Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) [India], February 1 (ANI): A launch ceremony for the Artificial Intelligence (AI) special issue of Achintya (Artificial Intelligence Special Issue) magazine and the 13th issue of Vigyan Ganga was held on Friday at the Mahamana Hall of the Mahamana Seminar Complex at Banaras Hindu University (BHU). The chief guest, Padma Shri AS Kiran Kumar (former ISRO Chairman), highlighted the contributions of Vikram Sarabhai and spoke in detail about India's space journey.

Kiran Kumar said, 'After World War II, the space race began between Russia and America. When Russia took the lead, America devised a strategy to overtake it. At that very time, India had only been independent for 10 years, and the country was trying to understand the world. During this period, Vikram Sarabhai connected India with technology and established it in the space sector.'

He explained that after the geostationary satellite, with the cooperation of NASA, satellite broadcasting services were started in 2400 villages in just one year. The fact that we can hear people talking in Delhi today is a contribution of ISRO. The vision to take the country forward is a result of Vikram Sarabhai's foresight. In 1999, ISRO used satellites to inform fishermen where they could find more fish.

Cyclone prediction became possible 3-4 days in advance. 'India has primarily used space technology for non-military purposes (agriculture, weather, fisheries, telecommunications), while globally it is mostly used for military purposes. In 2008, Chandrayaan-1 discovered water molecules on the moon,' he said.

Chandrayaan-2 aimed for a landing on the lunar south pole (where no one had landed before), for which a completely indigenous new engine was developed. Learning from the failure of 2019, Chandrayaan-3 achieved a successful soft landing in 2023, and the whole world was watching India. The successes of the Mars mission (Mangalyaan) and Aditya-L1 (study of solar rays) were also highlighted.

Kiran Kumar stated ISRO's core principle: 'We should learn not only from our own mistakes but also from the mistakes of others.' He said that today, even uneducated fishermen are using satellite navigation, which is a great achievement for India. BHU Vice-Chancellor Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi said, 'The Achintya team is setting a unique example at Banaras Hindu University.' He emphasised the need to translate Achintya into all Indian languages. Dean of the Faculty of Science, Rajesh Kumar Srivastava, said that the faculty's researchers are contributing to the country's progress by working on space missions. He highlighted the confidence-building synergy between BHU and ISRO.

The program was conducted by student Deepanshi Agarwal. A large number of students were present on the occasion, along with the entire team of Achintya and Vigyan Ganga, Prof Rajnikant, Dr Raghav, Dr Chandrashekhar, Dr Akhilesh, and Dr Akib.

At the ceremony, India's space achievements were lauded as symbols of peaceful development, and the younger generation was urged to draw inspiration from ISRO's ideals. (ANI)