South Asia Satellite takes off on May 5

New Delhi, April 30

The South Asia Satellite will be launched on May 5, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced today, describing it as India's “priceless gift” to its neighbours as part of the “sabka sath, sabka vikas” concept.

Seven out of eight SAARC countries are part of the Rs 235-crore project, which Pakistan refused to join as it did not want the “gift” from India. “The benefits will go a long way in meeting the developmental needs of the countries participating in this project,” the PM said in his radio programme “Mann Ki Baat”.

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The benefits would be in areas of mapping of natural resources, telemedicine, education, IT connectivity and people-to-people links. Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Afghanistan are part of the project. Soon after taking over as PM in 2014, Modi had made a unilateral proposal of India launching a satellite.

Initially, it was to be named as ‘SAARC Satellite’ but its name was changed after Pakistan refused to join the project. — PTI/TNS

This is an appropriate example of our commitment towards South Asia...The satellite of South Asia will help in the overall development of the entire region.— Narendra Modi, Prime Minister