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Flush with the success of the GSLV-D5, which used an indigenous cryogenic stage to put the GSAT-14 into orbit, the Indian Space Research Organisation is getting ready for the next GSLV flight with its own cryogenic engine within a year. It will put the communication satellite GSAT-6 into orbit.

The Navy is looking to pave the way for circumnavigation of the globe by an all-woman crew, with the member officers to be trained aboard the INS Mhadei, the first Indian solo circumnavigator, as it participates in the ‘Cape2Rio Yachting Race’ 2014. The Navy on Sunday said that one lady officer would be part of the crew for each leg of the voyage. Thus, when the INS Mhadei returns to Goa, it would have trained three lady officers. — PTI

The Centre on Monday told the Supreme Court that the law did not allow the juvenile, convicted by juvenile board in the December 16 gangrape, to be tried twice for the same offence as sought by the parents of victims who demanded his retrial by a criminal court. The Ministry of Women and Child Development said it would be legally and constitutionally impermissible to put him on trial again as the Juvenile Justice (JJ) Board has already given its verdict of guilt of the juvenile and the prayer for his fresh trial has been rendered redundant. “As such, under Article 20 of the Constitution as also Section 300 of criminal procedure code, there can be no second trial for the same offence, and the adjudication of guilt of the juvenile offender having been determined by the JJ Board under Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000, the second prayer does not survive nor was sustainable,” the ministry said in its affidavit. The Ministry’s reply came on

Diplomats from China and Japan are invoking the evil Lord Voldemort from the bestselling “Harry Potter” series in their feud over the Yasukuni war shrine in Tokyo. China says the shrine, which Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited recently, glorifies Japan’s militaristic past.

Disproportionate credit disbursement and weak bank credit linkages remain a persistent challenge for several States including Bihar, Jharkhand and Gujarat. Taking note of this, the Government has stepped in and is taking several steps to improve bank linkages of Self Help Groups (SHGs) across the country.

One of India’s most ambitious dreams became a reality on Sunday when its Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D5), powered by an indigenous cryogenic engine, effortlessly put the 1,982-kg GSAT-14 communication satellite into a perfect orbit after 17 minutes of flight. The cryogenic engine built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) fired for 12 of those 17 minutes. The precision of the cryogenic upper stage was such that it put the GSAT-14 into an orbit with a perigee of 179 km, against the target of 180 km, and the apogee achieved was off by a mere 50 km for a target of 36,000 km. The grand success caps 20 years of hard work by ISRO’s engineers, after being denied cryogenic technology under pressure from the U.S., suffering a heartbreaking failure with an indigenous cryogenic engine flight in April 2010 and having had to scrub its second attempt with an indigenous cryogenic engine in August 2013. “I am proud to say that ISRO has done it…,”

Former Supreme Court judge, Justice A.K. Ganguly, who has been accused of sexual assault by a law intern, resigned on Monday from the West Bengal Human Rights Commission (WBHRC). Earlier on Monday, Justice Ganguly had distanced himself from a public interest litigation (PIL) petition that was filed in the Supreme Court supporting him.