Mysuru (Karnataka), Nov 13 Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the science and spirituality go hand in hand in India as he noted that Indian youths are making great strides in the fields of astrophysics, science and technology.
Modi also lauded the efforts of the Mysuru Royal family in promoting science in the country by setting up Mysuru University and donating land for the Indian Institute of Science (IISc).
He was addressing a gathering after inaugurating the state-of-the-art planetarium here, which is the first LED Dome planetarium in India on the Mysuru University campus in the foothills of Chamundi Hills.
The prime minister said, “Spirituality and science go hand in hand in India. Despite lacking modern equipment, our ancestors studied the cosmos and the movement of planets very closely. Our ancient astronomers accomplished complex mathematical calculations to study the cosmos”.
He recalled that India joined a select group of nations to reach the Moon through Chandrayaan-3 and became the first country to land on the lunar south pole.
Modi also said that India successfully carried out docking and undocking of satellites in space, and sent an Indian –Shubhanshu Shukla– to the International Space Station last year.
The prime minister also noted that Indian youths participated enthusiastically in the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics and won medals.
Speaking about the government’s policy, he said India opened up the space sector for private players, allowing them to launch their rockets.
Noting that Indian space missions are meant for the welfare of humanity, he said, “Our satellites help fishermen, track trains in real time, and use satellite data for crop insurance”.
(PTI News)
