December 20, 2013, will be marked as a proud day for India and its military scientific and industrial sectors as the indigenously designed and developed Tejas (India’s light multi-role fighter aircraft, known as LCA) gets its second and most important initial operational clearance (IOC).
The protracted rivalry between India and Pakistan had reached its lowest ebb and virtually plumbed new depths when both countries detonated a series of nuclear devices way back in May 1998. This overt gesture and successive developments (such as Kargil) made the region a major nuclear flashpoint in the world. After six years, two warring neighbours have decided to sit across the table to hammer out the much-needed confidence-building measures (CBMs).
India’s external affairs minister, Mr Salman Khurshid, went to Sri Lanka to replace Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh in the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) conclave in November 2013. This decision by the government of India speaks volumes about how regional politics and associated narrow political compulsions adversely impact national security policymaking.
India’s first-ever Mars mission would begin its travel towards the Red Planet on November 5, 2013. It would take around nine months for this satellite to reach Mars orbit and start taking the observations. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C25) rocket with Mars Orbiter Spacecraft onboard will be launched from Sriharikota (Andhra Pradesh) coast, nearly 50 miles north of Chennai city.
On July 26, 2013, India’s dedicated meteorological satellite INSAT-3D was successfully launched into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) by Ariane-5 VA-214 launch vehicle from Kourou, French Guiana. This satellite has been designed and developed by the India Space Research Organization (ISRO). The orbit-raising process of manoeuvres is underway to place it in the 36,000 km high Geostationary Orbit.