Union Minister Kumaraswamy hails CPSEs for contributing to Chandrayaan-3 on Space Day
Bengaluru (PTI): As the country celebrated its first ever National Space Day commemorating the soft landing of ISRO's Chandrayaan-3 on the lunar surface on Friday, Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries H D Kumaraswamy recalled the contributions of four Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSE) in making India's lunar mission a success.
The union minister said these CPSEs under his ministry had proudly contributed to achieving the milestone.
"Four CPSEs under MHI—Instrumentation Ltd. (IL), FCRI, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL), and Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT)—supplied essential products that were integral to the success of Chandrayaan-3," Kumaraswamy said in a post on 'X'.
He also said that the National Space Day celebration is a testament to the dedication and hard work of ISRO’s scientists and engineers, and the collaborative efforts of our nation's industries.
On this day a year ago, India achieved a major feat in its Space programme when its Chandrayaan-3 made a soft landing on the south pole of the Moon.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had named the landing site of Chandrayaan-3 as 'Shiv-Shakti Point' and declared August 23 as the National Space Day.
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K'taka bypolls: Bagalkot records 43.75 per cent turnout till 1 pm, 37.17 pc in Davanagere South
Bengaluru (PTI): At least 43.75 per cent of voters in Karnataka's Bagalkot, where polling for a by-election is underway, exercised their franchise by 1 pm on Thursday.
Davanagere South recorded a turnout of 37.17 per cent, the Chief Electoral Officer's (CEO) office said.
The bypolls were necessitated due to the demise of senior Congress MLAs H Y Meti (Bagalkot) and Shamanur Shivashankarappa (Davanagere South).
While the ruling Congress faces the challenge of retaining both seats, the BJP is aiming to wrest them and deliver a setback to its rival, which is currently witnessing an "internal power struggle" over leadership.
A total of over 2.59 lakh eligible voters are expected to cast their votes at around 319 polling stations in Bagalkot, where nine candidates are in the fray.
In Davanagere South, over 2.31 lakh eligible voters are expected to vote across 284 polling stations, with 25 candidates contesting.
The BJP has fielded former MLA and 2023 defeated candidate Veerabhadrayya Charantimath from Bagalkot, and a fresh face, Srinivas T Dasakariyappa, from Davanagere South.
The Congress has given tickets to family members of the late legislators in both constituencies. Bagalkot candidate Umesh Meti is the son of H Y Meti, while Samarth Mallikarjun from Davanagere South is the grandson of Shamanur Shivashankarappa.
Samarth's father, S S Mallikarjun, is a minister in the Siddaramaiah-led Cabinet and in charge of Davanagere district, while his mother, Prabha Mallikarjun, is a Member of Parliament from the region.
The BJP is looking to make gains in the bypolls and energise its cadre ahead of the 2028 Assembly elections. For the Congress, retaining both seats is crucial, as a loss could be seen as a negative verdict on the performance of the Siddaramaiah-led government.
In the 2023 Assembly elections, H Y Meti defeated BJP's Charantimath by a margin of 5,878 votes in Bagalkot, while Shivashankarappa defeated BJP's B G Ajay Kumar by 27,888 votes in Davanagere South.
