New Delhi, Aug 17 : Returning for the first time in India after completing a successful space mission stint, astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla arrived in the early hours of Sunday at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in the national capital, where he was welcomed by Union Minister of State Jitendra Singh and Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta.

Taking to social media platform X, Union Minister of State Jitendra Singh in a post wrote: "A moment of pride for India! A moment of glory for #ISRO! A moment of gratitude to the dispensation that facilitated this under the leadership of PM @narendramodi. India’s Space glory touches the Indian soil… as the iconic son of Mother India, #Gaganyatri Shubhanshu Shukla lands at Delhi in the early hours of morning today. Accompanying him, another equally accomplished Group Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair, one of the astronauts selected for India’s first Human mission Gaganyaan who was India’s designated backup for the mission to the International Space Station #ISS. Privileged to receive both of them at the New Delhi Airport along with Delhi CM Smt. Rekha Gupta @gupta_rekha, #ISRO Chairman Dr. V. Narayanan and later welcomed by a group of students."

Shukla, is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday morning before heading to his hometown, Lucknow after spending the past year in the US training for the Axiom-4 mission to the International Space Station (ISS)

He will return to Delhi to participate in the National Space Day celebrations on August 22–23.

Various people from different parts of Delhi and the neighbouring states of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana gathered with tricolours waving in their hands at the Indira Gandhi International Airport waiting eagerly to welcome Shubhanshu Shukla in a grand manner.

Hailing the successful space mission feat achieved by the Indian astronaut, Dinesh Choudhary, a resident of Sector-21 in Ghaziabad's Loni, Uttar Pradesh, came to Delhi and said: "I am very happy that astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla has returned from space and arrive in India today and has brought honour and pride to the whole nation. Through this successful space mission, he has made the whole country proud. We can also proudly say that Bharat is truly great..."

Anshu Kumar, a Delhi resident, while lauding the achievement of Shubhanshu Shukla, told IANS: "Shubhanshu Shukla has achieved a proud moment for the country. I couldn't welcome Kaplana Chawla but I feel proud to receive Shubhanshu Shukla in a grand manner. I hope he continues to make the nation proud with his achievements in the future as well."

Another citizen lauding astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla, told IANS: "It makes me feel proud to welcome Shubhanshu Shukla today who has made the whole country proud. He has filled the chest of 110 crore Indians with pride and has made the Tricolour fly higher in the sky and the country needs youth such as Shubhanshu Shukla to make the country truly 'Aatmanirbhar' (self-reliant), which is in sync with the direction and the vision which Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants to take the nation forward towards.

Another supporter of Shubhanshu Shukla told IANS, "We have all come here, and Shubhanshu Shukla has brought pride to the nation. There is enthusiasm across the country that we, too, should learn from him..."