ISRO’s GSAT-19, 11 satellites set to be game changers in communications

ISRO’s upcoming endeavours — the GSAT-19 and the GSAT-11 satellites — can revolutionise communications by empowering a digital India

 ISRO’s upcoming endeavours — the GSAT-19 and the GSAT-11 satellites — are potential game changers and can revolutionise communications by empowering a digital India and providing Internet services and streaming like never before.

ISRO is undertaking a mega experiment at India’s rocket port at Sriharikota where a spanking new monster rocket is all set to launch an altogether new class of communications satellite. Tapan Misra, director of the Space Applications Centre, Ahmedabad, where the GSAT-19 satellite has been designed, calls it “a game changer communications satellite for India”. If it succeeds, the single GSAT-19 satellite will be equivalent to having a constellation of 6-7 of the older variety of communication satellites in space. Today, out of a constellation of 41 in-orbit Indian satellites, 13 are communication satellites.

“A truly ‘made in India’ satellite that will empower a digital India that is in the making,” says Misra of GSAT-19. India’s heaviest rocket till date, the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark-III (GSLV Mk-III) that weighs equivalent to the weight of five fully-loaded Boeing Jumbo Jets or as much as 200 fully grown elephants is attracting all the attention!

This is India’s rocket of the future as it will undoubtedly be human rated to carry Indian astronauts likely to be named ‘gaganauts or vyomanauts’. Former ISRO chairman K. Kasturirangan, the man who conceived the GSLV Mk-III, confirms it will be India’s vehicle to ferry Indians into space. On this maiden mission, the GSAT-19 satellite this monster rocket will ferry is in a technological class that has no parallels in the country.

The satellite weighing 3,136kg is equal to the weight of a single elephant being lofted into space, but this novel satellite promises not to be a ‘white elephant in space’. As space experts say rockets are like taxis, it is the passenger who is more important and hence in this forthcoming launch even though all eyes are on the GSLV Mk-III, the real focus should be on the unique passenger which is as Misra emphasises “the country’s first satellite capable of providing Internet services using a space based platform”.

Internet services may not be unleashed immediately but what the country is putting together is a capability in place which is very important especially to connect places that are literally off the fibre optic Internet backbone. At over 3 tons, the GSAT-19 satellite will the heaviest satellite made and to be launched from India and is a voluminous animal. Misra says “by volume it is the most enormous satellite made by India”. The satellite is indeed a test bed for many new technologies. GSAT-19 is going to be powered for the first time with indigenously-made Lithium-ion batteries. These batteries have been made so that India’s self-reliance quotient can increase.

In addition, similar batteries can then be used to power electric vehicles like cars and buses. According to ISRO, the GSAT-19 “carries a Geostationary Radiation Spectrometer (GRASP) payload to monitor and study the nature of charged particles and the influence of space radiation on satellites and their electronic components”. An important experiment to understand how to make space- based components more radiation resistant.

ISRO says GSAT-19 also features certain advanced spacecraft technologies including “miniaturised heat pipe, fibre optic gyro, Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) accelerometer”. These are all important developments being tested so that they become mainstay systems on future missions. The most innovative development on GSAT-19 is that for the first time there will be no transponders on the satellite. In fact, the word ‘transponder’ will not be associated with this new bird in the sky, says Misra. Instead for the first time, ISRO is using a whole new way of beaming data down using multiple frequency beams and hence it is dubbed “a high through put satellite”.

Misra explains that earlier the entire country was lighted with a single beam that meant all users had to share the same band width, with the new suite of technologies on- board GSAT-19 it has eight beams so that data can be pumped down in much higher capacities. Almost 6-7 times more data can be beamed down. GSAT-19 is a fore-runner for the technologies that ISRO seeks to unleash on the country. In fact scientists at ISRO suggest that GSAT-19 is just a trailer, the real movie which is the GSAT-11 satellite will go up in a few months and that is a mighty communications platform.

The GSAT-11 weighs a whopping 5.8 tons and since India still does not possess a space truck big enough to send it in orbit hence it will be launched using the Ariane-5 rocket from Kourou in South America. Don’t get confused by the numbering, in ISRO’s space-time warp sometimes the younger brother can get married before the older brother hence GSAT-19 is lifting off before GSAT-11.

The GSAT-11 is a mega satellite whose panels are the biggest India has ever made at over 4 metre in height, in addition this giant bird will have effectively 32 beams streaming data like never before. “It is not a single satellite but like a constellation of many satellites all working from a single platform and in unison from the sky,” Misra says.Once this satellite hits the orbit satellite-based Internet streaming will become a total reality for India, he says.

In the ever-changing cyber security environment, India urgently needs an all new Internet backbone since New Delhi just can’t rely on optical fibres, copper based telephony and mobile cellular services as an alternative. Today satellite-based Internet services are a robust and secure form of communication. “For a vast country like India, satellite-based communication where voice, data and streaming video all combine on a single platform holds immense potential,” Misra says.

India is today muscling its way into the big boys club of space fairing. ISRO Chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar says it is a huge experiment with an all new vehicle and an all new satellite.

Highlights of initiatives under NITI Aayog

Highlights of initiatives under NITI Aayog

NITI Ayog, The National Institution for Transforming India, was formed via a resolution of the Union Cabinet on January 1, 2015. NITI Ayog has emerged as the premier policy ‘Think Tank’ of the Government of India fostering the spirit of cooperative federalism under the dynamic leadership of  Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. Ever since its inception the institution has taken a series of initiatives aimed at giving a push to the economy and transforming the lives of millions across the country.

Following are the highlights of the initiatives taken by NITI Ayog:

       I.            Vision Document, Strategy & Action Agenda beyond 12^th Five Year Plan: Replacing the Five Year Plans beyond 31^st March, 2017, NITI Aayog is in the process of preparing the 15-year vision document keeping in view the social goals set and/ or proposed for a period of 15 years; A 7-year strategy document spanning 2017-18 to 2023-24 to convert the longer-term vision into implementable policy and action as a part of a “National Development Agenda” is also being worked upon. The 3-year Action Agenda for 2017-18 to 2019-20, aligned to the predictability of financial resources during the 14^th Finance Commission Award period, has been completed and will be submitted before the Hon’ble PM on April 23^rd at the 3^rd Governing Council Meeting

    II.            Reforms in Agriculture:

a. Model Land Leasing Law

Taking note of increasing incidents of leasing in and out of land and suboptimal use of land with lesser number of cultivators, NITI Aayog has formulated a Model Agricultural Land Leasing Act, 2016 to both recognize the rights of the tenant and safeguard interest of landowners. A dedicated cell for land reforms was also set up in NITI. Based on the model act, Madhya Pradesh has enacted separate land leasing law and Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand have modified their land leasing laws. Some States, including Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, are already at an advance stage of formulating legislations to enact their land leasing laws for agriculture.

b. Reforms of the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee Act

NITI Aayog consulted with the States on 21 October 2016 on three critical reforms –

(i)                 Agricultural marketing reforms

(ii)               Felling and transit laws for tree produce grown at private land

(iii)             Agricultural land leasing

Subsequently, Model APMC Act version 2 prepared. States are being consulted to adopt APMC Act version 2.

c. Agricultural Marketing and Farmer Friendly Reforms Index

NITI Aayog has developed the first ever ‘Agriculture Marketing and Farmer Friendly Reforms Index’ to sensitise states about the need to undertake reforms in the three key areas of Agriculture Market Reforms, Land Lease Reforms and Forestry on Private Land (Felling and Transit of Trees). The index carries a score with a minimum value “0” implying no reforms and maximum value “100” implying complete reforms in the selected areas.

As per NITI Aayog’s index, Maharashtra ranks highest in implementation of various agricultural reforms. The State has implemented most of the marketing reforms and offers the best environment for undertaking agri-business among all the States and UTs.  Gujarat ranks second with a score of 71.50 out of 100, closely followed by Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Almost two third States have not been able to reach even the halfway mark of reforms score, in the year 2016-17. The index aims to induce a healthy competition between States and percolate best practices in implementing farmer-friendly reforms.

 III.            Reforming Medical Education

A committee chaired by Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog recommended scrapping of the Medical Council of Indi and suggested a new body for regulating medical education. The draft legislation for the proposed National Medical Commission has been submitted to the Government for further necessary action.

 IV.            Digital Payments Movement:

a.       An action plan on advocacy, awareness and co-ordination of handholding efforts among general public, micro enterprises and other stakeholders was prepared. Appropriate literature in print and multimedia was prepared on the subject for widespread dissemination. Presentations/ interactions were organized by NITI Aayog for training and capacity building of various Ministries/Departments of Government of India, representatives of State/UTs, Trade and Industry Bodies as well as all other stakeholders.    

b.      NITI Aayog also constituted a Committee of Chief Ministers on Digital Payments on 30th November 2016 with Hon’ble Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu, as the Convener to promote transparency, financial inclusion and a healthy financial ecosystem nationwide.  The Committee submitted its interim report to Hon’ble Prime Minister in January 2017.

c.       To incentivize the States/UTs for promotion of digital transactions, Central assistance of Rs. 50 crore would be provided to the districts for undertaking Information, Education and Communication activities to bring 5 crore Jan Dhan accounts to digital platform.

d.      Cashback and referral bonus schemes were launched by Hon'ble Prime Minister on 14.4.2017 to promote the use of digital payments through the BHIM App. 

e.       Niti Aayog also launched two incentive schemes to to promote digital payments across all sections of society - the Lucky Grahak Yojana and the Digi Dhan Vyapar Yojana  –Over 16 lakh consumers and merchants have won Rs. 256 crore under these two schemes .

f.       Digi Dhan Melas were also held for 100 days in 100 cities, from December 25th to April 14th.  

    V.            Atal Innovation Mission: The Government has set up Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) in NITI Aayog with a view to strengthen the country’s innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem by creating institutions and programs that spur innovation in schools, colleges, and entrepreneurs in general. In 2016-17, the following major schemes were rolled out:

a.       Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs): To foster creativity and scientific temper in students, AIM is helping to establish 500 ATLs in schools across India, where students can design and make small prototypes to solve challenges they see around them, using rapid prototyping technologies that have emerged in recent years.

b.      Atal Incubation Centres (AICs): AIM will provide financial support of  Rs.10 crore and capacity buidling for setting AICs across India, which will help startups expand quicker and enable innovation-entrepreneurship, in core sectors such as manufacturing, transport, energy, education, agriculture, water and sanitation, etc.

 VI.            Indices Measuring States’ Performance in Health, Education and Water Management: As part of the Prime Minister’s Focus on outcomes, NITI has come out with indices to measure incremental annual outcomes in critical social sectors like health, education and water with a view to nudge the states into competing with each other for better outcomes, while at the same time sharing best practices & innovations to help each other - an example of competitive and cooperative federalism..

VII.            Sub-Group of Chief Ministers on Rationalization of Centrally Sponsored Schemes: Based on the recommendations of this Sub-Group, a Cabinet note was prepared by NITI Aayog which was approved by the Cabinet on 3^rd August, 2016. Among several key decision, the sub-group led to the rationalization of the existing CSSs into 28 umbrella schemes.

VIII.            Sub-Group of Chief Ministers on Swachh Bharat Abhiyan: Constituted by NITI Aayog on 9^th March, 2015, the Sub-Group has submitted its report to the Hon’ble Prime Minister in October, 2015 and most of its recommendations have been accepted.

 IX.            Sub-Group of Chief Ministers on Skill Development: Constituted on 9^th March, 2015, the report of the Sub-Group of Chief Ministers on Skill Development was presented before the Hon’ble Prime Minister on 31/12/2015. The recommendation and actionable points emerging from the Report were approved by the Hon’ble Prime Minister and are in implementation by the Ministry of Skill Development

    X.            Task Force on Elimination of Poverty in India: Constituted on 16^th March, 2015 under the Chairmanship of Dr. Arvind Panagariya, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, the report of the Task Force was finalized and submitted to Hon’ble Prime Minister on 11^th July, 2016. The report of the Task Force primarily focusses on issues of measurement of poverty and strategies to combat poverty. Regarding estimation of poverty, the report of the Task Force states that “a consensus in favour of either the Tendulkar or a higher poverty line did not emerge. Therefore, the Task Force has concluded that the matter be considered in greater depth by the country’s top experts on poverty before a final decision is made. Accordingly, it is recommended that an expert committee be set up to arrive at an informed decision on the level at which the poverty line should be set.” With respect to strategies to combat poverty, the Task Force has made recommendations on faster poverty reduction through employment intensive sustained rapid growth and effective implementation of anti-poverty programs.

 XI.            Task Force on Agriculture Development: The Task Force on Agricultural development was constituted on 16th March, 2015 under the Chairmanship of Dr. Arvind Panagariya, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog. The Task Force based on its works prepared an occasional paper entitled “Raising Agricultural Productivity and Making Farming Remunerative for Farmers” focusing on 5 critical areas of Indian Agriculture. These are (i) Raising Productivity, (ii) Remunerative  Prices to Farmers, (iii) Land Leasing, Land Records  & Land Titles; (iv) Second Green Revolution-Focus on Eastern States; and (v) Responding to Farmers’ Distress. After taking inputs of all the States on occasional paper and through their reports, the Task Force submitted the final report to Prime Minister on 31st May, 2016. It has suggested  important policy measures to bring in reforms in agriculture for the welfare of the farmers as well as enhancing their income.

XII.            Transforming India Lecture Series:  As the government’s premier think-tank, NITI Aayog views knowledge building & transfer as the enabler of real transformation in States. To build knowledge systems for States and the Centre, NITI Aayog launched the ‘NITI Lectures: Transforming India’ series, with full support of the Prime Minister on 26^th August 2016. The lecture series is aimed at addressing the top policy making team of the Government of India, including members of the cabinet and several top layers of the bureaucracy. It aims is to bring cutting edge ideas in development policy to Indian policy makers and public, so as to promote the cause of transformation of India into a prosperous modern economy. The Hon’ble Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore, Shri Tharman Shanmugaratnam, delivered the first lecture on the topic: India and the Global Economy. On November 16^th, 2016, Bill Gates, Co-Founder, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, delivered the second lecture in the series under the theme: 'Technology and Transformation'.

Great achievement,congratulations for great career.Your politeness,sincerity,and hard work had resulted in such high rank (52)

Great achievement,congratulations for great career.Your politeness,sincerity,and hard work had resulted in such high rank (52)

Shame of debt, steep costs driving farmers to suicide: RBI-commissioned study

The RBI-commissioned study listed faulty crop choices and aspirational consumption patterns as other major factors leading farmers to commit suicide

The study observed that close to 270,000 farmers have committed suicide in the past 15 years.

Shame arising out of inability to repay loans taken from relatives and acquaintances is a key reason for farmers resorting to suicide, a study commissioned by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) found.

The study titled “Lives in debt: narratives of agrarian distress and farmer suicides”, conducted by researchers at Shiv Nadar University and published in the latest issue of Economic and Political Weekly, listed faulty crop choices, rising input costs, and aspirational consumption patterns as other major factors driving suicides, following field investigations in two of the most suicide-prone districts in India—Yavatmal in Maharashtra and Sangrur in Punjab.

The findings come at a time when a farm debt waiver in Uttar Pradesh has sparked demand for similar relief in these two states. In Punjab, despite a record harvest, farmer suicides have continued.

Despite formal credit to farmers growing tenfold between 2001 and 2012, commercial banks have “deepened” credit instead of “widening” it, making loans more accessible to farmers with large landholdings, the study said, adding that “it (the surge in formal credit) was insufficient to rule out the predominance of non-institutional sources”.

Citing data from the National Crime Records Bureau, the study observed that close to 270,000 farmers have committed suicide in the past 15 years, and despite wide differences in cropping patterns and access to irrigation, the crisis in farming is strikingly similar in districts like Yavatmal (rain-fed cotton belt) and Sangrur (irrigated region growing three crops in a year).

In Yavatmal, the survey showed that small and marginal farmers (owning less than 2 hectares) who lacked non-farm sources of income were most likely to commit suicide.

“The shame associated with one’s inability to repay is immense in a village society and it is all the more acute if money is borrowed from relatives,” the study observed.

In Sangrur, the study found that most families where a farmer suicide took place had outstanding debts over Rs200,000. Many families were indebted to traders and commission agents and had exhausted all formal credit channels, the study found.

It further said that crop choices in these districts were not in tune with the agro-climatic features of the region. Cultivation of Bt cotton in Yavatmal where rainfall is unpredictable and growing rice in Sangrur where water tables are depleting has put farmers under considerable stress, according to the study.

The researchers observed that a Bt cotton farmer is barely able to meet the rising costs of cultivation, let alone generate a profit sufficient to sustain the household. In Punjab, a highly input-intensive farming and low support prices that did not keep pace with production costs have meant little surplus left with farmers to repay loans.

While consumption expenditure of small farmers usually exceeds their income from farming, the mismatch is higher in Punjab, the study said, adding the state tops in purchase of consumer durables often financed by loans form non-institutional sources.

Due to massive defaults caused by repeated crop failures, “the most frightening point emerging from the field study is the exhausting of informal sources of credit” leading to a situation where moneylenders prefer buying out assets of farmers than mortgaging them, the study said.

It suggested several interventions, including discouraging loans to crops not suited to the ecology of a region, restructuring of loans into smaller instalments, and introduction of cashless loan components to avoid diversion of loans towards consumption expenditure, as possible measures to curb suicides.

Criticising the pitifully low public expenditure on agriculture (less than 1% of the GDP), the study said “an economy driven by jobless growth, compulsive migration” (from rural India) creates new “serfs” in informal services and construction, “while existing rural and agrarian problems remain unresolved”.

Environment ministry panel defers clearance to 600 MW Tawang power project

Environment ministry’s forest panel defers clearance to the 600 MW Tawang hydroelectric project, noting that it could severely hit the biodiversity in the region

Representational image. The Arunachal Pradesh government had sought a diversion of 187.20 hectare of forest land for construction of the Tawang hydroelectric project stage-I (600 MW) on Tawang Chu River in Tawang district by the NHP

The expert forest panel of the environment ministry has deferred clearance to the 600 megawatt (MW) Tawang hydroelectric project in Arunachal Pradesh until a study is conducted on it, noting that the location is a vital wintering ground of the black necked crane, an endangered species, and other birds.

The decision came at a 16 May meeting of the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) of the ministry of environment, forest and climate change (MoEFCC). 

The Arunachal Pradesh government had sought a diversion of 187.20 hectare of forest land for construction of the Tawang hydroelectric project stage-I (600 MW) on Tawang Chu River in Tawang district by the NHPC Ltd.

The project, whose estimated cost is about Rs4,824 crore, would also result in about 200,000 trees being felled. The trees include threatened plant species.

“FAC after thorough deliberation observed that BNHS (Bombay Natural History Society) had represented to the members of FAC that Tawang valley in Arunachal Pradesh is very high in biodiversity having several critically endangered species as well as several endemics. The particular location of the project is also vital wintering ground of Black Necked Crane,” noted the minutes of FAC’s meeting, which were reviewed by Mint.

Black Necked Crane, an endangered bird, is a protected bird under India’s the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. It is also counted as a ‘vulnerable’ species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), an international NGO working on environment and conservation issues. 

“These birds require quality wetlands. The proposed project (even if it is river run off project) has an ability to significantly alter the wetland characteristics thereby significantly affecting habitat of Black Necked Crane and in worst case scenario losing one of the finest wintering habitat of the species,” FAC held.

The expert committee also noted that the proposed area has been identified as an important birding area by BNHS.

“The view point of BNHS was taken into consideration and same was discussed with user agency. After detailed deliberation and discussion with user agency it is recommended that a study in this regards shall be conducted through Wildlife Institute Dehradun at the cost of user agency. The case shall be deferred till the study is conducted,” said FAC.

Not just birds, the area is also home to important animals like barking deer, sambar, wild yak, serow, goral, wild boar, red panda, clouded leopard, snow leopard and musk deer.

The project is among the 11 proposed hydropower projects totalling 2802.20 MW capacity in the ecologically sensitive Tawang River Basin (TRB) in Arunachal Pradesh. This particular project had first come to FAC in 2011 but has been pending since then for varied reasons.

Harnessing of hydro power potential has been on top of the central government’s agenda for nearly a decade now. The government wants to establish prior user rights on rivers that originate in China and fast-track overall development of north-east India.

As per official estimates, north-east India has a hydropower potential of about 65,000 MW and of that nearly 50,000 MW is in Arunachal Pradesh, which is claimed by China in almost its entirety.

But environmentalists have repeatedly opposed such large-scale projects, saying that they could severely hit the biodiversity-rich north-eastern region, resulting in irreversible environmental damage.

“Arunachal Pradesh is the richest biodiversity area in whole of India. But the destruction has already started and is getting faster now. Whatever little dissent people have expressed has been squashed,” said ornithologist Bikram Grewal. “They (government) are pushing everything in name of national security, defence and progress...Sadly it is anything but progress. If conservationists can stand their ground it will be a major achievement. But this seems difficult at the moment.

ISRO braces to tame GSLV Mark-III that could launch Indians into space

The Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk- III) is heaviest rocket ever made by India that is capable of carrying the heaviest satellites till now

An indigenous rocket as heavy as 200 full-grown Asian elephants could well be the one taking “Indians into space from Indian soil” as the country inches closer to joining the big boy’s space club.

Standing tall on the rocket port at Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh is the country’s latest rocket called the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mk- III), the heaviest rocket ever made by India that is capable of carrying the heaviest satellites till now.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) enters into a bold new world muscling its way to make its mark in the world’s heavy weight multi-billion dollar launch market. “We are pushing ourselves to the limits to ensure that this new fully self-reliant Indian rocket succeeds in its maiden launch,” ISRO chairman A S Kiran Kumar said. It is the maiden experimental launch of GSLV-Mk III earlier named Launch Vehicle Mark-3, but if all goes on well in a decade or after a slew of at least half a dozen successful launches, this rocket could be India’s vehicle of choice to launch “Indians into space, from Indian soil using Indian rockets”.

This heavy lift rocket is capable of placing up to 8 tons in a low Earth orbit, enough to carry India’s crew module. ISRO has already prepared plans of hoisting a 2-3 member human crew into space as soon as the government gives it a sanction of about 3-4 billion dollars. If the human venture materialises, India would become only the fourth country after Russia, the US and China to have a human space flight program. Incidentally ISRO asserts the first Indian to go into space could well be a woman! “In principle, it will be the GSLV Mk-3 or its variant that will be human rated in future,” Kumar confirms.

In the intense pre-monsoon heat, India’s rocket port is buzzing with feverish activity as engineers from the Indian space agency get set to launch an all new indigenously-made rocket. It is the heaviest fully-functional rocket to reach the launch pad weighing 640 tons or almost 5 times the weight of a fully loaded Jumbo Jet airplane.

The new rocket is capable of carrying satellites of four ton class into the geosynchronous orbit and opens a whole new window through which ISRO can now explore the universe. It is estimated that the new rocket costs a whopping Rs 300 crore but the country would end up saving almost as much when an Indian launcher is used to place New Delhi’s communication satellites.

Today India uses the French Ariane-5 rocket launched from Kourou in South America to place its heavy 4 ton class of communication satellites. Kumar asserts that the GSLV-Mk III is a rocket designed and made in India from scratch and hence engineers from ISRO are very keen to tame this new monster in its very first attempt. Not an easy task, since India’s track record suggests that maiden launches of its rockets often end up in failure.

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) failed on its maiden launch in 1993 and since then it has had 38 consecutively successful launches and the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mk-1 (GSLV Mk-1) failed in 2001 and since then it has 11 launches with half of them successful. Space fairing is a very risky business and all nations the US, France and Japan and even the new private companies have had failures in recent times like the spectacular Falcon-9 rocket in 2016. Hopefully, the GSLV-Mk III will break that jinx. India already has two operational rockets—the workhorse PSLV that can hoist satellites of 1.5 tons into space and was the preferred vehicle for India’s maiden mission to Moon and Mars.

The second— the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark II can hoist 2 ton class of satellites and because of its repeated failures it was dubbed ‘the naughty boy of ISRO’. Between them, ISRO has done 50 launches and recently even earned a world record by successfully placing 104 satellites in orbit.

The new GSLV-Mk III is an all new vehicle designed and developed in India and in 2014 a sub-orbital successful test of this vehicle was conducted to understand how it performs in the atmosphere. The rocket never went into space but helped test India’s future astronaut capsule. It had a dummy cryogenic engine and was a single stage vehicle. Even though the GSLV-Mk III is 43-m-tall, making it the shortest of the three big Indian rockets, it carries a huge punch as it weighs almost 1.5 times heavier than India’s next biggest rocket the GSLV Mk-2 and almost twice as heavy as India’s PSLV. This monster rocket has an elegant design and is capable of carrying loads equal to the weight of two sports utility vehicles or SUVs into space.

The massive first stage along with strap-on boosters weighs 610 tons and comprises multiple engines all firing nearly simultaneously. It is the second stage which is all together a new animal for this mammoth rocket, it is a novel Indian cryogenic engine that weighs about 30 tons.

The new cryogenic engine is being tested on a fully functional rocket for the first time and it is the development of this technology that uses liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as propellant is what took more than 15 years for Indians to master. There is a lot of excitement at the rocket port as Kumar says “a whole new rocket and an entirely new class of a high through put satellite system is all set to be launched”

Great Barrier Reef bleaching worse than first thought

Great Barrier Reef suffered its most severe bleaching on record last year due to warming sea temperatures during March and April

Coral bleaching on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is worse than first thought and the impact will accelerate unless global greenhouse gas emissions are cut, scientists said Monday.

The 2,300-km (1,400-mile) World Heritage-listed reef suffered its most severe bleaching on record last year due to warming sea temperatures during March and April.

Initial aerial and in-water surveys showed 22% of shallow water corals were destroyed in 2016, but it has now been bumped up to 29% and with the reef currently experiencing an unprecedented second straight year of bleaching, the outlook is grim.

“We’re very concerned about what this means for the Great Barrier Reef itself and what it means for the communities and industries that depend on it,” Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA) chairman Russell Reichelt said.

“The amount of coral that died from bleaching in 2016 is up from our original estimates and, at this stage, although reports are still being finalised, it’s expected we’ll also see an overall further coral cover decline by the end of 2017.”

Bleaching, which occurs when abnormal conditions such as warmer sea temperatures cause corals to expel tiny photosynthetic algae, draining them of their colour, also extended to deeper corals beyond depths divers can typically survey.

But mortality of those reefs could not be systematically assessed.

The most severely impacted region was an area north of the popular tourist town Port Douglas, where an estimated 70% of shallow water corals have died.

Cairns and Townsville, also hugely popular tourist destinations, are among the regions hardest-hit from the 2017 bleaching event, although southern parts of the natural wonder escaped the worst.

Corals can recover if the water temperature drops and the algae are able to recolonise them, but it can take a decade. The reef is already under pressure from farming run-off, development and the crown-of-thorns starfish, with the problems compounded this year by powerful cyclone pummelling the area.

Reichelt said the storm impacted a quarter of the reef but a complete picture for 2017 would not be available until next year. The GBRMPA hosted a summit last week of more than 70 of the world’s leading marine experts to work on a blueprint on how best to respond to the threats.

Among options explored was developing coral nurseries, strategies to boost culling of crown-of-thorns starfish, expanding monitoring systems and identifying priority sites for coral restoration.

Key to the talks was the need to slash greenhouse gas emissions to prevent warming sea temperatures.

“The Great Barrier Reef is a large and resilient system that’s previously shown its capacity to bounce back, however the current changes are undermining the resilience of the reef,” said Reichelt. “Summit participants voiced their strong concern about the need for global action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the driver of climate change.”

The world’s nations agreed in Paris in 2015 to limit average warming to two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) over pre-industrial levels, by curbing fossil fuel burning.