Mars mission to boost India's global credentials: krishnaswamy Kasturirangan

On concerns in sections of the Indian space establishment about China "forging ahead" in the area of space, with New Delhi "lagging behind", Kasturirangan dismissed suggestions of a space race between the two countries. "We have never been at competition with China. We have our own pace. We have our own priorities. There are many things in which we have scored very high in terms of international reckoning, the use of space for socio-economic sectors, and we are one of the well organised systems in the world in terms of getting mission benefits out a shoe-string budget", he said.