Speaking from the ramparts of Red Fort in Delhi on the occasion of the 62nd Independence Day, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh hoped that India would send a spacecraft to the moon in the current year. Dr. Singh noted that the launch of the Chandrayaan would be an important milestone in the development of the country's space programme1.

• 1. ‘India hopes to send spacecraft to moon’, August 15, 2008,at http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20080061592