Category Archives: Travel

INDIA IN SPACE: Chandrayaan-3: First orbit-Raising Maneuver Successfully Performed, says ISRO

Scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation have performed the first orbit raising maneuver of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft on Saturday.

Scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation have performed the first orbit raising maneuver of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft on Saturday, the space agency said. The health of the spacecraft was “normal”, ISRO said in a social media post. Chandrayaan-3 is now in an orbit, which when closest to Earth is at 173 km and farthest from Earth is at 41,762 km, the space agency said.

“Chandrayaan-3 Mission update: The spacecraft’s health is normal. The first orbit raising manoeuvre (Earthbound firing-1) was successfully performed at ISTRAC/ISRO, Bengaluru. Spacecraft is now in 41762kms x 173kms orbit,” ISRO said.

ISRO on July 14 successfully launched the third edition of its Moon exploration programme from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, aimed at making a soft landing on the unexplored south pole of the Moon that would make India achieve a rare feat.

Only three countries, the United States, China and Russia, have managed to land on the lunar surface so far.

source/content: hindustantimes.com (headline edited)

GLOBAL: NATIONAL: SPACE : Chandrayaan-3 Lunar Mission | ISRO’s next Leap to the Moon – July 14th, 2023

Catch India’s highly anticipated lunar mission Chandrayaan-3 with The Hindu’s coverage of the latest news, developments, behind-the-scenes, insights and related stories into this remarkable feat of Indian space science.

India’s space agency, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), began the launch of the Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission to explore the Moon on July 14, 2023, by making a soft landing on the natural satellite of Earth. Building upon the success of its predecessors, Chandrayaan-1 and Chandrayaan-2, the third lunar mission is set to push the boundaries of space discovery and innovation.

Just under four years after the launch of Chandrayaan-2, Chandrayaan-3 takes off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Andhra Pradesh perched on the back of a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV-MK III) heavy-lift rocket, on July 14, 2023. The mission is a prime example of India’s growing commitment towards advancing its presence in the global space community.

According to ISRO, the Chandrayaan-3 mission has three major objectives:

  1. Demonstrate safe and soft landing on the surface of the Moon,
  2. Conduct rover operations on the Moon, and
  3. Conduct on-site experiments on the Lunar surface.

In 2019, Chandrayaan-2, captured the world’s attention when it successfully placed the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover near the Moon’s South Pole. But the mission experienced partial setbacks. The Vikram lander on Chandrayaan-2 had crashed on the lunar surface while attempting to land. Despite the mishap, it still marked a significant achievement in India’s space history.

If the Chandrayaan-3 mission lifts off on July 14 as planned, the lander would be ready to soft-land on the lunar surface by August, according to S. Somanath, Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Mr. Somanath also said that the space agency has incorporated major improvements in the lander for the upcoming mission. This includes stronger ‘legs’ for the lander, the ability to withstand a higher descending velocity and a reduction in the number of engines from five to four. ‘‘We have also increased the quantity of the propellant, and solar panels cover a larger area. New sensors also have been added,’‘ he said.

Here is comprehensive coverage of the historic mission of the latest updates, exclusive interviews with ISRO scientists, and in-depth analyses of the mission.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

GLOBAL: SPACE & SPACE TECHS : The New York Times says India’s Space Programme set to ‘Transform Planet’s Connection to Final Frontier’

The article titled ‘The Surprising Striver in the World’s Space Business’ notes that India has become home to at least 140 registered space-tech start-ups.

Lauding India’s ambitious space programme, The New York Times has said the country, currently witnessing an “explosive” growth in space-tech start-ups, is set to “transform the planet’s connection to the final frontier” and can emerge as a “counterweight” to China.

“When it launched its first rocket in 1963, India was a poor country pursuing the world’s most cutting-edge technology. That projectile, its nose cone wheeled to the launchpad by a bicycle, put a small payload 124 miles above the Earth. India was barely pretending to keep up with the US and the Soviet Union. In today’s space race, India has found much surer footing,” the leading US newspaper said.

The article titled ‘The Surprising Striver in the World’s Space Business’ notes that India has become home to at least 140 registered space-tech start-ups, “comprising a local research field that stands to transform the planet’s connection to the final frontier.” “The start-ups’ growth has been explosive, leaping from five when the pandemic started. And they see a big market to serve,” the paper said.

Underscoring that India’s “importance as a scientific power” is taking centre stage, the NYT report referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s State Visit to Washington last month at the invitation of President Joe Biden and the joint statement issued by the two sides said that said the two leaders “set a course to reach new frontiers across all sectors of space cooperation.” In the joint statement, “the leaders called for enhanced commercial collaboration between the US and Indian private sectors in the entire value chain of the space economy and to address export controls and facilitate technology transfer.” The NYT report added that both the US and India “see space as an arena in which India can emerge as a counterweight to their mutual rival: China.” “One of India’s advantages is geopolitical,” the paper said as it added that Russia and China had historically offered lower-cost options for launches.

“But the war in Ukraine has all but ended Russia’s role as a competitor,” it said as it cited the USD 230 million hit British satellite start-up OneWeb took after Russia impounded 36 of its spacecraft in September. OneWeb’s next constellation of satellites was sent into orbit by India’s Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

“Likewise, the US government would be more likely to approve any American company’s sending military-grade technology through India than through China,” the NYT said.

It added that “Since June 2020, when Mr Modi announced a push for the space sector, opening it up to all kinds of private enterprise, India has launched a network of businesses, each driven by original research and homegrown talent. Last year, the space start-ups raked in USD 120 million in new investment, at a rate that is doubling or tripling annually.” The NYT report mentions Hyderabad-based Skyroot Aerospace and aerospace manufacturer Dhruva Space.

“Skyroot and Dhruva work in the relatively sexy sectors of launch and satellite delivery, but together those account for only 8 per cent of India’s space business pie.

“A much bigger slice comes from companies that specialise in collecting data beamed by satellite,” the report said and cited the example of Bengaluru-headquartered start-up Pixxel, co-founded by Awais Ahmed and Kshitij Khandelwal and which has a “contract with a secretive agency within the Pentagon.” Pixxel has developed an imaging system to detect patterns on the Earth’s surface that lie outside the range of ordinary colour vision.

Describing India as a “thriving centre of innovation” and “one of the most competitive launch sites in the world”, the NYT article said space-tech start-ups are one of India’s “most sought-after sectors” for venture capital investors and their growth “has been explosive, leaping from five when the pandemic started.” Terming India’s vendor ecosystem as “staggering in size”, the NYT said years of conducting business with ISRO has created “about 400 private companies in clusters around Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and elsewhere, each devoted to building special screws, sealants and other products fit for space.” India has an abundance of affordable engineers, but their smaller salaries alone cannot beat the competition. That leaves an Indian company like Skyroot concentrating on more specialised services, the newspaper said.

Pawan Kumar Chandana, 32, Co-Founder and CEO, Skyroot Aerospace, anticipates a global need for 30,000 satellites to be launched this decade.

“We are more like a cab,” said Chandana, whose company charges higher rates for smaller-payload launches, while Elon Musk-owned SpaceX “is more like a bus or a train, where they take all their passengers and put them in one destination.” Dhruva Space, which deploys satellites, was India’s first space start-up. In any given month, Kranthi Chand, its head of strategy, is hardly in Hyderabad, as he spends about one week in Europe and another in the US, rounding up clients and investors, the article said.

In May, Dhruva Space announced the successful test and Space-qualification of its 3U and 6U Satellite Orbital Deployers and Orbital Link onboard ISRO’S PSLV-C55 mission.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.

source/content: telegraphindia.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: SPORT / SAILING / ENDURANCE: ‘I’m a much better sailor now’: Commander Abhilash Tomy after Achieving 02nd Place in Gruelling ‘2022 Golden Global Race’. History was Created Making Tomy the First Asian Skipper to Finish on the Podium in Any round-the-world race.

Abhilash Tomy is the first Asian skipper to finish on the podium in any round the world race, and in any format.

Champion sailor Commander Abhilash Tomy (retd) on Saturday accomplished a rare feat that pushed the limits of his endurance with a second-place finish in the challenging solo, non-stop circumnavigation race, 2022 Golden Globe Race (GGR), after sailing in seas for 236 days.

“My mind is blank right now, but I am relieved. The race was a huge learning experience, and I am a much better sailor now,” Tomy told HT over phone from Les Sables-d’Olonne in France soon after completing the 30,000-mile race.

The GGR is the longest sporting event in the world and bars the use of modern technology.

Tomy is in good health but has lost more than 20kg during the eight months at sea.

“Health wise, I am fine. All problems disappear whenever I am at sea. However, my legs are unstable, and I can’t walk straight because of the amount of sailing I did,” he said. “I weighed 92kg when the race began, but I am now down to 70kg.”

Tomy had set off from Les Sables-d’Olonne on September 4, 2022, with 15 other competitors. Only two have thus far crossed the finish line at GGR at Les Sables-d’Olonne again. South Africa’s Kirsten Neuschäfer came first on Thursday. She is the first woman to win the race.

Tomy is the first Asian skipper to finish on the podium in any round the world race, and in any format. He took part in the race in a United Arab Emirates-flagged boat “Bayanat”.

Naval historian Commodore Srikant Kesnur (retd) described Tomy’s podium finish as “India’s greatest sporting achievement”.

“Apart from skills, there is a certain amount of luck involved in this race. Any freak thing can happen. I faced several challenges including weather and boat breakdowns,” Tomy said.

He took part in the 2018 edition of the race, and that attempt nearly proved fatal for him. He could not finish it because of an accident. He suffered a debilitating back injury on September 21, 2018, after rough seas and powerful winds in the southern Indian Ocean, one of the remotest spots on Earth, crippled his yacht, “SV Thuriya”.

Tomy was rescued 70 hours later. In the medical treatment that followed, titanium rods were inserted in his spine and five vertebrae were fused into one.

Before the accident, Tomy was in the third position among 11 international participants and had sailed more than 10,500 nautical miles since the race began on July 1, 2018. That was the 50th year of the race that commemorated Robin Knox-Johnston’s feat in 1968, with participants required to operate under the same conditions, even navigating using charts and the stars.

He had called GGR “unfinished business” after the first attempt.

Tomy passed through the same waters where he was stranded after the 2018 accident. His boat was then battered by a series of knockdowns. The rough seas and powerful winds pummeled his yacht, sending it into a 360-degree spin and dismasting it.

“My body was extremely stressed till I crossed the area where my boat was toppled by powerful winds and waves almost five years ago. There was a lot of tension in my jaw, my neck and thighs felt tight, and I had breathing issues. I felt a certain lightness in my body after crossing that area near Ile Amsterdam in southern Indian Ocean,” said Tomy.

After a dramatic rescue in 2018, he was taken to Ile Amsterdam, a 55-sq km island that is part of French territory, and treated at a small medical facility.

This time Tomy celebrated his birthday at sea. He turned 44 on February 5.

He encountered the worst weather two days after his birthday.

“There was a weather warning on my birthday. Pressure was dropping fast. I sent a message to the GGR organisers that I am having a ‘milli bar’ party and everyone is invited,” he said.

Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar sent Tomy a video message on Saturday, congratulating him. Tomy was in tears after seeing the message as Kumar was among his chief supporters when he took part in the race in 2018.

Tomy said he missed his wife and two sons terribly during the race.

“I look forward to having some fish curry and rice with my family after I return to Goa. I survived on tinned food, and I am really looking forward to some real food,” he said.

Tomy first announced that he would take part in GGR-22 at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit 2019, where he also gave details of the harrowing moments that abruptly ended his participation in GGR-18.

There is nothing quite like the GGR that tests skill, resolve, endurance, fortitude, mental strength and physical stamina, said Kesnur.

“It’s a sport dominated by the West where no Indian or Asian has ever featured.

Tomy had achieved enough when he became the first Asian to do non-stop solo circumnavigation in 2013. But his quest for adventure and love for the oceans drew him to GGR 2018.

The accident, his heroic struggle and extent of physical injury could have traumatised anyone, but Abhilash is another breed altogether,” said Kesnur.

“His exploits during this race have been jaw dropping. The man was riding a bruised, battered boat from all the punishment it took at sea,” Kesnur said. “Where many other champion sailors gave up, Tomy’s DIY skills, his innovation and jugaad at sea helped him stay the course.”

Tomy became the first Indian to circumnavigate the globe on board his boat “Mhadei” — solo, non-stop and unassisted in 2013. He was awarded India’s second-highest peacetime gallantry award, Kirti Chakra, for the feat.

“As a naval historian, I can also say that he has given a fillip to the pursuit of ocean sailing. If only India took its gaze away from cricket and Bollywood, we will realise that Tomy would rank as one of our greatest heroes and sporting icons,” Kesnur added.

These eight months have been a blur, said Tomy’s wife, Urmimala Abhilash.

“I was extremely anxious from the time Abhilash left. And I think I’ve traversed this journey with him in spirit. At times exhilarating, at times nerve wrecking, at times heartbreaking. But journeys are like that. I know it would’ve deeply transformed Abhilash. I too feel deeply transformed by it,” she said.

“It was difficult to accept Abhilash’s decision to return to this race. But I am so glad he did. The last time he returned, I knew I would be able to heal and nurture him physically, but this time I know he has healed himself mentally by finishing this incredible, unforgiving race. He has aced it. This was one thing I couldn’t have done. I am incredibly proud of him. I’m happy he has closed his unfinished business himself. He remains the undisputed winner of the race. At least to me,” she added.

source/content: hindustantimes.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: Kolkata’s First Underwater Metro starts its trial run below bed of Hooghly

Tunnels under the bed of river Hooghly, running 32 metres below water level, are considered an engineering marvel; Metro station at Howrah too is deepest in the country; commercial services on the stretch expected to begin later this year .

Kolkata Metro on Wednesday achieved a new milestone when a Metro rake completed a journey under the bed of river Hooghly through a tunnel 32 metres below water level.  

“P. Uday Kumar Reddy, General Manager, Metro Railway, travelled from Mahakaran to Howrah Maidan station in Rake No. MR-612 to witness this historic event. This rake crossed river Hooghly at 11:55 hrs. H.N. Jaiswal Additional General Manager, Metro Railway and MD, KMRCL [Kolkata Metro Railway Corporation Limited] as well as other senior officers of Metro Railway and KMRCL accompanied him during this journey,” a press statement by Metro Railway, Kolkata said. General Manager Reddy offered puja at Howrah station once the Metro rake reached there, the statement added.

Describing the development as a “historic event’ Mr. Reddy informed that the trial runs from Howrah Maidan to Esplanade will be conducted for the next seven months and after that regular services on this stretch will begin. It is expected that commercial services on this stretch will begin this year. 

Two Metro rakes had been taken to Howrah Maidan station from Esplanade station, for the trial runs along the 4.8-km underground section from Howrah Maidan to Esplanade. Tunnels under the bed of river Hooghly, 32 metres below the water level, are considered an engineering marvel and are part of East West Metro Project that aims to connect Howrah Maidan with Rajarhat along the 16.6-km route. The process of laying the tunnel was completed in 2017. The underwater tunnels will connect Kolkata and Howrah with a Metro station at Howrah which will be the deepest Metro station (33 metres below surface) of the country. The Metro is expected to cover the 520-metre stretch under the river Hooghly in a span of 45 seconds.

At present about 9.1 km of the East West Metro line from Salt Lake Sector V to Sealdah is operational. Services of East West Metro Railway was started in phases with first phase in February 2020 and the latest in July 2022.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: SPACE /SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY: 11 Teams to Represent India at the ‘NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge 2023’ in the U.S this month.

At the NASA Rover Challenge 2023 these teams will compete against 61 others selected worldwide for the 3-day contest to be held from April 20-22.

11 Indian teams including three high school groups will participate in the prestigious ‘NASA Human Exploration Rover Challenge’ (HERC) 2023 in the  United States this month. These teams are among 61 others worldwide that will represent India at the international level and will travel to the American agency’s space & rocket centre in Huntsville, Alabama, US to take part in the three day competition from April 20-22.

The HERC Challenge demands teams to design, develop, build, and test human-powered rovers capable of traversing challenging terrain and a task tool for completion of various mission tasks, NASA explained, giving an overview about the competition.

The list of Indian teams participating this year:

Amity University, Noida, Uttar PradeshCollege/University
Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, Pilani, RajasthanCollege/University
Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science, Chennai, Tamil NaduCollege/University
KIET Group of Institutions, Ghaziabad, Uttar PradeshCollege/University
Prayatna Charitable Trust, Ahmedabad, GujaratHigh School
Punjab Engineering College, Chandigarh, PunjabCollege/University
Shiv Nadar University, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Uttar PradeshCollege/University
Tec Mantra Labs, Kurukshetra, HaryanaHigh School
Vellore Institute of Technology, Chennai, Tamil NaduCollege/University
Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamil NaduCollege/University
Young Tinker Educational Foundation, Bhubaneswar, OdishaHigh School

Of these, VIT, Vellore, Chennai, HITS, Chennai, BITS Pilani, Rajasthan and Amity Noida, KIET Group of Institutions, Uttar Pradesh featured in the 2022 challenge as well.

Releasing a list of selected teams in October last year(full list here), NASA announced that these teams would be judged based on their ability to design and assemble a rover to traverse a course of approximately half-mile that includes 10 obstacles and 5 tasks with a simulated field of asteroid debris, boulders, erosion ruts, crevasses, and an ancient streambed. “As part of the competition, rover entries are tested to ensure they would fit into a lander storage area, a maximum 5 feet long by 5 feet tall by 5 feet in volume,” NASA said.

The weight and time criteria encourages teams to build their vehicles around its compactness, light weight, high performance, and efficiency. Teams must make real-time decisions on mission objectives – what to attempt or leave behind, driven by limited virtual oxygen supply lasting 8 minutes. The teams earn points on successful completion of these tasks and the one with the highest number of points throughout the project wins the game in each category (high school/college and universities).

Even though Indian teams did not win the overall prize in either category last year, the students are hopeful for international recognition with larger participation this year.

Akanksha Das, a member of one of the participating teams, Young Tinker Educational Foundation, expressing her enthusiasm about the contest, told news agency ANI, “…We sent a proposal to Nasa and they accepted our proposal and we followed all the guidelines. We created a lightweight Rover. In the last edition we got world rank 3, this year we hope to bring 1st position in world rank.”

source/content: hindustantimes.com (headline edited)

WORLD RECORD: TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE: World’s Tallest Pier Railway Bridge to be part of Jiribam-Imphal railway project

The world’s tallest pier railway bridge, with a height of 141 metres, is being constructed as part of the Jiribam-Imphal railway project.

The world’s tallest pier railway bridge, with a height of 141 metres, is being constructed as part of the Jiribam-Imphal railway project which has already achieved physical progress of 93.30 per cent, officials said on Sunday.

With the completion of the 111-km-long Jiribam-Imphal railway project by December this year, Manipur capital would come onto the Indian Railways network, making Imphal the fourth capital city in the northeastern region to have a rail link.

Northeast Frontier Railway’s (NFR) Chief Public Relations Officer Sabyasachi De said that the Rs 14,322 crore project is one of the crucial connectivity projects for the northeastern region and it is at an advanced stage of completion.

He said that construction of the railway project involves multiple tunnels and bridges in tough terrain with the total length of tunnels in this project being 61.32 km, out of which 59.11 km of tunneling work has already been completed.

The project would have total 11 major bridges and 137 minor bridges, out of which work for five major bridges and 101 minor bridges have been completed so far.

The section from Jiribam to Khongsang has already been commissioned earlier for train service.

After completion of the entire project, the present road journey time of about 10 hours to reach Imphal from Jiribam would be reduced to 2.5 hours by railways.

The NFR has been putting their full effort by working 24X7 for the completion of this project dealing with all the challenges including heavy rainfall and other logistic hindrances, De said.

The CPRO said that the Jiribam-Imphal rail project would provide enhanced connectivity to the people of Manipur, help grow small scale industries in the area and boost tourism of the state.

It would also help in receiving essential commodities faster by the state and help the state local producers to export their products outside the state faster.

The economy of the state would receive a boost, the official stated.

Assam’s main city of Guwahati (adjoining capital Dispur), Tripura capital Agartala and Arunachal Pradesh’s Naharlagun (adjacent to capital city Itanagar) are already on the railway network.

source/content: maritimegetaway.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: AVIATION: 67 Foreign Pilots Employed by Indian Airlines: Govt informs Parliament

According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), there are around 10,000 pilots including 67 foreign nationals employed with various airlines of India.

As many as 67 foreign pilots are employed by different Indian airlines, the government said on Thursday.

This development comes two days after the civil aviation ministry said there was a shortage of pilots forcing them to allow airlines to hire foreign pilots.

“According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), there are around 10,000 pilots including 67 foreign nationals employed with various airlines of India,” Dr Gen VK Singh (Retd), minister of state (Mos) for civil aviation, stated in a written reply to Kanimozhi Karunanidhi of DMK.

According to industry projections, there may be a need for 1000 pilots per annum in India over the next five years, Singh said.

“The annual requirement of commercial pilots depends upon various factors such as financial health of an airline, airline expansion plan and growth in the aviation sector,” he added.

Singh stated that 15% of pilots in India are women which is almost three times the global average of 5%. He, however pointed out that currently, there is no special program in the government to encourage pilot training for women and backward classes including SC/STs.

“There are 35 DGCA approved flight training organisations (FTOs) in India operating at 53 bases,” he said.

He also said that data from the Indian scheduled airlines showed that a total of 244 pilots were recruited in 2021 and as on March 1 this year, a total of 15,896 regular officials are employed in Airports Authority of India (AAI) posted across various airports and stations.

In yet another response, Singh stated that the air traffic data for 2022-23 is estimated to be 12.3 million.

Meanwhile, civil aviation secretary Rajiv Bansal had, on Tuesday, stated that the demand of Boeing 777 aircraft pilots is such that for the first time, after years, the government is allowing Foreign Aircrew Temporary Authorization (FATA) pilots.

“Normally we don’t allow foreign pilots. But currently there is demand but there is no skilled competency available. I would go to the extent of saying that this demand has happened since the Air India privatisation took place a year ago. That is why, today we don’t have any Boeing 777 aircraft pilots available in the country and hence we are resorting to taking foreign pilots for a short time” he had said speaking in an aviation summit organised by CAPA India.

source/content: hindustantimes.com (headline edited)

REGIONAL: NATIONAL RECORD: SPORT / CYCLING: National Institute of Mountaineering & Adventure Sports (NIMAS) Team Creates Record Cycling 5,374 kms in 37 days across 6 South East Nations

The team commenced the expedition from Hanoi in Vietnam and culminated it at Indian National Army (INA) Memorial in Singapore, a Defence Ministry statement said.

A team of four officers posted at the National Institute of Mountaineering & Adventure Sports (NIMAS), Dirang in Arunachal Pradesh, created a national record in cycling by covering 5,374 kms in 37 days across six South East Asian nations.

“The team commenced the expedition from Hanoi in Vietnam and culminated it at Indian National Army (INA) Memorial in Singapore. It was carried out in extreme weather conditions where the team members cycled on an average of 9-10 hours a day,” a Defence Ministry statement said. Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt flagged-in the team on Wednesday.

The team led by Col. Ranveer Singh Jamwal, Director, NIMAS, had undertaken the first-ever cycling expedition in six South East Asian Nations — Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore — from January 16, 2023 to March 06, 2023, the statement said. On March 3, they were felicitated by High Commissioner of India to Singapore P. Kumaran.

On the extreme weather conditions, a team member said, “Vietnam was cold, Laos and Cambodia were hot, Thailand and Malaysia were humid while monsoon welcomed us in Singapore.”

Most of the cycles broke down in Laos and Cambodia while in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia the team faced challenges in terms of language and food, he stated. The team was welcomed by Indian population in Malaysia and Singapore.

The team visited over 10 monuments and memorials and interacted with the heroes of Azad Hind Fauj, revisiting the stories of sacrifice and bravery of the INA, the statement said adding that they also scaled the highest peak of Vietnam Mount Fansipan (3,143m).

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: TRANSPORT / RAILWAYS: The 150-year-old Chennai Central becomes India’s First ‘Silent’ Railway Station

Taking a cue from airports, the station is trading the omnipresent ‘voice’ for more inquiry booths and visual display boards.  

The 150-year-old Dr MGR Ramachandran Central railway station in Chennai went silent on Sunday, making it the first in India to do so, as it bid adieu to the public announcement system that has guided passengers to their trains for decades. Taking a cue from airports, the station is trading the omnipresent ‘voice’ for more inquiry booths and visual display boards.  

In the order announcing the change, issued on Saturday by Southern railway general manager R N Singh, officials were told to ensure all visual display boards are in working condition and to deploy sufficient staff at inquiry booths for a smooth passenger experience.

Large digital screens displaying the arrival and departure of trains in Tamil, Hindi and English have been installed at all three entry points to the station, namely, EVR Periyar Salai (MTC bus stop), suburban terminus, and Wall Tax Road (gate no 5). Concourse areas have also been covered with 40-60 inch digital boards.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)