Overview

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla at Lok Kalyan Marg on Monday, where Shukla gifted the tricolour and Axiom‑4 mission patch and showed Earth photos taken from the ISS.
• The Lok Sabha held a special discussion titled India’s first astronaut aboard the International Space Station – Critical role of the space programme for Viksit Bharat by 2047, though the session was interrupted by Opposition protests as leaders still praised the achievement.
• Union minister Jitendra Singh said the Axiom‑4 seat and mission cost ₹548 crore and asserted its science and operations will directly feed into India’s Gaganyaan human spaceflight programme.
• Shukla flew on the commercial Axiom‑4 mission that launched June 25, docked June 26 and splashed down July 15, completing an 18‑day stay with over 60 experiments and 20 outreach sessions, becoming the first Indian to visit the ISS and the second Indian in space.
• He returned to India early Sunday to a rousing welcome in Delhi, with Lucknow officials proposing to name a road and park after him, and he is slated to take part in National Space Day events on August 22–23.