
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science & Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change visited scientific facilities in Bengaluru from August 20, reviewing the progress of various space and science projects. The committee,…
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science & Technology, Environment, Forests and Climate Change visited scientific facilities in Bengaluru from August 20, reviewing the progress of various space and science projects. The committee, led by Chairperson and Rajya Sabha MP Dr Medha Vishram Kulkarni, toured the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL), and the National Institute of Data Science and AI (CSIR-NIDSA).

At ISRO's Human Space Flight Centre, the committee reviewed the status of India's first human spaceflight mission, Gaganyaan, and interacted with ISRO Chairman Dr V Narayanan and senior scientists. At NAL, the panel reviewed work on civil aircraft development programmes, including HANSA-NG and an indigenous passenger aircraft for regional connectivity. At NIDSA, discussions covered high-performance computing, the National Data Grid, and AI applications for early weather alerts and cybersecurity.
The visit comes as ISRO prepares for its first crewed mission, a milestone that will make India only the fourth nation to send humans to space independently. The Gaganyaan programme has faced delays due to technical hurdles and the pandemic, with the first uncrewed test flight now expected later this year. The committee's scrutiny signals the government's push to keep the project on schedule ahead of the 2024 general election cycle. The review of NAL's civil aircraft programme also underscores a parallel effort to reduce dependence on foreign aircraft for regional connectivity, a sector currently dominated by small turboprops from global manufacturers. The next concrete milestone to watch is the uncrewed Gaganyaan test flight, which will validate the crew escape system and launch vehicle.
Source: thehindu.com
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