After the Moon, it could be Mars before 2015 for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) if the ambitious space missions drawn up by ISRO’s Advisory Committee for Space (ADCOS) up to the year 2020 are realised in the envisaged time frame. This was disclosed here by Prof. U.R. Rao, former Chairman of ISRO and currently Chairman of ADCOS, in his inaugural address at the four-day 15th National Space Science Symposium (NSSS-2008) .

It was on the basis of the recommendations made by ADCOS that the first lunar mission Chandrayaan-1, which will be an orbiter-cum-impactor mission, and the multi-wavelength X-ray astronomical satellite ASTROSAT have been undertaken by ISRO.

Chandrayaan-1, originally scheduled for an April launch window, is now postponed by a few months and will be launched by mid-2008. The mission is chiefly aimed at understanding the chemistry and mineralogy of the lunar surface. It comprises 11 instrument payloads, which include five indigenous experiments, two joint experiments of ISRO with external agencies and the remaining four wholly foreign.

India is planning to launch a satellite to study the sun, the Lok Sabha was informed on Wednesday. Satellite Aditya will study the corona, the outermost region of the sun, and other crucial parameters of space weather, minister of state in the PMO Prithviraj Chavan said in a written reply.

The satellite will also study coronal mass ejection or solar flares, evolution and structures of coronal magnetic field. The mission is intended to enhance scientific knowledge of the sun’s radiation and continuous monitoring of its atmosphere, Mr Chavan said. The data generated will also help to design satellites to withstand adverse effects of solar environment, he said. Sources said the 100-kg satellite is expected to be launched by 2012 and likely to be placed in a near-earth orbit of 600 km.

The sun’s corona is highly active, releasing energy during solar flares in the form of bursts manifesting as geomagnetic storms on earth. These storms can distort the earth’s magnetic field and have a huge bearing on near-earth space where satellites are located. Isro has built a mobile launching pedestal at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota as a part of augmentation to the existing second launch pad, Mr Chavan said in reply to a separate question.

Source: Asian Age

Reflecting the outsourcing prowess of India Inc around 20 Indian Companies, including the likes of Infosys, Wipro and Tata Consultancy Services, are among the best in the world. 'The 2008 Global Outsourcing 100' list compiled by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals (IAOP) has named about 20 Companies based in India.

Among them are, India's top software exporters – Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, HCL Technologies and Wipro Technologies, while Genpact, WNS and EXLService are leading BPO firms listed in the US.

The others figuring in the list are MindTree Consulting, Aditya Birla Minacs, Patni, Quest, Tech Mahindra, Mastek, KPIT Cummins, Convergys, Zenzar Technologies, First Source, ITC Infotech, Hexaware and 24/7 Customer.

The evaluation process for compiling the list mainly takes into consideration the size and growth in revenue of the company, its employees, centres and countries served, management capabilities, competencies and customer experience. The list also features many foreign entities who have a substantial presence in India. Most of these Companies are American such as Accenture, Cognizant Technologies, IBM, ADP, Xerox, CB Richard Ellis and Hewlett-Packard.

Other names include Cushman & Wakefield, Unisys, Hewitt and French firm Capgemini. According to IAOP, the list includes firms providing outsourcing services -- "not just information technology and business process outsourcing, but areas such as facility services, real estate and capital asset management, manufacturing and logistics."

Source:The Financial Express