Achievements in Space Science

Achievements in Space Science

The details of the major achievements made in the field of space during the last one year (since November 2013) are given below: (i) Successful launch of India`s first interplanetary spacecraft, Mars Orbiter onboard Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C25 on November 05, 2013 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. On September 24, 2014, India`s Mars Orbiter Spacecraft was successfully placed into an elliptical orbit around planet Mars. (ii) Successful launch of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D5) with an indigenous cryogenic engine & stage on 5th January 2014 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. The GSLV-D5 injected the GSAT-14 Communications Satellite, weighing 1982 kg, into a precise Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit. (iii) Successful launch of Indian navigational satellite IRNSS-1B, the second satellite in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) onboard PSLV-C24 on April 04, 2014 and IRNSS-1C, the third satellite of IRNSS onboard PSLV-C26 on October 16, 2014 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. (iv) PSLV-C23 successfully launched French Earth Observation Satellite SPOT-7 along with four small satellites viz. AISAT (Germany), NLS 7.1 & 7.2 (Canada) and VELOX-1 (Singapore) on June 30, 2014 under commercial arrangements between ANTRIX and the respective foreign agencies. The way in which the above achievements benefits the country are given below: (i) Mars Orbiter Mission has benefitted the country by (1) technological up-gradation of the country in the area of space technology (2) providing excellent opportunities in planetary research for the scientific community of the country and enthuse the younger generation. (ii) GSLV-D5 flight has benefitted the country by achieving self-reliance in launching 2000 kg class communication satellites into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit. GSAT-14 satellite has benefitted the country by augmenting the satellite communication infrastructure in the country with addition of 12 transponders. (iii) IRNSS is a constellation of seven satellites and currently three satellites (IRNSS-1A, 1B & 1C) are in orbit. With the planned completion of constellation, IRNSS will benefit the country by providing positioning services with an absolute position accuracy of better than 20 meters over Indian Land Mass and a region extending to about 1500 Kms around India. (iv) The successful launch of French satellite SPOT-7 along with four other foreign satellites has benefitted the country by enhancing the reliability and commercial prospects of India`s PSLV in the global market. (v) The future space programme to be undertaken by ISRO envisages development of advanced launch vehicle systems including next generation GSLV MkIII, earth observational satellites with improved resolution (Resourcesat-2A, Cartosat-2E, Cartosat-3), advanced communication satellite (GSAT-11, GSAT-15, 16, 17, 18 & 19, GSAT-6), completion of IRNSS constellation (IRNSS-1D,1E,1F & 1G), development of critical technologies for space transportation system and satellites for space science and planetary exploration purposes, including Astrosat, Chandrayaan-2 & Aditya-1

Commercial Application of Space Technology ,

Commercial Application of Space Technology

The achievements of Antrix Corporation Limited in commercial exploitation of space technology during the 11th plan and the on-going 12th plan periods include:                           i.            Launch services for 34 Satellites from 15 Countries on-board ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle.                          ii.            Built and delivered two Communications Satellites for international customers, viz., “W2M” Satellite for M/s. EUTELSAT, Paris; and, “Hylas” Satellite for M/s. Avanti Plc, UK.                        iii.            Built, launched and operationalised a communication satellite (GSAT-7) for strategic users in the country.                       iv.            Leasing of communication transponders of Indian INSAT/ GSAT satellites as well as of foreign satellites for Direct-To-Home television broadcasting, Data Networking, Financial Services, Telephony, etc., to Government, strategic and private users.                          v.            Marketing of data from Indian Remote Sensing satellites (RISAT-1, Resourcesat-2, Oceansat-2, Cartosat-2 and     Cartosat-1) to international customers through establishment of ground stations and data processing facilities, as well as data reseller network.                              vi.            Mission Support Services to Intelsat (USA), CNES, (France) and DLR (Germany) using ISRO’s Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network.                            vii.            Supply of Ground Equipments for tele-education, tele-medicine; Automatic Weather Stations, reception of high-resolution remote sensing data by strategic sector and reception of satellite data for meteorological applications.                          viii.            In terms of revenue, the total revenue during 11th plan was      `3492.53 Crores and during the first two years of 12th plan (2012-14) was ` 1394.13 crores. The Foreign Exchange earned from Commercial Exploitation of Space Technology during the said period, year-wise, is as under: Sl.No. Year Rs.(in lakh) Equivalent of USD (in lakh) Equivalent of EURO (in lakh) 1 2007-2008 12679.57 205.60 8.94 2 2008-2009 14031.38 244.28 24.12 3 2009-2010 13228.97 121.59 59.11 4 2010-2011 8077.64 179.98 40.86 5 2011-2012 3135.54 21.99 6.29 11th Five Year Plan Total 51153.1 773.44 139.32 1 2012-2013 11157.01 39.90 130.97 2 2013-2014 17470.66 55.78 175.98 12th Five Year Plan Total 28627.67 95.68 306.95 Grand Total 79780.77 869.12 446.27 The commercial projects launched by Antrix Corporation Limited (during 11th plan and ongoing 12thplan) in collaboration with global space companies include building and delivery of two Communication Satellites namely (i) “W2M” Satellite for M/s. EUTELSAT, Paris and (ii) “Hylas” Satellite for M/s. Avanti Plc, UK in commercial partnership with M/s. EADS Astrium (presently, Airbus Defence and Space), a leading global aerospace company.

Deepen private sector involvement in education

Deepen private sector involvement in education, says President

The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee attended the 11th Convocation of Symbiosis International University today (November 26, 2014) at Pune. Speaking on the occasion, the President said a sweeping up-gradation of India’s higher education sector calls for deepening of private sector involvement. Leading global universities like Harvard, Yale and Stanford have evolved out of private sector initiative. India’s private sector is engaged in several key areas like health, transport and financial services. In education too, private institutions play an important role as they account for nearly sixty per cent of total enrolment at the tertiary level. Yet at the same time, a disparity exists in the educational standards of the private system. Measures are therefore necessary to ensure better service delivery, benchmarks and excellence. The President said in the past, our seats of higher learning like Nalanda, Takshashila, Vikramashila, Valabhi, Somapura and Odantapuri were global leaders. These universities attracted scholars from round the world. Today, instead, bright Indian students – around two lakh every year – go abroad seeking higher education. It is a matter of introspection as to how we can bring our centres of higher learning back into the fold of leading institutions in the world. The President said high economic growth is central to a developing country like ours as it is a panacea for ills like poverty, deprivation and backwardness. Creation of growth is increasingly happening through knowledge-based sectors. Given that knowledge will spur greater progress in the future, it is critical for us to prepare a pool of skilled and capable manpower by focusing on education. The President said that higher level institutions have a larger role to play in the society. Their engagement with social issues has to be at a much deeper level. Some major initiatives aimed at inclusive development have been launched recently. The Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana envisages the adoption of villages for holistic development and their transformation into model villages for wider replication. He called upon Symbiosis University to take active part in this programme.

Swachhta Udyami Yojana

Swachhta Udyami Yojana

National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC), an Apex Corporation of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, has launched “Swachhta Udyami Yojana” on 2.10.2014. The objective of the Scheme is to provide concessional loan for viable community toilet projects and sanitation related vehicles to collect the garbage, to consolidate the ongoing efforts for realising the objectives of the ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’ launched by Prime Minister on 2nd October, 2014. Under the Scheme, entrepreneurs among safai karmacharis and identified manual scavengers can avail loan upto defined ceiling at concessional rate of interest @ 4% per annum. In case of women beneficiaries, there is a rebate of 1% in the rate of interest charged. No State/ Union Territory wise budget allocations are made under the Scheme as funds are to be provide to the channelizing agencies on the basis of the proposals received from them. National Overseas Scholarship Scheme The National Overseas Scholarship Scheme provides financial assistance to the selected Scheduled Castes, Denotified, Nomadic, Semi Nomadic Tribes, Landless agricultural labourers and traditional artisans’ students for pursuing higher studies for Master level courses and Ph. D abroad in the specified fields of study. The scheme provides for fees charged by Institutions as per actual, monthly maintenance allowances, visa fees, insurance premium, annual contingency allowance, incidental journey allowance etc. The prospective awardees should not be more than 35 years of age. The total number of awards to be given each year is 60 and 30% of awards are earmarked for women candidates. Financial assistance under the scheme is provided for maximum period for 4 years for Ph.D. and 3 years for Master programme. As per the revised scheme which came into effect from the selection year 2013-14: (i) The annual income ceiling for eligibility has been enhanced from Rs. 3 lakh to Rs. 6 lakh. (ii) The number of fresh slots each year has been increased from 30 to 60 (iii) The selection process has been rationalized

Initiatives taken by Ministry of HRD to Enhance Quality of Education in the Country

The Ministry of HRD has taken a number of initiatives including various Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) to enhance quality of education. The details are as under: - The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) conducts detailed periodic national surveys on learning achievement levels of children in classes – III, V and VIII. Three rounds of these National Learners’ Achievement Surveys have been completed by the NCERT over the period from 2002-03 to 2012-2013, which have revealed improvements in the overall learning levels of students. Under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), the State Governments and UT Administrations are supported on interventions to improve the quality of elementary education, including interalia, programmes to improve foundational learning levels in language and mathematics in early primary grades, strengthening science and mathematics teaching-learning at upper primary level and implementation of a system of continuous and comprehensive evaluation system with regular state level learning assessment studies, as well. With regard to Secondary Schools (IX-X) under Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) scheme, one of the objectives is to improve quality while providing access to secondary schools at the same time. Financial support is given to states under RMSA for additional class rooms, science, maths & computer laboratories, libraries, art and crafts room, toilet blocks, drinking water provisions and residential hostels for teachers in remote areas. The University Grants Commission (UGC) has taken various measures for educational reforms, such as the introduction of a semester system, the regular updating of Curricula and Choice Based Credit Systems (CBSC), etc. The UGC has also issued Regulations on “Minimum Qualifications for Appointment of Teachers and other Academic Staff in Universities and Colleges and Measures for the Maintenance of Standards in Higher Education, 2010” for improving the standard of teaching in Indian Universities. The UGC has also issued the Mandatory Assessment and Accreditation of Higher Educational Institutions Regulations, 2012 whereby all eligible higher Educational institutions are required to get themselves accredited. The UGC also implements various schemes aimed at improving the quality of higher education, such as Universities with Potential for Excellence (UPE), Colleges with Potential for Excellence (CPE), Special Assistance Programme (SAP), Assistance for Strengthening of Infrastructure for Science and Technology (ASIST), “Assistance for Strengthening of Infrastructure for Humanities and Social Sciences” (ASIHSS), Basic Scientific Research (BSR) etc. Apart from strengthening the on-going schemes of the Ministry, the following new initiatives have been included in the Budget 2014-15; - i. Setting up of 5 IITs and 5 IIMs ii. Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya National Mission on Teachers’ and Teaching. iii. Setting up of Virtual Classrooms and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) iv. Creation of National e-library. v. Establishing Lok Nayak Jayaprakash National Centre for excellence in humanities in Madhya Pradesh. vi. Provision for toilets and drinking water in all the girls’ schools. vii. Schools Assessment Program. viii. Simplification of norms for education. Educational Infrastructure in the Country During the XII Plan, an outlay of Rs.110700.00 crore has been provided to Department of Higher Education. The XII Plan will build on the momentum generated during the XI Plan and continue the focus on the Three Es’ (Expansion, Equity and Excellence). All three segments have to be expanded to achieve enrolment capacity of 10 million students including One million in open and distance learning by the end of the XII Plan. The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in Higher Education (calculated for the age group of 18-23 years) is 20.4 during 2011-12 (Provisional). The XII Five Year Plan aims to raise the country’s GER to 25.2 by 2017-18 and to reach the target of 30 by 2020-21. As per AISHE [(All India Survey on Higher Education 2012-13 (Provisional)], there were 665 Universities and 35829 colleges having enrolment of 29629022 students.

National Council for Senior Citizens

The Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment has constituted the “National Council of Senior Citizens (NCSrC)” by renaming of the “National Council for Older Persons (NPOP)”.

Mandate: to advise the Central and State Governments on the entire gamut of issues related to the welfare of senior citizens and enhancement of their quality of life, with special reference to the following:-

• Policies, programmes and legislative measures;
• Promotion of physical and financial security, health and independent and productive living; and
• Awareness generation and community mobilization.

The Council is mandated to meet atleast twice a year.

Steps Taken by Govt. to Accelerate Pace of Reduction for MMR to Achieve MDG Goals

Under the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 5, the target is to reduce Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) by three quarters between 1990 & 2015. Based on the UN Inter–Agency Expert Group’s MMR estimates in the publication “Trends in Maternal Mortality: 1990 to 2013", the target for MMR is estimated to be 140 per 1,00,000 live births by the year 2015  taking a baseline of 560 per 100,000 live births in 1990. As per the latest report of the Registrar General of India, Sample Registration System (RGI-SRS), Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of India has shown a decline from 212 per 100,000 live births in the period 2007-09 to 178 per 100,000 live births in the period 2010-12. If the MMR declines at the same pace, India will achieve an MMR of 141 per 100,000 live births which is almost equal to the estimated target of 140 per 100,000 live births under MDG -5 for the MDG. The key steps taken to accelerate the pace of reduction for Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) under the National Health Mission (NHM) for achieving MDG goals are: v  Promotion of institutional deliveries through Janani Suraksha Yojana. v  Capacity building of health care providers in basic and comprehensive obstetric care. v  Operationalization of sub-centres, Primary Health Centres, Community Health Centres and District Hospitals for providing 24x7 basic and comprehensive obstetric care services. v  Name Based Web enabled Tracking of Pregnant Women to ensure antenatal, intranatal and postnatal care. v  Mother and Child Protection Card in collaboration with the Ministry of Women and Child Development to monitor service delivery for mothers and children. v  Antenatal, Intranatal and Postnatal care including Iron and Folic Acid supplementation to pregnant & lactating women for prevention and treatment of anemia. v  Engagement of more than 8.9 lakhs Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) to generate demand and facilitate accessing of health care services by the community. v  Village Health and Nutrition Days in rural areas as an outreach activity, for provision of maternal and child health services. v  Health and nutrition education to promote dietary diversification, inclusion of iron and folate rich food as well as food items that promote iron absorption.  v  Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakaram (JSSK) has been launched on 1st June, 2011, which entitles all pregnant women delivering in public health institutions to absolutely free and no expense delivery including Caesarean section.  The initiative stipulates free drugs, diagnostics, blood and diet, besides free transport from home to institution, between facilities in case of a referral and drop back home.  Similar entitlements have been put in place for all sick infants accessing public health institutions for treatment. v  To sharpen the focus on the low performing districts, 184 High Priority Districts (HPDs) have been prioritized for Reproductive Maternal Newborn Child Health+ Adolescent (RMNCH+A) interventions for achieving improved maternal and child health outcomes.   The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are the world’s time-bound and quantified targets for addressing extreme poverty in its many dimensions-income poverty, hunger, disease, lack of adequate shelter, and exclusion-while promoting gender equality, education, and environmental sustainability. They are also basic human rights-the rights of each person on the planet to health, education, shelter, and security. It is a global partnership, adopted at the millennium summit in 2000 by the UN members, to reduce poverty and achieve other time bound targets, with a deadline of 2015.