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PM Modi hails GalaxEye’s Mission ‘Drishti’, world’s first OptoSAR satellite launch

Mission Drishti is the world’s first OptoSAR satellite, integrating electro-optical (EO) and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors into a single operational platform, according to the company.

Bengaluru-based space start-up GalaxEye’s Mission Drishti satellite was launched on Sunday aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from California.

Mission Drishti is the world’s first OptoSAR satellite, integrating electro-optical (EO) and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors into a single operational platform, according to the company.

While EO sensors capture high-resolution images during sunlight and clear skies, SAR sensors provide all-weather and all-time images, using radar pulses.

In a statement, Suyash Singh, founder and CEO of GalaxEye, said, “With the satellite (Mission Drishti) now successfully in orbit, our immediate focus is on completing its commissioning. As we move through this phase, we are already witnessing strong global interest in the differentiated datasets enabled by our OptoSAR payload.” The satellite will help address long-standing limitations of conventional systems and enable more reliable and consistent data acquisition across diverse environmental conditions, the company said.

As a dual-use Earth observation satellite, the mission will support use cases across defence, agriculture, disaster management, maritime monitoring, and infrastructure planning.

The satellite is also expected to complement India’s broader initiatives, including the 29 active Earth Observation satellites outlined in ISRO’s recent annual report.

The launch came after five years of indigenous research and development, and extensive environmental testing and performance validation of the Mission Drishti.

In a statement, Lt Gen AK Bhatt (Retd), director general of Indian Space Association (ISpA), said, “GalaxEye has achieved what only a few global players have, which is seamlessly combining optical and SAR capabilities on a single platform to enable persistent, all-weather intelligence.” What stands out is not just the technology, but its broader impact on how downstream applications will increasingly define value in the space economy, particularly in Earth observation, where timely, decision-grade insights are critical,” he added.

ISpA is the premier industry association of space and satellite companies in the country.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh also took note of the Mission Drishti launch, saying the development marked a significant milestone in India’s space journey.

In a post on X, the minister said, “The successful launch of the world’s first OptoSAR satellite, and the largest privately-built satellite in the country, reflects the immense potential of our young innovators driving nation-building.” GalaxEye aims to scale up Mission Drishti to a constellation of 10 satellites by 2030, developing a robust and sovereign Earth observation infrastructure for India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday hailed the launch of the world’s first OptoSAR satellite Mission Drishti by GalaxEye, calling it a testament to the youth’s passion for innovation and nation-building.

Bengaluru-based space start-up GalaxEye’s Mission Drishti satellite was launched on Sunday aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from California.

“Mission Drishti by GalaxEye marks a major achievement in our space journey. The successful launch of the world’s first OptoSAR satellite and the largest privately-built satellite in India is a testament to our youth’s passion for innovation and nation-building,” Modi said in a post on X.

The prime minister also congratulated the founders and the entire GalaxEye team, extending his best wishes.

source/content: telegraphindia.com (headline edited)

‘My dream is a two-way swim’: Seven-year-old Ranchi swimmer Ishank Singh crosses Palk Strait in under 10 hours

The proud mother said Ishank, who swam the 29-km Palk Strait between India and Sri Lanka, achieved the feat after months of rigorous training lasting seven to eight hours daily.

Seven-year-old Ishank Singh from Ranchi has achieved a remarkable feat by swimming across the 29-km stretch of the Palk Strait.

Ishank completed the challenging route from Talaimannar in Sri Lanka to Dhanushkodi in Tamil Nadu on April 30, finishing the swim in around 9 hours and 50 minutes. He began his journey at 4 am and reached the shore by 1:50 pm.

The strait separates Tamil Nadu in India from Sri Lanka’s Jaffna region and connects the Bay of Bengal with the Gulf of Mannar.

Ishank has been declared by the Universal Records Forum as the ‘Youngest and Fastest Palk Strait Swimmer’ and and ‘2026 OWSAT World Record’ by the Open Water Swimming Academy, Theni.

A Class 3 student of Jawahar Vidya Mandir, Shyamli- the alma mater of cricketer MS Dhoni- Ishank spent seven to eight hours in the water daily in the lead-up to this achievement.

After returning to Ranchi on Friday evening, Ishank’s mother Manisha told PTI, “He used to train in pools across Ranchi, but for the last six months, he shifted to open-water practice at Dhurwa Dam to prepare specifically for the Palk Strait.”

Ishank underwent rigorous training under his coach, Aman Kumar Jaiswal, and Bajrang Kumar.

“We first noticed his unusual stamina during a summer camp,” Jaiswal told PTI, adding, “With support from his parents, we began training him for this goal. The result is there for everyone to see.”

He added that the previous record was held by Tamil Nadu’s Jay Jaswanth.

The young swimmer has also received immense praise from Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, who called this triumph ‘a remarkable example of discipline and unwavering dedication’.

And for the young achiever, the milestone marks just the beginning.

“I want to keep improving and achieve more. My dream is to complete a two-way swim across the Palk Strait,” Ishank said.

source/content: telegraphindia.com (headline edited)

India successfully conducts maiden salvo launch of indigenous naval anti-ship missile

During the test, two missiles were fired in quick succession from a Sea King helicopter off the Odisha coast over the Bay of Bengal from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur.

 India’s indigenous maritime strike programme achieved a major milestone on Wednesday as the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Navy successfully carried out the maiden salvo launch of the Naval Anti-Ship Missile Short Range (NASM-SR).

Two missiles were fired in quick succession from a Sea King helicopter off the Odisha coast over the Bay of Bengal from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur.

The trial marked the first salvo launch of an advanced indigenous air-launched anti-ship missile system and validated a capability considered critical for real-world naval strike operations.

In a statement, the government said all test objectives were fully met, with performance data captured through radar, electro-optical systems and telemetry.

It added that “along with proving the salvo launch capability, the missiles demonstrated the waterline hit capability,” a strike profile designed to target a ship’s hull at or near the waterline to maximise flooding, structural damage and mission-kill potential.

The NASM-SR is India’s first indigenous helicopter-launched anti-ship missile and has been developed as a replacement for the ageing British-origin Sea Eagle missile currently used by naval Sea King helicopters.

The system is also planned for future integration with the MH-60R Seahawk and HAL Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) platforms.

The missile is powered by a solid-propellant system with an ejectable booster and long-burn sustainer, giving it a strike range of around 55 km with subsonic sea-skimming capability.

It includes several indigenously developed advanced systems such as an Imaging infra-red seeker, fibre-optic gyroscope-based inertial navigation system, radio altimeter, integrated avionics, electro-mechanical actuators, jet vane control and a high-bandwidth two-way data link that allows lock-on-after-launch and in-flight retargeting.

The missile has been developed primarly by Hyderabad-based Research Centre Imarat in collaboration with DRDO’s Defence Research and Development Laboratory, High Energy Materials Research Laboratory in Hyderabad and Pune, the Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory in Chandigarh and ITR Chandipur.

Under the Development-cum-Production Partner model, Adani Defence and Aerospace is the main manufacturing partner, supported by micro, small and medium enterprises, start-ups and Indian industry vendors supplying subsystems and components.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

Urdu Wikisource, open source global digital library for Urdu literature, launched

International partnerships provide foundational content, including rare Urdu texts, for the Wikisource platform to reach this milestone.

The Punjabi Wikimedians User Group has launched an Urdu Wikisource, a free, open source, global digital library for Urdu literature. The group has also urged the Punjab government to ease copyright restrictions, which continue to hamper access to regional languages in the digital domain.

“The launch of Urdu Wikisource marks a turning point for the preservation of South Asian literary history,” Satdeep Gill, manager, content enablement, Wikimedia Foundation, said.

International partnerships provided the foundational content for the platform to reach this milestone, he said. “Rekhta Foundation, the Urdu literary repository, jump-started the project by sharing 10 rare Urdu texts, ensuring the platform launched with high-quality, culturally significant material. The British Library shared seven rare historical texts that were digitised as part of the ‘Two Centuries of Indian Print’ project [2016-2022], bridging the gap between the physical archives in London and digital accessibility for users in South Asia. These texts include Alif Layla, a book of Arabic fables, and a 19th century version of Padmavat, Malik Mohammad Jayasi’s Awadhi poem,” Mr. Gill said.

“Wikisource is unique in the digital ecosystem. Unlike simple image archives, it utilises community-driven transcription to convert scanned documents into digitally searchable text. This makes it an invaluable complementary tool for the Urdu language, allowing researchers and students to search for specific phrases within centuries-old books for the first time,” he said.

The Punjabi Wikimedians User Group is the first Indian language community that became affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation in 2015.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

Zoological Survey of India uncovers 8,000-12,000-year-old Holocene fossil bed in Tamil Nadu

The site was revealed after torrential rains in 2023, and subsequently, the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) conducted a survey at the spot, Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav said on Monday.

A fossil bed belonging to the middle-to-late Holocene period, approximately 8,000 to 12,000 years ago, was discovered at Panaiyur area in Tamil Nadu’s Thoothukudi district, Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav said on Monday.

The site was revealed after torrential rains in 2023, and subsequently, the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) conducted a survey at the spot, he said.

Officials confirmed that the site is a previously unidentified fossil bed, enriching India’s Quaternary fossil record, which spans the last 2.6 million years and covers major climatic and ecological changes, including the emergence of modern ecosystems.

“The assessment confirms a newly discovered fossil bed dating back to the Holocene period (8,000-12,000 years ago), which significantly enriches the Quaternary fossil record of India. This discovery is important because it helps us better understand India’s ancient wildlife, environment, and climate,” the Environment minister said in a post on X.

He also stated that the Environment Ministry commended ZSI’s swift and exemplary scientific response in safeguarding India’s natural heritage.

Scientists involved in the study say the fossils may help reconstruct which species lived in the region and what environmental conditions existed during the late Holocene period. Analysis of the material could also indicate whether the area was once covered by forests, grasslands, or influenced by marine environments.

Researchers noted that fossil evidence from this time period in southern India is still limited, making the site especially significant for filling gaps in regional prehistoric data.

Experts also pointed out that extreme weather events like heavy rainfall can expose hidden geological formations, though they warned that such exposed fossil sites are vulnerable and require careful protection to prevent deterioration.

Further excavation and advanced dating studies are planned at the Thoothukudi site to better understand its age and scientific value, with researchers hoping it will shed light on long-term environmental and climate shifts in the region.

source/content: telegraphindia.com (headline edited)

Who are Bnei Manashe? About the Jewish community in India that Israel is getting back home

Members of Bnei Menashe, a Jewish community that has long resided in India’s Northeast, largely in Manipur and Mizoram, recently arrived in Israel.

About 250 members of an Indian community from the north-east arrived in Israel recently, becoming the first batch of the community to do so, with many more expected to follow in the coming weeks.

Called the Bnei Menashe, the Jewish community has long resided in India’s Northeast, largely in Manipur and Mizoram. Their arrival in Tel Aviv is part of Israel’s broad efforts to bring the Jewish community home under ‘Operation Wings of Dawn’, announced in November 2025.

While 250 members have arrived in Israel, about 1,200 more are expected to arrive by the end of this year, according to a Jerusalem Post report.

Who are the Bnei Manashe?

Tucked away in some parts of the Manipur and Mizoram for years now, the Jewish community claims association with the Menashe tribe, one of the 10 tribes pushed into exile some 2,800 years ago.

According to a New York Times report, about 10,000 people from the community live in the Northeast and teach their children about the importance of their religion and how their ancestors wandered from the ancient Middle East across Asia.

“We have good faith in the Israeli government. They promised that all the B’nei Menashe will go to Israel by 2030,” Shimon Ngamthenlal, a member of the community, was quoted as saying by the publication.

The Bnei Manashe community reportedly has a history of moving through ersia, Afghanistan, Tibet and China, while continuing to follow Jewish religious practices. Missionaries in India converted them to Christianity and as they make their way to Israel to be on a land of Jews, they would have to convert again to become citizens, per a PTI news agency report.

Since the 1990s, nearly half of the community has immigrated to Israel and about 6,000 are still waiting.

Why does Israel want the Indian community?

In 2025, the Israeli government announced a program – Operation ‘Wings of Dawn’, to facilate the immigration of the remaining members of the Jewish community. For the community’s relocation, the Israeli government has stipulated as cost of about $30 million, which includes their flights, their conversion classes, housing, Hebrew lessons, and other special benefits.

As stated in an NYT report, prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu feels that the funding is “an important and Zionist decision that will also strengthen the North and Galilee” regions of Israel.

The Bnei Manashe community in India is highly in connect with their religion. “We follow Judaism, and here we cannot follow all our customs,” Benjamin Haokip, a member of the community in Manipur told NYT. “We want to go to Israel for our religion,” he said.

Operation ‘Wings of Dawn’ is reportedly a joint initiative led by the Aliyah and Integration Ministry and the Jewish Agency for Israel. While the first flight of the Bnei Manashe members landed in Tel Aviv recently, two additional flights are scheduled in the next two weeks, according to the Aliyah and Integration Ministry, as stated in the PTI report.

The newcomers received a rousing welcome in Tel Aviv as members already present in the country cheered for them, and they walked down a red carpet wearing traditional clothing.

“We are making history as we bring the entire Bnei Menashe community to Israel… There is no more fitting and moving time to welcome a plane full of olim than right after the State’s 78th Independence Day. Welcome home,” Aliyah and Integration Minister Ofir Sofer was quoted as saying in a Jerusalem Post report.

‘Aliyah’ is the term used to describe the immigration of Jewish people to Israel and a group that makes the transition is called ‘Olim’.

source/content: hindustantimes.com (headline edited)

Memorial dedicated to 25 CRPF personnel killed in Maoist ambush 9 years ago comes up in Sukma

The Central Reserve Police Force on Friday inaugurated a memorial built in honour of its 25 personnel killed in a 2017 Maoist ambush in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh and asserted that their ultimate sacrifice helped free the state from the Naxal menace.

CRPF Deputy Inspector General Anand Rajpurohit dedicated the memorial at the headquarters of the central force’s 74th battalion at Dornapal in the district.

In one of the deadliest attacks on security forces in the history of insurgency, 25 personnel, belonging to the CRPF’s 74th battalion, were killed on April 24, 2017, when Maoists ambushed them in Burkapal under Chintagufa police station limits while they were providing security for road construction work.

DIG Rajpurohit said sacrifices of the fallen jawans symbolise their unwavering commitment to the unity, integrity and security of the nation.

“On April 24, we remember our brave colleagues who laid down their lives while ensuring security for development works. Their courage and dedication continue to inspire future generations,” he declared.

“It is due to their sacrifice that Chhattisgarh has become Maoist free. We once again pay tribute to them,” the IPS officer stated.

The memorial was formally inaugurated with rituals and ceremonies, followed by a guard of honour by officers and personnel of the CRPF. A two-minute silence was observed in memory of the fallen jawans.

The Baster region, where Sukma is located, had once witnessed intense Maoist activity, particularly during the construction of the Dornapal-Jagargunda road, which required heavy security deployment. Several security personnel had laid down their lives during the road construction, which was targeted by Naxals, said officials.

The sacrifices of these personnel have significantly contributed in improving security in the region. The memorial has been established to preserve the legacy, courage and supreme sacrifice of the fallen jawans, they said.

Commandant of the CRPF’s 74th battalion Himanshu Pandey, officials and personnel of the 159th, 223rd and 226th battalions of the force were present at the dedication ceremony.

Notably, a similar memorial dedicated to 76 security personnel killed in a 2010 Maoist ambush in the Tadmetla area of Sukma district was inaugurated on April 6 this year.

Chhattisgarh, particularly the Bastar region, which grappled with Left-Wing Extremism for over four decades, was declared free of armed Maoists on March 31, coinciding with the Centre’s deadline to eliminate the menace from the country.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.

source/content: hindustantimes.com (headline edited)

Payal Kapadia to serve as president for Cannes Critics’ Week Jury

Critics’ Week will be held in Cannes from May 13 to 21.

Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia will serve as president of the jury for the 65th edition of Critics’ Week, the independent sidebar of Cannes Film Festival said in a statement.

Kapadia, who won the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2024 for All We Imagine as Light, will be joined on the jury by Quebecois actor Theodore Pellerin, singer-songwriter Oklou, Ghanaian-British producer Ama Ampadu, and journalist and director of the Bangkok World Film Festival Donsaron Kovitvanitcha.

Kapadia will present the Ami Paris Grand Prize for best feature film, the Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award for best actor or actress, and the Sony Discovery Prize for best short film.

Last week 11 features were selected for this year’s Critics’ Week, including Sara Ishaq’s The Station and Blerta Basholli’s Dua.

Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia will serve as president of the jury for the 65th edition of Critics’ Week, the independent sidebar of Cannes Film Festival said in a statement.

Kapadia, who won the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2024 for All We Imagine as Light, will be joined on the jury by Quebecois actor Theodore Pellerin, singer-songwriter Oklou, Ghanaian-British producer Ama Ampadu, and journalist and director of the Bangkok World Film Festival Donsaron Kovitvanitcha.

Kapadia will present the Ami Paris Grand Prize for best feature film, the Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award for best actor or actress, and the Sony Discovery Prize for best short film.

Last week 11 features were selected for this year’s Critics’ Week, including Sara Ishaq’s The Station and Blerta Basholli’s Dua.

Special screenings will include Phuong Mai Nguyen’s In Waves, the first animated film to open Critics’ Week.

Critics’ Week will be held in Cannes from May 13 to 21.

Kapadia’s short films Afternoon Clouds and And What is the Summer Saying were selected at the Cinefondation and the Berlinale, before her debut feature documentary A Night of Knowing Nothing went to Cannes in 2021, and won the L’Oeil d’Or for Best Documentary.

source/content: telegraphindia.com (headline edited)