Gaganyaan astronauts likely to be pilots

The astronauts on the human space mission Gaganyaan will mostly be pilots, hinted ISRO scientists. “We are looking for peoplewith sufficient flying experience,” they said. ISRO chairman K. Sivan said the Indian Air Force and other agencies will play a major role during the selection of astronauts for the human space mission project. Another scientist said the DRDO too will play a major role in this endeavour. Sivan said the first unmanned mission for Gaganyaan has been planned for December 2020, the second unmanned mission for July 2021 and the final manned mission by December 2021. He said the selection process will also start this year. The ISRO has already established a Human Space Flight Centre for Gaganyaan project.

PM inaugurates L&T’s howitzer facility

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 19 inaugurated the Armoured Systems Complex of Larsen and Toubro in Gujarat, the first private facility in the country where the K9 Vajra self-propelled Howitzer guns will be made. L&T had in 2017 won the Rs 4,500 crore contract from the defence ministry to supply 100 units of K9 Vajra-T 155 mm/52 calibre tracked self-propelled gun systems to the Army under the Make in India initiative. L&T has set up the facility in Hazira, around 30 km from Surat, to manufacture and integrate advanced armoured platforms, such as self-propelled artillery Howitzers, future infantry combat vehicles, future-ready combat vehicles and future main battle tanks.

‘Women to comprise 20% of military police’

Women inductees in the military police will be done in a graded manner, and will eventually comprise 20 per cent of its total strength, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on January 18. Their role would range from probing rape and molestation cases to assisting the Army wherever required. Last year, Army chief General Bipin Rawat had said the process to allow women in combat role, currently an exclusive domain of men, was moving fast and initially women will be recruited for positions in the military police. Last July, the Air Force inducted three women - Mohana Singh, Avani Chaturvedi and Bhawana Kanth - as the first female fighter pilots. The Navy has also offered permanent commission to female officers.

Nod for three new naval air squadrons

The Centre has approved setting up of three new naval air squadrons in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu as part of efforts to bolster the Indian Navy’s overall strength, officials said. The government has also sanctioned recruitment of personnel for manning additional aircraft in existing Dornier surveillance squadrons in Kerala and Andaman islands. A contract for procurement of 12 Dornier aircraft was signed with HAL two years ago and their delivery will commence soon. The new Dornier 228 maritime surveillance aircraft to be delivered to the navy are fitted with improved state-of-the-art sensors and equipment, which includes glass cockpit, advanced surveillance radar, optical sensors and networking features.

MEMUs may replace passenger trains

In a bid to reduce journey time and decongest high traffic routes, the Railways is planning to replace its passengers trains with MEMUs for regional connectivity in the Golden Quadrilateral. “With the introduction of MEMU trains, services will be faster as these accelerate and de-accelerate at a higher speed. They typically run between 300 to 500 km and will be used for short regional connectivity,” said Railway Board member Rajesh Agarwal. Passenger trains are popular among those who cannot afford higher fares. However, these trains usually average between 25 to 40 km/h. The Mainline Electric Multiple Unit is India’s version of the commuter rail system and has a maximum speed of around 100 km/h.

Forex reserves swell to to $397.35 bn

India’s forex reserves continued its upward march and increased by $1.267 billion to $397.351 billion in the week to January 11, aided by a rise in core currency assets and value of gold, the RBI said on January 18. The overall kitty had swelled by $2.68 billion to $396.084 billion in the previous reporting week. In the reporting week, foreign currency assets - a major component of the overall reserves - rose by $1.087 billion to $371.379 billion, the RBI said. Expressed in US dollars, forex assets include the effect of appreciation/depreciation of non-US currencies such as the euro, pound and the yen held in the reserves. The reserves had touched a record high of $426.028 billion in the week to April 13, 2018. Since then, it has been fluctuating and mostly sliding.

Defence exports set to cross Rs 10,000 cr

India’s defence export is likely to double to Rs 10,000 crore by the end of the current financial year, said Defence Production Secretary Ajay Kumar. “Indian industry has been doubling defence exports in the last three years. Three years back, total defence export from India was only about Rs 1,500 crore. Last year, the figure reached Rs 4,500 crore. This year, by November, we have done Rs 7,500 crore export, and by March we are going to cross Rs 10,000 crore,” Kumar said. He said the growth was possible due to the government’s reforms, which made it easier for private companies to enter the defence sector. Since the government liberalised FDI in the defence sector, nearly Rs 4,000 crore of FDI has come in this sector, he added.

India, Uzbekistan ink uranium deal

The Union government on January 18 entered into a long-term contract with Uzbekistan to procure uranium ore concentrates to fuel nuclear reactors. The contract was signed in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who are in Gandhinagar for the Vibrant Gujarat summit. The two leaders also held a bilateral meeting. The agreement was signed between the Department of Atomic Energy and Novoi Minerals & Metallurgical Company of Uzbekistan, the foreign ministry said in a statement without offering more details. Meanwhile, the Exim Bank entered into an agreement with Uzbekistan to offer a $200 million credit line to finance housing and social infrastructure projects in the former Soviet republic, it said.

Lanka seeks talks to take back refugees

Sri Lanka is seeking “serious dialogue” with India for repatriation of refugees living in Tamil Nadu, its envoy said while asserting that his country wants them to be resettled back home. Austin Fernando, High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to India, said he is planning to meet the refugees in Tamil Nadu and other stakeholders to hold consultations. The High Commissioner, without naming any party, alleged that there are at times political reasons behind the delay in the repatriation. “In India, there is also some sort of an organised attempt or an attempt by some people to have noise around this issue,” he said. “What we know is that about 100,000 of them (refugees) are there in south India. And, nearly 20 to 30 per cent do not want to return to Lanka and stay back,” said Fernando.

Second Trump-Kim summit in February

US President Donald Trump is to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for a second summit by the end of February, the White House has said. The announcement came after Trump met top North Korean negotiator Kim Yong-chol at the White House on January 18. Little progress has been made on denuclearisation since their historic summit in Singapore last June. No venue has been announced for the new summit. Speculation is mounting that it could be held in Vietnam. Kim Yong-chol’s visit to Washington is the first sign of movement in nuclear diplomacy for months. The Singapore summit was historic for the fact that it happened at all - but on paper, all it really achieved was a vaguely-phrased agreement and a photo-op.

Smart fabrics get a metal makeover

Scientists have devised an innovative technique that could be used to incorporate batteries, wireless devices and sensors into fabrics such as paper and cotton textiles. Researchers from Imperial College London in the UK used the technique to print metals such as silver, gold and platinum onto fabrics. Ultimately these technologies could be used for new classes of low-cost medical diagnostic tools, wirelessly powered sticker-sensors to measure air pollution or clothing with health monitoring capabilities, they said. Metals have been printed onto fabrics, but until now the process has essentially coated the fabric with plastic, which renders the fabric waterproof and brittle. Described in the journal Advanced Functional Materials, the approach would allow metal inks to cover entire fibres rather than simply coating the surface of the fabric.

Newsmakers

Indian-American philanthropist and entrepreneur Gurinder Singh Khalsa has been presented with the prestigious Rosa Park Trailblazer Award for his campaign that forced US authorities to change their policy towards the headgear of the Sikh community.

The issue of extradition of Niels Holck alias Kim Davy, the prime accused in the 1995 Purulia arms drop case, to India, has been resolved politically and independent authorities in his country are pursuing the matter, said Denmark Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen.

Grace Meng, the wife of former Chinese Interpol chief Meng Hongwei who is being held in his home country on corruption charges, has applied for asylum in France.