariksh Station (BAS) shall be a reality by 2035, for which the initial modules in space shall start as early as 2027. An Indian has to land on the moon and return safely by a fully indigenous moon mission by 2040. A Venus orbital Mission (VOM) and a mass lander mission has also been approved. A heavy lift Next Generation Launch Vehicle (NGLV) with recoverable first stage has also been approved by the Centre. When we look at the organisation… It is built by generations of leaders and each of them have played their role very well.”

In his address, the Chancellor and Governor Acharya Devvrat said that there is “no shortcut to success in life, hard work is the only way.”

Expressing concern over the health problems of the present times, Governor Acharya Devvrat warned youths that serious diseases are increasing due to chemical farming and junk food. “Diseases like heart attack and cancer are being seen in the youth of 20-25 years, which is a matter of concern for the country.” He said while urging the students to join the campaign for clean eating and ‘natural farming’ and build a healthy India.

Referring to the global impacts of environment and global warming, the Governor said that today the world is going through a concerning phase of climate change. “At such a time, it is the duty of responsible youth who are going to the society after getting a degree to be active in protecting the environment. Education is not just a means of getting a degree, but it is the power to solve the problems of society,” he said.

As many as 40,245 students were awarded degrees, diplomas and certificates and 342 medals and 66 students scholarships in the convocation ceremony.