Chandrayaan-3: There are no millionaires among ISRO scientists, says Madhavan Nair
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Buoyed by India's successful Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission, former ISRO chairman G Madhavan Nair said the scientists at space agency have achieved this historic success by getting a salary one-fifth of the scientists in the developed world.
According to him, the low wages for the scientists at ISRO are one of the reasons why they could find low-cost solutions for space exploration.
"The wages paid to the scientists, technicians, and other staff at ISRO are hardly one-fifth of what is given globally. So that gives an advantage," Nair told PTI while talking about the Indian space agency's history of exploring space at very low expenses.
He said there are no millionaires among ISRO scientists, and they always live a very normal and subdued life.
"They are not really bothered about the money but are passionate and dedicated to their mission. That is how we achieved greater heights," Nair said here.
He said the scientists at ISRO could achieve this through careful planning and long-term vision.
"We tried to build one upon the other. What we learnt in the past, we used for the subsequent mission. In fact, what we developed nearly 30 years ago for the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle is the same engine that is being used for the GSLV as well," Nair said.
He said India uses home-grown technology for its space missions, and that helped them reduce the cost considerably. He said the space mission costs of India are 50 to 60 percent lower compared to the space missions of other countries.
Nair said the success of Chandrayaan-3 is the first stepping stone to begin India's planetary explorations.
"We have really broken the ice and made a good beginning," he said.
The former ISRO chief said the country already has several commercial contracts with Europe and America, and this will grow now with the success of Chandrayaan-3.
"Certainly the global people will accept our technical competence and quality of our launch system and spacecraft, etc. International cooperation has been on the agenda of the Indian space programme, and it will be strengthened in the days to come," he added.
The total cost of Chandrayaan-3, according to ISRO, is only Rs 615 crore, which is almost equivalent to a Bollywood movie's production budget in the country.
In a giant leap for its space programme, India's Moon mission Chandrayaan-3 touched down on the lunar south pole at 6.04 pm on Wednesday, propelling the country into an exclusive club of four and making it the first country to land on the uncharted surface.
With this touchdown on the Moon to script history after a flawless 41-day voyage and less than a week after a Russian lander headed to the lunar south pole crashed, India has become the fourth country to master the technology of soft-landing on the Moon after the US, China, and the erstwhile Soviet Union.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said.
A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said.
Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.
Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.
Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.
Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.
Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.
The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.
According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet.
"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.
