In IMF Chief's Chandrayaan-3 Praise, An Interstellar Reference: Report

Several world leaders at the G20 Summit here congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the success of Chandrayaan-3, with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva hailing India for achieving the feat "in a budget less than that of the movie Interstellar", according to sources.

During various sessions and meetings of the G20, many world leaders showered praise on India for its lunar mission and also lauded the successful launch of Aditya L1, India's first space-based mission to study the Sun.

While the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak congratulated India and the entire world for Chandrayaan-3, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa hailed the country for the feat and recalled that he had watched a telecast of the lunar landing while taking a break during the BRICS meeting, sources said.

"I congratulate you on the Moon landing. But as an economist let me congratulate you for doing it in a budget less than that of the movie, 'Interstellar'. Bravo!" International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Georgieva was quoted by a source as saying at a meeting during the G20.

Chandrayaan-3 touched down on the lunar south pole at 6.04 pm on August 23 after a flawless 41-day voyage, in a giant leap for India's space programme.

The Rs 600-crore Chandrayaan-3 mission was launched on July 14 on board Launch Vehicle Mark-III (LVM-3) rocket.

The movie "Interstellar", a 2014 epic science fiction film co-written and directed by Christopher Nolan, was made at a reported cost of about Rs 1,400 crore.

During the G20 Summit, Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Hsien Loong said, "Congratulations on the Moon mission and also on Aditya L1 mission." Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth also congratulated India on the success of Chandrayaan and Aditya L1 missions, saying it displays the technological prowess of India and is an inspiration for "a voyage to the future".

At a bilateral meeting after the summit, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva congratulated PM Modi and India for the historic achievement of Chandrayaan-3's landing in the south polar region of the Moon as well as the successful launch of India's first solar mission, Aditya-L1, both important feats which mark remarkable milestones in space exploration.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, her Netherlands counterpart Mark Rutte and President of the Union of Comoros and African Union Chairperson Azali Assoumani also hailed India for its Chandrayaan-3 success during the G20 sessions.

In the G20 New Delhi Leaders' Declaration adopted on Saturday, the grouping said, "We also congratulate India on the successful landing on the Moon on 23 August 2023."

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