<span style="color: #222222;">New Chairman of ISRO Dr. S. Somanath today called on Minister of State for Atomic Energy and Space Dr. Jitendra Singh and discussed the status of Gaganyaan as well as other Space missions lined up for the near future.<br />''<br />''While conveying his best wishes to the new ISRO Chief, Dr Singh said that Dr. Somanath has taken the prestigious assignment at a very eventful time and destiny had blessed him to lead ISRO through some of the most historic missions including India's first Human Space Mission Gaganyaan.<br />''<br />''Dr Singh said that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Space programmes have been given a special impetus, and Space technology has now been made applicable in different sectors including roads and highways, railways, healthcare, agriculture, etc. He said, during the next few years, India's ascent to the top will be heralded through the Space route.<br />''<br />''ISRO Chairman d the Minister about the status of Gaganyaan programme and said that there had been a delay in timeline because of the COVID and other constraints but now things have again fallen back on track and all the systems needed for the first unmanned mission are getting realized. Following the first unmanned mission, the second unmanned mission "Vyommitra" will carry Robot and this will then be followed by the Human Mission.<br />''<br />''In 2022, ISRO also has the distinction of launching GSAT-21, the first fully funded satellite of NSIL (New Space India Limited), and will be owned as well as operated by NSIL. This Communication Satellite will meet the DTH (Direct to Home) application needs.<br />''<br />''ISRO Chairman presented at brief about the forthcoming missions during the next three months. He mentioned a RICAT-1A PSLV C5-2 scheduled for next month, OCEANSAT-3, INS 2B ANAND PSLV C-53 to be launched in March this year, and SSLV-D1 Micro SAT in April 2022.</span><br />