Kalam hails ISRO for simultaneous satellite launch

Former President APJ Abdul Kalam dubs the launch of 10 satellites at one go by Indian space scientists as a triumph of "beautiful and creative minds".

The launch of 10 satellites at one go by Indian space scientists on Monday got a thumbs-up from former President APJ Abdul Kalam, who dubbed it a triumph of "beautiful and creative minds".

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"This achievement depicts the innovation taking place in the country. India has created history with this launch," Kalam said delivering the 36th Shri Ram Memorial lecture on Innovation in Industry here.

"I greet ISRO and its partners for this joint work," he said.

He said transporting electronic voting machines to an inaccessible village in Assam on elephant back and colloboration with Russia to make Brahmos missiles were other such examples.

Indian society should progress from industrial society to knowledge-based society to fulfil 2020 millennium targets for which a "beautiful and creative mind" is necessary, Kalam said.

He said there is a need to integrate "core competencies" between countries through a world knowledge platform. The countries can collaborate in fields of health, water, energy, agriculture, knowledge products, disaster management and transportation systems, the former president said.

One such platform, Pan Africa network which he had proposed in 2004 is already in progress, he said adding that V-Sat connection will join the 53 countries of Africa with India.