Trends show LDF ahead in civic polls in Kerala
Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 16: With counting of votes for local body polls in Kerala underway on Wednesday, early trends showed that the ruling CPI(M) led Left Democratic Front was leading in 520 of the total of 941 panchayats.
The LDF was also leading in 10 out of the 14 district panchayats and 108 block panchayats of the total of 152, according to the State Election Commission figures.
The Congress led UDF was ahead in four district panchayats.
Out of the six corporations in the state, the LDF and the UDF were leading in three each.
BJP is ahead in 26 panchayats.
A total of 21,893 wards in 1,200 local self-governing bodies, including six corporations, 941 village panchayats, 14 district panchayats and 87 municipalities went to the polls in three phases on December 8, 10 and 14.
The first phase saw 73.12 per cent turnout, the second phase 76.78 and the third and final phase, 78.64 per cent.
Left leaders and workers claimed that the "hate campaign" against the CPI(M) through various issues raised by the Opposition Congress and BJP, including the gold smuggling case and other matters, failed to resonate with the people.
"All the hate campaigns against the Left have been proven wrong," senior CPI(M) leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan told the media.
State Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac in a tweet said LDF was heading towards a resounding victory in local body elections.
"LDF heading towards a resounding victory in the local body elections.
People reject the slander campaign of Congress and BJP and also the machinations of central agencies.It is a vote for left politics and development alternative of Kerala government," Isaac tweeted.
In 2015, the ruling LDF had nearly swept the civic polls by winning 549 village panchayats, 90 block panchayats, 44 municipalities and four corporations.
At the district panchayat level, both UDF and LDF had won seven seats each.
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Indian startup's 'Drishti' satellite launched aboard SpaceX rocket
New Delhi (PTI): Bengaluru-based space start-up GalaxEye's Mission Drishti satellite was launched on Sunday aboard SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from California.
Mission Drishti is the world's first OptoSAR satellite, integrating electro-optical (EO) and synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sensors into a single operational platform, according to the company.
While EO sensors capture high-resolution images during sunlight and clear skies, SAR sensors provide all-weather and all-time images, using radar pulses.
In a statement, Suyash Singh, founder and CEO of GalaxEye, said, "With the satellite (Mission Drishti) now successfully in orbit, our immediate focus is on completing its commissioning. As we move through this phase, we are already witnessing strong global interest in the differentiated datasets enabled by our OptoSAR payload."
The satellite will help address long-standing limitations of conventional systems and enable more reliable and consistent data acquisition across diverse environmental conditions, the company said.
As a dual-use Earth observation satellite, the mission will support use cases across defence, agriculture, disaster management, maritime monitoring, and infrastructure planning.
The satellite is also expected to complement India's broader initiatives, including the 29 active Earth Observation satellites outlined in ISRO's recent annual report.
The launch came after five years of indigenous research and development, and extensive environmental testing and performance validation of the Mission Drishti.
In a statement, Lt Gen AK Bhatt (Retd), director general of Indian Space Association (ISpA), said, "GalaxEye has achieved what only a few global players have, which is seamlessly combining optical and SAR capabilities on a single platform to enable persistent, all-weather intelligence."
What stands out is not just the technology, but its broader impact on how downstream applications will increasingly define value in the space economy, particularly in Earth observation, where timely, decision-grade insights are critical," he added.
ISpA is the premier industry association of space and satellite companies in the country.
Union Minister Jitendra Singh also took note of the Mission Drishti launch, saying the development marked a significant milestone in India's space journey.
In a post on X, the minister said, "The successful launch of the world's first OptoSAR satellite, and the largest privately-built satellite in the country, reflects the immense potential of our young innovators driving nation-building."
GalaxEye aims to scale up Mission Drishti to a constellation of 10 satellites by 2030, developing a robust and sovereign Earth observation infrastructure for India.
