Aug 23 will be celebrated as National Space Day, says PM Modi
Bengaluru (PTI): Conforming to a christening tradition, Chandrayaan 3's landing point on the Moon will be named "Shiv Shakti Point," a convergence of welfare and strength, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Saturday.
Modi flew down to Bengaluru this morning from the Greek capital of Athens to interact with ISRO scientists on the successful lunar mission and announced the decision to name the spot where the lander 'Vikram' touched down as "Shiv Shakti point."
Terming the success of Chandrayaan-3 mission as an 'extraordinary moment' in the history of India's space programme, Modi, who turned emotional, said the place where the Chandrayaan-2 lander crash-landed on the Moon's surface in 2019 would be known as "Tiranga Point".
"There is a scientific tradition of naming the location of touch down. India has decided to name the lunar region where our Chandrayaan-3 landed. The place Vikram lander descended will be known as Shiv Shakti point."
"In Shiv, there is resolution for the welfare of humanity and Shakti gives us strength to fulfil those resolutions. This Shiv Shakti Point of the moon also gives a sense of connection with Himalaya to Kanyakumari", the PM added.
He said the new generation should come forward to scientifically prove the astronomical formulae in the scriptures of India and to study them anew.
"It is also important for our heritage and for science. In a way, this is a double responsibility for the students of schools, colleges and universities today. The treasure of scientific knowledge that India has, has been buried, hidden during the long period of slavery. In this 'Azadi ka Amrit Kaal', we have to explore this treasure too, do research on it and also tell the world about it", he said.
"I was impatient and eager to visit and salute you for your diligence, dedication, courage, devotion and passion", Modi said in his address to team ISRO, his voice choking. "India is on the moon! We have our national pride placed on the moon."
Hailing the role of women scientists in the success of Chandrayaan-3, he said, "the country's Nari Shakti played a big role" in it.
The Prime Minister stated that the point where Chandrayaan 2 left its imprints will now be called 'Tiranga'.
This point, he said, will serve as an inspiration for every effort that India makes and remind us that failure is not the end. "Success is a guarantee where there is strong will power."
Declaring August 23 as the 'National Space Day,' Modi said it will celebrate the spirit of Science, Technology and Innovation, and inspire us for an eternity.
A large number of people, many of them waving national flags, accorded a grand welcome to the PM outside the HAL airport, where he landed straight from Greece, and at Jalahalli Cross, close to ISTRAC. He also held a road-show for a distance as people who lined up on either side of the roads cheered boisterously.
At ISTRAC, ISRO Chairman S Somanath briefed him about the Chandrayaan-3 mission and its progress.
In his address, Modi said in this period of 21st century, the country which takes the lead in science and technology, will move ahead. "Today, the name of Chandrayaan is resonating among children of India. Every child is seeing his or her future in the scientists".
The Prime Minister requested ISRO to organise national hackathons on "Space Technology in Governance" in collaboration with various departments of center and state governments. "I am confident that this National Hackathon will make our governance more effective and provide modern solutions to the countrymen," he said.
Modi also urged students across the country to take part in a huge quiz competition on Chandrayaan mission organised by Government of India portal MyGov from September 1.
The soft landing of Vikram lander on lunar surface was not an ordinary achievement, Modi said adding the feat was a "roaring announcement" of India's scientific accomplishment in the infinite universe.
"India is on the moon, he said adding, "we have our national pride played on the moon."
"We reached where no one else had reached. We did what no one else had ever done. This is today's India, a fearless India, India with fighting spirit," the Prime Minister said.
"This is an India, which thinks new and thinks in novel ways, which goes to the dark zones and spreads the rays of light. India of 21st century has the capacity to solve major problems of the world," Modi said addressing the space scientists.
"Today, from trade to technology, India is being counted among among the countries standing in the first row. In the journey from 'third row' to 'first row', institutions like our ISRO have played a huge role."
Hailing the space agency, the Prime Minister said it has taken "Make In India" to the moon.
On Wednesday evening as the Lander Module of Chandrayaan-3 mission successfully touched down on the lunar surface, Modi had joined the ISRO team at Mission Operations Complex (MOX) at ISTRAC virtually from Johannesburg, where he was attending the 15th BRICS summit.
Modi had also flown down to Bengaluru on the night of September six, 2019 to watch the planned touch down of Chandrayaan-2 mission's 'Vikram' lander.
But in the early hours of September seven, barely minutes before it was slated to land, ISRO lost contact with the craft, just 2.1 kms above the lunar surface.
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SC fixes May 14 for hearing pleas against appointment of CEC, ECs under 2023 law
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Wednesday fixed May 14 for hearing a batch of pleas challenging the appointment of the chief election commissioner (CEC) and election commissioners (EC) under the 2023 law.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Datta and Ujjal Bhuyan fixed the date after advocate Prashant Bhushan urged the bench to accord urgent hearing in the matter.
Bhushan, appearing for a petitioner NGO challenging the appointment process, said the issue was covered by the Constitution bench verdict of 2023.
Justice Kant told Bhushan that the court will take up the matter on May 14 by cancelling a special bench matter on the said date.
Bhushan said though the matter is listed in the business of the day of the bench, they are urging the court to take it on top of the board.
Justice Kant said the bench will be taking several part-heard matters involving land acquisition on Wednesday.
On March 19, the top court had fixed April 16 for hearing a batch of pleas challenging the appointment of the CEC and election commissioners under the 2023 law.
Bhushan, appearing for petitioner NGO Association for Democratic Reforms, had earlier told the court that the matter involved a short legal question -- whether the 2023 Constitution bench verdict should be followed for the appointment of the CEC and ECs through a panel involving the prime minister, Leader of Opposition and the Chief Justice of India or the 2023 law, which excludes the CJI from the panel.
He had argued that the government, by appointing the new CEC and EC under the 2023 law, was making a "mockery of democracy".
On February 17, the government appointed EC Gyanesh Kumar as the next CEC.
Kumar is the first CEC to be appointed under the new law and his term would run till January 26, 2029, days before the EC is expected to announce the schedule of the next Lok Sabha election.
Vivek Joshi, a 1989-batch Haryana-cadre IAS officer, was appointed as an election commissioner. Joshi (58) would serve in the poll panel till 2031.
According to the law, a CEC or an EC retires at 65 or could have a tenure in the poll panel for six years.
On March 15, 2024, the top court refused to stay the appointments of the new ECs under the 2023 law which excluded the CJI from the selection panel and deferred the hearing on a batch of pleas against the appointments.
The apex court told the petitioners that the March 2, 2023 verdict directed for the three-member panel comprising the prime minister, Leader of Opposition and the CJI to operate till Parliament enacted a law.
The apex court's verdict held that leaving the appointment of the ECs and CEC in the hands of the executive would be detrimental to the health of the country's democracy and the holding of free and fair elections.
The NGO challenged the CJI's exclusion and said the election commission should be insulated from "political" and "executive interference" for maintaining a healthy democracy.
The ADR's plea alleged the verdict was overruled by the Centre without removing its basis and the composition of the selection committee under the new law which amounted to excessive interference of the executive in the appointments and was detrimental to the independence of the poll panel.
Former IAS officers Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Sandhu were recommended to be appointed as ECs in 2024 by a selection panel chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi under the new law.
