Sriharikota (AP): In a New Year gift to the nation, ISRO on Sunday successfully launched a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-D5) with an indigenous cryogenic engine from the spaceport of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, entering a select club of nations.

With this launch, ISRO became the sixth space agency in the world after the US, Russia, Japan, China and France to have tasted success with an indigenous cryogenic engine.

“I am extremely happy and proud to say team ISRO has done it. The Indian cryogenic engine and stage performed as predicted, as expected for this mission and injected precisely the GSAT-14 communication satellite into intended orbit,” a jubilant K. Radhakrishnan, ISRO chairman said from the Mission Control Room soon after the launch vehicle placed the 1,982 kg GSAT-14 satellite into the intended orbit.

Launching a GSLV with an indigenous cryogenic engine has been a major challenge for ISRO since 2001 after multiple unsuccessful attempts. Only four of earlier seven attempts have succeeded.

GSLV-D5’s scheduled launch on August 19 last year was called off in the eleventh hour after a fuel leak, following which ISRO moved the vehicle back to the Vehicle Assembly Building and rectified the defect.

Sunday’s launch is India’s eighth flight of GSLV and also the fourth developmental flight of GSLV. During this flight, the indigenously developed Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS) was flight tested for the second time.

GSAT-14 is India’s 23rd geostationary communication satellite, as four of GSAT-14’s predecessors were launched by GSLV during 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2007, respectively.

GSAT-14 would join the group of India’s nine operational geostationary satellites. The primary objective of this mission is to augment the in-orbit capacity of extended C and Ku-band transponders and provide a platform for new experiments.

The GSAT-14 will be positioned at 74 degree East longitude and co-located with INSAT-3C, INSAT-4CR and KALPANA-1 satellites.

The 12 communication transponders onboard GSAT-14 will further augment the capacity in the INSAT/GSAT system.

ISRO’s Cryogenic Upper Stage Project envisaged the design and development of the indigenous Cryogenic Upper Stage to replace the stage procured from Russia and used in GSLV flights, according to ISRO.

ISRO officials had been extremely vigilant in tightening loose ends this time around to avoid an unsuccessful attempt.

Design modifications were implemented wherever required in the launch vehicle along with thorough ground testing and improvements.

The modifications included redesigning of Lower Shroud, which protects the cryogenic engine during atmospheric flight of GSLV-D5 and redesigning of the wire tunnel of the cryo stage to withstand larger forces in flight.

The national space agency also performed two ‘Acceptance Tests for flight unit of Fuel Booster Turbo Pump (FBTP), High altitude tests to confirm the ignition sequence in flight under vacuum, to validate design improvements and Cryogenic Main Engine (200 sec) and Steering Engine (100 sec) acceptance tests at Main Engine Test and High Altitude Test. — PTI

Lok Sabha elections to be held from mid-April

NEW DELHI: Bracing for the big exercise, the Election Commission is all set to hold Lok Sabha elections starting mid-April and spread it over at least five phases till early May.

The much-awaited announcement for the polls is likely to be made by the end of February or early March, for which work has already begun, top commission sources said.

Along with the Lok Sabha polls, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim will go to polls to elect their new Assemblies.

"The announcement of the poll schedule would be done in the last days of February or at best the first two-three days of March," the sources told .

Before the scheduled announcement, the Lok Sabha may meet for one last time to pass a vote-on-account budget to enable expenditure for six months of the new fiscal year 2014-15 to give time for the new government to present a full-fledged budget in the next Parliament.

There is also speculation that a special session of Parliament may be convened shortly to pass anti-corruption measures by the government in the run up to the elections. The term of the current Lok Sabha expires on June 1 and the new House has to be constituted by May 31.

The commission is looking into the issue of whether to spread the elections over five phases or may be one more phase.

An estimated 80 crore voters will be eligible to vote in the coming elections after new voters have been added to the rolls, whose final revision is underway.

The commission has already got the electoral rolls ready, except for some "health check-ups" to be made so that they are out before the end of this month, they said. "We already have a list of electoral rolls. We need to update it. We expect that before January end, the lists will be ready," a top EC official said. — PTI

11 killed, over 100 polling stations torched
in Bangladesh elections

DHAKA: The police in Bangladesh fired at protesters and Opposition activists torched more than 100 polling stations on Sunday during a national election boycotted by the Opposition and described as flawed by the international community. At least 11 persons were killed in election-related violence.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s refusal to heed Opposition demands to step down and appoint a neutral caretaker to oversee the election led to the boycott, undermining the legitimacy of the vote. Opposition activists responded with attacks, strikes and transportation blockades in unrest that has already left at least 275 people dead since last year.

“We never expected such an election. For such a situation both the government and opposition are responsible. They don’t want to establish democracy,” said Aminul Islam, a Dhaka resident who refused to vote.

The police opened fire to stop protesters from seizing a polling centre in northern Rangpur district, killing two persons. In a similar incident in neighbouring Nilphamari district, the police fired at about two dozens of protesters, leaving two persons dead.

The police gave no further details, but Daily Star newspaper said the three men belonged to the opposition Jamaat-e-Islami party.

The police said another seven persons were killed in election-related violence elsewhere, including a polling official who was stabbed to death by suspected opposition activists.

So far, the turnout appeared to be low. The voting began at 8 am but local television stations showed mostly empty polling stations.

By midmorning, polling was suspended in at least 120 centres because of attacks, burning of ballots and election materials, an election official said.

At a polling station in Dhaka’s Mirpur district, only 25 out of 24,000 registered voters cast their ballot in the first two hours, with polling officials saying fear of violence and absence of any strong opposition kept people away.

“The boycott of the election by several parties may have contributed to the low turnout,” Chief Election Commissioner Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad told journalists at his Dhaka office.

The Opposition boycott led to 153 of Parliament’s 300 elected seats going uncontested.

The European Union, the United States and the Commonwealth did not send observers for what they considered a flawed election. US State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said Washington was disappointed that the major political parties had not reached a consensus on a way to hold free, fair and credible elections. — PTI

AAP to launch membership drive from Jan 10

NEW DELHI: The Aam Aadmi Party ( AAP) will launch a membership drive from January 10, party leader Yogendra Yadav said on Sunday after the party's National Executive meeting.

"From January 10 we are launching a membership drive, 'Main Bhi Aam Aadmi' (I too am a common man)," Yadav told reporters.

The drive will conclude on January 26.

Yadav said the Rs 10 fee earlier charged for primary membership of the party has been abolished. — IANS

Corrupt will not be spared: Kejriwal

NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said there will be no compromise on corruption, and sought time for taking action against it.

"It has just been eight days, give us some time. We will not spare anyone who is corrupt," Kejriwal told reporters.

"There is no question of compromising on corruption. I will put my life at stake, but will not compromise on the issue," he said.

Kejriwal was responding to a question on whether the Aam Aadmi Party-Congress tie-up would result in letting off the Congress, which AAP charged of corruption in the run-up to the Delhi polls.

"Whether it is Sheila Dikshit, or some minister from the Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party, or my own party, no one will be spared," he said.

Kejriwal, however, added the "backends" needed to be strengthened before action can be taken.

"Unless we strengthen our backend, announcement will not help. For example, we said we will give an anti-corruption helpline number, I have been working on its backend since a week," he said. — IANS

Muzaffarnagar: Riot victims residing in Malakpur relief camp in neighbouring Shamli district have refused to leave the place, officials said.

On Saturday, a team of officials from Baghpat visited the Malakpur camp and appealed the victims to return to their native villages. But the victims have refused to leave the camp owing to fear, they said.

“We have appealed them to shift to safer places due to biting cold,” Shamli District Magistrate P.K. Singh said.

Singh denied that authorities were trying to forcefully vacate the camp. About 250 displaced families were residing in the camp.

District authorities have assured the security to the victims if they returned to their native village Wajidpur, SP Baghpat J.K. Shahi told reporters.

But, they refused to leave the camp. The team has returned, Shahi added.

Meanwhile, secretary of Jamiat Ulema-e-Hind of Delhi Hakimuddin has alleged that the district authorities are trying to vacate the camp without giving any alternative place. — PTI

PANAJI: With the recovery of two more bodies, the death toll in the building collapse at Goa’s Cancona town rose to 15 on Sunday even as fire personnel feared that around 20 people could still be lying under the rubble.

A search was, meanwhile, on for the missing builder and contractor of the under-construction five-storey residential building that caved in Cancona town, about 70 kms from Goa, on Saturday.

“The death toll in the building collapse has risen to 15,” Goa acting Chief Secretary R.K. Srivastava said.

Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said he will announce compensation for the victims on Monday.

Fire personnel fear some people could still be under the rubble of the building that collapsed at Cancona near here but the possibility of finding more survivors at the site appears bleak as a huge pile of debris is affecting the pace of rescue operations.

Goa fire and emergency services personnel and Army carried out rescue operations overnight to look for more survivors but due to huge pile of debris, chances of finding anybody alive was getting slimmer with the passage of time.

Fire personnel fear that around 20 people could still be lying under the rubble and chances of anyone of them coming out alive was remote.

“Earlier there were some sounds coming from the debris which helped rescuers to locate them and rescue two persons who were asking for help,” said an eyewitness, adding no more voices can be heard now from inside.

The state police have also launched a search for the builder Vishwas Desai and contractor Jaideep Saigal against whom an FIR was filed on Saturday for endangering human life, causing death and negligence.

“Both the builder and contractor have been missing while attempts are on to trace them,” police inspector Harish Madkaikar told PTI.

Deputy Inspector General of Police O.P. Mishra said that police will investigate with all seriousness into the offence registered against the builder-contractor duo.

But, the priority right now is to rescue people from the debris, he said.

Officials said the building was being developed by Navi Mumbai-based Bharat Realtors and Developers. — PTI

NEW DELHI: Pre-marital sex is "immoral" and against the "tenets of every religion", a Delhi court has said while holding that every act of sexual intercourse between two adults on the promise of marriage does not become rape.

Additional Sessions Judge Virender Bhat also held that a woman, especially grown-up, educated and office-going, who has sexual intercourse on the assurance of marriage does so "at her own peril".

"In my opinion, every act of sexual intercourse between two adults on the assurance of promise of marriage does not become rape, if the assurance or promise is not fulfilled later on by the boy," the judge said.

"When a grown-up, educated and office-going woman subjects herself to sexual intercourse with a friend or colleague on the latter's promise that he would marry her, she does so at her own peril. She must be taken to understand the consequences of her act and must know that there is no guarantee that the boy would fulfil his promise.

"He may or may not do so. She must understand that she is engaging in an act which not only is immoral but also against the tenets of every religion. No religion in the world allows pre-marital sex," the court said, while acquitting an employee with a multinational company of the charges of rape.

The 29-year-old man, a resident of Punjab, was arrested by the police after a month, when the woman, doing a secretarial and administrative job at a private company here, lodged a complaint of rape against him in May 2011.

In her complaint, the woman, who is an orphan, had alleged that the man, whom she had met through a chat website in July 2006, used to have physical relations with her on several occasions by promising to marry her.

When the woman got pregnant in 2008, the man instead of marrying her asked her to abort the foetus by saying that he would marry her once his sisters get married, she had alleged.

She also told the police that even after the sisters of the accused got married, he did not marry her and instead he and his parents abused and harassed her.

However, the accused, during the trial, had opposed the woman's claim and said that they became friends through a social networking website and used to meet occasionally but he never indulged in sexual intercourse with her.

The court took note of the submission of the man and said the woman was "intelligent enough" to understand the moral quality and consequences of her act, so there were no chances of her being "misled by any assurance given to" her by him.

"There is no evidence on record to show that she (woman) consented to sexual intercourse with the accused only on the latter's promise of marriage and otherwise, she would not have given her consent for the same.

"In fact, there is evidence on record in the form of e-mails and Internet chats between the two... that she had been pestering and inducing the man to have sexual intercourse with her," the court noted.

The judge further said, "I consider it not proper for a girl to engage in sexual intercourse with a boy who simply tells her that he is going to be her husband and there is nothing wrong in engaging her into sexual intercourse with him.

"It was for the girl in such circumstances to weigh the pros and cons of the intended act and to decide whether or not she should submit her body to the boy."

The judge also said, "I myself do not feel convinced and satisfied that the prosecutrix was misled by any promise or utterance of the man and she gave her consent to the sexual intercourse with him because of the same.

"It appears that the woman being a mature, educated and employed lady, understood the nature and consequence of sexual indulgence with him and agreed to have sexual intercourse only on account of her love and passion for him and not solely on account of any alleged misrepresentation." — PTI

SYDNEY: Australia completed a 5-0 Ashes clean sweep against England today as the hapless tourists crumbled to a humiliating 281-run defeat in the fifth Test in Sydney.

Demoralised England capitulated after tea against the home side's pace attack, losing seven wickets in 52 minutes on their way to being bundled out for 166 in 31.4 overs, getting nowhere near the 448 target for victory.

It was the sixth time the beleaguered tourists had been skittled for under 200 in the series and the crushing defeat is expected to have major ramifications for English cricket just months after they beat Australia 3-0 in England.

Paceman Ryan Harris finished with five for 25 and man-of-the-series Mitchell Johnson — who took 37 wickets in the five matches — had figures of 3-40.

Skipper Alastair Cook (7), Ian Bell (16) and Kevin Pietersen (6) all fell in the middle session as England limped to tea on 87-3 but it was carnage after the interval as four wickets tumbled in two overs with the tourists falling apart against inspired Australian bowling and fielding.

Michael Carberry (43) feathered Mitchell Johnson to wicketkeeper Brad Haddin just two balls after the resumption and three balls later debutant Gary Ballance was trapped plumb in front by Johnson for seven.

Wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow was caught close in by George Bailey off spinner Nathan Lyon for a three-ball duck and debutant legspinner Scott Borthwick was magnificently caught by skipper Michael Clarke off Lyon for four. — AFP