New Delhi, Jun 22 (IANS): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday congratulated the ISRO for the successful launch of a record 20 satellites in a single Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) mission.

"20 satellites in a go! ISRO continues to break new barriers. Hearty congratulations to our scientists on the monumental accomplishment," Modi said.

In another tweet, he said: "Our space programme has time and again shown the transformative potential of science and technology in people's lives.

"Over the years we developed expertise and capability to help other nations in their space initiatives. This is the skill of our scientists."

He said he witnessed "with immense pride and delight the brilliant moments on TV and took photos for my Instagram account".

The Indian rocket PSLV, standing 44.4 metre tall and weighing 320 tonnes, on Wednesday morning lifted off successfully with India's earth observation satellite Cartosat, Google company Terra Bella's SkySat Gen2-1 and 18 other satellites. The 20 satellites weighed 1,288 kg.