Science and Technology Minister Jitendra Singh asserted on Monday that India has taken a quantum leap in space technology under Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership and has taken the lead in using it for aiding infrastructure and development works as well.

With the country waiting with bated breath for Chandrayaan-3's scheduled touchdown on the lunar surface on Wednesday, Singh expressed confidence about its success and added that India will launch its first preliminary mission later this year in the run-up to its manned Gaganyaan mission, expected in the second half of 2024.

Before the manned mission, there will be two unmanned missions, including one with a robot, he told reporters here.

Noting the nationwide excitement about the moon mission, he said the Modi government has unlocked the space sector and raised awareness about India's space technology like never before.

To a question about the failure of Russia's lunar mission, he said it had used a different route and technology than the one deployed by India.

Over 115 startups have emerged in the space sector in the last three years, he said, adding that there is a palpable excitement about the Chandrayaan-3 touchdown as everyone has taken "ownership" about it.

Experts have also learnt lessons from the previous mission and taken corrective measures, he said.

Be it for safety at unmanned railway stations or ensuring the success of 'Swamitva Yojana', which uses technology to delineate boundaries in rural areas to fix property ownership, India has used space technology for development and infrastructure projects, he said.

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