ISRO chosen for Gandhi Peace Prize

Indian Space Research Organisation has been selected for the Gandhi Peace Prize for 2014 for its contribution to the country’s development through space technology and satellite-based services.

The award, comprising Rs one crore and a citation, was decided after the jury for the prize met under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday evening.

Chief Justice of India H L Dattu, leader of the single largest opposition Party in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, senior member of Parliament L K Advani and Gopalkrishna Gandhi are other members of the jury.

The Gandhi Peace Prize for social, economic and political transformation through non-violence was instituted in 1995. Some of its previous winners are Nelson Mandela, Vaclav Havel, Julius K Nyerere, Baba Amte, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Grameen Bank of Bangladesh, Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan and Ramkrishna Mission.

ISRO, a government of India organisation, is engaged in making space technology a catalyst of development to bring about societal transformation and its mission is to provide the nation with space-based services and to develop the technologies to achieve the same.

ISRO through the years has upheld its mission of bringing space to the service of the common man and in the service of the nation and has emerged as one of the six largest space agencies of the world.

Through its space technology programme, it has allowed for improved mapping of agricultural land and water-shed areas, providing advisories to fishing communities, giving information support for decentralised planning, creating data base of heritage sites, better climate and disaster management support and promoting a knowledge based society, which has led to social, economic and political transformation through non-violence.