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Agence France-Presse

India on Wednesday destroyed a low-orbiting satellite in a missile test that makes the country a space superpower, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said.
India became the fourth country after the United States, Russia and China to accomplish the feat.
In a rare televised address, just weeks before the nation goes to the polls, Modi said Indian scientists “shot down a live satellite at a low-earth orbit”.
“This is a proud moment for India,” the prime minister said, in his first televised national address since late 2016. “India has registered its name in the list of space superpowers. Until now, only three countries had achieved this feat.”




A missile fired from a testing facility in Orissa, eastern India, downed the live satellite in orbit at around 300 kilometres in “a difficult operation” that lasted around three minutes, the prime minister said.
It comes a month after Indian and Pakistani fighter jets engaged in a dogfight over the disputed border in Kashmir, in a serious military escalation between the nuclear-armed rivals.
How tiny satellites are helping China in the space race
An Indian jet was shot down and a pilot captured by Pakistan, which had launched retaliatory air raids after Indian planes bombed Pakistani territory for the first time in decades.
Modi said the missile test against the satellite was peaceful, and not designed to create “an atmosphere of war”.
“I want to assure the world community that the new capability is not against anyone. This is to secure and defend the fast-growing India.”
The United States and former Soviet Union carried out their first successful anti-satellite missile tests in 1985, and China in 2007.
All are now said to be working on so-called Star Wars laser arms to destroy satellites.
With satellites increasingly important because of their intelligence gathering role – and major nations seeking to gain a foothold in space – the United States in 2014 rejected a Russian-Chinese proposal for a treaty to ban weapons in space, saying it was “fundamentally flawed” because of the lack of weapons verification measures.
In a statement released after Modi’s announcement, the foreign ministry said India “has no intention of entering into an arms race in outer space”.
“We have always maintained that space must be used only for peaceful purposes,” the ministry said.
Bowel cleanse for better DNA: the nonsense science of Modi’s India
Modi said the test did not violate any international treaties and was for the betterment and safety of India’s 1.3 billion people.
The announcement comes ahead of a national election in which Modi is seeking a second term in office.
Voting starts on April 11 and will last nearly six weeks, with close to 900 million Indians eligible to vote in the world’s largest election.
The main opposition Congress party, whose leader Rahul Gandhi is challenging Modi, congratulated scientists on their “groundbreaking achievements”.


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India

India joins space ‘super league’ by shooting down satellite with missile, according to Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the nation. Photo: AFP

As India election nears, Rahul Gandhi vows to simplify PM Narendra Modi’s ‘poorly designed GST’

epa06057899 A cut out of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seen on a pro Goods and Services Tax (GST) sign in New Delhi, India, 30 June 2017. The new GST will be implemented by the government at an event in the historic Central Hall of Parliament in New Delhi at midnight to go into effect 01 July 2017. EPA/HARISH TYAGI

Rahul Gandhi, scion of India’s Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, blasted the ‘poorly designed GST’. Photo: Reuters

Backlash against Narendra Modi’s plan to extend citizenship to settlers who fled to India from neighbouring countries

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photo: EPA

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People in Arunachal Pradesh wave flags to welcome Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Photo: Twitter

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for greenfield Hollongi Airport at Arunachal Pradesh. Photo: twitter

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In November 2018, tens of thousands of farmers and labourers marched to Delhi, demanding better crop prices. Similarly, in March that year, protesting farmers from Maharashtra walked 160km to Mumbai. Photo: Team Ceritalah

Kapra is nothing more than a huddle of forlorn and dusty mud huts. The village has a population of over 1800, most of whom work on farms. Photo: Team Ceritalah

Shantabai’s husband Vinod, a cotton farmer, committed suicide ten years ago. She had no time to mourn and returned to work the day after his death. Photo: Team Ceritalah

Shantabai’s eldest son, Ramesh, is now 20-years-old. He works full-time as a farm labourer. Photo: Team Ceritalah

Team Ceritalah spent the day in Kapra, walking through the village and the farm land that surrounds it. Photo: Team Ceritalah

Mumbai and Kapra are both in Maharashtra, but they are worlds apart. Mumbai is the financial capital of India, the city alone has a population of 12.8 million. Photo: Team Ceritalah

News

Asia

South Asia

India became the fourth country after the United States, Russia and China to have carried out the feat


India became the fourth country after the United States, Russia and China to have carried out the feat.


Space

Narendra Modi

India joins space ‘super league’ by shooting down satellite with missile, according to Prime Minister Narendra Modi

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}India became the fourth country after the United States, Russia and China to have carried out the feat

India became the fourth country after the United States, Russia and China to have carried out the feat