Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with a heat contact with Indian Air Drive Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla at the moment, who had simply made historical past as the primary Indian astronaut to board the Worldwide Area Station (ISS) and the second Indian to enterprise into house.

Whereas interacting through video hyperlink, Prime Minister Modi warmly congratulated Group Captain Shukla on “hoisting the Tricolour in house,” informing him, “Although you’re away from our motherland, you’re the nearest to the Indians’ hearts.” The Prime Minister’s phrases mirrored the thrill of 140 crore Indians as he wished success to Shukla and spoke of the nice fortune of his title and journey as an “auspicious starting of a brand new period” for the nation’s youth.

I had an exquisite dialog with Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla as he shared his experiences from the Worldwide Area Station. Watch the particular interplay! https://t.co/MoMR5ozRRA
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 28, 2025

It was a light-hearted interplay when PM Modi requested Group Captain Shukla if he had come to the ISS with ‘Gajar ka halwa’ (carrot dessert) amongst his gadgets. Shukla replied affirmatively, and that moreover ‘moong dal ka halwa’ and ‘aam ras,’ the opposite astronauts from different nations on the ISS shared the “wealthy Indian culinary” with him.

Group Captain Rakesh Shukla, who’s a member of the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4) crew, docked efficiently with the ISS on Thursday, June 26, 2025, aboard Dragon spacecraft. His mission is a exceptional milestone for India’s human spaceflight program, 41 years after Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma’s historic flight in 1984.

Earlier, after the profitable launch of the Axiom-4 mission, Prime Minister Modi had acknowledged that Group Captain Shukla had the hopes, aspirations, and needs of 1.4 billion Indians with him.

Wanting again at his expertise, Group Captain Shukla known as the lift-off “magical.” Having spent 30 days in quarantine, the expertise of lift-off was one of many best feats of feeling pressed again after which the swift silence and “magical” floating in house’s vacuum. He conveyed deep appreciation for the mission crew, mentioning that his achievement was a “collective achievement.”

When he arrived on board the ISS, Group Captain Shukla expressed his “privilege” to be the 634th human to be in house and the primary Indian within the orbiting laboratory. He known as the Earth view from that perspective “great” and, upon being introduced together with his official astronaut pin by Ax-4 Mission Commander Peggy Whitson, stated, “I’m no 634, that is a privilege.”

He despatched a message to his nation, saying, “It is because of your love and the Tricolour I’ve on my shoulder makes me really feel like the entire nation is with me.” The astronauts will probably be staying aboard the ISS for a interval of round two weeks, performing a wide range of scientific experiments, outreach, and industrial actions, with Group Captain Shukla heading a few of these experiments necessary for India’s Gaganyaan program.