Union External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar on Sunday, July 26, 2026 — Kargil Vijay Diwas — shared key highlights from the 136th episode of Mann Ki Baat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's monthly radio address, underscoring a sweep of national achievements spanning defence, space, science, and sport.

Context

Kargil Vijay Diwas, observed every July 26, marks India's victory in the 1999 Kargil conflict with Pakistan. PM Modi used the occasion's 136th Mann Ki Baat episode to invoke the 'extraordinary courage of our brave soldiers,' framing the day as a source of national pride. Dr. Jaishankar amplified the address on X, attaching four images to the post.

The episode covered a notably wide canvas — from a bilateral missile agreement to a galaxy cluster named after a Manipuri lake — reflecting the programme's established role as a platform to project India's domestic and international momentum across sectors.

Policy Backdrop

A central highlight was a major defence agreement with Indonesia covering BrahMos and Astra missiles, concluded earlier in July. The deal fits squarely within India's Atmanirbhar Bharat defence-export push, which has prioritised growing global confidence in Indian-made weapons systems since 2020. BrahMos, a supersonic cruise missile developed jointly with Russia, and Astra, an indigenously developed beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile, represent the sharpest edge of India's defence technology portfolio.

On space, PM Modi cited the launch of Vikram-1, described as India's first rocket developed by the private sector. The milestone flows directly from the 2020 liberalisation of the space sector and the creation of IN-SPACe, the nodal body enabling private participation. Modi framed it as proof that 'opening of the Space sector to private enterprise' is 'allowing youngsters to show their talent.'

Stakeholders and Impact

The episode also celebrated India's science students, who won medals across all four Science Olympiads — Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Mathematics — a clean sweep that the government has highlighted as validation of its sustained STEM education focus. Ronaldo Laishram, an astrophysicist from Manipur working in Japan, was individually named for his role in discovering a massive cluster of young galaxies, which he named the 'Loktak Proto Cluster' — a tribute to Manipur's Loktak lake, India's largest freshwater lake.

In sport, India registered a landmark win in women's cricket, defeating England by 270 runs to claim the first-ever women's Test match at Lord's cricket ground. Separately, badminton star P.V. Sindhu became the first Indian to win the Japan Open. Modi also extended wishes to the Indian contingent at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, which had begun days earlier.

What's Next

The Indonesia missile deal is likely to attract close attention from regional defence watchers, with follow-on questions around delivery timelines and the broader expansion of India's defence export pipeline. Private space launches under the IN-SPACe framework are expected to accelerate, with further missions from domestic firms anticipated in the coming months.

India's clean sweep at the Science Olympiads and the women's cricket victory at Lord's add to a pattern of soft-power milestones that the government has consistently used to build a narrative of rising national capability — a narrative Dr. Jaishankar reinforced by amplifying the Mann Ki Baat highlights on the diplomatically significant date of Kargil Vijay Diwas.