Ask a sixteen-year-old about a social media ban, and you get an answer sharper than most adults arguing about bans. She says, “It doesn’t prepare us for the real world when we will have to deal with these distractions in our life”. The teenager’s response strikes at the core of the ban vs
How I got hooked on chasing solar eclipses Traveling the globe for celestial events may seem downright loony—until you get a taste of the addictive world of ‘eclipse chasing’ Published on: Aug 23, 2026, 18:30:10 IST WSJ Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link ‘It was glorious
Made-in-India semiconductor chips are now powering key Indian space missions. These domestically manufactured components support lunar and solar exploration efforts. Specialized chips from Mohali's Semiconductor Laboratory are used in Chandrayaan-3 and Aditya-L1
India's space program began with a small rocket range in 1962. It progressed to launching its first satellite and developing indigenous launch vehicles. Chandrayaan-3's lunar landing marked a significant achievement for the nation. The program now includes private sector involvement and ambitious
India plans to establish its own space station by the year 2035. The first module for the Bharatiya Antariksha Station has already received approval. This ambitious project aligns with the nation's growing space capabilities and aspirations. National Space Day celebrates India's achievements and
India observed its third National Space Day, commemorating the Chandrayaan-3 lunar landing. ISRO Chairman Dr. V. Narayanan recalled the agency's humble beginnings and current global standing. He highlighted Chandrayaan-3's soft landing near the Moon's south pole in August 2023
The Indian government created the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) to offer students an intellectually vibrant research environment and to bring them into research at a relatively — vis-à-vis the Indian milieu — early stage
Prime Minister Narendra Modi aims to lure global expertise to India's expanding space landscape. He identifies the private sector's potential as a crucial asset for global competition. Key advantages include India’s affordability and its appetite for innovation
ET Roundtable: 'PSLV glitches not linked, will be fixed; India's first-time success record strong,' says Jitendra Singh
Minister Jitendra Singh outlines India's nuclear ambitions under the SHANTI Act, emphasizing private sector involvement and safeguards. He addresses ISRO's launch delays, stating issues are being fixed before future missions. Singh also discusses the evolving geopolitical landscape and technological advancements driving these initiatives.
Minister of state for Departments of Atomic Energy, Space, S&T, PMO and Personnel Training, Jitendra Singh discusses at the ET Roundtable India's nuclear ambitions in the SHANTI Bill era. Says ISRO's recent PSLV incidents and future launches will be planned after issues are 'fixed'.
Excerpts:
What is the roadmap for the SHANTI Act?
The process of making rules to the Act has begun but we are taking time given that this is going to change the entire format of our nuclear energy-related activity - opening up to private and non-government sectors and agencies. The new framework is going to be more accommodating while not compromising on the essential safeguards. We have to take into consideration the expectations of stakeholders who are going to partner with us. It has to be carried forward diligently to target the expected outcomes. I don't think it will be fair to tie initiatives of this scale down to a tight time frame. Still, we might come out with the rules not later than 2-3 months or so.How has the private sector responded to the SHANTI Act?
There is good response from the private sector and from foreign collaborators. When the US Secretary of State was holding parleys with our minister of external affairs recently, he talked more about the SHANTI Act than about anything else. That was flattering to hear.Will we see changes in the FDI format for nuclear power?
We are working on that but I think, we will be guided by the framework which already exists. We cannot have something totally different from what is in place after due deliberation. But if some specificity is to be infused, we will do that.Nuclear power is more costly than solar and thermal power and foreign technologies even more so. Who is going to buy such expensive power?
I agree that it is expensive. Initially, the quantum of generation is lesser. As we upscale, the cost is going to come down. To pursue this is no longer a choice for many reasons. The world is moving to clean energy, we can't be left behind. When we talk of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, geopolitically, we have to seek our own source. Currently, we depend on petroleum fuel which is largely imported. Even countries which export petroleum are moving out of that sector because they are foreseeing a virtual closure of their business happening through that sector. For certain tasks you have to bring in nuclear energy because it is a 24X7 uninterrupted source of energy which is not always the case with renewable energy. All decisions are motivated by these facts. Currently, light water reactors are costly - almost double of PHWR - because most of the equipment is from other countries. One of the unwritten motivations behind opening up to private players is that the investment comes in a bigger field and we start developing domestically. Then, the cost will come down dramatically.How does BJP justify revising its position - from opposing the Indo-US nuclear deal in 2008 to now bringing in the SHANTI Act?
A lot has changed in 18 years. There is significant technology change - it is now much more sophisticated and more secure. Even the structure and sizing of reactors have changed. Geopolitical conditions have changed and the economy is opening up. In the changed milieu, it is not actually going back on a decision. It's a re-look at things which will happen. After a couple of years or a decade, we might look into other aspects because it is a dynamically changing sector. For example, that time you didn't have small module reactors and clean energy concerns were just beginning.
What about the liability question? It was BJP's Opposition then that led to bringing the supplier liability link up in the CLNDA which deterred investors from coming to India.
It seems it has been totally compromised (in SHANTI Act), which is not so. The operator is free to engage in an agreement with the supplier, the government will be out of it. At his level, the operator can do that. There are many ancillary activities and factors that the government should not have to handle.ISRO's PSLV-linked failures have raised questions. Are the failure reasons similar for the May 2025 and January 2026 cases? What about future launches?
It will be wrong to conclude that the same lapse has happened. What seems to be the issue is not the same as last year's. That has been fixed and something else came up. We are looking into that. We already have an SOP in place. We have a failure redressal committee which is already working on it. We don't take it as a failure because the number of first-time successes that India has had, on an average, would be higher than possibly the US - whether it's Mangalyaan or Chandrayaan. But, we will plug the lapses. Regarding new PSLV launches, no, not yet. We have to fix the issues.Do you think this incident has hit India's credibility as a cost efficient, non-service provider of small satellite launches?
No, I think some sections of the media have made it out to be like that. We still have so many foreign satellites waiting to launch from that. Some new countries are showing interest.Gaganyaan un-crewed mission was to happen in early 2026 ahead of the human space flight of 2027. Is it on track?
It has to happen ahead of the actual human flight but I'm not sure whether it'll happen in the beginning of 2026. It might go over to the second half, or the third or last quarter. It was delayed for many reasons. It was planned for the 75th year of Independence. But, in voyages, this can happen because there can be so many imponderables. The other launches planned for the calendar also began to happen. If I miss this Wednesday, I can't be picking up next Wednesday because like marriages, it is decided in heaven. We have to keep in mind the configuration, the position of the planets and the universal setup. Before the human mission, we have several different components and test flights. So, sending up a human being is important but safe return is more important, which will involve a whole of government approach involving many entities. So, we are doing it cautiously.Are we not losing pace on several fronts keeping both sovereign needs and fast-growing technology and data centre requirements?
Certainly, we have to move on with a reasonable pace and many amendments made in the last 5-6 years is motivated by that sense. Most of the time, when we talk about space we keep talking about satellites, rockets, humans in space, because that sounds very romantic. What India should boast of is the role model we created for other countries and use of space technology for ease of living - from Gatishakti to telemedicine to Swamitva. That is something which gets underreported.In the National Quantum Mission, in the first cohort, only eight startups were given funding. Only three of them have got going. Also, what is the progress on the ₹1 lakh crore RDI fund launched last year to boost startups?
To be honest even the private sector has been taken by surprise. They never thought that we would suddenly open up the nuclear sector or the space sector or we would be launching the National Quantum Mission. We are among the 4-5 countries in the world, which have an exclusive dedicated National Quantum Mission. On RDI, I think the first lot will take off by this month end, which could be ₹4,000-5,000 crore.In your home state J&K, people are celebrating the closure of a medical college.
I can't say much on this. It is handled by the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine Board and it is being headed by the Lieutenant Governor.There is a growing demand for a separate Jammu state. Some BJP leaders and the Congress are demanding it.
I am a worker of an organisation I belong to and it is not part of the BJP's official line.What about expanding lateral entry and the Opposition's demand for reservations in it?
More than 40 officials entered the government through lateral entry. The government is open to suggestions on how reservation can be implemented in lateral entry in a feasible manner.Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now!
Source: EconomicTimes
Related Posts: pslv,shanti,national quantum mission,bjp,india,swamitva,personnel training,opposition,mata vaishno devi shrine board,pmo
The Northeast India Space Workshop 2026 will convene in Guwahati to explore regional transformation. This event aims to leverage space technology for global reach and economic growth. Stakeholders will discuss Northeast India becoming a developer and testbed for space solutions
1 days ago
The dramatic 1° Celsius rise in global temperatures since industrialisation has already proved to have upended the lives of wild flora and fauna: that of at least 15,801 species on the Red List of Threatened Species, according to IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature)
2 days ago
India faces a substantial cost gap with the United States for launching payloads. A recent study estimates India's cost at over $13,000 per kilogram by 2025. This contrasts with the United States' estimated cost of $3,225 per kilogram. The study highlights scale and experience as key factors for
2 days ago
Prime Minister Narendra Modi encouraged young space entrepreneurs to innovate for agriculture and daily life. He highlighted the potential of India's private space sector for global impact. Startups were urged to engage with schools and inspire future generations
2 days ago
Rock-solid evidence for the origins of birds Stones in dinosaur stomachs may help understanding of avian evolution Published on: Aug 20, 2026, 21:09:09 IST The Economist Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link How do you know what a dinosaur ate? Guts rot away after death
3 days ago
Was it meat or glucose that fueled the growth of the human brain? If evolutionary science told us, hitherto, that human brain expansion relied on meat to grow, a new study has an interesting addition to this theory. Published in a recent issue of Science
4 days ago
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is set to launch the GISAT-1A satellite in September, in a mission that will be watched closely for many important reasons. Since the two successive PSLV mission failures, in 2025 and early 2026, ISRO had paused launches as it investigated the reason
4 days ago
The Hara forests are a vital ecological treasure of the Persian Gulf. Spanning the Strait of Hormuz, these mangrove forests consist mainly of grey mangrove trees (Avicennia marina), which have a special filtration system in their roots that allows them to thrive in saline conditions
5 days ago
India spends more to put a kilogram of payload into orbit than any other major spacefaring nation, marring its public image as a cost-effective launcher, according to a new peer-reviewed analysis of more than six decades of rocket launches published in Economics Letters
7 days ago
“The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there,” the English novelist L.P. Hartley wrote famously in his 1953 novel The Go-Between. In a peculiar twist, the same cannot be said of the Moon. It is not a foreign country, or even a foreign world: the U.S
7 days ago
The computer did not create a virus. It did not touch a test tube or handle a living cell. What it did may ultimately be more consequential: it helped decide what the virus’s genome should be. Researchers at Stanford University and the Arc Institute used artificial intelligence (AI) to design
8 days ago
Spectators across Spain watched in wonder, some whipping off their protective glasses and rising to their feet in unison, as a rare total solar eclipse swept across the north of the country on Wednesday (August 12, 2026) evening, plunging it into darkness
8 days ago
Japan's MMX mission will blast off soon to collect Martian moon samples. The spacecraft will orbit Mars for three years and land on Phobos. This mission aims to understand Solar System origins and life's emergence. A rival Chinese mission also plans to return Mars samples around 2031
8 days ago
Draft rules for the SHANTI Act, 2025, mandate financial security for nuclear damage. Operators must maintain insurance or financial security until spent fuel removal. Foreign reactor designs require certification by their country of origin's regulatory body
9 days ago
As a total solar eclipse will be visible in parts of Europe on August 12 for the first time since 1999, solar physicists at the Raman Research Institute (RRI) in Bengaluru, along with collaborators, have predicted the magnetic structure of the Sun’s outer atmosphere, or its ‘crown’
9 days ago
When a young man was brought to my clinic after his first episode of psychosis, his parents wanted to know when he could return to college. This is not an atypical first interaction. However, in many instances, after a few consultations later and especially once the immediate crisis had settled
11 days ago
Some people can live apparently ordinary lives even when both copies of a gene (one inherited from the mother and the other from the father) have stopped working. Until their DNA is sequenced, they may never know that this has happened. A large study from Pakistan, published in Nature (June 2026)
11 days ago
Physicist Deepak Dhar received the 2026 Dirac Medal for his statistical mechanics work. He shares the award with three other scientists for their complex systems research. Their contributions span biology, finance, computer science, and artificial intelligence
12 days ago
Colombia and Venezuela experienced deadly earthquakes due to tectonic plate friction. The Nazca plate sliding beneath the South American plate caused tremors. Earthquake magnitude and depth significantly influenced the destructive impact. Building codes and terrain also played crucial roles in the
12 days ago
India has been invited to join NASA's Moon Base program. Discussions focused on expanding civil and commercial space cooperation. Both nations agreed to advance open scientific data sharing under Artemis Accords. They also reaffirmed commitment to UN guidelines for outer space sustainability
12 days ago
A team led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine has found that several inherited traits in the mouse genome break the rules Gregor Mendel laid down in the 19th century about how genes work. This is not because the genes mutate but because of chemical modifications of the genome
13 days ago
Urban India’s water emergency will not be fixed by better crisis management alone. Over the coming decades, hundreds of millions more people will live and work in Indian cities, driving a sharp increase in the urban water demand. And unless we change how we design, finance
15 days ago
IN-SPACe seeks private partners to manage ISRO's new launch complex. This facility will support small rocket launches and enhance launch efficiency. Private entities will handle end-to-end operations and maintenance of the complex. ISRO will provide initial technical and operational support for
15 days ago
NASA astronauts Anil Menon and Jessica Meir on Friday (August 6, 2026) concluded their spacewalk outside the International Space Station to assemble the modification kit for its power channel that would allow addition of solar arrays. The spacewalk – 281st in support of the space station –
15 days ago
The gut microbiomes of eight tribal populations across India have a unique diversity shaped by their traditional diets, and are distinct from those observed in industrialised settings, researchers have reported in Gut Microbes. The effects of probiotics depend on a population’s diet and gut
15 days ago
Five minutes past noon on July 18, the launch pad of Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota roared back to life after a gap of 187 days. The last launch from the space port was on January 12, 2026, involving the PSLV-C62 mission carrying the EOS-N1 earth observation satellite
15 days ago
A lettuce that makes meat protein: The science behind engineering plants to grow an animal molecule & why it matters The study established proof of concept, but lettuce with meat protein is still some distance from ending up in your burger. Updated on: Aug 7, 2026
16 days ago
