ISRO successfully conducts test vehicle mission ahead of human space flight programme
Sriharikota (AP) (PTI): Nerves gave way to smiles at the spaceport here as delays and an anomaly-triggered 'hold' forced ISRO scientists to revise the launch schedule of a test vehicle carrying payloads related to the country's ambitious human space flight mission, Gaganyaan which soared into skies after initial hiccups.
Following a two hour delay and nerve-wracking moments after the engine of TV-D1 failed to ignite initially, ISRO scientists put the mission on course 75 minutes later when they launched the rocket with precision and achieved the goal of Crew Module and Crew Escape separation that was welcomed with loud cheers at the Mission Control Center here.
TV D1 Mission was fully achieved, ISRO announced.
The payloads later splashed into the sea as planned, a development that witnessed jubilation.
Gaganyaan programme aims to send humans into space on a Low Earth Orbit of 400 km for three days and bring them safely back to the Earth.
Initially slated for 8 am, the launch suffered delays twice, totaling 45 minutes, before an anomaly forced a rescheduling for 10 am.
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Assam to lift all cases against Koch Rajbongshis in Foreigners' Tribunals: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma
Guwahati, Apr 4 (PTI): The Assam cabinet has decided to lift all cases pending against people from the Koch Rajbongshi community in the Foreigners' Tribunals, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday.
They will also no longer carry the tag of 'D' or doubtful voters, he said.
''There are 28,000 cases pending in different Foreigners' Tribunals in the state against people of the community. The cabinet has taken a historic decision of lifting the cases with immediate effect,'' Sarma said at a press conference here after the cabinet meeting.
The government believes that the Koch Rajbongshis are an indigenous community of the state and they are an inextricable part of ''our social and cultural fabric'', he asserted.
The people of this community are poor and have suffered a lot over the years, he said.
''They will no longer carry the tag of foreigners or ‘D’ voters,'' the CM said.
Foreigners Tribunals are quasi-judicial bodies, particularly in Assam, established to determine if a person residing in India is a "foreigner" as defined by the Foreigners Act of 1946, based on the Foreigners (Tribunals) Order of 1964.
These tribunals are designed to address matters related to citizenship and the presence of “foreigners” in India, specifically focusing on cases where someone is suspected of being an illegal immigrant.
There are 100 Foreigners’ Tribunals across Assam.
The Koch Rajbongshis have a sizeable presence in Assam, West Bengal, Meghalaya, and parts of Bangladesh, Nepal, and Bhutan, and they demand Scheduled Tribe status.
