KOCHI, Feb. 28 -- Group Captains Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, Angad Prathap, Ajith Krishnan and Wing Commander Shubanshu Shukla have been designated as the astronauts of India's manned mission to space Gaganyaan, scheduled for next year.

They were presented before the nation and "winged" by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a special function held at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday.

Before being introduced to the nation, the Prime Minister held a review meeting with the scientists and engineers of ISRO about India's preparedness for the country's first-ever manned mission.

"They are not just four names or four human beings; they are the four powers that are going to take the aspirations of 140 crore Indians to ...