Global sentiment continues to weigh on Sensex
After a firm start, the Bombay Stock Exchange sensitive index (Sensex) closed weaker by over 150 points on Friday as gloomy global economic outlook dampened investor sentiment. With selling emerging across counters, the Sensex pared 300-point gain posted in early trading before losing further to close at 9385.42 against 9536.33 on Thursday. The National Stock Exchange index, Nifty, also closed down at 2810.35, a loss of 38.10 points. Nifty also witnessed handsome gains at the outset. With Sensex touching a three-year low of 7697.39 on October 27, it has lost more than half of its value so far this year to emerge as one of the worst Asian performers. Reliance Industries, the heaviest among the Sensex stocks, fell for the fourth straight day by losing Rs. 13.60 at Rs. 1,148.55. In four days, RIL has declined by 5.69 per cent.
The second heaviest Infosys Technologies also dropped by Rs. 41.35 to Rs. 1,217.90 after Britain’s BT Group, one of its major clients, announced major job cuts. Marketmen said the fall in inflation to 8.98 per cent from 10.72 per cent in November, raising expectations of further interest rate cuts failed to improve trading sentiment as economic outlook for countries across the world is depressingly grim
Friday, November 14, 2008
CHANDRAYAAN
“The Chandrayaan-1 team is over the moon,” exulted M. Annadurai, Project Director, when the Moon Impact Probe of the spacecraft crashed on the lunar surface at 8.31 p.m. IST. The MIP ejected at 8.06 p.m.
When the 35-kg box-like scientific instrument crashed on the Moon on Friday night, India became the fourth country in the world to have put a probe on lunar soil. The other countries/agency which had done it earlier were Russia, the United States, Japan and the European Space Agency.
The MIP was a technological forerunner to Chandrayaan-2, which would soft-land a rover on the Moon in 2012-13. The three objectives were: to demonstrate India’s capability to impact an instrument at a pre-planned time and desired location on the Moon; to test the critical technologies required for soft-landing a rover on the Moon; and scientific exploration of the Moon at close range.
The MIP crashed at a place called the Shackleton crater in the south polar region of the Moon. The crater also is a possible site for future human missions to the Moon.
Riding piggyback on Chandrayaan-1, the MIP had three instruments. They were a video camera, a radar altimeter and a mass spectrometer. Commands went from the Spacecraft Control Centre (SCC) at the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) at Bangalore to fire a spin-up motor on board the MIP for two seconds and separate it from the mother-spacecraft.
“After it is separated, the MIP starts spinning like a top. The aim behind spinning it like a top is to give directional stability to the MIP just like a top is stable when it is spinning,” explained B.R. Guruprasad, Public Relations Officer, ISRO. Then, the MIP’s retro-rockets were fired to reduce the speed of its descent. When the velocity was reduced, it followed a curved path towards the surface of the Moon, Mr. Guruprasad said. The MIP descended for about 25 minutes from its separation till it impacted on the Moon.
As the MIP was descending, its video-camera took pictures of the lunar surface. They would be useful in selecting a possible site for soft-landing Chandrayaan-2’s rover. Its altimeter measured the MIP’s altitude during every second of its descent. The mass spectrometer analysed the constituents of the Moon’s extremely thin atmosphere.
The Shackleton crater has an undulating terrain with hills and valleys. Since the valleys are in the Moon’s permanently shadowed regions, it could harbour water ice. The dust kicked up when the MIP crashed would be analysed to check whether it contained water ice. The probe died within a few seconds of its crash.
When the 35-kg box-like scientific instrument crashed on the Moon on Friday night, India became the fourth country in the world to have put a probe on lunar soil. The other countries/agency which had done it earlier were Russia, the United States, Japan and the European Space Agency.
The MIP was a technological forerunner to Chandrayaan-2, which would soft-land a rover on the Moon in 2012-13. The three objectives were: to demonstrate India’s capability to impact an instrument at a pre-planned time and desired location on the Moon; to test the critical technologies required for soft-landing a rover on the Moon; and scientific exploration of the Moon at close range.
The MIP crashed at a place called the Shackleton crater in the south polar region of the Moon. The crater also is a possible site for future human missions to the Moon.
Riding piggyback on Chandrayaan-1, the MIP had three instruments. They were a video camera, a radar altimeter and a mass spectrometer. Commands went from the Spacecraft Control Centre (SCC) at the ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) at Bangalore to fire a spin-up motor on board the MIP for two seconds and separate it from the mother-spacecraft.
“After it is separated, the MIP starts spinning like a top. The aim behind spinning it like a top is to give directional stability to the MIP just like a top is stable when it is spinning,” explained B.R. Guruprasad, Public Relations Officer, ISRO. Then, the MIP’s retro-rockets were fired to reduce the speed of its descent. When the velocity was reduced, it followed a curved path towards the surface of the Moon, Mr. Guruprasad said. The MIP descended for about 25 minutes from its separation till it impacted on the Moon.
As the MIP was descending, its video-camera took pictures of the lunar surface. They would be useful in selecting a possible site for soft-landing Chandrayaan-2’s rover. Its altimeter measured the MIP’s altitude during every second of its descent. The mass spectrometer analysed the constituents of the Moon’s extremely thin atmosphere.
The Shackleton crater has an undulating terrain with hills and valleys. Since the valleys are in the Moon’s permanently shadowed regions, it could harbour water ice. The dust kicked up when the MIP crashed would be analysed to check whether it contained water ice. The probe died within a few seconds of its crash.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Training at Aralam farm
Training in construction skills for Adivasis rehabilitated at the Aralam farm ,Kannur here began on Monday.
The training, under the aegis of the Kerala State Nirmithi Kendra, aims at producing skilled construction workers from among the Adivasis at the farm. A press release issued by the Nirmithi Kendra said trained and skilled Adivasis would be offered work. All those selected for the training would get Rs.125 each per day during the training period. Construction tools would be provided free of cost. The training programme was inaugurated by K.K. Shylaja, MLA. She said the training was the first in a series of programmes being planned. Nirmithi Kendra administrative manager A. Shanthakumar was also present.
Training in construction skills for Adivasis rehabilitated at the Aralam farm ,Kannur here began on Monday.
The training, under the aegis of the Kerala State Nirmithi Kendra, aims at producing skilled construction workers from among the Adivasis at the farm. A press release issued by the Nirmithi Kendra said trained and skilled Adivasis would be offered work. All those selected for the training would get Rs.125 each per day during the training period. Construction tools would be provided free of cost. The training programme was inaugurated by K.K. Shylaja, MLA. She said the training was the first in a series of programmes being planned. Nirmithi Kendra administrative manager A. Shanthakumar was also present.
Workshop on painting
KANNUR: A workshop on modern painting will be organised here on Tuesday under the joint auspices of the Malayalam Department of Madayi College here and the Jawahar Public Library.
Organisers of the workshop said artists would interact with students and art lovers at the workshop to be held at the Jawahar Library Hall at 10 a.m. The workshop would focus on modern painting and sculpture and their relationship with politics, history and culture
KANNUR: A workshop on modern painting will be organised here on Tuesday under the joint auspices of the Malayalam Department of Madayi College here and the Jawahar Public Library.
Organisers of the workshop said artists would interact with students and art lovers at the workshop to be held at the Jawahar Library Hall at 10 a.m. The workshop would focus on modern painting and sculpture and their relationship with politics, history and culture
RGATT
The government is planning to convert the State-owned Rajiv Gandhi Academy for Aviation Technology (RGATT) into a national institute to cater to the needs of aviation sector,
Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs M. Vijayakumar has said.
He was addressing a gathering after handing over student pilot licences (SPL) to the first batch of 25 RGATT students here.
Mr. Vijayakumar, who is also in-charge of the aviation portfolio, said the government wanted to make the academy a prestigious one. The government had worked out plans to expand the activities of the academy to two more cities in the State, he said.
The crisis in the aviation sector will not have any impact on job opportunities, he said. “Air travel is on the increase in the country and the demand for pilots is also on the rise,” he said.
Academy Executive Director V. Thulasidas, who presided over the function, said the aim of the academy was to provide quality training at affordable rates to young, aspiring pilots who wished to take up a career in the burgeoning aviation sector.
Mr. Thulasidas said the academy had plans to start aircraft maintenance engineering, aeronautical engineering, flight despatcher and cabin crew courses. The academy, with three modern aircraft, needed two single-engine and one multi-engine aircraft to impart training to the students, he said. The academy is looking for a separate airstrip and campus to expand its activities
Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs M. Vijayakumar has said.
He was addressing a gathering after handing over student pilot licences (SPL) to the first batch of 25 RGATT students here.
Mr. Vijayakumar, who is also in-charge of the aviation portfolio, said the government wanted to make the academy a prestigious one. The government had worked out plans to expand the activities of the academy to two more cities in the State, he said.
The crisis in the aviation sector will not have any impact on job opportunities, he said. “Air travel is on the increase in the country and the demand for pilots is also on the rise,” he said.
Academy Executive Director V. Thulasidas, who presided over the function, said the aim of the academy was to provide quality training at affordable rates to young, aspiring pilots who wished to take up a career in the burgeoning aviation sector.
Mr. Thulasidas said the academy had plans to start aircraft maintenance engineering, aeronautical engineering, flight despatcher and cabin crew courses. The academy, with three modern aircraft, needed two single-engine and one multi-engine aircraft to impart training to the students, he said. The academy is looking for a separate airstrip and campus to expand its activities
Sunday, November 2, 2008
RBI cuts rates, assures more steps
In a major move to inject an additional estimated Rs. 85,000 crore into the system, the Reserve Bank of India on Saturday cut key deposit requirements for banks by one percentage point and its short-term lending rate by 0.5 percentage point, a decision that may help soften general interest rates.
The decisions to cut the Cash Reserve Ratio and the Statutory Liquidity Ratio by 100 basis points each and the repo rate by 50 basis points come a week after the busy season credit policy review by the RBI, in which it had given an assurance of more measures to boost economic growth.
The RBI would continue to closely monitor development in global and domestic financial markets and take swift and effective action as appropriate.With the latest measures, the RBI has pumped about Rs. 2.70 lakh crore into the system since October but industry leaders and bankers feel more is needed to effectively bring down the commercial lending rates
In a major move to inject an additional estimated Rs. 85,000 crore into the system, the Reserve Bank of India on Saturday cut key deposit requirements for banks by one percentage point and its short-term lending rate by 0.5 percentage point, a decision that may help soften general interest rates.
The decisions to cut the Cash Reserve Ratio and the Statutory Liquidity Ratio by 100 basis points each and the repo rate by 50 basis points come a week after the busy season credit policy review by the RBI, in which it had given an assurance of more measures to boost economic growth.
The RBI would continue to closely monitor development in global and domestic financial markets and take swift and effective action as appropriate.With the latest measures, the RBI has pumped about Rs. 2.70 lakh crore into the system since October but industry leaders and bankers feel more is needed to effectively bring down the commercial lending rates
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