Padma Vibhushan Award Winners 2009
No. Name Discipline State / Domicile
1. Dr. Chandrika PrasadSrivastava -Civil Service -Maharashtra
2. Shri Sunderlal Bahuguna -Environment Conservation -Uttarakhand
3. Prof. D.P.Chattopadhyaya -Literature & Education- West Bengal
4. Prof. Jasbir Singh Bajaj -Medicine -Punjab
5. Dr. Purshotam Lal -Medicine -Uttar Pradesh
6. Shri Govind Narain -Public Affairs -Uttar Pradesh
7. Dr. Anil Kakodkar -Science & Engineering -Maharashtra
8. Shri G. Madhavan Nair -Science & Engineering -Karnataka
9. Sister Nirmala -Social Work -West Bengal
10. Dr. A.S. Ganguly -Trade & Industry -Maharashtra
Tracking
Friday, February 20, 2009
Multiple Choice Quiz
Basic General Knowledge ? Multiple Choice Quiz
1. How many languages and dialects are spoken by people all over the world?
A. 6,000
B. 9,000
C. 4,000
D. 1,000
2. Approximately, how many people speak Chinese language?
A. 1 billion
B. 1 million
C. 1 lakh
D. 1 thousand
3. The language with the richest vocabulary is:
A. Hindi
B. French
C. English
D. German
4. English Language have more than ?? words:
A. 4,50,000
B. 45,000
C. 4,500
D. 450
5. The oldest Indian language is:
A. Telugu
B. Hindu
C. Tamil
D. Punjabi
6. Which book has been printed in the maximum number of languages and these scripts?
A. The Bible
B. Hiraka Sutra
C. The Super Book
D. None of these
7. The only religious book ever printed in a shorthand scripts is:
A. The Ramayana
B. The Mahabharata
C. The bible
D. Guru Granth Sahib
8. The oldest printed work in the world, which dates back to AD 868 is:
A. The Bible
B. The Hirake Sutra
C. The Ramayana
D. The Mahabharata
9. The largest book, the super book, is ?? and weight is ??
A. 270 cm, 300 cm, 252 kg.
B. 100 cm, 110 cm, 100 kg.
C. 200 cm, 100 cm, 60 kg.
D. None of these
10. Les Hommes de bonne volonté is the:
A. Longest novel ever published
B. Shortest novel every published
C. The oldest novel
D. None of these
11. The author of the play/book ?Ratnawali? is:
A. Tulsidas
B. Kalidas
C. Harsha Vardhan
D. Prem Chand
12. Which of the following in the book/play written by Maithili Sharan Gupt?
A. Saket
B. Satyartha Prakash
C. Shakuntala
D. Savitri
13. The book ?Satyartha Prakash? was written by:
A. Swami Dayanand
B. Swami Vivekanand
C. Sarojini Naidu
D. Kalidas
14. The play/book ?Shakuntala? was written by:
A. Maithili Sharan gupt
B. Swami Dayanand
C. Kalidas
D. Tulsidas
15. Which of the following is the author of ?Song of India, The?:
A. Firdausi
B. Sarojini Naidu
C. Lala Lajpat Rai
D. Sri Aurobindo Ghosh
16. The author of the book ?Time machine? is:
A. Lewis Carroll
B. Robert Louis Stevenson
C. Charles Lamb
D. H.G. Wells
17. Which of the following book was written by Tulsidas:
A. Vinay Patrika
B. Ramcharitmanas
C. Both (a) and (b)
D. Yashodhara
18. The book ?Vish Vriksha? was written by:
A. Bankimchandra Chatterjee
B. Annie Basant
C. Tulsidas
D. Kalidas
19. The book ?We Indians? was written by:
A. H.G. Wells
B. Khushwant Singh
C. James Jeans
D. Thomas Moore
20. Which of he following is he author of play/book ?Yashodhara?:
A. Maithili Sharan Gupt
B. Khushwant Singh
C. Bankimchandra Chatterjee
D. Sarojini Naidu
21. Dhyan Chand was:
A. A great hockey player
B. Captained he Indian hockey team which won a gold medal in 1936 Berlin Olympics
C. Scored 101 goals at the Olympic games and 300 goals in the international matches.
D. All the statements are correct
22. Who developed the small pox vaccination?
A. Eduard Jenner
B. Alexander Fleming
C. Albert Einstein
D. None of these
23. Euclid was:
A. Greek mathematician
B. Contributor to the use of deductive principles of logic as the basis of geometry
C. Propounded the geometrical theosems
D. All the statements are correct
24. Fa-hien was:
A. The first Buddhist pilgrim of China to visit India during the reign of Chandragupta Vikramaditya
B. The discover of Puerto Rico and Jamaica
C. The first Buddhist pilgrim of India to visit China
D. None of these
25. Firdausi was:
A. A person poet
B. Well known for his epic ?Sharnama?
C. Both are correct
D. None of these
26. Who is also known as the ?Lady with the Lamp??
A. Florence Nightingale
B. Sarojini Naidu
C. Rani Laxmibai
D. Bachendri Pal
27. Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit was:
A. A German Physicist
B. Developed the mercury thermometer in 1714
C. Devised temperature scale
D. All are correct
28. Galileo was an Italian astronomer who:
A. Developed the telescope
B. Discovered 4 satellites of Jupiter
C. Discovered that the movement of the pendulum produces a regular time measurement.
D. All are correct
29. Who is known as the father of English poetry?
A. Geoffrey Chaucer
B. John Milton
C. John Keats
D. None of these
30. The American General who led the revolt against the British & declared American independence was:
A. George Washington
B. Bill Clinton
C. George Bush
D. None of these
31. Marco Polo
A. Discovered Greenland
B. Traveled three China, India and other parts of Asia
C. Traveled round the cape of Good Hope
D. Discovered Canada
32. Who landed on the mainland of South America for the First time?
A. Discovered Greenland
B. Landed on the mainland of south America
C. Discovered the sea route from Europe to India.
D. None of these
33. Who was first to sail sound the strait, reached the Philippines and named the Pacific Ocean?
A. Ferdinand Magelion
B. Jacques Carter
C. William Janszoom
D. Vasco da Gama
34. Who discovered Australia?
A. Eric the Red
B. Leif Ericsson
C. William Janszoom
D. None of these
35. Who located the magnetic pole?
A. Sir James Clark
B. Rear Admiral
C. Sir John Ross
D. All the above
36. Who was first to reach the South Pole?
A. Rear Admiral
B. Capt. Amundsen
C. Capt. R. E. Scett
D. Sir Edmund Hillary
37. Who was the first to cross the Antarctic?
A. Sir Vivian Fuchs & sir Edmund Hillary
B. Maj. Yuri Gagarin and Maj. Gherman Titor
C. Capt. R. E. Scott
D. All of these
38. Who were the first to journey into space?
A. Maj. Yori Gagarin and maj. Gherman Titor from Russia
B. Comm. Grissom and Col john Glenn from America
C. Both are correct
D. None of these
39. Who was the first man to ?Walk? in space?
A. Col. Leonor from Russia
B. Major White from America
C. Both of these
D. None of these
40. Who were the first to circle the moon?
A. Frank boreman, Bill Anders and Jim Lovell
B. Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin
C. Charles Conrad and Alan Bean
D. None of these
41. ?Arena? is the special name for playground of:
A. Cricket
B. Lawn Tennis
C. Wrestling
D. Skating
42. The national sport of Canada is:
Page 5/7
A. Tennis and cricket
B. Lacrosse
C. Judo
D. Rugby and Football
43. Badminton is the national sport at:
A. Malaysia
B. Scotland
C. China
D. Former soviet Union
44. Where is the Vallabhbhai Patel stadium located?
A. Kolkata
B. Mumbai
C. Chennai
D. Delhi
45. Where is the sports stadium, Green Park, located?
A. Kanpur
B. Jamshedpur
C. Cuttack
D. Patiala
46. For which of the following disciplines in Nobel Prize awarded?
A. Physics and chemistry
B. Physiology or Medicine
C. Literature, Peace and Economics
D. All the above
47. On which date is Nobel Prize awarded?
A. December 10
B. January 10
C. April 10
D. July 10
48. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, awarded the Noble Prize in:
A. Physics
B. Economics
C. Chemistry
D. (a) and (c)
49. The committee of the Norwegian Parliament awards the prize for:
A. Economics
B. Peace
C. Medicine
D. Literature
50. Dr. Linus Carl Pauling is the only person to have won two Nobel Prizes individually for:
A. Chemistry in 1954, peace prize in 1962
B. Peace prize in 1954, Chemistry in 1962
C. Physics in 154, Medicine in 1962
D. Medicine in 1954, Physics in 1962
Answers
1. b 2. a 3. c 4. a 5. c 6. a 7. c 8. b 9. a 10. a 11. c 12. a 13. a 14. c 15. b
16. d 17. c 18. a 19. b 20. a 21. d 22. a 23. d 24. a 25. c 26. a 27. d 28. d 29. a 30. a
31. b 32. b 33. a 34. c 35. d 36. b 37. a 38. c 39. c 40. a 41. c 42. b 43. a 44. b 45. a
46. d 47. a 48. d 49. b 50. a
1. How many languages and dialects are spoken by people all over the world?
A. 6,000
B. 9,000
C. 4,000
D. 1,000
2. Approximately, how many people speak Chinese language?
A. 1 billion
B. 1 million
C. 1 lakh
D. 1 thousand
3. The language with the richest vocabulary is:
A. Hindi
B. French
C. English
D. German
4. English Language have more than ?? words:
A. 4,50,000
B. 45,000
C. 4,500
D. 450
5. The oldest Indian language is:
A. Telugu
B. Hindu
C. Tamil
D. Punjabi
6. Which book has been printed in the maximum number of languages and these scripts?
A. The Bible
B. Hiraka Sutra
C. The Super Book
D. None of these
7. The only religious book ever printed in a shorthand scripts is:
A. The Ramayana
B. The Mahabharata
C. The bible
D. Guru Granth Sahib
8. The oldest printed work in the world, which dates back to AD 868 is:
A. The Bible
B. The Hirake Sutra
C. The Ramayana
D. The Mahabharata
9. The largest book, the super book, is ?? and weight is ??
A. 270 cm, 300 cm, 252 kg.
B. 100 cm, 110 cm, 100 kg.
C. 200 cm, 100 cm, 60 kg.
D. None of these
10. Les Hommes de bonne volonté is the:
A. Longest novel ever published
B. Shortest novel every published
C. The oldest novel
D. None of these
11. The author of the play/book ?Ratnawali? is:
A. Tulsidas
B. Kalidas
C. Harsha Vardhan
D. Prem Chand
12. Which of the following in the book/play written by Maithili Sharan Gupt?
A. Saket
B. Satyartha Prakash
C. Shakuntala
D. Savitri
13. The book ?Satyartha Prakash? was written by:
A. Swami Dayanand
B. Swami Vivekanand
C. Sarojini Naidu
D. Kalidas
14. The play/book ?Shakuntala? was written by:
A. Maithili Sharan gupt
B. Swami Dayanand
C. Kalidas
D. Tulsidas
15. Which of the following is the author of ?Song of India, The?:
A. Firdausi
B. Sarojini Naidu
C. Lala Lajpat Rai
D. Sri Aurobindo Ghosh
16. The author of the book ?Time machine? is:
A. Lewis Carroll
B. Robert Louis Stevenson
C. Charles Lamb
D. H.G. Wells
17. Which of the following book was written by Tulsidas:
A. Vinay Patrika
B. Ramcharitmanas
C. Both (a) and (b)
D. Yashodhara
18. The book ?Vish Vriksha? was written by:
A. Bankimchandra Chatterjee
B. Annie Basant
C. Tulsidas
D. Kalidas
19. The book ?We Indians? was written by:
A. H.G. Wells
B. Khushwant Singh
C. James Jeans
D. Thomas Moore
20. Which of he following is he author of play/book ?Yashodhara?:
A. Maithili Sharan Gupt
B. Khushwant Singh
C. Bankimchandra Chatterjee
D. Sarojini Naidu
21. Dhyan Chand was:
A. A great hockey player
B. Captained he Indian hockey team which won a gold medal in 1936 Berlin Olympics
C. Scored 101 goals at the Olympic games and 300 goals in the international matches.
D. All the statements are correct
22. Who developed the small pox vaccination?
A. Eduard Jenner
B. Alexander Fleming
C. Albert Einstein
D. None of these
23. Euclid was:
A. Greek mathematician
B. Contributor to the use of deductive principles of logic as the basis of geometry
C. Propounded the geometrical theosems
D. All the statements are correct
24. Fa-hien was:
A. The first Buddhist pilgrim of China to visit India during the reign of Chandragupta Vikramaditya
B. The discover of Puerto Rico and Jamaica
C. The first Buddhist pilgrim of India to visit China
D. None of these
25. Firdausi was:
A. A person poet
B. Well known for his epic ?Sharnama?
C. Both are correct
D. None of these
26. Who is also known as the ?Lady with the Lamp??
A. Florence Nightingale
B. Sarojini Naidu
C. Rani Laxmibai
D. Bachendri Pal
27. Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit was:
A. A German Physicist
B. Developed the mercury thermometer in 1714
C. Devised temperature scale
D. All are correct
28. Galileo was an Italian astronomer who:
A. Developed the telescope
B. Discovered 4 satellites of Jupiter
C. Discovered that the movement of the pendulum produces a regular time measurement.
D. All are correct
29. Who is known as the father of English poetry?
A. Geoffrey Chaucer
B. John Milton
C. John Keats
D. None of these
30. The American General who led the revolt against the British & declared American independence was:
A. George Washington
B. Bill Clinton
C. George Bush
D. None of these
31. Marco Polo
A. Discovered Greenland
B. Traveled three China, India and other parts of Asia
C. Traveled round the cape of Good Hope
D. Discovered Canada
32. Who landed on the mainland of South America for the First time?
A. Discovered Greenland
B. Landed on the mainland of south America
C. Discovered the sea route from Europe to India.
D. None of these
33. Who was first to sail sound the strait, reached the Philippines and named the Pacific Ocean?
A. Ferdinand Magelion
B. Jacques Carter
C. William Janszoom
D. Vasco da Gama
34. Who discovered Australia?
A. Eric the Red
B. Leif Ericsson
C. William Janszoom
D. None of these
35. Who located the magnetic pole?
A. Sir James Clark
B. Rear Admiral
C. Sir John Ross
D. All the above
36. Who was first to reach the South Pole?
A. Rear Admiral
B. Capt. Amundsen
C. Capt. R. E. Scett
D. Sir Edmund Hillary
37. Who was the first to cross the Antarctic?
A. Sir Vivian Fuchs & sir Edmund Hillary
B. Maj. Yuri Gagarin and Maj. Gherman Titor
C. Capt. R. E. Scott
D. All of these
38. Who were the first to journey into space?
A. Maj. Yori Gagarin and maj. Gherman Titor from Russia
B. Comm. Grissom and Col john Glenn from America
C. Both are correct
D. None of these
39. Who was the first man to ?Walk? in space?
A. Col. Leonor from Russia
B. Major White from America
C. Both of these
D. None of these
40. Who were the first to circle the moon?
A. Frank boreman, Bill Anders and Jim Lovell
B. Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin
C. Charles Conrad and Alan Bean
D. None of these
41. ?Arena? is the special name for playground of:
A. Cricket
B. Lawn Tennis
C. Wrestling
D. Skating
42. The national sport of Canada is:
Page 5/7
A. Tennis and cricket
B. Lacrosse
C. Judo
D. Rugby and Football
43. Badminton is the national sport at:
A. Malaysia
B. Scotland
C. China
D. Former soviet Union
44. Where is the Vallabhbhai Patel stadium located?
A. Kolkata
B. Mumbai
C. Chennai
D. Delhi
45. Where is the sports stadium, Green Park, located?
A. Kanpur
B. Jamshedpur
C. Cuttack
D. Patiala
46. For which of the following disciplines in Nobel Prize awarded?
A. Physics and chemistry
B. Physiology or Medicine
C. Literature, Peace and Economics
D. All the above
47. On which date is Nobel Prize awarded?
A. December 10
B. January 10
C. April 10
D. July 10
48. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, awarded the Noble Prize in:
A. Physics
B. Economics
C. Chemistry
D. (a) and (c)
49. The committee of the Norwegian Parliament awards the prize for:
A. Economics
B. Peace
C. Medicine
D. Literature
50. Dr. Linus Carl Pauling is the only person to have won two Nobel Prizes individually for:
A. Chemistry in 1954, peace prize in 1962
B. Peace prize in 1954, Chemistry in 1962
C. Physics in 154, Medicine in 1962
D. Medicine in 1954, Physics in 1962
Answers
1. b 2. a 3. c 4. a 5. c 6. a 7. c 8. b 9. a 10. a 11. c 12. a 13. a 14. c 15. b
16. d 17. c 18. a 19. b 20. a 21. d 22. a 23. d 24. a 25. c 26. a 27. d 28. d 29. a 30. a
31. b 32. b 33. a 34. c 35. d 36. b 37. a 38. c 39. c 40. a 41. c 42. b 43. a 44. b 45. a
46. d 47. a 48. d 49. b 50. a
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Petrol Prices across the World
Petrol Prices across the World
Country
$ per Gal. 2005
Rs/ ltr
$ per Gal. 2006
Rs/ ltr
$ per Gal. 2007
Rs/ ltr
$ per Gal. 2008
Rs/ ltr
% Deviation from India, 2008
Saudi Arabia
--
--
--
--
--
--
0.50
4.75
-91%
Malaysia
0.56
5.36
--
--
--
--
0.71
6.86
-86%
Qatar
--
--
--
--
--
--
1.14
9.82
-81%
UAE
1.29
12.35
1.83
18.49
--
--
1.70
15.95
-69%
USA
2.58
24.66
2.46
24.54
3.09
27.72
2.97
30.76
-39%
Bahrain
--
--
--
--
--
--
3.32
31.16
-38%
Lebanon
--
--
--
--
--
--
4.60
43.52
-14%
Canada
4.23
40.63
4.45
44.24
4.68
45.59
5.18
52.68
4%
Czech Republic
--
--
--
--
--
--
5.27
46.34
-9%
Japan
--
--
--
--
--
--
5.32
46.86
-7%
Pakistan
3.73
35.99
4.36
43.75
3.91
38.07
5.36
50.70
0%
South Africa
3.64
34.77
4.27
43.13
4.41
39.48
5.41
52.10
3%
Kathmandu, Nepal
--
--
--
--
--
--
5.73
49.87
-2%
India
4.63
47.16
4.92
50.20
5.68
50.64
5.77
50.65
SriLanka
--
--
4.36
44.51
--
6.64
62.68
24%
New Zealand
4.91
47.37
4.86
49.37
--
--
7.05
65.82
30%
Switzerland
--
--
--
--
--
--
7.52
66.09
30%
Australia
4.36
41.91
4.73
47.72
--
--
7.64
72.18
43%
Sweden
--
--
5.96
60.55
--
--
8.13
76.29
51%
Singapore
3.23
30.91
--
--
--
--
8.23
77.70
53%
Finland
--
--
5.05
52.16
--
--
9.45
91.87
81%
Poland
--
--
--
--
--
--
9.64
91.41
80%
Germany
--
--
4.95
49.53
--
--
9.68
94.08
86%
UK
2.27
21.93
--
--
--
--
10.41
98.12
94%
Holland
5.83
55.88
--
--
--
--
10.45
101.59
101%
Italy
--
--
--
--
--
--
10.86
101.95
101%
Denmark
--
--
--
--
--
--
10.95
102.18
102%
Vietnam
--
--
2.86
26.78
--
--
--
Nairobi, Kenya
--
--
--
--
5.00
44.64
--
--
--
Brazil
--
--
3.48
34.23
--
--
--
--
France
--
--
4.00
41.00
--
--
--
--
--
Scotland
--
--
7.77
75.64
--
--
--
--
--
Turkey
6.54
63.16
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
Thailand
--
--
3.09
25.55
--
--
--
--
--
Petrol Prices in India
City
2005
Price
2006
Price
2007
Price
2008
Price
Ahmedabad
26-Sep-05
47.32
17-May-06
47.79
Andhra Pradesh
13-Jun-06
53.66
Bangalore
3-Oct-05
50.66
14-Sep-06
55.00
28-May-07
52.00
23-May-08
55.00
Chandigarh
14-Jul-06
48.14
Chennai
6-Jun-06
47.83
5-Dec-07
49.15
11-Jun-08
55.00
2-Jul-08
59.20
Coimbatore
17-May-06
47.47
16-May-06
47.50
4-Jun-08
49.62
12-Apr-06
48.56
14-Aug-06
55.14
16-May-07
50.75
9-Jun-08
58.91
12-Jun-06
55.20
9-May-07
50.67
19-May-06
50.69
Hyderabad
8-Sep-06
53.24
22-Apr-08
55.00
30-May-08
51.10
11-Jun-08
60.00
13-Jun-08
56.65
12-May-06
48.64
Kerala
8-Aug-06
50.35
Kolkata
10-Dec-05
46.90
22-May-06
46.86
4-Jun-08
48.95
Madurai
15-Jun-06
52.02
Mumbai
8-Mar-08
56.00
4-Jun-08
50.51
Nagpur
23-Apr-08
54.25
New Delhi
22-Sep-05
43.49
12-Sep-06
48.00
24-May-08
47.00
16-May-06
45.05
4-Jun-08
45.52
Pune
18-Sep-06
55.25
29-Feb-08
51.46
31-May-06
48.85
15-Jul-08
54.95
Punjab
1-Jul-06
53.51
Tamil Nadu
25-Jun-06
52.50
Vadodara,Gujrat
26-Jun-08
53.48
Notes:1) The data has been garnered from various sources on the Internet. Accuracy is not guaranteed.2) The prices are not strictly comparable because:(a) They cover different grades of petrol(b) They cover a period covering at least the last 4 months(c) Some prices are inclusive of local taxes, while others are exlusive(d) Prices vary across different regions within a country.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Chandrayaan’s orbit raised
Special Correspondent
CHENNAI: The first manoeuvre to raise the orbit of Chandrayaan-1, India’s first spacecraft to the moon, was accomplished on Thursday when the spacecraft’s liquid apogee motor (LAM) was fired for nearly 18 minutes. The engine firing took the spacecraft from its initial orbit of 256 km by 22,866 km to a perigee of 305 km and an apogee of 37,900 km.Nerve-centre
The commands for firing the engine were given from the Spacecraft Control Centre at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network at Peenya in Bangalore. In this new orbit, Chandrayaan-1 will take about 11 hours to go round the earth once. The Spacecraft Control Centre will be the nerve-centre of operations till Chandrayaan-1 goes into its final orbit of 100 km around the moon by November 15 and also during the tenure of the spacecraft’s life for two years.
The Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C11), which lifted off from the Sriharikota spaceport on Wednesday at 6.22 a.m., put Chandrayaan-1 into its initial orbit 18 minutes and 20 seconds later. In this initial orbit, the spacecraft orbited the earth once in about six hours and a half.
M. Annadurai, Project Director, Chandrayaan-1, said from Bangalore, that “everything went as we planned” when the LAM on board the spacecraft was fired for about 18 minutes. “The spacecraft’s health is normal. Everything is under control,” he said.
The LAM would be fired again on Friday (October 24) morning to take the spacecraft to an apogee of 73,000 km and a perigee of 300 km, Mr. Annadurai said.
The two dish antennas with diameters of 32 metres and 18 metres at the Indian Deep Space Network at Byalalu village, near Bangalore, tracked the spacecraft in its new orbit and received signals from it.
CHENNAI: The first manoeuvre to raise the orbit of Chandrayaan-1, India’s first spacecraft to the moon, was accomplished on Thursday when the spacecraft’s liquid apogee motor (LAM) was fired for nearly 18 minutes. The engine firing took the spacecraft from its initial orbit of 256 km by 22,866 km to a perigee of 305 km and an apogee of 37,900 km.Nerve-centre
The commands for firing the engine were given from the Spacecraft Control Centre at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network at Peenya in Bangalore. In this new orbit, Chandrayaan-1 will take about 11 hours to go round the earth once. The Spacecraft Control Centre will be the nerve-centre of operations till Chandrayaan-1 goes into its final orbit of 100 km around the moon by November 15 and also during the tenure of the spacecraft’s life for two years.
The Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C11), which lifted off from the Sriharikota spaceport on Wednesday at 6.22 a.m., put Chandrayaan-1 into its initial orbit 18 minutes and 20 seconds later. In this initial orbit, the spacecraft orbited the earth once in about six hours and a half.
M. Annadurai, Project Director, Chandrayaan-1, said from Bangalore, that “everything went as we planned” when the LAM on board the spacecraft was fired for about 18 minutes. “The spacecraft’s health is normal. Everything is under control,” he said.
The LAM would be fired again on Friday (October 24) morning to take the spacecraft to an apogee of 73,000 km and a perigee of 300 km, Mr. Annadurai said.
The two dish antennas with diameters of 32 metres and 18 metres at the Indian Deep Space Network at Byalalu village, near Bangalore, tracked the spacecraft in its new orbit and received signals from it.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Abhinav Bindra wins India's first ever solo Olympic gold
India clinched its first ever individual Olympic gold medal in 108 years when Abhinav Bindra won the 10 meter air rifle event in one of the most pulsating shooting finals in the history of the world's biggest sporting extravaganza. The historic victory for the 25-year-old pro from Chandigarh came against heavy odds as he entered the event ranked number 17 in the world and pitted against Athens Olympic champion Zhu Qinan of China and Henri Hakkinen of Finland rated much higher than him.But Bindra proved that reputation and history counted little as he overcame a two-point deficit against Zhu and Haikkinen after the qualifying round and annexed the title.
Bindra emerged triumphant in the 10-shot final with a finish of 104.5, taking his tally of points to 700.5 as against Zhu's silver winning performance of 699.7 (597+102.7) and 699.4 (598+101.4) by Hakkinen, which gave the Finn Army marksman the bronze.
His first shot of the final a 10.7 saw him move to the third place and by the time he was preparing to shoot his fourth, the Indian had risen to the second spot.
A 10.6 on his seventh attempt earned Bindra the lead and in the deciding shot he got 10.8, way ahead of 10.5 by the Chinese and 9.7 by the Finn to bring India the first ever gold medal by an individual since the country first participated in Olympics in 1900.
The businessman from Chandigarh also ended India's wait for a gold since the hockey team fetched a yellow metal in the Moscow Olympics in 1980.
"It can't better than this. Can it?" an elated but composed Bindra said soon after achieving the feat.
"I sincerely hope my medal changes the face of India's Olympic sports," the bespectacled shooter told reporters.
As Bindra bowed his head to receive the gold medal from the Princess of Lichtenstein, a small country in central Europe, and the Indian national anthem was played out for the first time in this edition of Olympics, the shooter had his feet firmly on the ground, betraying little emotions.
"For me, life will go on as usual but I sincerely hope Olympic sports get a leg-up. It's not a priority back home and I hope more focus is paid to these events like shooting," he said.
Asked about his scorching run in the finals, Abhinav said it was a conscious plan to pull out all stops and it paid off.
"I entered the final as fourth, which means I had to go all out for it. That's why I was so aggressive and it paid off in the end. I guess it was my day," he said.
Bindra, whose career at one stage was jeopardised by a nagging back injury, said it was not easy to keep himself keyed up all along.
"I worked hard, left home and trained in Germany. It only proves that if you keep working hard, you would have your day someday and fortunately, it was my day today.
"My parents, family and coaches stood by me all along and I owe it to them," he said.
Even in his hour of supreme glory, Bindra was magnanimous towards his rival when he applauded Zhu for his performance and said "he should be happy that he won a medal".
Bindra's compatriot Gagan Narang too almost made it to the final but was ruled out on countback. Gagan scored 595, levelled at the fifth place but lost out on a final place in countback.
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