Anti-satellite missile dramatically strengthened country's strategic defense power: Industry

Industry and experts Wednesday said 'Mission Shakti', under which India demonstrated anti-satellite missile capability by shooting down a live satellite, has dramatically strengthened the country's strategic defence power. "This success speaks laurels for our scientific community which have done the nation proud and enhanced our strategic defence capability," Ficci President Sandip Somany said.

He added that the emergence of India as a major defence and space power while keeping in place its commitments to non-proliferation of weapons in space and not against any nation, speaks volumes of its stature as a responsible world power in the comity of nations. "This demonstration is significant in that the technology is indigenous. For decades, India has been denied foreign technology under nuclear and missile control regimes, forcing the country to research and develop the technology at home," Dr Chaitanya Giri, Fellow, Space Studies, Gateway House said.