UPA govt didn't give clearance in 2012: Ex-DRDO Chief on Mission Shakti

New Delhi, Mar 27: Former DRDO chief VK Saraswat on Wednesday said that India could have developed an anti-satellite missile in 2014-2015, had the UPA government given clearance in 2012.

Former DRDO chief Dr VK Saraswat said,"We made presentations to National Security Adviser and National Security Council, when such discussions were held, they were heard by all concerned, unfortunately, we didn't get positive response (from UPA), so we didn't go ahead."

"When proposal was put up by Dr Satheesh Reddy & NSA Ajit Doval to PM Modi, he had the courage and based on that he gave a go ahead. If the clearances were given in 2012-13, I'm quite certain that the launch would have happened in 2014-15," Saraswat told ANI.

Meanwhile, Former ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair said that India had the anti-satellite missile capability more than a decade ago but there was no political will at the time to demonstrate it. He said when China shot down an ageing weather satellite by launching a missile in 2007, India had the technology to undertake a similar mission. "...now (Prime Minister Narendra) Modiji has taken the initiative and he had the political will and courage to say that we will do this. We have now demonstrated this to whole world," Nair told PTI.

He had headed the ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation), Space Commission and was Secretary in the Department of Space from 2003 to 2009.

Earlier in the day, Narendra Modi announced that Indian scientists have successfully demonstrated anti-satellite missile capability by shooting down a live satellite, a war of words has erupted between the BJP and the Opposition.

The test makes India the fourth country in the world after the US, Russia and China to acquire the strategic capability to shoot down enemy satellites.

(with PTI inputs)