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Source: The post is based on the article “Top ISRO scientist V R Lalithambika conferred with highest civilian French honour for space cooperation initiatives” published in “Indian Express” on 30th November 2023
Why in the News?
V R Lalithambika (ISRO scientist) was recently honored with the Legion of Honour Award for promoting Indo-French space cooperation.
What is the Legion of Honour Award?
1) Legion of Honour (Légion d’honneur) is the highest civilian award given by France.
2) The award was constituted in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte.
3) The award is given in recognition of exceptional service to France regardless of the nationality of the individuals receiving the honor.
4) Previously, former ISRO chairman A S Kiran Kumar was also awarded the honour in 2019.
Why was V R Lalithambika given this award?
V R Lalithambika, who was the director of the Human Spaceflight (Ganganyaan) Programme in 2018, has been conferred the award for her engagement in space cooperation between France and India.
1) She played a key role in the signing of the first joint agreement for cooperation between the French National Space Agency CNES and the ISRO on human spaceflight in 2018 where the two agencies agreed to work in the area of space medicine.
2) In 2021, she was also credited for coordinating another Indo-French agreement on the Ganganyaan Mission. Under this agreement, the CNES will train India’s flight physicians in France.
UPSC Syllabus: International Relations
