"Historic Moment": Pak Ex Minister Praises Chandrayaan-3 Mission

Fawad Chaudhry, the former Minister of Information and Broadcasting in Pakistan, urged the Pakistani media to air the landing of Chandrayaan-3.

Former Pakistan Information and Broadcasting Minister Fawad Chaudhry

Fawad Chaudhry, the ex-Minister of Information and Broadcasting in the Imran Khan government, has suggested that Pakistan's media should broadcast the Chandrayaan-3 landing program. He also congratulated the Indian scientists and space community, calling the mission a "historic moment for humankind".

In a post shared on X (formerly known as Twitter), Fawad Chaudhry wrote on Tuesday: "Pak media should show the #Chandrayan moon landing live tomorrow at 6:15 PM...historic moment for Human kind specially for the people, scientists and Space community of India.... Many Congratulations."

Meanwhile, India is keeping its fingers crossed as moon mission Chandrayaan-3 is set to land on the lunar surface this evening. Parties and prayers are being held with equal fervour, with scientists predicting "20 minutes of terror" before the touchdown.

The landing is due at 6.04 pm - will be telecast live across the country. Schools will be open for the event, and space enthusiasts are organizing parties in anticipation of the historic moment. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is attending the BRICS summit in South Africa, will join in online.

The suspense has been ratcheted up by the failure of the Russian moon mission Luna-25, which crashed on the moon's surface on Sunday during landing. In 2019, the Chandrayaan-2 mission failed to land safely in the same area, which is full of craters and deep trenches.

The space agency ISRO has expressed confidence that the landing will take place without a hitch, as the scientists have incorporated all the valuable lessons they learned from Chandrayaan-2.

If the Chandrayaan-3 mission succeeds in making a touchdown on the moon and in landing a robotic lunar rover in ISRO's second attempt in four years, India will become the fourth country to master the technology of soft-landing on the lunar surface after the US, China, and the erstwhile Soviet Union.

State-wide roll out of breakfast scheme: Tamil Nadu CM invites all MLAs, MPs

Stalin to launch scheme in Nagapattinam on Aug 25, ministers to kick-off drive in districts

A study by the state planning commission points out that attendance of students has increased and dropouts have decreased due to the scheme

CHENNAI: Chief Minister MK Stalin highlighted the success of the Chief Minister’s Breakfast Programme in promoting learning, addressing malnutrition and preventing dropouts among students studying in government primary schools in Tamil Nadu.

Speaking during the meeting of the Economic Advisory Committee from the camp office through video conference, Stalin said, “We intend to expand this programme, which is a model for India, to 18.53 lakh school students studying in 31,000 schools at a cost of Rs 404 crore,” adding a study by the state planning commission points out that attendance of students has increased and dropouts have decreased due to the scheme.

The Chief Minister also said Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thittam will be launched on September 15, which is known as the month of the Dravidian movement due to the birth anniversary of the former Chief Minister C N Annadurai. Under the scheme, the beneficiaries would receive monthly assistance of Rs 1,000.

Chief Secretary Shiv Das Meena, Finance Secretary Udayachandran, former governor of Reserve Bank of India Professor Raghuram Rajan, Economist Professor Esther Duflo and others were present in the meeting. Earlier, Stalin extended an invitation to MLAs and MPs belonging to all political parties urging them to participate in the launch of breakfast scheme expansion at government primary schools.

According to a statement, Stalin has written to MLAs and MPs of the state cutting across party lines, highlighting the importance and success of the scheme in the first phase in which 1,545 schools were covered and 1.14 lakh students benefited. The Chief Minister has chosen August 25 as the inauguration date of the scheme extension, with the launch planned in Nagapattinam district. Ministers will be leading the launch in their respective districts on the same day. Stalin extended a special invitation to MLAs and MPs of all political parties, encouraging them to participate in the launch at any of the schools situated within their Assembly and parliamentary constituencies.

‘TN attracted `3L crore investment in 2 years’

Stalin said the state government has attracted investments worth Rs 2.97 lakh crore through 241 investments from multinational companies like Mitsubishi, Pegatron, and Ola in the last two years, according to Chief Minister MK Stalin.

Chandrayaan 3: Prayers from Earth for safe Moon landing

A ceremony was held at the Shree Dodda Ganapathi temple in Basavanagudi, Bengaluru, by members of the Chamarajpet Janapara Vedike.

Members of Chamarajpet Janapara Vedike and several volunteers performed pooja at Ganesha temple in Bengaluru on the eve of the Chandrayaan-3 Mission landing on the lunar surface

BENGALURU: As the 12-hour countdown for Chandrayaan 3 begins, several cultural committees and individuals in Karnataka and other states organised pujas and prayers for the safe landing of the lander module, Vikram, on the south pole of the lunar surface. The touchdown is expected at 6.04 pm, according to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

A ceremony was held at the Shree Dodda Ganapathi temple in Basavanagudi, Bengaluru, by members of the Chamarajpet Janapara Vedike. The idol was offered phala (various kinds of fruits), panchamrita, abhisheka (holy bath) and kadubu — considered the deity’s favourite sweet. The Indian flag along with Bharat Mata pictures and Chandrayaan-3 Mission posters had been placed all around the idol.

Temple ceremonies for safe landing

KV Ramachandra, a member of the organisation, said, “The group plans to do a similar puja on Wednesday as well during the landing to pray for the 100% success of India’s Moon mission.” In Mysuru, devotees performed ‘Sarvartha Sidhi Yaga’ at Anjaneya temple for the safe soft landing of India’s third mission to the Moon.

Politicians are also thronging temples to offer their prayers. BJP MLA TS Srivatsa along with 82 party workers will travel from Mysuru to Sri Raghavendra Swamy Matha, Mantralaya, wishing the mission a success. MP S Muniswamy along with BJP workers per formed puja i n Kolaramma temple, Kolar and said, “The entire world’s eyes are on India.” At Shree Srikanteshwara Swamy Temple in Nanjangud on Monday, a similar puja was organised and rangolis were made of Chandrayaan’s spacecraft. Kukke Subramanya temple in Dakshina Kannada also performed a special puja.

Similar ceremonies were witnessed around the country. Before the mission launch on July 14, a group of scientists visited Tirupati for its success and offered prayers. The group also carried with them a miniature model of Chandrayaan-3 to seek the Lord’s blessings. While India is united in prayer, the NASA stands among the hopeful. In case the mission is successful, it would mark humanity’s first touchdown on the Moon’s southern pole which will yield invaluable data for not just India but all countries.

Complaint against actor Prakash Raj for comment

Bagalkot: Sriram Sene members on Tuesday filed a complaint against actor Prakash Raj of making fun of India’s prestigious Chandrayaan 3 in his social media X account. The actor had posted a caricature showing Chandrayaan sending a photo of a man pouring tea.

Fourteen-day Moon mission

The lander and rover have a mission life of one lunar day, which is about 14 Earth days. Temperatures dip to as much as -1800C during lunar nights. However, there is an outside possibility of the lander and the rover coming back to life for another lunar day, claim scientists

Quick-fire experiments

“After powered descent on to the landing site, there will be deployment of ramp and rover coming out. After this all the experiments will take place one after the other — all of which have to be completed in just one day on the Moon, which is 14 (Earth) days,” ISRO chief Somanath said