- Vineet Kumar Goyal
Counsellor

All the views expressed in the article are personal and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organization the author represents.

• Natural disaster warning system launched
  
  http://news.webindia123.com/news/showdetails.asp?id=248425&n_date=20060213&cat=India
  Bangalore | February 13, 2006 6:36:51 PM IST
  
  In a move aimed at minimising the fury of natural disasters, the National Disaster Information System (NDIS), a first of its kind pilot project seeking to alert people about any impending natural disaster in the country, was launched here today.
  Speaking on the occasion, Union Science, Technology and Ocean Development Minister Kapil Sibal described NDIS as a landmark project, developed under private-public partnership by the Technology Development Council (TDC) and city-based IT firm Geneva Software Technologies, as not just a technology, but a solution for public good.

  It would communicate to the people about any disaster in their local language over mobiles and specially erected wireless public address system in their locality, he said, calling for its marketing at the international level.

  The Minister recalled that the NDIS project was taken up by the National Disaster Management Authority after the killer tsunami claimed thousands of lives on December 26, 2004.

  Outlining the functioning of the system, Mr Amar Singh of Geneva Systems said that immediately after receiving data about any impending disaster from the Indian Meteorological Department, it would be processed by the server stationed at Geneva's office here and translated into 14 Indian languages along with a dynamically generated voice. The data was secure with a 128-bit exception using dedicated leased lines.

  Alerts would then be sent out to mobile phones in a language, decided based on the location. The voice would be streamed as an oubtound call and sent to the wireless public address system for direct audio alert, he said.
  

• India to launch 3 satellites in 3 years
  
  http://www.siliconindia.com/shownewsdata.asp?newsno=30929
  Friday, February 10, 2006

  VISHAKHAPATNAM: Having achieved great strides in space technology, India has three more major space missions lined up for the next three years, Space Advisory Committee’s Chairman U R Rao said.

  Delivering the keynote address on the 14th National Space Science Symposium which began at Andhra University in Vishakhapatnam, Prof Rao said, “The country was working on the three major projects -- Chandrayaan (Moon Mission), Astro Science Satellite and Megatropics.”

  Based on PSLV launches, the missions will enable study of moon, astronomy and atmosphere respectively. The first Moon Mission to be completed during 2007, will bridge the knowledge gap about the moon. The general perception has been why India wants to go to moon when other countries have already done something in this direction, he said.

  However, not much is known regarding the scientific part of the moon despite about 20 voyages being been taken up.