Category Archives: Business & Economy

NATIONAL: SCIENCE, ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY: DEFENCE: India Successfully Test-Fires Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile

The system is now ready for induction into the Army, the DRDO said in a statement

India has successfully completed six flight-tests of the Quick Reaction Surface-to-Air Missile (QRSAM) system from the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur off the Odisha coast, as part of evaluation trials by the Army, the DRDO said on Thursday.

The flight-tests were carried out against high-speed aerial targets mimicking various types of threats to evaluate the capability of the weapon systems under different scenarios, it said.

“During these tests, all the mission objectives were met establishing pin-point accuracy of the weapon system with state-of-the-art guidance and control algorithms, including warhead chain,” the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) said in a statement.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: INDIA RECORDS: PM Modi Inaugurates ‘Kartavya Path’, Unveils 28-ft-tall Netaji Bose Statue at India Gate

PM takes a walk around Kartavya Path.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday Inaugurated the newly-christened Kartavya Path — a stretch from Rashtrapati Bhavan to India Gate, and unveiled a 28-ft-tall statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose at India Gate. The PM also took a walk around the Kartavya Path.

According to the government, it symbolises a shift from erstwhile Rajpath being an icon of power to Kartavya Path being an example of public ownership and empowerment.

These steps are in line with the prime minister’s second ‘Panch Pran’ for New India in Amrit Kaal: ‘remove any trace of colonial mindset’, it said

The statue is part of the Centre’s ₹13,450-crore Central Vista project, which will have a new Parliament building, new office and residences for the Prime Minister and Vice-President and new ministry buildings. The North and South Blocks, the secretariat buildings flanking Rashtrapati Bhavan, will be converted into museums.

The black granite statue has been carved from a monolithic block of granite weighing 280 metric tonne. The block of granite picked for the statue was transported to Delhi from Telangana and the statue was carved out of it in over two months.

The traffic police made arrangements to ensure smooth vehicular movement in central Delhi where restrictions were imposed for the event. General traffic movement has been diverted from specific roads from 6 pm to 9 pm, officials said.

The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has replaced the erstwhile Rajpath signages with new signboards of ‘Kartavya Path’. On Wednesday, the NDMC had approved a proposal to rename Rajpath as ‘Kartavya Path’.

Shapoorji Pallonji and Company Limited has executed the redevelopment of the entire stretch from Vijay Chowk to India Gate. The project was tendered at ₹477 crore.

The CPWD has set up five vending zones where 40 vendors each will be allowed and two blocks near the India Gate with eight shops each. Some states have shown their interest to set up their food stalls.

The entire stretch has been revamped under the Modi government’s ambitious Central Vista redevelopment project.

In a statement, the prime minister’s office said over the years, Rajpath and adjoining areas of the Central Vista Avenue had been witnessing pressure of increasing traffic of visitors, putting stress on its infrastructure.

It lacked basic amenities like public toilets, drinking water, street furniture and adequate parking space. Further, there was inadequate signage, poor maintenance of water features and haphazard parking.

Also, a need was felt to organise the Republic Day parade and other national events in a less disruptive manner with minimal restrictions on public movement.

“The redevelopment has been done bearing these concerns in mind while also ensuring the integrity and continuity of architectural character,” the statement said.

(With inputs from PTI)

source/contents: thehindu.com (headline edited)

GLOBAL: INDIA’s GLOBAL HUMAN RESOURCES: Starbucks Taps Indian-born Laxman Narasimhan as its next CEO, Twitter erupts with memes

Starbucks on Thursday (September 1) named Indian-born Laxman Narasimhan its next Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Narasimhan currently heads the health and hygiene company Reckitt, from where he announced his departure earlier in the day. 

“Starbuck’s commitment to uplift humanity through connection and compassion has long distinguished the company, building an unrivalled, globally admired brand that has transformed the way we connect over coffee,” Narasimhan said after the announcement. 

Narasimhan is now joining the growing ranks of Indian-descent CEOs heading leading US corporate giants. The list goes…Satya Nadella of Microsoft, Sundar Pichai of Alphabet, Shantanu Narayen of Adobe, Punit Renjen of Deloitte and Raj Subramaniam of FedEx. 

With the announcement, a meme fest also erupted with people on social media platforms posting how Starbuck could become a little desi now. 

Laxman Narasimhan studied mechanical engineering at the University of Pune and then he headed west, picking up the Masters in German and International Studies from The Lauder Institute at The University of Pennsylvania and an MBA in Finance from The Wharton School of The University of Pennsylvania. 

Reports have mentioned that Narasimhan will join Starbucks in October. Although, he will take the helm in April 2023, after spending a few months learning about the company and its “Reinvention” plan. 

It is learned that the new plans include paying better wages for baristas, improving employee welfare and customer experience and re-imagining stores. 

source/content: wionews.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL RECORDS: HEALTH & MEDICAL SCIENCES / COVID-19: Bharat Biotech’s Recombinant Nasal Covid Vaccine gets Emergency Use Approval by Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) for Primary Immunisation

Bharat Biotech’s recombinant nasal vaccine for COVID-19 has been approved by Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) for primary immunization against COVID-19 in 18+ age group for restricted use in emergency situation, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya tweeted on Tuesday.

“Big Boost to India’s Fight Against COVID-19! Bharat Biotech’s ChAd36-SARS-CoV-S COVID-19 (Chimpanzee Adenovirus Vectored) recombinant nasal vaccine approved by @CDSCO_INDIA_INF for primary immunization against COVID-19 in 18+ age group for restricted use in emergency situation,” Mr. Mandaviya tweeted.

This is the first intranasal vaccine for COVID-19 in the country.

The Minister further tweeted that this step will strengthen our collective fight against the pandemic. “India has harnessed its science, research and development, and human resources in the fight against COVID-19 under PM Narendra Modi’s leadership. With the science-driven approach and Sabka Prayas, we will defeat COVID-19.’’

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY / SPACE: Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (IAD): ISRO’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) Demonstrates New Tech that can be used for its Mars, Venus Missions

An IAD, designed and developed by ISRO’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), was successfully test flown in a ‘Rohini’ sounding rocket from Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS).

 ISRO on Saturday successfully demonstrated a new technology with Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (IAD) that it said is a game-changer with multiple applications for future missions including to Mars and Venus.

An IAD, designed and developed by ISRO’s Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), was successfully test flown in a ‘Rohini’ sounding rocket from Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS).

The IAD was initially folded and kept inside the payload bay of the rocket, according to the Bengaluru-headquartered Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

At around 84 km altitude, the IAD was inflated and it descended through atmosphere with the payload part of sounding rocket.

The pneumatic system for inflation was developed by ISRO’s Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), it said.

The IAD has systematically reduced the velocity of the payload through aerodynamic drag and followed the predicted trajectory.

“This is the first time that an IAD is designed specifically for spent stage recovery. All the objectives of the mission were successfully demonstrated”, the space agency said in a statement.

“The IAD has huge potential in variety of space applications like recovery of spent stages of rocket, for landing payloads on to Mars or Venus and in making space habitat for human space flight missions”, it said.

Rohini sounding rockets are routinely used for flight demonstration of new technologies being developed by ISRO as well as by scientists from India and abroad.

In Saturday’s flight, along with IAD new elements like micro video imaging system which captured the bloom and flight of IAD, a miniature software defined radio telemetry transmitter, MEMS (Micro-electromechanical systems)-based acoustic sensor and a host of new methodologies were flight tested successfully, ISRO said.

“These will be inducted later to the major missions. Sounding rockets offers an exciting platform for experimentation in upper atmosphere”, it said.

“This demonstration opens a gateway for cost-effective spent stage recovery using the Inflatable Aerodynamics Decelerator technology and this IAD technology can also be used in ISRO’s future missions to Venus and Mars” said ISRO Chairman S Somanath, who witnessed the launch.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

GLOBAL RECORDS: India Overtakes the U.K. to become Fifth Largest Economy in the World according to IMF projections

With India being the world’s fastest growing major economy, its lead over the U.K will widen in the next few years.

India has overtaken the U.K. to become the world’s fifth-largest economy and is now behind only the US, China, Japan and Germany, according to IMF projections.

A decade back, India was ranked 11th among the large economies while the U.K. was at the fifth position.

With record beating expansion in the April-June quarter, the Indian economy has now overtaken the U.K., which has slipped to the sixth spot.

The assumption of India overtaking the U.K. is based on calculations by Bloomberg using the IMF database and historic exchange rates on its terminal.

“On an adjusted basis and using the dollar exchange rate on the last day of the relevant quarter, the size of the Indian economy in ‘nominal’ cash terms in the quarter through March was $854.7 billion. On the same basis, the U.K. was $816 billion,” stated a Bloomberg report.

With India being the world’s fastest growing major economy, its lead over the U.K. will widen in the next few years.

“Proud moment for India to pip the U.K., our colonial ruler, as the 5th largest economy: India $3.5 trillion vs UK $3.2 trillion. But a reality check of population denominator: India: 1.4 billion vs UK 0.068 billion. Hence, per capita GDP we at $2,500 vs $47,000. We have miles to go… Let’s be at it!,” Uday Kotak, CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank, said in a tweet.

India has a population 20 times that of the U.K. and so its GDP per capita is lower.

“We just became the 5th largest #economy in the world, surpassing the U.K.!,” tweeted Anil Agarwal, chairman of mining giant Vedanta group. “What an impressive milestone for our rapidly growing Indian economy… In a few years, we will be in Top 3!”

India’s GDP expanded 13.5% in the April-June quarter, the quickest pace in a year, to retain the world’s fastest growing economy tag but rising interest costs and the looming threat of a recession in major world economies could slow the momentum in the coming quarters.

Gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 13.5% year-on-year compares to a 20.1% expansion a year back and 4.09% growth in the previous three months to March, according to official data released earlier this week.

The growth, though lower than the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) estimate of 16.2%, was fuelled by consumption and signalled a revival of domestic demand, particularly in the services sector.

Pent-up demand is driving consumption as consumers, after two years of pandemic restrictions, are stepping out and spending. The services sector has seen a strong bounce back that will get a boost from the festival season next month.

But the slowing growth of the manufacturing sector at 4.8% is an area of worry. Also, imports being higher than exports is a matter of concern.

Additionally, an uneven monsoon is likely to weigh upon agriculture growth and rural demand.

The GDP print will, however, allow the RBI to focus on controlling inflation, which has stayed above the comfort zone of 6% for seven straight months.

The central bank has raised the benchmark policy rate by 140 basis points in three installments since May and has vowed to do more to bring inflation under control.

Besides tighter monetary conditions, Asia’s third-largest economy faces headwinds from higher energy and commodity prices that are likely to weigh on consumer demand and companies’ investment plans.

Also, consumer spending, which accounts for nearly 55% of economic activity, has been hit hard by soaring food and fuel prices.

The GDP growth in the first quarter of the current fiscal was higher than China’s 0.4% expansion in April-June.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

INDIA RECORDS: SCIENCE, ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY: DEFENCE: ‘INS Vikrant’ India’s First Indigenous Aircraft Carrier, a complex Warship is a Unique Reflection of India becoming self-reliant, says PM Modi

“INS Vikrant is not a mere war machine but proof of India’s skill and talent. It is special, different” , said Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Security concerns in the Indo-Pacific region and the Indian Ocean had long been ignored, but today this area is a major defence priority of the country, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 2, 2022 as he commissioned INS Vikrant, the country’s first indigenous aircraft carrier and the most complex warship ever built.

“Vikrant is a unique reflection of India becoming self-reliant,” he said, adding that his government is working in every direction, from increasing the budget for the Indian Navy to increasing its capability.

The ship is christened after India’s first aircraft carrier Vikrant, which played a vital role in the 1971 war.

From 2013 to 2017, the Navy had fielded two aircraft carriers – the erstwhile Viraat acquired from U.K. and the INS Vikramaditya from Russia which is currently in service. Once Vikrant becomes fully operational, Indian Navy will once again be able to deploy two full-fledged carrier groups significantly expanding its footprint across the Indo-Pacific.

“So far, such aircraft carriers were only made by developed countries. India has taken a step towards being a developed country by being part of the league,” said Mr. Modi speaking at the formal commissioning ceremony which saw the presence of several naval veterans who commanded and served on the erstwhile Vikrant. Envoys and Defence Attaches of few countries were also present at the ceremony including Australian High Commissioner Barry O’Farrell, British High Commissioner Alex Ellis and Russian Ambassador Denis Alipov.

Terming INS Vikrant as huge,the ceremony massive , vast, distinguished and also very special, Mr. Modi said itis not just a warship but a testament to the hard work, talent, influence and commitment of India in the 21st century. “If the goals are distant, the journeys are long, the ocean and the challenges are endless – then India’s answer is Vikrant.”

The Commanding Officer, Capt Vidhyadhar Harke, read the commissioning warrant and the  nishaan (ensign) was hoisted as the national anthem was played followed by the breaking of the commissioning pendent. INS Vikrant adorned the new ensign with effect from its commissioning.

The ship with a displacement of 42,800 tonnes was designed by the Navy’s Warship Design Bureau (WDB) and built by Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL), a public sector shipyard under Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterway.

In line with the prevailing practice globally among carrier-operating nations,the aviation trials are expected to commence by November and expected to continue till mid-2023. Officials had stated that the carrieris expected to be fully operational by end of next year.

The ship would be capable of operating an air wing of 30 aircraft comprising MiG-29K fighter jets, Kamov-31 early warning helicopters, and MH-60R multi-role helicopters, in addition to indigenously manufactured Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) and Light Combat Aircraft (LCA-Navy).

Fighter aircraft are launched using the Short Take Off But Arrested Recovery (STOBAR) method and INS Vikrant is equipped with a ski-jump for launching aircraft, and a set of three ‘arrester wires’ for their recovery onboard.

The Navy is expected to soon finalise procurement of another carrier-based fighter, between the Boeing F/A-18 E/F Super Hornet and Dassault Aviation Rafale, to operate off its carriers till the indigenous under-development Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter (TEDBF) is available.

The 26,000 tonnes of steel that INS Vikrant is made of is warship-grade, produced for the first time in the country by Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), in collaboration with Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) and the Navy. The steel is now being used in the construction of all warships in the country.

Steel cutting began in April 2005, ship’s keel was laid in February 2009 and it was launched into water in August 2013. The 262m long and 62m wide INS Vikrant is powered by four General Electric LM 2500 engines which give it a maximum speed of 28 Knots and endurance of 7500 NM, which means she can make a voyage from Kochi to Brazil without refuelling.

The ship has around 2,200 compartments, designed for a crew of around 1,600 that include specialised cabins to accommodate women officers and sailors.

Vikrant is the first ship in the Navy and the country which has a 64 slice CT scan machine onboard, in addition to ultrasound and digital X-ray machines and two purpose-built operation theatres.The ship’s reverse osmosis plants produce over four lakh litres of water every day.

The carrier has a large number of indigenous equipment and machinery and the indigenisation efforts have also led to development of ancillary industries, besides generation of employment opportunities for 2,000 CSL staff and about 13,000 employees in ancillary industries.

Globally, there is renewed push by major powers to deploy aircraft carriers despite the growing threats to big surface platforms from missiles and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). While the U.S. is fielding new generation of super carriers, U.K. has fielded new carriers while Japan is converting its helicopter carriers to operate F-35 fighter jets. China which is on a massive maritime modernisation spree, presently operates two carriers, and has launched a third carrier, Fujian, into water in June this year.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

INDIA RECORDS: SCIENCE, ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY: INNOVATION: Border Security Force (BSF) Develops Indigenously Designed and Manufactured ‘Drone-based Tear Smoke Launcher’ for Riot Control

A BSF official said the technology will help in dropping multiple grenades at a time at accurate location.

In a first, the Border Security Force (BSF) has developed a drone-based tear smoke launcher to control riots and other crowd control situations.

The BSF said in a statement on Friday that its tear smoke unit (TSU) in Tekanpur, Gwalior has developed a ‘Drone Tear Smoke Launcher’ for dropping munitions from unmanned aerial vehicles/drones which will be a potential force multiplier to the security forces in law-and-order management.

A BSF official said the technology will help in dropping multiple grenades at a time at accurate location.

“The chances of injuries from debris of the launched grenades will be minimal. The user can drop the grenades at a precise location, unlike the ones fired manually from a gun,” said a BSF official.

The 42nd Annual Governing Body Meeting of the unit was held on Friday under the Chairmanship of Pankaj Kumar Singh, Director General, BSF.

Mr. Singh said that TSU is effectively producing and supplying anti-riot tear smoke munitions to all police forces in India for managing law-and-order situation. He said that indigenous production of non-lethal munitions by TSU has reduced the country’s dependence on foreign munition.

“Timely and effective utilisation of the TSU munitions have saved valuable human lives and public assets worth crores,” the BSF said.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

INDIA RECORDS: HEALTH & MEDICAL SERVICES, VACCINE, RESEARCH: India’s First HPV Vaccine Against Cervical Cancer

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, all women are at risk for cervical cancer. It occurs most often in women over age 30.

The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) on Thursday announced the scientific completion of India’s first locally made quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine (qHPV) against cervical cancer.

The cervical cancer vaccine, Quadrivalent Human Papillomavirus vaccine (qHPV), is developed by the Serum Institute of India (SII) and the Department of Biotechnology(DBT).

According to Dr N K Arora, Chairperson of the COVID working group, National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI) said it is an exciting experience to launch a made-in-India vaccine.

“It is very exciting and I must say it makes us very happy that our daughters and granddaughters will now be able to get this much-awaited vaccine”.

“In fact, this is one of the last major vaccines to be introduced. In fact, this is one of the last vaccines that will be launched in the programme. Now, Indian vaccines will be available and we hope that it will be launched in the National Immunisation.

“It is very effective and prevents cervical cancer because, 85% to 90% of cases, cervical cancer is because of this particular virus and this vaccine is against those viruses. So, if we give it to our young children and daughters, they are protected from the infection and consequently probably 30 years later, cancer does not occur,” Dr Arora further explained.

“There was a shortage in the global market. Now Indian vaccine has come. So, we will be able to take care of our requirements within our made-in-India vaccine,” he said.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) data, 41, 91,000 women have died due to cervical cancer in India since 2019.

What is cervical cancer?

When cancer starts in the cervix, it is called cervical cancer. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, all women are at risk for cervical cancer. It occurs most often in women over age 30. Long-lasting infection with certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV) is the main cause of cervical cancer. When cervical cancer is found early, it is highly treatable and associated with long survival and good quality of life.

HPV vaccine

The HPV vaccine protects against the types of HPV that most often cause cervical, vaginal, and vulvar cancers. India has been fully dependent on foreign manufacturers for the HPV vaccine. However, on September 1, India will get its first indigenously developed qHPV vaccine.

Serum Institute’s qHPV vaccine got market authorization from the Drugs Controller General of India(DCGI) on 12 July.

source/content: livemint.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL : ARTS & CULTURE: Unheralded Tamil Short Film ‘Shashthi’ Wins 25 Film Festival Awards to date

Featured in 59 film festivals, ‘Shasthi’, which digs into the world of a girl and her journey, has already won 25 awards.

 From a career in chartered accountancy to winning accolades in international film festivals, it may seem like a long shot. But producer and director Jude Peter Damian has done just that with ‘Shashthi’, his first short film.

Featured in 59 film festivals, ‘Shasthi’, which digs into the world of a girl and her journey, has already won 25 awards.

As a director, Jude always wanted to make movies projecting “good characters” who can be examples for developing nations and societies.

‘Shashthi’ narrates the interesting tale about Devi, a woman from an economically weaker background, who changes society to the extent that she is equated with ‘Shashthi’, the goddess of children. It is about how ordinary people (particularly women) can do ‘great’ things and about how perceptions change in different circumstances.

While talking about the recognition that the film is receiving constantly, Jude shared: “Right from the time of writing/planning of the film production, I had international film awards in my mind.”

“I’m happy about the recognition from so many international film festivals, but, honestly, I’m slightly disappointed that the film was not able to enter the Academy Awards competition. I hope I’ll be able to make a film in the near future that gets nominated for the competition sections of the Academy Awards and Cannes Festival.”

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)