Key Points
Narendra Modi. on Tuesday became the first Prime Minister to visit. s Thiruvananthapuram-based Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in four decades, where he met the four astronauts-select Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Group Captain Angad Pratap, Group Captain Ajit Krishnan and Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla who have been shortlisted for the..
At VSSC, PM Modi bestowed astronaut wings on the four test pilots after introducing them to the world and called them the pride of todays India who who will take the aspirations of 140 crore Indians to space...
After coming back to India, he did his engineering from NSS College, Akathethara, in Palakkad and joined the NDA course in Khadakwasla and then entered 163rd pilot course at the Air Force Academy from where he passed out with flying colours as he bagged the Sword of Honour..
He is a flying instructor with 2,900 hours of flying experience and has flown a variety of aircraft, including Su-30 MKI, MiG-21, Mig-29 and Jaguar..
He was commissioned into the fighter stream of the IAF on Dec 18, 2004 and rose to the rank of Wing Commander in Dec 2017 and was later promoted as Group Captain in the IAF..
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