Shows ambition, capability of India: British envoy on Isro's success

The British High Commissioner, Alex Ellis on Saturday said that the successful Test Vehicle Abort Mission a part of Gaganyaan Project shows India's 'ambition' and 'capability' of India.

"That's wonderful news. You know everyone was so impressed by what happened with Chandrayaan, which was successful just before the G-20 summit, it really created the right sort of atmosphere for it and shows the kind of ambition and the capability of India today," he said.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman S Somanath on Saturday announced the success of the 'TV-D1' (Test Vehicle Development Flight 1) in the Gaganyaan Mission.

The test vehicle abort mission was successfully executed on the second attempt after it had faced an engine ignition problem at 8:45 am.

When asked about British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's visit to India, the UK envoy said, "I know he would love to come. We have to do that when we have the Free Trade Agreement. People are very hard at work on that. They're really trying to push to get a nice balanced and ambitious agreement between the two. So hopefully we can make progress. But let's get those negotiations done first."

India and the UK are negotiating a Free Trade Agreement, talks for which had begun in 2022. The 12th round of negotiations for the UK-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) took place from August 8 to 31 this year.

The British envoy also expressed his happiness as he visited the Durga Puja festival celebrations in Delhi and hailed the Indian festival and hospitality.

He added, "It's wonderful to be at Puja again. It's the 7th day. I think the day of Kali today. I think so the power, the Shakti of Kali is present. But it's a wonderful part of it for anyone who lives in India to participate in these both celebrations, but also very powerful expressions of faith and I've always loved India."

He said further, "I've always loved coming to Pandals and I've always enjoyed going to temples as well as to mosques and other places and so it's just a pleasure for me and I feel very welcomed by the Bengali community here."

The 9-day-long festival of Shardiya Navratri is intended for worshipping Maa Durga and her nine avatars, known as Navdurga. Navratri means 'nine nights' in Sanskrit. Hindus observe a total of four Navratris throughout the year.

From Ashwin Shukla Paksha's Navami until the Pratipada, Shardiya Navratri is observed. While it is celebrated with great fanfare across the nation, distinct traditions are more commonly practised in different states.

In India, Navratri is celebrated in a wide range of ways. Ram Leela, a celebration in which scenes from the Ramayana are performed, is organised in various parts of the country. The burning of King Ravana's effigies marks the story's conclusion on Vijayadashami.