Modi thanks Uganda for hosting Indian community
Kampala, July 25: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has thanked the Ugandan people and government for providing home to the Indian-origin community after the troubles in the past in the East African country.
"There were troubled times in the past but the Ugandan government and people did not let you leave," Modi said while addressing an Indian community event here on Tuesday night.
He expressed his gratitude to Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, who was also present, in this context
In early August 1972, then President of Uganda Idi Amin ordered the expulsion of his country's Asian minority, giving them 90 days to leave the country.
At the time of the expulsion, there were approximately 80,000 individuals of South Asian descent, most of whom were Gujaratis.
Speaking at the event, Yoseveni addressed the Indian community as "my Indian tribe" and appreciated its contributions to Uganda's development.
"Many of my Indian tribe left Uganda in 1972," he said. "This time they would have been 200,000." There are around 30,000 persons of Indian origin in Uganda today.
Yoseveni lauded the contributions of the Indian community in his country saying they have made their mark in its economic and business landscape.
"You have been able to create employment and expand the tax base of the government," he said.
Reminding the 10,000-strong gathering of their Indian roots, the Indian Prime Minister said: "You might not have remembered from where you must have come from India, but you have India in your hearts."
Modi arrived here earlier on Tuesday from Rwanda on the second leg of his five-day, three-nation tour of Africa that will also take him to South Africa.
This is the first Prime Ministerial visit from India to Uganda in over 20 years.
For Modi, this is his second visit to this East African nation after his visit in 2007 as Gujarat Chief Minister.
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Indian startup's 'Drishti' satellite launched aboard SpaceX rocket
New Delhi (PTI): Bengaluru-based space start-up GalaxEye's Mission Drishti satellite was launched on Sunday aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from California.
Mission Drishti is the world's first OptoSAR satellite, integrating electro-optical (EO) and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors into a single operational platform, according to the company.
While EO sensors capture high-resolution images during sunlight and clear skies, SAR sensors provide all-weather and all-time images, using radar pulses.
In a statement, Suyash Singh, founder and CEO of GalaxEye, said, "With the satellite (Mission Drishti) now successfully in orbit, our immediate focus is on completing its commissioning. As we move through this phase, we are already witnessing strong global interest in the differentiated datasets enabled by our OptoSAR payload."
The satellite will help address long-standing limitations of conventional systems and enable more reliable and consistent data acquisition across diverse environmental conditions, the company said.
As a dual-use Earth observation satellite, the mission will support use cases across defence, agriculture, disaster management, maritime monitoring, and infrastructure planning.
The satellite is also expected to complement India's broader initiatives, including the 29 active Earth Observation satellites outlined in ISRO's recent annual report.
The launch came after five years of indigenous research and development, and extensive environmental testing and performance validation of the Mission Drishti.
In a statement, Lt Gen AK Bhatt (Retd), director general of Indian Space Association (ISpA), said, "GalaxEye has achieved what only a few global players have, which is seamlessly combining optical and SAR capabilities on a single platform to enable persistent, all-weather intelligence."
What stands out is not just the technology, but its broader impact on how downstream applications will increasingly define value in the space economy, particularly in Earth observation, where timely, decision-grade insights are critical," he added.
ISpA is the premier industry association of space and satellite companies in the country.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh also took note of the Mission Drishti launch, saying the development marked a significant milestone in India's space journey.
In a post on X, the minister said, "The successful launch of the world's first OptoSAR satellite, and the largest privately-built satellite in the country, reflects the immense potential of our young innovators driving nation-building."
GalaxEye aims to scale up Mission Drishti to a constellation of 10 satellites by 2030, developing a robust and sovereign Earth observation infrastructure for India.
