Category: Business & Economy

ISRO successfully launches SSLV’s second developmental flight with three satellites from Sriharikota

The new rocket launch from Sriharikota has put three satellites into a 450 km-circular orbit during its 15-minute flight .

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched its second developmental flight of a Small Satellite Launch Vehicle — SSLV-D2 — and placed three satellites in its precise orbit on February 10 morning.

The three satellites are ISRO’s Earth Observation Satellite – EOS 07, U.S.-based firm Antaris’ Janus-1 and Chennai-based space start-up SpaceKidz’s AzaadiSAT-2. 

SSLV-D2 lifted off from the first launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre-SHAR, Sriharikota at 9:18 a.m. This is the first satellite launch in 2023.

“The SSLV-D2-EOS-07 mission is successfully accomplished,” ISRO mentioned on its Twitter handle, a few minutes after the vehicle took off. ISRO in a statement said: “The vehicle injected satellites into close to 450 km circular orbit at an inclination of 37.2 degrees. The tracking network took control of EOS-07 satellite. Deployment of the solar panels and the generation of power is confirmed.”

ISRO Chairman S. Somanath said, “In its second attempt SSLV-D2 has placed the EOS-07 satellite in its intended orbit very accurately. Two more satellites -Janus-1 and AzaadiSAT-2 were also placed in the required orbit.”

The Chairman further said: “SSLV had its maiden flight SSLV-D1 and we had a narrow miss of placing the satellite in the orbit because of a shortfall in velocity. I’m happy to report that we have analysed the problems faced in SSLV D1 – identified the corrective actions and implemented it. We went through lot of studies to ensure that the vehicle will become success this time,” he added. 

“And I’m happy this has been executed in reality. The orbit achieved by the vehicle today is exceedingly good,” Mr. Somanath said.

Noting that this journey began in 2018, S.S. Vinod, Mission Director of SSLV, said, “We had the maiden flight in August 2022 and we could not place the satellite in the intended orbit. Post that detailed analysis with a number of teams was carried out and we were able to pinpoint the problem in the system . We overcame that.”

He added, “And in a period of five months we have come back. And we will be coming back soon with the next launch of SSLV.”

It may be recalled that the first developmental flight of SSLV lifted off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre on August 7, 2022, and ended up to be a partial failure, as the rocket failed to inject its satellite payload in their intended orbits.

According to ISRO, the spacecraft was injected into a highly elliptical unstable orbit due to a shortfall in velocity, leading to their decay and deorbiting immediately, in spite of the normal performance of all solid propulsion stages. 

Subsequent detailed analysis of the flight events and observations ranging from the countdown, lift-off, propulsion performance, stage separations and satellite injection revealed that there was a vibration disturbance for a short duration on the Equipment Bay (EB) deck during the second stage (SS2) separation. This affected the Inertial Navigation System (INS), resulting in declaring the sensors faulty by the logic in Fault Detection and Isolation (FDI) software.

About SSLV-D2

EOS-07 is a 156.3 kg satellite designed, developed and realized by ISRO. The mission objective of EOS-07 is to design and develop payload instruments compatible with microsatellite bus and new technologies, which are required for future operational satellites. Moreover, it will also design and develop a microsatellite accommodating new technology payloads in a quick turn-around time. 

New experiments include mm-Wave Humidity Sounder and Spectrum Monitoring Payload. Weighing around 10.2 kg, Janus-1 is a technology demonstrator, smart satellite mission based on the Antaris software platform. An 8.7 kg satellite AzaadiSAT-2 is a combined effort of about 750 girl students across India guided by Space Kidz India, Chennai.

According to details provided by ISRO, SSLV caters to the launch of up to 500 kg satellites to Low Earth Orbits on a “launch-on-demand” basis. It provides low-cost access to space, offers low turn-around time and flexibility in accommodating multiple satellites, and demands minimal launch infrastructure. It is configured with three solid propulsion stages and a velocity terminal module. It is a 34 m tall, 2 m diameter vehicle having a lift-off mass of 120 tonnes.

thehindu.com

Indian aviation scales new heights with Operation Ganga, new routes and drone policy

Among the noted milestones was also Operation Ganga under which Indian citizens were evacuated from the foreign conflict zones.

 While Digi-Yatra, offering contactless, ID less air travel in India through face recognition marked the beginning of new era in aviation in India, sector touched some significant landmarks with services starting in more than 50 new regional routes, 5 new airports and helipads, opening up of the drone sector and above all the successful completions of the disinvestment of Air India. Among the noted milestones was also Operation Ganga under which Indian citizens were evacuated from the foreign conflict zones.

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Beginning December 1, select airports in the country have launched the Digi Yatra service that allows domestic flyers access into the airport departure zones by just looking into a camera lens. An app designed to allow contactless, seamless access to passengers into airports and flights based on Facial Recognition Technology (FRT).

In the first phase, it will be launched at 7 airports. While Delhi, Bengaluru and Varanasi launched Digi Yatra services on December 1, 2022, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, and Vijayawada by March 2023. Later it would be implemented across various airports in the country.

The year began with the successful completion of strategic disinvestment of 100% stake of Government of India in Air-India along with 100% stake in Air-India Express Ltd (AIXL) and 50% stake in Air-India SATS. The process was completed on January 27, 2022.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the highest price bid of Talace Pvt Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Sons Private Limited for sale of 100% equity shareholding of GoI in Air-India along with its equity shareholding in AIXL and AISATS. The winning bid was for `18,000 crore for the combined stakes of three entities.

Regional air connectivity was also a highlight of the year 2022 with 50 new regional connectivity scheme (RCS) routes commenced in this year under UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) scheme with the objective to fulfil the flying aspirations of the common citizen with better aviation infrastructre. 

‘Digi Yatra rolled out’
Beginning December 1, select airports in the country have launched the Digi Yatra service that allows domestic flyers access into the airport departure zones by just looking into a camera lens. An app designed to allow contactless, seamless access to passengers into airports and flights based on Facial Recognition Technology (FRT).

newindianexpress.com

Telangana teen researcher wins international award for developing organic insecticide

The extract of Ramphal leaves is effective against various insect and pests like, pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera, fall armyworm, spodoptera frugiperda, larvae, and green peach aphids.

Sarvesh Prabhu, a 17-year-old research intern at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), represented India at the International Science and Engineering Fair in Atlanta, USA and won the third prize in the biochemistry category. He was awarded $1,000 for developing a cost-effective bio-insecticide from the leaves of bullock’s heart, Annona reticulata, popularly known as Ramphal.

When asked what led him to such a discovery, he said, “During the lockdown, my sister did gardening as a hobby. All of our plants were getting eaten by insects before they could grow, resulting in a terrible harvest. While my sister wanted to use chemical insecticides, I was absolutely against them, which led me to find botanical insecticides as an alternative. Ramphal grows in our garden, and we noticed that it flourished when all other plants were struck by pests. Thus, began my project in the middle of the pandemic.”

The extract of Ramphal leaves is effective against various insects and pests like pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera, fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, larvae, and green peach aphids. Ramphal leaves were tested in a lab. The results showed a mortality range of 78-88 per cent.

He said, “One of my main goals was to make it cost-effective and easy to manufacture by the farmer themselves. The preparation process of the insecticide is simple and easy. The Ramphal tree is also commonly found across India. This botanical product is several times cheaper than most insecticides in the market.”

About winning the prestigious prize, he said, “It was truly a pursuit that I cannot forget. More than the prize, the journey was impactful. The friends I made, the knowledge I gained from previous research papers, and the skills I acquired from the experts at ICRISAT are invaluable.”

newindianexpress.com

Hetero’s COVID-19 oral drug Nirmacom gets WHO prequalification

WHO made a strong recommendation for Nirmatrelvir and Ritonavir for mild and moderate COVID-19 patients at highest risk of hospital admission.

Pharmaceutical company Hetero on December 26 said it has received World Health Organization Prequalification of Medicines Programme (WHO PQ) approval for its generic version of Covid-19 oral antiviral treatment candidate nirmatrelvir.

Nirmatrelvir, which originated in Pfizer laboratories, is co-packaged with ritonavir tablets as Pfizer’s Covid-19 oral antiviral drug Paxlovid. This is the first prequalification for a generic version of Paxlovid, Hetero said.

The combi pack launched by Hetero as Nirmacom will contain nirmatrelvir 150 mg (two tablets) and ritonavir 100 mg (one tablet). A prescription only drug that the company said be initiated as soon as possible after diagnosis of Covid-19 and within five days of symptom onset, Nirmacom is be manufactured at Hetero’s facilities in the country.

WHO had made a strong recommendation for nirmatrelvir and ritonavir for mild and moderate Covid-19 patients at highest risk of hospital admission, such as unvaccinated, aged or immunosuppressed patients, Hetero said in a release.

Managing Director of Hetero Group of Companies Vamsi Krishna Bandi said WHO prequalification for Nirmacom is a significant milestone and the company is committed to making the drug available faster at affordable prices across 95 low and medium income countries, including India. Hetero was among a clutch of companies that entered into a non-exclusive voluntary licensing agreement with Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) for manufacturing and sale of a generic version of Pfizer’s nirmatrelvir in LMICs.

“Delighted to see the first generic version of nirmatrelvir under MPP license with Pfizer receive quality assurance approval from WHO. This is an impressive achievement from Hetero as we announced the sublicence agreements just nine months ago,” MPP Executive Director Charles Gore said.

Hetero has already received emergency use authorisation (EUA) approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to manufacture and market Nirmacom.

thehindu.com

Army recruits 4 meritorious sportswomen as Havildars

They were recruited as direct entry Havildars under its Mission Olympic Programme.

The Army has recruited four meritorious sportswomen into the Corps of Military Police as direct entry Havildars under its Mission Olympic Programme.

The four sportswomen — Recruit Havildar Sakshi (Boxing), Recruit Havildar Arundhati Choudhary (Boxing), Recruit Havildar Bhateri (Wrestling) and Recruit Havildar Priyanka (Wrestling) have created history by becoming pioneers to represent the Army in women category at the national championship in boxing and wrestling by participating in the 6th Elite Women National Boxing Championship 2022 from December 19 to 26 at Bhopal and Senior National Wrestling Championship from December 21 to 23 at Visakhapatnam.

The Army has a long tradition of promoting and nurturing sports personnel and runs a well-structured programme named “Mission Olympics”, the statement added. Earlier in the year, Summy, an international-level sportswoman who excels in 400-metre athletics and Jasmine Lamboria, Commonwealth Games 2022 Bronze medalist in Boxing, were also recruited by the Army.

thehindu.com

Sethrichem Sangtam gets first Rohini Nayyar prize for rural development

His organisation ‘Better Life Foundation’ focusses on rural livelihood security, environment sustainability and education for change.

Sethrichem Sangtam, who helped triple the incomes of 1,200 marginalised farmers in Eastern Nagaland, was awarded the first Rohini Nayyar prize for outstanding contribution to rural development.

The prize awarded to an individual 40 years or under in age, was presented by the Niti Ayog Vice-Chairman Suman Bery. The winner was selected by an eminent jury from civil society consisting of Dr. Ashok Khosla, founder, Development Alternatives; Dr. Rajesh Tandon, founder, PRIA; and Ms. Renana Jhabwala, national coordinator, SEWA.

Mr. Sangtam works with 1,200 marginalised farmers in Eastern Nagaland through his organisation ‘Better Life Foundation’, which focusses on rural livelihood security, environment sustainability and education for change.

Among his many achievements were encouraging farmers in the region to abandon wasteful slash, burn cultivation and move to permanent farming. The average income of the farmers tripled as a result of his interventions.

The prize had been instituted by the family of the late Dr. Rohini Nayyar, an eminent scholar-administrator who spent much of her professional life working on issues related to rural development in India.

Dr. Nayyar, a well-known economist and former principal adviser at the erstwhile Planning Commission, was one of India’s foremost authorities on rural development. She passed away in October 2021.

Developing India’s social and economic development

The prize will be given out annually by the Nayyar Foundation for Social and Economic Purpose, set up to contribute to the social and economic development in India.

While giving away the award, Mr. Bery said many initiatives for rural India which one saw around at present, like the aspirational districts programme, the development of multi-dimensional poverty index for India, and the digitisation to create financial inclusion in rural India, were results of the efforts by Dr. Rohini Nayyar and her team, while she was in the Planning Commission.

Dr Deepak Nayyar, director of the Foundation, said that during her more than two-decades-long stint in the Planning Commission she also worked on the conceptualisation of the MGNREGA.

thehindu.com

Vadnagar town, Modhera Sun Temple, Unakoti sculptures added to UNESCO’s tentative list of World Heritage Sites

India now has 52 sites on UNESCO’s tentative list, an inventory of properties which each state party intends to consider for nomination.

Gujarat’s Vadnagar town, the iconic Sun Temple at Modhera, and the rock cut sculptures of Unakoti in Tripura have been added to the tentative list of UNCESO World Heritage Sites.

The UNESCO tentative list is an “inventory of those properties which each State Party intends to consider for nomination”.

“With this, India now has 52 sites on UNESCO Tentative List. The list indicates rich cultural and natural wealth of India and shows huge diversity of our heritage. With PM Narendra Modi’s dynamic vision and leadership, India is committed to add more sites on the World Heritage List,” Union Culture Minister G. Kishan Reddy tweeted.

“I congratulate ASI [Archaeological Survey of India] for their role in identifying more monuments and places for the world heritage nomination,” he said.

The ASI shared his tweet and said that the step will provide a big boost to India’s cultural heritage.

The Sun Temple, Modhera dedicated to Surya Dev, is the earliest of such temples which set trends in architectural and decorative details, representing the Solanki style at its best.

Vadnagar is a municipality under Mehsana district of Gujarat. A multi-layered historic town, the history of Vadnagar stretches back to nearly 8th century BCE. The town still retains a large number of historic buildings that are primarily religious and residential in nature.

Unakoti, located in the northeastern region of Tripura, is known as an ancient holy place associated with Shaiva worship. The site is a massive gallery set in a forested area displaying a number of towering low relief images in a unique style, making it a masterpiece of human creative genius.

thehindu.com

India jumps from 7th to 3rd global ranking in scientific publications

India has jumped from 7th to 3rd global ranking in scientific publications. This was informed by the Union Minister for Science & Technology, Dr. Jitendra Singh on Sunday after a review meeting with the senior official of Department of Science & Technology in New Delhi.

Lauding the consistent efforts of India’s scientific fraternity, Dr Jitendra Singh gave all credit to an enabling milieu and freedom of working provided by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

He said, the very fact that such quantum leaps in India’s scientific pursuits are happening only in the last few years is a testimony to the push given by PM Modi both in terms of the ease of policy as well as his personal indulgence and prioritisation.

Quoting the report of National Science Foundation (NSF)’s Science & Engineering Indicators 2022 of the United States, the Minister said India’s scholarly output has also increased from 60,555 papers in 2010 to 1,49,213 papers in 2020.

Dr Jitendra Singh also took pride that India now ranks 3rd in terms of number of PhDs in science and engineering.

He was also apprised that the number of patents granted to Indian scientists at India Patent Office (IPO) during the last three years has also increased from 2511 in 2018-19 to 4003 in 2019-20 and 5629 in 2020-21.

The National Science Foundation is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering.

Mr Singh added that India’s research performance in science and technology has improved significantly over the past few years which is visible through a large amount of scientific knowledge in terms of research publications, development of technologies and innovations contributing to overall development.

newsonair.gov.in

New Delhi hosts first India-Central Asia meeting of NSAs ; asserts connectivity with Central Asian countries remains key priority for India

National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval on Tuesday said that connectivity with Central Asian countries remains India’s key priority.

Speaking at the first India-Central Asia meeting of the National Security Advisers, in New Delhi, Mr Doval said, peaceful, secure and prosperous Central Asia is in our common interest.

He added that countering terror financing should be everyone’s equal priority and urged all UN members to refrain from providing support to entities involved in terrorist acts.

He also spoke on the security situation in Afghanistan and said that it is an important issue concerning us all.

This is the first time India is hosting a conclave of top security officials from Central Asian countries including Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan focussing on the evolving security situation in Afghanistan and ways to deal with the threat of terrorism emanating from that country.

In an apparent message to Pakistan, Doval said that India should appeal to all UN members to fulfill obligations enshrined in relevant counter-terror conventions. 

newsonair.gov.in

World Ayurveda Congress: Experts pitch for innovations and research in Ayurveda

Anirudha Joshi said he was envisaging developing wearable devices that could provide vital information about anatomy.

Ayurveda has an enormous potential for innovation but that requires an extensive technology-based research and a concrete roadmap to make it a global brand and its products effective and successful, said experts at the 9th World Ayurveda Congress (WAC) here.

“There are great possibilities of innovations in Ayurveda. There are challenges to develop techniques more advanced than supercomputers. We will have to work on those areas of computing which have not been heard of,” Padma Bhushan Vijay Bhatkar said, while chairing a plenary session on ‘Innovation and Entrepreneurs in Ayurveda’.

Anirudha Joshi, who is credited with developing award-winning ‘Nadi Tarangini’, an Artificial Intelligence-based instrument for pulse-reading, said he was envisaging developing wearable devices that could provide vital information about the human body.

“It will be very helpful if we can develop wearables which can do ‘Astha-vidha-pariksha’. Our vision is to go into prediction of different stages of a disease so that we can defer a disease if we cannot prevent it,” he explained.

In his concluding remarks, Mr. Bhatkar said, “There is a need to develop new devices like `Nadi Tarangini’. We will have to think of ways of marketing, packaging, advertising our products and how they can be shown to the world.’‘ According to Kartikeya Baldva, CEO, Ixoreal Biomed Inc, Ayurveda, a traditional wellness system, had finally arrived but there was still a long way to go.

“It is very important to ensure the success of products but that would require quality, efficacy, branding, marketing and innovation,” he emphasised.

Ajit Kolatkar, Founder- Director of Pune- based Gastrolab India Pvt Ltd, said Ayurveda had to move in such a fashion that a doctor could diagnose the ailments of a patient by using minimum devices.

”We will have to start with fundamental research from Ayurvedic perspective. There has to be a concrete roadmap. There is a need to revisit Ayurveda in the context of contemporary science,” he said, adding there were many key areas where Ayurveda could contribute significantly.

Rishabh Chopra, founder of Ayurveda Experience, an Ayurvedic health and wellness platform, said ‘Ashwagandha’ had now become a popular product in the West.

However, there were several challenges to make Ayurvedic products globally acceptable. He also said Ashwagandha, turmeric and Yoga were some of the most online searched words in the West.

“Our vision is to go into prediction of different stages of a disease so that we can defer a disease if we cannot prevent it”Anirudha JoshiInventor,  ‘Nadi Tarangini’

thehindu.com