India developing guided bombs for fighters

By the end of next year, Indian fighter planes could be equipped with indigenously-developed 'glide bombs', which will be guided to their targets for precision attacks. The first-of-its-kind bomb in the country, being developed by the DRDO, will boost India's strike capabilities as targets can be hit even beyond the range of a fighter aircraft. The DRDO is working on developing glide capabilities on the existing bombs of various payloads including 100 kgs, 250 kgs and 500 kgs. "We are developing glide bombs which can be directed towards their intended targets using guidance mechanisms after being dropped from aircraft of the IAF," outgoing DRDO chief V K Saraswat told PTI in an interview. "Such a capability will allow the IAF pilots to drop the bombs at their intended targets from stand-off distances as the glide capabilities will help in enhancing the range of the bombs," he said. The DRDO has already carried out two trials of such bombs successfully and plans to hold more trials this year for proving the capabilities of the ammunition. "By the end of the next year, we want to complete all the development trials of the glide bombs before offering it to the IAF," he said. The outgoing DRDO chief said the organisation is also in the process of developing an anti-radiation missile, which will multiply the strike capabilities of the armed forces by destroying the enemy's advance warning system. Such missiles can be mounted on Sukhoi fighter planes Su-30 MKI. These missile can detect a radar by tracking its electro-magnetic radiation and pulses generated and these would be independent of the radar wavelength and be able to destroy it. Such missiles, currently in use of some major powers like the US, can detect and attack a radar antenna or transmitter with minimal aircrew input. The proportional guidance system that homes in on enemy radar emissions has a fixed antenna and seeker head in the missile's nose.

Govt set to clear 40,000-strong force along China border

NEW DELHI: The Cabinet committee on security (CCS) could soon grant approval to the Army's proposal to raise a mountain strike corps along the China border.
The CCS approval would be given after the ministry of defence (MoD) gives its final clarification to certain questions raised by the finance ministry, sources said. The MoD is not expecting any further objections from the finance ministry over the ambitious proposal to raise a dedicated offensive capability in the north-east border with China.

The strike corps is expected to cost Rs 62,000 crore spread over the entire 12th Plan (2012-17). The Army has proposed a mountain strike corps, two independent infantry brigades and two independent armoured brigades to plug its operational gaps along the entire line of actual control (LAC) with China, as well as to acquire offensive capabilities. India started the catch-up game with the Chinese military and infrastructural capabilities only in the past decade, and is now furiously working to find some kind of parity with Beijing. The mountain strike corps would be a significant step towards the catching up, a senior official said. The raising of the new formations will together cost over Rs 81,000 crore during the 12th Plan period. However, some parts of the entire build-up, especially the independent brigades, will spill over into the 13th Plan period. The proposed mountain strike corps, with over 40,000 soldiers and headquartered at Panagarh in West Bengal, will for the first time give India the capability to also launch offensive action into Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) in the event of a Chinese attack. The corps will have two high-altitude divisions for rapid reaction. India has already raised two new infantry divisions at Lekhapani and Missamari in Assam in 2009-10. They are operationally tasked to defend Arunachal Pradesh. India is also beefing up its missile and fighter capabilities along the China border in its desperate bid to catch up with a burgeoning China's military capabilities and developed infrastructure up to the border. The proposal for raising India's first mountain strike corps has been hanging fire over the last few years. The finance ministry has in the past returned the file to the MoD objecting to the huge financial commitments. A few days ago, the finance ministry has sought further few clarifications. "It is just a matter of formalities," one source said. Even as India plays catch up, China has built aggressive military and infrastructure capabilities. It has at least five fully-operational airbases, an extensive rail network and over 58,000-km of roads along the Indian border. This would allow China to move over 30 divisions (each with over 15,000 soldiers) to the LAC, outnumbering Indian forces by at least 3:1 there

Arvind Mahankali wins spelling bee with Yiddish word

Arvind Mahankali placed third in the last two contests

A 13-year-old New York boy has won the Scripps National Spelling Bee with the Yiddish word "knaidel".

Correctly spelling the German-derived word for a dumpling served in soup, Arvind Mahankali outlasted 11 others in two hours of televised competition to win $30,000 (£19,718) on Thursday.
Arvind had finished in third place for the last two years, beaten each time by German-derived words.
He is the 11th Indian American to win the spelling bee in the last 15 years.
After he correctly spelled the final word, he smiled and cracked his knuckles as confetti rained down on stage, then lifted a large trophy above his head.
The audience gasped loudly when Arvind got his first German-derived word of the evening. He had to spell "dehnstufe", an Indo-European long-grade vowel.
"I had begun to be a little wary of German words, but this year I prepared German words and I studied them, so when I got German words this year, I wasn't worried," Arvind told the Associated Press.
In an interview with CNN on Friday, Arvind said he would now turn his attention to maths and physics competitions.

India's economic growth at slowest rate in a decade

The decline in India's growth rate has been blamed on a slowdown in its manufacturing and services sectors

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India's economy grew at its slowest pace in a decade during the 2012-13 financial year, figures show.

The economy grew by 5% over the year, after having grown at an annual pace of 4.8% in the January-to-March quarter.
India was recording annual growth of 9% until two years ago, but in recent months it has seen a sharp decline blamed on a slowdown in its manufacturing and services sectors.
Foreign investors have also kept away due to delays in key reforms.

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Fewer jobs in sluggish economy

Engineering graduate Viraj Modi finished university last year and is now set to leave the country.
One factor is India's weakening job market.
"Companies now want a perfect candidate. Because of the global recession they are cutting down the job opportunities."

• Falling orders and fewer jobs

According to the latest figures released by the ministry of statistics, India's manufacturing sector grew at an annual pace of 2.6% during the latest quarter while farm output rose by just 1.4%.

The figures are in line with official estimates. In February, India lowered its growth forecast to 5% for the year, underlining the challenges it faced in reviving the sluggish economy.
Last month, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the current downturn was "temporary" and he was confident the country's economy would bounce back to an "8% growth rate".
However, the mood has remained pessimistic in the business community with industry leaders worried over high rates of inflation.
The slowing economy has also meant that Indian companies are putting less profit back into their businesses.
Annual capital investment growth slowed to 3.5% in the first three months of 2013, down from 4.5% year-on-year in the previous quarter.
Meanwhile, complex business regulations are often blamed for driving foreign companies away.
Foreign direct investment into India has fallen, while the amount of corporate money leaving the country is on the rise.
"The government needs to go all-out to turn around investment sentiment," said Yes Bank chief economist Shubhada Rao

Sick of power cuts? Then, produce your own!

Unable to bear the power cuts? Well, become a power producer and use your own power. If you are generous enough, you can give some power to the grid so that the government could supply it to industries and for agriculture. The state government which failed to add to power generation capacity, is now passing on the responsibility to individual consumers. As per a new initiative, willing consumers can use the space on their rooftops for fixing solar panels and produce their own electricity. Chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy announced the new scheme on Wednesday at the Legislative Council meeting. On Thursday, the chief minister visited the Vidyut Soudha rooftop solar power producing unit, set up on a pilot basis. The rooftop solar unit of Vidyut Soudha will produce around 250 units per day, which is sufficient for the entire Vidyut Soudha. The production during holidays will flow into the grid. Supplying solar power to the grid is called net metering. The net metering facility is now adoptable by small power plants. Net metering can be followed by consumers who intend to set up solar PV plants on rooftops, waste lands, individual household premises, industries, offices, educational institutions, hostels, commercial complexes and others. The State government’s solar power initiative will enable the individual consumer to produce power on his own, utilise as per his requirement and sell the remaining power to discoms directly. The power transferred to the grid can be used by the consumer as a power bank. If the power produced by his solar panels does not fulfil the household requirements, extra power can be drawn from the grid. The power which was transferred to the grid earlier will be transferred back. If the power consumed is more than the power produced, charges have to be paid. If less power is utilised than the power given to the grid, then the consumers can get monetary benefit. This will result in less load on the grid as the consumers will themselves produce and utilise power. Once the new initiative comes into force, the power thus saved can be utilised for agriculture, industry and commercial purposes.

Army to buy copter-borne early warning systems

In a first that will give a major boost to the Army’s aviation wing, India is planning to procure helicopter-borne early warning systems for the land force. The final specifications for the system are being chalked out, following which a tender process will be initiated this year. The new system could be fitted on board the Army’s existing Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) and will give formation commanders an insight into enemy territory while serving as warning systems for approaching aircraft and armoured units. Sources said the Army is in the final stages of ordering the new system and is considering involving the Indian private sector in the programme. The other option is to rope in Defence Public Sector Unit, Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), to design and develop the system. The project, which would involve developing a new system in collaboration with a foreign partner, can be lucrative for the Indian defence industry, as the final order would be for a large number of the early warning systems. The new systems would give a fillip to the Army’s aviation wing that has seen a steady growth in the past few years. Starting with the small Chetak/Cheetah single-engine choppers, Army aviation is now operating the ALH and is set to order a new fleet of light attack helicopters that are being developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The early warning systems would be integrated with attack helicopter squadrons that the Army plans to induct in coming years and will act as valuable force multipliers.