The race for space has got real, and it is attracting funding like never before. In 2022 so far, funding to private players in the space sector has jumped a whopping 61.5 per cent - soaring to $108.52 million compared to $67.2 million in 2021. Propelling it is the government's decision to open up the space sector to private players and the work done by companies like Skyroot Aerospace, the Hyderabad-based start-up behind the launch of India's first privately developed rocket on November 18.
'This may open up doors for private players in India to collaborate with global players in commercial missions.'
Indian Space Association (ISpA) chairman Jayant Patil has said that the executive council will debate whether it can include more telecom companies as founding members. The response came after some leading telcos said that they had been asked to be core members but preferred to be inducted as founding members. The key founders of the ISpA include the Bharti group through two companies (OneWeb and Airtel), L&T, Nelco, Walchandnagar, Alpha Designs and MapmyIndia.
The successful launch of Aditya-L1 - the country's maiden mission to study the Sun - is expected to garner increased investor interest in the Indian space sector and trigger more funding for private players. Several private sector players, including Larsen & Toubro (L&T), MTAR Technologies, and Ananth Technologies, have played a pivotal role in the Indian Space Research Organisation's (Isro's) solar observatory mission. Aditya-L1 on Saturday set off on a 125-day journey on a PSLV-C57 rocket, in its attempt to study various elements relating to the nearest star from the halo orbit around Lagrange point 1 (L1) of the Sun-Earth system, which is about 1.5 million km from Earth.
AzaadiSAT had around 75 small payloads developed by schoolgirls of 75 rural schools.
Feedback from telecom members indicated a 10 per cent increase in traffic, but no fears of choked networks. Telcos currently use 65-70 per cent of the network capacity. In other words, they have enough additional capacity to handle the new pressure without clogging the system.
Some 43 people have been detained so far for the violence which broke out on Wednesday which also resulted in injuries to at least 10 police personnel including a policewoman.
While the market for satellite broadband currently is small, the potential is large as an estimated 30 per cent of the country does not have reliable terrestrial broadband services.
"Delhi Police had requested the IT ministry to block two download links and the entire We Transfer website immediately. Following which orders were issued to the website and links suggested by the Delhi Police," an official source told PTI.
The Delhi high court has restrained sharing and posting of a 'sexually explicit' video of a judicial officer and a woman that surfaced on November 29 and was circulated on social media platforms, saying its circulation would cause irreparable harm to the privacy rights of the plaintiff.
Bharti Group-backed OneWeb on Monday said it has entered an arrangement with the commercial arm of ISRO, NewSpace India Limited (NSIL), to launch its satellite in India from 2022.
Govt to play enabler not handler, India never had more decisive government: PM Modi Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday cited his dispensation's push for wide-ranging reforms, including the privatisation of Air India, to assert that the country never had a more "decisive government". Launching the Indian Space Association (ISpA), an industry body aspiring to be the voice of the country's space sector, Modi noted that fields like mining, coal, defence and space have been opened to private players, and said his government's clear policy about public sector enterprises is to open those to private industry where its presence is not required. While opening a host of sectors, the government has built a regulatory environment in which priority has been given to national interest as well as the interests of different stakeholders, he said.
Bharti group-backed OneWeb and New Space India Limited, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation, have entered into an agreement that will help ensure OneWeb completes its satellite launch programme. The first launch with New Space India is expected in 2022 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota. The launches will add to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications firm OneWeb's total in-orbit constellation of 428 satellites -- 66 per cent of the planned total fleet -- to build a global network that will deliver high-speed, low-latency connectivity.
WhatsApp has made the statement before Justice Yashwant Varma who was hearing a lawsuit by one of the aggrieved parties whose identity was earlier allowed to remain concealed by the court.
Seeks 100% depreciation on hardware and peripherals, exemption of customs duty on goods imported by ISP, seeks measures to increase penetration.
Hiring for management professionals with greater than 16 years of experience witnessed a spike of 66% compared to last year.
Indian golfer Rahil Gangjee, who needed to play well in the last few events to keep his card, followed his first round 64 with a 72 to be 6-under and T-6 at the ISPS Handa Gatsun to tobase tournament in Tokyo.
Going by the guidelines issued in August 2007, the ISP licence was valid for 15 years and the one-time entry fee was Rs 20 lakh (Rs 2 million) and Rs 10 lakh (Rs 1 million) for Category-A and category-B circles, respectively. The new amendments will come into effect immediately.
Hiring activity witnessed a 6 per cent year-on-year growth in March this year, supported by a rebound in economic activities and led by sectors such as banking and telecom, according to a report. However, there was a marginal dip of 2.4 per cent in hiring activity as compared to February, owing to the appraisal season, according to the Monster Employment Index (MEI). "Two years into the pandemic, it is heartening to see that the Indian economy has overcome setbacks and challenges with hiring momentum exceeding pre-COVID levels by 6 per cent this year compared to 2020," Monster.com, a Quess company, CEO Sekhar Garisa noted.
Ramachandra Rama Reddy has been suspended from the Nashik-based India Security Press in connection with the stamp scam.
With TRAI's latest tariff announcements likely to make dial-up Internet access more expensive, the apex association for Internet service providers ISPAI will soon approach the telecom regulator and the communications ministry on the issue.\n\n\n\n
Facing flak over its order to block access to 857 pornographic and humour websites, the government on Tuesday lifted ban on all those websites that do not feature child pornographic content.
Government think-tank body Niti Ayog CEO Amitabh Kant supported the industry demand and called for setting up of a single window clearance system for expeditious approval of projects. Start-ups and small medium enterprises requested the prime minister to provide support in low-cost capital at the virtual launch of space and satellite industry body Indian Space Association (ISpA).
Expressing concern over what it calls barriers for American telecom companies in India, the United States has sought from New Delhi transparency in the procedure for modifying foreign direct investment norms for Internet Service Providers.
Diksha, who was born with a hearing impairment, will now have the unique honour of having represented India at both the Deaf Olympics in 2017, where she finished second for a silver medal, and the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
Even after SC directions, the administration has not restored mobile internet services for Kashmir division. It said misuse of data services by anti-national elements has the potential to cause large-scale violence and disturb public order.
MSM has sole rights for the event and the order has directed Internet Service Providers to block hundreds of webpages hosting videos and clips related to the FIFA 2014 World Cup.
The representative body said there is regulatory imbalance.
Reliance Infotel to be the biggest beneficiary.
Indian Internet Service Providers are upbeat about Worldwide Inter-operability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) as a solution for the country's last-mile connectivity problems.
The government is also trying to curb child abuse and pornography and such platforms act as catalysts in these cases.
Initial fears of Internet access charges rising by 6-12 per cent following the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India recommendations to impose an annual licence fee for Internet Service Providers appear to be unfounded.
Hiring demand for the month of October 2021, witnessed a dip of 3 per cent, as compared to September 2021. However, job demand grew 9 per cent sequentially in the past six months showing an optimistic outlook to recovery, said the Monster Employment Index. There has also been a strong year-on-year recovery with a 9 per cent uptick in October 2021 (Oct 2021 vs Oct 2020).
