SINGAPORE ­– The New York Times has apologised after an editorial cartoon about India’s foray into space exploration, by a cartoonist based in Singapore, drew a “large number” of complaints from readers.

The cartoon showed a farmer, meant to represent India, with a cow, knocking on the door of an “Elite Space Club”. The two men inside were reading about India’s Mars mission. The cartoon was carried here last month, under the headline: India's budget mission to Mars.

“The intent of the cartoonist, Heng Kim Song, was to highlight how space exploration is no longer the exclusive domain of rich, Western countries,” wrote Mr Andrew Rosenthal, Editorial Page Editor in a post on the New York Times Facebook page.

“Mr Heng, who is based in Singapore, uses images and text - often in a provocative way - to make observations about international affairs. We apologise to readers who were offended by the choice of images in this cartoon,” he wrote, adding that Mr Heng was “in no way trying to impugn India, its government or its citizens”.

Last month, India successfully put the Mangalyaan robotic probe into orbit around Mars. The total cost of the Indian mission was put at 4.5 billion rupees (S$93 million), which makes it one of the cheapest interplanetary space missions ever, reported BBC News.