Launch of unmanned spacecraft will mark giant leap forward for Indian science and technology, says prime minister

This article is more than 8 years old

This article is more than 8 years old

India plans to send a spacecraft to Mars next year, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has announced in a speech marking the 65th anniversary of the country's independence.

Singh also said that economic growth was a national security issue for India and warned that a lack of political consensus was holding it back.

"This spaceship to Mars will be a huge step for us in the area of science and technology," he said. The 4.5bn rupee (£52m) spacecraft is to be launched in November 2013 on a frequently used rocket developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation.

India has had a space programme since the 1960s, and since the 1970s has launched scores of satellites for itself and nearly two dozen other countries.

In 2008, India successfully sent a probe to the moon that detected evidence of water on the lunar surface for the first time. India is also planning a rover mission to the moon and is awaiting budgetary approval for a manned space mission.

Critics of Singh's Congress party say the government's priorities are skewed and that it should concentrate on providing the basic needs of its population, such as electricity and safe drinking water. Earlier this month, more than 600 million people lost power when the country's decrepit electricity grid collapsed.

On the issue of the economy, Singh was more optimistic than many economists, predicting growth of more than 6.5% this year, but he said more was needed to improve livelihoods.

"If we do not increase the pace of the country's economic growth … it most certainly affects our national security," he said. Singh did not give details, but some analysts warn of social unrest if India fails to satisfy growing aspirations.

India remains one of the world's fastest growing large economies despite a sharp slowdown over the past year, but economists say it needs to expand even faster to create jobs for millions of people who will reach working age in the next few years.

"As far as creating an environment within the country for rapid economic growth is concerned, I believe that we are not being able to achieve this because of a lack of political consensus," Singh said in the annual Independence Day speech.

He warned that stagnation in European economies was also hurting India, which exports to the eurozone.

Last year, lack of support from coalition partners and members of his own party forced Singh to suspend a major initiative allowing foreign supermarkets to open in India. Other policies such as cutting fuel subsidies are also being held up.

India is struggling with a slump in foreign investment and industrial output, gaping fiscal and current account deficits, high inflation and weakness in the rupee. These problems have been made worse by a drought.

Despite his concerns, the prime minister insisted India's current economic downturn would be short-lived. "I believe that this period of difficulties will not last long," he said, speaking amid tight security at New Delhi's historic 17th century Red Fort, the former seat of the Mogul empire.

He said improvements in national infrastructure would boost growth. "Recently we have taken new measures to accelerate infrastructure development. Ambitious targets have been fixed in roads, airports, railways, electricity generation and coal production," he said.