Karnataka celebrates Republic Day with fervor
Bengaluru:The 71st Republic Day was celebrated with fanfare in Karnataka on Sunday with an eye- catching march past, cultural events and breathtaking stunts by the defence personnel marking the state-level event at the Field Marshal Manekshaw Parade Ground here.
Governor Vajubhai Vala unfurled the national tri-colour and in his address explained the development activities in the state and various welfare measures taken by the government to improve the lives of people.
While hailing the BJP government for the 'effective' implementation of the law and order, Vala emphasised on ensuring safety of women and educating men and boys to treat women with respect.
Mahatma Gandhi believed that the day a woman can walk freely at the midnight on the roads, that day we can say that India achieved independence. To ensure that a safe climate is created for women, our men and boys must be educated in such a way that they learn to treat women and girls with respect, the Governor said.
On the crop loan waiver initiated by the government in 2019-20, Vala said the scheme benefiting about 21 lakh farmers will be completed by March this year.
People who gathered in large numbers at the celebration welcomed with cheers the mesmerising parade by the security forces and cultural events by school children. The motorbike stunts by the Army Service Corps Tornadoes left the audience spellbound.
The stunts included Single Scissors Crossing, brickwall jump, Sudarshan Chakra, Tubelight Jump, path of fire and pyramid formation by the 20 ASC tornadoes.
The event came to an end with the mock-drill of anti- terrorist operations by the Garuda Squad.
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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.
