17 JULY 2016

Ø  The Indian Space research Organisation (ISRO) is slated to test fly this month a small model of what is called a ‘scramjet’ engine that could one day help to put satellites and other systems to space. Scientists are quietly keeping their fingers crossed about it. This half-metre, 45-kg model could later grow to power a future dream Indian rocket of two stages (compared to three and four stages at present); a rocket that launches satellites and systems super efficiently at much lower costs than now. The scramjet bid is a move towards faster, cheaper, better rockets; if it works, an eventual launch vehicle using a scramjet engine can be very reliable compared to conventional rocket systems that use liquid or cryogenic systems, said a propulsion scientist who did not want to be named. In March 2010, the ISRO tested a passive scramjet engine module on a customised sounding (experimental) rocket, named Advanced Technology Vehicle (ATV-D01). In the upcoming experiment — or demonstration — of the air breathing technology, a small model of a scramjet engine is flown on the experimental ATV to a certain distance in space and ignited. The ISRO expects to sustain the engine for five seconds this time. K.Sivan, Director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) which is the lead centre for launcher activities, had earlier told The Hindu that sustaining the engine burn for even this tiny duration is extremely challenging.

Ø  Lifeline Express (LLE), the world’s first hospital on a train, inaugurated on July 16, 1991, completed 25 years on Saturday. Having treated persons with disability in rural areas, the Impact India Foundation (IIF), Mumbai-based NGO which operates the train, is now looking to extend its medical service to major surgeries. Currently, surgeries for cataract and clubfoot are performed on the train hospital. This year, the five-coach express will be getting two new coaches, donated by the Railways, for additional services of cancer detection and family planning.

Ø  Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday asked the States to focus on intelligence-sharing to help the country stay “alert” to, and “updated” on, internal security challenges. Addressing the Inter-State Council meeting, convened after 10 years, he saidinternal security could not be strengthened unless the States and the Centre focussed on sharing intelligence. The Chief Ministers, Lieutenant-Governors of the Union Territories and 17 Union Ministers are members of the Inter-State Council. Modi was interacting with the Chief Ministers on a single platform for the first time since coming to power two years ago.

Ø  Turkey’s government rounded up thousands of military personnel on Saturday who were said to have taken part in an attempted coup, moving swiftly to re-establish control after a night of chaos that left hundreds dead. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim called the insurrection “a stain in the history of democracy” at a news conference in Ankara, the capital. He raised the death toll in the clashes to 265, with 1,440 people wounded, and said 2,839 military personnel had been detained. As the coup unfolded on Friday night, beginning with the seizure of two bridges in Istanbul by military forces, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was not heard from for hours. He finally addressed the nation from an undisclosed location, speaking on his cellphone’s FaceTime app. In the early hours of Saturday morning, he landed in Istanbul. He blamed the intrigue on the followers of Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim cleric living in exile in Pennsylvania, who was the President’s ally until a bitter falling out three years ago. Mr. Erdogan said, referring to Mr. Gulen: “I have a message for Pennsylvania: You have engaged in enough treason against this nation. If you dare, come back to your country.” In a statement released on the website of his group, Alliance for Shared Values, Mr. Gulen supported the country’s democratic process. “As someone who suffered under multiple military coups during the past five decades, it is especially insulting to be accused of having any link to such an attempt,” Mr. Gulen wrote.