India's Modi announces space mission as election nears

India will launch its first manned space mission by 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday in his Independence Day speech ahead of next year's general election.

Modi, who will seek re-election in the world's biggest democracy early next year, used the speech to broadcast his government's achievements, amid concerns about lack of jobs and rising violence against the Muslim minority.

Modi's plan to take the "Indian tricolour to space" in a manned mission would make India the fourth nation to launch one, after the United States, Russia and China. He also announced the launch date of a previously announced medical insurance scheme.

Critics said that while Modi has adopted several initiatives, his tenure has been marred by violence against Muslim cattle traders and economic jolts through a countrywide ban on high-value notes and the botched launch of a unified taxation system.

SS