This destruction of CWs under the watchful eyes of international inspectors by strictly following a declared roadmap could be said to be a feather in the cap for India’s overall disarmament and arms control efforts.
One year ago, in February 2008, Iran launched a sounding rocket into outer space to mark the opening of its first space centre. This rocket essentially belonged to the ‘category’ of instrument-carrying crafts. Such crafts are designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during their sub-orbital flight. Within a year, on 3 February 2009, Iran successfully launched its first domestically manufactured satellite "Omid" (Hope), which was carried into space by the home-built Safir-2 space rocket.
Recent media reports indicate that the Pentagon is planning to replace 30 per cent of its soldiers with robots by 2020. The employment of robots by the armed forces includes all unmanned platforms used for military related tasks. The use of robots in warfare offers a number of distinct advantages. Such means can provide lethal fire power in a responsive manner on any designated target. Robotic soldiers also eliminate concerns about human casualties in war which is a major concern of western countries.
On the afternoon of May 27, the people of Jamshedpur were caught unaware. They were exposed to a dense, pale green, pungent and poisonous gas, Chlorine. This gas had leaked from an unused cylinder lying in the Tata Motor’s water treatment plant for the past 10 years. By the next day, around 150 to 200 people had been hospitalised. The affected people also included company employees and their family members. So far no deaths have been reported.
India’s Space Programme has been contributing a lot towards bestowing ‘Soft Power’ status to the country over the last couple of years. The success of the PSLV-C9 mission on April 28, 2008 is the latest in this regard. In this mission, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) succeeded in placing ten satellites in space by using a single booster. This is a record given that till date no other country has put a cumulative weight of approximately 825 kilograms spread over ten different satellites in a single attempt into space.
Rarely would a defence R&D agency get an actual operational scenario to test the capability of a military system before attaining total technological maturity. The much-maligned U.S. Missile Defence Agency (MDA) silenced its long-time critics by utilising such an opportunity through a successful interception of a dysfunctional military reconnaissance satellite which threatened to hit the Earth with hazardous fuel.
The year 2008 started with oil prices touching a historic high of US $100 a barrel. This is partly a reflection of the high demand for energy. Today, many countries are factoring ‘energy’ into their planning, be it hydrocarbons or other forms of energy. But in the case of India it appears that its energy future would be decided more by politics than actual energy needs. In the first week of 2008, an Indian delegation has completed the third round of negotiations with the International Atomic Energy Commission (IAEA) on India-specific nuclear safeguards.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has strongly denied news reports that the launch of an Israeli spy satellite aboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) has been delayed or even cancelled because of US pressure. The news reports, while speculative in nature, have certain inconsistencies that need to be contested. Foremost among these being there is a quid pro quo element by way of sharing of data; since the satellite is wholly Israeli owned and operated, ISRO is only providing a commercial service with no quid pro quo involved.
"Not since that time nearly 2000 years ago, when Archimedes reflected the sun's rays to set the Roman fleet on fire, has the world seen a weapon that puts fresh meaning into the phrase 'in real time'. Let's do it now in flight," thus Lt. Gen. Henry Obering, the Director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA), exhorted a crowd of missile defense engineers at a function in Wichita, Kansas last week.
In May 2002, the then US Undersecretary of State for Arms Control, John Bolton, in his speech at the Heritage Foundation had accused Cuba of having a limited offensive biological warfare programme. But a cursory examination of history shows that the Cubans were in fact 'victims' of American 'germ' attacks in the past.
India Finishes Destruction of its CW Arsenal
This destruction of CWs under the watchful eyes of international inspectors by strictly following a declared roadmap could be said to be a feather in the cap for India’s overall disarmament and arms control efforts.