Sky is not the limit for you or Bharat, Shubhanshu Shukla tells students

Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian to visit the ISS, urged students in Ghaziabad to dream beyond conventional careers, embrace failure and pursue ambitious goals. He stressed youth, innovation and perseverance as crucial to India's transformation into a developed nation by 2047

New Delhi/Ghaziabad: Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the first Indian to visit the International Space Station (ISS), on Saturday urged students to dream beyond conventional career goals and contribute to the country’s transformation, saying “the sky is not the limit” for them or India.

The Ashoka Chakra awardee was speaking at Seth Anandram Jaipuria School in Vasundhara, Ghaziabad, where he delivered the sixth Dr Rajaram Jaipuria Memorial Lecture on the theme “The Indian Century: Youth, Innovation and Nation Building — Nai Soch, Nai Udaan.” “The sky is not the limit, not for me, not for you, and not for Bharat,” Shukla told the students.

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Sharing experiences from his space journey, Shukla gave students a glimpse into life beyond Earth and encouraged them to cultivate curiosity and develop a scientific understanding of the universe.
“From space, Bharat looks like ‘Saare Jahan Se Achha’,” he said, drawing applause from the audience.

Moving beyond space science, Shukla spoke about ambition, failure and resilience, urging students to set goals that wend beyond merely securing a job.

“Do not just think, ‘I want to get a job.’ …Think, ‘I want to change India’,” he said. Shukla said young people would play a crucial role in helping India realise its ambition of becoming a developed nation by 2047. “Everybody makes mistakes. Do not hide them. Acknowledging your failure is the beginning of your journey towards success,” Shukla told the students.

Emphasising the importance of perseverance, he narrated the story of an astronaut who faced rejection nine times before succeeding on her 10th attempt. She subsequently became the most experienced member of her team in terms of time spent in space.

The story, he said, demonstrated why young people should not be afraid of failure and should continue pursuing their goals with determination, hard work and perseverance. The event was attended by Shishir Jaipuria, Chairman of the Seth Anandram Jaipuria Group of Educational Institutions, and educationist Vinesh Menon, among others.

Speaking on the occasion, Shishir Jaipuria said youth, innovation and nation-building were central to India’s progress. “Youth represents energy, innovation is the engine for growth, and nation-building is essential for the country’s progress,” he said.

He urged young people to move beyond the pursuit of valuation and instead focus on “value, vision and virtue”. “The 21st century belongs to India and its young population,” Jaipuria said. He also announced that the group would launch an astronomy programme to encourage students to take an interest in astronomy and space science.

The Dr Rajaram Jaipuria Memorial Lecture has previously hosted personalities including former president Ram Nath Kovind, vice-president M Venkaiah Naidu, Union minister Nitin Gadkari, veteran BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi, and prominent Hindu religious leader Swami Swaroopanand, among others. The interaction with Shukla allowed students to learn about space while also emphasising the importance of ambition, resilience and self-belief in contributing to India’s future, the school said.