Arun has been associated with India International Times since 2018 and he has been a key reporter in covering science and space related stories. He can be reached at arunKnn@indiainternationaltimes.com.
In a massive show of anger, more than 80 political parties and social organisations staged a silent march in Pune on Tuesday to protest the repeated slurs on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
Several major areas of the city, including wholesale markets observed a shutdown and more than two lakh protesters joined the march sporting saffron flags, black banners and posts, demanding the removal of Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari for his recent utterances vilifying great icons of the state.
Maha Vikas Aghadi members Congress, Shiv Sena-UBT, Nationalist Congress Party, around three dozen Maratha, Shiv Premi and Muslim organisations, the royal descendent Chhatrapati Udayanraje Bhosale and a large number of women walked in the silent march from Deccan to Lal Mahal areas of the city.
However, the ruling Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party and Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena kept off the protest demonstration, where a massive police contingent of over 7,500 personnel was deployed to ward off any untoward incidents.
Bhosale questions
Shivaji’s descendent Bhosale asked the media that when Nupur Sharma (who made derogatory remarks on the Prophet Mohammed in May) was removed by the party, what prevented it from ousting the Governor for his utterances against the Chhatrapati, and initiating action against all others who keep making derogatory comments on icons which hurt public sentiments.
MVA’s leaders in the procession included Shiv Sena-UBT Deputy Leader Dr. Raghunath Kuchik, Sushma Andhare, Sena-UBT city chief Sanjay More, NCP’s city President Prashant Jagtap, office-bearers Rupali Patil, Deepak Mankar and Ankush Kakde, Ajinkya Palkar, Congress city chief Ramesh Bagwe, office-bearers Arvind Shinde, Sangeeta Tiwari, Mohan Joshi, Balasaheb Dabhekar, and the Sambhaji Brigade was represented by Santosh Shinde, Vikas Pasalkar, and Prashant Dhumal.
Other major groups which joined were the CPI, Maratha Mahasangh, Dalit Panthers, RPI, Aam Aadmi Party, Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi, over two dozen non-political, social, business organisations, youths, women and Muslim front groups.
Bhagat Singh Koshiyari
The MVA leaders have rejected the Governor’s letter (December 6) clarifying his position to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and insisted that he had not apologised for his remarks against Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj or Mahatma Jyotirao Phule, hence he has lost the moral right to continue in his post.
Among other things in his letter, Koshyari said that he “cannot even dream” of insulting the great personalities as contended and sought Shah’s “guidance” in the matter.
The state has been rocked by a series of agitations and protests against the Governor for his recent utterances that have irked the state polity and top leaders also objected to him sharing the stage with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Nagpur on Sunday.
Besides the Governor, other BJP leaders like state ministers Chandrakant Patil, Mangal Prabhat Lodha, Union Minister Raosaheb Danve, have been accused of making objectionable statements against the state’s icons.
Joining the Big Tech layoff season, networking major Cisco has reportedly started laying off 5 per cent of its workforce, which is more than 4,000 employees as a part of its “rebalancing” act and “rightsizing certain businesses”.
Silicon Valley Business Journal reported that many workers took to TheLayoff.com and Blind portal to post about the job cuts at the company. “Impacted by Cisco layoffs!” one company employees said on Blind while another sought “Looking for immediate (software engineering) referrals. Any help would be sincerely appreciated. Thanks.”
However, Cisco did not directly comment on severance packages but said in a statement that “we didn’t take this decision lightly, and we will offer those impacted extensive support, including generous severance packages”.
In its first quarter earning report (Q1 2023) last month, Cisco reported $13.6 billion in revenue, up 6 per cent year over year. Chuck Robbins, Chairman and CEO of Cisco, merely said that he would “be reluctant to go into a lot of detail here until we’re able to talk to them. I would say that what we’re doing is rightsizing certain businesses”.
Cisco Chief Financial Officer Scott Herren had described the move as a “rebalancing” act.
Stone’s remarkable tenure on NASA’s longest-operating mission spans decades of historic discoveries and firsts.
Edward Stone has retired as the project scientist for NASA’s Voyager mission a half-century after taking on the role. Stone accepted scientific leadership of the historic mission in 1972, five years before the launch of its two spacecraft, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2. Under his guidance, the Voyagers explored the four giant planets and became the first human-made objects to reach interstellar space, the region between the stars containing material generated by the death of nearby stars.
Until now, Stone was the only person to have served as project scientist for Voyager, maintaining his position even while serving as director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California from 1991 to 2001. JPL manages the Voyager mission for NASA. Stone retired from JPL in 2001 but continued to serve as the mission’s project scientist.
“It has been an honor and a joy to serve as the Voyager project scientist for 50 years,” Stone said. “The spacecraft have succeeded beyond expectation, and I have cherished the opportunity to work with so many talented and dedicated people on this mission. It has been a remarkable journey, and I’m thankful to everyone around the world who has followed Voyager and joined us on this adventure.”
Edward Stone, second from left, and other members of the Voyager team pose with a model of the spacecraft in 1977, the year the twin probes launched. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Linda Spilker will succeed Stone as Voyager’s project scientist as the twin probes continue to explore interstellar space. Spilker was a member of the Voyager science team during the mission’s flybys of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. She later became project scientist for NASA’s now-retired Cassini mission to Saturn, and rejoined Voyager as deputy project scientist in 2021.
Jamie Rankin, a research scientist at Princeton University and a member of the Voyager science steering group, has been appointed deputy project scientist for the mission. Rankin received her Ph.D. in 2018 from Caltech, where Stone served as her advisor. Her research combines data from Voyager and other missions in NASA’s heliophysics fleet.
The twin Voyager spacecraft launched in 1977, on a mission to explore Jupiter and Saturn, ultimately revealing never-before-seen features of those planets and their moons. Voyager 1 continued its journey out of the solar system, while Voyager 2 continued on to Uranus and Neptune – and remains the only spacecraft to have visited the ice giants.
Edward Stone, left, talks to reporters at a news conference to announce findings from Voyager 2’s flyby of Uranus in 1986. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech
Following this “grand tour” of the outer planets, the Voyager Interstellar Mission began. The goal was to exit the heliosphere – a protective bubble created by the Sun’s magnetic field and outward flow of solar wind (charged particles from the Sun). Voyager 1 crossed the boundary of the heliosphere and entered interstellar space in 2012, followed by Voyager 2 (traveling slower and in a different direction) in 2018. Today, as part of NASA’s longest-running mission, both spacecraft continue to illuminate the interplay between our Sun, and the particles and magnetic fields in interstellar space.
“Ed likes to say that Voyager is a mission of discovery, and it certainly is,” said Suzanne Dodd, Voyager project manager. “From the flybys of the outer planets in the 1970s and ’80s, to the heliopause crossing and current travels through interstellar space, Voyager never ceases to surprise and amaze us. All those milestones and successes are due to Ed’s exceptional scientific leadership and his keen ability to share his excitement about these discoveries to the world.”
Among the many honors bestowed on him, Stone has been a member of the National Academy of Sciences since 1984. He was awarded the National Medal of Science from President George H.W. Bush in 1991. When Stone was interviewed on the late-night TV show “The Colbert Report” in 2013, NASA arranged for host Stephen Colbert to present him with the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, the agency’s highest honor for a nongovernment individual. In 2019, he received the Shaw Prize in Astronomy from the Shaw Foundation in Hong Kong for his work on the Voyager mission.
NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope was specially designed to detect the faint infrared light from very distant galaxies and give astronomers a glimpse at the early universe. The nature of galaxies during this early period of our universe is not well known nor understood. But with the help of gravitational lensing by a cluster of galaxies in the foreground, faint background galaxies can be magnified and also appear multiple times in different parts of the image.
Today, we sit down with three astronomers working on Webb to talk about their latest findings. The team members are Dan Coe of AURA/STScI for the European Space Agency and the Johns Hopkins University; Tiger Hsiao of the Johns Hopkins University; and Rebecca Larson of the University of Texas at Austin. These scientists have been observing the distant galaxy MACS0647-JD with Webb, and they’ve found something interesting.
Dan Coe: I discovered this galaxy MACS0647-JD 10 years ago with the Hubble Space Telescope. At the time, I’d never worked on high redshift galaxies, and then I found this one that was potentially the most distant at redshift 11, about 97 percent of the way back to the big bang. With Hubble, it was just this pale, red dot. We could tell it was really small, just a tiny galaxy in the first 400 million years of the universe. Now we look with Webb, and we’re able to resolve TWO objects! We’re actively discussing whether these are two galaxies or two clumps of stars within a galaxy. We don’t know, but these are the questions that Webb is designed to help us answer.
Tiger Yu-Yang Hsiao: You can also see that the colors between the two objects are so different. One’s bluer; the other one is redder. The blue gas and the red gas have different characteristics. The blue one actually has very young star formation and almost no dust, but the small, red object has more dust inside, and is older. And their stellar masses are also probably different.
It’s really interesting that we see two structures in such a small system. We might be witnessing a galaxy merger in the very early universe. If this is the most distant merger, I will be really ecstatic!
Dan Coe: Due to the gravitational lensing of the massive galaxy cluster MACS0647, it’s lensed into three images: JD1, JD2, and JD3. They’re magnified by factors of eight, five, and two, respectively.
Rebecca Larson: Up to this point, we haven’t really been able to study galaxies in the early universe in great detail. We had only tens of them prior to Webb. Studying them can help us understand how they evolved into the ones like the galaxy we live in today. And also, how the universe evolved throughout time.
The U.S. Postal Service will issue a stamp highlighting NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope on Sept. 8, 2022. U.S. Postal Service Art Director Derry Noyes designed the stamp using existing art by James Vaughan and an image provided by NASA and the Space Telescope Science Institute. Credits: U.S. Postal Service
I think my favorite part is, for so many new Webb image we get, if you look in the background, there are all these little dots—and those are all galaxies! Every single one of them. It’s amazing the amount of information that we’re getting that we just weren’t able to see before. And this is not a deep field. This is not a long exposure. We haven’t even really tried to use this telescope to look at one spot for a long time. This is just the beginning!
The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s largest, most powerful, and most complex space science telescope ever built. Webb will solve mysteries in our solar system, look beyond to distant worlds around other stars, and probe the mysterious structures and origins of our universe and our place in it.
Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) are pursuing a completely new and unconventional strategy to improve the way data can be processed and – in particular – stored. The team members, based in Mainz and Jerusalem, have come up with the idea of bringing together two different forms of chirality to develop new data storage systems that are faster, smaller, and more efficient than those currently available.
Chirality, also known as handedness in this context, describes objects that come in two distinctly different configurations that are mirror images of each other such as our left and right hand. “We were inspired by nature, where chirality is a common phenomenon. Chiral molecules can act like a filter for electron spin and ensure functionality even on the smallest scale,” said Professor Angela Wittmann of the JGU Institute of Physics.
Combining the chirality of spin configurations and molecules
In their approach, the researchers from the fields of experimental solid state physics, atomic physics, and molecular chemistry will be using recently discovered chiral spin structures. These so-called skyrmions are tiny vortices in magnetic thin films protected by their chirality. It is this kind of chiral magnetic texture that the researchers intend to combine with chiral molecules over the course of the project. The assumption is that, based on the chiral-chiral interaction, they would have a unique, flexible, controllable, and efficient means of manipulating spin structures. “With the help of a chiral molecule, it should be possible to switch the handedness of the chiral magnetic textures in thin films, for instance, from clockwise to anticlockwise,” clarified Wittmann.
In this case, the chiral molecule with its DNA-like helix structure would act like a spin filter, allowing only certain electrons moving in one direction to pass while holding others back. The researchers will use highly sophisticated sensor technologies to determine how and whether this interaction actually works.
“Our project is groundbreaking in that it brings together two different types of chirality,” emphasized Wittmann. According to the researchers, there is a very real chance that their innovative concept involving the utilization of spintronic components will result in the creation of the next generation of innovative storage, logic, and sensor devices that could be employed in unconventional computing.
The consortium consists of four members of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and two members of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who will be contributing their expertise in various disciplines. At JGU, these are Professor Angela Wittmann and Professor Mathias Kläui of the Condensed Matter Physics group, Professor Dmitry Budker of the Quantum, Atomic, and Neutron Physics group and the Helmholtz Institute Mainz (HIM), and Professor Eva Rentschler of the Department of Chemistry, collaborating with their partners Professor Yossi Paltiel and Professor Nir Bar-Gill of the Department of Applied Physics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Carl Zeiss Foundation sponsoring innovative projects through its new CZS Wildcard program
In early 2022, the Carl Zeiss Foundation launched its CZS Wildcard program with the objective of promoting unconventional, interdisciplinary research in the STEM field. Each team must consist of at least three researchers. The purpose of the program is to support projects that are still in a very early phase of realization and are built on original and unconventional concepts with a high potential for innovation. The first five teams will be starting work in early 2023
Astronomers around the world are captivated by an unusually bright and long-lasting pulse of high-energy radiation that swept over Earth Sunday, Oct. 9. The emission came from a gamma-ray burst (GRB) – the most powerful class of explosions in the universe – that ranks among the most luminous events known.
On Sunday morning Eastern time, a wave of X-rays and gamma rays passed through the solar system, triggering detectors aboard NASA’s Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory, and Wind spacecraft, as well as others. Telescopes around the world turned to the site to study the aftermath, and new observations continue.
Called GRB 221009A, the explosion provided an unexpectedly exciting start to the 10th Fermi Symposium, a gathering of gamma-ray astronomers now underway in Johannesburg, South Africa. “It’s safe to say this meeting really kicked off with a bang – everyone’s talking about this,” said Judy Racusin, a Fermi deputy project scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, who is attending the conference.
Swift’s X-Ray Telescope captured the afterglow of GRB 221009A about an hour after it was first detected. The bright rings form as a result of X-rays scattered from otherwise unobservable dust layers within our galaxy that lie in the direction of the burst./Credit: NASA/Swift/A. Beardmore (University of Leicester)
The signal, originating from the direction of the constellation Sagitta, had traveled an estimated 1.9 billion years to reach Earth. Astronomers think it represents the birth cry of a new black hole, one that formed in the heart of a massive star collapsing under its own weight. In these circumstances, a nascent black hole drives powerful jets of particles traveling near the speed of light. The jets pierce through the star, emitting X-rays and gamma rays as they stream into space.
The light from this ancient explosion brings with it new insights into stellar collapse, the birth of a black hole, the behavior and interaction of matter near the speed of light, the conditions in a distant galaxy – and much more. Another GRB this bright may not appear for decades.
According to a preliminary analysis, Fermi’s Large Area Telescope (LAT) detected the burst for more than 10 hours. One reason for the burst’s brightness and longevity is that, for a GRB, it lies relatively close to us.
NASA
“This burst is much closer than typical GRBs, which is exciting because it allows us to detect many details that otherwise would be too faint to see,” said Roberta Pillera, a Fermi LAT Collaboration member who led initial communications about the burst and a doctoral student at the Polytechnic University of Bari, Italy. “But it’s also among the most energetic and luminous bursts ever seen regardless of distance, making it doubly exciting.”
The burst also provided a long-awaited inaugural observing opportunity for a link between two experiments on the International Space Station – NASA’s NICER X-ray telescope and a Japanese detector called the Monitor of All-sky X-ray Image (MAXI). Activated in April, the connection is dubbed the Orbiting High-energy Monitor Alert Network (OHMAN). It allows NICER to rapidly turn to outbursts detected by MAXI, actions that previously required intervention by scientists on the ground.
“OHMAN provided an automated alert that enabled NICER to follow up within three hours, as soon as the source became visible to the telescope,” said Zaven Arzoumanian, the NICER science lead at Goddard. “Future opportunities could result in response times of a few minutes.”
On Oct. 16, at 7:04 a.m. EDT, NASA’s Lucy spacecraft, the first mission to the Jupiter Trojan asteroids, will skim the Earth’s atmosphere, passing a mere 220 miles (350 kilometers) above the surface. By sling-shotting past Earth on the first anniversary of its launch, Lucy will gain some of the orbital energy it needs to travel to this never-before-visited population of asteroids.
The Trojan asteroids are trapped in orbits around the Sun at the same distance as Jupiter, either far ahead of or behind the giant planet. Lucy is currently one year into a twelve-year voyage. This gravity assist will place Lucy on a new trajectory for a two-year orbit, at which time it will return to Earth for a second gravity assist. This second assist will give Lucy the energy it needs to cross the main asteroid belt, where it will observe asteroid Donaldjohanson, and then travel into the leading Trojan asteroid swarm. There, Lucy will fly past six Trojan asteroids: Eurybates and its satellite Queta, Polymele and its yet unnamed satellite, Leucus, and Orus. Lucy will then return to Earth for a third gravity assist in 2030 to re-target the spacecraft for a rendezvous with the Patroclus-Menoetius binary asteroid pair in the trailing Trojan asteroid swarm.
This illustration shows the Lucy spacecraft passing one of the Trojan Asteroids near Jupiter./CREDIT:Southwest Research Institute
For this first gravity assist, Lucy will appear to approach Earth from the direction of the Sun. While this means that observers on Earth will not be able to see Lucy in the days before the event, Lucy will be able to take images of the nearly full Earth and Moon. Mission scientists will use these images to calibrate the instruments.
Lucy’s trajectory will bring the spacecraft very close to Earth, lower even than the International Space Station, which means that Lucy will pass through a region full of earth-orbiting satellites and debris. To ensure the safety of the spacecraft, NASA developed procedures to anticipate any potential hazard and, if needed, to execute a small maneuver to avoid a collision.
“The Lucy team has prepared two different maneuvers,” says Coralie Adam, Lucy deputy navigation team chief from KinetX Aerospace in Simi Valley, California. “If the team detects that Lucy is at risk of colliding with a satellite or piece of debris, then–12 hours before the closest approach to Earth –the spacecraft will execute one of these, altering the time of closest approach by either two or four seconds. This is a small correction, but it is enough to avoid a potentially catastrophic collision.”
NASA/Photo: Nasa.gov
Lucy will be passing the Earth at such a low altitude that the team had to include the effect of atmospheric drag when designing this flyby. Lucy’s large solar arrays increase this effect.
“In the original plan, Lucy was actually going to pass about 30 miles closer to the Earth,” says Rich Burns, Lucy project manager at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “However, when it became clear that we might have to execute this flyby with one of the solar arrays unlatched, we chose to use a bit of our fuel reserves so that the spacecraft passes the Earth at a slightly higher altitude, reducing the disturbance from the atmospheric drag on the spacecraft’s solar arrays.”
At around 6:55 a.m. EDT, Lucy will first be visible to observers on the ground in Western Australia (6:55 p.m. for those observers). Lucy will quickly pass overhead, clearly visible to the naked eye for a few minutes before disappearing at 7:02 a.m. EDT as the spacecraft passes into the Earth’s shadow. Lucy will continue over the Pacific Ocean in darkness and emerge from the Earth’s shadow at 7:26 a.m. EDT. If the clouds cooperate, sky watchers in the western United States should be able to get a view of Lucy with the aid of binoculars.
“The last time we saw the spacecraft, it was being enclosed in the payload fairing in Florida,” said Hal Levison, Lucy principal investigator at the Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) Boulder, Colorado office. “It is exciting that we will be able to stand here in Colorado and see the spacecraft again. And this time Lucy will be in the sky.”
Lucy will then rapidly recede from the Earth’s vicinity, passing by the Moon and taking a few more calibration images before continuing out into interplanetary space.
“I’m especially excited by the final few images that Lucy will take of the Moon,” said John Spencer, acting deputy project scientist at SwRI. “Counting craters to understand the collisional history of the Trojan asteroids is key to the science that Lucy will carry out, and this will be the first opportunity to calibrate Lucy’s ability to detect craters by comparing it to previous observations of the Moon by other space missions.”
The public is invited to join the #WaveToLucy social media campaign by posting images of themselves waving towards the spacecraft and tagging the @NASASolarSystem account. Additionally, if you are in an area where Lucy will be visible, take a photograph of Lucy and post it to social media with the #SpotTheSpacecraft hashtag.
Instructions for observing Lucy from your location are available here.
The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has paid his tributes to Ex-President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam on his birth anniversary. The Prime Minister recalled the contributions of Dr Kalam as a scientist and as a President who struck a chord with every section of society.
The Prime Minister tweeted;
“Tributes to our former President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. He is greatly admired for his contribution to our nation as a scientist and as a President who struck a chord with every section of society.”
Tributes to our former President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. He is greatly admired for his contribution to our nation as a scientist and as a President who struck a chord with every section of society. pic.twitter.com/vPwICWxA3u
The Prime Minister, Narendra Modi flagged off the inaugural run of the new Vande Bharat Express from Amb Andaura, Una to New Delhi, today.
The Prime Minister inspected the train coaches of the Vande Bharat Express and took stock of the onboard facilities. Shri Modi also inspected the control centre of the locomotive engine of Vande Bharat Express. He also inspected Una railway station.
The Prime Minister was accompanied by Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Jai Ram Thakur, Governor of Himachal Pradesh, Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, Union Minister of Railways, Ashvini Vaishnaw and Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting, Shri Anurag Singh Thakur when he arrived at Amb Andaura Railway Station in Una district of Himachal Pradesh.
The introduction of the train will help boost tourism in the region and provide a comfortable and faster mode of travel. The travel time from Una to New Delhi will be reduced by two hours. Running from Amb Andaura to New Delhi, it will be the fourth Vande Bharat train to be introduced in the country and is an advanced version compared to the earlier ones, being much lighter and capable of reaching higher speeds in a shorter duration. Vande Bharat 2.0 is equipped with more advancements and improved features such as reaching a speed of 0 to 100 kilometres per hour in just 52 seconds, and a maximum speed of up to 180 kilometres per hour. The improved Vande Bharat Express will weigh 392 tons when compared to the previous version of 430 tons. It will also have a Wi-Fi content on-demand facility. Every coach has 32” screens providing passenger information and infotainment compared to 24” in the previous version. Vande Bharat Express will also be environmentally friendly as the ACs will be 15 per cent more energy efficient. With dust-free clean air cooling of the traction motor, travel will become more comfortable. A side recliner seat facility provided only to Executive Class passengers earlier will now be made available for all classes. Executive Coaches have the added feature of 180-degree rotating seats
In the new design of Vande Bharat Express, a photo-catalytic ultraviolet air purification system is installed in the Roof-Mounted Package Unit (RMPU) for air purification. As recommended by Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIO), Chandigarh, this system is designed and installed on both ends of RMPU to filter and clean the air free from germs, bacteria, viruses etc. coming through fresh air and return air.
The Vande Bharat Express 2.0 offers a myriad of superior and aircraft-like travelling experiences. It is equipped with advanced state-of-the-art safety features including an indigenously developed Train Collision Avoidance System – KAVACH.
On Monday, Russia pounded cities across Ukraine during rush hour, killing civilians and knocking out power and heat, in apparent revenge strikes after President Vladimir Putin declared a blast on Russia’s bridge to Crimea to be a terrorist attack.
Cruise missiles tore into busy intersections, parks and tourist sites in the center of downtown Kyiv with an intensity unseen even when Russian forces attempted to capture the capital early in the war, reported Reuters.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he had ordered troops to deploy with Russian forces near Ukraine in response to what he said was a clear threat to Belarus from Kyiv and its backers in the West.
Ukr military source: “We were expecting it. Europeans should have been expecting it. It’s not February + out of blue. Where’s the reaction? Putin is looking for signal. Looking to see if someone will stand up + lead. Where is leadership? It’s as if people are waiting on Biden.”
At least 11 people were reported killed and scores injured, with warning of even more “severe retaliation” in the event of further Ukrainian attacks. “Let there be no doubt,” Putin said in televised comments addressed to his security council, “if attempts at terrorist attacks continue, the response from Russia will be severe.”
Many of the locations hit by cruise missiles and kamikaze drones in the midst of the morning rush hour appeared to be solely civilian sites or key infrastructure, including the country’s electric grid, apparently chosen to terrorise Ukrainians.
As the scale of Monday morning’s assault emerged, Moscow faced a chorus of international condemnation with EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, saying such acts have “no place” in the 21st century”.
The UN’s secretary general, António Guterres, said he was “deeply shocked” by Russia’s most widespread air strikes since the start of the Ukraine war, a spokesperson said.
In a statement, the UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said:”This constitutes another unacceptable escalation of the war and, as always, civilians are paying the highest price.”
Due to the war, some 7.6 million Ukrainian refugees have scattered around Europe since Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops over the border, but many are having difficulty finding jobs and homes.
The European Commission unveiled a new online tool to help Ukrainians find a job as the bloc looks to extend its protection for those displaced.
Tech giant Apple might soon switch over to USB-C port in AirPods and Mac accessories by 2024, impacting many other gadget and smartphone makers to emulate or shun the new addition.
According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, the company might introduce USB-C to its newest AirPods, AirPods Pro, and AirPods by the year 2024, while Mac accessories like the Magic Mouse, Magic Keyboard, and Magic Trackpad may convert to USB-C as soon as the next year.
“It’s a safe bet that those accessories will move to USB-C in their next incarnation”, Gurman said.
As the European Union moves to mandate USB-C charging on new smartphones, tablets, and headphones introduced in the territory in late 2024, there has been a rumoured shift away from Lightning ports.
Before EU legislation takes effect, Apple will replace its AirPods, the report said. Tony Fadell, inventor of the iPod, has said that Apple should include USB-C port in iPhones, as the European Union passed a resolution on USB Type-C as standard charging port.
The debate started when a Twitter user questioned if the iPod would succeed if Apple was forced to utilise USB 1.0 rather than the fast FireWire technology.
KBC 14: Jaya leaves hubby ‘Big B’ puzzled with her question
Megastar Amitabh Bachchan will be seen taking the hotseat along with his son and Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan, while veteran actress Jaya Bachchan is seen hosting the Big B’s birthday special episode of ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati 14’. Stay tuned to TV for the question on Tuesday.
Khushbu Sundar gets Golden Visa for UAE
Tamil and Telugu films yesteryears actress, and BJP leader Khushbu Sundar joins the ranks of many Indian film celebrities to get Golden Visa for United Arab Emirates. The UAE has granted her its prestigious Golden Visa.
And here comes my #GoldenVisa
Thank you to #UAEGovt for this. Sorry for picking it up so late. Humbled anyways. 🙏
And thank you #ECH for initiating and making this happen. 🙏🙏 pic.twitter.com/wVsqu63BZz
95th Oscars: India’s entry ‘Chhello Show’ to release in 95 cinemas at Rs 95
The makers of ‘Last Film Show’ (‘Chhello Show’), have chosen to celebrate the fact that the film is India’s official entry to the 95th Oscars by releasing the film in 95 cinemas on Thursday night, a day before its actual date of release, and fixing the price of tickets for the show at a nominal Rs 95 each. Will JJ Rajamouli’s RRR in private category makes it to 100?
‘Bigg Boss 16’: Salman Khan asks Ankit to shun silence
Host Salman Khan was seen taking to task ‘Bigg Boss 16’ contestants during the first ‘Weekend Ka Vaar’ episode and he advised everyone to show their real side and make the otherwise becoming a boring game interesting. While pointing towards ‘Udaariyan’ actor Ankit Gupta, he asked him to be visible in the game and be vocal. May be lots of jumping around is what’s required.
Trailer of Sivakarthikeyan-starrer ‘Prince’ released, hilarious for a change?
Telugu star Vijay Deverakonda has launched the hilarious theatrical trailer of Tamil star Sivakarthikeyan’s first Tamil-Telugu bilingual film, titled ‘Prince’. See it here and decide yourself:
Another book on Amitabh Bachchan maturing over years
Stars have an innate age like the quizzes on gaming sites. Jaya Bhaduri is ‘Guddi’ at heart, a teenager with enthusiasm and Nirupa Roy has never been young. Shammi is a young man in his early twenties while Raj Kapoor and others are in their late twenties. The book takes you along the ages of contemporary actors of Big B and how grew up over the decades.
Sayantani Ghosh on how her look in ‘Alibaba’
TV actress Sayantani Ghosh, who is currently seen in the show ‘Alibaba Dastaan-e-Kabul’, talks about her look in the show and says she is happy with the response she is getting for her highlighted blue hair, blue eyes and a long blue dress for her character of SimSim.
Why Ayushmann Khurrana carries cricket kit in his vanity?
Actor Ayushmann Khurrana has been a cricket enthusiast since he was a child. He carries a cricket kit in his vanity van so that whenever the opportunity arises, he can play. So desperate? Where would he find a bowler?
Ranveer makes NBA star Trae Young to dance to this tune
After making Shaquille O’Neal dance to the number ‘Khalibali’, ever-active Ranveer Singh went on to make another basketball star dance to his number in Abu Dhabi. And to whose tune does he dance at home?
Puneeth Rajkumar’s dream project ‘Gandhada Gudi to release on Oct 28
Late Kannada superstar Puneeth Rajkumar’s dream project ‘Gandhada Gudi’ is fast moving towards completion and the makers released the trailer on Sunday. The docu-drama is set to release on October 28.
That last scene, PUNEET RAJKUMAR soaking in water and his trademark smile, million dollars smile, made me emotional…in the teaser of PUNEET RAJKUMAR’s movie ‘GODHADA GUDI’. Probably the last movie of POWERSTAR. #GodhadaGudiTeaserhttps://t.co/pzPhUlkZTE
Veteran actress Neetu Kapoor has shared a set of pictures showcasing her son Ranbir Kapoor’s well chiseled body from the look test of his latest release ‘Brahmastra’. But it’s too late as the film is already off many theatres.
Researchers from Hokkaido University and Toppan have developed a method to detect build-up of amyloid β in the brain, a characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease, from biomarkers in blood samples.
Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease, characterised by a gradual loss of neurons and synapses in the brain. One of the primary causes of Alzheimer’s disease is the accumulation of amyloid β (Aβ) in the brain, where it forms plaques. Alzheimer’s disease is mostly seen in individuals over 65 years of age, and cannot currently be stopped or reversed. Thus, Alzheimer’s disease is a major concern for nations with ageing populations, such as Japan.
A team of scientists from Hokkaido University and Toppan, led by Specially Appointed Associate Professor Kohei Yuyama at the Faculty of Advanced Life Science, Hokkaido University, have developed a biosensing technology that can detect Aβ-binding exosomes in the blood of mice, which increase as Aβ accumulates in the brain. Their research was published in the journal Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy.
Alzheimer’s disease model mice (Photo: Kohei Yuyama)./CREDIT:Kohei Yuyama
When tested on mice models, the Aβ-binding exosome Digital ICATM (idICA) showed that the concentration of Aβ-binding exosomes increased with the increase in age of the mice. This is significant as the mice used were Alzheimer’s disease model mice, where Aβ builds up in the brain with age.
In addition to the lack of effective treatments of Alzheimer’s, there are few methods to diagnose Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s can only be definitively diagnosed by direct examination of the brain—which can only be done after death. Aβ accumulation in the brain can be measured by cerebrospinal fluid testing or by positron emission tomography; however, the former is an extremely invasive test that cannot be repeated, and the latter is quite expensive. Thus, there is a need for a diagnostic test that is economical, accurate and widely available.
Previous work by Yuyama’s group has shown that Aβ build-up in the brain is associated with Aβ-binding exosomes secreted from neurons, which degrade and transport Aβ to the microglial cells of the brain. Exosomes are membrane-enclosed sacs secreted by cells that possess cell markers on their surface. The team adapted Toppan’s proprietary Digital Invasive Cleavage Assay (Digital ICATM) to quantify the concentration of Aβ-binding exosomes in as little as 100 µL of blood. The device they developed traps molecules and particles in a sample one-by-one in a million micrometer-sized microscopic wells on a measurement chip and detects the presence or absence of fluorescent signals emitted by the cleaving of the Aβ-binding exosomes.
Clinical trials of the technology are currently underway in humans. This highly sensitive idICA technology is the first application of ICA that enables highly sensitive detection of exosomes that retain specific surface molecules from a small amount of blood without the need to learn special techniques; as it is applicable to exosome biomarkers in general, it can also be adapted for use in the diagnosis of other diseases.
The study of blastoids, a research model of an early embryo derived from stem cells rather than from a father’s sperm or a mother’s egg, offers great hope for researchers investigating why pregnancies are lost at an early stage, what causes birth defects, and other topics related to early human development. Their use potentially avoids the challenges of scarcity and potential ethical problems of using actual embryos for the same sort of research.
But a group of ethicists and a cellular biologist have warned that blastoids are not without their own set of ethical considerations. While mammalian blastoid research has advanced rapidly in recent years, often using mouse blastoids, there has been insufficient consideration of how to regulate the creation and research use of human blastoids—feasible only since 2021.
Blastoids, sometimes called embryoids, resemble the cells, structure (morphology) and genetics of the very earliest form an embryo takes. Such an early embryo is called a blastocyst. Blastoids mimic early embryonic development up to and potentially just beyond the blastocyst stage five to six days after the first cell division. A major step forward in recent years has been the ability to grow blastocyst-like structures from pluripotent stem cells (cells that are able to take on many different cell types or tissue forms).
“But whereupon implantation into the uterus, blastocysts ultimately develop into a fetus, blastoids do not, and so are considered a model of an embryo rather than an actual embryo,” said bioethicist and Associate Professor Tsutomu Sawai of the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Hiroshima University, a co-author of the paper. “Or, more precisely, there is so far no evidence that they can develop into a fetus, which is the crux of the ethical conundrum.”
The scholars in their paper did not set out to make an argument for or against different regulatory or ethical attitudes toward human blastoid research, but instead wanted to explore what problems might arise around regulation of them to inform political, scientific and societal conversation about this research.
A team of bioethicists and a cellular biologist in Japan discuss the ethical challenges in human blastoid research./CREDIT:Kanon Tanaka (https://www.kanontanaka-illustration-webdesign-science.com/index.html)
What makes the issue ethically fraught is that just as people have different views as to the moral status of embryos, especially in the context of research, they are likely to have different views on the moral status of blastoids. Some feel that the key question is whether embryos or blastoids have properties such as sentience—the ability to feel pain or experience consciousness, while others feel that the key question is whether they have the potential to do so.
Some scientists have argued that blastoids and blastocysts are not functionally equivalent, and would therefore not require the same level of oversight and regulation as human embryos.
An opposing camp however has argued that blastoids will become functionally closer to blastocysts sooner or later if they are morphologically and genetically similar to normal blastocysts. As a result, this camp feels that blastoids and blastocysts should be treated the same by regulators as they may become functionally equivalent in the future.
There have been no reports yet of mouse blastoids developing to the fetal stage, and so it is believed that mouse blastoids do not possess the ability to do so. In turn, it is assumed that human blastoids are similarly incapable.
However, while mice are useful models, they are not the same as humans. Yet it would not be socially and legally permissible to implant a blastoid into the uterus of a woman to find out whether human blastoids can develop further than mouse ones do.
In addition, it may be the case that the failure of a mouse blastoid to develop into a fetus is the result of the ‘culture technique’, or method of growing the blastoid in a lab, which necessarily will be different from the environment of a uterus. Theoretically then, whether mouse or human, blastoids might indeed be able to develop further if culture techniques became available that perfectly mimic in utero development.
“The feasibility of lab techniques perfectly mimicking in utero however remains speculative, and policy-makers, researchers and wider society need to assess what to do right now, not wait until such technological advances occur,” added Professor Sawai.
Taking these arguments into account, there are two options for regulating blastoid research. One is to differentiate between blastoids and blastocysts since there is currently no convincing evidence to demonstrate that blastoids and blastocysts are functionally equivalent or are likely to become functionally equivalent in the near future. The other possibility is to regulate them in the same way, regardless of whether they are functionally equivalent or not by emphasizing the genetic and structural similarities between the two.
For example, Japan, the UK and US have taken a regulatory approach that embraces the first option, while Australia has chosen a path that embraces the latter option.
The scholars also note that such research regulation can be affected by whether human blastoids are derived from stem cells that come from embryos (ESC) or from what are called induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC). This latter type comes from skin or blood cells that have been reprogrammed back into a pluripotent state akin to that of embryo stem cells. The ethical issues related to iPSC research are usually considered less severe than those for ESC research, as the latter involves the destruction of embryos.
But if regulators opt for a preference for iPSC-derived blastoids over ESC blastoids, thinking that they have avoided an ethical minefield, they may find that they are in one nevertheless.
This is because iPSCs have the same genetic information as the donor, and so it may be reasonable to consider iPSC-derived blastoids as falling within the regulatory framework of cloned embryos. In the public consciousness, human cloning for research purposes has proven to be just as if not more ethically fraught than creating human embryos for research purposes.
The very recent advent of the capacity to make human blastoids has meant that the debate over human blastoids has so far yet to leap much beyond the lab bench or regulatory office and pierce the public’s consciousness in the way that the moral status of human embryos in scientific research has. But this situation is unlikely to remain the case for long, and the scholars feel this is a good thing.
“The rules for early developmental research, whether on blastoids or embryos, should not be decided by scientists or bioethicists alone,” concluded Professor Sawai. “Instead, a wider societal discussion must take the lead.”
The FBI Las Vegas Field Office wants to educate the public about the dangers of swatting. Swatting is a form of harassment to deceive an emergency service provider into sending a police and emergency service response team to another person’s address due to the false reporting of a serious law enforcement emergency. The individuals who engage in this activity use technology, such as caller ID spoofing, social engineering, TTY, and prank calls to make it appear that the emergency call is coming from the victim’s phone. Traditionally, law enforcement has seen swatters directing their actions toward individuals and residences. Increasingly, the FBI sees swatters targeting public places such as airports, schools, and businesses. Another recent trend is so-called celebrity swatting, where the targeted victims are well-known personalities.
swatting
These calls are dangerous to first responders and to the victims. The callers often tell tales of hostages about to be executed or bombs about to go off. The community is placed in danger as responders rush to the scene, taking them away from real emergencies, and the officers are placed in danger as unsuspecting residents may try to defend themselves. If you receive a swatting threat or information that an individual is planning to engage in swatting, report it to local law enforcement and the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI immediately.
Cinema is not only an Industry but it is also a Medium of Artistic Expression of our Culture and Values: President Murmu.
The President of India, Droupadi Murmu, presented the 68th National Film Awards in various categories in New Delhi today (September 30, 2022). She also conferred Dadasaheb Phalke Award on Ms Asha Parekh.
Speaking on the occasion, the President congratulated all the award winners of the 68th National Film Awards. She also congratulated Ms Asha Parekh for winning Dadasaheb Phalke Award and said that our sisters of that generation made their mark in various fields despite many constraints. Honour to Ms Parekh is also an honour for the indomitable female power.
The President said that apart from making films, the film industry plays a major role in building a better society and nation. Being an audio-visual medium, the influence of films is wider than other mediums of art. She said that cinema is not only an industry but also a medium of artistic expression of our culture and values. It is also a medium for connecting our society and for nation-building.
Asha Parekh honoured with Dadasaheb Phalke Award, 2020
The President said that films have greater influence on youth and children. Therefore, the society expects the film industry to effectively utilize this medium in building the future of the country.
The President said that as we are celebrating the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, feature and non-feature films on the life and work of freedom fighters will be welcomed by the audience. People also expect films which increase compassion and unity in society, accelerate the pace of development and strengthen the efforts of environmental protection. She was happy to note that the films that got awards today, have highlighted important national issues of nature and environment, culture, social values and other important aspects.
Murmu
The President said that Indian films are being welcomed all over the world. To make more effective use of this soft-power, we have to enhance the quality of our movies. She noted that films made in one region are becoming more and more popular in other regions as well. She said that in this way cinema is tying all people in one cultural thread. This is a big contribution of the film community to society.
Dadasaheb Phalke Award: Ms Asha Parekh.
Best Actress Award: Aparrna Balamurali Best actor awards: Ajay Devgn and Suriya Best Supporting Actor award: Biju Menon Best Supporting Actress award : Lakshmi Priya Chandramouli Best Male Playback Singer award :Rahul Deshpande.
European countries rushed to probe unexplained leaks in two Russian gas pipelines running under the Baltic Sea near Sweden and Denmark, at the heart of an energy crisis since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Sweden’s Maritime Authority issued a warning about two leaks in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, the day after a leak on the nearby Nord Stream 2 pipeline, restricting shipping and impose a small no fly zone by Denmark.
The country’s armed forces released a video showing bubbles boiling up to the surface of the sea, revealing it to be a major gas leak disturbing the surface of about 1 km (0.6 mile) in diameter, the armed forces said.
Russia, which built the gas pipeline network, said the possibility of sabotage could not be ruled out.
The gas pipelines leak on the Nord Stream pipelines that Russia with European partners spent billions of dollars building, comes close on the occasion of Dmitry Medvedev, a former president, who reiterated that Russia had the right to defend itself with nuclear weapons if it is pushed beyond its limits and that this is “certainly not a bluff”.
Meanwhile, Kazakhstan is struggling to accommodate tens of thousands of Russians who have fled their homeland since Moscow announced a military mobilization recruiting the youth last week, officials say, but the Almaty government said it has no plans to close its border.
Snowden granted Russian citizenship
Another blow to the West is that Putin has granted Russian citizenship to former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, nine years after he exposed the scale of secret surveillance operations by the National Security Agency.
As former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh turned 90 on Monday, leaders across party lines wished him and many remembered his contribution in turning the economy toward growth trajectory despite global recessions and pressures.
On this occasion, we bring 10 facts and key contributions made by Dr Manmohan Sing to India:
Born on September 26, 1932, in Gah, (now in Pakistan), he migrated to India along with his family
Lost his mother at a very young age and was raised by his grandmother
As there was no electricity in his village, he used to study under kerosene lamp
Manmohan Singh studied in Hindu College Amritsar, and did B.A. and M.A. from Panjab University
He did his Economics Tripos from Cambridge University and DPhil or doctorate from the University of Oxford
He worked for the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), from 1966 to 1969
He worked as an advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Trade under L.N. Mishra
In 1972, Manmohan Singh became the Chief Advisor in the Ministry of Finance
In 1976, he became a Secretary in the Ministry of Finance
In 1982, Manmohan Singh was appointed as the Governor of RBI
He became the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission of India from 1985 to 1987
In 1991, he was appointed as the Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC)
In June in 1991, he joined Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao’s cabinet as Finance Minister
Initiated painful but crucial liberalisation policy for Indian economy
Became the 14th Prime Minister of India on May 22, 2004.
Best Wishes pour in
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi wrote, “Wishing one of India’s finest statesman, Dr Manmohan Singh ji a very happy birthday. His humility, dedication and contribution to India’s development, has few parallels. He is an inspiration to me, and to crores of other Indians. I pray for his good health and happiness.”
Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal said, “Visionary leadership & dedication defines what Dr. Manmohan Singh means for India. The architect of India’s economic reforms, it was his magnificent vision that launched India’s economic story to the next level.” Jairam Ramesh, Congress general secretary in-charge communications, said: “Today is Day 19 of #BharatJodoYatra and the day Dr. Manmohan Singh turns 90.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also wished his predecessor and said:“Birthday greetings to former PM Dr. Manmohan Singh Ji. Praying for his long and healthy life.” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said, “Warmest wishes to respected Dr. Manmohan Singh ji on his birthday. Pray for his long life, good health and happiness.”
S Jaishankar
“Many many congratulations to former Prime Minister of the country Dr. Manmohan Singh ji on his 90th birthday. I pray to God for his healthy life and long life,” tweeted Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Shashi Tharoor, Thiruvananthapuram MP, said he was “privileged to enjoy his blessings for many years & to learn so much from his sagacity, wisdom & profound understanding of human affairs,” adding: “Long May he continue to guide us all.”
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin said, “Birthday greetings to former Prime Minister & erudite scholar Dr Manmohan Singh. He provided stability in governance, maintained dignity in public life, alleviated poverty and did all this while being an epitome of humility.”
NCP leader Supriya Sule said, “Wishing Former Prime Minister of India, Great Economist Hon. Dr. Manmohan Singh Sir Happy Birthday. May you be blessed with a long and healthy life.”
Under IT Rules, 2021, 45 YouTube videos from 10 YouTube channels were blocked by Ministry of Information & Broadcasting.
Videos containing hateful speech against religious communities and spreading communal disharmony blocked.
Morphed images and videos being used to harm India’s national security, foreign relations and public order.
Based on the inputs from intelligence agencies, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has directed YouTube to block 45 YouTube videos from 10 YouTube channels. Orders to block the concerned videos were issued on 23.09.2022 under the provisions of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021. The blocked videos had cumulative viewership of over 1 crore 30 lakh views.
The content included fake news and morphed videos spread with the intent to spread hatred among religious communities. Examples include false claims such as the Government to have taken away the religious rights of certain communities, violent threats against religious communities, declaration of civil war in India, etc. Such videos were found to have the potential to cause communal disharmony and disrupt public order in the country.
Some of the videos blocked by the Ministry were being used to spread disinformation on issues related to Agnipath scheme, Indian Armed Forces, India’s national security apparatus, Kashmir, etc. The content was observed to be false and sensitive from the perspective of national security and India’s friendly relations with foreign States.
Certain videos depicted erroneous external boundary of India with parts of J&K and Ladakh outside the Indian territory. Such cartographic misrepresentation was found to be detrimental to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India.
The content blocked by the Ministry was found to be detrimental to sovereignty and integrity of India, security of the State, India’s friendly relations with foreign States, and public order in the country. Accordingly, the content was covered within the ambit of section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
The Government of India remains committed to thwart any attempts at undermining India’s sovereignty and integrity, national security, foreign relations, and public order.
“Vikrant is not just a warship. This is a testament to the hard work, talent, influence and commitment of India in the 21st century. If the goals are distant, the journeys are long, the ocean and the challenges are endless – then India’s answer is Vikrant. The incomparable Amrit of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav is Vikrant. Vikrant is a unique reflection of India becoming self-reliant.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
India celebrated a historical milestone as it commissioned its first ever Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC)- Vikrant. Designed by Indian Navy’s in-house Warship Design Bureau (WDB) and built by Cochin Shipyard Limited, a Public Sector Shipyard under the Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Vikrant has been built with state-of-the-art automation features and is the largest ship ever built in the maritime history of India.
The Indigenous Aircraft Carrier is named in honour of her historic predecessor, India’s first aircraft carrier, which played an important part in the war of 1971. The ship has large number of indigenous equipment and machinery, involving major industrial houses in the country viz. BEL, BHEL, GRSE, Keltron, Kirloskar, Larsen & Toubro, Wartsila India etc. as well as over 100 MSMEs. Vikrant’s commissioning would provide India two operational aircraft carriers, which will greatly improve the country’s maritime security.
IAC serves as a shining example of the country’s pursuit of “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” and gives the Government’s “Make in India” initiative further momentum. With the IAC Vikrant, India has joined an elite group of countries with the specialised capacity to design and construct an aircraft carrier domestically, including U.S.A., U.K., France, Russia and China.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi commissioned INS Vikrant on the coast of Kerala on September 02, 2022, and noted that it is a symbol of indigenous potential, indigenous resources and indigenous skills. IAC Vikrant is a magnificent addition to the list of glorious aircraft carriers of the Indian Navy, which have proved to be extremely resourceful to the country.
Significance of Aircraft Carriers
Aircraft carriers are extremely strong and have powerful weapons. Their military capabilities, which include carrier borne aircraft, have completely changed the marine domain. An aircraft carrier offers a wide range of strategic benefits. It offers incredibly flexible operational options. Surveillance, air defence, airborne early warning, protection of Sea Lines of Communication (SLOC), and anti-submarine warfare are some of its principal functions.
For India, the carrier battlegroup, with its inherent combat elements and firepower, becomes a key capability to establish effective air dominance and efficient sea control.
History of Aircraft Carriers in India
Right from its Independence, India was well aware of the need for aircraft carriers to establish itself as a blue water navy. Since the sixties, the Indian Navy has had the unique distinction of operating all variants of aircraft launch and recovery systems.
Here is a walkthrough of India’s prestigious aircraft carriers till now:
INS Vikrant (R11)- India’s First Aircraft Carrier
The INS Vikrant was launched on September 22, 1945 as Hercules. However, its construction was stalled and was completed when India purchased it from Britain in 1957. On March 04, 1961 it was commissioned as Vikrant in its first avatar. It was placed under the command of Captain Pritam Singh Mahindroo. On March 05, 1961, Vikrant sailed from Belfast for Portsmouth and Portland to carry out sea trials, and on October 06, 1961, Vikrant finally sailed for India. It entered Bombay on November 03, 1961.
The 19,500-tonne Carrier, INS Vikrant was the first ever carrier for an Asian country and remained so for a long time. Soon after its commissioning, the INS Vikrant saw action during the Goa Liberation Operation in 1961.
It played a crucial role in the 1971 war with its aircrafts decimating the enemy. The Sea Hawks and Alizés pounded the enemy targets over Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar, Khulna and Mongla. Heavy damage was inflicted on the ships and harbour installations. The runways at the first two places were rendered inoperable, and along with other units of the fleet, Vikrant ensured a total blockade off East Pakistan. The INS Vikrant helped in preventing reinforcement of Pakistani forces from the sea, leading to the birth of Bangladesh.
The INS Vikrant emerged in a new avatar as a Vertical/ Short Take Off and Land (V/STOL) carrier in 1984, with the brand new, state-of-the-art aircraft Sea Harrier. Its new capability inspired the induction of INS Vikramaditya, and the plans of its reincarnation.
After serving for 36 years, it was decommissioned from active service on 31 January, 1997.[1]
INS Viraat- Over 30 Years of Service to the Nation
INS Viraat was originally commissioned by the British Royal Navy as HMS Hermes on November 18, 1959. It served the Royal Navy in three different avatars- 1959-1970: as the Strike Carrier, 1970-1980- as a Commando Anti-Submarine Warfare Carrier, and 1980 onwards it was a V/STOL Carrier, for which it underwent major structural modifications. This included a 12-degree ramp designed to optimally launch Sea Harrier Operations.
In 1982, Hermes saw action in the Falklands under the command of Captain Middleton where she distinguished herself as the Flagship of the Royal Navy in the campaign to regain Falklands and South Georgia from Argentina. The 74-day war in hostile weather saw the Sea Harriers undertake 2376 sorties and shoot down 20 enemy aircrafts with the loss of two Sea Harriers to enemy ground fire.
The Indian Navy, in need of a second aircraft carrier, acquired the HMS Hermes on April 24, 1986. INS Viraat was finally commissioned by the Indian Navy on 12 May 1987. After acing a set of tests and trials, on July 23, 1987 it sailed from Plymouth to India, reaching the Indian waters on 21 August 1987. It was 227 metres long and 49 metres wide and had a full load displacement of 28,700 tons.
INS Viraat’s first major operation was ‘Operation Jupiter’ in July 1989 as part of Peace Keeping Operations in Sri Lanka, following the breakdown of the Indo- Sri Lankan Accord of 1986. On July 27, 1989, the ship flew 76 helicopter sorties off Kochi to board more than 350 soldiers and more than 35 tonnes of supplies for the 7 Garhwal Rifles. The INS Viraat and its task group continued to be stationed out in the field for the next two weeks, using the opportunity to train soldiers, proving the Viraat’s operational adaptability.
It also played a pivotal role in Operation Parakram, which was carried out in the wake of the 2013 terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament. By establishing a blockade against Pakistan during the 1999 Kargil War, the INS Viraat also played a crucial part in Operation Vijay. The ship has additionally taken part in a number of foreign joint exercises, including Malabar (with the US Navy), Varuna (with the French Navy), and Naseem-Al-Bahr (with the Oman Navy), as well as being a crucial component of every year’s Theatre Level Operational Exercise (TROPEX). The ship’s last operational deployment was in February 2016 when it took part in the International Fleet Review (IFR-2016) at Vishakhapatnam.
The INS Viraat has played a pivotal role in spearheading India’s maritime resurgence. Since 1987, the ship’s deck launched 22,034 hours of flying, it spent 2,250 days at sea sailing over 5.8 lakh Nautical Miles. It was decommissioned from service on March 06, 2017.
INS Vikramaditya- Indian Navy’s Biggest Ship
Russia’s refurbished Admiral Gorshkov was commissioned into the Indian Navy as INS Vikramaditya at Severodvinsk, Russia on November 16, 2013. It is a state-of-the-art ship, capable of operating a versatile range of high-performance aircrafts, such as the MiG 29K fighters, KM 31 AEW helicopters, multi-role Seakings and utility Chetaks. The ship is over 285 meters long and 60 meters wide, making it the biggest ship in the Indian Navy. Her 23 decks scale a height of 60 meters
With over 1,600 personnel on board, INS Vikramaditya is literally a ‘Floating City’. With a capacity of over 8,000 tonnes of Low Sulphur High-Speed Diesel (LSHSD), she is capable of operations up to a range of over 7,000 nautical miles or 13000 kms. The ship has the ability to carry over 30 aircrafts, comprising an assortment of MiG 29K/Sea Harrier, Kamov 31, Kamov 28, Sea King, ALH-Dhruv and Chetak helicopters. The MiG 29K swing role fighter is the main offensive platform and provides a quantum jump for the Indian Navy’s maritime strike capability. These fourth-generation air superiority fighters provide a significant fillip for the Indian Navy with a range of over 700 nm and an array of weapons including anti-ship missiles, Beyond Visual Range air-to-air missiles, guided bombs and rockets.
The ship is equipped with state-of-the-art launch and recovery systems along with aids to enable smooth and efficient operation of ship borne aircraft. Major systems include the LUNA Landing system for MiGs, DAPS Landing system for Sea Harriers and Flight deck lighting systems.
INS Vikrant (IAC-1): The Self-Reliant Rebirth
The 262-metre-long carrier has a full displacement of close to 45,000 tonnes which is much larger and advanced than her predecessor. The ship is powered by four Gas Turbines totaling 88 MW power and has a maximum speed of 28 Knots. Built at an overall cost of close to Rs. 20,000 crores, the project has been progressed in three Phases of contract between MoD and CSL. It has an overall indigenous content of 76%.
Vikrant has been built with high degree of automation for machinery operation, ship navigation and survivability, and has been designed to accommodate an assortment of fixed wing and rotary aircraft. The ship would be capable of operating air wing consisting of 30 aircraft comprising of MIG-29K fighter jets, Kamov-31, MH-60R multi-role helicopters, in addition to indigenously manufactured Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) and Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) (Navy). Using a novel aircraft-operation mode known as STOBAR (Short Take- Off but Arrested Landing), the IAC is equipped with a ski- jump for launching aircraft, and a set of ‘arrester wires’ for their recovery onboard.
