Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Sunday (August 24, 2025) praised Group Captains Shubhanshu Shukla, P.B. Nair, Ajit Krishnan and Angad Pratap, who’re half of India’s maiden human spaceflight mission Gaganyaan, as “gems of the country and pioneers of national aspirations”. He additional stated Group Captain Shukla’s current house mission to the International Space Station (ISS) marked a brand new chapter in “self-reliant India”.
“We do not see space only as a field of research, but as the future of tomorrow’s economy, security, energy, and humanity. We have already marked our presence from Moon to Mars, and today, the nation stands fully prepared for missions like Gaganyaan,” he stated on the South Block, the place he felicitated Group Captain Shukla and the opposite Gaganyaan astronauts. He additionally held discussions with them about Gaganyaan and their experiences to this point.
INTERACTIVE: India’s house journey
Mr. Singh stated India’s house programme is a mirrored image of national aspirations and international imaginative and prescient, citing the successes of Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan. He added that space-derived applied sciences, from communication satellites to climate monitoring and catastrophe administration, at the moment are delivering companies to each half of the nation. “In the coming times, space mining, deep space exploration, and planetary resources will redefine the course of human civilisation,” he famous.
Commending Group Captain Shukla for his profitable mission to the ISS as half of the Axiom Mission-4, the Defence Minister praised his dedication and braveness. He highlighted how Group Captain Shukla had accomplished a two-and-a-half yr coaching programme in simply two-and-a-half months, calling it a testomony to his dedication and the spirit of India. “His extraordinary feat is not just India’s pride, but proof of humanity’s collective progress,” he stated.
Mr. Singh additionally described Group Captain Shukla as a logo of civil-military fusion, noting that whereas he represents the Indian Air Force, his journey to house was on behalf of all humankind. He credited the Institute of Aerospace Medicine for making ready astronauts bodily, mentally, and psychologically, calling Group Captain Shukla “a shining embodiment” of its success.
The astronaut shared his house experiences through the occasion, which was attended by Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan and Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal A.P. Singh.
