Galileo, the space probe launched on October 18, 1989, arrived in Jupiter's orbit on December 7, 1995, for what was scheduled to be a two-year exploration. Over the next eight years, the craft revealed some secrets of the solar system's biggest planet.
Galileo will crash into Jupiter on Sunday. It is being 'killed' to save potential life on Europa, one of Jupiter's moons.
If Galileo, which could contain bacteria from Earth, crashes into Europa, NASA scientists believe it could contaminate whatever may be living there.
Europa is covered with a sheet of ice, which hides a vast ocean. Beneath that ocean, there might be volcanic activity, and the combination of heat and water is ideal for the creation of life.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE, SEPTEMBER 22, 2003
DRIVING FORCEIndia has more than two million engineers -- and the beginnings of a vibrant manufacturing sector
By HENNY SENDER
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Can India become a hot spot for auto-parts manufacturing?
Until recently that idea seemed far-fetched. After all, the country isn't known for either world-class manufacturing know-how or cost competitiveness. But one company, Bharat Forge Ltd., is starting to change that.
The auto-parts maker is jump-starting its operations -- and the country's auto-parts industry -- with a novel approach for India : applying the brainpower and skill of the country's more than two million engineers to the manufacturing sector.
By improving the quality of its parts through better design while restructuring its finances to keep labor costs in check, Bharat Forge is able to go after global customers who would not have taken it seriously just a few years ago. It's fast becoming a supplier to auto makers like Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp., which have to cut their own expenses amid an increasingly competitive market by obtaining cheaper parts abroad.
Looking to Exports
"In the early 1990s, we decided to embark on an extensive modernization program," says Baba Kalyani, chairman and managing director of Bharat Forge. "We wanted domestic leadership. And then in the late '90s, we started to implement the next part of our strategy, which was to take global leadership."
Bharat Forge "stands out as an example of restructuring," says Ashish Gupta, an analyst with CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets in Bombay. "They are simultaneously improving the range and the quality of their products and cutting costs to improve the economics of their business."
Bharat Forge, located outside Pune, a city about three hours from Bombay, was established as an auto-parts maker in 1961 by the Kalyani family. But like many other family-run Indian companies, it has often lacked focus, diversifying into seemingly unrelated operations. In 1993, for instance, it established a financial-services division. It also had an investments division and a windmill operation.
But management -- now the younger generation of family members armed with business degrees from American universities -- has cleaned up the company, says Mr. Gupta, noting that noncore businesses have been spun off into a separate company.
Bharat Forge also has restructured its finances, taking advantage of lower interest rates to repay and refinance its debt. For example, in the first quarter, helped by a drop in lending rates, the company's interest expense was 20% lower than a year earlier.
India's Strength
So with a focus back on auto parts, Bharat Forge has set out to modernize the way it does business, which has, in turn, allowed it to venture into markets abroad. Key to this approach has been making better use of India's abundance of skilled but low-cost engineers to improve products.
"It was all based on leveraging the high-quality human capital that is India's main competitive advantage," says Mr. Kalyani.
Bharat Forge has merged "blue-collar workers and our white-collar workers and [has] everyone working on the floor of the plant," says Mr. Kalyani. "We also put more high-quality [workers] on the shop floor." Having designers and production people work together has allowed the company to improve both the speed and the quality of production, he adds.
The strategy appears to be paying off.
In the fiscal year ended March 31, net income at Bharat Forge jumped 46% to 810 million rupees ($17 million). The majority of the increase came from exports, which surged 145% from a year earlier and accounted for 40% of total sales of 6.9 billion rupees. For the fiscal first quarter ended June 30, net income more than doubled to 263 million rupees, with 80% of the growth coming from exports, including an order for components from Germany's DaimlerChrysler AG. By contrast just four years ago, exports accounted for less than 7% of total production, CLSA's Mr. Gupta says.
Exports are growing for auto-parts manufacturers throughout India as more global car makers -- who are under huge competitive pressure and have to cut costs to stay competitive -- see the country as a place to outsource work as cheaply as, and in some cases more so than, say, China or Mexico. And with improved quality to boot. At Bharat Forge, labor costs -- at 7% or 8% of total expenses -- are a fraction of such costs in the West, according to CLSA.
This year, export orders for car parts are expected to total $1.7 billion and swell to $5 billion by 2005, according to CLSA. A large part will come from Bharat Forge and the rest from smaller companies like Sundaram Fasteners, which are trying to capitalize on the same trend as Bharat Forge.
Export Customers
Bharat Forge's two largest export customers are Dana Corp. of Toledo, Ohio, and Arvind Meritor Inc., based in Troy, Mich. Bharat Forge also sells directly to car makers including Ford, based in Dearborn, Mich.; Honda Motor Co. of Japan; and Renault SA of France.
Now, Bharat Forge is trying to diversify its export orders still more. It has even succeeded in penetrating the burgeoning Chinese market -- a huge feat given that China itself is a major source of cheap labor.
In the past year, the company has started supplying parts to both First Automotive Works and Second Automotive Works, the largest local car makers in China. While the orders are still small, about $15 million each annually, the Chinese automotive market is the fastest growing in the world, according to auto makers and industry analysts, which means China could soon become Bharat Forge's most important market.
Growth at Home
And, of course, there's the Indian market. Bharat Forge's domestic sales rose a respectable 21% in the latest quarter. That was helped by the growing wealth of India's middle class -- which is buying more cars -- and a government that's finally doing something about the country's poor infrastructure, especially its roads. For example, the government is expanding to four lanes the two-lane highway linking India's four major cities. That means road transportation both for freight and for personal travel is expected to swell, which is good for both local car makers and their suppliers, such as Bharat Forge.
Less than 2% of the Indian population now uses cars for travel, according to CLSA, while the global average is 80%. That shows just how large the potential is.
"The Indian market is still small," says Mr. Kalyani. "But when it really takes off, we will be ready."
-- Mr. Sender is a staff reporter in The Wall Street Journal's New York bureau.
[url="http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20030923/wl_sthasia_afp/india_space_satellite_030923050631"]India to launch communication satellite over weekend[/url]
Its not suprising that the Indian manufacturers are starting to be noticed. They have world-class engineers and expertise. All we need are capital infusion, better roads and more reliable power situation.
With better power and transport infrastructure, main hurdles for competitive manufacturing will be removed soon. I can't wait for Reliance's KG gas to start delivering a steady, reliable power and ABV's roads providing a smooth transportation of the goods.
If there is a problem area, I would say that Indian manufacturers have really old and outdated equipment. Because of previous restrictions over the last 50 years, we also got into a habit of making do with used machines. I hope this has been changing over the last decade but personally, I have not seen such an attitude change yet.
Quote:INSAT-3E Launch Scheduled for September 28, 2003
ISRO's latest communication satellite, INSAT-3E, is scheduled for launch around 4.30 am Indian Standard Time on September 28, 2003. INSAT-3E will be launched by the 162nd flight of Ariane (17th launch of Ariane-5 launch vehicle) along with SMART-1 of European Space Agency and e-Bird of EUTELSAT.
It may be noted that the spacecraft was transported to Kourou on July 16, 2003 and was scheduled for launch in August. But in view of a quality alert received from the manufacturer of components used in the communication transponders of INSAT-3E, detailed quality rechecks became necessary which have been carried out in the last four weeks.
INSAT-3E, with a lift off weight of 2,775 kg, is the fourth spacecraft in the INSAT-3 series. It will carry 24 C-band transponders and 12 extended C-band transponders.
Israel and India are stepping up diplomatic efforts to participate in Galileo, the European Union's rival to the Pentagon-controlled Global Positioning System, officials said yesterday.
The move could provide the EU's ambitious satellite navigation system with much-needed investment as well as making it a formidable competitor to the US, which so far has enjoyed a monopoly in this sector.
China last week clinched a deal with the EU to invest up to â¬230m ($263m, £160m) in Galileo in its bid to upgrade its communications systems but also to move closer to the EU on defence issues, even though the EU retains an arms embargo on the Beijing government since the 1989 Tiananmen Square killings.
Like China, Israel and India are turning to Galileo because the Pentagon's GPS system is closed to outsiders.
"It is clear the US does not want foreign participation. The issue for them is security," said Oded Eran, Israel's ambassador to the EU. "We very much hope to be part of Galileo. We belong to a small club [of countries] that can launch satellites. We feel there is a lot of know-how in Israel that we can contribute."
Mr Eran said Galileo would provide Israel with technological advantages, from locating scarce water resources and geological mapping, to tracking cars that are stolen in Israel and taken over to the occupied territories of the West Bank.
Galileo, however, would not be used for defence purposes, such as providing missiles with improved accuracy, insisted Mr Eran.
India is also knocking at the door of the European Commission, which is charged with negotiating with third or non-EU countries wishing to participate in Galileo - scheduled to be fully operational in 2008 with a navigation system more accurate and just as secure as GPS.
The Commission requires a negotiating mandate from the transport council that represents the 15 member states. Loyola de Palacio, EU transport commissioner, will make the first soundings on seeking such a mandate on October 9 when the council meets. "She will test the waters," said an EU official. "She will not ask for a mandate at this stage. She has to be sure of getting one when she does formally ask."
Diplomats said several member states were likely to ask at what level Israel and India should be permitted to participate in the â¬3.2bn Galileo project.
Both countries are involved in serious regional conflicts - Israel with the Palestinians and India with Pakistan over Kashmir. Both are also nuclear powers and have sophisticated communications and satellite systems.
"It is clear that they would not be given access to sensitive issues or given access to certain levels of technology," said another EU diplomat. "That might change over time if the conflicts were, for instance, resolved."
MUMBAI: The heart of the world's largest atom-smashing machine will have a âMade in Indiaâ tag on its most crucial components, L Evans, director of the European Organisation for Nuclear Research's (Cern) large hadron collider (LHC) project told ET.
In the city to receive the one thousandth ultra high-tech superconducting magnet from Anil Kakodkar, chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, Mr Evans paid tributes to India's contribution to the atom smasher of the 21st century, being built at an estimated cost of $3bn at the Franco-Swiss border for inauguration in â05. Mr Kakodkar described LHC as âscientifically and engineering-wise the most challenging project ever undertaken by mankind and we're extremely happy to be associated with it.â
The LHC, he added, is the largest superconducting installation in the world, with a 27 km circumference built in a tunnel 100 metres underground. When completed the LHC will collide beams of protons at an energy of 14 TeV. (TeV is a unit of energy used in particle physics. 1 TeV is about the energy of motion of a flying mosquito. However, what makes the LHC extraordinary is that it squeezes energy into a space about a million, million times smaller than a mosquito). Beams of lead nuclei will also be accelerated nearly to the speed of light and smashed together with a collision energy of 1,150 TeV.
All this will recreate energy densities similar to those found in the first fraction of a second after the universe was born. The LHC's atomic collisions will thus take scientists back to the very threshold of Big Bang itself, enabling them to handle bold questions about matter and its ultimate constituents. âIncidentally, the LHC's giant detectors will handle as much information as the entire European telecommunications network does today,â Mr Evans told ET. âThey will stand up to 20 metres high. At their centres, protons will collide some 800m times a second. Understanding what happens in these collisions will be the key to LHCâs success.â
Along with the US, Japan, Russia and Canada, India is among the select non-CERN member countries taking part in the creation of the LHC. The Indian contribution, which the CERN director general Luciano Maiani earlier described as âvisible and valuableâ, consists of supplying hi-tech components and software and other support in kind, worth nearly $60m. Dileep Bhawalkar, director, Department of Atomic Energy's centre for advanced technology at Indore, which is co-ordinating this effort described it as âa great opportunity for Indian industryâ, which could garner 90% of the manufacturing contribution and also a fantastic learning trip for Indian universities and research institutes.â
The European Ariane rocket took off with India's latest communication satellite, INSAT-3E, from Kourou spaceport, French Guyana, early Sunday.
The 2,775kg satellite was injected into space about 30 minutes after the lift-off
The Ariane 5G launch vehicle also carried two other spacecraft -- SMART-1, Europe's first lunar probe, and the Eutelsat e-BIRD broadband services satellite.
Soon after it went into orbit, the Master Control Facility at Hassan, Karnataka, acquired the first signals from the satellite, Indian Space Research Organisation sources in Bangalore said.
The INSAT-3E was scheduled for launch in August, but a quality alert from Japanese firm Mitsubishi, which supplied some components, forced ISRO to retest certain equipment
PARIS: India could soon commence construction of a prototype Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AWHR), making it the first country in the world to develop such a reactor as the mainstay of its nuclear power programme.
"We have completed the designs and even the peer review. Now we are in the stage of completing the safety review and work on the construction of the first AHWR could begin as early as next year," Anil Kakodkar, chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission,told. :cool
Kakodkar, who is also secretary in the department of atomic energy, said the Nuclear Power Corporation should take about seven years to construct the first AHWR.
This is a new kind of reactor that uses a mix of thorium and uranium as fuel and yields more uranium than it actually consumes. It would thus enable India to become self-sufficient in its supplies of uranium.
After monitoring its performance for a year or two, the company could go full steam ahead to construct other AHWRs, which could become the mainstay of the country's nuclear power programme by 2020.
AHWR is particularly close to Kakodkar's heart since he has been working on the design and other aspects of this groundbreaking reactor for the last decade.
It is also the realisation of a dream by Homi Bhabha, known as the father of the Indian atomic energy programme, since it will enable India to use its large thorium deposits for producing nuclear power.
Kakodkar, who is in Paris on an official visit, said India is currently adding nine new units to its nuclear power programme which will take the installed capacity of the Nuclear Power Corporation from the current 2,700 mw to over 6,700 mw by the year 2008.
Russia is involved in the construction of two of the units right now. But India would be happy to accept offers from other countries, including France, which have expressed interest in participating in its ambitious project of taking the total nuclear power capacity to 20,000 mw by the year 2020, he said.
"We are talking to several countries, including France, on the issue of cooperation, but they have their own constraints," Kakodkar said, referring to the stringent conditions imposed by the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) that brings together 40 countries, including major nuclear powers like the U.S., Russia and Britain.
The NSG was formed -- after India conducted its first nuclear test in 1974 -- with the aim of closely monitoring the spread of nuclear technology.
Besides foreign participation, Kakodkar said the government was even open to participation from the Indian private sector. However, he expressed scepticism about the extent of private sector participation.
"Even though the government of India is in the process of changing the Atomic Energy Act, permitting the private sector to construct nuclear power plants, the Indian private sector is not yet ready to invest in these projects," Kakodkar said.
"We will anyway change the law since we don't want to pose any hurdles in the path of the private sector companies if they want to invest in nuclear power projects. However, I am not very optimistic about their participation," he added.
Giving reasons for his scepticism, Kakodkar pointed to the rather poor response given by it in conventional power projects.
In the third and final stage of orbit-raising operation conducted on 1st October at 1:38 PM IST from Master Control Facility (MCF), Hassan, INSAT-3E was placed in near Geostationary Orbit (GSO). The manoeuvre was completed by firing the 440 Newton Liquid Apogee Motor on board the satellite for a duration of 3 mn, 6 secs. With this, the satellite has achieved an orbital period of 23 hours and 46 minutes and is continuously visible to MCF, Hassan. INSAT-3E is now moving towards its geostationary orbital slot with the planned drift rate of 2.3° per day. It is expected to reach its orbital slot of 55° East Longitude in the next ten days.
While reading the topic Vedic Mathematics, it occurred to me that Indians talk a lot about contributions of Indian civilization to mathematics in the days gone by but not of contributions to mathematics today. Could it be because there are no mathmaticians of note today?
When I was studying for my M.Sc.(Maths) I once came upon a book listing the names, photos and contribution of current eminent mathematicians. As my friend and I eagerly flipped through it, we found only one photograph of an Indian. Now I must point out that this was 14 years ago (but looks like yesterday, as usual). I hope the conditions have changed since then. Which brings me to the reason I made this post in Current Affairs:
Shouldn't we start a thread detailing the Indian contribution to mathematics in modern times? Something that doesn't begin and end with Ramanujam!
NEW DELHI: Declaring that the Indian Air Force has obtained strategic depth operational capability with the induction of mid-air refuellers and more of advanced SU-30 MKI fighters, Air Chief S Krishnaswamy on Monday said work has started on an aerospace command to have weapon platforms in space.
"Any country on the fringe of space technology like India has to work towards such a command as advanced countries are already moving towards laser weapon platforms in space and killer satellites," he said.
Asserting that such futuristic weapons systems were no longer in the realms of science fiction, the Air Chief said, "IAF has started work on conceptualising such a weapons systems and its operational command system".
On the strategic forces command, raised recently to operate and command country's nuclear arsenal, Krishnaswamy told newsmen on the 71st anniversary of the IAF falling on Wednesday that the command has become "operational".
"Elements that are supposed to be there are there along with a newly set up chain of command and operational manuals," he said.
While conceding that there were some 'hiccups" in the efforts to build an indigenous air attack defence missile systems like Akash and Trishul, Krishnaswamy said the slippages were temporary.
In the meantime the IAF as an interim measure could go in for import of limited surface to air missiles besides upgrading the existing Russian plethora missiles, he said.
The Bagdogra airbase trains the 'inexperienced' pilots to fly MIG-21. While the operational role of the Indian Air Force is carried out by all its combat squadrons, the training role is entrusted to a select few.
The AOC, nevertheless, admitted that both the squadrons were equipped with 'earlier version' of MIG-21. "We lay a great deal of stress on realistic training in grooming both our operational air and ground crew to be thorough professionals so as to develop a sound team spirit. I can proudly say that our pilots are very competent and comparable with the best in the world," Air commodore john said.
Asked how a pilot trained in 'earlier version' is capable of handling the modified MIGs, the AOC cited the example of 'ambassador' cars.
"The basic system of the MIGs is same. Only the avionics are improved in later versions which make those flying easy."
Dwelling on the training part, the Air Commodore explained how the young pilots go through a very 'demanding course' of general military service training and ground studies programme in their respective training schools and academics where they 'know' the aircraft they will fly.
After the initial training here, the young fighter pilots get posted to Tezpur station to undergo phase I of MIG 21 operational flying training. Following its successful completion, they comeback at Bagdogra for their phase II training.
Flying officer Prithvi Ponnappa echoed his senior officer. "It is really thrilling when one sits in the cockpit of an aircraft that flies double the speed of sound. The training provides for strength of character and develops qualities of good leadership of the Air war," he said.
The standards laid down for pilots to successfully attain their flying wings were very high. Taking a round of different sections of its training squadrons and seeing the hardship the young pilots were put into, it could safely be said in today's aerial combat environment, it is the 'survival of the fittest'.
Not only the operation, Bagdogra has also done maintenance of the MIGS. After every 50 hours of flying, the aircraft are subject to 'second line' of servicing at the base. However, it required a 'fourth line' overhauling in Bangalore following 85 hours of flying.
A MIG-21 consumes 200 litres of aviation turbine fuel from the time of starting at the bay till it takes off. When it gets airborne, the consumption of fuel varies between 40 and 80 litres per minute depending upon height and power settings.
The fighter aircraft can carry 32 rockets and two bombs with an option for either of the two. It can also take 245 rounds of cartridges for 23-mm cannon to destroy an enemy target.
Not only the fighter aircraft, Bagdogra airbase has an elite helicopter unit equipped with 'Chetak' and 'Cheetah' choppers.
The 'Chetaks' with two pilots and five passengers are used for communication duties and can land at 10,000 ft height, while 'Cheetahs' for high altitude race, communication and casualty evacuation assignments. It is the only copter India has produced to land in Siachen glacier.
In its MI-8/MI-17 'Tettra' (technical type training) school, both aircrew and ground crew were trained for these two Russian copters. It conducts courses both theory and practical with the help of a simulator for all technical trades and this training is recognised by the director general of civil aviation.
For IAF, therefore, Bagdogra is an important transit base leading to the east. Established in the wake of Sino-Indian border conflict in 1962, the Air Force station here is located in the apex vital Siliguri corridor connecting the north-eastern states with the rest of the country and also has close proximity to China, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan.
The base provides transit and air traffic services (ATS) facilities to all the service and civil aircraft when flying over the narrow corridor. Bagdogra is also on ATS route for domestic and international air traffic between Bhutan, Bangladesh and Nepal.
With the Indian Airlines, Jet Airways and Pawan Hans operating daily for Delhi, Kolkata and Gangtok to cater to the hill traffic, the air traffic in this sector is fairly congested.
In its casualty evacuation duty, the helicopter flight of the base is constantly asked to undertake rescue operations from remote corners in the hills often affected by landslides and snowfall. A number of missions for rescue of mountaineering expedition team members from the country and abroad have been undertaken by this unit in the recent past.
Supplying Air logistics to the troops in Sikkim and North Bengal was one of the main jobs of this airbase. Due to vagaries of weather, the armed forces depend much on this station for air dropping essentials.
Free air courier facilities have been provided by the Centre to troops in the forward areas from north eastern states to Delhi/Bangalore and back.
Bagdogra, therefore, although primarily a fighter training base but ever-increasing tourism potential and boost in trade with neighbours enhanced the tactical and strategic importance of the base.
In the course of a 90-minute interaction with the media, the Air Chief said on the induction programme that two of the six IL-78 refuellers had arrived from Uzbekistan and made operational. The rest of the four would be inducted by the year end.
He said the SU-30MKI and deep penetration strike aircraft Jaguars had become mid-air refuelling operational, while work was on to procure the refuelling nozzles for the French made Mirage 2000.
"We have already conducted exercises with refuellers between Pune and Car Nicobar and the deployment capability had been proven with aircraft remaining in the air for over ten hours without landing," Krishnaswamy said.
He said two squadrons of the upgraded MI-21 Bisons had become operational in the frontier Punjab province and the third was in the process of going through final flying and training tests in Ozar in Nasik in Maharashtra.
The Air Chief said three more Bison squadrons would become operational by the March next year and said for the first time the MIG-21 in the shape of Bisons would take part in this year Air Force Day flypast.
Asserting that IAF has taken up a major modernisation drive, Krishnaswamy said final approval was given to have 17 kinds of simulators for the IAF including simulators for fighters like mig-27, jaguars, mirage 2000 as well as for transport aircraft like AN-32 and IL-76.
Besides this, he said IAF would also import simulators for electronic warfare systems and for Air traffic control.
India signs deal on Phalcon radars with Israel, Russia
October 10, 2003 14:00 IST
India on Friday concluded a major defence deal with Israel and Russia for manufacture of Phalcon, an airborne early warning and control system (AWACS), for the Indian Air Force.
The deal to mount Israeli-made Phalcon surveillance radars on Russian IL-76 planes was signed by Defence Secretary Ajay Prasad, Maj Gen Yasi Ben Hanan (retd) for Israel Denisov Alexander of Rosoboron Export for Russia.
[url="http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/cms.dll/xml/uncomp/articleshow?msid=275945"]India, Russia developing combat aircraft[/url]
PTI[ MONDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2003 05:52:14 PM ]
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee
NEW DELHI: Disclosing that India and Russia have begun development of a sophisticated combat aircraft, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has said that the defence co-operation between the two countries was of a long-term and mutually beneficial character.
Asserting that Indo-Russian defence and military co-operation was "stable and rapidly" developing, Vajpayee said the two countries have started work on a fifth generation combat plane.
Two state-of-art frigates built in Russia have already joined the Indian naval fleet and deals on purchase of Sukhoi-30 MKI war planes and their licensed production in India are underway, Vajpayee told a group of Russian journalists in New Delhi on the eve of his departure on a three-day official visit to Moscow.
Russia has delivered the modern T-90 tanks to the Indian army he said adding that the "implementation of these and other projects proves co-operation between the two countries in the defence area is of a long-term and mutually beneficial character."
"The two countries are committed to maintaining and consolidating bilateral strategic partnership," he was quoted as saying by ITAR-TASS news agency.
lets see mushy whining now at every forum in coming week...... <img src='http://www.india-forum.com/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='' />
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