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India is planning to set up world’s largest high-altitude telescope called Major Atmospheric Cerenkov Experiment (MACE) to detect gamma ray emissions
The New Year augurs well for the Indian science and technology sector. The science-friendly Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being welcomed at the annual Indian Science Congress currently being held at Mysuru, with the 10,000 strong gathering hoping to get an endorsement that can translate into increased budget allocations for research and development.
Science Minister Harsh Vardhan hopes his ministry will get a bigger allocation since he says "this year (2015-2016) there was no budget cut at the time of revised estimates". So hopes are high in Mysuru that the finance minister will be generous in the next fiscal.
Modi's pet theme of 'Make in India' should reverberate through the year. The country could witness some landmark achievements in the sector, a never-before Indian-made new reactor could become operational; India's desi global positioning system (GPS) could kick off; a reusable launch vehicle or India's first steps towards an indigenous 'Indian space shuttle' are likely to be lofted.
A new giant telescope could be installed at the world's highest observatory in Hanle, Ladakh. Stalled field trials of genetically-modified crops could get a green signal. The year could end with a friendly neighbourhood bird in sky bringing the South Asians nations into a tighter embrace. For the 'aam aadmi', an injectable polio vaccine could get wider reach in the 'end game on polio'.
The Indian space agency is preparing to undertake almost one mission every month in 2016, a Herculean feat. The first quarter of the New Year could see India completing its ambitious 'desi-GPS' system. Already four of the seven satellites are in place and a basic navigation system is up and running. The months of January, February and March each could witness the last three of the seven constellation Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) being launched and becoming operational soon after.
The Indian navigation system is designed to ensure better than 20-metre accuracy for navigation signals in an envelope up to 1,500 km from our borders, the key region where India faces a threat perception. Only America, China, Russia have such sophisticated capabilities.
This foolproof navigation system, which will always be available to India, will boost the accuracy of the jam proof Indian missiles to unprecedented levels. Average users can also expect to get desi-GPS signals on their mobile phones once suitable chips and software become widely available. The Indian system can easily be expanded to cover the entire globe if and when the country demands.
Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor Building
The nuclear establishment is working hard to ensure that the unit-2 of the 1,000 MW nuclear reactor at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu becomes operational. The really big event for the year could be turning on of the 500 MW Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam in Tamil Nadu.
This would mark the coming of age of the second stage of India's ambitious atomic energy program. The PFBR, a novel Indian design, has been in the making for more than a decade and runs mostly on plutonium fuel but interestingly it breeds more fuel than it consumes.
Left - Reactor Vessel for Commercial Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR), L&T delivered the main vessel and safety vessel with highest accuracy level, manufactured from Stainless Steel at Kalpakkam for India’s First commercial FBR on schedule - Right - Another noteworthy achievement is that L&T has manufactured Tokamak Reactor Vessel, one of the most advanced reactor designs in the world, for the fusion reactor ADITYA, the first indigenously designed and built Tokamak
A technological marvel, this reactor uses liquid sodium as a coolant, which makes the technology inherently risky. But having run a Fast Breeder Test Reactor for the last three decades the nuclear engineers are gearing up to shake the world by commissioning this mega machine in the middle of the year.
Only Russia has a similar reactor operating in the world. Made at a cost of about Rs 6,000 crore, some say it will produce very expensive electricity but the Department of Atomic Energy says if it succeeds, similar reactors could provide clean carbon free sustainable power to India for the next 200-300 years.
On the military side, the Indian atomic program could see the induction of India's maiden nuclear powered submarine, the INS Arihant, into the Indian Navy. Capable of carrying nuclear weapons this unique under water platform gives India the all-important second strike capability in case of a nuclear attack by an adversary.
To overcome the chronic shortage of edible oils, Indian scientists have developed a genetically modified (GM) variety of mustard. The development is stuck in the long-winded regulatory mechanism for GM products.
Indian scientists are hoping that with the launch of the new 'National Biotechnology Development Strategy 2015-2020' a green flag could be given for the introduction of genetically modified mustard which could then become the first GM food crop to be embraced by the country.
High in the cold desert of Ladakh, India has been slowly constructing a giant telescope called Major Atmospheric Cerenkov Experiment Telescope (MACE), this specialised eye will view the universe using Gamma Rays and will be the second largest of its kind in the world but ideally placed in the world's highest observatory at Hanle perched at 4500 m above sea level. The Electronic Corporation of India Limited is building this 24-m diameter telescope.
The year is also likely to witness the launch of the now famous 'SAARC Satellite' the launch date for which has already been almost fixed for December 8, 2016, the anniversary of the setting up of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
At the Sriharikota space port, on June 30, 2014, it was a moment of pride for 16,000 employees of ISRO when Modi said India has done well against odds but added "yeh dil mange more" (this heart wants more).
He said "Today, I ask our space community, to take up the challenge, of developing a SAARC Satellite - that we can dedicate to our neighbourhood, as a gift from India. A satellite, that provides a full range of applications and services, to all our neighbours. I also ask you, to enlarge the footprint of our satellite-based navigation system, to cover all of South Asia."
The Indian space agency is working hard to complete the making of this communications satellite, which will cost about Rs 235 crore and will be a gift from India to all its neighbors.
Pakistan, which had initially raised some objections, is also coming around to accepting this friendly bird in the sky that will help communicate when disasters strike and help maintain a hot line between the foreign ministries of the region.
On the health front, after having vanquished wild polio from India and remaining polio free, the Ministry of Health could introduce on a countrywide basis the use of a single dose injectable polio vaccine. This the Health Minister J P Nadda says will give "double protection" to our children help eliminate polio forever, since there is still a threat of the import of the wild polio virus as two of India's neighbours Pakistan and Afghanistan still harbour this 'tiny terrorist'.
During 2015, battling odds, the Indian scientific community finally succeeded in launching an almost fully indigenous version of the so called 'naughty boy of ISRO' the Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-MKII) when on August 27, the vehicle lofted India into a select club.
2016 could well mark India's entry into the cost effective re-usable launch vehicle (RLV) space, as ISRO gears up for a landmark launch of the RLV, which is really India's version of a 'Space Shuttle'.
If all goes well, litany of Modi slogans 'Make in India', 'Digital India', 'Start-up India, Stand-up India' could well get translated into tangible outcomes but for that to happen India's finance minister will have to open the purse strings to support the S&T sector, since growth for the Indian economy will come when research and development perks up.
The scientific community is saying come on Modi, please stand up and be counted as the most science friendly Prime Minister India has ever seen. Will 'jai jawan; jai kisan & jai vigyan' be the new slogan.
