India's first midnight satellite launch set for Monday

CHENNAI: The countdown for the Monday midnight launch of an Indian navigation satellite is progressing smoothly with the liquid fuel filling for the fourth stage engine getting completed, an official said on Sunday.

"Yesterday (Saturday) evening, the filling of the liquid fuel in the fourth stage was completed and the fuel for the second stage will be filled during the countdown. In addition, pressurisation of the stages with gases will also be done," a senior official at the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said.

The 64.5 hour countdown began at 7:11am Saturday.

The 44-metre-tall Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle-XL (PSLV-XL) weighing 320 tonnes at lift-off is a four-stage rocket powered by solid and liquid propellants alternatively.

The solid fuel hydroxyl-terminated-poly-butadiene comes readily cast while the liquid fuel - unsymmetrical dimethyl-hydrazine-hydrate and 25 percent of nitrogen tetroxide for second stage and mono-methyl-hydrazine and mixed oxide nitrogen for fourth stage - are filled during the countdown.

The PSLV will blast off into the dark skies from Sriharikota, around 80 km from here, Monday night around 11.41pm carrying India's first navigational satellite the 1,425 kg IRNSS (Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System)-1A.

"We have had late evening and early morning launches. But this is the first time ISRO is launching a rocket around midnight," the ISRO official said.

The official said the launch time has been fixed taking into account the orbit and inclination at which the satellite will be injected into the space.

According to him, the weather at Sriharikota is fine and it may not pose any hindrance for the rocket launch.

He said ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan is expected to have a brief meeting with the media at the rocket port post-launch which will be around 12.45am on Tuesday.

Around 20 minutes into the launch, the rocket PSLV-XL will eject the navigational satellite at an altitude of 501 km.

The satellite is intended to provide terrestrial, aerial and marine navigation services and help in disaster and fleet management.

The satellite with a life span of around 10 years is one of the seven satellites constituting the IRNSS space segment -- a regional navigational system developed by India designed to provide accurate position information service to users within the country and up to 1,500 km from the nation's boundary line, ISRO said.

The IRNSS will provide two types of services - standard positioning service and restricted service. The former is provided to all users and the later is an encrypted service for authorised users.

ISRO had planned to launch IRNSS-1A last month. But it had to put it off after finding a problem in one of the electro-hydraulic control actuators in the second stage engine.

The rocket was fully assembled with the satellite when the problem was detected during checks.

The second stage had to be dismantled to replace the actuator which is an assembly of several components. It weighs around 20 kg.

Following the Monday launch of the navigational satellite, ISRO is planning to launch its communication satellite G-Sat 14 using a heavier rocket - Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) - powered by a domestic cryogenic engine some time in August this year.

Preparatory work for the G-Sat 14 launch is going ahead at the rocket launch pad in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh, around 80 km from here.

It will be followed by the mission to Mars later this year. The launch of one more remote sensing satellite is also being planned before the end of the year.

Nawaz Sharif to send Pak power minister to India to tackle energy crisis

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has directed his water and power minister to India to address the severe energy crisis facing the country.

"We are facing acute electricity shortage and any assistance in the power sector will help us in addressing the problem," Sharif said while speaking to members of the Pak-India Joint Business Council at the Prime Minister's Office yesterday.

Sharif told the meeting that he had directed Khawaja Muhammad Asif, minister for water and power, to visit India and explore potential areas of cooperation between the two countries, the official APP news agency reported.

Earlier, Asif had said that the energy crisis in Pakistan will take at least two years to be resolved.

Asif said that due to shortage of power the country had sustained a huge loss of Rs 1,000 billion in the last five years. Pakistan is currently facing a power deficit of 4,000-5,000 megawatts per day.

Earlier this month, Pakistan had sought 500 MW of electricity from India by laying a transmission line from Punjab into Lahore. The proposal to buy power was made when an expert group visited Pakistan to discuss energy cooperation.

India is willing to help and is exploring the points which can be used to hook-up to the grid in Pakistan through a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) line, government sources in New Delhi has said.

Sharif has earlier said that tackling the energy crisis will be among the top priorities of his government. 

Taj Mahal ranked third among top landmarks in the world

NEW YORK: Travellers from across the globe have ranked India's Taj Mahal among the top three landmarks in the world, a leading travel website has announced.

According to TripAdvisor's 2013 Travellers Choice Attractions Awards, Taj Mahal was ranked third in the list of Top 25 landmarks.

The top two places were taken by Machu Picchu in Peru and Angkor Wat in Cambodia respectively.

"The winners of Travelers' Choice Attractions awards were determined based on the quality and quantity of traveler reviews of attractions," said a company statement.

Taj Mahal, listed among the new seven wonders of the world, is renowned the world over for its architecture and aesthetic beauty.

Built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his late wife Mumtaz Mahal, the white marble mausoleum in the northern Indian city of Agra is also a symbol of enduring love.

In 1983, it became a Unesco World Heritage Site. The Taj Mahal attracts 2-4 million visitors annually, with more than 200,000 from overseas.

It shares the latest honour alongside Petra World Heritage Site in Jordan and Bayon Temple in Cambodia, which are ranked fourth and fifth respectively in the list of 25 top landmarks in the world.

3,000-year-old rock art found in Chhattisgarh

BILASPUR: Five unique rock art, apparently dating back to about 3,000 years, was discovered from the dense forests of Suarlot hills in Korba district of Chhattisgarh.

The rock art, found by archaeologist Hari Singh Chhatri in the dense forests, show the concepts in the form of geometrical drawing. These drawings in red ochre are of humans, mermaids, animals including goat, and a geometrical pattern which resembles a 'viman' or an aeroplane.

"The rock art is still safe as it is located in dense forests. I have found pictures of a male and a female with a specific difference in their height. This could be of Lord Ram and Sita," archaeologist Hari Singh Chhatri told TOI.

"There was a place called 'Kharoud', which is also known as Khar Dusan (demon) Nagri. It is just 34km from Korba. And, the famous Shivrinarayan is just 3km from Kharoud," he said adding that these places could have links with the places where Lord Ram visited during his exile.

Rock Art Society of India secretary G L Badham said, "It is an excellent discovery. Of course, the period of Ramayana had connection with Chhattisgarh forests for which there are evidences. These rock art are one of them".

"Since it is for the first time that the concept of 'viman' is being suggested, the Rock Art Society proposes to carry out an extensive work. We had found some rock art in neighbouring Raigarh district. But, the present design is surely different from the one found in Raigarh and can be called a 'viman' till it is confirmed," he added.

Scientists seek patent for chicken-gongura pickle

Hyderabad: City-based National Research Centre on Meat’s  application for patent for  its ‘chicken-gongura pickle’ was published by the official journal of the Controller General of Patents this month, and it is one step away from being granted a patent.

NRCM scientists claim that they have invented an effective process for extraction of meat and broth from the deboned chicken and they are using gongura as a natural acidifier instead of vinegar to make the pickle.

NRCM senior scientist Dr B.M. Naveena, one of the inventors of the process, said, “Traditionally, people make gongura pickle or chicken pickle. Our’s is chicken-gongura pickle with a specific process involving at least eight steps. It is made without the use of vinegar, citric acid or lemon. That is the difference. Three steps in the process are entirely different and new.” NRCM said the chicken-gongura pickle can be stored for up to five months at room temperature sealed in polyester pouches.

Legal experts say such patent claims need to be examined properly and the scientists have to prove their innovation with documentary evidence.

Nalsar University professor Dr Madabushi Sridhar said, “Many households have traditional recipies for making non-vegetarian pickles. NRCM will have to prove how its method is different. If the process  invented by NRCM is not different, they can’t be given monopoly on the chicken-gongura pickle. Mmore importantly, the combination of  chicken and gongura is a mere aggregation and cannot be claimed.”

Narayana Murthy seeks airport near electronic city

Bangalore: Infosys Executive Chairman N R Narayana Murthy has pitched for a small airport near Electronics City, the biggest hub of Bangalore's IT industry that houses the main Infosys campus, as he called for improving the infrastructure facilities in Karnataka.

"We are not asking for anything extraordinary. We are asking for reasonably good roads, electricity, water, clean air and some English schools. We need reasonable connectivity to the airport. Ideally, we would like a small airport near Electronics City," Murthy said at a Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce event on Friday night.

While putting forward industries wish list to the state government he also said the software sector has made big contribution towards the economy of the state.

"Ours is an industry that contributes about 25 per cent of the state's GDP (Gross Domestic Product),has created half a million jobs with an average monthly salary of Rs 50,000 and 1.5 million jobs in the secondary and tertiary sectors of the economy. It earns net foreign exchange of Rs 55,000 crore a year and has a capital output ratio of 1:5," he said.

PTI

Mumbai police rescue 15 women forced into flesh trade

Mumbai: The social service branch of the Mumbai Police and members of Rescue Foundation raided a flat in central Mumbai city and rescued 15 women forced into the flesh trade. One person was arrested.

"We got the information that some girls were being forced into prostitution at Kamathipura. So to rescue them, we took the help of the S S branch and we have succeeded in freeing them. Some 15 girls have been rescued," said Rescue Foundation investigation officer, Nitin Narayan Mangekur.

It is speculated that one or two girls might be minors but the officials said they would get a clear picture only after medical tests are conducted and police have filed charges under the PITA (Prevention of Immoral Trafficking Act).

According to United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) officials, hu

man trafficking is one of the fastest growing crimes in South Asia, as over 150,000 people are known to be trafficked within the region every year - for sex work, labour, forced marriages and as part of the organ trade.

Traffickers often take advantage of impoverished communities, luring girls and young women with promises of jobs as maids or nannies in wealthy households in the cities.

ANI