..:: India Strategic ::. Space: President Mukherjee awards Gandhi Peace Prize to ISRO

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Editorial

President Mukherjee awards Gandhi Peace Prize to ISRO

Published: September 2015

New Delhi. President Pranab Mukherjee presented the Gandhi Peace Prize for the year 2014 to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) at a function organised at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi September 9.

The award was received by ISRO Chairman AS Kiran Kumar on behalf of the organization in the august presence of Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other eminent dignitaries.

Speaking on the occasion, the President congratulated each and every member of the Indian Space Community on ISRO being awarded the coveted Gandhi Peace Prize. He said ISRO is one such Indian organisation, which has nurtured, developed and demonstrated world class capabilities.

The President also said that India’s entry into the space arena was led by the visionary scientist Dr Vikram Sarabhai who foresaw the tremendous potential of space technology and its applications in addressing the needs of our country’s development.

Countering the challenges of scarce resources, limited technical manpower and physical infrastructure in the early years, ISRO has today established operational space systems and services, attained self-reliance in development of indigenous technology and accomplished exemplary feats in space exploration. He said ISRO today joins the rank of other eminent organisations i.e. Ramakrishna Mission, Bangladesh Gramin Bank and Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan, who have been conferred upon this prestigious award.

Minister of State for Culture (IC) and Tourism (IC) and Civil Aviation Dr Mahesh Sharma said ISRO has established India’s name at the world level. He also informed ISRO is working on 170 projects in coordination with various departments of the Government of India. ISRO’s space technologies have been of great help during the natural disasters and have been helpful in the service of the humanity and the nation. For any organization to sustain, the technology should be used for the benefit of the common man, he observed.

Speaking at the award ceremony, the ISRO Chairman said this is the recognition of the visionary Dr Vikram Sarabhai and the successive leaders of ISRO and their contribution. He said ISRO pledges and rededicates to bring the fruits of space technology to the people of the country.

The Jury for the Prize had met under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 27 earlier this year. The other members of the Jury were Justice HL Dattu, Chief Justice of India; Mr Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the single largest Opposition Party in the Lok Sabha; Mr LK Advani, Member of Parliament (LS) and Mr Gopalkrishna Gandhi, ex-Governor, West Bengal.

The Gandhi Peace Prize was instituted by the Government of India in 1995 on the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. This annual award is given to individuals and institutions for their contributions towards social, economic and political transformation through non-violence and other Gandhian methods. The award carries an amount of Rs one crore in cash, a plaque and a citation.

On his social media platform, the Prime Minister has congratulated the Indian Space Agency on being conferred the Gandhi Peace Prize for 2014. His twitter read: "Congratulations to ISRO on being conferred the Gandhi Peace Prize. This is a fitting tribute to the hard-work of generations of scientists.

Accomplishments of ISRO have contributed greatly towards peace and progress of humanity."