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In a boost to the space programme, the Union government approved
Chandrayaan-4 mission to bring moon rocks to earth,
send a spacecraft to orbit Venus
expand the Gaganyaan project to build an Indian space station, Bharatiya Antariksh Station (BAS).
Also approved a proposal of the Department of Space to build a next-generation launch vehicle capable of placing heavier payload in orbits
Government had allocated ₹2,104 crore for the Chandrayaan-4 mission.
The Cabinet approved ₹1,236 crore for the Venus Orbiter Mission, which is expected to be launched in March 2028.
This will be India’s second interplanetary mission after the Mars Orbiter Mission, launched on November 5, 2013.
The Cabinet also gave its nod to an additional funding of ₹11,170 crore to the Gaganyaan programme, which already has a sanctioned budget of ₹9,023 crore
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