Communication satellite to be launched by most-powerful PSLV - India

14 july 2011

Communication satellite to be launched by most-powerful PSLV

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

Chennai:  India's latest communication satellite, G-SAT 12, will be launched today from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR) in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh today.

The satellite will be launched using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) with the lift-off window scheduled between 4:48 pm and 5:08 pm.

K Radhakrishnan, chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said "the countdown has already started and we expect the rocket to lift off at 4.48 pm."

For the present mission, PSLV-XL, a more powerful version of the rocket, would be used for the launch.

GSAT-12, weighing 1,410 kg and equipped with 12 Extended-C band transponders, will augment communication capabilities in telemedicine, tele-education and telephone and other services.

In PSLV-XL version, six extended solid strap-on motors carrying 12 tonnes of solid propellant in total are being used as against nine tonnes in a standard PSLV variant, Mr Radhakrishnan said.

The cost of the rocket is Rs. 90 crore while the satellite, GSAT-12, costs Rs. 80 crore but both are not insured.

This is the second time such a powerful configuration had been deployed, after it was used to put Chandrayaan-I into orbit in 2008.

For the PSLV, this will be the 19th mission with the last 17 flights proving successful. This is the second PSLV launch this year after the PSLV-C16 in April when the rocket lofted Resourcesat-2 and two other micro satellites into orbit.

Two more launches of the PSLV are expected later this year.

The ISRO was forced to use the PSLV as its other launch system, the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), is out of commission due to repeated failures.

Japan PM wants less reliance on nuclear power - India

13 july 2011

Japan PM wants less reliance on nuclear power

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

Tokyo:  Japan's prime minister said Wednesday he wants his country to learn from its ongoing crisis and become less reliant on nuclear energy.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan told a news conference that the risks are too high and renewable energy sources such as solar, wind and biomass should eventually replace nuclear as a new pillar of Japan's energy supply, along with conservation.

"We should seek a society that does not rely on nuclear energy," Kan said. "We should gradually and systematically reduce reliance on nuclear power and eventually aim at a society where people can live without nuclear power plants."

Japan's nuclear strategy has come under intense scrutiny since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami touched off leaks, explosions and meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant northeast of Tokyo.

Kan said he used to believe that nuclear energy could be useful as long as ample safety measures are taken, but the recent crisis forced him to change his view.

"As I've experienced the March 11 accident, I came to realize the risk of nuclear energy is too intense," Kan said. "It involves technology that cannot be controlled by our conventional concept of safety."

Kan denied he was proposing an immediate abandonment of nuclear energy policy. He did not give any details how Japan should phase out nuclear dependency while increasing the weight of alternative energy sources.

Kan gave no timetable for restarting 35 idle nuclear power reactors, including those shut down in the wake of the tsunami-triggered crisis and others undergoing regular inspections.

The government has ordered safety checks on all of Japan's 54 nuclear reactors after the disaster - the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl. Only 19 reactors are currently operating, causing electricity shortages amid sweltering heat.

But recently, the government has added another hurdle - new tests known as "stress tests" to examine whether reactors can withstand big earthquakes, tsunami and other risks.

Nuclear power generates about 30 percent of Japan's electricity. If nuclear reactors currently shut for maintenance were delayed in resuming operations, the country could face a power shortfall in the months ahead.

Kan has said that Japan will scrap an earlier plan to boost nuclear dependency to half of Japan's energy needs by 2030.

With the loss of the Fukushima plant, which used to supply power to Tokyo areas, the government recently imposed energy restrictions on companies, factories and shopping malls to cope with the power crunch.

Maruti Swift to be costlier courtesy improved engine - Indis

12 july 2011

Maruti Swift to be costlier courtesy improved engine

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

Maruti Suzuki's all new Swift is likely to hit the markets next month. The company has given a go ahead to its dealers as far as advance bookings are concerned.
Those who have been waiting for delivery of the old Swift have also been given the option to own the new Swift. The old Swift has been one of the star performers from the Maruti stable and such was the popularity of the hatchback that buyers had to book many variants in advance, years after the model was first launched.
The Swift is the largest selling premium compact hatchback in India with sales in excess of 150,000 units every year. The car is available in three fuel variants and two engine options.
Maruti stopped production of the current generation of Swift last week to make way for the new model.
The new model is likely to be priced marginally higher and will be built on a totally new platform at the company's Manesar plant.
However, the new model is likely to sport the current Swift engine. Swift currently runs on 1200cc petrol engine and 1300 cc diesel engine. However, the company is expected to tweak the petrol engine for more power and efficiency.
The Swift was first introduced in May 2005 and the model has witnessed a cumulative sales of over six lakh units so far.

Mumbai wasting crores on water management - India

11 july 2011

Mumbai wasting crores on water management

Panaji: Mumbai's plans to spend hundreds of crores on sea water desalinisation projects and pumping excess rainwater into the sea was a sheer waste of money, according to India's largest packaged drinking water manufacturer.

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

Speaking to reporters at a press conference here, Ramesh Chauhan, chairman of Bisleri International which manufactures Bisleri packaged drinking water, said Mumbai could counter its water woes by recharging the city's 20,000 wells alone.
"Mumbai is spending nearly Rs.100 crore on pumping rainwater into the sea to prevent flooding and they are again spending million of rupees on desalinization projects," said Chauhan who was in Goa to inaugurate a rain water harvesting project.
"There are 20,000 wells in Mumbai. If they alone are recharged with rainwater, it would work wonders for the city," Chauhan said, adding that the Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) decision to close the wells was short-sighted.
Chauhan also said that the 129 lakes which dot Mumbai should be handed over to corporate houses to be maintained as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR).
"These lakes are extremely useful to charge ground water. Mumbai must look at ways like this to tap the millions of litres of rain water, which flows into the sea," Chauhan.

HuJI warns of attacks on Delhi, Islamabad - India

10 july 2011

HuJI warns of attacks on Delhi, Islamabad

Outfit warns of fidayeen attack in Delhi, Islamabad if Pak foreign office shares group's information with India

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

New Delhi: The Harkat-ul-Jihad al-Islami (HuJI), an al-Qaeda-linked Pakistani militant organisation, has warned the foreign office in Islamabad of dire consequences if the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi continues to share details of the group with India.
The group will carry out fidayeen attacks on the Pakistani foreign office, foreign secretary, the Pakistani High Commission in New Delhi and High Commissioner Shahid Malik, a handwritten letter addressed to Pakistani foreign secretary Salman Bashir read.
The letter was written in Urdu and was mailed to Bashir's home in Sector F-6 of Islamabad a few days ago, according to Pakistani interior ministry sources.
The police confirmed the letter was sent by HuJi and said it was mailed from within Islamabad. Bashir's residence is guarded by police commandos following the threat. The diplomat has been provided police protection and a strict vigil has been mounted around the foreign office as well.
Ilyas Kashmiri, who masterminded the 26/11 attack in Mumbai and a terrorist assault on a naval airbase on Karachi, headed HuJi. He was reportedly killed in a US drone attack last month.

Australia to levy US$24.74 as carbon tax - India

09 july 2011

Australia to levy US$24.74 as carbon tax

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

Sydney:  Australia on Sunday said carbon pollution would be taxed at Aus$23 ($24.74) per tonne, saying the move designed to fight climate change was a fundamental economic reform.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard plans to tax Australia's top 500 polluters for their carbon dioxide emissions as a means of reducing pollution, changing energy use and building investment in clean sources of energy.

"As a nation, we need to put a price on carbon and create a clean energy future," Gillard told a news conference in Canberra.

Carbon footprints of Amarnath Yatra - India

08 july 2011

Carbon footprints of Amarnath Yatra

Dr Sanjay Kumar Cardiac Cardiothoracic Heart Surgeon India

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Pahalgam:  The Amarnath Yatra attracts thousands of pilgrims each year. And while the pilgrims progress braving inclement weather, the carbon footprints of the yatris are hard to miss.

The crystal clear snow near the holy Amarnath Cave has lost its pristine self, just a week into the annual pilgrimage.

Living in thousands of tents pitched along the glaciers, yatris go about carelessly littering, even using the river as a sewage and garbage drain. They completely ignore warnings.

"There is no need for toilets. The river is serves all purposes. We use it for washing and bathing," said Ashish, a pilgrim.

As if the inflow of sewage and garbage was not enough, people blatantly violate the rules. They come here and wash their vehicles.

"All the people wash their vehicles here," said Kamal Sharma, a taxi driver.

Over one lakh pilgrims have visited this week alone and the stress on the fragile Lidder Valley is already showing.

And that's not all. The colour of a glacier, which is on the route taken by the yatris, has now turned black.

"People are moving on foot in thousands. So there is a generation of dust that ultimately settles on these glaciers and enhances the melting of these glaciers," said Shakeel Ramshoo, a Glaciologist at the Kashmir University.

Since the early 90s the pilgrim rush to the holy Amarnath shrine has increased 40 times. But the enforcement of rules does not match this rush.

Nor do pilgrims who read about global warming and ecological damage everyday in headlines but seem to care a bit.