"Historic milestone," says Kiren Rijiju as Lok Sabha to honour astronaut Captain Shubhanshu Shukla's historic space mission

New Delhi [India], August 18 (ANI): Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju on Monday said that the Lok Sabha will hold a special discussion to honour Indian astronaut Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, who recently returned home after a successful mission to the International Space Station.
Rijiju called it a 'historic milestone' and said that the discussion would be focused on India's growing space ambitions in our journey towards Viksit Bharat.

Our hero astronaut capt Subhanshu Shukla has returned home after a successful mission to International Space Station. Parliament will honour him with a special discussion on his historic milestone and India’s growing space ambitions in our journey towards #ViksitBharat pic.twitter.com/jbLl9Xa3e1

— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) August 18, 2025

In a post on X, Kiren Rijiju wrote, "Our hero astronaut capt Subhanshu Shukla has returned home after a successful mission to International Space Station. Parliament will honour him with a special discussion on his historic milestone and India's growing space ambitions in our journey towards Viksit Bharat."
The Lok Sabha will hold a special discussion on 'India's first astronaut aboard the International Space Station - the critical role of space programme for Viksit Bharat by 2047' today, after Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla returned to India after completing a successful mission.
"Special discussion on India's first astronaut aboard the International Space Station-critical role of space programme for Viksit Bharat by 2047," the agenda released by the Lok Sabha secretariat read.
Shukla, who returned to Earth on July 15 after completing NASA's Axiom-4 (AX-4) space mission, landed in Delhi in the early hours of Sunday.
He was received at Delhi's IGI airport by Union Minister Jitendra Singh, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, as well as his family, including his wife and son.
Shukla was part of NASA's Axiom-4 Space Mission, which took off from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, US, on June 25. He returned to Earth on July 15, splashing down off the coast of California. He became the first Indian in 41 years to travel to space.
Alongside this landmark discussion, two crucial Bills will be introduced in the Lok Sabha.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal will move for leave to introduce the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2025.
The second bill is the Indian Institutes of Management (Amendment) Bill, 2025. It will be moved by Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. This Bill proposes further amendments to the Indian Institutes of Management Act, 2017. (ANI)