India to conduct third interceptor missile trial in November

India to conduct third interceptor missile trial in November
(Source from Bangalore Live)

Bangalore: India is preparing to conduct the third trial of its advanced interceptor missile in November from the Chandipur-on-sea interim test range in coastal Orissa, a top defence official said Friday.

“Preparations are on to conduct the interceptor missile test for building an indigenous defence shield in early November. It is aimed at intercepting and destroying ballistic missiles from a long range,” defence scientist V.K. Saraswat told IANS here.

The configuration of the upcoming trial will be different from the previous one, conducted in December 2007, as the attempt this time is to approach higher kill altitude, with accurate interception.

“We have already conducted a test in endo-atmosphere at a distance of 48 km. We are aiming at much higher altitude in exo-atmosphere, which is 50-75 km above the earth,” said Saraswat, chief controller of research & development of the missile programme at the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO).

The 7.5-metre interceptor missile will be fired within seconds after an incoming missile is launched from the test range. The target missile will be a modified version of the Prithvi ballistic missile.

“The test will reinforce our capability in installing a two-layered ballistic missile defence (BMD) shield to protect vulnerable areas from an incoming enemy missile and strengthen our national security,” Saraswat said on the sidelines of a conference on 'Networking and Network-centric Operations', organised by the Computer Society of India.

The interceptor will be equipped with inertial navigation system and electro-mechanical actuators to enable it to perform critical manoeuvres required to engage the incoming missile during the latter's terminal phase.

The first interception test of a missile was conducted successfully at an altitude of 50 km in exo-atmosphere in November 2006.

“With the third test, we will have the entire BMD capability to detect, intercept and destroy intermediate-range and inter-continental ballistic missiles in the 5,000 km (3,000 mile) coming from any country,” Saraswat added.

India had already demonstrated that it was capable of intercepting short-range targets in up to 2,000-2,500 km range.

The BMD gives India membership of the select club of Israel, Russia and the US in developing and possessing such technology once the system is rolled out.

The defence system's tracking and fire control radars have been developed by DRDO in collaboration with Israel and France.

Bangalore: Teacher Hangs Child, Commits Suicide

Teacher Hangs Child, Commits Suicide

Bangalore, Sep 3: Mohan Kumari (25), working as teacher in a private school in the city, committed suicide on the night of Monday September 1, after hanging her 18-month-old child.

Kumari, wife of silversmith Murugan, was a spendthrift. Her husband Murugan said that she was trying to live beyond the family means and was frequently criticized by family members and relatives for this attitude. The couple was living in Srirampuram police station limits.

Murugan said, his wife did not open the door when he came back from work at about 10.30 pm on Monday September 1 and he then broke open the door with help from the landlord who resides downstairs. He found his wife and son hanging in the room.

It is thought that Mohan Kumari killed her child and later hung herself from the roof. In a four-page-long suicide note addressed to her mother and three brothers, she said that no one was responsible for her death. But people who know her closely feel that she was mentally bogged down by incessant criticism from family and relatives, on her spending habit.

IT Outsourcing increased at 5.9 Percent.

Bangalore IT : IT outsourcing in the US to increase at 5.9 per cent



Bangalore Latest News : The American IT outsourcing market is expected to increase at a compound annual growth rate of 5.9 per cent, from $13.3 billion in 2006 to $17.7 billion by 2011, a new report has said.

There will be continued shift within federal market away from a government-owned, government-operated model towards a contract-operated approach, the report said.

This shift, it says, is fuelled by the impending federal IT workforce shortage, war in Iraq, and federal contract spending slowdown.

The report has been prepared by INPUT which helps companies develop federal, state, and local government business and counts 1,300 members, including small specialised companies, new entrants to the public sector and the largest government contractors an d agencies.

According to the report, perhaps the most important factor leading towards a greater reliance on outsourcing in the future is the fact that a significant portion of the federal technology-related workforce is entering retirement age.

To obtain the IT talent required and to minimize the costs of acquiring new technologies in relatively short time frames, spending in the areas of business process outsourcing and application services will contribute the greatest growth to the federal ou tsourcing market over the forecast period, the report said.