Union Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan has said India should not bother why Pakistan opted out of India’s launch of the South Asia Satellite. A GSLVF09 rocket carrying the satellite successfully took off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on May 5.
Said Harsh Vardhan to THE WEEK, “We gave Pakistan a golden chance. But they didn’t accept it. Who cares? The world knows the true colours of Pakistan. The benefits of the satellite will go a long way in meeting the needs of the participating countries. Pakistan will not benefit because of their strange attitude.”
The mission, funded completely by India, would improve telecommunication and disaster needs of Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, the Maldives and Sri Lanka. The total cost of the mission was Rs 335 crore.
Harsh Vardhan said he was proud of the scientists who were involved in the project. “The launch has given a different dimension to our space programme. The satellite will create a new form of regional cooperation seen nowhere else in the world. India will always help its neighbouring countries,” he added.
It was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who had proposed the idea of a common satellite at the SAARC summit in 2014. Pakistan wanted the satellite to be placed under the SAARC’s control and not under the control of ISRO. But India rejected the condition. Among SAARC nations, only Pakistan and Sri Lanka, besides India, have a space programme of their own. The satellite weighs 2,230kg and has a mission life of more than 12 years. India will now have a hotline with the participating SAARC nations that can be used during emergencies.
Modi has time and again described the South Asia Satellite as India’s priceless gift to SAARC countries.
