Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, announced on Friday that India aims to send a human to the moon by 2040. In a media interaction as part of a series showcasing the achievements of the ruling government, Puri highlighted the milestones in the space sector and the application of technology in monitoring developmental projects.
Puri discussed the government’s use of technology for various projects, including monitoring the PM Awas Yojna, PM Phasal Bima Yojna, Urban Geo Special Data for master plan preparation, and GIS monitoring for MGNREGA, Integrated watershed management project, and PM Gram Sadak Yojna. He emphasized the growing importance of space technology in the country’s development projects.
Regarding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision and the progress made since 2014, Puri stated that India has risen from the 10th to the 5th position in the economic scale. He highlighted achievements in the space sector, such as the launch of Chandrayaan and the successful addition of two new launch vehicles to double the fleet size.
Puri shared details about the space economy, noting that it is currently valued at 8 billion dollars and is expected to reach 100 billion dollars. He mentioned that India’s share in the global space economy is projected to increase from 2 percent to 10 percent.
The minister discussed the use of technology in various sectors, including a project to train ‘Drone Didi’ for agricultural purposes and the presence of 195 functional startups in the space sector. He emphasized the need to develop an ecosystem with budgetary support and praised the Prime Minister’s supportive approach even in the face of challenges.
Puri, however, declined to comment on the recent breach of security in the Parliament House, stating that it falls under the jurisdiction of the Lok Sabha speaker.
