Pavan Srinath cited in a piece on India's Mars mission

Pavan discusses the cost of the Mars mission and also explains why it is important for a growing nation to embrace a knowledge economy.India Says Namaste to Mars"Pleasingly, as Pavan Srinath noted in the Business Standard, the Mars mission itself has shifted the debate over the past year. Srinath even argued that it was a mistake for the defenders of the program to focus on its low cost, saying:It is unfortunate that we make a virtue of low-cost successes in India rather than aiming for the best. An underestimation of expenses is inevitable in such a culture. This is unnecessary to sell the Mars mission to the Indian public. Apart from providing technological support to India's development and security needs, the space programme is a source of inspiration for scientific curiosity like no other. This is necessary for any growing nation to embrace a knowledge economy. While we may have plenty of challenges to address down on Earth, we have to keep looking up at the stars in order to pull ourselves up."