Dimapur (PTI): Centering on his pet subject of igniting minds, former President APJ Abdul Kalam on Sunday asked the youth not to bother much about the

Dimapur (PTI): Centering on his pet subject of igniting minds, former President APJ Abdul Kalam on Sunday asked the youth not to bother much about the future even as the present economic slowdown has hit employment prospects in the country.

Describing the current job strains as a temporary feature, Dr Kalam asserted that after a decade, the country would emerge as a strong entity in every field and termed the youth as the power of the nation.

Stating that the presence of youth in politics gives the system a good direction, he asked them to join politics like any other profession saying they can immensely contribute towards developmental politics.

Reiterating his idea of development politics, the former President asserted, there were "only political politics and developmental politics, but there cannot be dirty politics.

Interacting with students at the 16th National Students Science Congress hereKalam expressed the hope that by 2020 the urban-rural divide would come down substantially and villages would turn into major economic entities providing employment to millions of youth.

He also pointed out that Nagaland with its rich biodiversity can be a role model in exploring immense potential in agriculture, horticulture and its handloom and handicrafts by infusing appropriate technologies and the Naga youth can take a lead on this aspect.

source:http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/002200812281610.htm

ISRO to launch ‘Megha Tropiques’

BANGALORE: Megha Tropiques, a satellite devoted to atmospheric and climate research in the tropics will be launched in December 2009, announced ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair.Delivering the KEB Engineers Association’s 22nd Silver Jubilee Commemoration lecture, Nair said that Megha Tropiques (‘Megha’ in Sanskrit means clouds and ‘Tropiques’ is the French word for tropics), a joint venture between ISRO and CNES (French Space Agency), will be launched using ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from Sriharikota range.

The satellite would carry multi-frequency microwave and optical sensors to provide information on water vapour and rainfall characteristics over ocean and land surfaces, monsoon radiation budget etc.

The 500 kg satellite will have a unique 20 degree inclined orbit of 867 km so as to provide maximum coverage of the tropical region of interest. “Changes in energy and water budget of the land-ocean-atmosphere systems in the tropics influence the global climate to a great extent and Megha Tropiques could provide the answer,” Nair expressed confidence.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between ISRO and CNES was singed in 2001 for the design of a joint satellite mission.

On India’s maiden mission to the moon Chandrayaan-1, Nair said that the satellite payloads have already captured 35,000 scenes and also found traces of minerals like iron and calcium.

“Yes there are traces of minerals, but to say that conclusively, a session will be held in Bangalore in the last week of January 2009 where scientists will discuss and the preliminary analysis of data will be carried out,” he disclosed.

Nair said that the Chandrayaan- 1 was sending signals to the ground stations and in the next six months to one year, the findings will be put on public domain.

On India’s first manned mission to space he said by 2015, India will be able to send a man to space and bring him back by 2015 and following that in next 6-7 years it will be able to send a manned mission to the moon.  

source:http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=ISRO+to+launch+‘Megha+Tropiques’&artid=iCLrYLasMBM=&SectionID=7GUA38txp3s=&MainSectionID=fyV9T2jIa4A=&SectionName=zkvyRoWGpmWSxZV2TGM5XQ==&SEO=

ISRO to develop vigilance satellite

CHENNAI: Plans are afoot to develop a low-cost satellite to monitor ships and small fishing vessels in Indian waters. The  developed by the shipping ministry in partnership with the developed by the shipping ministry in partnership with the Indian Space Research Organisation, a top official of the shipping ministry said on Tuesday. 

Speaking at a seminar on MaritimeSecurity -- Issues and Challenges', organised by the directorate general of shipping and the Indian port associations, A P V N Sarma, secretary, shipping, said the department was in talks with ISRO for developing the satellite. 

Sarma also said the ministry was planning to form a special commando force specifically for the ports to counter any threats from the sea. He said fishing harbours located near the ports were an area of concern as they posed threats to vessels that entered the ports and it was necessary to keep these small fishing harbours away from the ports. The state governments should participate in the separation plan, he said, adding that the ministry had constituted a group to study the issue. 

Deputy national security advisor Shekhar Dutt, in his address, said there was a need to integrate land and maritime concerns. "We are looking at a plan for integrating maritime intelligence, an operation plan for responding to maritime threats, a strategy that could outreach and coordinate with international and regional maritime initiatives," he said. He added that this would encompass detection, detention, investigation and prosecution. 

"There is a need to make a distinction between a legitimate and illegitimate presence at sea and has to be done in real time," Dutt said. This, he said, would entail isolation of a suspected vessel, identification of its exact location and taking action. "To make this possible, we have to link inputs of Long Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT) system through satellite based identification. "An Automatic Identification System is therefore an essential step," he said.

source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Chennai/ISRO_to_develop_vigilance_satellite/articleshow/3915741.cms