India's year of diplomatic triumph and terror

NEW DELHI (AFP) – A year that had promised much for India ended in unimaginable trauma with blood on the streets of Mumbai and fears for the future as its high-flying economy suffered a steep loss in altitude.

India is no stranger to bombings and violence, but the sheer scale and audacity of the attacks in Mumbai at the end of November shook the country to the core and dented its new-found confidence on the international stage.

Only 10 Islamist gunmen took part in the assault, but careful planning and a willingness to fight to the death, saw them kill 163 people in three days of carnage across India's financial capital.

India blamed "elements" in Pakistan, and relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbours plunged to a new low.

The United States, already struggling to keep Pakistan on board as a key ally in the Afghanistan conflict, was forced to apply heavy diplomatic pressure on both sides to avoid any military stand-off.

The Mumbai carnage was the bloodiest event in a bloody year that witnessed a host of serial bombings, renewed tensions in Kashmir and attacks on Christians by right-wing Hindu groups.

In September, the capital New Delhi was hit by a series of bombs in crowded markets that left more than 20 dead. Those blasts were claimed by a group calling itself the Indian Mujahedeen.

Six weeks later, more than 60 people were killed and more than 300 injured in a dozen blasts that ripped through towns and markets in the insurgency-hit northeastern Indian state of Assam.

The violence triggered a flow of criticism about the state of India's internal security and intelligence gathering that turned into a torrent after Mumbai.

The carnage in Mumbai was all the more shocking for coming as India was still celebrating a landmark diplomatic coup that ended its status as a global nuclear pariah.

On October 10, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee signed a pact to open up sales of civilian nuclear technology to India -- lifting a ban imposed after India's first nuclear test in 1974.

The agreement cemented India's shift to the high table of global politics and lent a new strategic element to its status as an emerging economic power.

Successive years of economic growth had seen India begin 2008 in bullish mood, but now it is eyeing 2009 with trepidation having finally succumbed to the aftershocks of the global financial meltdown.

Up to a few months ago as the US-led banking crisis ballooned, Indian policymakers comforted themselves, saying the country, with its dynamic and vast domestic market of 1.1 billion people, was "decoupled" from the West.

Since then, however, property prices have plunged, lending has stalled, factories have cut output, exports have tumbled and share prices are down by nearly 60 percent with foreign investors pulling out 13 billion dollars this year.

"This whole idea of decoupling has been shot down very clearly by the global crisis which is getting transmitted through trade and the financial markets," said Shubadha Rao, chief economist at Mumbai's Yes Bank.

The government has taken some steps to stimulate the economy. But unlike China, India -- which has one of the highest combined state and national deficits in the world -- has no similar room for a fiscal "big bang."

"The government's ability to stimulate the economy is obviously constrained by the government's current fiscal health," said Mumbai's Edwelweiss Securities economist Siddartha Sanyal.

Nevertheless, economists expect India to post growth of at least 6.8 percent this year, which is still substantial by anemic Western standards, falling to around 5.5 percent next year as the full impact of the downturn is felt.

The state of the economy and national security are issues that will dominate general elections which the Congress-led government must call by May next year.

The result is difficult to predict.

The Congress Party was criticised in the wake of the Mumbai attacks, but still performed well in a handful of state elections where voters were unmoved by the campaign of the main opposition party, the Hindu nationalist BJP, to paint the government as "soft on terror".

Pak textbooks build hate culture against India

The empowerment of terror in Pakistan has not happened overnight. This is the logical culmination of the politics and policies pursued by
Pakistan for years now.

Terrorism in Pakistan has its roots in the culture
of hate and the ethos of inequality on the ground of religious faith, leading to their being deeply ingrained in the Pakistani psyche and mindset.

One factor that has played a crucial role in creating this culture of hate is the educational policy of the government of Pakistan pursued since 1977. The officially prescribed textbooks, especially for school students, are full of references that promote hate against India in general, and Hindus in particular.

A cursory glance at Pakistani school textbooks - especially the compulsory subjects like Pakistan studies and social studies - gives an idea of how history has been distorted and a garbled version prescribed to build this mindset and attitude.

The objective of Pakistan's education policy has been defined thus in the preface to a Class 6 book: "Social studies have been given special importance in educational policy so that Pakistan's basic ideology assumes the shape of a way of life, its practical enforcement is assured, the concept of social uniformity adopts a practical form and the whole personality of the individual is developed." This statement leaves no doubt that "social uniformity", not national unity, is a part of Pakistan's basic ideology.

The Class 5 book has this original discovery about Hindu help to bring British rule to India: "The British had the objective to take over India and to achieve this, they made Hindus join them and Hindus were very glad to side with the British. After capturing the subcontinent, the British began on the one hand the loot of all things produced in this area, and on the other, in conjunction with Hindus, to greatly suppress the Muslims."

The Std VIII book says, "Their (Muslim saints) teachings dispelled many superstitions of the Hindus and reformed their bad practices. Thereby Hindu religion of the older times came to an end."

On Indo-Pak wars, the books give detailed descriptions and openly eulogize ‘jihad' and ‘shahadat' and urge students to become ‘mujahids' and martyrs and leave no room for future friendship and cordial relations with India.

According to a Class 5 book, "In 1965, the Pakistani army conquered several areas of India, and when India was on the point of being defeated, she requested the United Nations to arrange a ceasefire. After 1965, India, with the help of Hindus living in East Pakistan, instigated the people living there against the people of West Pakistan, and finally invaded East Pakistan in December 1971. The conspiracy resulted in the separation of East Pakistan from us. All of us should receive military training and be prepared to fight the enemy."

The book prescribed for higher secondary students makes no mention of the uprising in East Pakistan in 1971 or the surrender by more than 90,000 Pakistani soldiers. Instead, it claims, "In the 1971 India-Pakistan war, the Pakistan armed forces created new records of bravery and the Indian forces were defeated everywhere."

The students of Class 3 are taught that "Muhammad Ali (Jinnah) felt that Hindus wanted to make Muslims their slaves and since he hated slavery, he left the Congress". At another place it says, "The Congress was actually a party of Hindus. Muslims felt that after getting freedom, Hindus would make them their slaves."

And this great historic discovery is taught to Std V students, "Previously, India was part of Pakistan."

Commenting on this literature that spreads hate, leading Pakistani educationist Tariq Rahman wrote, "It is a fact that the textbooks cannot mention Hindus without calling them cunning, scheming, deceptive or something equally insulting. Students are taught and made to believe that Pakistan needs strong and aggressive policies against India or else Pakistan will be annihilated by it."

Tensions mount as Pakistan shifts troops to Indian border

ISLAMABAD (AFP) – Pakistan has redeployed thousands of troops to the border with India, officials said Friday, in a dramatic escalation of tensions with New Delhi in the wake of the Mumbai attacks.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh summoned his military chiefs to review New Delhi's "defence preparedness" while his foreign ministry advised Indians not to travel to Pakistan, saying it was unsafe for them to be in the country.

The developments sent ties plummeting to their lowest point since late 2001, when Kashmiri militants staged a brazen attack on the Indian parliament -- an attack New Delhi blamed on the Pakistan-based extremist group Lashkar-e-Taiba.

India has blamed the same group for the Mumbai attacks and has repeatedly said Islamabad is not doing enough to rein in militant groups, a claim that Pakistan rejects.

The nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours -- which have fought three wars since independence from Britain in 1947, two of them over Kashmir -- have said they do not want war this time, but warn they would act if provoked.

In Islamabad, senior defence and security officials said troops were being moved from the northwest tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, hotbeds of Taliban and Al-Qaeda activity, to the eastern border near India.

"We do not want to create any war hysteria but we have to take minimum security measures to ward off any threat," a defence ministry official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

He added that leave for "operational" armed forces personnel had been cancelled "as a defensive measure".

A top security official, who also asked not to be named, explained that a "limited number of troops have been pulled out from snowbound areas on the western border where they were not engaged in any operation".

Pakistan's army and air force have recently scaled back their operations against Taliban-linked militants in both the Swat valley and the Bajaur tribal area bordering Afghanistan. Both operations were launched in mid-2008.

Any major shift of Pakistani troops out of the tribal areas would likely spark concern in Washington and other Western capitals, as it could open the door to more cross-border militant attacks on foreign forces in Afghanistan.

Another senior Pakistani security official told AFP the new deployments on the Indian border were not in "significant numbers but only in areas opposite the points where India is believed to have brought forward its troops".

The defence ministry official said authorities had noticed the movement of Indian troops toward the border near the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, and that they believed India had also cancelled military leave.

Pakistan's chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas declined to comment.

New Delhi has said its slow-moving peace process with Pakistan is now on hold in the wake of the Mumbai attacks last month, in which 172 people including nine of the gunmen were killed.

Islamabad has said it is willing to cooperate with India in investigating the carnage, but says New Delhi has offered no proof that Pakistani nationals were involved -- a claim dismissed by Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee.

"We have ample evidence... to prove that elements based in Pakistan carried out the Mumbai attacks," Mukherjee said.

"Pakistan should not divert attention from the real issue of taking action against terrorists by raising war hysteria," he told reporters in New Delhi.

Singh was meanwhile meeting the chiefs of India's army, air force and navy to discuss the current security situation, an official in his office said.

"The three chiefs made presentations on India's defence preparedness and reviewed conventional military threat scenarios as well as counter-measures now in place," the official, who did not want to be named, told AFP.

The Indian foreign ministry meanwhile advised its nationals to stay away from Pakistan. Spokesman Vishnu Prakash said such travel would be "unsafe".

Late Friday, India's high commissioner (ambassador) to Pakistan, Satyabrata Pal, met with the top civil servant in Pakistan's foreign ministry, Salman Bashir, a spokesman told AFP.

"Pakistan-India relations and the current situation came under discussion during the meeting," the spokesman, Mohammad Sadiq, told AFP.

Pakistan moves troops toward Indian border

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Pakistan began moving thousands of troops to the Indian border Friday, intelligence officials said, sharply raising tensions triggered by the Mumbai terror attacks.

India has blamed Pakistani-based militants for last month's siege on its financial capital, which killed 164 people and has provoked an increasingly bitter war of words between nuclear-armed neighbors that have fought three wars in 60 years.

The troops headed to the Indian border were being diverted away from tribal areas near Afghanistan, officials said, and the move was expected to frustrate the United States, which has been pushing Pakistan to step up its fight against al-Qaida and Taliban militants near the Afghan border.

Two intelligence officials said the army's 14th Division was being redeployed to the towns of Kasur and Sialkot, close to the Indian border. They said some 20,000 troops were on the move. Earlier Friday, a security official said all troop leave had been canceled.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

Both countries have said they want to avoid military conflict over the attacks. But India has not ruled out the use of force as it presses its neighbor to crack down on the Pakistani-based terrorist group it blames for the attack.

Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani has promised to respond aggressively if attacked but reassured India Friday that Pakistan would not strike first.

"We will not take any action on our own," Gilani told reporters. "There will be no aggression from our side."

Meanwhile, Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee accused Pakistan of trying to divert attention away from its struggle to rein in homegrown terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba, which Delhi accuses of masterminding the Mumbai attacks.

"They should concentrate on the real issue: how to fight against terrorists and how to fight against and bring to book the perpetrators of (the) Bombay terrorist attack," he said.

Pakistan has arrested several senior members of the banned group and cracked down on a charity the U.S. and UN say was a front for Lashkar. India has demanded greater action, but Pakistan says it needs to share evidence backing up its claims.

Mukherjee responded Friday by saying India had provided more than enough evidence about the militants, who infiltrated Mumbai by sea.

"We have indicated to them that there are ample evidences from the log book of the captured ship, from the information available from satellite telephones and various others that elements from Pakistan were responsible for this attack," Mukherjee told reporters.

Earlier, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met Friday with the chiefs of the army, navy and air force to discuss "the prevailing security situation," according to an official statement.

An Associated Press reporter in Dera Ismail Khan, a district that borders Pakistan's militant-infested South Waziristan tribal area, said he saw around 40 trucks loaded with soldiers heading away from the Afghan border Friday.

A senior security official confirmed that soldiers were being moved out of the border area, but said it was "a limited number from areas where they were not engaged in any operation."

He declined further comment and asked his name not be used, citing the sensitivity of the situation.

The White House said it was discussing the reported troop movements with U.S. embassies in the region and was urging both countries to cooperate in investigating the attacks and fighting terrorism.

"We hope that both sides will avoid taking steps that will unnecessarily raise tensions during these already tense times," said White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe.

Analysts said the redeployment was likely meant as a warning to India not to launch missile strikes against militant targets on its territory, a response that some have speculated is possible.

"It is a message to India that if you think you can get away with strikes, you are sadly mistaken," said Talat Masood, a retired general and military analyst based in Islamabad.

Pakistan and India have fought three wars since their independence from Britain in 1947, two over Kashmir, a Muslim majority region in the Himalayas claimed by both countries.

They came close to a fourth after suspected Pakistani militants attacked India's parliament in 2001. Both countries massed hundreds of thousands of troops to the disputed Kashmir region, but tensions cooled after intensive international diplomacy.

News of the buildup comes as Indian officials say militant activity in Indian Kashmir has fallen to its lowest levels since an anti-India militant movement began there in 1989.

The number of militant attacks fell 40 percent from 2007-2008, reaching 709 this year from roughly 1,100 last year, Kuldeep Khoda, a senior police official, said in a statement.

Police say there are 850 militants fighting in the region, including followers of Lashkar-e-Taiba, which is widely believed to be a creation of Pakistani intelligence in the 1980s and used to fight Indian-rule in Kashmir.

Indian authorities say the decrease in attacks is the result of an experienced security apparatus that has struck at the heart of many militant groups — Khoda said Indian forces have killed about 350 militants this year, including some top-ranking commanders. But they also say that the militants have scaled back their attacks as a large public protest movement gained momentum since last summer.

Pakistan has deployed more than 100,000 soldiers in Waziristan and other northwestern regions to fight Islamic militants blamed for surging violence against Western troops in Afghanistan as well as suicide attacks in Pakistan.

Security officials have previously said the country would be forced to withdraw troops from the Afghan border if tensions with India — whose army is twice as large — escalated.

"This is a serious blow to the war on terror in the sense that the whole focus is now shifting toward the eastern border," said Masood. "It will give more leeway to the militants and increased space to operate."

The United States wants Pakistan to stay focused on the fight against militants in the border region, where Osama bin Laden and other top al-Qaida leaders are believed to be hiding.

India warns travel to Pakistan is unsafe

NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – India warned its citizens on Friday it was unsafe to travel to Pakistan and the prime minister met his military chiefs, while Pakistan canceled army leave and moved some troops from its western border.

The travel warning marked a dramatic rise in tension between the nuclear-armed neighbors after last month's attack on Mumbai that killed 179 people and which India has blamed on Islamist militants based in Pakistan.

It followed media reports in Pakistan and India that "several" Indian nationals had been held in the last two days after bombings in the Pakistani cities of Lahore and Multan.

"Indian citizens are therefore advised that it would be unsafe for them to travel (to) or be in Pakistan," India's Foreign Ministry spokesman said in a statement.

Another Foreign Ministry official contacted by Reuters said the warning referred to all travel to Pakistan.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had earlier discussed tension with Pakistan during a scheduled meeting about military pay with the chiefs of the army, navy and air force, his office said.

"The prime minister met the tri-services chiefs to discuss the pay commission issues but obviously the situation in the region was also discussed," said an official from Singh's office, who requested anonymity. There were no other details.

Indian media said national security adviser M.K. Narayanan also attended the meeting.

Many analysts say it is very unlikely that the tension will

descend into war. The uneasy neighbors have fought three wars since independence in 1947 and came to the brink of a fourth in 2002 after an attack on the Indian parliament.

"We hope that both sides will avoid taking steps that will unnecessarily raise tensions during these already tense times," U.S. National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe told reporters in Washington.

While there had been no significant troop movements in either India or Pakistan, military officials in Islamabad said army personnel had been ordered to report to barracks and some troops had been moved off the Afghan border.

"A limited number of troops from snow-bound areas and areas where operations are not being conducted have been pulled out," said a senior security official who declined to be identified.

The official declined to say where the troops had been moved to, citing the sensitivity of the issue, but Pakistani media have reported some troops had been redeployed to the Indian border.

A senior police official in Pakistan's Punjab province denied that any Indians had been arrested over the Lahore and Multan blasts but an intelligence agency official, who declined to be identified, said an Indian had been detained on Wednesday.

Several more Indians had been detained based on information obtained from that suspect, the intelligence official said.

DISMAY

The movement of Pakistani troops off the Afghan border is likely to worry Washington, which does not want Pakistan distracted from the battle against al Qaeda and Taliban militants on Pakistan's western border.

India, the United States and Britain have blamed the Mumbai attack on Pakistan-based Islamist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, set up to fight Indian rule in the disputed Kashmir region.

Pakistan has condemned the Mumbai attacks and has denied any state role, blaming "non-state actors." It has offered to cooperate with India but denies Indian claims that it has been handed firm evidence of links to militants in Pakistan.

Islamabad has said that it will defend itself if attacked.

Increasingly frenzied media reporting on both sides of the border has fueled war speculation, although leaders from both countries have said war would serve no one's interests.

Such speculation even caused an uptick in Indian federal bond yields in late trade on Friday, traders said.

Washington has joined Britain in urging restraint from India, but at the same time has demanded Pakistan act decisively to wipe out banned groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba.

China emerged as a potential peace broker after Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi unexpectedly called his counterparts in New Delhi and Islamabad in the past two days.

China has long been a close ally of Pakistan, while India and Washington have been building close ties.

A statement on the Chinese foreign ministry's website said Yang urged both sides to continue dialogue and that China was willing to work with the international community to protect peace and security in South Asia.

A senior government official in New Delhi said Yang had suggested a meeting between Indian and Pakistani officials.

Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee told Yang Pakistan must crack down on militants before a meeting would be possible, the official said. A crackdown on Pakistan-based militants after the 2001 parliament attack was widely regarded as a sham.

(Additional reporting by Washington and Beijing bureau; Writing by Paul Tait and Robert Birsel; Editing by Sami Aboudi)

India successfully tests Cryogenic rocket engine

BANGALORE: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully conducted a test of its indigenous cryogenic (supercooled fuel) engine to be used in the next geosynchronous launch vehicle (GSLV-D3) mission, the space agency said here Saturday.

"The flight acceptance hot test of the Cryogenic engine was carried out at the liquid propulsion systems centre at Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu Thursday. This engine will be used in the next GSLV launch in April 2009 for carrying the 2.3-tonne geo-stationary experimental satellite (GSAT)," ISRO said in a statement.

Cryogenic engines are rocket motors designed for liquid fuels that have to be held at very low 'cryogenic' temperatures, as they would otherwise be gas at normal temperatures.

Typically, hydrogen and oxygen are used which need to be held respectively below 20 degrees Kelvin (-253 degrees Celsius) and 90 degrees Kelvin (-183 degrees Celsius) to remain in liquid form.

ISRO plans to use its own first cryogenic engine in place of the Russian-made engine in the upper stage of the rocket that will deploy the satellite with navigation and technology payloads into the geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO).

The cryogenic engine develops a thrust of 73 kilo Newtons (kN) in vacuum with a specific impulse of 454 seconds (7.56 minutes) and can carry 2.2 tonnes.

Working on a staged combustion cycle with an integrated turbo-pump, the engine will have 42,000 rotations per minute (rpm). It also has two steering engines developing a thrust of 2 kN each to enable three-axis control of the launch vehicle during the flight mission.

"The hot test was carried out for 200 seconds (3.33 minutes) during which the engine was operated in the nominal and 13 percent up-rated thrust regimes. All the propulsion parameters were satisfactory and matched with predictions," the statement mentioned.

The cryogenic engine will be integrated with propellant tanks, stage structures and associated feed lines of the launch vehicle for the flight mission in April next from the spaceport at Sriharikota, about 80 km north of Chennai.

The central government Friday approved the development of semi-cryogenic engines for space transportation at a cost of Rs.1,798 crore (approx Rs.18 billion) with a foreign exchange component of Rs.588 crore (Rs.5.88 billion).

"This will be an important step towards self-reliance in advanced space transportation technology," Home Minister P. Chidambaram told reporters in New Delhi.

Cryogenic engine technology is currently present only in Russia and the US.

The semi-cryogenic engines will facilitate applications for future space missions like the reusable launch vehicle, the unified launch vehicle and the vehicle for inter-planetary missions, Chidambaram added.

India successfully tests Russia-made ‘Smearch’

BALASORE: Indian defence scientists have tested the Russia-made ‘Smearch’ Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) five times within last couple of days from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur-on-sea, about 15 km from here.

Defence sources said the tests were conducted twice in solo and thrice in salvo mode by the DRDO scientists and the rocket target acquisition unit of Army. The tests termed as sample tests were aimed to assess its stability in flight as well as accuracy and consistency. ‘‘The tests were successful and yielded desired results,’’ said a source in the ITR.

The Russian ‘Smearch’ MLRS is the most powerful and the perfect MLRS of the world. It is intended to defeat live power, destroy armored vehicles, fortifications and command centres in 20-70 km range. ‘‘Smearch launch vehicle can launch 12 rockets at a time. It is able to fire single rockets or salvo from two to all 12 rockets. Full salvo lasts 38 seconds. While the diameter of the launcher is about 300 mm, the rocket’s diameter is 214 mm,’’ said a defence scientist. He informed that its artillery part consists of 12 launching pipe package, turning base, turning, lifting and aiming devices, electronic and auxiliary equipment. Launching pipes are rifled.

The 300-mm ‘Smearch’ projectiles are fitted with solid fuel engines. Rockets are 7.6 m in length and 800 kg in weight. Weight of warhead is 280 kg. Warhead can be simple or cluster.

‘‘It also has the capability of launching surface to surface and surface to air missiles. The system can be integrated with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to provide a new dimension to artillery defence system,’’ he added.

Indian cabinet backs new agency

The Indian cabinet has approved the setting up of a federal investigation agency to strengthen internal security after the Mumbai attacks.

The National Investigation Agency will be empowered to probe terror attack cases across states, reports say. Law and order is a state subject in India.

The cabinet also backed reform of anti-terror laws to make them tougher.

These are the government's first moves to boost security after the attacks that left more than 170 people dead.

The bill for setting up the National Investigation Agency and changes to the anti-terror law are expected to be moved in the Indian parliament at the earliest opportunity, reports say.

Lack of clarity

Correspondents say it is still unclear where the new federal investigation agency will fit in.

India already has a federal Intelligence Bureau (IB) which gathers intelligence relating to internal security and is akin to the UK's MI5 or the US's FBI. The Research and Analysis Wing (Raw) is akin to the UK's MI6, responsible for external intelligence.

India's top detective agency - the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) - has a charter to investigate certain crimes.

Experts also wonder where the officers for the new agency are going to come from: the CBI and IB are already operating at 35% below strength.

Reports say the cabinet also approved strengthening anti-terror laws and setting up of fast-track courts for speedy trial of terror-related cases.

The federal law minister Hansraj Bhardwaj said that legislation would be drafted after clearance by the cabinet.

"We will try to balance the right of life and liberty under the [Indian] Constitution with reasonable restrictions," he was quoted as saying by The Hindu newspaper.

India also plans to set up a number of commando training centres to boost security.

Pakistan peace process 'paused'

India's foreign minister has said there is "a pause" in the peace process with Pakistan following the Mumbai attacks.

However, Pranab Mukherjee, speaking in Indian-administered Kashmir, insisted the attacks were not a "Kashmir issue" and hoped "normalcy" would return.

Earlier Defence Minister AK Antony said India was not planning any military action against Pakistan in response to the Mumbai.

Last month's attacks in the Indian city left more than 170 people dead.

India says militants involved in the attack had Pakistani links.

Pakistan denies any involvement but has promised to co-operate with the Indian investigation. It has been under tremendous Indian and American pressure to act.

'Global action'

Mr Mukherjee said: "There is a pause in the composite dialogue process because of the attack on Mumbai."


There is no supportive interaction with our intelligence [agencies] and the Lashkar-e-Taiba
Asif Ali Zardari,
Pakistani president

The foreign minister, on a brief visit as part of the Congress party's state election campaign in Jammu and Kashmir, called on Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari to fulfil his "pledge" that the "infrastructural facilities [for militants] available in that territory should be dismantled".

Mr Mukherjee said that India wanted "results from Pakistan and not mere assurances".

But he insisted that the attacks in Mumbai had "nothing to do with Indo-Pakistan relations vis-a-vis Kashmir".

"It's not a Kashmir issue, it is not merely an issue between India and Pakistan. It is part of the global action and global war against terrorism."

He added that he hoped "it will be possible for us to resume the normalcy".

Kashmir has been disputed by India and Pakistan since the partition of the subcontinent in 1947.

The two nations have twice waged war over the divided region.

'Non-state actors'

Earlier, Mr Antony said India was "not planning any military action" against Pakistan, but urged Islamabad to do more in hunting down militants.

AK Antony
Mr Antony urged Pakistan to "show sincerity"

"Unless Pakistan takes actions against those terrorists who are operating on their soil against India... things will not be normal," he told reporters.

"We have to think about the safety of our people. I cannot say what course of action we will take, but unless Pakistan shows sincerity in what they are saying, things will not be as usual."

India blames militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) for the attacks.

At the weekend President Zardari insisted in an interview with Newsweek magazine that there was "no supportive interaction with our intelligence [agencies] and the LeT".

But he accepted that "non-state actors" who may be engaged in militant activity on Pakistani soil were "my responsibility".

Mr Zardari is expected to hold a meeting with his ruling allies later on Tuesday evening to discuss the tension with India.

The Pakistan National Assembly is continuing its debate on the same subject.

Gift Ideas for this Christmas

http://christmasgiftstop10.net
http://fisherpricelittlesuperstarsing.com
http://fisherpriceelmolivetoy.com
http://fisherpricelearningpuppy.com
http://www.fisherpricetoughdigitalcamerapink.com
http://fisherpricegeotraxcentralstation.com
http://www.dsneyfairiestinkerbell.com
http://barbieandthediamondcastle.net
http://buyamazonkindle.net
http://buyrosepetalcottage.com
http://eyeclopsbioniceye.net

Indian navy sinks suspected pirate 'mother ship'

Indian warship INS Tabar, right, escorts the MV Jag Arnav ship to safety after rescuing it from a hijack attempt by Somali pirates. The Indian navy says the INS Tabar dedicated to fighting pirates has successfully fought off an attempted pirate attack in the Gulf of Aden, sparking explosions and a fire on the suspected pirate ship late Tuesday, Nov. 18

NEW DELHI – An Indian naval vessel sank a suspected pirate "mother ship" in the Gulf of Aden and chased two attack boats into the night, officials said Wednesday, as separate bands of brigands seized Thai and Iranian ships in the lawless seas.

The owners of a seized Saudi oil supertanker, meanwhile, negotiated for the release of the ship, anchored off the coast of Somalia.

A multinational naval force has increased patrols in the waters between the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa, where pirates have grown bolder and more violent. The force scored a rare success Tuesday when the Indian warship, operating off the coast of Oman, stopped a ship similar to a pirate vessel described in numerous bulletins. The Indian navy said the pirates fired on the INS Tabar after the officers asked to search it.

"Pirates were seen roaming on the upper deck of this vessel with guns and rocket propelled grenade launchers," said a statement from the Indian navy. Indian forces fired back, sparking fires and a series of onboard blasts — possibly due to exploding ammunition — and destroying the ship.

They chased one of two speedboats shadowing the larger ship. One was later found abandoned. The other escaped, according to the statement.

Larger "mother ships" are often used to take gangs of pirates and smaller attack boats into deep water, and can be used as mobile bases to attack merchant vessels.

Last week, Indian navy commandos operating from a warship foiled a pirate attempt to hijack a ship in the Gulf of Aden. The navy said an armed helicopter with marine commandos prevented the pirates from boarding and hijacking the Indian merchant vessel.

Separate bands of pirates also seized a Thai ship with 16 crew members and an Iranian cargo vessel with a crew of 25 in the Gulf of Aden, where Somalia-based pirates appear to be attacking ships at will, said Noel Choong of the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Malaysia.

"It's getting out of control," Choong said.

Tuesday hijackings raised to eight the number of ships hijacked this week alone, he said. Since the beginning of the year, 39 ships have been hijacked in the Gulf of Aden, out of 95 attacked.

"The criminal activities are flourishing because the risks are low and the rewards are extremely high," Choong said.

The pirates used to mainly roam the waters off the Somali coast, but now they have spread in every direction and are targeting ships farther at sea, according to Choong.

He said 17 vessels remain in the hands of pirates along with more than 300 crew members, including a Ukrainian ship loaded with weapons and the Saudi supertanker carrying $100 million in crude.

The supertanker, the MV Sirius Star, was anchored Tuesday close to Harardhere, the main pirates' den on the Somali coast, with a full load of 2 million barrels of oil and 25 crew members.

Asked about reports that a ransom had been demanded, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said Wednesday that the owners of the tanker "are negotiating on the issue." He did not elaborate.

He said "we do not like to negotiate with pirates, terrorists or hijackers." But he said the owners of the tanker are "the final arbiter" on the issue.

Saudi Arabia, the world's leading oil producer, has condemned the hijacking and said it will join the international fight against piracy.

Despite the stepped-up patrols, the attacks have continued unabated off Somalia, which is caught up in an Islamic insurgency and has had no functioning government since 1991. Pirates have generally released ships they have seized after ransoms are paid.

NATO has three warships in the Gulf of Aden and the U.S. Navy's Bahrain-based 5th Fleet also has ships in the region.

But U.S. Navy Commander Jane Campbell of the 5th Fleet said naval patrols simply cannot prevent attacks given the vastness of the sea and the 21,000 vessels passing through the Gulf of Aden every year.

"Given the size of the area and given the fact that we do not have naval assets — either ships or airplanes — to be everywhere with every single ship" it would be virtually impossible to prevent every attack, she said.

The Gulf of Aden connects to the Red Sea, which in turn is linked to the Mediterranean by the Suez Canal. The route is thousands of miles and many days shorter than going around the Cape of Good Hope off the southern tip of Africa.

The Thai boat, which was flying a flag from the tiny Pacific nation of Kiribati but operated out of Thailand, made a distress call as it was being chased by pirates in two speedboats but the phone connection was cut off midway.

Wicharn Sirichaiekawat, manager of Sirichai Fisheries Co., Ltd. told The Associated Press that the ship, the "Ekawat Nava 5," was headed from Oman to Yemen to deliver fishing equipment.

"We have not heard from them since so we don't know what the demands are," Wicharn said. "We have informed the families of the crew but right now, we don't have much more information to give them either."

Later in the day, Thai Foreign Ministry deputy spokesman Voradet Veeravekin told The Associated Press that Thai officials in Kenya were trying to make contact with the vessel.

"Based on previous cases, we believe they were held for ransom. We are optimistic that we will be able to negotiate for their release once we can contact the ship," he said.

On Tuesday, a major Norwegian shipping group, Odfjell SE, ordered its more than 90 tankers to sail around Africa rather than use the Suez Canal after the seizure of the Saudi tanker Saturday.

"We will no longer expose our crew to the risk of being hijacked and held for ransom by pirates in the Gulf of Aden," said Terje Storeng, Odfjell's president and chief executive.

Murdoch: China, India will reshape the world

SYDNEY, Australia – Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch says the ongoing metamorphosis of China and India from historic backwaters into economic powers will help reshape the world in the next few decades.

The News Corp. chief gave an upbeat assessment of the future and made a vigorous case for free markets despite troubled economic times and what he called "naked, heartless aggression" in the world.

In the first of a series of speeches in his birth country of Australia, Murdoch spoke Sunday of "the great transformation we've seen in the past few decades, the unleashing of human talent and ability across our world, and the golden age for humankind that I see just around the corner."

He said China and India are great countries whose people are only recently emerging from long histories of being "incarcerated by communism or caste." The rise of their economies is creating a new middle class that would be three billion strong within 30 years and that is setting a new benchmark for global competitiveness.

"The world has never seen this kind of advance before," Murdoch said. "These are people who have known deprivation. These are people who are intent on developing their skills, improving their lives and showing the world what they can do."

Murdoch, whose New York-based conglomerate includes Twentieth Century Fox, Fox News Channel, Dow Jones & Co. as well as newspaper stables in Australia and Britain and the online networking site MySpace, described the global financial crisis as one of many challenges facing Australia.

He urged Australia to embrace internationalism and touched on a range of global issues, from international security to the commercial opportunities offered by the world's need for cleaner energy.

Murdoch's remarks came in the first of six lectures to be sent out on radio nationally by the Australian Broadcasting Corp. — this year's edition of an annual series of talks by prominent Australians.

Murdoch said that in another speech he would give his opinions on the future of newspapers, which are suffering a severe downturn, especially in the United States, as advertising revenue is lost to the Internet.

He made a strong pitch for freer trade between countries, taking agriculture as an example and saying that reducing artificial barriers is a moral and strategic issue.

"So we must continue to leverage our connections and continue to push when others have left the conference table," he said. "The global trade dialogue should echo with Australian accents."

Touching on security, he chided Europe for appearing to have "lost the will to confront aggression" and said NATO should be reformed into a group based on common values, not geography, and include countries like Australia as members.

"In this promising new century, we are still seeing naked, heartless aggression — whether it comes from a terrorist bombing in Islamabad or a Russian invasion of Georgia," Murdoch said.

"We can lament these developments, but we cannot hide from them," he said, noting Australia's contribution of troops to Afghanistan and Iraq.

In an interview published in The Weekend Australian on Saturday, Murdoch said governments have only limited power to fix the financial crisis, though they could make it worse.

Murdoch warned that a rise in protectionism in the United States "could add to all sorts of tensions in the world financial system and the world trading system and eventually all the way down to employment."

India launches first Moon mission

India has successfully launched its first mission to the Moon.

The unmanned Chandrayaan 1 spacecraft blasted off smoothly from a launch pad in southern Andhra Pradesh to embark on a two-year mission of exploration.

The robotic probe will orbit the Moon, compiling a 3-D atlas of the lunar surface and mapping the distribution of elements and minerals.

The launch is regarded as a major step for India as it seeks to keep pace with other space-faring nations in Asia.

It was greeted with applause by scientists gathered at the site.

The BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Delhi says there has been a lot of excitement about the event, which was broadcast live on national TV.

Competitive mission

An Indian-built launcher carrying the one-and-a-half-tonne satellite blasted off from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota at about 0620 local time (0050 GMT).


Indian views on the country's first space mission

In pictures

One key objective will be to search for surface or sub-surface water-ice on the Moon, especially at the poles.

Another will be to detect Helium 3, an isotope which is rare on Earth, but is sought to power nuclear fusion and could be a valuable source of energy in future.

Powered by a single solar panel generating about 700 Watts, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) probe carries five Indian-built instruments and six that are foreign-built.

The mission is expected to cost 3.8bn rupees (£45m; $78m).

The Indian experiments include a 30kg probe that will be released from the mothership to slam into the lunar surface.

CHANDRAYAAN 1
Infographic (BBC)
1 - Chandrayaan Energetic Neutral Analyzer (CENA)
2 - Moon Impact Probe (MIP)
3 - Radiation Dose Monitor (RADOM)
4 - Terrain Mapping Camera (TMC)
5 - Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3)
6 - Chandrayaan 1 X-ray Spectrometer (C1XS)
7 - Solar Panel

India sets its sights on the Moon
In Pictures: India Moon mission
The Moon Impact Probe (MIP) will record video footage on the way down and measure the composition of the Moon's tenuous atmosphere.

"Chandrayaan has a very competitive set of instruments... it will certainly do good science," said Barry Kellett, project scientist on the C1XS instrument, which was built at the Rutherford-Appleton Laboratory in the UK.

C1XS will map the abundance of different elements in the lunar crust to help answer key questions about the origin and evolution of Earth's only natural satellite.

Researchers say the relative abundances of magnesium and iron in lunar rocks could help confirm whether the Moon was once covered by a molten, magma ocean.

"The iron should have sunk [in the magma ocean], whereas the magnesium should have floated," Mr Kellett told BBC News.

"The ratio of magnesium to iron for the whole Moon tells you to what extent the Moon melted and what it did after it formed."

HAVE YOUR SAY

Any Indian with a shred of intelligence would denounce this as an immoral waste of money

Derek Hopper, Dublin, Ireland
Send us your comments

The instrument will look for more unusual elements on the Moon's surface, such as titanium. This metallic element has been found in lunar meteorites, but scientists know little about its distribution in the lunar crust.

Chandrayaan will also investigate the differences between the Moon's near side and its far side. The far side is both more heavily cratered and different in composition to the one facing Earth.

Infographic (BBC)

The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket will loft Chandrayaan into an elliptical "transfer orbit" around Earth.

The probe will later carry out a series of engine burns to set it on a lunar trajectory.

The spacecraft coasts for about five-and-a-half days before firing the engine to slow its velocity such that it is captured by the Moon's gravity.

Chandrayaan will slip into a near-circular orbit at an altitude of 1,000km. After a number of health checks, the probe will drop its altitude until it is orbiting just 100km above the lunar surface.

India, China, Japan and South Korea all have eyes on a share of the commercial satellite launch business and see their space programmes as an important symbol of international stature and economic development.

Last month, China became only the third country in the world to independently carry out a spacewalk.

But the Indian government's space efforts have not been welcomed by all.

Some critics regard the space programme as a waste of resources in a country where millions still lack basic services.

Advertisement

A look at the rocket launching Chandrayaan-1

India set for mission to moon

India Moon Mission

In this undated photo provided by the Indian Space Research
Organization, Chandrayaan-1, India's maiden lunar mission, is taken to the
launch pad in this undated photo at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in
Sriharikota, about 100 kilometers (63 miles) north of Chennai, India. India was
set to launch its first lunar mission from the center in southern India at 06:20
a.m (0050 GMT) WednesdayOct. 22, 2008, putting the country in an elite group of
nations with the scientific know-how to reach the moon, but also heating up a
burgeoning Asian space race. The 3,000 pound (1,400 kilogram) satellite
Chandrayaan-1 (Moon Craft in ancient Sanskrit) will join Japanese and Chinese
crafts currently in orbit around the moon for a two-year mission designed to map
out the whole lunar surface. (AP Photo/ Indian Space Research Organization, HO)

In this undated photo provided by the Indian Space Research
Organization, Chandrayaan-1, India's maiden lunar mission, is taken to the
launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, about 100
kilometers (63 miles) north of Chennai, India. India was set to launch its first
lunar mission from the center in southern India at 06:20 a.m (0050 GMT)
Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2008, putting the country in an elite group of nations with
the scientific know-how to reach the moon, but also heating up a burgeoning
Asian space race. The 3,000 pound (1,400 kilogram) satellite Chandrayaan-1 (Moon
Craft in ancient Sanskrit) will join Japanese and Chinese crafts currently in
orbit around the moon for a two-year mission designed to map out the whole lunar
surface.(AP Photo/ Indian Space Research Organization, HO)

In this undated photo provided by the Indian Space Research
Organization, Chandrayaan-1, India's maiden lunar mission, sits on the launch
pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, about 100 kilometers (63
miles) north of Chennai, India. India was set to launch its first lunar mission
from the center in southern India at 06:20 a.m (0050 GMT) Wednesday, Oct. 22,
2008, putting the country in an elite group of nations with the scientific
know-how to reach the moon, but also heating up a burgeoning Asian space race.
The 3,000 pound (1,400 kilogram) satellite Chandrayaan-1 (Moon Craft in ancient
Sanskrit) will join Japanese and Chinese crafts currently in orbit around the
moon for a two-year mission designed to map out the whole lunar surface.(AP
Photo/ Indian Space Research organization, HO)

India readies 1st moon mission in Asian space race

NEW DELHI – India readied its first lunar mission on Wednesday, seeking to convert its new wealth into political and military clout and join an elite group of nations with the scientific know-how to reach space.

In the last year Asian nations have taken the lead in exploring the moon: Japan and China both sent up spacecraft last year, and India's Chandrayaan-1 will join them in orbit around the moon for a two-year mission designed to map the lunar surface. Chandrayaan means "Moon Craft" in ancient Sanskrit.

The moon mission comes just months after it finalized a deal with the United States that recognizes India as a nuclear power.

"It is a remarkable technological achievement for the country," said S. Satish, a spokesman for the Indian Space Research Organization, which plans to launch the 3,080-pound satellite from the Sriharikota space center in southern India.

To date only the U.S., Russia, the European Space Agency, Japan and China have sent missions to the moon. The United States is the only nation to have landed a man on the lunar surface, doing so for the first time in 1969.

In 2003, China became the first Asian country to put its own astronauts into space. It followed that last month with its first spacewalk.

More ominously, last year China also blasted an old satellite into oblivion with a land-based anti-satellite missile, the first such test ever conducted by any nation, including the United States and Russia.

The head of India's space agency believes it can quickly catch China, its rival for Asian leadership.

"Compared to China, we are better off in many areas," Indian Space Research Organization chairman G. Madhavan Nair said in an interview with India's Outlook magazine this week, citing India's advanced communication satellites and launch abilities.

India lags only because it has chosen not to focus on the more expensive manned space missions, he said. "But given the funds and necessary approvals we can easily catch up with our neighbor in this area."

The mission is not all about rivalry and prestige. Analysts say India stands to reap valuable rewards from the technology it develops.

"Each nation is doing its own thing to drive its research technology for the well-being of that nation," said Charles Vick, a space analyst for the Washington think tank GlobalSecurity.org.

"Traditionally, for every dollar put into space research, we get that much more back," he said.

India is also collaborating closely with other countries on the mission.

Of the 11 instruments carried by the satellite, five are Indian, three are from the European Space Agency, two from the U.S. and one from Bulgaria.

Among the goals of the $80 million mission are mapping the moon, scanning for mineral deposits under the surface and testing systems for a future moon landing, according to the Indian space agency.

NASA is sending up a Mini Synthetic Aperture Radar that can search for ice — an important resource for any human settlements — under the lunar poles.

India plans to follow up this mission with landing a rover on the moon in 2011 and eventually a manned space program, though this has not been authorized yet.

Vick, the space analyst, said an Indian landing was inevitable.

"Where the unmanned goes, man will ultimately follow," he said.

And the Indian space agency was already dreaming of more.

"Space is the frontier for mankind in the future. If we want to go beyond the moon, we have to go there first," said Satish.

Indian, US navies begin sea exercises to tackle piracy

ON BOARD INS MUMBAI, OFF THE INDIAN COAST (AFP) – The Indian and US navies on Saturday began a week-long series of joint exercises, looking to increase cooperation at a time of heightened fears about maritime piracy.

Codenamed "Malabar", the sea exercises in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Goa state in western India include the world's largest aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, and a nuclear-powered US Navy submarine.

"With piracy becoming an international concern, such exercises attain much significance wherein two nations learn each others' procedure," Rear Admiral Anil Chopra told reporters on board the destroyer INS Mumbai.

Some 8,500 personnel are involved in the exercises, the Indian Navy said.

Indian naval officials said on Friday that they were deploying one of the country's latest warships to protect its merchant vessels in the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia.

The move comes after the Hong Kong-registered MT Stolt Valor carrying mainly Indian crew was hijacked by Somali pirates on September 17, the latest in a string of similar incidents in the area.

India sends warship to pirate-infested Gulf of Aden

NEW DELHI (AFP) – India is deploying one of its latest warships to the pirate-infested Gulf of Aden off the coast of Somalia to protect its merchant vessels, officials said Friday.

A "stealth frigate is being diverted to these waters," Indian navy spokesman Nirad Sinha said. The Russian-designed vessel can evade radar and is armed with guided missiles and cannons, naval officials said.

The move comes after the MT Stolt Valor carrying mainly Indian crew was hijacked on September 17 by Somali pirates in the gulf.

"The government has approved the deployment of one warship with immediate effect to patrol the route followed by Indian flagships between Oman and Yemen," another defence ministry official said.

The number of warships could be increased later, the officer added.

The other warships could carry heavily armed marine commandos and combat helicopters, officials said.

"Currently, our mandate is general patrol and escort duties but we are prepared in case the profile changes to engagements, pursuits and combat in the region," a senior naval commander who did not wish to be named told AFP.

The deployment follows weeks of protests by shipworkers and families of the detained crew who have been demanding rescue efforts for the MT Stolt Valor's crew of 22.

Eighteen crew members are Indians while there are two Filipinos, a Bangladeshi and a Russian.

"The presence of Indian Navy in the area will help to protect our seaborne trade and instil confidence in our seafaring community, as well as function as a deterrent for pirates," a statement said.

The Gulf of Aden is a "major strategic choke point in the Indian Ocean region and provides access to the Suez Canal through which the sizeable portion of India's trade flows," the statement noted.

Warships from several other nations patrol the Gulf of Aden, one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.

The International Maritime Bureau reported more than 24 attacks off the Somali coast between April and June and more have been committed in recent months.

Maritime experts say many attacks go unreported along Somalia's 3,700-kilometre (2,300-mile) coast where pirates operate high-powered speedboats and carry heavy machine guns and rocket launchers.

Date set for Indian Moon mission

India will launch its first unmanned mission to the Moon on 22 October, the country's space officials say, weather conditions permitting.

The spacecraft, named Chandrayaan-1, will orbit the Moon, surveying its surface with high-resolution equipment.

The launch had been scheduled for April, but was pushed back due to technical problems.

The project will cost $83m and has the direct involvement of six other countries, including the US and Europe.

Over the next two years, it will survey the lunar surface to produce a complete map of its chemical characteristics and its three-dimensional topography.

The European Space Agency (Esa) is supporting the mission, supplying three instruments.

These will investigate the Moon's surface and near-surface composition, and the way the lunar body interacts with the fast-moving particles streaming away from the Sun.

Chandrayaan-1 will also drop a small impact probe on to the lunar surface to test its properties.

'Over ambitious'

India announced its Moon mission in 2003.

It has also announced plans to send a man to the Moon in the next few years.

The government's lunar activities have not been welcomed by all, however.

Critics say it is "over ambitious" and a "waste of resources" in a country where millions still lack basic services.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), was founded in 1969, and launched its first satellite in 1975.

Since then, it has developed a number of launch vehicles as well as satellites for Earth observation, telecommunications and weather forecasting.

Together with China and Japan, it is part of a fast-developing Asian space sector.

India to launch unmanned lunar mission this month

BANGALORE, India (AFP) – India will launch its first lunar mission on October 22 from southern India, a top official from the country's space agency said Monday.

The announcement came a week after Asian rival China said it was setting its sights on a manned trip to the moon after completing a historic mission that included the country's first space walk.

"We have set October 22 as the tentative date for the launch of lunar spacecraft Chandrayaan-1, though the launch window will be kept open till October 26," Indian Space Research Organisation director S. Satish told AFP.

"Weather permitting, the launch will take place around 6:30 am (0100 GMT)."

The launch of the unmanned robotic mission was originally planned for April but was postponed because of technical reasons, local news reports said earlier this year.

India will join Japan and China in moon exploration with the planned mission. The spacecraft will conduct a lunar orbit at a distance of 385,000 kilometres (240,000 miles) from Earth.

Last year, China's Chang'e I lunar satellite took off on October 24 after Japan launched its Kaguya lunar orbiter on September 14.

Last month, millions in China watched as astronaut Zhai Zhigang, 41, embarked on a 15-minute space walk, during which he waved a Chinese flag in the weightlessness of low orbit some 340 kilometres (210 miles) above the Earth.

India's first robotic mission, budgeted at 90 million dollars, will be followed by another in 2012, ISRO has said. A timetable for a manned mission will be announced this year.

Spacefaring nations are accelerating their quest to reach the moon more than three decades after the last human landing, and use it as a springboard to explore planets beyond.

The US Apollo programme resulted in the only manned spaceflights to the moon, with six landings from 1969 to 1972.

US approves Indian nuclear deal

The US Senate has approved a nuclear deal with India, ending a three-decade ban on US nuclear trade with Delhi.

The 86-13 vote was the last legislative hurdle in a process that began when an agreement was reached in 2005.

The deal will give India access to US civilian nuclear technology and fuel in return for inspections of its civilian, but not military, nuclear facilities.

India says the accord is vital to meet its rising energy needs. Critics say it creates a dangerous precedent.

They say it effectively allows India to expand its nuclear power industry without requiring it to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as other nations must.

The US restricted nuclear co-operation with India after it tested a nuclear weapon in 1974.

'Bipartisan support'

The US House of Representatives passed the agreement on Saturday, and the Senate's vote now means President Bush can sign it into law.


NUCLEAR POWER IN INDIA
India has 14 reactors in commercial operation and nine under construction
Nuclear power supplies about 3% of India's electricity
By 2050, nuclear power is expected to provide 25% of the country's electricity
India has limited coal and uranium reserves
Its huge thorium reserves - about 25% of the world's total - are expected to fuel its nuclear power programme long-term
Source: Uranium Information Center

Indian firms eye nuclear business

Before the Senate vote, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the agreement had "strong bipartisan support" and called it a "landmark" deal.

Although India has said it retains the right to conduct nuclear tests, the US has said the deal would be cancelled in such an eventuality.

The House of Representatives passed the agreement by 298-117 votes late on Saturday.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said the deal will help India to liberate itself from "the constraints of technology denial of 34 years".

It was first agreed three years ago and is regarded as a key foreign policy priority for both the Indian and US governments.

Earlier this month, the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) lifted a ban that had denied India access to the international nuclear market.

On Tuesday, India and France signed a major co-operation pact which paves the way for the sale of French nuclear reactors to Delhi.

France is the world's second largest producer of nuclear energy after the United States. Russia has also been lobbying the Indian government hard on behalf of its firms.

India ends nuclear outcast status with French atomic deal

PARIS (AFP) - India, critically short of energy to fuel its booming economy, on Tuesday shed its nuclear outcast status when it signed a landmark atomic energy pact with France.

The deal effectively ended a ban on countries selling civilian nuclear technology and equipment to New Delhi, which was imposed in 1974 when India used its civilian programme to produce and successfully test an atomic bomb.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in Paris after a week-long trip to the US where he saw the House of Representatives back a US atomic pact with India, signed the deal with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

France, the world's second producer of nuclear energy after the United States, hopes to lead a worldwide revival of the industry fuelled by worries about global warming and soaring energy prices.

India is now allowed to go shopping for technology and nuclear reactors after the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group lifted its ban on New Delhi in early September after hard lobbying by Washington.

Singh and Sarkozy made no public comment after signing the nuclear deal, but a French presidential advisor noted that "today we are at the intergovernmental stage, and after that the industrialists will begin their cooperation."

French state-backed nuclear giant Areva said Monday it hoped to negotiate the delivery to India of two reactors as well as nuclear fuel.

India, which currently has 22 nuclear reactors, has a nuclear market estimated at 100 billion euros (142 billion dollars) over 15 years.

The French anti-nuclear group Sortir du Nucleaire (End Nuclear Power) denounced the atomic agreement.

"For having helped the US and India get round the rules of non-proliferation, France will be able to sell nuclear reactors to India. These are nauseating deals that endanger the future of the planet," it said.

India was banned from nuclear trade after it built an atomic bomb it hoped would give it military dominance over its neighbour and rival Pakistan, which also went on to build its own bomb despite international protest.

New Delhi, long a Soviet ally, is now a strategic partner for both the European Union and the US and is seen as a relative haven of stability in an often volatile region that includes Pakistan and Afghanistan.

A country of 1.1 billion people that many see as one of the future great powers of the 21st century, India currently gets only a fraction of its electricity from nuclear power.

Observers say that more nuclear plants in India could help reduce global demand for oil and gas, and proponents of nuclear energy say it will help the emerging economic giant fight pollution.

Sarkozy said Monday at an EU-India summit that he did not see how "India can fight global warming without nuclear energy, which is a clean energy. That would be totally incoherent."

The United States is also keen to tap into the Indian nuclear market, but with Tuesday's deal France, which will also have to compete with Japan and Russia, has stolen a march on the US.

The French presidential advisor, who asked not to be named, insisted however that the two countries had worked together to persuade the Nuclear Suppliers Group and the IAEA, the UN's atomic watchdog, to lift the ban on New Delhi.

"There was no race" to be first to sign a deal, he said.

The US atomic trade pact with India, a key foreign policy for President George W. Bush, must now win approval from the Senate.

But that could be delayed because of the presidential election in November, further delaying the US entry into the market.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday she hoped the nuclear pact with India would soon pass the final US legislative hurdle, saying it would "solidify" US-Indian ties.

Some US lawmakers have fought against the deal, which would give New Delhi access to US technology provided it allows UN inspections of some of its nuclear facilities -- but not its atomic weapons plants.

They argue it rewards India for breaking the international nuclear rules and thus might encourage Iran, which is accused of using its civilian nuclear programme to build a bomb.

Critics of the potential US deal with India -- which has refused to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty allowing civilian nuclear trade in exchange for a pledge not to pursue nuclear weapons -- say it undermines efforts to halt the spread of nuclear weapons

Russian Defence Minister to visit India to negotiate deals

Russian Defence Minister to visit India to negotiate deals
Press Trust Of India / New Delhi September 26, 2008, 12:40 IST

In an effort to further military relations with India, Russian Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov will be here on a three-day visit to attend an inter-governmental commission of the two countries and to negotiate key deals with New Delhi.

Among the issues Serdyukov will discuss with his Indian counterpart, A K Antony, are the renewed price negotiations for the $1.5 billion Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier, plans for developing a joint fifth generation fighter aircraft and medium transport aircraft, and T-90 tanks technology transfer, Defence Ministry sources said today.

He is likely to resolve the price issue of Gorshkov, which is currently undergoing a refit at the Sevmash Shipyard in Russia, during his talks with Antony.

Russians have been demanding an additional $1.2 billion for the refit of the aircraft carrier.

Asked about the negotiations on Wednesday, Antony had said the details of the negotiations would be known after the meeting with his Russian counterpart.

Serdyukov will arrive at the Palam technical area by a special flight at 18.10 hours on Sunday.

After lay a wreath at the Amar Jawan Jyothi at India Gate on Monday morning, he would be presented a Guard of Honour at South Block by the Indian armed forces.

After a half-hour-long meeting with Antony at his office, the Russian Defence Minister will co-chair the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission for Military and Technical Commission, an unique arrangement that New Delhi has only with Moscow, along with the former at DRDO Bhawan Auditorium, sources said.

AWACS delay throws IAF network-centricity plans awry

New Delhi, Sept 28: The Indian Air Force's (IAF) plans to go network-centric has gone haywire as the Israeli airborne early warning systems delivery gets delayed further.

The PHALCON Airborne Warning and Control Systems (AWACS) will arrive only in February next year, about 15 months behind its original schedule of November 2007.

Consequently, the IAF efforts to establish an advanced Integrated Air Command and Control Systems (IACCS) through the Air Force Net (AF Net) communication network would be hit.

"AF Net, may be (delayed by) a month or two. We were expecting it around December. Now it is coming around February," IAF chief Fali Homi Major said on Sunday.

"Two months is no delay as far as we are concerned," Major added, suggesting the IAF would strive to offset the delay from their side.

Meanwhile, IAF Vice Chief Air Marshal P V Naik, referring to the escalation in delivery schedule of AWACS till February 2009, said some technical glitches were the reasons behind the delay.

AWACS, a major force multiplier for the IAF, is a vital link in the Air Force Net, a communication network that is key to IAF's dreams of emerging as a network-centric force.

The USD 1.1-billion deal was signed by India in March 2004 for three AWACS from Israeli Aerospace Industries for mounting the systems on three Russian-made IL-76 heavy lift transport aircraft.

IAF's Agra air base is readying itself to receive the AWACS by improving its infrastructure, including extending the runway, establishing an avionics lab and integrating ground systems for future operations of the radar-mounted IL-76s aircraft.

IAF to procure MI-17 V5 choppers from Russia

Chandigarh, Sept 25: The Indian Air Force is likely to add MI-17 V5 medium lift helicopters in its fleet as negotiations to procure them from Russia are in final stages, a senior IAF official said on Thursday.

"Our negotiations are in the final stages with Russia. In the next three months, we will sign a contract with them. After two-three years of signing of the contract, we will start the procurement of these helicopters," Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Maintenance Command, Air Marshal Gautam Nayyar told reporters here.

These would replace MI-8 helicopters, which have outlived their life, he said, adding once these machines are procured, they will help tide over the problems faced by helicopters in high altitudes of Siachin and Ladhak.

He said the MI-17V5 will have modern avionic equipment and their engine performance will be better than the existing helicopters.

"They will be very effective in the high altitude areas. MI-17V5 will gradually replace the MI-8 helicopters of IAF," he said, adding at present "we have 50 MI-8 and their estimated life span is 35 years. However, they all are 38 years old and we will replace them with 80 MI-17V5."

To a question, he said in India there are 13 Base Repair Depots (BRDs) that look after the maintenance of air crafts and other related equipment and Rs 500 crore would be pumped in over the next few years for their upgradation and modernisation.

To another question, Nayyar admitted that IAF was not getting enough quality engineers as IIT graduates are not forthcoming. But he hoped that with the implementation of the sixth pay commission, things would change and graduates from premier institutions would choose IAF as a career.

He also said that the IAF was also planning to open a Rs-200 crore world class engineering college in Bangalore.

Navy seeks six more diesel submarines after Scorpene

New Delhi, Sept 26 (PTI) India has initiated the process of acquiring six more submarines on the lines of the under-construction Scorpenes to augment its underwater warfare capabilities.
"The Navy has initiated the process of acquisition of six more diesel-electric submarines and has issued a Request for Information (RFI) to major manufacturers across the globe," top Defence Ministry sources told PTI today.

"The Defence Ministry will now await responses from these companies and will follow it up with global tenders or Request for Proposals (RFP) next year," they said.

In all, Navy plans to procure 30 new submarines to have formidable underwater fighting capabilities.

India already has 16 submarines of the Russian Kilo and German HDW Shishumar Class.

Among the countries from where India is seeking information are France, Russia and Italy, all with major submarine manufacturing capabilities.

The new submarines would be procured as a follow-on of the six Scorpene submarines being built at the Defence Public Sector Undertaking shipyard, Mazagon Dockyards Limited (MDL), in Mumbai.

"The additional six submarines will start joining the Indian Navy fleet after all the first set of six Scorpenes have joined the naval fleet," the sources said. PTI

Lakshya test flown successfully

BALASORE (ORISSA): Lakshya, the micro-light pilotless target aircraft (PTA), developed indigenously in India, was on Thursday successfully test flown to check the validity of its engine and duration enhancement, defence sources said.

Fitted with an advanced digitally controlled engine, Lakshya was test flown at about 12.15 pm from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur, about 15 km from here.

Usually the flight duration of the six feet microlight aircraft is 30-35 minutes.

Lakshya, a sub-sonic, re-usable aerial target system, is remote controlled from the ground and designed to train both airborne and air defence pilots.

The PTA has been developed by India's Aeronautic Development Establishment (ADE), Bangalore for aerial reconnaissance of battle field and target acquisition.

Lakshya has been inducted in the Indian Air Force in 2000.

India open for $80 billion in nuclear business

MUMBAI, India - Indian nuclear energy officials say they would like to do business with GE and other U.S. firms. But if they can't, there's always France and Russia.

Even as a landmark U.S.-India nuclear accord hangs in limbo in the U.S. Congress, the global gates of nuclear trade with India are now open.

Whether or not U.S. companies get the go-ahead to sell nuclear fuel and technology to India, the country's nuclear officials are confident they will get their uranium.

"If a deal with Congress doesn't happen, we will have business with other countries. So simple," said SK Malhotra, a spokesman for India's Department of Atomic Energy.

India reached nuclear trade agreements with Russia and France in January, though the government has held out on implementing them until a U.S. deal goes forward, said Shreyans Kumar Jain, chairman of India's state-run Nuclear Power Corp. Ltd., which runs all 17 of the nation's nuclear reactors.

The agreement before Congress would overturn three decades of U.S. policy by allowing nuclear trade with India, even though India has not signed a global treaty against the spread of nuclear weapons.

The deal enjoys broad support among leaders of both American political parties but, with other priorities on lawmakers' plates, there's no certainty it will get the nod before Congress adjourns this month ahead of November elections.

What would happen then is unclear.

Meeting Thursday in Washington, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and U.S. President George W. Bush expressed hope that Congress will approve the agreement.

Singh was to go on to France, where he was expected to ink India's nuclear agreement with that country.

American companies worry they could be shut out of the Indian market. General Electric Co. helped build India's first nuclear reactor in the 1960s, and GE would love to rekindle that relationship.

"It's a $30 billion-plus market in India. There's a huge opportunity for a company like GE," said Kishore Jayaraman, regional head of GE operations in India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. "We have been pushing for it."

Today, India gets just 3 percent of its energy_about 4,100 megawatts_ from nuclear power. By 2032 the government plans to quadruple total generating capacity, to 700 gigawatts, with nuclear accounting for 63,000 megawatts.

That adds up to about 40 new nuclear reactors, worth some $80 billion, according to Jain.

A key limiting factor on India's nuclear expansion has been access to uranium. Despite an aggressive hunt in basins, thrusts, and folds across the country, known domestic deposits will support only 10,000 megawatts of nuclear capacity.

"All reactors are going to be sourced from foreign vendors and tied to fuel supply agreements," Jain said.

Previously, India was largely unable to buy nuclear fuel and technology from abroad, because of its refusal to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and its testing of atomic weapons.

On Sept. 6, under heavy lobbying by the United States, the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group made a historic exception for India. That opens the door for nuclear sales to India — but, in the U.S. case, Congress must approve.

Jain says Nuclear Power Corp. hopes to finalize contracts with GE, Westinghouse Electric Co., France's Areva group, and Russia's Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corp. to build a first round of eight reactors starting in 2009.

The government, he added, plans to take a 30 percent equity stake in the new reactors, and borrow to raise the rest.

Rosatom is already helping India build two nuclear reactors, under an agreement that predates Russia joining the Nuclear Suppliers Group.

Areva has been active in pursuing business, with CEO Anne Lauvergeon joining French President Nicolas Sarkozy on his January state visit, according to three Indian officials.

If the deal doesn't go through Congress, said Ron Somers, president of U.S.-India Business Council, "we'll be the only one shut out."

"It's like sitting on our hands watching a football game, not being able to play," he added.

GE has been in close talks with the Indian government, Jayaraman said, but the company cannot, by law, enter into advanced discussions absent a green light from Congress.

"We have not had any detailed discussions," he said.

A lot of Indian companies are also hopeful.

Currently, private companies cannot operate nuclear reactors, but India is separating its civilian and military nuclear programs as part of the U.S.-India nuclear deal. That could pave the way for deeper private sector involvement on the civilian side, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, a top official in India's Planning Commission, said in a recent interview.

Jain, of the Nuclear Power Corp., said a raft of companies, including the Tata Group, Reliance Power Ltd., GMR Infrastructure Ltd., GVK Industries Ltd., the Essar Group, and the state-run National Thermal Power Corp. have expressed interest in running nuclear power plants in the future.

Parts suppliers and builders, like Hindustan Construction Co., Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd., Larsen &Toubro Ltd., Gammon India Ltd. and Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd. could also benefit from India's nuclear build-out.

Deepak Morada, a spokesman for Larsen & Toubro, India's largest builder, said he thinks the capital and manufacturing requirements needed to help 400 million Indians who now live by candlelight switch on the lights, are simply too massive for the government to handle alone.

"We are ready to participate," he said.

Indo-US air force transport exercise at Agra next year

New Delhi (PTI): Ramping up the forward-moving interaction between their airforces, India and the US will hold a high-level joint exercise of their transport aircraft and helicopter fleet at Agra in the first half of next year.

"The 2009 exercise will include both the transport aircraft and helicopters, and will concentrate more on logistics and air maintenance manoeuvre," a top Indian Air force (IAF) officer told PTI here on Monday.

The Agra exercise will witness the USAF's Chinooks and Bell helicopters and the C-130J Hercules multi-role transport aircraft vying with the IAF's workhorses An-32 mediumlift, IL-76 heavylift aircraft and its transport choppers Mi-17 and Mi-26.

Incidentally, Chinook is a competitor for the IAF's heavylift helicopter tenders, where airforce is looking to procure 12 heavylift choppers.

Bell choppers have also received the Request for Proposals from India for the IAF and Army requirement for 197 light utility helicopters.

India has already bought six of the C-130J Hercules for its special forces and a follow-on order of another six Hercules is in the pipeline. Delivery of the C-130J will begin in 2010, according to IAF sources.

Just about a week ago, the IAF's Su-30 MKIs multirole air superiority aircraft returned from US after participating in the world's most advanced 'Red Flag' air wargame.

India and the US air forces have earlier exercised twice in 2004 at Gwalior (in Madhya Pradesh) and Alaska (in US), and once in 2005 at Kalaikunda in West Bengal, all of which have been fighter fleet exercises.

DRDO to make missiles lighter, cost-effective

Hyderabad, Sept. 24 With an intention to make the country’s missiles lighter, cost-effective and possess greater hit power, the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) is augmenting its composite materials facilities and capabilities.

An independent centre for composite testing and evaluation is being set up at the Hyderabad-based Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL), the premier lab guiding the long range missile — Agni programme and providing key technology inputs to other missiles.

ASL already has composites production centre (Comproc), which fabricates the lightweight material for Agni and other missiles. “In 6-7 years, we want to make all the stages of the Agni missile composite structured,” said Mr Avinash Chander, Director of the Laboratory under DRDO.

“At present, the payload and a small portion (nose tip) of Agni is made of composites, while the rest is metallic. Progressively, we will make the airframe, the upper stages and payload completely composite,” he told Business Line. There is lot of interest from the private sector in the composites arena and no dearth of raw materials, he added. Composite material, which can withstand very high temperatures and are robust, finds application in aerospace, the light combat aircraft and satellites.

The ASL provides composites and solid propulsion systems to most missiles such as Prithvi, Akash, Nag and Astra, Mr Chander said.Another initiative taken up by ASL is in the area of non-destructive evaluation of materials. This would help in assessing the health of the missile systems and components.
Cost-effective

Since we cannot bring these back from the field, the testing done through NDE tools and methods on site would make it cost-effective, he added.

These techniques are useful in detecting degradation of materials, cracks or other minor defects, which can reduce the life of the missile or make it ineffective.

Typically, ultrasound and nuclear magnetic resonance techniques are used. Asked about Agni-3, the long-range, surface to surface missile, Mr Chander said it has been cleared for induction into the Defence forces.

“We will do user trials when required, but it is ready for manufacture and induction,” he said. The missile was tested thrice between July 2006 to May 2008, with the first being a failure.

On Agni-V, he said the development is progressing.

“We can test it in two to two and half years. Two out of three stages will be composite, which will reduce its weight and increase range,” he added.

Gift Ideas

www.kaboodle.com

Style & Fashion by daynadecker

Indian Air Force PHALCON AWACS to be Delivered by Jan-Feb 2009

Defence ministry sources said the first of the three Awacs, initially slated to be delivered in November 2007 under the $1.1-billion deal signed in March 2004, will now land in India by January-February 2009.

In the huge project, three Phalcon early-warning radars are being mounted on Russian heavy-lift IL-76 military aircraft under a tripartite agreement among India, Israel and Russia. "There have been technical hitches in the integration work. But we are pushing the Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) to deliver the first Awacs before the end of this year," said a source.

Technical glitches are not the only problem with the project. As reported by TOI earlier, there are allegations of kickbacks swirling around the deal, with reports holding India has been steeply overcharged for the Awacs. The government, however, has not given much credence to such reports, even though CBI is already investigating kickbacks in the original Rs 1,160-crore Israeli Barak-I anti-missile defence system contract, in which former defence minister George Fernandes, arms dealer Suresh Nanda and others have been named as the accused. This, of course, does not detract from the fact that IAF desperately needs the Phalcon Awacs, much like the Barak system was a crucial requirement for Navy.

Awacs, or "eyes in the sky", will help IAF detect incoming hostile cruise missiles and aircraft much before ground-based radars, apart from directing air defence fighters during combat operations with enemy jets. For instance, an Awacs flying over Amritsar will be able to detect a Pakistani F-16 fighter as soon as it takes off from its Sargodha airbase. India, incidentally, signed a $210-million deal with Brazilian firm Embraer for three aircraft in July for its own indigenous miniature Awacs project.

The indigenous AEW&C systems being developed by DRDO will be mounted on the three Embraer-145 jets, with the delivery of the first one slated for 2011-2012. The project is worth around Rs 1,800 crore. India, incidentally, is also on course to acquire four more Israeli Aerostat radars, at a cost of around $300 million, to bolster its ability to detect hostile low-flying aircraft, helicopters, spy drones and missiles.

The IAF's case for the new Aerostat radars as a "follow-on" order to the two such EL/M-2083 radars, inducted from Israel in 2004-2005 for $145 million, has finally been cleared by the Defence Acquisitions Council, headed by defence minister A K Antony, now.

After being in a limbo for some time due to the Barak kickbacks case, the defence ministry has decided to go full steam ahead with procurements and projects with Israel, which has notched up arms sales worth around $8 billion to India since the 1999 Kargil conflict. The ministry will, however, take a final clearance from the Cabinet Committee on Security and the "competent financial authority" before the new procurement deals are actually inked.

$200 m sought for Gorshkov overhaul

Moscow wants New Delhi to immediately pay $200 million to cash-strapped Sevmash shipyard in order to speed up the upgrade of Admiral Gorshkov even though the final price negotiations of the ship are expected to be completed during Russian Defence Minister A Serdyukov’s visit to Delhi later this month.

Government sources said that after New Delhi expressed concern over the slow progress in overhauling Gorshkov (to be called INS Vikramaditya) at the Sevmash shipyard in North Sea, Russian asked South Block to immediately put in money without prejudice to the on-going price negotiations. Moscow had raised demand for an additional $1.2 billion after the two sides signed an agreement on $750 million for the aircraft carrier.

As the aircraft carrier is now expected to be inducted only by 2012 (August 15, 2008 was the original date), the issue will be taken up by the Indian side at the 8th Inter-Government Meeting on Military Technical Cooperation on September 28-29. During Serdyukov’s trip, the Indian side will mount pressure on its Russian counterpart to scale down the $1.2 billion demand.

Official sources said that South Block was even considering holding trials of the refitted Admiral Gorshkov and handle some technical work so that the additional costs could be cut down by nearly 50 per cent. However, the Indian Navy is totally opposed to this idea, as New Delhi would end up getting the blame from Russians if any system or armament malfunctions during the trials. The Navy wants only the