Indian space industry offers tremendous opportunity for private players, says ISRO Chief
Kochi (PTI): ISRO Chairman S Somanath has said the Indian space industry is offering a tremendous opportunity to the private sector in the country as a new area of growth and development.
He said the union government envisages the space sector in the country to become a 9 to10 billion dollar industry in the next 5-10 years from the current levels of 2 billion dollars.
Somanath was speaking after unveiling the carbon reduction initiative of SFO Technologies, the flagship company of the NeST Group, in a function here on Saturday, a company release said.
He also said that 400 private sector companies have benefited from the technology developed by ISRO for its various missions.
Companies like SFO Technologies are well positioned to take further advantage of the new policy initiatives in the space sector by the government of India.
"The Indian space industry is offering a tremendous opportunity for the private sector in the country as a new area of growth and development," the ISRO chief added.
Besides planting a sapling at the NeST Hitek Park to mark the occasion, Somanath also unveiled a replica of Chandrayaan at the campus highlighting the cooperation of SFO Technologies and ISRO.
He interacted with the NeST engineers and management team later.
The Carbon Reduction initiative of the NeST Group is in tune with the United Nations' objective of achieving a 50 percent reduction by 2035 and zero emissions by 2040, the release said.
SFO Technologies has close association with ISRO for many years, it said adding that the two have worked in multiple programmes such as the RF sub-systems for Chandrayaan and Aditya Missions, manufacturing of Antenna Systems, and Cryogenic Engine Control Systems for launch vehicles.
NeST Group Chairman N Jehangir said discussions are on with ISRO for various projects including the ambitious 'Gaganyaan' mission, aiming to carry human beings to the space for the first time.
SFO Technologies and NeST Group are committed to protecting the environment and reducing carbon emissions, said Althaf Jehangir, CEO and Executive Director, SFO Technologies, Hardware and Manufacturing.
He also said that they have signed agreements with multiple partners to create a model of being a socially responsible organisation by minimising carbon pollution.
Nazneen Jehangir, CEO and Executive Director, Nest Digital, also spoke on the occasion, the release added.
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England sticking with Key, McCullum and Stokes despite Ashes humbling
London (AP): England is not sacking anybody following the 4-1 Ashes loss in Australia.
A review of the tour by the England and Wales Cricket Board, announced within hours of the final match in January, was concluded on Monday. Firing people would “be the easy thing to do,” ECB chief executive Richard Gould said but he insisted, "This is not the time to throw everything out."
Managing director Rob Key, coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes kept their jobs after the best England side to go to Australia in 14 years lost the Ashes in 11 days with two games to spare.
“Moving people on can sometimes be the easy thing to do. That's not the route that we're going to take,” Gould said. “I've seen the driving ambition and determination that we're lucky enough to have within our leadership group to take the lessons from the Ashes and move forward.”
Gould previously was the chief executive of Bristol City soccer club and said the ECB would not follow the same route as soccer's hire-and-fire culture.
“Cricket is a very unique sport in that it takes a team of leadership ... it's not like football where there's a single point of failure or success with a manager," he said. He added the ECB would not “select or deselect management based on a popularity campaign.”
The main criticisms of England's tour were poor preparation, player misbehavior, and selection mistakes.
At a press conference at Lord's, Gould and Key said McCullum and Stokes have not had a “bust up,” they did not want McCullum to “completely change” but “to evolve,” the behavior of some players was “unprofessional,” there will be more consequences for underperforming, and a commitment to “better long-term planning” ahead of major test series.
Some changes were already implemented for the Twenty20 World Cup, where England reached the semifinals. Gould implied that performance saved McCullum.
Key acknowledged that England supporters would be disappointed to see the management team go unpunished.
“I know people want punishment and that people then should be sacked for that,” Key said. “That doesn't mean we don't feel like we've gone through some serious pain: Brendon, myself, Ben. It's been as tough a time as I think I've had.”
