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Large parts of the world admired India’s successful Chandrayaan-3 mission, says EAM Jaishankar

Jaishankar was speaking at the 20th National Summit, organised by Young Indians — the Confederation of Indian Industry's youth wing.

Published Dec 23, 2023 | 11:38 AMUpdated Dec 23, 2023 | 11:38 AM

Jaishankar speaking at the event. (X)

The successful soft landing of India’s ambitious Chandrayaan-3 mission on the lunar south pole was admired by a large part of the world, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday, 22 December.

India’s strategy is to maximise the opportunities and minimise the risks as technology holds immense potential for leapfrogging development, he said at an event.

Jaishankar was speaking at the 20th National Summit “Take Pride 2023”, organised by Young Indians — the Confederation of Indian Industry’s youth wing.

India receives admiration for Chandrayaan-3 mission

“I was at the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) meeting accompanying the Prime Minister when Chandrayaan-3 successfully landed on the Moon,” the former bureaucrat said.

“I cannot tell you what an impact it made. There were African leaders and the kind of feeling a large part of the world had was admiration that you (India) did it,” he added.

Chandrayaan-3 was India’s third mission to the Moon and its second attempt to carry out a soft-landing on the lunar surface. India became the fourth country after Russia, the US, and China to perform a soft landing on the Moon and the first to touch down on its uncharted south pole.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) managed to place the Vikram lander on the lunar surface and roll out the robotic rover, Pragyaan.

Also Read: ISRO moves Chandrayaan-3 propulsion module to orbit around Earth in unique experiment

‘Maximise opportunities, minimise risks’

Observing that three Ts — talent, technology, and tradition — comes to mind when people think about India, Jaishankar, referring to another visit he made to Sweden for a business meet, said that there were members of various Nordic countries and the discussion was on telecom.

“You know, talking about telecom to Nordic countries is like talking about cricket to India. But the focus of the topic was India’s 5G network and its rollout, which is taking place at such an amazing pace today,” he said.

He said that several Fortune 500 companies are doubling or tripling their investments in India because of the talent available in the country.

“Brand India is a combination of what we are and who we are. Our achievements and contributions are only accentuated by our heritage and culture,” the minister said.

“In a technology-driven world, India’s strategy is to maximise the opportunities and minimise the risks. Technology holds immense potential for leapfrogging development. The world admires our digital public infrastructure,” Jaishankar said.

“Amrit Kaal belongs to young Indians. This decade, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government has provided a strong foundation to realise the goal of Viksit Bharat (developed India),” he said.

Also Read: No hope of waking up Vikram Lander and Pragyan Rover, says space scientist

(Disclaimer: The headline, subheads, and intro of this report along with the photos may have been reworked by South First. The rest of the content is from a syndicated feed, and has been edited for style.)

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