India sent its MOM to Mars and is proud of it

PM Narendra Modi with Isro chief Radhakrishnan

The sky really seemed the limit on Wednesday morning as the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) spacecraft entered Mars’ orbit and into Indian space history. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while congratulating the scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), rightly noted that we have achieved “the near impossible”. Given the technological limitations and financial constraints, the Mangalyaan, or the Mars mission, is unique in many ways. On a shoe-string budget of Rs. 450 crore, it is an indigenous programme completed for launch in less than two years. This is much quicker and less expensive than any other Mars mission.
Only a handful of countries have been able to cross this frontier of interplanetary exploration, and India’s entry into this elite club comprising the United States, Russia and Europe is amazing. The space exploration arena is getting crowded and it is important to be ahead of your competition. India, by becoming the first Asian country to launch a successful Mars mission, has taken the wind out of the sails of nations like China, Japan and South Korea which have ambitious space programmes planned.
Isro’s Mars mission is predominantly a technology demonstrator. The success of MOM shows that India has the potential for deep space remote controlling and communication and navigation. The MOM — which will orbit Mars for six months — is also carrying scientific equipment and will study the planet’s surface and atmosphere, especially the presence of methane gas.

Scientist working on MOM

Mangalyaan’s success is also expected to increase India’s launch capabilities. Isro has successfully combined state-of-the-art technology and frugal engineering thereby setting the benchmark  for future interplanetary missions by any country/agency. While the mission is a major achievement, there are areas where Isro has to focus. At present, it is only capable of launching payloads below two tonnes. The government must encourage science education by investing more in research and development in schools and universities.
As former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, under whom Mangalyaan was approved, said during the 101st Indian Science Congress: “Science education in our country requires much more attention…. We must increase our annual expenditure on science and technology to at least 2% of our GDP.” However, for the moment, let’s bask in our moment in the sun, or shall we say stars?

NRIs: Govt needs their money but won't give them a vote

That more than 10 million Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) will not be taking part in the ongoing general elections is a shortcoming of an otherwise efficient electoral system.
It is in this vein that the Supreme Court on Monday asked the Election Commission (EC) to explore options to facilitate NRIs to vote over the Internet.
The court was hearing a petition by a UAE-based NRI doctor who challenged the clause in the Representation of the People Act (RPA) that insists that NRIs must be physically present in their constituency to cast their vote. Rules that deny or make it difficult for a group of citizens, NRIs here, to vote must change so that we are a representative democracy in letter and spirit.
The importance of NRI voters becomes evident in the fact that in 2009 there were more than 200 constituencies in which the winning margin was only around 43,000.
Also, the remittances by Indians overseas were $67 billion in 2012-13, or about 4% of GDP, and it is alarming that their opinion in choosing the next government does not count. At present, the RPA must be amended if postal ballots are to be sent to NRIs.

The elections in the United States is often criticised for the complex voting arithmetic it uses to choose the winning candidate — remember the 2000 Florida election recount?
However cumbersome the voting system is, the US has ensured that every citizen, irrespective of where he or she resides in the world, is given a chance to exercise his or her suffrage.
US citizens living outside the country and who have informed their local election office receive blank ballots electronically — depending on the state it could be a ballot, an email, a fax or an Internet form. It has to be filled and send back to the election office. More than 100 other countries follow similar practises.
Non-resident citizens of Japan, Brazil, France and 17 European Union states are allowed to vote at the embassies consulates around the world. In Britain, expats lose their right to vote after staying overseas for more than 15 years.
The apex court has asked the EC to file a reply by Friday and it is hoped that the franchise rights of the NRIs will not go in vain. And if it means that the laws must be amended, the next government should not hesitate in doing so.

Four years of UPA2: Where's the party tonight?

Photo by AP

The Congress-led UPA, which completed four years into its second term, may not be popping open champagne bottles but it deserves a pat on the back. In an era of coalition politics, where national parties have lost ground and have been confined to regional pockets of power, and where regional parties have had a field day at the national level, it is no mean task to complete nine years in power. Riding on the success of schemes like the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the Right to Information Act and the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan implemented in its first term, in its second term the UPA continues to keep the momentum. The government has been able to maintain a respectable financial atmosphere at a time when economies around the world are struggling in the red, though a lot more needs to be done to ensure that the economy does not slip any further and improves, like giving a push for industry and opening the economy further. Under the UPA 2 poverty figures have fallen from 37.2% in 2004-05 to 29.8% in 2009-10. By the execution of Ajmal Kasab and Afzal Guru the government has sent a strong message that it is not a soft power and that there is no compromise on national security. On the foreign policy front it is a mixed bag. New Delhi’s handling of Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the Maldives could have been better. However, in its dealing with China and Afghanistan the government has shown great finesse. India has shown great resolve in maintaining political and economic interests with Myanmar, Vietnam and even Japan, while at the same time not straining its ties with China.

There are many things that the UPA could have done differently to avert the negative criticism it is receiving. A bolder and more aggressive prime minister — much like the Manmohan Singh during the Indo-US nuclear deal — would have helped evade much of this criticism. The government seems to have been plagued by allegations of corruption and just when it tides over one scam it is greeted by another. Also a part of the perceived failure of the UPA 2, and an issue the BJP is highlighting as the government’s failure, comes from the government’s inability to pass important Bills such as the food security Bill and the land acquisition Bill. However, if the UPA government has not been able to table the Bills in Parliament it was mainly because opposition parties, headed by the BJP, resorted to frequent disruption of proceedings. The mulish stubbornness of the opposition saw the last two sessions of parliament going virtually without any business done. The principal opposition is the government-in-waiting — a fact the BJP seems to have forgot. While the BJP has been vitriolic on its attack on the PM and has taken great pains to tar the government black, it has failed to suggest measures it would take in the event of the party comes to power in the next general elections.
While the opposition aided by an alert media have been quick to highlight the pitfalls of the government — and they have rightly done so, the government has failed to go to the people with its positive steps it has initiated over the years.