New Delhi, Aug. 24 -- Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday announced the creation of an astronaut pool for young people to join, highlighting the need to nurture new talent for India's ambitious space missions. The announcement came during his video address for National Space Day 2025, which was themed "Aryabhatta to Gaganyaan: Ancient Wisdom to Infinite Possibilities." PM Modi shared that his recent meeting with astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, who recently returned from the International Space Station (ISS), inspired the new initiative. "I saw the infinite courage and dreams of the youth during the discussion with Group Captain Shukla. We are going to create an astronaut pool to realise these dreams," he said, urging young people to participate. The Prime Minister praised India's growing role in the global space community. He pointed to India's chairing of the International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics, which saw participation from over 300 candidates from 60 nations. "This is a sign of India's evolving leadership role in the space sector. I am glad that ISRO has launched a space hackathon and robotics challenge to drive interest in space among youth," PM Modi added. He also stressed that India's policy-making in the space sector must not have a "last stop." P5...