'IITians went to US; CETians took us to Moon': Shashi Tharoor on connection between Chandrayaan-3 success and a Kerala engg college

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said on Thursday that a Kerala engineering college produced scientists who were responsible for ISRO's Chandrayaan-3 success on Wednesday. Tharoor, an MP from Thiruvananthapuram, said Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chief S Somanath is also a product of a Kerala engineering college. 

"Worth applauding: @ISRO  chief Dr Somanath is a product of the TKM College of Engineering, Kollam, Kerala and many of his colleagues graduated from the College of Engineering, Thiruvananthapuram (CET). At least seven more engineers from CET were involved in the #Chandrayaan3Success: Mohana Kumar (mission director / mechanical), Athula (electronics), Satheesh (mechanical), Narayanan (associate mission director / mechanical), Mohan (mechanical) and Shora (electronics)," said Tharoor in a post on the X platform. 

Tharoor also said Chandrayaan-3 success is a good occasion to "salute the alumni of unsung engineering colleges". 

"Indians are rightly obsessed with the IITs, but let's salute the alumni of unsung engineering colleges who serve the public sector with dedication & who are the backbone of national enterprises like @ISRO. IITians went to Silicon Valley; CETians took us to the moon!" Tharoor added in his post. 

Chandrayaan-3's successful soft-landing on the Moon to propel India into an elite group of nations was lauded by leading foreign media outlets as a marvellous achievement and a massive moment for the country's space exploration that has raised its profile as a spacefaring nation.

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From The New York Times to BBC and The Guardian to The Washington Post, the historic event in India's space programme on Wednesday made headlines across the globe.

Former ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair said the space agency's scientists have accomplished this historic success by getting a salary one-fifth of their counterparts in the developed world.

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As per him, the low wages for the scientists at ISRO are one of the reasons why they could find low-cost solutions for space exploration. "The wages paid to the scientists, technicians, and other staff at ISRO are hardly one-fifth of what is given globally. So that gives an advantage," Nair told PTI while talking about the Indian space agency's history of exploring space at very low expenses.

Furthermore, he claimed that no ISRO scientists are millionaires. He also said that these scientists always live a very normal and subdued life. "They are not really bothered about the money but are passionate and dedicated to their mission. That is how we achieved greater heights," Nair said.

The former ISRO chairman pointed that India uses home-grown technology for its space missions, and that has helped them reduce the cost considerably. He said the space mission costs of India are 50 to 60 per cent lower compared to the space missions of other countries.

Nair said the success of Chandrayaan-3 is the first stepping stone to begin India's planetary explorations. He stated that the country already has several commercial contracts with Europe and America, and this will grow now with the success of Chandrayaan-3.

As per ISRO, the total cost of Chandrayaan-3 is only Rs 615 crore, which is almost equivalent to a Bollywood movie's production budget in the country.

With inputs from PTI

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