What makes ISRO tick vis-à-vis DRDO?
Among the many government scientific institutions and laboratories which do wonderful and path-breaking work the spotlight is mostly on the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). This is because the former caters to the needs of the nation and has both short-and long-term utility values while the latter looks after our defense.
ISRO’s work is in the open for all to see but that of DRDO is hush-hush and the results would be known only during times of conflict, if any.
In the 2023-24 budget, the Department of Space was allocated Rs12,543 crore compared to the DRDO that has nearly double the budget at Rs 23,264 crore. Yet, ISRO by being ‘stingy’, innovative, using inter-country sourced materials etc, shoots off rockets, places satellites in perfect orbits and softly lands rovers and on September 2nd would be exploring the sun!
While ISRO is praised, DRDO is criticised and even the Comptroller of Auditor General found several delays in its projects and that we were the largest arms importer between 2018 and 2022. What we need from DRDO are high quality arms that can be delivered quickly and at an affordable cost. This is a tall order since the collaboration between DRDO and armed forces leaves much to be desired.
Sridhar D Iyer, Caranzalem
Kudos to India’s Moon mission success
I compliment Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Team ISRO & Chandrayan 3 for the success in their project. I am also happy that the Prime Minister declared August 23rd as National Space day. I feel that is time for us to say Jai Jawan, Kisan, Jai Vigyan. Congratulations to the ISRO Team and Narendra Modi for this success.
Cajetan Peter D’Souza, Mumbai
No complaints about LPG price reduction
There is a complete absence of method in the present India government’s madness. On August 30, 2023, the government announced a reduction of Rs 200 in the price of domestic LPG cylinders. When international oil & LPG prices were falling since March 2023, our government was silent and took no action in reducing the prices of the two commodities. When the prices are somewhat firming up now, the government has reduced the prices. There is apparently no reason for reducing the price except for the far fetched plea that Assembly elections in five States are round the corner followed by the Lok Sabha polls. No dates for any of the elections have been announced. Thus one will have to presume that the government is wanting to combat inflation which they believe, was the reason for the loss in the Karnataka elections. So reducing the price of LPG cylinders will send a strong signal to the public about their intention to fight rising prices. Anyway the public is not complaining since as they say – who looks a gift horse in the mouth? The common man will accept whatever concessions are offered to make his cost of living easier.
Srinivas Kamat, Alto St Cruz
Special schools should have special facilities
It is shocking to note that a differently-abled person pursuing a vocational course at the Sanjay School in Porvorim was seriously injured on Wednesday, when a railing gave way and he fell off the second floor of the building. It is learnt that he suffered injuries to the spine. He was reportedly studying in the school for the past 20 years. Sadly his efforts to complete the studies and live a normal life could have been affected. It must be said that institutions that cater to differently-able students need to have special facilities. To suit the special needs of differently-abled persons, institutions have to create special facilities such as ramps, rails and wash-rooms and make other necessary changes to suit the special needs of differently-abled persons. The construction plans should clearly address the accessibility issues pertaining to disability. Since the Sanjay School in Porvorim is an old building carrying out a structural stability study seems mandatory. It also seems prudent to carry out necessary repair works of the structure in order to prevent such accidents.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
Modi’s operandi, is astute
There is no doubt that Modi is a master of image management and bowling googlies at the Opposition to catch them off guard. Rattled by the rise in popularity of the INDIA alliance and fresh charges of dubious trading and share price manipulation against the Adani group , pradhan sevak, the high priest of masterstrokes has just delivered an unplayable ball by calling for a special 5 day Parliament session. The government itself has not shared any agenda (even the sarkari bureaucrats are in the dark) for this meeting except to say Amrit Kaal is looking forward to have fruitful discussions and debate in Parliament, whatever that means.
The government has rejected the opposition’s concerted demand for a JPC probe in L’affaire Adani, it is very obvious that this so called ‘special session’ is just a ruse to distract attention from the scam. There is also a possibility of Modi announcing early polls to cash in on the success of the Chandrayaan moon mission (remember he jetted straight from Greece to Bangalore and then to the ISRO centre) and glory in the field of sports, not surprisingly he has pushed himself into the frame to claim reflected glory for these achievements.
Vinay Dwivedi, Benaulim
How important is a nutritious diet?
Nutrition and health are interwoven with each other. Needless to say a healthy mind cannot exist without a healthy body, and the reverse, too, holds true. People from different walks of life are oblivious to the thin line of differentiation between overeating and healthy eating. Intake of essential nutrients in adequate proportion is an invariable requirement for a sound mind and a healthy body. Fruits, vegetables, grains, meat, fish and skimmed milk are invariable components of a healthy food intake for supply of energy, protein, vitamin and minerals among others. Right from the childhood, till death, the significance of balanced nutrition has been underscored by doctors and nutritionists.
A lot of crippling diseases and lifestyle disorders may be prevented by a nutritious diet. Smart eating from the start has the potential to boost immunity. It is more important to know what not to eat than what to eat. Feasting on junk food, that has thrived big time in India, has to be avoided. The “National Nutrition Week” is observed annually from September 1 to 7 since 1982.
Ganapathi Bhat, Akola
Mngts should work to safeguard children
It very dangerous for our innocent school children who were allegedly molested by two teachers at two different schools. This is a very dangerous situation for all our innocent girls and their parents due to stress and psychological and mental trauma. Hence this is a criminal offence. Such a person who commits this act should be given life imprisonment as is a rape of a our minor girl child.
Also the management should be booked and put behind bars for life for not reporting the crime to avoid future molestation and rape cases of our innocent girl children at schools. We cannot risk our innocent children anymore in future. Thank you to Team Herald for reporting this crime act.
Ashwin Caeiro, Cansaulim
