Excelsior... Nation

Nayudamma Award for
Padma Bhushan Dr Aatre

TENALI (ANDHRA PRADESH), Nov 6: DRDO Director General Vasudev Kalkunte Aatre, under whose leadership the country’s first indigenous ....more

Tipu Sultan fired
missiles for the
first time

TENALI (ANDHRA PRADESH), Nov 6: It was the legendary Tipu Sultan of Mysore who had fired missiles for the first time while waging a war against the British, .....more

Commuters face
hardship as BEST
dharna enters 2nd day

MUMBAI, Nov 6: Thousands of bus commuters faced inconvenience for the second consecutive day today due to the ongoing dharna by the employees ....more

Nuclear powers should
review safety of their
arsenal: IAEA

NEW DELHI, Nov 6: Pakistan could become a source of nuclear hardware for Islamic terrorists, with impoverished scientists of the former Soviet Union ......more

Cong emerging as
political alternative:
Oscar Fernandes

RANCHI, Nov 6: The Congress is fast emerging as a strong political alternative and would form the next Government at the centre as indicated in ...more

Paswan indicates merger
of coal companies

PATNA, Nov 6: Coal Minister Ram Vilas Paswan has indicated that merger of all the seven public sector companies engaged in commercial extraction of coal in the country was under active consideration.....more

School for detecting
pathogenic micro
organism inaugurated

KOCHI, Nov 6: A winter school on ‘advances in microbiological and biotechnological methods for detection of pathogenic microorganism and .....more

Goa planning to scrap
Gandhi Jayanti from list
of holidays

PANAJI, Nov 6: In a bid to inculcate work ethics among Government servants, the Goa Government is considering making....more

Nayudamma Award for Padma Bhushan Dr Aatre

TENALI (ANDHRA PRADESH), Nov 6: DRDO Director General Vasudev Kalkunte Aatre, under whose leadership the country’s first indigenous ship-to-ship missile "Dhanush" was tested two months ago, was today presented the prestigious "Dr Y Nayudamma Memorial Award" for 2000 for his outstanding contribution to defence research and development.

The award, instituted in 1986 by the Dr Y Nayudamma Memorial Trust to perpetuate the memory of the internationally renowned leather technologist, was presented to Dr Aatre, also scientific adviser to Defence Minister, by Union Rural Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu at a gala function here.

"Dr Aatre will go down in India’s history as the man who inducted Agni-II, a surface-to-surface missile with a range of 2000 km into the country’s arsenal," the citation read.

Under his leadership, the scientists, in collaboration with their russian counterparts, tested a state-of-the art supersonic cruise missile "brahmos," first-of-its kind in the world, with 280-km range for launching from land, ship or aircraft.

Scheduled to follow this was "Astra", air-to-air beyond visual range missile, which marked the nation’s first major foray into air armaments.

The long-delayed maiden flight of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) was tested under his stewardship despite the sanctions imposed by the developed countries on India’s technology imports in the wake of the Pokhran nuclear tests.

Dr Aatre, a fellow of the National Academy of Engineering and various other institutes, has published over 50 technical papers in national and international journals and authored books in digital signal processing, sonar and underwater system design and defence electronics.

He has to his credit several national awards, including DRDO Technology Leadership Award (1998) and Dr D S Kothari Gold Medal at the Indian Science Congress (2000) and the Padma Bhushan(2000).

Dr Aatre, who played a vital role in the development of a wide spectrum of electronics technology, was deeply involved in DRDO’s Human Resources Development and was known as the "Sonar Man" of the country’s defence for spearheading the development of underwater technology for the navy through the design and productionisation of the state-of-art transducer and Sonar Suita.

The first indigenous construction of a well-instrumented ocean acoustic research ship "Sagardhwani" materialised due to his vision. A product of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, he gave fillip to ties between the 51 DRDO labs and higher educational institutions, including the premier Indian Institutes of Technolgy. (UNI)

Tipu Sultan fired missiles for the first time

TENALI (ANDHRA PRADESH), Nov 6: It was the legendary Tipu Sultan of Mysore who had fired missiles for the first time while waging a war against the British, revealed Defence Research and Development Organisation Director General Dr V K Aatre.

"One of the earliest known cases of missiles or rockets being used in a battlefield was that of Tipu Sultan," he said while delivering the 11th Dr Nayudamma Memorial Award lecture on "science, technology and battlefield" here today.

"He (Tipu) is said to have used primitive rockets against the British Army in the famed battle of Srirangapatnam. Some of these are still preserved till date," he added.

Tracing the growth of missile technology, the Padma Bhushan awardee said the unguided and slow V1 and V2 rockets, used by the Germans against Britishers in thousands, during the Second World War causing enough damage, were the forerunners of the present day missiles which had benefitted vastly from advances in various related technologies such as propulsion, navigation, guidance, control systems, warheads etc.

Dr Aatre pointed out that guided missiles which were versatile, and meant for precision targeting had assumed a significant role in post World War II military strategies as they could be launched from a variety of static and mobile platforms like silos, tripod stands, armoured vehicles, aircraft, ships and submarines. They could penetrate 50cm armour or six feet concrete walls of bunkers, he added.

Referring to the future, he said Directed Energy Weapons (DEWs), a new class "speed of light" weapons would be of high strategic values. Advanced countries like the US and Russia were on the brink of introducing laser dew systems and the proposed development of the controversial US National Missile Defence (NMD) system, was one example where High Power Lasers (HPL) would play an important role.

The HPL-DW development combined many state-of-the-art technologies such as HPL sources, target acquisition and tracking technology, platform stabilisation and large aperture beam director optics, he explained.

The integration of surveillance, communication, weapon systems and counter measure operations as a result of advanced computer and networking technologies would usher in a revolution in military warfare, he opined.

Asserting that technology dominance during the last century would be carried through to the this century and beyond, Dr Aatre said smarter and intelligent sensors, micro and nano-technologies, more lethal and directed weapons, reconfigurable systems, unmanned vehicles and robots fighting battles instead of humans were all part of the future "digital battlefields" wherein automation would reduce the decision-making role of humans.

"Though technology will be the key element, it may not be the answer to success in wars since determined humans and certain primitive mothods, as we have seen, may in combination subvert the most sophisticated technologies," he elaborated.

Nevertheless, the predisposition to concentrate on more and more advanced weapon technologies and to commit large funds for the same would continue as "the impact of such developments on dual use technologies and on quality of life is the silver lining to support such developments in science and technology to battlefields," the scientist opined.

Quoting noted historian Arnold Toynbee, Dr Aatre said the survival for "the human races were considerably better when we were defenceless against tigers than they are today when we have become defenceless against ourselves."

Only time would tell whether technology is the panacea for conquering battles and ushering in peace, he added. (UNI)

Commuters face hardship as BEST dharna enters 2nd day

MUMBAI, Nov 6: Thousands of bus commuters faced inconvenience for the second consecutive day today due to the ongoing dharna by the employees of Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) undertaking, with over 3000 buses going off the road since yesterday.

Barring three incidents of stone pelting on private vehicles at Dindoshi and Andheri areas of the metropolis, the dharna was peaceful, BEST sources said.

Only five of the 5532 bus conductors and 22 of the 649 drivers reported for duty, sources said.

The MSRTC plied 44 buses to ease commuter congestion in trains and private vehicles. Nearly 105 private buses were also pressed into service to help commuters to reach their destinations, they added.

The BEST employees, who have been demanding ex-gratia payment and Diwali bonus, have threatened to extend the 48-hour dharna for an indefinite period if the management failed to meet the demands.

Meanwhile, BEST General Manager Rahul Asthana has threatened to file a contempt plea against BEST Workers’ Union for "violating" industrial court order on strike.

The Mayor Hareshwar Patil would hold a meeting with the union leaders later in the day to sort out the impasse. (PTI)

Nuclear powers should review safety of their arsenal: IAEA

NEW DELHI, Nov 6: Pakistan could become a source of nuclear hardware for Islamic terrorists, with impoverished scientists of the former Soviet Union likely to provide the required know how for producing the nuclear bomb, the UN atomic experts feel.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has called the world nuclear powers, including India and Pakistan,, besides Israel, which is known to possess nuclear weapons technology, to urgently review the safety of nuclear material in their arsenals.

In a report submitted to the Vienna meeting on Friday, the IAEA said that it was worried by reports that Osama Bin Laden, prime accused in the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, who has a considerable support in Pakistan, has sought to buy nuclear technology. Infact some Pakistani scientists were interrogated by the security agencies to ascertain details in this regard.

The IAEA report said that in terms of expertise to put the bomb together, the former Soviet Union could provide a source. When the cold war ended, thousands of highly knowledgeable scientists and engineers, who were involved in the Soviet Union’s nuclear programme, were laid off. Most of them were jobless and needed money. There were reports in the past that some of the Russian scientists were employed by developing countries for pursuing their nuclear programme.

IAEA head Mohammed El Baradei said that any nuclear material accessible to terrorist groups is deeply troubling. He called upon all nuclear weapon states to tighten their security. I hope that all these countries are urgently reviewing the safety and security of their nuclear weapons.

He, however, played down the chance of terrorists being able to produce a nuclear bomb, pointing out that it would require 25 kg of high enriched uranium or eight kg of plutonium .

While we cannot preclude the possibility that terrorists could get hold of some nuclear material, it is unlikely that they could successfully detonate nuclear bombs. Still, no ascenario is impossible, he said .

Another legacy of the cold war are the disturbing reporst of missing nuclear weapons, the iaea report said. (UNI)

Cong emerging as political alternative: Oscar Fernandes

RANCHI, Nov 6: The Congress is fast emerging as a strong political alternative and would form the next Government at the centre as indicated in the outcome of the recent Assembly polls and the mood in Uttar Pradesh, AICC general secretary Oscar Fernandes said today.

Barring the states where the Congress has entered into alliance with the regional parties, the party would go it alone, said Mr Fernandes when asked whether he saw any possibility of a fresh polarisation of political forces in the backdrop of the "party’s revival" and the political situation emerging after the Uttar Pradesh polls.

"There is an undercurrent in favour of the party as people have by now realised that the country could not be run through experiments and that the present regime at the Centre had failed to live up to their expectations," he said.

However, a lot has to be done by us, admitted the AICC general secretary although not disclosing the strategy being undertaken by the Congress.

In the recent Assembly polls, the Congress received positive votes in West Bengal, Kerala and Pondicherry while in four of the five states which had gone to the polls Congress or its allies formed the government proving that the days of the BJP coalition were numbered.

In Uttar Pradesh, the AICC general secretary said, the party has a bright future and would play a decisive role in formation of the next Government while in Jharkhand steps have been taken at the organisational level to provide an alternative to the present State Government which has "defeated" the very purpose of Jharkhand’s creation.

"In Jharkhand the congress has given enough time to the BJP-led Government which soon after the formation of the state and inception of its Government assured a positive change within thirty days. But a year has passed and no perceptible change is visible," Mr Fernandes lamented.

With the creation of this new state there was a strong expectation among the people who had fought for its formation but all in vain, he added.

"The law and order situation has deteriorated causing a direct bearing on the state’s development. Till the Government reached out to the people no development is possible," he said.

Describing the Government in Jharkhand as a "total failure", he called upon his party workers to reach out to the people in the villages and mobilise the masses for the ouster of the regime in the state which has proved "a non-performer" and failed to deliver in the past over eleven months.

"The first anniversary of the state’s creation concided with the Deepawali, the festival when people take stock of their finances. Let the people mobilised by the congressmen take stock of the situation in Jharkhand on this day," he added. (UNI)

Paswan indicates merger of coal companies

Talking to newsmen, after visiting Chinakuri Coal mine of Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) at Asansol yesterday, he, however, ruled out privatisation of the industry in near future.

Mr Paswan expressed concern over accumulated loss suffered by coal companies in Bihar and Jharkhand and emphasised on reversing the situation.

He attributed poor financial performance of ECL to age old system of extraction and said that modernisation and upgradation of technology would go a long way in augmenting production.

Mr Paswan promised better facilities to employees and issued instructions to officers for providing lodgings and water at the sites and making arrangements for the workers’ recreation. (UNI)

School for detecting pathogenic micro organism inaugurated

KOCHI, Nov 6: A winter school on ‘advances in microbiological and biotechnological methods for detection of pathogenic microorganism and their toxins in fish and fishery environements’ was inaugurated at the Central Institute of Fisheries Technology (CIFT) here.

Speaking after inaugurating the course yesterday, Prof D M Thampi, Dean, Fisheries College, Panangad near here, said the country was facing stiff competition from other countries in the export of quality food products and stressed on the role CIFT had to play in improving the quality of the products being exported from the country.

Pointing out that many of our products were obtained from natural sources which were often polluted, he said courses like this serve to highlight the importance of monitoring the quality standards of the products from the time of the raw material stage.

‘Use of a number of antibiotics is harmful to the human body and such a training course will help in educating the industry to use only those chemicals which are harmless’, he said.

The school organised under the auspices of the microbiology, fermentation and biotechnology division was in line with the policy of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi, to disseminate information and technology regarding advances in microbiological and biotechnological methods for testing fish and fishery products for the presence of pathogenic bacteria and their toxins.

The course curriculum from November 5 to 25 include theory and practical exposure in the field of advanced testing methods for pathogenic bacteria and their toxins and biotechnological methods for testing white spot syndrome virus in shrimp.

The course was aimed at development of top-level expertise in our laboratories and universities and was essentially a trainers training course.

Thirty participants drawn from various‘fisheries institutes, agricultural universities, state universities and colleges from states including Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala were attending the winter school. (PTI)