Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the India Bhutan Satellite is a testament to the nation's special relationship with the people of Bhutan.
According to a statement by the PMO, the prime minister has commended Department of Information Technology & Telecom (DITT) Bhutan and ISRO on the successful launch of this jointly developed satellite.
In response to a tweet by the Bhutan Prime Minister Lotay Tshering who presented a message from His Majesty The King on the successful launch of India-Bhutan SAT, PM Modi said, “India Bhutan Satellite is a testament to our special relationship with the people of Bhutan. I commend @dittbhutan and @isro on the successful launch of this jointly developed satellite."
The India-Bhutan SAT, jointly developed by India and Bhutan was launched into space today by ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The PSLV C54 carried the India-Bhutan SAT, along with India’s Earth Observation Satellite -06 and other satellites from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India.
A high-level delegation from Bhutan, led by Lyonpo Karma Donnen Wangdi, Minister of Information and Communications of Bhutan specially travelled to Sriharikota to witness the launch of the India-Bhutan SAT. An 18-member media delegation from Bhutan who is on a week-long familiarisation visit to India was also at Sriharikota to witness the launch of the India-Bhutan SAT.
India has assisted in the capacity building of Bhutanese engineers through hands-on training at the UR Rao Satellite Centre, in Bengaluru, on satellite building and testing, as well as on processing and analysing satellite data. This culminated in the joint development of the customized satellite for Bhutan, launched today.
The India-Bhutan SAT will provide high resolution images to Bhutan for their natural resources management.