Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) plans to launch Chandrayaan-3 in mid-2023. Aditya-L1, India's maiden solar mission, will be launched into space in the same time period as Chandrayaan-3, said Indian space agency chief S Somnath. Chandrayaan-3 is a follow-on mission to Chandrayaan-2 to demonstrate end-to-end capability in safe landing and roving on the lunar surface. It consists of the Lander and Rover configuration. Somanath said it would have a similar structure as that of Chandrayaan-2, with the orbiter, a lander, and a rover. However, the orbiter this time is devoid of all the
The Embassy of Israel in India has donated an Israeli-invented technology and Made-in-India drip irrigation system to the Children’s Park near India Gate in New Delhi. The initiative took place on World Water Day to encourage water-efficiency and teach young children about water conservation, the Embassy said in a statement. H.E. Naor Gilon, Ambassador of Israel to India said, “We are happy to share the drip irrigation system with the Children’s Park near India Gate to assist them in their water conservation efforts. This is another example of the multifaceted partnership between Isr
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Area office and Innovation Centre in India on March 22. He also unveiled the Bharat 6G Vision Document, and launched the 6G R&D Test Bed and the ‘Call before u Dig’ (CBuD) app. India signed a Host Country Agreement in March 2022 with ITU – the United Nations' specialised agency for information and communication technologies (ICTs) – for the establishment of Area Office. This office will serve India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Afghanistan and Iran, enhancing coordina
India and Japan have signed the documents for the fourth tranche of ₹18,000 crore loan by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for India’s bullet train from Mumbai to Ahmedabad. The documents of the loan were signed during Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s two-day visit to India. “The high speed train project is also part of the technology cooperation between India and Japan,” said India’s Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra on March 20 in New Delhi. India is targeting 2026 for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad bullet train to start operations. The high speed train will run
With one of the fastest 5G rollouts in the world, India by this year-end will be ahead of most countries, said Ericsson CEO Borje Ekholm. The country has a strong pool of good software engineers, and “that’s going to drive the next level of growth in India and that makes it for us a very important market,” he said in an interview on March 15. Ekholm said that Ericsson already has about 25,000 employees in India. “We continue to grow and we strengthen our presence in R&D, software development, service delivery, AI, automation, and all of those areas. We provide the critical infr
India will hold the first-ever India-Africa Army Chiefs Conclave on March 28, and a nine-day military exercise with African militaries from March 21, in Pune, taking ahead India’s outreach to African nations amid China’s growing influence in the continent, senior Army officers said on March 17. About 22 Army Chiefs and representatives of Army Chiefs of African countries, including Congo, Niger, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Uganda, Seychelles, Gambia, Tanzania and Kenya have confirmed their participation in the conclave. Representatives of military heads of 12 nations will also participate
Indian scientists, engineers and academicians have acquired 100 patents for 6G technology, said IT and Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on March 16. Speaking at the Bharat Startup Summit organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce in New Delhi, the union minister said India is taking a leap in 5G technology with the fastest rollout of networks in the world. He shared that the 5G network rollout has far exceeded the government target of 200 cities by March 31, 2023, with coverage in 397 cities at present. He said India has become a $3.5 trillion economy, and it can become the world’s larges
Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India, unveiled the pilot trial of MD15 buses and prototype launch of M100 (100% methanol) at an event organised by Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) at Vidhana Soudha on March 12. BMTC along with NITI Aayog, Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Ashok Leyland are conducting the project, an official said. “This will eventually lead to a considerable reduction in emission levels,” he added. BMTC plans to induct 80 methanol-run buses for the pilot project. Out of them, 20 Ashok Leyland buses will be ind
OneWeb, the Bharti Group backed Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications’ company, on March 10 confirmed the successful deployment and contact of 40 satellites launched by SpaceX from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The latest launch brings the total OneWeb constellation to 582 satellites. With these satellites now in orbit, the company will complete the global footprint of its ‘Gen 1 constellation’ with a launch set to take place later this month with NSIL, the commercial arm of Indian Space Research Organisation with the primary responsibility of enabling India
A transport aircraft from the US carrying a NASA-ISRO satellite landed in Bengaluru on March 8. The C-17 plane airlifted off California with the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture (NISAR) satellite for a joint mission to measure changes in Earth’s crust and land ice surfaces. The 2,800 kg satellite can penetrate through clouds and can produce high-resolution images regardless of weather conditions. It will be used to protect the earth from all kinds of threats. The satellite, which to be launched in 2024 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh, will also be used for various purpo