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

CHENNAI: 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.

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.

“I was at the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) meeting accompanying the prime minister (Narendra Modi) when the Chandrayaan-3 (mission) 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.

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

Observing that three Ts — talent, technology and tradition — comes to mind when people think about India, Jaishankar — referring to his another visit to Sweden for a business meet — said 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 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.