Calling all faujis

National Defence Academy Alumni Assn (Aus) incorporated in Victoria

TAlumni Association (Australian Chapter) was launched recently in Victoria. The first Annual General Meeting of the recently incorporated chapter was held in Canberra last month and attended by office bearers elected to steer the committee.

According to Col Rajesh Kaswan, Secretary NDAAA(AC) the main purpose of establishing this alumni chapter is to provide support to its members by creating avenues for professional and social networking. (ndaaaac.org.au)

NDAAA(AC) also aims to provide resettlement assistance to NDA alumni planning to migrate to Australia and if required, provide support to NDA alumni settled in Australia.

NDA is the prestigious Joint Services academy of the Indian Armed Forces, where cadets of the three services, the Army, the Navy and the Air Force train together. Established in 1954 and based in Khadakwasla, Pune, Maharashtra, it is the first tri-service academy in the world.

After completion of the three-year gruelling course, the cadets go on to their respective service academies for further pre-commissioning training. NDA alumni

Starting with only a handful of members, obligations and choosing to settle in Australia and the surrounding Oceania region.

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Chandrayaan-2 to reach moon by August 20: ISRO

India’s second moon spacecraft Chandrayaan-2 that was put into earth’s orbit on July 22, is scheduled to reach the Moon by August 20, according to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

For those interested in the technical aspects - the first earth bound orbit raising manoeuvre for Chandrayaan-2 was successfully performed this week by firing the onboard motors for 57 seconds.

The new orbit is 230x45,163 km. The second orbit raising manoeuvre is scheduled for July 26, at 1.09 a.m. IST, ISRO added.

On July 22, the Chandrayaan-2 was injected into an elliptical orbit of 170x45,475 km by India’s heavy-lift rocket Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle-Mark III (GSLV Mk III) in a textbook style.

Chandrayaan-2 consists of three segments - the Orbiter (weighing 2,379 kg, eight payloads), the lander ‘Vikram’ (1,471 kg, four payloads) and the rover ‘Pragyan’ (27 kg, two payloads).

The Indian space agency said the major activities include earth bound manoeuvres, the trans-lunar insertion, lunar-bound manoeuvres, the lander’s separation from Chandrayaan-2 and its touchdown on the moon’s South Pole.

The trans-lunar insertion of Chandrayaan-2 is scheduled on August 14, which will send the spacecraft to the moon, where it will reach by August 20.

The lander Vikram will land on the moon on September 7.

Originally, the GSLV-Mk III rocket carrying Chandrayaan-2 was supposed to fly on July 15. As we now know, owing to a serious technical glitch, the flight was postponed to July 22.

As a result, there have been some changes to the mission schedule. For instance, as per the July 15 flight schedule, Chandrayaan-2’s earth bound phase was 17 days; as per the new schedule, it is now 23 days. On the other hand, the lunar-bound phase which was expected to last for 28 days per the July 15 flight schedule, has now reduced to 13 days.

Additionally,the original plan was for Vikram to land on the moon 54 days after the rocket’s lift off; now the landing will take place in 48 days.

Celebrate this Raksha Bandhan with seed rakhis

A silent movement to curb pollution is underway in Jaipur with thousands of people working to produce plastic-free plantable ‘Seed Rakhi’ for the upcoming Raksha Bandhan festival.

Artisans from women’s self-help groups, FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) and various start-ups are working together to make these rakhis, which can be planted and grown into trees once they are sown in the ground.

“Every year, 620 million rakhis are dumped in waste that never decomposes, generating 1.18 billion tonnes of carbon footprints. This made us ponder and it took us two years of intense research and hard work to develop the ‘Seed Rakhi’,” said Nitin Jain, one of the cofounders of the start-up Indibni.

“Around 60 crore people celebrate Raksha Bandhan across the world each year, but no one has ever thought about where the rakhis end up after the grand celebration.”

“A ‘Seed Rakhi’ can be sown and grown into plants, helping India become greener and cleaner,” said co-founder Ankit Jain.

“Traditional rakhis are embedded with stones and glitter, marking them quite useless once the celebrations are over. Our rakhis are made with seeds of sunflower, amaltas, papaya, rice and basil.”

Indibni joined hands with FLO and other self-help groups from Nagpur in Maharashtra, Kerala and Rajasthan to get more trained and skilled hands to bring out approximately 30,000 such rakhis into the market this year.

The start-up is also organising workshops to teach people how to make seed rakhis, thereby galvanizing the green environment movement.

Another movement that’s benefitting from this is women’s empowerment. In order to make the seed rakhis, Indibni ordered coir from a women’s organisation in Kerala, while other organic material is being ordered from women’s self-help groups in Nagpur and other parts of Rajasthan.

Indibni is also working with organic farmers in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan to bring to the market organic rakhis and organic yarn.

The ‘Seed Rakhi’ kit comes with coir and manure to help you sow the seed and grow the plant. The kit also includes a handmade eco-friendly paper diary and is packaged with recyclable and bio degradable paper and cloth.

Another organization called Anan Taya, a five-time winner of the UNESCO Seal of Excellence, is busy engaging local artisans to create handmade rakhis

Raksha Bandhan will be celebrated on August 15 this year.

IPS officer vows to make Hyderabad garbage-free city

The Telangana government transferred him to the printing and stationary department, usually considered a “punishment posting”. But senior IPS officer V.K. Singh has used this opportunity to vow to make Hyderabad a garbage-free city.

The Commissioner of printing and stationary told reporters that since he “didn’t have much work to do”, he would start a social awareness campaign on cleanliness and work to bring changes in society.

As the Director General of Prisons, Singh introduced many reforms in Telangana jails.

He said the transfer came as a surprise to him while he was on leave. Refusing to resign following his transfer to a comparatively insignificant post, Singh said he would work to serve people in any post.

The commissioner stressed that the ‘Bangaru Telangana’ (Golden Telangana) could not be achieved by politicians, but hastened to add that he wasn’t against the state government’s policies. ‘Bangaru Telangana’ is the slogan of Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao.

Delhi to have a modern museum for all ex-PMs

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced this week that a modern museum displaying the lives and belongings of all former Prime Ministers will open in Delhi soon.

The Prime Minister’s announcement came at an event for the release of the book Chandra Shekhar - The Last Icon of Ideological Politics written by Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh and Ravi Dutt Bajpai.

“Several Prime Ministers have been forgotten. But I have decided that a huge modern museum of all former Prime Ministers will be constructed in Delhi,” Modi said.

He appealed to the family members of all former PMs to collect memorabilia from the Ministers’ lives so that the common people, including theyounger generation, could know about their lives and achievements.

“There is need for a new political culture in the country,” said Modi. “Chandra Shekhar ji can inspire the new generation if he is viewed in the right perspective.”

Rajya Sabha passes Bill including death penalty for child abuse

With members across party lines supporting a stricter law against child abuse, the Rajya Sabha this week passed the bill for amending the Protection of Children from Sexual

Offences (POCSO) Act.

The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill 2019 provides for stringent punishment (including life imprisonment) for the use of children for pornographic purposes.

The new law is expected to discourage the trend of child sexual abuse by acting as a deterrent due to the strong penal provisions in it. It intends to protect the interests of vulnerable children in times of distress and ensure their safety and dignity.

There has been a worrying rise in crimes against children in India in recent years. It is estimated that 1.6 lakh cases of child abuse are pending in 31 states and union territories (UTs).

As per official data, about 12,609 rape cases were registered under the POSCO this year.

While participating in the discussion on the bill, all members of the Upper House supported the amendments, with only a few of them expressing reservations over the death penalty clause.

While supporting stringent laws, TMC member of Parliament and television personality Derek O’Brien shared his traumatic experience of being sexually molested as a 13-year-old boy. He urged celebrities, cricketers and people in the public eye to speak up about such incidents.

“I would like and urge more people especially in public life, if you have been sexually abused or harassed as a child, please come up and speak about it,” the TMC legislator said.

The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill 2019 was moved by Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani.

ISRO earned Rs 6,289 cr by launching 239 satellites Antrix Corporation, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), launched 239 satellites earning Rs 6,289 crore in revenue, the Indian government informed the Lok Sabha this week.

Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) Jitendra Singh also said the government had set up New Space India Limited (NSIL), which would replace the Antrix Corporation.

NSIL, under the administrative control of the Department of Space (DoS), will commercially exploit research and development work of the ISRO and other DoS units. NSIL had been set up to meet the ever-increasing demands of the Indian space programme and to commercially exploit the emerging global space market, he added.

It would spur Indian industries’ growth in the space sector and enable them to scale up manufacturing and the production base.

NSIL would spearhead commercialisation of various space products, including launch vehicles and technologies.

Chandrayaan-2, which was launched earlier this week, cost Rs 978 crore.

Uber in pact with SUN Mobility to deploy e-autos in India

Ride-hailing giant Uber has announced a partnership with SUN Mobility to deploy e-autos in India.

This partnership will be piloted across select Indian cities in the coming months, Uber said.

As part of the alliance, SUN Mobility will offer its unique energy infrastructure platform, which includes swappable smart batteries and quick interchange stations to select original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) for building e-autos.

Fleet owners and Uber’s driver partners will benefit from this because they can buy vehicles without the battery to save money on initial acquisition costs.

They will receive charged, swappable batteries as a service by SUN Mobility, thereby helping bring the overall cost of e-autos in line with their internal combustion engine (ICE) counterparts.

“This is an important step forward in fulfilling our vision for creating a mobility ecosystem that is sustainable, provides cleaner air and helps build smarter cities across the region,” Pradeep Parameswaran, President Uber, India and South Asia, said in a statement. SUN Mobility is a joint venture between Maini Group and SUN Group, pioneers in areas of electric mobility and clean energy. The company was launched in April 2017 and is led by Chetan Maini (who previously founded ‘Reva’ which was renamed Mahindra Electric) and Uday Khemka (Vice Chairman of SUN Group).

India, China to pip US in tech innovations: Survey

By 2035, self-driving cars will be more common than individually owned automobiles while India and China will surpass the US as tech innovation hubs in the world, according to a survey conducted by Bloomberg.

Globally, 54 per cent of respondents believe that by 2035, China and India will have surpassed the US as the world’s centres of tech innovation.

The findings are based on the views of 2,000 business professionals in 20 markets. They were asked what the future will hold as the balance of global power shifts towards new economies. A majority of them also agree that by 2035, we will be reaching the point of no return on climate change and that rising sea levels will have already wiped the first low-lying country off the map by 2035.

India has presented itself as a world leader with regard to mitigating climate change.

Netflix unveils mobile plan in India at Rs 199 per month

Your friends and family in India can now watch Netflix on their phones for just Rs 199! Aiming to close the gap with rivals like Amazon Prime and Hotstar in India, American video streaming giant Netflix unveiled a mobile subscription plan for India priced at Rs 199 per month.

The plan will enable users to view content in standard definition (SD) on one smartphone or tablet at a time.

This is Netflix’s fourth Indian plan, in addition to the existing basic, standard and premium plans which are priced between Rs 499 and Rs 799.

“Our members in India watch more on their mobiles than members of any other country in the world - and they love to download our shows and films. We believe this new plan will make Netflix even more accessible and better suit people who like to watch on their smartphones and tablets - both on the go and at home,” said Ajay Arora, Director, Product Innovation, Netflix.

“Indian consumers watch on the go. And you can’t beat that freedom.”

According to a FICCI-EY 2019 report, Indians spend 30 per cent of their phone time and over 70 per cent of their mobile data on entertainment.

Netflix is also investing heavily in Indian films and series across all genres and for all generations, including the much-acclaimed recent hits like Sacred Games, Chopsticks and Mighty Little Bheem.

According to the company, thirteen new Indian films and nine new original series are already in the pipeline.

Microsoft India hackathon empowering customers, NGOs

In a bid to hack and work on real-world challenges, Microsoft India is organising a week-long hackathon in various cities across the country. For the first time, the annual event has witnessed participation from customers and NGOs at various Microsoft campuses.

The ‘One Week Hackathon 2019’, which was kicked off on Monday in Hyderabad, Bengaluru and other centres, has seen active participation from employees, customers and NGOs hacking and collaborating to build solutions for the world, according to a statement released by Microsoft.

“Hackathon enables employees to collaborate to solve a problem they care about, with a focus on the big picture. Employees take on challenges they feel passionate about or to come up with ‘the next big thing’ for our customers and create experiences that are accessible to all,” said Reena Dayal, Director Garage India, Microsoft (‘Garage’ is a flagship programme of Microsoft).

Earlier hackathons managed to bring out some great products such as the ‘Seeing AI’ app, Xbox adaptive controller ‘Kaizala’ and ‘SMS Organiser’.

Film, military bands, dances & drills to mark Kargil show

A short film with a voiceover by Amitabh Bachchan, performances by Shillong Chamber Choir, songs by Mohit Chauhan, dances, drills and military bands will liven up Delhi’s Indira Gandhi indoor stadium on July 27 to mark the 20th anniversary of the Kargil war.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the event to commemorate the occasion.

In the video made especially for the event, Amitabh Bachchan explains all the aspects of the war and India’s response to push back against Pakistan army intruders from mountain tops. The video further talks about the Indian Army’s Operation Vijay, Indian Air Force (IAF) launching Operation Safed Sagar and the naval mobilization Operation Talwar in 1999 to corner Pakistan.

IIT Delhi aims to have at least 500 foreign students by 2024

With a target of enrolling 500 foreign students within the next five years, IIT Delhi organised a summit meeting for diplomats from various countries to showcase the opportunities at the premier institution.

‘Globalisation of IIT Delhi: New opportunities for Higher Studies in India’ was attended by Ambassadors and Education Attaches of 12 countries including South Korea, Indonesia, Sweden, Britain, and

Mexico.

In his address at the summit, IIT Delhi Director, Prof V.Ramgopal Rao said,“Our target is to have at least 10 per cent foreign students in our Ph.D. programmes and make them work on technology platforms that can serve global needs.”

Foreign students can apply for PhD in 28 academic units at the IIT, including applied mechanics, atmospheric sciences, biochemical engineering, among others.

During the summit, IIT Delhi presented the newly launched International PhD Fellowship Programme (IPFP), which provides liberal financial assistance to meritorious international students.

The institute will also be looking towards attracting teachers from various academic institutions in different countries to join IIT Delhi’s faculty.

Bill to ban Ponzi schemes, protect depositors passed by LS

A Bill to protect depositors from Ponzi schemes and put in place a mechanism by which investors can be compensated, was passed by the Lok Sabha this week, by voice vote.

The Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Bill 2019 seeks to tackle the menace of illicit deposit-taking, done by exploiting regulatory gaps and due to lack of strict administrative measures.

The Bill provides for 1-10 years punishment and Rs 2 lakh to Rs 50 crore fines to deter any such act.

The Bill also ensures that no hardship is caused to genuine businesses, or to individuals borrowing money from their relatives or friends for personal reasons or to tide over a crisis.

It contains a clause, which bans deposittakers from promoting, operating, issuing advertisements or accepting deposits in any unregulated deposit scheme. The Bill also aims to prevent unregulated deposit schemes or arrangements at their inception.

As per information provided by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), during the period between July 2014 and May 2018, 978 cases of unauthorised schemes were discussed at the state-level coordination committee meetings in various states/ Union Territories, and were forwarded to the respective regulators/law enforcement agencies in the states. IANS

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BY DANISH

I like sports photography because it’s challenging and requires precise focus. This was a multiple exposure this image is 'bracketing’. To perfectly capture an image like this, the surroundings and the background need critical in getting a good shot. Sports photography inherently Shot on a Nikon D3s with Exposure: 1/640 sec, f/4 ISO 6,400 Manual, shot I took at the 2018 ASEAN Games in Indonesia. The technical term for the layers and superimposition in to be dark; multiple exposure shots don’t work in brightly lit areas. Which is why both patience and speed are inherently isn't easy and this shot certainly wasn't a piece of cake. with a 500mm f4 prime lens. Manual, centre weight metering and no flash.