Indian students can reach for the skies if an interest in astronomy is instilled in them right from their school days, former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chief K Kasturirangan has said. India would be one of the leaders in the field of astronomy in the future, he stated so speaking to PTI.
For India to be “right in the forefront” of astronomy, it was important to draw the interest of the youth, he told PTI. Predicting that planetary explorations would further grow in the coming years, the scientist said there was a great scope for youngsters in this field. To generate interest in astronomy among the youth, the government should promote activities right from the schools, in colleges as well as universities and other research areas, he said.
We need a large number of youngsters from the university system, institutions, observational institutes,” he stressed. Asked if India was capable of taking up space expeditions and research works on its own, K Kasturirangan said ISRO would need to partner other nations after a certain point.
He, however, advised the government not to go in for loans to facilitate space research programmes. “We should not take loans because investments are very large and the resources can be very demanding. And I don’t think there is any reason why we should when the international community also looks to collaboration with India because Indians are easy to collaborate with, are capable and can contribute substantially to major programmes. We have demonstrated that in the past,” the space scientist said.
Underlining India’s strong presence in international space programmes, the Padma Vibhushan awardee of 2000 predicted tremendous opportunities for the country in this field.
News Source :PTI COURTESY
