Tokyo, Oct 22 : On the successful launch of Chandrayaan-1, India''s spacecraft mission to moon, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today said that it marked the first step in India''s space programme, and also described it as a "historic milestone".

Singh, who is presently on an official visit to Japan, congratulated all the scientists associated with this mission for the successful completion of the first step.

"When completed, the mission will put India in the very small group of six countries which have thus far sent space missions to the moon. Our scientific community has once again done the country proud and the entire nation salutes them," Dr. Singh said.

Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh assured Lok Sabha that Indian banking system is stable and people's deposits with public and private banks are entirely safe. He ruled out any direct impact of global financial crisis on the Indian economy but he confessed its indirect impacts on the country growth.

Government is taking various steps to galvanize India from the global slowdown. Indian banks are financially very sound and they have very small exposure to the sub-prime mortgage assets. So people no need to worry about their money.

Onboard Air India One, Oct 21 : On the eve of dialogue between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Japanese counterpart Taro Aso, New Delhi has blamed Tokyo for deferring the implementation of comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) that can prove to be a shot in the arm for the bilateral trade between the two countries.

The current trade between the two countries stands at 10 billion dollars and is expected to reach 15 billion dollars by 2015.

Tokyo, Oct 21 : Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh arrived here on Tuesday for summit talks with his Japanese counterpart Taro Aso during which they are expected to discuss a joint strategy to overcome the global financial crisis and possible cooperation in the civil nuclear energy sector.

Dr. Singh visit will bolster the India-Japan strategic and security ties. Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone accorded the Prime Minister a warm welcome upon his arrival at the Tokyo International Airport.

New Delhi - Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday embarked on a trip to Japan and China, where he was scheduled to attend the seventh Asia-Europe summit.

During his official engagements in Japan, which begin Wednesday, Singh is to hold talks with the country's new prime minister, Taro Aso, to assess the global economic crisis and ways to deal with it.

The two leaders were also to discuss cooperation on political and security issues and hold talks to finalize a broad-based economic partnership.

New Delhi, Oct 21 : Before embarking on his Japan and China visit, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh today said that a strong India-Japan relationship would play a significant role in the emerging Asian security architecture, and added that it will contribute to "peace, stability and prosperity" of Asia and the world.

In his departure statement, he said, "I consider our bilateral relations with Japan to be one of the most important bilateral relationships we have. India and Japan are two major countries in Asia, sharing many similar interests and subscribing to common values."