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Newspaper Analysis and Summary – 6th January 2015

NATIONAL ‘We lost an independent voice with abolition of Plan panel’ – The Hindu

“In the abolition of the Planning Commission, we have lost an independent voice,”

National Statistical Commission Chairman Pronob Sen has said.

“The Government works in silos and the [Planning] Commission was a moderator… In

inter-ministerial disputes, the Commission stepped in as it had both sides of the picture,” he

said in an exclusive interview to The Hindu.

“In its absence, the silos are complete.”

The Commission’s most important function was not allocations, but checks and balances,

according to Dr. Sen. “If a ministry said something, the Commission could contradict… It

was an independent voice,” he said.

Dr. Sen said the fear over empowering the Finance Ministry to take on the Commission’s

role of funds allocation was that it “tends to be interested in finance and deficits, not

development… Its primary role of managing finances on a day-to-day basis does not let it

take long-term views.”

Mashelkar: India lagging in innovative ideas – The Hindu

At a time when scientists created history at the ongoing Indian Science Congress in

Mumbai with their claims of an interplanetary aircraft being in existence in India about

9,000 years ago, Padma Vibhushan awardee and eminent scientist R.A. Mashelkar said here

on Monday that India has been lagging behind in the global race to come up with

innovative outputs.

Dr. Mashelkar was delivering a lecture on “Reinventing India as an innovation nation” at

the city’s International Management Institute.

“India has been slipping in the Global Innovation Index. From being at 64 in 2012 and 66

in 2013, India ranked at 76 in 2014,” the former Director-General of CSIR said. The Global

Innovation Index is an annual report, which ranks countries according to the number of

innovative outputs they produce. Incidentally, Dr. Malshekar is part of the advisory board

of the Global Innovation Index.

Championing India’s increasingly innovative efforts across several fronts, he said though

India had rich intellectual property resources, scientists need to monetise the knowledge.

Citing medical examples where India had managed to deliver treatment at affordable prices

using updated technology, Dr. Mashelkar said quite a lot of India’s innovative efforts have

not been acknowledged globally.

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SC lawyers’ body plea to declare NJAC invalid – The Hindu

The Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association (SCAORA) on Monday filed a writ

petition seeking a declaration that the Constitution 99th Amendment Act, 2014, providing

constitutional status to the National Judicial Appointments Commission, is “invalid, void

and unconstitutional”.

The association had, in August last year, challenged the NJAC law. But a Bench led by

Justice Anil R. Dave had said it was too premature as the States were yet to ratify it.

However, the Supreme Court had given the association liberty to approach it at a later

stage. The NJAC, which restores the political class’s role in the appointment of judges to the

Supreme Court and the High Courts, received the President’s assent last week after

ratification by 16 State legislatures. Both the Constitution Amendment Bill and the NJAC

Bill were passed by Parliament in August 2014.

The petition, filed by SCAORA and its secretary and Supreme Court advocate Vipin Nair

late on Monday evening, is settled by senior advocate Fali Nariman.

The petition contends that by passing the NJAC Bill, Parliament had “altered the basic

structure of the Constitution” and encroached into judicial independence.

“Independence of the judiciary includes the necessity to eliminate political influence even

at the stage of appointment of a judge,” the petition said.

It said the amendment, as passed by the two houses of Parliament, “takes away the primacy

of the collective opinion of the Chief Justice of India and the two senior most Judges of the

Supreme Court of India”.

Although the six-member Commission had the CJI as chairperson and two seniormost

Supreme Court judges as members, there was no “primacy” for them. Even their collective

recommendation of a candidate as judge could be frozen if any two non-judicial members

on the panel vetoed it.

The petition said the NJAC Act did not give any “suitability criteria” for appointment as

judge, leaving it to the Commission to frame them. It sought a return to the

recommendations of the 2002 Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah Committee in which the NJAC

was composed of five members.

‘Tall claims insult the past’– The Hindu

The claims of inter-planetary travel by Indians several years ago and other papers based on

mythology at the 102nd Indian Science Congress (ISC) in Mumbai has drawn scathing

criticism from academics and activists alike. Maulana Abul Kalam Azad chair at the

National University of Educational Planning and Administration, S. Irfan Habib, cautioned

against “using the past as a battlefield instead of a springboard for research.”

Prof. Habib told The Hindu, “We actually do more harm than good in this race by claiming

all achievements as Indian. This denigrates what already existed.” He explained that several

scientific theories, now being attributed to ancient India, were simply ideas that were

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floated. “We do not have a series of investigations by a line of scientists to improve upon

what was already known.”

Archaeology professor Nayanjot Lahiri of Delhi University said, “How modern science can

contribute to the study of science in Ancient India is what needs to be assessed. The

scientific data base, for instance, available for understanding ancient metallurgy is

extremely shallow. It can, however, be qualitatively expanded through technical studies of

ancient artefacts themselves and not through an analysis of ancient texts.”

The claims of inter-planetary travel by Indians several years ago and other papers based on

mythology at the 102nd Indian Science Congress in Mumbai has drawn scathing criticism

from academics and activists alike.

The Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad Chair at the National University of Educational Planning

and Administration, S. Irfan Habib, cautioned against “using the past as a battlefield instead

of a springboard for research.”

He told The Hindu , “We do more harm than good in this race by claiming all achievements

as Indian. This denigrates what already existed.”

Prof. Habib explained that several scientific theories, now being attributed to ancient India,

were simply ideas that were floated.

“We do not have a series of investigations by a line of scientists to improve upon what was

already known.”

Only 10% of 22 lakh NGOs file returns: CBI – The Hindu

Only about 10 per cent of the over 22 lakh non-governmental organisations scanned by the

Central Bureau of Investigation, on the Supreme Court’s directions, file their annual

income and expenditure statements with the authorities they are registered with.

This was revealed in an analysis on NGOs functioning in 20 States and six Union

Territories filed by the agency before the court on Monday.

The CBI, represented by Additional Solicitor-General P.S. Patwalia, urged the court to

impose a pre-condition on NGOs that they first submit their balance sheets, including

income and expenditure statements, for the preceding three years before further grants were

allowed.

However, a Bench, led by Chief Justice of India H.L. Dattu, said an order could be given

only after an extensive hearing. The CBI should first complete compiling data on NGOs

and argue its case in detail. “Then we will see why NGOs cannot be asked to maintain

complete records,” he orally observed.

The CBI was acting on the Supreme Court’s order of September 2, 2013 on a PIL petition,

filed by advocate Manohar Lal Sharma, alleging misuse of funds by Anna Hazare’s NGO

Hind Swaraj Trust. The court had expanded the scope of the petition and directed the CBI

to file the entire list of NGOs in the country registered under the Societies Registration Act.

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Clean chit to Pakistan not justified, says India – The Hindu

In a sharp reaction to the U.S.’s decision to clear $532 million to Pakistan after certifying

that it had cracked down on the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad, the Ministry of

External Affairs said it “didn’t believe” that Pakistan was showing “sustained commitment”

against these groups.

The government reacted to a report in The Hindu that detailed U.S. Secretary of State John

Kerry’s authorisation for civilian aid to Pakistan under the ‘Kerry-Lugar’ Act. The law

required the Secretary to certify that the government in Islamabad had taken steps in the

preceding year to prevent the LeT, the JeM and other al-Qaeda and Taliban groups from

operating in Pakistan, to cease any support to them and to dismantle bases.

“How the Government of the United States of America decides to spend U.S. taxpayers’

money is entirely its prerogative,” said MEA spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin in a

statement. “However, India does not believe that Pakistan is showing ‘sustained

commitment’ or making ‘significant effort or ceasing support’ or dismantling ‘bases of

operations’ of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, the Jaish-e-Mohammad, the Haqqani network and quite

possibly the al-Qaeda.”

The statement indicated that Mr. Kerry may have to face some tough questions on the

subject when he meets Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 11 in Gandhinagar at the

Vibrant Gujarat Summit.

U.S. denies Pakistan got clean chit, funds- The Hindu

The U.S. government has denied Pakistan’s reports that the U.S. Congress had cleared $532

million to Pakistan on the Kerry Lugar Act that needs certification on action against the

Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad.

“No certification has been sought for funds to Pakistan, and no funds disbursed since

2013,” said State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki. A report in The Hindu had quoted

the Associated Press of Pakistan, and an official Pakistan government release that the $532

million had been cleared, as reportedly disclosed by U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Richard

Olson to Finance Minister Ishaq Dar.

In Delhi, the Ministry of External Affairs had criticised the reported certification that

cleared the aid to Pakistan. “How the Government of the United States of America decides

to spend U.S. tax payers money is entirely its prerogative,” said spokesperson Syed

Akbaruddin in an official statement.

“However, India does not believe that Pakistan is showing “sustained commitment” or

making “significant effort” or ceasing support” or dismantling “bases of operations” of the

LeT, JeM, the Haqqani network and quite possibly the Al Qaeda.”

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Arvind Panagariya is NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman – The Hindu

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday appointed Columbia University Professor

Arvind Panagariya as the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog Vice-

Chairman.

Mr. Modi also appointed economist Bibek Debroy and the former Secretary, Defence R&D,

Dr. V.K. Saraswat, to the Aayog as full-time members. India’s Tryst with Destiny , a book Dr. Panagariya co-authored with economist Jagdish

Bhagwati, praises Gujarat’s growth model. Before the Lok Sabha polls , he argued for

scaling back the PDS and disapproved of the food security law. Dr. Debroy has worked at

the Centre for Policy Research and National Council of Applied Economic Research.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Union Railway

Minister Suresh Prabhu and Union Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh were all

appointed as ex-officio members to the Aayog, according to an official release.

The release also said that Union Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari,

Union Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Zubin Irani and Union Social,

Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot were special invitees to the

Aayog.

Sanskrit is still important: Amartya Sen – The Hindu

Emphasising that Sanskrit as a language is important in India today, Nobel laureate

Amartya Sen said on Monday that a distinction should be made between Sanskrit as a great

language and a general vehicle of thoughts on the one hand, and specific religious ideas

that may be expressed in the language, on the other.

Speaking at an event where Infosys Prize, 2014 was awarded to six scientists, Professor

Sen said the distinction was made clear to him from his early days as a student and that

distinction is important even today.

“It is not only the language of priesthood and a language in which Hindu and many

Buddhist texts came, it is also a vehicle among many other radical thoughts of

comprehensive doubts about the supernatural… a medium in which questioning of class

and legitimacy of power was expressed with profound eloquence by Sudraka in his play

Mrichchhakatika,” he said.

Reflecting on the interconnections between different cultures and the ability to learn from

one another in science, Prof. Sen cited the example of the three mathematical connections

— Indian, Arabic and European mathematics, referring to Brahmagupta, Alberuni and

Gherard.

“There is no shame in learning from others, and to put them to good use and then going on

to create knowledge, new understanding and thrilling novel ideas and results,” he said.

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Bt cotton not to blame for farm distress: scientists– The Hindu

Farmer suicides in Maharashtra’s Vidarbha area and other parts of the country have nothing

to do with Bt cotton, scientists said at the Indian Science Congress here on Monday.

“There is a lot of negative public perception about Bt crops… Even a paper in Nature says

linking these two [Bt. Cotton and farmer suicides] is our imagination,” said Dr. Anupam

Verma, INSA [Indian National Science Academy] Senior Scientist at the Indian Agriculture

Research Institute, speaking on ‘GM crops — use of modern technology in agriculture.’

Some scientists said there were interesting research prospects in the field of biotechnology.

“We could be extracting oil from leaves, instead of seeds. Imagine what it would mean for

us, when our government is spending over Rs. 60,000 crore on oil import,” Dr. Deepak

Pental, former Vice-Chancellor of the Delhi University, said. “We can produce oil

indigenously if we use Bt. But unfortunately, it is caught up in a debate taken up by the Left

and now supported by the neo-right.” Dr. Pental is an award-winning genetic scientist who

has been credited with major breakthroughs in hybrid seed science.

In the recent past, there had been a sharp increase in the acreage of GM crops in the

country, and over 90 per cent of the cotton cultivated was GM crop, scientists said. They

refuted arguments about monopolisation and said there were over 1000 Bt Cotton hybrids

available in the country. Dr. Verma referred to Project Sunshine in Gujarat and explained

how Bt Cotton had powered the growth in agriculture in Gujarat. He said GM Maize had

taken nutrition to Adivasi farmers.

The session, attended by over 100 delegates, including students, farmers and scientists,

didn’t have a single critical or dissenting paper on GM crops. The scientists called for a

clear policy decision by the Central government on genetically modified crops. Some

scientists questioned the need for stringent regulations. The need of the hour was more of

confined field trials. “How will there be trust among the people if there is not enough data

for analysis?” asked renowned scientist and Padma Bhushan awardee R. Paroda.

Scientists said the ambiguous policy relating to GM crops had caused disillusionment, and

it was keeping young researchers from venturing into the field.

Heated debate

A debate ensued after a journalist questioned the basis for selection of scientists to present

the papers. He wondered why there was not a single critical voice. He claimed scientists

were fudging data and not giving out clear information about the adverse impact of GM

crops. He accused them of fear-mongering about food insecurity.

But while one scientist answered some of the questions, a few others called the journalist

‘neo-leftist’ and claimed there was no scientific basis for his arguments. “We have created a

gene bank with over four lakh samples. It has been acknowledged as one of the best

biodiversity programmes in the world. We have understood the need of our farmers and

have helped them flourish. We have doubled cotton production and have reduced the load

of pesticides. We are now exporting cotton worth $3 billion. But it is people like you who

have created policy paralysis,” Mr. Paroda told the journalist.

He later acknowledged that there was a need for post-release monitoring system.

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Alternative route

Dr. Pental said a country had to make choices and take an alternative course of action if it

did not want genetically modified crops. “We should go ahead and say we don’t want to

research in the field of GM technology. In that case, we have to invest in alternatives. “For

example, Europe is investing hugely in new generation pesticides. But we are still using old

pesticides,” he said.

T.N. refuses to share data on NGOs with CBI– The Hindu

CBI analysis on 22 lakh NGOs across the country showed that of the 22,39,971 NGOs

functioning in 20 States, about 2,23,428 submitted annual returns. In six of the Union

Territories, of the 5,684 NGOs, only 50 filed their balance sheets. The CBI report was a

response to the Supreme Court’s directive on a PIL petition filed by advocate Manohar

Sharma alleging misuse of funds by Anna Hazare’s NGO, Hind Swaraj Trust.

The court had expanded the scope of the petition and directed the CBI to file the entire list

of NGOs in the country registered under the Societies Registration Act. It had also ordered

the agency to find out whether these organisations filed their funding and expenditure

details with the authority they were registered with.

The CBI said no information was forthcoming from New Delhi. As of now, The Tamil

Nadu and Telangana governments had not given any information to the CBI on the NGOs

functioning in these States. and their financial details. The Bench has issued notice to the

State counsel of the two States.

Meanwhile, among the 20 States, Uttar Pradesh has the highest number of NGOs, at

5,48,148, and of which 1,19,000 of them submit annual returns. Maharashtra has 5,18,437

registered NGOs, of which 77,766 file balance sheets. Kerala shows 3.6 lakh registered

NGOs, but none files balance sheets as there is no provision in the State’s statute requiring

them to do so. Similar is the case with Punjab and Rajasthan, which have over 1.36 lakh

registered NGOs. Of the 2.34 lakh NGOs in West Bengal, only 17,089 were found to be

active and filing annual returns.

In Jammu and Kashmir, all 147 registered NGOs file annual returns. of the 147 NGOs

registered, all file annual returns. In the Northeast, none of the NGOs in Assam, Manipur,

Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura file returns.

Plea to remove aviation paper for ISC proceedings– The Hindu

Reacting strongly to papers presented at the 102 Indian Science Congress (ISC), claiming

that aviation was known to Indians 9000 years ago, California-based National Aeronautics

and Space Administration (NASA) scientist Ramprasad Gandhiraman has launched a

signature campaign to remove the lecture on ‘Ancient Indian Aviation Technology’ from the

ISC, fearing that it would gain the legitimacy to be included in school curriculum.

“Interestingly, talks like this are allowed on respected platforms only when the BJP comes

to power,” said N. D. Jayaprakash of the Delhi Science Forum. “India certainly made

contributions to astronomy but talking about aircraft 7000 years ago is a joke. They

constantly need to revisit what they call past glory to drum up support for their ideology,”

he added.

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Last month, the Indian History Congress passed a resolution demanding that the

government should not distort history. “Unfortunately, even the Prime Minister has

suggested that in the hoary past, Indians had learnt, and then forgotten, plastic surgery of a

kind going far beyond what is now possible. There is widespread belief that soon textbooks

will be revised or rewritten, to inculcate such a strongly misleading and divisive brand of

history among pupils in our schools,” it said.

Digital passport likely by year-end – The Hindu

New generation passports with better security features would be rolled out either this year-

end or next year, Muktesh Kumar Pardeshi, Joint secretary in-charge of passport seva

project in the MEA and chief passport officer, said.

Known as biometric or digital passports, they would come with a microprocessor chip

embedded, possibly on the last page. “We have already communicated the details to the

India Security Press in Nashik and the tendering process is under way,” Mr. Pardeshi told

the media after chairing a review meeting of Regional Passport Officers (RPO) in south

India here on Monday.

However, this would not require existing passport holders to migrate to the new system

prematurely. Mr. Pardeshi said India had become a major ‘passport power’ in the world

alongside China and the U.S., capable of processing in a year over a crore passport

services.

SC refuses to hear plea against ordinance – The Hindu

Despite pleas that it infringes “grassroots democracy”, the Supreme Court on Monday

refused to entertain a challenge against the Rajasthan Panchayati Raj (Second Amendment)

Ordinance, 2014.

The ordinance, promulgated on December 20, 2014, prescribes minimum educational

qualifications to contest in local body elections, and effectively keeps out illiterate persons

from the democratic process.

In a brief hearing, a Bench led by Chief Justice of India H.L. Dattu asked the petitioners,

led by social activist Aruna Roy, to approach the Rajasthan High Court and convince it of

the urgency of the matter.

The last date for filing nominations for the panchayat polls is January 6. The first phase of

the elections starts on January 16.

The ordinance stipulates that a member of a zila parishad or panchayat samiti should have

acquired secondary education. While the panchayat sarpanch of a Scheduled area should

have passed Class 5, his counterpart in Non-Scheduled areas should have cleared Class 8.

Appearing for various petitioners, senior advocates Raju Ramachandran, Anand Grover and

Abhishek Manu Singhvi submitted that the ordinance was passed “strategically”, “knowing

that the courts would be closed for vacations”.

“We are only telling you to please go to the High Court and then come back to us,” Chief

Justice Dattu observed.

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Ms. Roy’s petition argued that the ordinance is a “punitive and disentitling measure” in a

State where the Right to Education has seen the worst implementation.

It argued that the ordinance violated the inclusive spirit of the 73rd and 74th Amendments

and served as an “exit for illiterate people”.

Mr. Grover submitted that the 2001 Census showed 82.5 percent of the people above 20

years of age in rural Rajasthan did not have formal education beyond class 5 or primary

level.

EDITORIALS Resolving the nuclear liability deadlock- The Hindu

On January 26, Barack Obama will become the first U.S. President to attend India’s

Republic Day celebrations. It will also mark nearly 10 years since the first announcement

on the India-U.S. civil nuclear agreement. In contrast to those heady days when the promise

of nuclear power meeting India’s gargantuan energy needs was in the air, the present

situation is bleak. A target of installing 63 Gigawatts of nuclear capacity by 2032 has been

reduced to 27.5 Gigawatts and none of the landmark deals envisaged has been struck. The

Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage (CLND) Act, 2010 which contains a speedy

compensation mechanism for victims of a nuclear accident has been deemed responsible

for this deadlock. Specifically, provisions on recourse liability on suppliers (Section 17(b))

and concurrent, potentially unlimited liability under other laws (Section 46) have been

viewed as major obstacles in operationalising nuclear energy in India and bilateral relations

with key supplier countries.

A question of recourse

Under Section 17(b), a liable operator can recover compensation from suppliers of nuclear

material in the event of a nuclear accident if the damage is caused by the provision of

substandard services or patent or latent defects in equipment or material. This is contrary to

the practice of recourse in international civil nuclear liability conventions, which channel

liability exclusively to the operator. Specifically, it contradicts Article 10 of the Annex to

the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (CSC), an

international treaty which India has signed.

That Section 17(b) is contrary to the global norm is undeniable. However when the global

norm itself is inequitable, there are justifiable reasons to depart from it. The inclusion of

Section 17(b) recognises historical incidents such as the Bhopal gas tragedy in 1984 for

which defective parts were partly responsible. The paltry compensation paid to the victims

was facilitated by gaps in legislation and an extraordinarily recalcitrant state machinery.

This is not a peculiarly Indian phenomenon — accidents such as Three Mile Island

occurred partially due to lapses on the part of suppliers. More recently, forged quality

certificates were detected for parts supplied to nuclear plants in South Korea. That Section

17(b) incentivises supplier safety and reduces the probability of a recurrence of such

instances is equally undeniable.

A step too far

India can retain Section 17(b) while ensuring compliance with its international legal

obligations in two ways. First, the CSC allows countries to make reservations to certain

provisions in treaties despite being signatories to them. India could make a reservation to

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Article 10 of the Annex to the CSC since it satisfies the requisite criteria for making a valid

reservation under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, thereby excluding its

application. Second, Article XV of the CSC implies that the rights and obligations of States

under general rules of public international law are exempt from the application of the CSC.

One such principle of international law is the “polluter pays principle” — applicable both

to the state and private entities. The principle comes into operation via the mechanism

through which compensation can be recovered from a polluting entity for the

environmental harm it causes. Exercising either of these options will allow India to retain

Section 17(b) without violating the international treaty regime.

However in pursuing the safety of supply, Section 17(b) goes too far in keeping liability for

suppliers entirely open-ended. If liability on suppliers is unlimited in time and quantum, the

possibility of getting adequate insurance cover will reduce. Even if such insurance is

available, it could make nuclear energy economically unviable. To address this, Rule 24 of

the CLND Rules dilutes the right of recourse conferred by Section 17(b) by limiting

compensation payable by suppliers to a specified amount and for a specified time period.

Both these are made standard terms of the contract entered into between the supplier and

operator.

Though the end that Rule 24 seeks to achieve is justifiable, the means adopted are

questionable. Rule 24 arguably violates Article 14 of the Constitution of India because there

is no specific power in the CLND Act to limit liability in the manner that Rule 24 does.

Further, the terms of the contract potentially dilute Section 17(b), which gives operators an

untrammelled right to proceed against the supplier by way of recourse. It is a basic

principle of law that a contract cannot violate the provision of a statute — if it does so, it is

opposed to public policy. For these reasons, Rule 24 should be deleted. The limitation on

time during which the supplier can be held liable should be inserted by means of a

provision in the main Act. This will ensure that not just the end but also the means of

limiting liability are legally tenable.

As far as the limitation on the amount is concerned, without Rule 24, the liability for each

supplier potentially extends to the general liability cap of Rs.1,500 crore. If all suppliers

have to be insured up to this value, insurance costs will be unnecessarily pyramided. To

address this, countries with a history of nuclear power have in place mechanisms to provide

for insurance coverage through international insurance pools where insurers, operators and

states share the risks of an accident, providing access to a wide pool of compensation.

There are about 26 such pools in existence, which also provide reinsurance to each other.

Insurance pools typically require members to be signatories to an international convention

(such as CSC), and to allow reasonable inspections of their nuclear installations.

While provisions for the creation of a domestic insurance pool for operators exist in

Sections 7 and 8 of the Act and Rule 3, they need to be made explicit and amended to

include suppliers in order to prevent the pyramiding of insurance premiums. This is

particularly relevant to India’s domestic nuclear suppliers who would otherwise need to

individually take out coverage, which would be prohibitively expensive. In order to access

international reinsurance pools, the Central government could utilise the provisions in

Section 43 and 44 of the CLND Act (Power to Call for Information from Operators) to

establish a satisfactory inspections regime.

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Sanctity of a special mechanism

Finally, Section 46 of the CLND Act contradicts the Act’s central purpose of serving as a

special mechanism enforcing the channelling of liability to the operator to ensure prompt

compensation for victims.

Section 46 provides that nothing would prevent proceedings other than those which can be

brought under the Act, to be brought against the operator. This is not uncommon, as it

allows criminal liability to be pursued where applicable. However, in the absence of a

comprehensive definition of the types of ‘nuclear damage’ being notified by the Central

Government, Section 46 potentially also allows civil liability claims to be brought against

the operator and suppliers through other civil law such as the law of tort. While liability for

operators is capped by the CLND Act, this exposes suppliers to unlimited amounts of

liability. Obtaining insurance coverage for any future liability costs on account of claims by

victims in such a case would be next to impossible.

Section 46 should thus be limited to criminal liability, and should clarify that victims who

suffer on account of ‘nuclear damage’ can institute claims for compensation only under the

CLND Act and not by recourse to other legislations or Courts. A clarification issued by the

Attorney General’s office, if not an amendment to the law itself, will provide much needed

assurance to suppliers while furthering national interest.

The issue of the liability law has, for far too long, been a thorn in India’s bilateral relations

especially with the United States. Mr. Obama’s visit provides a historic opportunity to

address these misgivings and meet foreign governments, as well as the entire supplier

community, Indian and foreign, halfway on the issue. This will signal the seriousness of the

Government of India in setting its own house in order and put the ball firmly in the court of

the supplier community. By putting in place such a comprehensive, fair and pragmatic

legislation on civil nuclear liability, there is no reason why India cannot reap the long-term

benefits of civilian nuclear energy and resolve a prickly foreign policy issue, the time for

whose resolution has come.

Can India catch up with China? – The Hindu

The average Indian was slightly better off than the average Chinese in the initial years after

Indian independence. But China’s approach to development has varied markedly over the

last 40 years and has been so successful that it now ranks as the second most important

economy in the world. India has made good progress but is still substantially behind China.

In the first decade of this century, India’s growth reached a take off stage that prompted

many people to ask when India would catch up with its neighbour. It was also thought that

democratic India may even overtake China. Will that dream come true?

China and India, despite being such large countries, accounted for only 4.5 per cent and 4.2

per cent of global GDP in 1950 in Purchasing Power Parity (PPP$) terms. The ratio of

China’s GDP to India’s was 1.18 in 1913 ($241 billion/$204 billion); in 1950 it was 1.08

($239 billion/$222 billion). Estimates of per capita income made by Angus Maddison and

Dharma Kumar suggest that India might have had a higher per capita income. However,

there was not a marked difference in the level of human development.

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Both countries, in the course of history, have feared foreign domination, have considered

the state as the driver of growth and have suspected the private sector’s initiatives. For

India, the problems were achieving unity in diversity and accommodating various

languages and religions in a democratic set up. On the contrary, China’s hard state enabled

it to pursue a single goal with determination and mobilise maximum resources to achieve

its goals.

Growth in China

China experienced many problems in initiating industrialisation, but after some hitches, it

switched to an all-round emphasis on heavy and light industries, and had a more successful

resource mobilisation strategy than India did. As a result, Chinese manufacturing grew at

9.5 per cent, twice as much as India’s rate, from 1965-80. Also, China managed its agrarian

reform better than India did.

On the whole, estimates by Richard Herd and Sean Dougherty suggest that China grew at a

much faster rate than India did during 1950-79, and Chinese per capita GDP was more than

twice the rate of India’s. This is largely due to higher growth in Chinese labour productivity

and capital deepening. By 1978, the per capita income of China was estimated at $979;

India’s at $966. China had caught up with India over the 30 years, but not dramatically

surpassed it.

Few people in 1978 could have imagined the monumental economic progress that China

would make because of the economic reforms pushed by Deng Xiaoping. The reforms

stressed the principle of “each according to his work” rather than “each according to his

need,” professionalism and efficient economic management at all levels and the gradual

introduction of policy changes to avoid problems in implementation.

Deng transformed agriculture first and then took on the industrial sector. He opened up the

latter to foreign capital while making room for the growth of village and local enterprises.

Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao and now Xi Jinping have continued to follow Deng’s principles, but

with some adjustments. China’s economic growth was also made possible by a very large

net inflow of foreign direct investment, a sign of confidence in the Chinese economy by

outside investors. China is the leading nation in exports and the second largest economy in

the world. The country’s per capita income more than quadrupled, ($5,720 equivalent to

about PPP $13,000) and abject poverty was completely eliminated (though income

inequality increased). China’s Human Development Index has also risen from .423 in 1980

to .719 in 2013, according to the United Nations Development Programme 2014.

Against China’s success, India’s achievement, though significant compared to what it was

before independence, is modest. India also took tentative steps to modernise its economy in

the early 1980s, but these petered out. Freed from the constraint of food grain availability

thanks to the Green Revolution, India did not manage to apply to its industrial sector the

lessons it learnt in its agricultural revolution — using foreign knowledge, relying on the

private sector and deploying subsidies selectively. Instead, foreign borrowing was used to

ease the consumption constraint in the public sector and to cushion loss-making public

enterprises.

Indian policy underwent directional changes in 1991. Prime Minister Narasimha Rao

ushered in reforms which were implemented well by his Finance Minister Manmohan

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Singh, who then became the second-longest serving Prime Minister of India. Indian

economic growth accelerated during the period 1995-2008, but could not maintain the

momentum due to political paralysis of policies that were necessary for economic growth.

Gross national income per capita in 2013 was $1,550 and India’s HDI increased from 0.369

in 1980 to 0.586 in 2013.

Primary difference

The primary difference between the performance of the Indian and Chinese economy has

been the faster growth of capital stock in China. With only a slight difference in the growth

of employment, this translated into a more rapid growth of capital intensity. The growth of

total factor productivity has also been faster in China. This appears to reflect a greater ease

for labour to move out of agriculture into higher productivity sectors in China than in India.

China has outdistanced India in every area of economic endeavour in the last 35 years,

except in computer software industry and agricultural research.

Despite international border issues that still exist between India and China, the two

countries are trying to create a cooperative relationship — China has become India’s largest

trading partner in 2013, India’s trade deficit with China is about $38 billion, President Xi

has offered $20 billion for investment in Indian infrastructure and other industries, and a

100-person delegation of Zhejiang province has signed MoUs with India totalling about

$2.46 billion.

India will most probably overtake China as the most populous country in the world in 2030.

China is better placed structurally than India for a good economic performance, but it is

most likely to be much lower than its recent average performance of about 10 per cent a

year. How much lower it would be would depend on its ability to maintain current labour

productivity levels and the benefits likely to flow from its proposed trans-continental rail

system and other transport-related activities. Troubles in China’s financial markets, a

declining young and increasing older population as a proportion of the working age

population, increasing wages in general and export industries in particular, costs associated

with cleaning up serious environmental pollution, increasing competition from other

countries in export industries using low-skill and semi-skill labour, lower savings rate and a

possibly lower investment rate will have a negative effect on its growth.

India has an excellent chance of catching up with China if it can increase its labour force

participation rate (particularly women), increase the average level of education, improve

the quality of its labour force through special training programmes, reduce impediments to

let foreign capital participate in its development process, design policies to cultivate a

culture of entrepreneurship, and reduce corruption at all levels.

The problem in India has always been implementation. In a noisy political democracy,

problems are compounded by the existence of multiple political parties with no coherent

approach to development.

Prime Minister Modi, with his majority in Parliament, has an opportunity to reignite the

engines of economic growth. Even if the Indian economy were to grow at 10 per cent a

year, its GDP at 2011 PPP$ will reach only about 26 trillion in 2030; China can easily reach

this by 2022. I don’t see India catching up with China in the next 25 years unless, of course,

there is a massive failure of sorts in China.

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Mythology and science – The Hindu

The 102nd Indian Science Congress being held in Mumbai will be remembered for a very

long time to come, but for all the wrong reasons. For the first time, the science congress

had a session on “Ancient Sciences through Sanskrit”. If the Indian Science Congress had

long lost its eminence as a forum where results of serious science being done in the country

are presented and discussed in most sessions, the inclusion of Ancient Sciences through

Sanskrit has only lowered its standing further. Even as a public session, there is no real

reason whatsoever for it to have been included in the proceedings. At best, a session could

have been devoted to the history of Indian science which has real and substantial

achievements to celebrate, with serious scholars working on the subject presenting papers.

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi setting the tone for this antiquity frenzy with his

implausible claims that cosmetic surgery was practised thousands of years ago and in-vitro

fertilisation-like procedure was resorted to long back, and different political leaders

following it up with several other incredulous claims well before the start of the national

event, the reason for the inclusion of the session becomes supremely clear. Instead of

fostering scientific temper, the congress has provided a forum to seed the minds of young

people with pseudoscience. Some of the papers presented were about Indians’ “knowledge

of making aeroplanes” that could undertake interplanetary travel, between 7000 and 6000

BC, and “radars” that worked on the principle of detecting energy given out by animate and

inanimate objects and finding out if a body was dead or alive.

Science is grounded on the principle of reproducibility of results. The claims of advanced

science and technology in the ancient world are based on some references in ancient scripts

that may be wholly imaginary. Flying, for instance, has caught humankind’s imagination

across cultures right from ancient times. Such references should be taken for the myths they

are, not as scientific facts. Scientists have been able to create animal chimeras that have

cells/organs of different species, much as what Greek mythology describes. Should the

Greeks then be taken as pioneers in the science of chimera production? Thanks to our

understanding of genetics and the ability to fertilise eggs outside the body, producing

designer babies is no longer in the realm of science fiction. Should the creators of the

science fiction then be credited with devising the procedures? Compare this with how Sir

Arthur C. Clarke documented his idea of communications satellites in a concept paper

published in 1945. Dozens of geosynchronous satellites launched each year do precisely

what Sir Arthur had visualised there.

Moderation warranted– The Hindu

The recent narrow defeat of a resolution in the United Nations Security Council on

Palestinian statehood should be read in the context of resistance from the United States and

Israel to the territory’s bid for UN membership. In 2012, Washington and Tel Aviv opposed

a landmark UN General Assembly vote by 138 countries to upgrade Palestine’s status from

Observer to Non-Member Observer State in the world body. Introduced by Jordan, the

resolution last week called for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the West Bank by 2017

and the creation of a capital in East Jerusalem — territories captured by Israel besides Gaza

Strip in the so-called Six-Day War in 1967. Against the backdrop of the failure of peace

talks, the Palestinian Authority (PA) under President Mahmoud Abbas has pinned its hopes

for any meaningful progress on taking recourse to international legal instruments.

Accordingly, Mr. Abbas has moved swiftly to accede to the Rome Statute of the

International Criminal Court (ICC) once the UNSC resolution was defeated in December.

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Earlier in the month, Palestine was invited as an observer at the annual meeting of states

that have joined the ICC.

The Palestinians expect the step would eventually lead to the trial of certain Israeli leaders

for war crimes in The Hague court. But a determination has yet to be made on whether its

jurisdiction would commence from 2012, when the status of Palestine was revised at the

UN, or after its accession to the Rome treaty is completed. It is also uncertain whether the

nature of the violence during the conflict would qualify for prosecution by the ICC. What is

clear, however, is that the activities of both the PA and the Islamic militant group Hamas

would also come under scrutiny should the court deem it fit to investigate Israel. But

paradoxically, the U.S. and Israel continue to regard any attempt by the PA to gain

international recognition as confrontational, insisting that direct negotiations are the only

possible avenue to find a lasting solution. Both have threatened retaliation in the form of

severe economic sanctions against Palestine and travel restrictions on their leaders. Such a

stance is unhelpful considering the PA is the main moderate voice wedded to a two-state

solution, unlike Hamas that refuses to recognise the state of Israel. But international

opinion in support of Palestinian self-determination is growing, as is evident from the

overwhelming backing accorded to the European Parliament resolution. The Palestinian bid

to join the ICC is expected to strengthen Israel’s hardliners in the elections in March. The

larger interests of peace in the Middle East warrant moderation.

ECONOMY Ordinance for mines auction gets nod– The Hindu

The Cabinet, on Monday, approved an ordinance for auction of iron ore and other minerals,

yet again opting for the emergency route that was adopted for coal, insurance and land

acquisition reforms.

“The Cabinet has approved promulgating an ordinance to auction iron ore and other

minerals,” a government source said after the meeting of the Union Cabinet, chaired by the

Prime Minister Narendra Modi here.

The ordinance would pave the way for introduction of competitive bidding for allocation of

iron ore and other non-coal mines.

It will also enable creating District Mineral Funds for the welfare of the project-affected

people.

The need for taking the ordinance route was felt as the government was finding it difficult

to allocate mines, because the Mines Ministry could not table a Bill in the winter session of

Parliament to amend the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.

Industry body Federation of Indian Mineral Industries, however, has been opposing the

auction route, saying it would sound the ‘death knell’ for the industry, and might lead to

cartelisation and waste.

While a draft Bill was put up on the Ministry’s website for public comments, the Mines and

Minerals (Development and Regulation) (Amendment) Bill, 2014, could not be tabled

during the session that ended last month.

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aligning many of these laws to meet people’s needs and changed circumstances and

understanding becomes one of the urgent tasks in the coming years.

In the past, the government of India had drafted national health policies twice—1983 and

2002.

SUPPLEMENT 2014-An Year of Success for Department of Space – PIB

Department of space has witnessed a number of successes during 2014 in its endeavour to

put India on a ladder of achievements:

SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH OF THE GEOSYNCHRONOUS SATELLITE LAUNCH

VEHICLE (GSLV-D5) Successful launch of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D5) with an

indigenous cryogenic engine & stage on 5th January 2014 from Satish Dhawan Space

Centre, Sriharikota. The GSLV-D5 injected the GSAT-14 Communications Satellite,

weighing 1982 kg, into a precise Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit.

SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH OF INDIAN NAVIGATIONAL SATELLITE IRNSS-1B,

THE SECOND SATELLITE IN THE INDIAN REGIONAL NAVIGATION

SATELLITE SYSTEM (IRNSS) Successful launch of Indian navigational satellite IRNSS-1B, the second satellite in the

Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) onboard PSLV-C24 on April 04,

2014 and IRNSS-1C, the third satellite of IRNSS onboard PSLV-C26 on October 16, 2014

from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.

SAARC SATELLITE India successfully launched five foreign satellites on board PSLV-C23 on June 30th, 2014

from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. These foreign satellites are – (i) SPOT-7

(France), (ii) AISAT (Germany), (iii) NLS 7.1/CAN-X4 (Canada), (iv) NLS 7.2/CAN-X5

(Canada) and (v) VELOX-1 (Singapore). Till that date, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has launched 40 satellites from

19 foreign countries, on commercial basis, under contract between respective foreign

customer and Antrix Corporation Limited, the commercial arm of ISRO. The amount

generated through the launch of these satellites is € 50.47 million and US $ 17.17 million.

The future projects envisages development of advanced launch vehicle systems, thematic

earth observational satellites with improved resolution, high-power, high-throughput

communication satellite, microwave multi-spectral remote sensing satellites, weather and

climate studies, constellation of satellites for regional navigation, development of critical

technologies for human spaceflight and satellites for space science and planetary

exploration purposes.

The Prime Minister of India in his address at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota on

30th June 2014 asked the Indian Space community to develop a SAARC satellite that

provides a full range of applications and services to all our neighbours. ISRO, through the

Government of India, in consultation with the SAARC countries, needs to formulate a

proposal for SAARC Satellite development programme to address the space applications

and services needs of the SAARC countries.

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MARS ORBITER SPACECRAFT SUCCESSFULLY INSERTED INTO MARS ORBIT India’s Mars Orbiter Spacecraft successfully entered into an orbit around planet Mars today

morning (September 24, 2014) by firing its 440 Newton Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM)

along with eight smaller liquid engines. This Liquid Engines firing operation which began

at 07:17:32 Hrs IST lasted for 1388.67 seconds which changed the velocity of the

spacecraft by 1099 metre/sec. With this operation, the spacecraft entered into an elliptical

orbit around Mars. Honourable Prime Minister of India, Mr Narendra Modi, was present at

ISRO’s Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bangalore to witness

this important event. Other dignitaries who were present at ISTRAC include His

Excellency Governor of Karnataka, Mr Vajubhai R Vala, Hon’ble Minister of Railways, Mr

D V Sadananda Gowda, Hon’ble Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Mr Ananth Kumar,

Hon’ble Chief Minister of Karnataka, Mr Siddaramaiah, Hon’ble Minister of State (Space),

Dr Jitendra Singh, Hon’ble Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Mr G M Siddeswara,

Hon’ble Member of Parliament, Mr Prahlad V Joshi, Hon’ble Minister of Transport,

Government of Karnataka, Mr Ramalinga Reddy and Hon’ble Member of Legislative

Assembly, Government of Karnataka, Mr Muniraju S. Prof U R Rao, former chairman,

ISRO and Prof Yash Pal, former director, Space Applications Centre, were also present.

The events related to Mars Orbit Insertion progressed satisfactorily and the spacecraft

performance was normal. The Spacecraft is now circling Mars in an orbit whose nearest

point to Mars (periapsis) is at 421.7 km and farthest point (apoapsis) at 76,993.6 km. The

inclination of orbit with respect to the equatorial plane of Mars is 150 degree, as intended.

In this orbit, the spacecraft takes 72 hours 51 minutes 51 seconds to go round the Mars

once.

Mars Orbiter Spacecraft was launched on-board India’s workhorse launch vehicle PSLV on

November 05, 2013 into a parking orbit around the Earth. On December 01, 2013,

following Trans Mars Injection (TMI) manoeuvre, the spacecraft escaped from orbiting the

earth and followed a path that would allow it to encounter Mars on September 24, 2014.

With this successful Mars Orbit Insertion operation, ISRO became the fourth space agency

to successfully send a spacecraft to Mars orbit. In the coming weeks, the spacecraft will be

thoroughly tested in the Mars orbit and the systematic observation of that planet using its

five scientific instruments would begin.

PSLV-C26 SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED INDIA'S THIRD NAVIGATION

SATELLITE IRNSS-1C ISRO`s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C26, successfully launched IRNSS-1C, the

third satellite in the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), in the early

morning hours of October 16, 2014 at 0132 hours IST from Satish Dhawan Space Centre,

Sriharikota. This was the twenty seventh consecutively successful mission of PSLV. The

`XL`configuration of PSLV was used for this mission. Previously, the same configuration

of the vehicle was successfully used six times.

Minister of State (Space), Dr Jitendra Singh, witnessed the launch from the Mission

Control Centre at SDSC, Sriharikota.

After the lift-off of PSLV-C26 with the ignition of the first stage, the important flight

events, namely, stage and strap-on ignitions, heat-shield separation, stage and strap-on

separations and satellite injection, took place as planned. After a flight of about 20 minutes

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18 seconds, IRNSS-1C Satellite, weighing 1425 kg, was injected to an elliptical orbit of

282.56 km X 20,670 km, which is very close to the intended orbit.

After injection, the solar panels of IRNSS-1C were deployed automatically. ISRO`s Master

Control Facility (at Hassan, Karnataka) assumed the control of the satellite. In the coming

days, four orbit manoeuvres will be conducted from Master Control Facility to position the

satellite in the Geostationary Orbit at 83 deg East longitude. IRNSS-1C is the third of the seven satellites constituting the space segment of the Indian

Regional Navigation Satellite System. IRNSS-1A and IRNSS-1B, the first two satellites of

the constellation, were successfully launched by PSLV on July 02, 2013 and April 04, 2014

respectively. Both IRNSS-1A and 1B are functioning satisfactorily from their designated

geosynchronous orbital positions.

IRNSS is an independent regional navigation satellite system designed to provide position

information in the Indian region and 1500 km around the Indian mainland. IRNSS would

provide two types of services, namely, Standard Positioning Services (SPS) - provided to

all users – and Restricted Services (RS), provided to authorised users.

A number of ground stations responsible for the generation and transmission of navigation

parameters, satellite control, satellite ranging and monitoring, etc., have been established in

as many as 15 locations across the country.

In the coming months, the next satellite of this constellation, namely, IRNSS-1D, is

scheduled to be launched by PSLV. The entire IRNSS constellation of seven satellites is

planned to be completed by 2015.

OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS OF ISRO The Government took a number of steps to popularise ISRO`s prowess in the field of space

launches.

Antrix Corporation Limited (Antrix), the commercial arm of Indian Space Research

Organisation (ISRO), from 1999 onwards - till date, had successfully launched 40 satellites

of foreign customers from 19 countries, using ISRO’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle

(PSLV). Further, contracts have been finalized to launch 16 satellites from 6 countries in

the coming years.

The ISRO, through its commercial arm Antrix, already launched one satellite for

developing countries in Asia namely, Indonesia and contract has been finalized for

launching two more satellites of Indonesia. One satellite was also launched for developing

countries in Africa namely, Algeria.

The space projects undertaken by Antrix Corporation Limited, the commercial arm of

ISRO, included: (i) establishment of ground stations for reception of data from Indian

Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites along with processing facilities at 20 locations outside

India; (ii) building two contemporary communication satellites for European customers,

and one communication satellite for Indian strategic user; (iii) providing tracking support

for over 70 spacecraft missions of foreign customers; (iv) provisioning of satellite

transponder capacity from Indian communication satellites for telecommunication, TV

broadcasting, Direct-To-Home (DTH) services and VSAT applications; (v) launching of 40

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foreign satellites on-board ISRO’s PSLV; (vi) establishment of ground terminals for tele-

education, tele-medicine, disaster mitigation and Village Resource Centres; and (vii)

consultancy services to domestic and foreign clients.

FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMME BY ISRO The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) had setup an endowed fellowship

programme at the Graduate Aerospace Laboratories of the California Institute of

Technology (Caltech), California, USA. This fellowship programme was established in

honour of Dr. Satish Dhawan, who was the former Chairman of Indian Space Research

Organisation.

The fellowship provides an opportunity every year to one meritorious graduating student

from the Aerospace Department of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology,

Thiruvananthapuram to be sponsored by the Department of Space, to pursue Masters in

Aerospace Engineering at Caltech.

The fellowship programme started in the winter session of the academic year 2013-14 and

one student availed this fellowship and already completed his Masters degree at Caltech.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and National Aeronautics and Space

Administration (NASA) were working together to realize a Dual frequency (L& S band)

Synthetic Aperture Radar mission for Earth observation. Both agencies have established a

‘ISRO-NASA Mars Working Group’ to explore the possibilities of enhancing the

cooperation in Mars exploration.

FIRST EXPERIMENTAL FLIGHT OF INDIA’S NEXT GENERATION LAUNCH

VEHICLE GSLV MK-III SUCCESSFUL The first experimental flight (GSLV Mk-III X/CARE) of India’s next generation launch

vehicle GSLV Mk-III was successfully conducted on December 18, 2014 morning from

Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota. Also known as LVM3-X/CARE, this

suborbital experimental mission was intended to test the vehicle performance during the

critical atmospheric phase of its flight and thus carried a passive (non-functional) cryogenic

upper stage.

The mission began with the launch of GSLV Mk-III at 9:30 am IST from the Second

Launch Pad as scheduled and about five and a half minutes later, carried its payload – the

3775 kg Crew Module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment (CARE) – to the intended height

of 126 km. Following this, CARE separated from the upper stage of GSLV Mk-III and re-

entered the atmosphere and safely landed over Bay of Bengal with the help of its

parachutes about 20 minutes 43 seconds after lift-off.

Two massive S-200 solid strap-on boosters, each carrying 207 tons of solid propellants,

ignited at vehicle lift-off and after functioning normally, separated 153.5 seconds later.

L110 liquid stage ignited 120 seconds after lift-off, while S200s were still functioning, and

carried forward for the next 204.6 seconds. CARE separated from the passive C25

cryogenic upper stage of GSLV Mk-III 330.8 seconds after lift-off and began its guided

descent for atmospheric re-entry.

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After the successful re-entry phase, CARE module’s parachutes opened, following which it

gently landed over Andaman Sea about 1600 km from Sriharikota, thereby successfully

concluding the GSLV Mk-III X/CARE mission. With this successful GSLV Mk-III X / CARE mission, the vehicle moved a step closer to its

first developmental flight with the functional C25 cryogenic upper stage.

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