While celebrating Chandrayaan success, India is at the same time also using Space Technology and its applications in various sectoral development projects, said Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Space and Atomic Energy, Dr Jitendra Singh while addressing a special session on "Emulating Chandrayaan-3 Success in Biomedical Sciences".

Space Technology today has virtually entered every Indian household, he said.

Dr Jitendra Singh said Space Applications is being utilised in almost all sectors such as Weather Forecasting and Disaster Management, Smart City project, Infrastructure Development, Railway Tracks & management of unmanned Railway Crossings, Roads & Buildings, Telemedicine, Governance, and most importantly, the ‘Svamitva’ GPS land-mapping.

“It is in these last 7 to 8 years that we have shown the world how Space Technology & its scientific applications could be used for sectoral development… (We have to) make our boys and girls understand the huge enormous, collateral positives coming out of this. Now suddenly this technology has become available all across the country,” he said, addressing the International Association of Pancreatology in New Delhi.

Dr Jitendra Singh said the landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the virgin South Polar region of the Moon demonstrated before the world India’s technological capability and talent through cost-effective means. The evidence of Mineral Elements like Sulphur, Cobalt, Hydrogen and Water Molecules by Chandrayaan-1 mission is being looked up by the entire scientific community across the globe because they expect some new inferences.

Dr Jitendra Singh said today India is laying down the targets such as on Climate Change, we have set the Net Zero target by 2070, and tomorrow we will be one of the major exporters of Hydrogen.

“We have actually proved to the world we can meet you on your platform,” he said, adding, “We are now no longer taking lead from others, we are in a position to give lead to the rest of the countries. So India is now ready to lead, the world is ready to be led. Now it’s up to us, how much capacity do we have to lead. And that is why it is giving esteem to each and every citizen.”

Dr Jitendra Singh further said, India’s quantum leap in the Space sector has only been possible after Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi took the courageous decision to “unlock” this sector from the “veil of secrecy”.

With the unlocking of Space Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh said, the common masses of the country have been able to witness the launch of the mega space events like Chandrayaan-3 or Aditya, some 10,000 students and common people came to see the Aditya launch and some 1,000 media persons were there during the Chandrayaan-3 landing on the moon.

“We had everything, but we were possibly waiting for an enabling milieu to happen. And that enabling milieu had to come from the level of the policy makers, from the level of the political leadership and that happened after Prime Minister Modi came in,” he said.

Dr Jitendra Singh, who is also a known Diabetologist and Professor of Medicine, said the ‘Anusandhan National Research Foundation’ (NRF) will have 70-80% of its funding from non-government sources.

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