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 Front, the Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) among others—proved a majority in the Lok Sabha, and Manmohan Singh was elected prime minister; becoming the first Sikh prime minister of the nation. During his tenure, the country retained the economic momentum gained during Prime Minister Vajpayee's tenure. Apart from this, the government succeeded in getting the "National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, 2005", and the "Right to Information Act, 2005" passed in the parliament. Further, the government strengthened India's relations with nations like Afghanistan; Russia; the Gulf states; and the United States, culminating with the ratification of India–United States