19 JUNE 2016

Ø More lives may be saved in the golden hour after an accident as the government is working on an ambitious plan to allow helicopter ambulances to land anywhere near an accident spot — be it a national highway or a sports ground. The Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has proposed allowing air ambulances, to be known as Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS), to land at accident and emergency sites without operational clearance. An inter-ministerial panel with officials from the Ministries of Home, Defence, Road Transport and Highways and Telecom, among others, will soon be formed to work out the modalities. “The helicopter medical services involve life-saving mission, wherein clinical benefit should reach the casualty within an hour of occurrence of the incident that can make difference between life and death, known as the golden hour. This would be made possible if the helicopter has freedom to land anywhere,” Such services are provided in countries such as Germany, Canada and Australia, the official said. For the first phase, the DGCA has laid down standards for operating the services under which ambulance helicopters can land at designated points surveyed by the operator in a city. The second phase, for which approvals will be required with the ministries concerned, envisages landing freedom in any open area. Speculation is rife on why Mr. Rajan decided not to continue and communicated his decision two and half months before his term ends. According to RBI insiders, the government’s decision to form a search panel, headed by a cabinet secretary to select financial sector regulators has not gone down well with the RBI governor as the governor’s post is also cabinet secretary rank. It is not clear if the search panel had started to look for candidates. This is the first time a formal search panel has been formed to select the RBI governor. In the past, the prime minister and the finance minister have held consultations to select the governor of the central bank.

Ø Indian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Navtej Sarna earlier this week walked out of a book launch event attended by Vijay Mallya, the businessman who has been declared a proclaimed offender by Indian authorities. The event was held on June 16 by the Hundred Foot Journey Club of the South Asia Centre at the London School of Economics (LSE) to release Mantras for Success: India’s Greatest CEOs Tell You How to Win, by author Suhel Seth and journalist Sunny Sen. Mr. Sarna was invited as part of a panel to discuss the book. Mr. Mallya was seen walking in and sitting at the back of the Old Theatre auditorium with his daughter as the function began. “Mr. Mallya was not invited by LSE or the High Commission but he came just before the start.The Indian High Commissioner left as soon as he saw him,” one of the organisers told The Hindu, adding, “This was a public event, and was widely advertised on social media.” A High Commission spokesperson confirmed Mr. Mallya’s presence at the function and the High Commissioner's departure upon seeing him in the audience. Neither was Mr. Mallya invited nor present at a subsequent reception at the High Commission, he added.

Ø The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV-C34), which will lift off at 9.25 a.m. on June 22 from Sriharikota, is an important mission for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The vehicle will not only put 20 satellites into the same orbit — the highest number of satellites to be put into orbit by a PSLV — but it will perform two tricky experiments of the same nature. Fifty minutes after the satellites are injected into the orbit from the fourth stage of the vehicle, its engine will be re-ignited for five seconds. Then it will be shut down for 50 minutes and re-ignited for another five seconds, according to K. Sivan, Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram. The ISRO wants to master this complex manoeuvre so that it can put multiple satellites into different orbits using the same rocket. A forthcoming PSLV launch will put the ISRO’s SCATSAT-1, meant for forecasting weather and cyclone detection, and a foreign satellite in two different orbits. On December 16, 2015, after the PSLV-C29’s fourth stage put six Singapore satellites into the same orbit, the ISRO re-started the fourth-stage engine for four seconds. At that time, Dr. Sivan called it a “small experiment” to master the manoeuvre of putting multiple satellites into different orbits with the same vehicle. On June 22, eight minutes after the PSLV-C34 lifts off, the fourth stage engine will sizzle into life, taking the stage to an altitude of 514 km. The fourth stage engine will be cut off 16 minutes and 30 seconds after the lift-off. Over the next 10 minutes, 20 satellites will be injected into the same orbit from the fourth stage, one after another. Dr. Sivan said: “After each satellite is injected into orbit, the vehicle will be re-oriented if required and the next satellite will be put into orbit with a varying velocity so that the distance between the satellites grows monotonically. We will do this to ensure that there is no collision of satellites. Then, after a huge gap of 3,000 seconds, PS-4 [the fourth stage] will be re-ignited for five seconds. Then, it will be switched off for another 3,000 seconds. It will be re-ignited for another five seconds.” On April 28, 2008, the PSLV-C9 deployed 10 satellites, but in the same orbit.