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.