Indian Space Research Organisation the Himalayas. The Rangpur Observatory was set up in 1957 at Osmania University, Hyderabad. Space research was further encouraged by the technically inclined Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru. In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 and opened up possibilities for the rest of the world to conduct a space launch. The Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) was set up in 1962 by Jawaharlal Nehru, first Prime Minister of India. The prime objective of ISRO is to use space technology and its application to various national tasks. The Indian space programme was driven by the vision of
Prime Minister of India Congress. Subsequently, Morarji Desai—a former deputy prime minister—became the first non-Congress prime minister of the country. The government of Prime Minister Desai was composed of groups with opposite ideologies, in which unity and coordination were difficult to maintain. Ultimately, after two and a half years as PM; on 28 July 1979, Morarji tendered his resignation to the president; and his government fell. Thereafter, Charan Singh—a deputy prime minister in Desai's cabinet—with outside, conditional support from Congress, proved a majority in Lok Sabha and took oath as prime minister. However, Congress pulled its support shortly after, and Singh had to resign;