“Chaso Dolls’ Wedding and other stories” : Book Review

The author Chaganti Somayajulu (CHASO) is a venerable writer who strongly believes in marxist principles. Chaso and Gurajada Appa Rao are the precious jewels in the crown of the most literally vibrant town of Vizianagaram. Though the revolutionary hues are completely absent in his writings, his progressive attitude and sense of belongingness towards the society is clearly mirrored in all his stories. Unlike some of the writers of his era, woman is not portrayed as a special person. Chaso doesn’t harbour any biased judgements and are gender neutral. Both women and men are depicted in a natural way. Ordinary people with no special prowess are the protagonists of his stories and hence they are realistic, narrative expeditions. The book “Chaso Dolls’ Wedding and other stories” translated by Velcheru Narayana Rao and David Shulman, generates a peculiar interest in readers since none of the characters or the circumstances appear to be fictitious. They seem to be extracts of real life, natural and original. None of stories are preachy. They are very lucid; hence it would be pleasure-reading for people. Surprisingly none of the stories have a conclusive climax and so the reader has the privilege, liberty and to perceive the end according to their own discretion, choice and attitude. Hence it gives lot of freedom and leaves scope for a wider and better imagination. The heroes and heroines of Chaso are often the striking examples of the various cross-section of the society. They are pragmatic and revel as examples of how they attack the travails of the society like the abject poverty, deception, adultery and unscientific customs of the society.

Simply put each story deals with different emotions, frustrations, displacements and compromises by common man. There are no picturesque descriptions. Almost all the  twenty stories are based on the lives of the lower-middle class or the working class who has hand to mouth existence. The situations in the stories are down to earth and relevant. Since the stories are precise, lucid they are easy to understand and reader can quickly assimilate the corpus of the story. The most interesting aspect is none of the characters have the tendency to given up. They are not withdrawn by the self-pity and deprivation. In fact the heroines of his stories try to rebuild their lives by re-inventing themselves rather becoming the victims of situations. They are more assertive and fight for themselves and resist the evil temptations and pathetic cultural restraints with tact.

This book would be particularly handy for the newly emerging tribe of Telugu illiterates who are deprived of the pleasure of understanding the colloquial idioms in native language. Though they may not savour the flavour the beauty of the native dialect, this translation can compensate it. Author introduces the readers to the cultural practices and the customs of the north coastal region of Andhra of the late 1950’s. This book would be a literary feast to young readers of the present generation who are completely oblivious to cultural and societal settings of the early independence era. It provides an opportunity to investigate and understand the mind-set of people of that particular period. The translators did their best to recreate the magical effect of the original idioms and phrases used in the natural conversation. The scintillating effect, blithe of literary nuances and laconic dialogues can be well assimilated in the original tongue.

 

 

 

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A Crucial Win for Germany and India !!!!

Germany went to polls on Sep 22^nd to elect 630 members for the 18^th Bundestag. Election results have pronounced a clear victory for the Chancellor Angela Merkel of Christian Democratic Union (CDU) for the third time in a row. But the results are uncertain as she falls short of full majority by just 5 seats and hence she has to forge an alliance to form a coalition government. Its previous coalition partner, the pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP) had a disastrous performance as it could garner mere 4.8% of votes. For the first time in FDP party history, it is rooted out of the Parliament.

CDU has been gifted with a stupendous majority of 42%, up by 7% from the last elections in 2009 along with its sister party Christian Social Union (CSU).  This is the highest majority attained by any party in the past five decades. The Germans have passed a verdict crediting her for deft handling of the economy in the face of brewing economic crisis in the Mediterranean and South European Countries. It now seems that she has to form a coalition with its opposition, the Centre –left, Social Democratic Party (SDP) as she narrowly missed the absolute majority. Negotiations might continue for months as she will be compelled to accept some of the leftist propositions like minimum wages and higher tax cuts for the super-rich. She might even be forced to change her stance with regard to the bailing out Greece, award stimulus packages to Portugal, Spain and Greece and might go slow on austerity drive.

Angela Merkel is perhaps the most influential person in Germany post world war-II. She has successfully brought down the unemployment rates from 12.1% 2005 when she was first elected to 5.3% now. Moreover, she is also going to create a history by overtaking Margret Thatcher’s record of the longest serving women. The polls are an indication of the conservative nature of Germans who revel in the status of a powerful economy and their eagerness to share the responsibilities.

Germany earlier adopted an approach wherein China was the main focal point of interest and had a long standing bilateral and trade relations with China. But owing to strained relations with China following the Chancellor’s meeting with Tibetan leader Dalai Lama, Germany started realising a greater need to foster ties with other developing countries in Asia.

Economic and Cultural relations between India and Germany are dated back to 16^th century. India was the first nation to end Second World War with Germany. India has recognised the Federal Republic of Germany as a sovereign country way back in 1951 and both nations had strong commercial, cultural and strategic cooperation. India is the fifth largest business partner of Germany after China, Japan and South Korea, Singapore in Asia. India is ranked 28^th among the trade partners of Germany accounting for 0.7% of total trade.  Germany renewed its trade agreements with India, after India’s consistent growth record during the past decade. It has ventured into Indian markets to tap the unexplored avenues and has become the eighth largest investor in India with inflows of USD 5.05 billion. Germany is also India’s second largest technology partner.  The largest co-operation is in the field of machinery, heavy vehicles, chemicals, technical consultancy services, computers and electronic appliances. Large automobile giants (BMW, Daimler, AG, Audi, Volkswagen and Porsche) have established their assembly units/ manufacturing units in India. Indian investments in Information Technology, Energy and Pharmaceuticals amount to USD 4 billion in Germany. Bilateral trade has improved consistently from USD 15 billion in 2007 to USD 24.2 billion in 2011.

Germany is one of the most highly developed nations. Together with China, it is the third largest economy in the World after US and Japan. It exports account to more than a trillion euro which is three times its national income. India and Germany have reached agreements on issues like environment protection and conservation of natural resources, energy and sustainable economic development. Both of   them are now desperately attempting to obtain a permanent seat in the Security Council.  Following the signing of defence agreements Indian Navy and German Navy has conducted exercises together. Further Germany helped India to obtain a waiver from Nuclear Supplier’s Group (NSG) to procure radioactive material for non nuclear purposes. Germany has extended its cooperation to combat terrorism. India has launched seven satellites into polar orbits for Germany. There are certain issues of disagreement as well which include India’s stand on carbon emissions, UN reforms and civil nuclear cooperation.

Several MoU’s have been signed between India and Germany in the fields of Science &Technology, bilateral research cooperation in biotechnology, environment, material sciences and vocational training. Germany is India’s most important research partner after US with more than 1000 post graduate community constitute the largest student group in Germany after Chinese. There are significant numbers of collaborations between the elite Indian and German institutes. Several exchange programs for students and young scientists have been vogue and new programs are initiated to foster greater cooperation in science and technology.

Unlike India, Germany has significant challenges to long–term sustained growth. Further its aging population and declining net immigration is increasing pressure on the social welfare system. It spends roughly 2.5% of GDP on Research and Development (R&D) and plans to increase it to 3%. Thus there is lot of scope for highly qualified technical and scientific personnel from developing countries like India, China and Brazil to work in coordinate with the research institutes in Germany. Germany has started the ambitious scientific policy with international appeal to connect with centres of excellence thus building networks and strategic partnerships with foreign institutions. Its existing 41million work force is estimated to decline owing to the demographic changes. There will shortage of 6 million skilled workers. Realising the implications of shortage of skilled work force, Qualified Professionals Initiative project was initiated. The program encourages the professionals from abroad to come to Germany and work. They have eased immigration rules and providing valuable advice for successful integration. Indian workers especially qualified professionals can have safe havens and reap the benefit of getting assimilated into the work stream highly developed country. Remittances can thus flow back to the country. Above all, currently India along with Germany constitutes the G4 nations that include Brazil and Japan, mutually promoting each other’s bid for a permanent seat in the UN Security Council.

Other than Israel, India is the only non-European country with which Germany has closer strategic and business relationship. The year 2011 was called year of Germany in India titled “Germany and India: Infinite opportunities” marking the completion of 60 years of relationship with Federal Republic of Germany (1951). Parallel programme was conducted in Germany with the motto of “Days of India in Germany: Connecting Cultures” in 2012-13 featuring events on Indian culture in various cities of Germany. The cultural sojourn of Germany in India is effectively synchronized by the six Max-Mueller Institutes which conduct German classes for students. Similarly Tagore Bhavan acts as Indian Culture Centre in Germany.

Germany is the main pillar of the European Union and the decisions made by the Chancellor would be of utmost importance not only to Europe but to the vast majority of countries whose economies are dependent on the EU member countries. Tactical decisions on Energy Policy, environment policy, financial policies of the block are influenced by the commitment of the Chancellor’s decision. Hence these elections are closely watched by the World. Particularly some of her commitments to end the use of nuclear power have a wider implication on the oil and gas imports and exports.

Following election results, German Envoy Michael Steiner reiterated that German government is going to be “pro-Europe, non-nationalistic and pro-Indian” and hinted about possible increase in trade volume. Germany is the economic powerhouse and anchor of Europe. Undoubtedly, nothing significant can ever happen without the agreement of Angela Merkel. She is the towering politician in Europe with strong commitment to a single currency and  sustainable European Union. The grand vision she has for the Europe will translate in the form of  strategic partnerships Germany will promote with major partners like India in near future.

 

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Arnab Is Back !!!!!!!

Yesterday was not a special day in terms of either religious or political happenings. But one of the highly rated English news channel, TIMES NOW heaved a sigh of relief- its editor-in chief and host of the most popular show, Arnab Goswami, is back after a brief hiatus. It has now reclaimed its position back to the top after a sluggish TRP rating during the previous 10 days when its primetime new hour channel viewership was badly hit. This trend was experienced even by the channel’s ardent and faithful audience who by default turn it on to catch-up with the most controversial and happening events of our country. Cynosure of the all the news watchers, perhaps have given himself some break. The much needed break to comeback with full vigour to pose the most relevant and straight question to the highest dignitaries and acclaimed leaders as well. Perhaps, gearing up for the much watched, awaited and decisive assembly elections in four major states (Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh) and Mizoram. Channels and their top rated journalists, anchors and most importantly psephologists are gearing up for the forth coming political drama which is going to unfold before more than billion Indians.

The election time is back again and the schedule is going to be out in October. Media both the print and new channels started playing a crucial role in the pattern of voting.  Realising their growing influence and penetration most of the political parties have set up their own media houses. The digital age has given extra tooth to the media which is already at its zenith. The growing middle class, who have created their lives by the dint of hard work, are now becoming proactive. They no longer want to sit back. They are becoming restless at the lack of deliverance from the political class. It is this section of society, vexed with the political ire are becoming more media savvy.

Last week, I saw news clip about absence of this news hour host and how other channels are trying to lure the audience in his absence. Although I was a bit surprised initially to find a dedicated coverage for this issue and dismissed it as another trick to popularise the channel, today I could no longer ignore as a new flipkart ad was trying to sell itself using the brand image, style and diction of this anchor. I was surprised at this new way of advertising. Two decades, Pranay Roy unleashed the power of the media when he presented the election analysis round the clock. This was first of its kind by a private new channel. This new format was widely appreciated and earned him immense popularity. But in spite of hitting the popularity charts, he never became a mascot for any of the commercial products.  Bollywood actors or even small screen actors working as brand ambassadors by endorsing various products has become a common feature in India. Now what I am experiencing is a new phenomenon. This kind of ad campaigning by star actors is most common in businesses. Even the absence or presence of bollywood/ other regional cinema actors making headlines in page 3 is not new. Media tries to cash on this juicer stuff and gossip. News about brief absence of an anchor hitting headlines is something more intriguing.

Indians are known for their foolish adulation towards actors and actress. They in fact seem to adore anything and everything related to the cinema.  Thanks to the loyal movie fans the entertainment factory is able to thrive and make huge profits too. Even the rising inflation hasn’t damned the spirit of regular cinema goer. Not only in India, people all over patronise individuals with exceptional talent be it music, dance or acting in a very big way. Though writers, painters, sculptors receive great publicity, the culture of revering people talented in other fine arts is still in its infancy in India.

 I was really awestruck by the exceptional publicity received by the news hour host.  May be the interests of people, seem to have shifted. The new sect of the aspiring middleclass known for exceptional determination to better themselves might be the reason for this new drift. Undoubtedly there is higher viewership for the regular serials, reality shows and sops. Simultaneously there is a substantial increase in interest for news channels among a particular section of people who want to be cognizant of the current affairs. They are interested in the contentious issues plaguing the country and their larger implications on their lives too.  The ever expanding telecommunication networks is quenching the thirst of computer savvy and information hungry people who at the click of button are able to explore the world. People are now up-to-date about the latest news. The media channels in particular have mastered the art of presentation of facts and issues in an appealing way. The flourishing viewership reflected is in TRP ratings of various news channels speak of their popularity.

In any case, it is such a relief to find people talking about something other than movies.  A media man or a journalist making to popularity charts is a great accomplishment. Putting aside the positive and negative aspects of the individual, it is clear indication of a new change. When people with intellectual thoughts and perceptions are adored, society might see at least some change. Some of the debates might ignite a spark of change and spur public into action though not instantaneously.

The latest efforts made by the news channels and print media have to be appreciated. They are trying to give new definition to news and current affairs. Although this trendy way of news presentation is due to the intense competition between various channels, unknowingly they are doing a great service to public.  News doesn’t simply imply transferring some key facts and events but it is making people aware of its implications. News channels are now showing a greater interest in analysis. The debates about the raging issues are catching up with the young and old as well.  These channels are in a way providing a platform for voicing out common man’s apprehensions. Hence the much taunted grilling of the concerned officials or leaders is very much appreciated. Undoubtedly, the resplendent anchors of the news hour debates are thus able to win the confidence of audience.  Hence the reason for the new found love for this breed of media personnel. People no longer wish to have anchors that placate the guests, but are welcoming those who are bold and could force the guests/politicians to be remorseful about the distressing state of affairs. People are not expecting these hosts to do miracles but are happy to see the duty evaders in a tough spot.

Hope people become more sensible refraining from idol worship of the tinsel world divas who by the dint of ephemeral beauty and gravity defying tricks have casted a spell. It is a welcome sign indeed that they started worrying about real people, real world and true leaders who aspire to bring some change. Though the media and their personnel are not as pristine as holy waters, they are still better than the breed of actors who allure with joys of illusionary world. In any case people have to pay for both news and entertainment i.e., either to news channels or film production units. After all everything comes with a price be it news or entertainment (or even the noise ......lol).

 

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A Giant Step Towards Space Exploration

It is a moment of great scientific excitement and exhilaration as a human-made object, unmanned spacecraft Voyager 1 reached the interstellar space. Interstellar region is the space between stars but still feels the charged particles and magnetic influences from heliosphere. Voyager 1 has the unique distinction of being the farthest travelling man-made object beyond the solar system. Taking the advantage of the favourable alignment of the planets, in late 1970’s Gary Flandro, aerospace engineer from Jet Propulsion Laboratory went ahead with the Voyager Space Program. He conceptualised that planetary alignment would provide the necessary gravitational assistance to fly by from Jupiter to Saturn and similarly from Uranus to Neptune.

The Voyager spacecrafts were built by the NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena and California Caltech manages JPL for NASA. Voyager missions are part of NASA’s Heliophysics Systems Observatory and sponsored by the Heliophysics System Division of Science Mission Directorate of NASA located in Washington. The cost of Voyager 1 and 2 missions, nuclear batteries and their launches accounted for $998 million, was funded by the Department of Energy.

The two unmanned spacecrafts were initially designated with the mission of studying the planetary systems of Jupiter and Saturn which they accomplished within 12 years of their mission by 1989.  Voyager1 after surpassing the Pioneer 10 became the first most distantly travelling human-made object. Now the spacecraft have the distinction of reaching the interstellar space even.

Voyager 2, the twin of Voyager 1 was launched with a gap of 16 days. Both of them have passed Jupiter and Saturn- Voyager 2 now has crossed even Uranus and Neptune. Taking the advantage of the unique planetary alignment, Voyager 2 was first launched on August 22^nd, 1977 from the Cape Canaveral, Florida to flyby the planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. It is has the record of longest travelling space craft. Voyager 1 was launched by the rocket Titan Centaur with utmost priority of studying the Saturn’s moon Titan. The magnetometers and the camera on board have provided valuable information about the 48 moons of the giant planets, active volcanoes on Jupiter’s moon its myriad cloud formation, winds and storms; Saturn’s intricate rings which are found to have kinks, braids, ringlets and spokes. Voyager 2 fathomed the details of the Uranus and its 10 moons, Neptune’s three rings- its widely distributed auroras and the magnetic fields.

After accomplishing the primary mission of flying by the planets Jupiter and Saturn, Voyager1 has set out for Voyager Interstellar Mission (VIM). The main objective of this mission is to enable National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA’s exploration of solar system beyond the neighbourhood of the outer planets to the outer limits of the Sun’s sphere of influence. Voyager 1 is at distance of 18.9 billion kilometres (125.3 AU) and Voyager 2 is 15.3 billion kilometres (102.6 AU) away from Sun. One AU or the astronomical unit is distance between Sun to earth equal to 149 million kilometres. VIM has three distinct phases, termination shock, heliosheath exploration and interstellar exploration phase. Voyager 1 escaping at the speed of 3.6 AU per year 35 degrees north from the Solar Apex (solar motion relative to other stars), Voyager 2 moving at speed of 3.3AU per year 48 degrees from the elliptical plane to south.

Both the Voyager spacecrafts are designed to carry the Golden Record Cover containing a combination of time capsule and an interstellar message to alien civilisation. It contains a phonograph record, a 12 inch gold plated copper disk containing sounds and images portraying the diversity of the earth. Should they encounter any life form, the record has sounds selected by a committee headed Dr. Carl Sagan, which included,  spoken greetings in fifty five different languages, 115 images of earth and a variety of natural sounds; music from different eras and cultures. A Hindustani Classical composition titled "Jaat Kahan Ho" sung by the legendary vocalist Surshri Kesarbai Kerkar is a part of the illustrious music collection. It is played as a kind of encore (closing number) due to its popularity. There are five different instruments to record the magnetic field intensity, plasma waves, low energy charged particle and plasma density. These instruments are monitored by five different specialised scientific investigation teams.

Though Voyager 1 has reached the interstellar space last year, NASA made the announcement of the important milestone in space exploration on 12 September 2013. They were unable to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion until an unexpected coronary mass ejection or solar outburst of the wind and magnetic fields erupted from the sun in March 2012 and reached the Voyager 1 after 13 months, in April 2013. It recorded the oscillations just like the violin string waves. The pitch of the oscillations helped in determination of the density of the plasma which is roughly 40 times greater than in the heliosphere. Similar wave oscillations of much lower intensity were recorded in Oct and Nov 2012. Extrapolation of the measured oscillations helped in the determination of the location of Voyager 1 which indicated that it has entered interstellar space in Aug 2012. It was precisely on Aug 25^th 2012, scientists observed a change in the charged particles and plasma density which is on expected levels indicating that Voyager1 has crossed the heliopause.  Scientists have been making their conclusions on the basis of difference between the direction and strength of magnetic fields of earth and space. As the Voyager1 entered the interstellar space the levels of galactic cosmic rays has increased and levels of charged particles of the heliosphere decreased by a factor of 1000. These were expected changes when Voyager1 crossed the heliopause, the boundary of heliosphere and interstellar space. It is the boundary where Sun’s solar winds are stopped by the interstellar medium

Voyager mission continue to receive small signals every day, but the emitted signals from the Voyagers are of low intensity roughly 23 watt, power of the refrigerator bulb. By the time they reach earth they are reduced by billionth-billionth of a watt. Typically Voyager 1 now transmits 160 bits per second and signals take 17 hrs to reach earth. These signals are captured by the NASA’s Deep Space Network Stations.

The electrical power is provided by the Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generators (RTG) fuelled by Plutonium-238. The availability of power will gradually decrease owing to the degradation of the radioactive material. It has enough electrical energy to continue working till 2020 and then to conserve its energy, each of the instruments will be slowly turned off till the last instrument which will be turned by 2025. Gyro operations will be deactivated for Voyager 2 in 2015 and Voyager 1 in 2016. Gyro operations enable the spacecraft to turn 360 degrees six times per year to measure the magnetic field. Till 2025 the electrical power and altitude control propellant would be available later scientific instruments will be devoid of any power. Thereafter Voyager 1 might escape in the direction of Alpha Centauri, AC +793888 a star in constellation of Camelopardalis and Voyager 2 after 40,000 years will pass star Ross 248. Voyagers perhaps might remain as remnants of mankind’s unquenchable quest to unravel the mysteries of space and the eternal Milky Way.

 

 

 

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Diplomatic Stalemate In Syria

Following the alleged chemical weapons use on August 21^st against civilians living on the outskirts of Damascus, there has been wide spread condemnation in the International arena. Till then the ongoing civil war in Syria which took lives of more than one lakh people hasn’t received such serious retribution baring the sanctions imposed by UN, US and other European countries. US vehemently criticised the Alawite regime of Bashar al Assad in Syria for using chemical weapons and threatened of limited air strikes, however, it appears the idea to hit the sock failed on the day the British Parliament voted against any Syria action along with lack of assurances from the Arab League. This definitely gave enough room for Russia to carefully orchestrate its diplomacy. Having earlier vetoed against the any sanctions on Syria, resulting in further deadlock of UN Resolutions, Russia appealed to the Syrian regime to handover the chemical weapons to the international control. This only means, the approach taken by the US, after abandoned by its prime ally, the UK, in sending the issue for a Senate vote, gives even more enough time for both Russia and Syria to engage other actors in diplomacy. Though President Obama is not bound by the decision of senate, he is trying to find a political cover if in case situation in Syria turns bad.

As the Senate delays its vote on the Syria strikes, or put on hold, President Vladimir Putin has now come up with a holistic diplomatic proposal to avert air strikes against Syria.  The first step is to urge Syria to become member of Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), while simultaneously, reveal the details of the storage places of chemical weapons for international control and finally, opening up these places for inspection and further destruction of its estimated stock pile of 1000 tons of chemical weapons. With this new plan, Russia has successfully checkmated US plans on Syria. The new diplomatic dice casted by the Russians has many sides to it. While this will temporarily prevent the destabilisation of Middle East, which is extremely volatile and highly prone to civil unrest, this diplomatic effort signals Russia’s intentions to resurge its former status of a superpower apart from an attempt to protect its strategic ally in Middle East and the lone naval base outside. This strategy definitely has now thwarted, at least temporarily, the attempts of the West in toppling Assad’s regime. Russia reminded the fate of the League of Nations, the predecessor to the UN, when influential nations carry out military strikes at will. The larger pastiche of Syria portends a grim picture of its future. The conflict began as a small uprising drawing inspiration from the Arab Spring revolts that have brought down the dictatorial regimes in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya. These silent protests have turned into rebellion attacks due to the intervention of the armed forces and with tanks entering the streets to control the agitating mobs massive insurgency erupted. Incessant internal fights, led to civil war. The reasons go far beyond the apparent ethnic conflict.

Syria experienced a massive five and half year drought before the civil war broke. Droughts prevailed due to intensive wheat and cotton farming coupled with unsustainable irrigational practices that resulted in depletion of the ground water resources. The once fertile bastion has turned into a partial desert. Farmers and herders slowly migrated to urban areas, further a great influx of refugees from Iraq and Palestine around 2003 has put lot of strain on the resources. This led to massive unrest. But military analysts greatly disregard the idea of climate change leading to unrest. Consecutive crop failures, drought, poor agriculture policy and massive exodus of refugees and the prospective movement of Arab Springs acted as potential threat multipliers and drove an otherwise immune country to a civil war. Main pillars of Syrian economy are agriculture and oil production. Agriculture constitutes about 25% of economy civil war has reduced agriculture to tatters. Cereal yields, vegetable and fruit production has reduced to half. Earlier a massive exporter of wheat is forced to import food grains. Oil production too suffered as infrastructure has been hit by uninterrupted bombings and gun firing. The frail economy was further crippled by the economic sanctions imposed by the west. The foreign resources pooled up over a decade are now slowly depleting. Restoring the tattered economy and reconstruction of infrastructure seems to be a long way with warring factions showing no sign of respite.

Till now an estimated 5 lakh children have exiled to Lebanon due to civil war. International agencies like Red Cross, UNICEF, UNHCR and Inter- Agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) are making efforts to provide education to the displaced children. But there is severe crunch of funds. The uneducated and unemployed children and youth hence forth might not graduate into jobs but to violence indicative of the imminent threat. There are roughly 4 million internally displaced people. According UNHCR estimates, nearly 17.5 million Syrians have been displaced by the civil war. Nearly 10,000people are crossing border every day. They are taking refuge in the neighbouring countries like Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Turkey, Iraq, Algeria and Armenia. Refugees pose new problems which include rehabilitation, resettlement. Refugee treatment, assimilation, sustenance and integration of into new countries are some issues of major concern.

Russian’s three pronged premeditated diplomatic strategy, although appreciated by the West now, can be a time consuming process. Syria claimed that it is willingly embracing the proposal of giving up chemical weapons not for the fear of strikes by US but for Russian initiative. France along with other western countries is preparing an agreement with proposed conditions with time bound limitations. Syria will then be legally bound to execute the proposals. But the biggest hiccup would be destruction of the chemical weapons, which might take at least 1-2yrs as the experts opined. In addition the host country is expected to provide all the manpower necessary for its destruction indicating the involvement of several personnel. This activity might be critically hampered if normalcy is not restored in the country.

In reality, the chances of diplomatic intervention yielding desired result is miniscule. A grim example of North Korea destroying its nuclear reactor in 2008 to abide by its nuclear deterrent status suddenly sprang out a surprise yesterday. US-Korea Institute at John Hopkins School of Advanced International studies announced that the satellite images show a white steam emanating from one of the buildings housing Plutonium production reactors. Indicating the ongoing research conducted in one of the stealthy nuclear reactors. Syria might also follow similar lines. The destruction of the weapons might be carried out as a joint exercise by the US and Russia under the supervision of UN within couple of years. Still there is no guarantee that it will refrain from indulging in the exercise of procuring and manufacturing more chemical weapons as the regime and rebels are supplied with arms by these super powers themselves.

While on one hand there are reports of US and Russia actively engaging in diplomatic talks, there are simultaneous news that arms are beings distributed to the rebels to embolden then. Since the use of chemical weapons has been curtailed under certain International agreements, these super powers are vying to clinch the title of a saviour.  This diplomatic standoff doesn’t address the issues of million lives already lost in this genocide. It doesn’t even provide any reprieve to millions of Syrians who are living in constantly fear and whose lives are torn away by this brutal civil war.

Latest reports indicate that Russia and China has objected to use of chapter VII and blocked three other previous draft resolutions of the UN charter. These mandate that if Syria fails to fulfil its obligations, it can be subjected to sanctions. Syria in its stand- off reiterated that Russian proposal is not unilateral and it will accept the diplomatic proposal if US stops the military threats and also if all other nations supplying arms and chemical weapons to rebels would also abide by the chemical weapons convention. Precisely, this so called diplomatic proposal is tactical trick played to buy time.  Further, the real culprit will be nailed down when the report of UN chemical weapons expert team will pronounce its observations on Monday.

While the big nations are busy making headlines for their diplomacy formalities civil war continues unabated in Syria. Social networking media as always are pounded with the video footages of brutal killings and dreadful genocide.

 

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Age is just a number: Fabulous @40

 

People can defy age and achieve the unachievable by sheer determination and perseverance. At the age of forty when people start worrying about midlife crisis, Indian Tennis star Leander Paes has created history by becoming the oldest player ever to win a grand slam by clinching the US Open Men’s Double Title. Winning a grand slam is no mean task especially at a time when the game of tennis is dominated by absolute muscle strength and powerful service games. Moreover to excel in any sport, both physical and mental fitness play a significant role. This implies that a player must be both physically fit and mentally assertive and motivated. Success allures man, but ultimately it accedes to realm of a talented individual. Usually we find successful sportsman whose most fruitful period lasts for 2-6 years or at the maximum 10 years. But to sustain in the field for more than decades the person have consistency, great perseverance and discipline. Longevity is not guaranteed in this field and to perform steadily individual has to work extremely hard.

Leander Paes won 14 grand slams which include 8 doubles and 6 mixed doubles titles. He has several distinctions to his credit. He represented India for the past 20years (1992-2012) in Olympics which in itself speak of his ability and agility on the court. After Rod Laver Paes has the unique distinction of holding Wimbledon trophy in three different decades. He has played 30 slam finals over a period of 21-22years. It is the longevity which is quite impressive rather than the number of victories/titles over his career span. He won an Olympic bronze medal in 1996 Atlanta, first individual medal won by any Indian after a span of more than four decades last was in 1952 Helsinki games. He started his tennis career by winning the prestigious junior Wimbledon &US Open title in 1990. He slowly rose to no 1 in juniors’ category. His stint as a tennis player in singles wasn’t promising. He soon shifted his focus to doubles and started earning all the laurels he is destined for. After teaming up with Mahesh Bhupathi for doubles, they had a dream run and even reached the no 1 spot in doubles.  Together they clinched several titles including Wimbledon and French Open and had highest rate of success as partners. He was recipient of highest sports award Rajiv Khel Ratna 1996-97, Arjuna Award 1990 and Padma Sri 2001. Having played for more than 2 decades he has become a seasoned player, he is best known for his drop shots and volleys. His greatest strengths are the unique strategies and magical net play. He is known to have a strange playing style. He has partnered with record number of 94 players in doubles and 22 players for mixed doubles titles. He is known for changing partners and experimenting with them.

Apart from ATP series, he is an active player in one of the franchises, Washington Kastles in the World Team Tennis. This team has been most successful and claimed the WTT championship four times. Paes was named as the Most Valuable Player in 2009 and 2011. Recently this team has been invited by President Barrack Obama, for a special dinner at White House.

Sometimes it is all about the hard work and effort we put in a work that matters.  No matter the rewards, keep working seems to be basic punch line of Leander’s life. Next on his agenda is representing India in the Rio Olympics 2016 for the record 7^th time at the age of 43. What an incredible feat it would be in life????? Hard work, resolve and conviction seem to be the mantra for a prolonged innings....

 

 

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Why Soccer Needs India !!!!

With the new phrase of EPL (English Premier League)“ halla bol” becoming a massive hit among youngsters there is a sudden and new found love for the largest sporting event. Since the new ad has been hitting the sports channels more frequently, the essence of the message seems to have percolated down. Yes the EPL fever is now set to grip the Indian youth. Even school going kids who do not have a clue about the Premier League are vouching their allegiance to some club several thousand miles away, just because their favourite colour matches the jersey of a particular club. Even shops selling the customised merchandise of the English Premier Clubs are becoming popular in metros. Yes, the soccer fever and the love for the game are meandering over the Indian peninsula. This makes perfect sense for the game too, at the least from the business angle.

Though India is known for its frantic love for the game of Cricket, slowly people are moving towards other sports, and Soccer tops the list without any exception. Of major soccer leagues in the Europe, the EPL is slowly impinging the Indians sports channels with the ads popularising live matches, now with commentary in Hindi too. Apart from the EPL, live matches of other leagues such as La Liga (Spanish), the Seria A (Italian) and the Bundesliga (German) are shown on various sports channels in India. It clearly indicates their ability to garner the support of high end sponsors.

On the business front, the deadline for transfer of players, through selling, buying or loaning out has just finished on 2 September 2013. Real Madrid, the Spanish Giants in this history of Soccer, bought Gareth Bale, the 24 year-Welsh player from the English football club Tottenham Hotspurs for a whopping 100 million Euros (around Rs.700 Crores). This event has caught the attention of both the media and fans for the sizable amount of money, more so, when Spain is currently reeling under global economic crisis. While most Soccer plaudits feel, the amount at this point of time to be outrageous. Viewing it from the business side, it makes perfect sense for the Club and its sponsors. This transfer has also some financial implications as most Soccer clubs are outliving their incomes. Special treatment offered by the Spanish revenue system and the neglect of the governing bodies together resulted in debt-ridden Spanish football clubs.

It might be interesting at this juncture to learn about the scale of the commercial activity carried out by the Soccer clubs. With the business ambitions of the clubs taking an upper hand, several critics feel that the present trend doesn’t improve the sporting values and they even fail to add community spirit to it. In fact major sports have gradually transformed into one dominating entertainment industry. With the satellite channels vying for the exclusive rights for the coverage and broadcast, this industry has become lucrative too. The new found pay channels are minting money at the behest of ardent fans. It is more intriguing to know that players are treated as investments and clubs are openly splurging money to acquire the best talent. This has developed into a big market, where players are mere products rather than sportsmen where a bunch of people are trying to get commission over their sale. As more agreements worth $8.5 billion are stuck with various television networks the revenues of clubs are raising. Further a huge influx of owners from Russia and Middle East has resulted in seven folds increase in spending by these clubs. As the player joins the new club, even his sponsors become party to the club.

Football clubs across the globe are exploring ways to boost their depleting income. As a part of financial revamping, Real Madrid is planning to expand the existing capacity of the stadiums and focus on construction of lavish multi-layered seats and world class restaurants. Even it is not making the entire payment to the Spurs in a single go. It is following the strategy of settling the payment amount over the period of 6 years contract of Bale and agreed to pay 300,000 pounds per week towards his wages. Real is planning to recover the money through the sale of jerseys and commercial deals. Being the richest soccer club in the world, it is trying to build & enhance its brand image and make an emphatic statement about its scale and power. In the process, it is only obvious that it is making huge investments in terms of buying world class players and offering galactic wages. While most people question the logic of buying a player like Gareth Bale whose statistics and football prowess are not on par with other eclectics in the League like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. This unabashed urge of brand building by rich clubs might put smaller clubs at a disadvantage. Unlike the English Premier League, the Spanish LaLiga doesn’t have centralised selling of television rights where incomes are distributed proportionately. Spanish clubs sell their rights themselves. Thus the rich clubs again gain much from their popularity, global exposure and sponsorship deals. This kind of parity has widened the gap between the competing Spanish clubs.

To ensure level head playing, Union of European Football Association (UEFA) has formulated certain rules and arrived at agreement in 2009 to contain the financial dominance of clubs within a league. It has come up Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules in an effort to curtail overspending by clubs in pursuit of success which on long run can be detrimental.  According to this, clubs are expected to spend within the set budget frame work. These rules have come into force from the year 2011-2012 and any deviation would result in imposing various penalties which include fines, withholding prize money; ban transfers etc and the ultimate penalty would be disqualification from the European League. As per the initial agreement, club is allowed to have losses to a tune of 45 million Euros over a cumulative period of three years and owners/shareholders should be able to furnish this deficit. There are nearly 54 European football associations under UEFA, and of them English and Spanish leagues are the most popular. The main aim of FFP’s is to reduce losses and make clubs more sustainable. FFP excludes the expenditure made towards infrastructure, youth development, community development and depreciation on tangible assets. These are some of the gaps clubs are trying to explore to evade the penalties from UEFA. Thus, the most exciting game of football has turned into a massive entertainment industry reaping commercial benefits and honing the skills of potent football players. Eventually these players represent their respective national teams as well during International matches and bring glory and acclaim to their mother lands even.

European football clubs obsessed with the dream run of image building have resorted to irrational spending and thus reeling under the burden of accumulated debts. Having realised the urgent need to overhaul their financial status has come up with a two pronged approach- viewership and sponsorship. They are now trying to popularise the game among the youngsters with the result there are several ads promoting the game through youth icons. Manchester United, has signed contract with its loyal fan M.S. Dhoni for a period of three years to act as its brand ambassador and trying to draw the popular support. In addition to it they are trying to woo people through commentaries in Hindi. Day is not far when Indians can watch football match with commentary in their regional languages and Rooney, Gerrard, Terry might become common household names as Tendulkar, Dhoni and Kohli. If EPL can catch Indian vein, sponsorships are bound to come and consequently their financial statement will naturally tilt towards surplus. European football clubs are trying to set up training centres in collaboration with various schools in metros. Thus they are invariably applying all the tricks of trade to win over the robust consumer market in India and China as well.

In India the genesis of IPL (Indian Premier League), HIL (Hockey Indian League) and the recently concluded IBL (Indian Badminton League) have emulated the English Premier League in the basic structure and functioning. With a vast viewership base available in India, it makes perfect sense for Indian businessmen and corporates to sponsor and reap huge commercial benefits. May this new craze for Soccer might succour the abysmal state of Indian sports and a new sporting phenomenon appears to emerge.

 

 

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Unfolding Indian Space Saga

Yet again another proud moment etched the chronicles of Indian Space Technology with the successful launch of the GSAT-7 satellite  with the paid up launch service of  European Space Consortium's Ariane Space’s Ariane 5 ECA rocket from Kourou Space Port, French Guiana on 30^th August. Ariane-5 ECA (cryogenic evolution type A), has an improved Ariane 5 generic launcher, capable of carrying a pay load of up to 9.6 tonnes. Some major changes have been brought in the architecture to carry heavier loads into GTO (Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit). Hence it could launch EUTELSAT25B/E and GSAT-7 together. It had launched INSAT-3D satellite on July 25^th intended for meteorological observation and monitoring land/ocean surfaces.

 GSAT-7 or Rukmini has the unique distinction of being the first Indian satellite exclusively dedicated for military purpose and especially, Indian Navy is set to receive greater boost through this launch. GSAT-7 is a multi-band communication satellite developed by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It is the sixth satellite from the pack of seven INSAT-4 series communication satellites planned to be launched and this satellite will carry payloads in UHF (Ultra High Frequency), S band, C band and Ku band with appropriate antennae.

GSAT-7 is the most advanced communication satellite to provide wide range of service spectrum from low bit rate voice to high bit rate data communication. It is designed to modernize the communication among the naval ships, endowing it with better satellite communication and intelligence survey. This would help to have a complete surveillance over 2000 nautical miles of the Indian Ocean Region. This will enable communication between the naval ships through highly encrypted coding system and help in identifying the enemy ships and submarines. Conversely each of the ships in the naval fleet would have a comprehensive digital map to locate the ships and communication between naval ships will be through this satellite. Similarly the Indian Army will get vital inputs about stealthy movements over the land too. Tracking the movements of the enemy across our belligerent borders will enhance our ability for a swift  response. It has greater potential of integrating the warships, submarines and aircrafts through a highly encrypted data network. Previously, maritime communication for defence was  provided by leasing required transponders of Inmarsat (International Maritime Satellite Organisation, a British satellite telecommunication company) satellite. With this launch India has joined the club of the top five countries USA, Britain, Russia, China and France which have  satellites customized for defence communications.

While India has attained the great distinction of having an exclusive satellite for military purpose, it is plagued by its inability to launch a big communication satellites weighing more than 2.5 tons  to place in GTO (Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit) on its own. To overcome this limitation and to get hands-on experience on cryogenic stages/engines ISRO procured cryogenic stages from Russia and had successfully developed the necessary infrastructure and a new vehicle GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle) - MkI to place 2 to 2.5 ton satellites in GTO. GSLV-MKI had three consecutive successful launches since debut in 2001. Meanwhile, India has developed and satisfactorily qualified its own cryogenic engine after the successful tests in 2007. It is on the verge of  launching a communication satellite of 2.5 ton class using indigenous cryogenic engine (ICE) as the final stage of GSLV - MkII in the next few months. At least two successful launches have to be carried out before it is declared operational. That would be a major milestone in the saga of ISRO enroute to the development and operationalizing GSLV -MkIII (with enhanced capacity of each rocket stage) to place 4.5 to 5 tons class of heavier communication satellites of INSAT-4 series. Only then would India be fully self-reliant and also be competitive player in the multimillion dollar international launch market.

All this was possible due to the consistent progress ISRO had made in developing various launch vehicles from the initial SLV (Satellite Launch Vehicle) which was first developed in late 1970’s, to through ASLV (Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle), a five stage engine with solid and liquid fuels that could carry a pay load of 150 kg in late 1980’s to the reliable work horse PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) in early 1990s . However, the ASLV development plans were aborted soon as ISRO made a mid-course correction to move over directly to develop the next genre of launch vehicle PSLV which is capable of launching 1600 kg satellites in 620 km sun-synchronous polar orbit or  1050 kg satellite in GTO. Such a switch over and prioritization would help ISRO to cut down the time line to catch up with the advanced space faring nations and avoid wasteful expenditure since by then ISRO learnt the technologies required for transition to bigger launch vehicles and there was no commercial market for ASLV.  PSLV has four stages that use solid and liquid propulsion systems alternatively. India has so far successfully launched 58 (23 Indian and 35 foreign) satellites with PSLV so far. The phenomenal success of PSLV gave the correct inputs, bench marks and the confidence to go ahead to build bigger vehicles like GSLV. The final/third stage of GSLV is the cryogenic stage, which is more efficient compared to the liquid stage in PSLV. Thus it is inevitable for India to master the cryogenic technology (which took US, Russia and France a couple of decades) to remain in the business of global satellite launching.

Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicles (GSLV) are needed to launch INSAT-4 series of geosynchronous satellites. India has initiated GSLV project in 1990. India has signed a contract with Russia to supply 7 cryogenic engines of 7.5 tons thrust  along with the transfer of cryogenic technology.  However, GSLV development is beset with both technological and operational problems. In 1993, the US severely objected  Russia selling cryogenic technology to India as this would be a violation under the Missile technology Control regime (MTCR). MTCR is an informal agreement and voluntary partnership between 34 members. The regime was formed by the G-7 industrial nations-US, UK, France, Canada, Italy, Germany and Japan with an objective of limiting the proliferation of the missiles and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology capable of carrying 500kg payload at least 300km. It has 34 members which includes Russia.  As per MTCR guidelines, members established a “no undercut” policy means if a member denies sale of technology to another country, then the policy has to be strictly adhered by all other members. Thus now 117 nations enforce restrictions on exports to control the proliferation of UAV’s.

India has so far carried out 7 launches (6 with Russian engines and one Indian) and  three have failed. GSLV D1 (Developmental Flight 1) had its first flight in 2001 carrying the GSAT-1 satellite which was claimed as partial success by ISRO.  It was followed by successful launch of GSAT-2 followed by GSAT-3 or EduSat by GSLV D2 and GSLV F01 respectively. Owing to this launch, GSLV was declared operational. GSLV F02 failed to put INSAT-4C into orbit GSLVF-04  carrying INSAT-4CR was a partial success as the satellite was rescued by boosters and put into the orbit. Again GSLV D3 and D4 failed to launch GSAT-4 and GSAT-5p. The failure was attributed to fault Russian-built connecters in the interstage adapters. But Russian’s refused to accept this investigation and there was a disagreement between the two camps. Thus the design and development of the launch vehicle GSLV MkI came to grinding halt. Following the poor success rate of GSLV, it has become least reliable.

After GSLV D4 failure, ISRO tried to rectify the defects and designed GSLVD5. Initial tests were carried out at High Altitude ignition meaning by simulating vacuum like conditions to ensure a successful launch. GSLV MkII-D5 the rocket containing the indigenous cryogenic  stage, carrying the communication satellite was scheduled to be launched on Aug 19^th. But during the pre-launch pressurisation phase a leak was observed in the UH25 fuel system of the liquid second stage. Hence, about two hours before its lift off, launch was called off and the vehicle was secured. Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS) is the most efficient with the highest specific impulse and so, a crucial stage that propels the rocket in vacuum conditions. It is powered by liquid hydrogen propellant and liquid oxygen as oxidiser mixed in right proportions to gives the thrust for satellite lift off.  The indigenous cryogenic stage used can create a thrust of around 7.5 tonnes and hence is more efficient in carrying larger payloads. ISRO perplexed with the shortcomings of the GSLV D5 (MkII) is going back to drawing board and gearing up for the next launches.

Till now ISRO has been single-handedly involved in developing cryogenic stages since every other country who has this technology closely guards it because of its sophisticated and complicated nature. The complexity could be understood if one realises that  for hydrogen to be in a full liquid state without evaporating at atmospheric pressure, it needs to be cooled to 20.28 K (−423.17°F/−252.87°C). One common method of obtaining liquid hydrogen involves a compressor resembling a jet engine in both appearance and principle. Liquid hydrogen is typically used in concentrated form. As in any gas, storing it as liquid takes less space than storing it as a gas at normal temperature and pressure. However, the liquid density is very low compared to other common fuels. Once liquefied, it can be maintained as a liquid in pressurized and thermally insulated containers.  Liquid oxygen has a density of 1.141 g/cm³ (1.141 kg/L) and is cryogenic with a freezing point of 50.5 K (−368.77  °F, −222.65 °C) and a boiling point of 90.19 K (−297.33 °F, −182.96 °C) at 101.325 kPa (760 mmHg). Liquid oxygen has an expansion ratio of 1:861 under 1 standard atmosphere (100 KPa) and 20 °C (68 °F). Because of its cryogenic nature, both liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen can cause the materials it touches to become extremely brittle. Apart from all this, it is extremely dangerous if anything goes wrong due to the explosive nature of these propellants. The magnitude of the extreme complexity can't be understood by a non-technical person. And the giant leap from GSLV MkII to GSLV MKIII can be understood form the configuration of GSLV MKIII which has two identical S200 Large Solid Booster (LSB) with 200 tonne solid propellant that are strapped as first stage, the L110 re-startable liquid stage as the second stage and the third stage is the C25 LOX/LH2 cryo stage of 25 tonne thrust. This is a phenomenal improvement vis-a-vis PSLV and earlier versions of GSLVs.

Recently it has announced its interest in investing RS 139 crores setting up a unit in Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for fabrication and manufacturing of cryogenic  stages. There is urgent need for such alternative facility as ISRO is planning to build cryogenic stages as originally planned or  semi-cryogenic engines and test the new variant GSLV MKIII with higher ton thrust as soon as possible. With space science expanding its horizons it has emerged into a global market of worth 180 billion dollars. At this stage India can hardly afford to lay back.

The triumph of future space programs and launches lies in the success of the planned GSLV progression. Ambitious projects like Chandrayaan-2 and a manned vehicle into orbit are programmed through the GSLV launch vehicles. Currently, India is forced to outsource launching of heavier satellites services to a foreign country which is cost ineffective. It is inevitable for India to develop a potential GSLV launcher to become self-reliant and to play a lead role in telecommunications and satellite launching.

 

 

Yet again another proud moment etched the chronicles of Indian Space Technology with the successful launch of the GSAT-7 satellite  with the paid up launch service of  European Space Consortium's Ariane Space’s Ariane 5 ECA rocket from Kourou Space Port, French Guiana on 30^th August. Ariane-5 ECA (cryogenic evolution type A), has an improved Ariane 5 generic launcher, capable of carrying a pay load of up to 9.6 tonnes. Some major changes have been brought in the architecture to carry heavier loads into GTO (Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit). Hence it could launch EUTELSAT25B/E and GSAT-7 together. It had launched INSAT-3D satellite on July 25^th intended for meteorological observation and monitoring land/ocean surfaces.

 GSAT-7 or Rukmini has the unique distinction of being the first Indian satellite exclusively dedicated for military purpose and especially, Indian Navy is set to receive greater boost through this launch. GSAT-7 is a multi-band communication satellite developed by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It is the sixth satellite from the pack of seven INSAT-4 series communication satellites planned to be launched and this satellite will carry payloads in UHF (Ultra High Frequency), S band, C band and Ku band with appropriate antennae.

GSAT-7 is the most advanced communication satellite to provide wide range of service spectrum from low bit rate voice to high bit rate data communication. It is designed to modernize the communication among the naval ships, endowing it with better satellite communication and intelligence survey. This would help to have a complete surveillance over 2000 nautical miles of the Indian Ocean Region. This will enable communication between the naval ships through highly encrypted coding system and help in identifying the enemy ships and submarines. Conversely each of the ships in the naval fleet would have a comprehensive digital map to locate the ships and communication between naval ships will be through this satellite. Similarly the Indian Army will get vital inputs about stealthy movements over the land too. Tracking the movements of the enemy across our belligerent borders will enhance our ability for a swift  response. It has greater potential of integrating the warships, submarines and aircrafts through a highly encrypted data network. Previously, maritime communication for defence was  provided by leasing required transponders of Inmarsat (International Maritime Satellite Organisation, a British satellite telecommunication company) satellite. With this launch India has joined the club of the top five countries USA, Britain, Russia, China and France which have  satellites customized for defence communications.

While India has attained the great distinction of having an exclusive satellite for military purpose, it is plagued by its inability to launch a big communication satellites weighing more than 2.5 tons  to place in GTO (Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit) on its own. To overcome this limitation and to get hands-on experience on cryogenic stages/engines ISRO procured cryogenic stages from Russia and had successfully developed the necessary infrastructure and a new vehicle GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle) - MkI to place 2 to 2.5 ton satellites in GTO. GSLV-MKI had three consecutive successful launches since debut in 2001. Meanwhile, India has developed and satisfactorily qualified its own cryogenic engine after the successful tests in 2007. It is on the verge of  launching a communication satellite of 2.5 ton class using indigenous cryogenic engine (ICE) as the final stage of GSLV - MkII in the next few months. At least two successful launches have to be carried out before it is declared operational. That would be a major milestone in the saga of ISRO enroute to the development and operationalizing GSLV -MkIII (with enhanced capacity of each rocket stage) to place 4.5 to 5 tons class of heavier communication satellites of INSAT-4 series. Only then would India be fully self-reliant and also be competitive player in the multimillion dollar international launch market.

All this was possible due to the consistent progress ISRO had made in developing various launch vehicles from the initial SLV (Satellite Launch Vehicle) which was first developed in late 1970’s, to through ASLV (Augmented Satellite Launch Vehicle), a five stage engine with solid and liquid fuels that could carry a pay load of 150 kg in late 1980’s to the reliable work horse PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) in early 1990s . However, the ASLV development plans were aborted soon as ISRO made a mid-course correction to move over directly to develop the next genre of launch vehicle PSLV which is capable of launching 1600 kg satellites in 620 km sun-synchronous polar orbit or  1050 kg satellite in GTO. Such a switch over and prioritization would help ISRO to cut down the time line to catch up with the advanced space faring nations and avoid wasteful expenditure since by then ISRO learnt the technologies required for transition to bigger launch vehicles and there was no commercial market for ASLV.  PSLV has four stages that use solid and liquid propulsion systems alternatively. India has so far successfully launched 58 (23 Indian and 35 foreign) satellites with PSLV so far. The phenomenal success of PSLV gave the correct inputs, bench marks and the confidence to go ahead to build bigger vehicles like GSLV. The final/third stage of GSLV is the cryogenic stage, which is more efficient compared to the liquid stage in PSLV. Thus it is inevitable for India to master the cryogenic technology (which took US, Russia and France a couple of decades) to remain in the business of global satellite launching.

Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicles (GSLV) are needed to launch INSAT-4 series of geosynchronous satellites. India has initiated GSLV project in 1990. India has signed a contract with Russia to supply 7 cryogenic engines of 7.5 tons thrust  along with the transfer of cryogenic technology.  However, GSLV development is beset with both technological and operational problems. In 1993, the US severely objected  Russia selling cryogenic technology to India as this would be a violation under the Missile technology Control regime (MTCR). MTCR is an informal agreement and voluntary partnership between 34 members. The regime was formed by the G-7 industrial nations-US, UK, France, Canada, Italy, Germany and Japan with an objective of limiting the proliferation of the missiles and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology capable of carrying 500kg payload at least 300km. It has 34 members which includes Russia.  As per MTCR guidelines, members established a “no undercut” policy means if a member denies sale of technology to another country, then the policy has to be strictly adhered by all other members. Thus now 117 nations enforce restrictions on exports to control the proliferation of UAV’s.

India has so far carried out 7 launches (6 with Russian engines and one Indian) and  three have failed. GSLV D1 (Developmental Flight 1) had its first flight in 2001 carrying the GSAT-1 satellite which was claimed as partial success by ISRO.  It was followed by successful launch of GSAT-2 followed by GSAT-3 or EduSat by GSLV D2 and GSLV F01 respectively. Owing to this launch, GSLV was declared operational. GSLV F02 failed to put INSAT-4C into orbit GSLVF-04  carrying INSAT-4CR was a partial success as the satellite was rescued by boosters and put into the orbit. Again GSLV D3 and D4 failed to launch GSAT-4 and GSAT-5p. The failure was attributed to fault Russian-built connecters in the interstage adapters. But Russian’s refused to accept this investigation and there was a disagreement between the two camps. Thus the design and development of the launch vehicle GSLV MkI came to grinding halt. Following the poor success rate of GSLV, it has become least reliable.

After GSLV D4 failure, ISRO tried to rectify the defects and designed GSLVD5. Initial tests were carried out at High Altitude ignition meaning by simulating vacuum like conditions to ensure a successful launch. GSLV MkII-D5 the rocket containing the indigenous cryogenic  stage, carrying the communication satellite was scheduled to be launched on Aug 19^th. But during the pre-launch pressurisation phase a leak was observed in the UH25 fuel system of the liquid second stage. Hence, about two hours before its lift off, launch was called off and the vehicle was secured. Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS) is the most efficient with the highest specific impulse and so, a crucial stage that propels the rocket in vacuum conditions. It is powered by liquid hydrogen propellant and liquid oxygen as oxidiser mixed in right proportions to gives the thrust for satellite lift off.  The indigenous cryogenic stage used can create a thrust of around 7.5 tonnes and hence is more efficient in carrying larger payloads. ISRO perplexed with the shortcomings of the GSLV D5 (MkII) is going back to drawing board and gearing up for the next launches.

Till now ISRO has been single-handedly involved in developing cryogenic stages since every other country who has this technology closely guards it because of its sophisticated and complicated nature. The complexity could be understood if one realises that  for hydrogen to be in a full liquid state without evaporating at atmospheric pressure, it needs to be cooled to 20.28 K (−423.17°F/−252.87°C). One common method of obtaining liquid hydrogen involves a compressor resembling a jet engine in both appearance and principle. Liquid hydrogen is typically used in concentrated form. As in any gas, storing it as liquid takes less space than storing it as a gas at normal temperature and pressure. However, the liquid density is very low compared to other common fuels. Once liquefied, it can be maintained as a liquid in pressurized and thermally insulated containers.  Liquid oxygen has a density of 1.141 g/cm³ (1.141 kg/L) and is cryogenic with a freezing point of 50.5 K (−368.77  °F, −222.65 °C) and a boiling point of 90.19 K (−297.33 °F, −182.96 °C) at 101.325 kPa (760 mmHg). Liquid oxygen has an expansion ratio of 1:861 under 1 standard atmosphere (100 KPa) and 20 °C (68 °F). Because of its cryogenic nature, both liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen can cause the materials it touches to become extremely brittle. Apart from all this, it is extremely dangerous if anything goes wrong due to the explosive nature of these propellants. The magnitude of the extreme complexity can't be understood by a non-technical person. And the giant leap from GSLV MkII to GSLV MKIII can be understood form the configuration of GSLV MKIII which has two identical S200 Large Solid Booster (LSB) with 200 tonne solid propellant that are strapped as first stage, the L110 re-startable liquid stage as the second stage and the third stage is the C25 LOX/LH2 cryo stage of 25 tonne thrust. This is a phenomenal improvement vis-a-vis PSLV and earlier versions of GSLVs.

Recently it has announced its interest in investing RS 139 crores setting up a unit in Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for fabrication and manufacturing of cryogenic  stages. There is urgent need for such alternative facility as ISRO is planning to build cryogenic stages as originally planned or  semi-cryogenic engines and test the new variant GSLV MKIII with higher ton thrust as soon as possible. With space science expanding its horizons it has emerged into a global market of worth 180 billion dollars. At this stage India can hardly afford to lay back.

The triumph of future space programs and launches lies in the success of the planned GSLV progression. Ambitious projects like Chandrayaan-2 and a manned vehicle into orbit are programmed through the GSLV launch vehicles. Currently, India is forced to outsource launching of heavier satellites services to a foreign country which is cost ineffective. It is inevitable for India to develop a potential GSLV launcher to become self-reliant and to play a lead role in telecommunications and satellite launching.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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