Water Conservation in Industries

The population of India is estimated to reach between 1.5 - 1.8 billion by year 2050. To avoid our country from becoming a water scarce country, availability of 3060 billion m3 fresh water is required. The average annual surface water flows in India has been estimated as 1869 billion m3 of which only 690 billion m3 can be utilized considering monsoon climate and topographical and geological reasons. The available groundwater resource due to various recharges is 432 billion m3. The country will be water stressed even if the total available water i.e. 2301 billion m3 is taken into account. Ensuring uninterrupted supply of water of adequate quality and quantity at affordable cost will be the biggest challenge for the municipalities and industries due to the huge demand and pollution caused by discharge of untreated or partially treated used waters.

In recent years, with the development of industries, increase in population and improved living standard, demand of water has remarkably increased. Municipalities are not able to provide uninterrupted water supply to the citizens. The communities in many Indian cities have to purchase drinking water at a high cost of Rs. 50 – 150 per m3. Since water has become a scarce commodity, availability of water of adequate quality and quantity at affordable cost is possibly the biggest challenge faced by the industries today. It is necessary for all the industries to positively implement all kind of programs and measures for effective utilization of water resources.

Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd., Chennai for example have invested large sum of money in desalination of Sea water and in laying a pipeline to convey the desalinated water all the way to their refinery. Earlier, when faced with a severe water shortage, the refinery was the first to invest in a plant to recover water from treated municipal sewage and effluent from the refinery. Madras Fertilizers Limited followed their example. In Mumbai, Rashtriya Chemical Fertilizers have also set up a plant to recover water from municipal sewage and used the recovered water for cooling applications.

Water can no longer be taken for granted.  It needs to be managed judiciously through measures to conserve, recover, and reuse, especially in industries that consume large quantities of water. Water is used in the industry for a number of applications that include cooling, steam production to generate power and other process applications besides drinking and sanitation.

Water Audit

The first step in Water Conservation and Management Programme is comprehensive water Audit to arrive at a realistic water balance for the entire factory and colony. Water audits at regular intervals help the management to take stock of the situation and act before the problem escalates and threatens closure due to non availability of water. The objectives of carrying out a water audit is not only to identify areas of excessive  use (and its abuse) but also assess the quality of water being supplied for each application and compare it with the actual requirement and optimize the cost of treating water. This involves following exercise-

• Measurement of water consumption at user points by calibrated instruments. Flow through closed pipes can be measured by an Ultrasonic flow measuring instrument and flow through open channels through V-Notch weirs.
• The quality and quantity of effluents generated from each section should also be assessed. Conscious efforts shall be made to effect savings in cost of treating the effluent.
• The next step is to establish bench marks for water consumption based on international practices for similar industries and identify areas of excess consumption.
• An action plan should then be drawn for reducing the consumption of water in those areas. With good housekeeping discipline and perseverance it should be possible to achieve the results.

Conservation of Water for Cooling

A major portion of industrial water is utilized for cooling applications in majority of industries and hence provides an opportunity to conserve the water by optimizing the operations of cooling towers and following the best practices as given below-

• It is essential to check the cooling water treatment programme, which enables us to operate the tower at optimum cycles of concentration. The quantity of make-up water decreases significantly with increasing cycles of concentration. Water meters should be installed at cooling water make-up as well as blow down line.
• Use of cooling water for other purposes like floor washing should be stopped. There should be no overflows from the basin.
• One should also look for any leak through the bottom floor of the tower basin and if detected the leak should be plugged during the annual shut down.
• Loss of water due to evaporation is around 2% of the water in circulation and hence in areas of water scarcity, the feasibility of using air cooled towers should be explored.
• Side stream filtration should be adopted to keep cooling water free of suspended solids. Backwash water from side stream filter can be recovered by installing a plate type clarifier. The quantum of water recovered can be significant in large industries like fertilizer, steel etc. 

Water Conservation in Pretreatment Plant

Almost all the plants utilizing surface water will have a clarifier and filter beds.  Blow down from the clarifier must be treated through the sludge thickener and sludge dewatering unit (centrifuge / filter press). The clear water from sludge thickener and the filtrate from sludge dewatering unit should be pumped back to the clarifier. This will not only help in water conservation but also reduces the cost incurred in sludge handling and disposal.

The entire quantity of water used for backwashing the filters must be collected and returned to the clarifier.

Water Conservation in Softening Plants

Softening plants offer scope both for water conservation as well as for a reduction in salt consumption by opting for salt recycling. Salt recycle is effectively used in almost all the power stations in Maharashtra as the entire quantity of water used for cooling is softened and the salt consumption is high. For salt recycling, it will be necessary to install an additional brine measuring tank (BMT 2) identical to the existing one (BMT 1) and modify the frontal piping.

Part of the water used for slow rinsing and practically the entire quantity used for final rinsing can be recovered and reused partly for preparation of salt solution and partly for slow rinse. Salt recovery can be made by collecting the latter half of the effluent during salt injection in a separate brine measuring tank and using it to partially regenerate the resin during the next cycle.

Water Conservation in Demineralization Plant

Demineralization by the ion exchange process generates strong effluents which require dilution with fresh water or other streams low in dissolved solids prior to discharge. However water can be recovered from the effluents generated in a DM plant by installing a water recovery plant for reuse in the plant. Some plants use the strongly acidic effluents in cooling water for pH control in place of acid. There is considerable scope to conserve water in DM plant which can be achieved by following measures-

• Almost all the final rinse water during Mixed Bed regeneration can be recycled back to the filtered water tank. Part of the water used for final rinsing can be recycled back to the raw water tank as soon as its conductively reaches the value equal to that of raw water.
• Good housekeeping can significantly contribute to conservation of water in a DM plant. Leaky valves and taps must be fixed immediately. Water flowing through pH and conductivity sensors must be routed to the raw water tank.
• Whenever rinse water volumes increase, the reasons for long rinse should be ascertained. If it is established that the problem is due to fouling agent in water, action must be taken to fix the problem either by addition of some equipment or change over to non fouling resins or both.
• Presence of non-reactive (colloidal) silica in boiler feed water high pressure boilers may result in increased blow-down. In case presence of excessive amount of colloidal silica is suspected it may be prudent to remove it from boiler feed water by installing an Ultra filtration unit after the Mixed Bed.  In case the raw water is high on organics as well, the ultra filtration unit may be located ahead of MB unit to take care of both issues.

Treatment of Condensate

Conservation of condensate not only saves water but also the huge cost incurred in high purity water production and chemical conditioning. This can be achieved by arresting the leakages in the lines and installing suitable treatment units (condensate polishing units) for removal of undesirable components. Condensates with traces of hydrocarbons can be treated through the use of Oil Coalescers or specially designed Activated Carbon Filters

Effluent Treatment

Use of water in the industry produces an effluent which needs to be treated before it can be discharged into a public sewer or a receiving stream. Treatment of effluent is necessary to protect the receiving water bodies and ensure safe water availability to the downstream habitation. Moreover, the effluent after minimal treatment can be utilized for low end applications. Efforts should be made to treat, recycle, and reuse the effluent in the premises so that the industry could approach towards zero liquid discharge concepts and uninterrupted water supply for production can be ensured. Often it is possible to recover a valuable byproduct for reuse in the process and remaining effluent is now more amenable for recovery of water economically.

In Tirupur, group of industries had installed a combined effluent treatment plant for treating their effluents with an option to recover the salt (Na2SO4) and water which is again recycled back to the process. This approach not only solved a potential problem of high TDS effluent disposal but also resulted in practically ‘Zero-Discharge’ with significant savings in the cost of treatment of effluent.

Water Conservation in Offices and Residential Colony

As far as possible, electronically operated proximity devices or at least press to open type of valves should be provided to reduce wastage. These types of installations result in water consumption of around 30%.

Supply of potable water to residential colony and other user points should be under gravity by installing water tanks on roof tops. Supply under gravity (through overhead storage tanks) will minimize wastage through splashing. Again restricting the supply to fix periods will also help in conserving water.

Almost all colonies housing the factory employees will have a dedicated sewage treatment plant. Water can be recovered by installing a tertiary treatment plant and can used for low end applications like green belt development, gardening, flushing the toilets etc., thus conserving fresh water.  Needless to say this will involve separate storage and plumbing to ensure that there is no accidental contamination with potable water in other lines like washbasins and shower fountains. The recovered water can also be used as cooling tower make-up by installing membrane Bio reactor that will produce clear filtered water.

Rain Water Harvesting

Rain water harvesting is yet another opportunity for the industries to ensure that the ground water gets recharged and the borewells do not run dry. The system is relatively inexpensive and the benefits are many. Water falling on the roof top is collected through channels, filtered and infiltration wells.

Water is a scarce resource and it needs to be treated with all the respect it deserves. Conservation, recovery and reuse must be practiced by all industries on a continuous basis to ensure availability of adequate quantity of fresh water for use. With the available technologies the fresh water consumption can be minimized and is not very much difficult. Future efforts must be to maximize recycling of water by adopting the latest technologies available.

(PIB Features.)

अमरीका में कामबंदी

राजनैतिक विरोध व अवरोध के कारण देश के वित्तीय परिदृश्य पर गतिरोध दिखना, अनोखी बात नहींहै। भारत में हम आए दिन देखते हैं कि एक बयान या निर्णय से किस प्रकार शेयर बाजार उठते-गिरते हैं और उसका सीधा असर अर्थव्यवस्था पर पड़ता है। अपने देश में पिछले कुछ अरसे से आर्थिक संकट हम देख ही रहे हैं। लेकिन जिस अमरीकी पूंजीवाद पर चलने की दबी-छिपी महत्वाकांक्षा हमारे कुछ अर्थशास्त्रियों, राजनेताओं की है, उसकी दशा भी हमसे बेहतर नहींहै, बल्कि उसे बदतर कहना अधिक सही होगा। वैश्विक मंदी के वक्त अमरीका की कमजोर अर्थनीतियों का परिणाम दुनिया ने देखा था। तब भी उसके प्रति मोहभंग नहींहुआ। अब एक बार फिर उसका वित्तीय खोखलापन सामने आया है, जिसके कारण उस पर दिवालिया होने की तलवार लटक रही है। मुमकिन है राजनैतिक चतुराई और छद्म नीतियों के कौशल से वह इस संकट से उबर जाए, लेकिन इससे यह कदापि नहींसमझना चाहिए कि उसकी आर्थिक बुनियाद मजबूत हो गई। सच्चाई यही है कि अमरीका आज विश्व के बड़े कर्जदारों में एक है, बस अपनी चौधराहट बनाए रखने के लिए वह दरवाजे पर हाथी बांध कर दुनिया को दिखाता रहता है।

अमरीका सरकार इस बार गंभीर संकट में फंसी है क्योंकि सत्तारूढ़ डेमोक्रेटिक पार्टी व रिपब्लिकन पार्टी के बीच सहमति न बन पाने के कारण सीनेट से तय समयसीमा के भीतर बजट को मंजूरी नहींमिल पायी। अमरीका में 30 सितम्बर की रात बारह बजे तक बजट को मंजूरी मिलने का वक्त था। पर रिपब्लिकन राष्ट्रपति बराक ओबामा के महत्वाकांक्षी स्वास्थ्य कानून, जिसे ओबामा केयर भी कहा जाता है, को मंजूरी देने तैयार नहींहुए। प्रतिनिधि सभा में रिपब्लिकन सदस्यों और सीनेट में उनके सहयोगियों की मांग है कि इस कानून को वापस लिया जाए, या इस पर होने वाले खर्च के लिए पैसे न दिए जाएं, तभी वे सरकारी खर्च के लिए बिल पारित करेंगे। चूंकि प्रतिनिधि सभा में रिपब्लिकन का बहुमत है, इसलिए सरकार बजट पारित नहींकरवा पायी। स्वास्थ्य कानून का अधिकांश हिस्सा 2010 में पारित हो चुका है, अमरीकी सुप्रीम कोर्ट से भी इसे मंजूरी मिल चुकी है और मंगलवार से यह कानून का रूप ले लेगा। बराक ओबामा के महत्वाकांक्षी निर्णयों में से यह एक है, इसलिए वे पीछे हटने तैयार नहींहैं। उधर रिपब्लिकन का मानना है कि यह नागरिकों के लिए महंगा और आर्थिक विकास के लिए बुरा है। सरकार और विपक्ष के बीच विरोध का परिणाम यह निकला कि 17 साल बाद अमरीका को कामबंदी का सामना करना पड़ रहा है। इससे पहले 1995 दिसम्बर में राष्ट्रपति बिल क्लिंटन के कार्यकाल में 28 दिनों की कामबंदी हुई थी। वर्तमान कामबंदी के चलते लगभग 7 लाख कर्मचारियों को अवैतनिक छुट्टी पर भेज दिया गया। इस दौरान वायु यातायात, राष्ट्रीय सुरक्षा और परमाणु हथियार व बिजली ये विभाग पूरी तरह काम बंदी से प्रभाव मुक्त रहेंगे। जबकि रक्षा, वाणिज्य, यातायात और ऊर्जा विभागों के कई कर्मचारियों को छुट्टी पर भेज दिया जाएगा। देश के 19 संग्रहालय, प्राणिउद्यान, कई स्मारक पूरी तरह बंद होंगे। वृध्दों को मिलने वाली सहायता राशि में देरी होगी, नए पासपोर्ट व वीजा जारी करने का काम पूरी तरह बंद रहेगा। इस बीच अगर समझौते की कोई सूरत बन गई, तो स्थिति जल्द से जल्द सामान्य करने की कोशिश की जाएगी। अगर अवरोध जारी रहा तो वित्तीय संकट के साथ-साथ कर्ज से उबरने का नया संकट अमरीका के सामने रहेगा। अमरीकी सरकार की कर्ज सीमा 17 अक्टूबर को समाप्त हो रही है। 16.7 खरब डालर के कर्ज लेने की समय सीमा मई में ही खत्म हो गई है। वित्त मंत्री जैक ल्यू हिसाब खातों में किसी न किसी तरह रास्ता निकाल कर देश के बिलों का भुगतान करते आ रहे हैं। लेकिन जब मूल धन ही न हो तो ऊपरी गुणा-भाग से कितने दिनों तक काम चलाया जा सकता है। अमरीकी कामबंदी व कर्ज संकट से यूरोजोन प्रभावित होगा ही, विश्व की बड़ी अर्थव्यवस्थाएं, जिनका अमरीका से नियमित कारोबार चलता है, उन पर भी विपरीत असर पड़ेगा। भारत उन्ही देशों में से एक है। जो भारतीय कंपनियां सीधे अमरीकी सरकार के लिए काम करती हैं, उन्हें भुगतान पाने में विलंब होगा और इसका व्यापक असर पड़ेगा। लाखों कर्मचारियों के बिना वेतन बैठे रहने से सामाजिक समस्याएं भी उत्पन्न हो सकती हैं, जिसका पहला निशाना अप्रवासी बनेंगे। 1976 से 2013 तक अमरीका 18 बार कामबंदी का सामना कर चुका है। लेकिन अधिकतर बार ऐसा सप्ताहांत पर हुआ और उससे अधिक अड़चन नहींआई। इस बार राजनैतिक संकट के साथ-साथ आर्थर्िक संकट भी गहरा है, देखना है कि यस वी कैन का मंत्र देने वाले बराक ओबामा अमरीका को इस संकट से निकाल सकते हैं या नहीं।

देशबन्धु

Mahatma Gandhi: An Ace Communicator

Mahatma Gandhi, “The Father of the Nation” is one of the greatest freedom fighter, a revolutionary social reformer and above all an ace communicator. Not only he held lofty principles but he effectively propagated his message among the masses by using the then existing media, mostly the print as well as through public meetings. Among his other qualities of leadership he was the best communicator. His distinguish quality was that he truthfully believed in the message and skillfully conveyed his philosophy which he himself also practiced. He sent his thoughts through the life by setting a personal example. His autobiography titled “My Experiments with Truth” narrates the actual life he lived and practised his principles for setting a personal example. This was also the secret of his success as a communicator.

More than anyone else, Mahatma Gandhi recognized that skillful communication is the most effective tool to shape public opinion and mobilize it for popular support. He was successful because he had a latent skill in communication that surfaced in South Africa where he started during 1903 “The Indian Opinion”. Gandhi’s journalism belonged to an era where there were no modern mass communication gadgets. He did make use of his mighty pen to convey his heart to millions of his followers and admirers across the globe.

Successful Media Use

After return to his motherland on January 9, 1913, he spearheaded the freedom struggle. Gandhiji did make best use of the nationalist press and his own journals: Young India, Navjeevan and other periodicals to reach the masses in every nook and corner of the country. He also knew that the secret of reaching out to the hearts of people living in the rural areas was through the age-old oral traditions as also public lectures, prayers meetings and padayatras (walks). He used all the available means of communication channels of the time to give a new direction to the national struggle and assumed the inspiring leadership on the national scenario and won the freedom through the unique technique of non-violence, Satyagraha, truthfulness.

Gandhiji never for a moment minimized the important role of newspapers (then radio was under the British Government control and the television channels were non-existent). He would scan through all the newspapers and reply suitably to any misrepresentation or distortion of facts. It is to his credit that he did use the traditional and modern media of communication with telling effect.

Trend-Setting Style

Gandhiji made his personality felt through the columns of Young India and other periodicals. The impending change was visible from the very beginning. He turned those into his “views papers” ventilating his point of view .The Young India sold more copies than the combined total circulation of several other newspapers in the country. There were not only new thoughts, simple but stylish language and a fresh air of fine quality of journalistic writings. It is a unique feature that Gandhiji had not been accepting advertisements for his periodicals and what is more, he had allowed his articles to be freely reproduced in most other newspapers in India or elsewhere.

Gandhiji proved that style was the master and his writings were complete departure from the one that was in practice. His English was biblical and he was meticulous about the use of proper words at the particular moment. Above all, his sentences were simple and lucid. In fact, he wrote from his heart and directed it to the hearts of his targeted readership. Gandhiji himself declared all his journals as ‘views papers” because all of them were organs of political and social movements which discussed with intensity and concentration the public problems.

Gandhian Era

Gandhiji, in fact, brought many new elements which introduced a free life in the field of journalism. Many of his followers were moved to write and publish in the Indian languages and regional journalism began to acquire an importance and there was hardly an area in the country that did not have its newspapers.

An effective communicator, Gandhiji was fearless and eloquent with his words. He reached out to millions of people and convinced them of his cause. Gandhiji was probably the greatest journalist of all time, and the weeklies he edited were probably the great example of weeklies of that period. He published no advertisements but the same time he did not let his newspapers run at a loss. He wrote simply and clearly but forcefully, with passion and burning indignation.

Indelible Imprints

“One of the objects of a newspaper, he said, is to understand the popular feeling and give expression to it, another is to arouse among the people certain desirable sentiments, and the third is fearlessly to expose popular defects”, Mahatma Gandhi has always stressed.

The Father of the Nation was not only one of the greatest freedom fighter with his unique technique of non-violence but was the best communicator who mobilized the public opinion for attainment of freedom. Gandhiji made optimal use of other channels of communication very efficiently and effectively as he had a rare knack of “inventing apt news events” to get the best coverage by the media. Mahatma Gandhi exercised his high moral values in his political life and practice of mass communication which stands out as a light house for all times to come.

(PIB Features)

Right To Reject :Indian Judiciary Guides To executive

Why the supreme Court in India had to go to instruct the Election Commission that it should incorporate the Right to Reject in the ballot paper. Its answer is not very far to seek as it is the executive that has failed continuously to respond to the wishes of the people.

When political parties and governance itself emphasize the narrow and vested interests then positive development of all types is hindered in complete manner. It is like gold itself becoming a thief and starts walking out of the box, who can protect the gold then, in similar fashion if governance pays no serious attention to achieve the best , who has the capacity to push it to go for the best.

Supreme Court has demonstrated that it has the capacity to reform the system when the undertakers are themselves have taken it for granted. India is a democratic society, Nehru was a democrat par excellence whose great advice was that we had to nurture it in sustained manner but successive governments failed to listen these dictum of transcendental values.

It must be appreciated that not only the Supreme Court , media too has played a crucial role in reforming the system. Media has highlighted the issue significantly if any particular social welfare decision is made by the apex court.

Executive had to be proactive but it limited itself to narrow boundaries , an usual and persistent disease prevailing in all the developing societies.

Supreme Court in India has brought many significant changes in the socio-politico milieu of the country. Its great decision on the Keshavananda Bharati case where it invented the concept of basic structure, decision on the asset declaration by the candidates on the petition of Common Cause in 2002, implementation of CNG based transportation in Delhi in 2002 and recent one on the tainted politicians and Right to Reject suggest that Judiciary has emerged as the main reformative institution rather than the political executives.

Right to Reject is a mechanism to restrict the bad people to enter the system. In the meantime Government is under pressure to withdraw the ordinance on the allowance of tainted politicians to enter the legislatures. Now this decision of Supreme Court has strengthened the people’s movement against the ordinance.

This may prove an important step in the containment of the proliferation of the criminalization of the politics, Vohra Committee report had discussed issue of criminalization but no serious attention was given to it. Now time seems to have arrived that criminalization of politics be stopped with sustained efforts by all concerned. Right to Reject may emerge an important tool in this respect.

Indian electoral system has constitutional basis. The political parties albeit have synchronized it according to their interests, mainly to gain the majority in the legislature. This leads to decline of the quality of the legislature and often promote the criminalization of the politics. The truth is that electoral system is faced with many challenges. Among which the election of the legislator is key issue. Political parties select those to contest the election who can win, often quality is sacrificed. Voters have limited options as individual voter has to elect the legislator among those which have been made available by the political parties.

A vast section of the citizens moreover is not analytical and carry the knowledge gap, is swayed over the partisan interests. These all factors lower the quality. As a consequence it has almost become difficult to find people like Nehru, Ambedkar, Lohia, Atal Bihari, Madhu Dandwate, Indrajit Gupta, Bhupesh Gupt inside the parliament.

This malaise is widespread. There are many eminent personalities in the country which should have been inside this great debating platform of democracy. T N Sheshan, Sumit Chakravorty, Dr. Anil Kumar Verma, Kiran Bedi, Sunita Narain,C Udai Bhaskar, Narendra Dabholkar [now dead] like people, who are not only expert in their domain of action but are also full of integrity and selfless should have been inside the legislature and frame the policies for the Indian society. There is no dearth of good people in the country, only need is that political parties as a whole should select these as their candidate in the election. Law making is a highly specialized art which requires a vast amount of knowledge, integrity, commitment to the great universal values and interests of the people at large. Hence the best of the country need to be included in this process.

Right to Reject gives a chance to the common citizens that they should exercise their freedom of speech and expression as mentioned in article 19 (1) (a) of Law of the Land. The citizens too need to realize that they have to work hard to improve their decision making power at the time of voting. If citizens are empowered intellectually and incorporate the critical power of the judgment, then the best can be elected. Citizens therefore have major role in deciding the quality of the electoral system thereby the quality of the democracy in the country.

Right to rejection is not a panacea to all the ills prevailing in the system but it has definitely opened an avenue for the reform of the system. Political parties need to know that they must move towards the reform of their electoral strategies otherwise Supreme Court will intervene time and again. In the similar way executive too need to understand that its commitment is towards the betterment of the Indian society in comprehensive manner, all other considerations subordinate to it. It must also learn to be proactive.

There is no doubt that Right to Reject may be an eye opener to all major stakeholders to the Indian democracy. All must keep in mind the words of Chief Justice Sathasivam that democracy is all about choices and voters will be empowered by this right of negative voting. Negative voting will send a clear signal to political parties and candidates as to what the voters think about them.

Dr. Vivek Kumar Srivastava

The three dangers to India

Very few policy makers in India dare to acknowledge the danger to the nation’s territorial integrity. The security and integrity of the nation has become hostage to vote-bank politics. Democracy and more than eight percent economic growth will be of no avail if the country as such withers away. India is not only being frayed at its borders by insurgencies, but its very writ in the heartland is becoming increasingly questionable. The rise of a nation is predicated upon unity, peace and stability, which are essentially determined by good governance.

The prevailing security scenario poses the serious question — Is India’s development and economic growth becoming unsustainable due to poor handling of the security? There are three dangers to the territorial integrity that bedevil the nation.

Danger-1

New Delhi and the state capitals have almost ceded the governmental control over 40 percent of the Union’s territory to the Naxalites. The Naxals’ are aided and abetted by the crime mafia that runs its operations in the same corridor from Nepal to Andhra Pradesh, as well as Maoists of Nepal who in turn receive covert support from other powers engaged/ interested in destabilizing India. The nexus between ULFA and Maoists in Nepal is well established. In a recent attack in Chhattisgarh, Maoists of India and Nepal were co-participants. There are also reports to suggest that Indian Maoists are increasingly taking to opium cultivation in areas under their control to finance their activities. The Maoists – crime – drug nexus is rather explosive.

Danger-2

The security forces, primarily the Indian Army, have held the state of Jammu and Kashmir physically since Independence. The politicians and the bureaucrats have contributed nothing to resolve the situation. The danger has since magnified many times as displayed by the presence of thousands of supporters of LET flying their flags in a recent rally of dissidents. Under the garb of peace overtures, heavily armed infiltrators with tacit support from the Pak Military-Intelligence establishment continue to make inroads into Kashmir. They are at present lying low, waiting for an opportune moment for vicious strikes on several fronts to undermine the Indian Union.

This ghost force reared its head in a recent rally organized by Geelani. Musharraf and his sympathizers in India are working in a highly synchronized fashion for demilitarization of the Valley. Simultaneously, there is an insidious campaign to malign the Indian Army on one pretext or the other as part of the psywar being waged by the ghost force under Islamabad’s directions.

After all the wars, export of terrorism, inconsistent and weak policies by New Delhi, Islamabad could not win Kashmir only because the Indian Army held its ground. If the ghost force succeeds in making locals rise against the Army, it will be an unprecedented achievement for Islamabad. The talk of demilitarization and the campaign to repeal Armed Forces Special Powers Act, are therefore merely ploys that aim to achieve the Kashmir objective even as Pak Military-Intelligence establishment expands its tentacles not only within the Valley but in other parts of India as well.

While the Pak dispensation talks of peace, terrorist cells are proliferating in the country including new frontiers in southern part of India. Islamic fundamentalism / terrorism footprints, as evidenced by Bangalore centered incidents, are too glaring to be ignored. Islamic terrorism in the garb of freedom fighting in Kashmir is therefore de-stabilizing the entire country. Islamabad is determined to use Kashmir as a gateway/ launching pad to rest of India.

Danger-3

Given a modicum of political will, Danger-I and II may still be manageable, however, Danger III to its territorial integrity in the Northeast may prove to be the most difficult. In fact the entire Northeast can easily be unhooked on multiple counts from the Union. First, these are low populated areas having contiguity with the most densely populated and demographically aggressive country in the world, i.e., Bangladesh. The country has also emerged as a major source of Islamic fundamentalism which impacts grievously on the Northeast. To add to these woes, New Delhi because of sheer vote-bank politics legitimized illegal migration for 22 years through the vehicle of IMDT. Many border districts now have a majority population constituting illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. In near future, this leverage will be used to create an internal upheaval against the Centre as in the case of the Valley. It’s a classic Islamic fundamentalist principle of asymmetric warfare. What cannot be achieved by conventional wars, can be done through infiltration and subsequently internal subversion. They call it “jehad!”

Second, the Northeast if not addressed appropriately could unhook from the Union before the Valley given the acute vulnerability of the Siliguri Corridor, which is merely 10 to 20 kilometer wide and 200 kilometers long. If this critical corridor is choked or subverted or severed by force, the Union of India will have to maintain the Northeast by air. With poor quality of governance for which the country is infamous, the local population may gravitate towards other regional powers.

Third, with China’s claim over Arunachal Pradesh becoming more strident, as evidenced by its recent stance on Tawang, the danger to the Siliguri Corridor stands enhanced. This corridor has been facing internal turmoil for many years. The area may well be further subverted by inimical regional powers. Chinese intention to bargain for Tawang to secure Tibet is deceptive. Subsequently, it would covet entire Arunachal Pradesh to protect Tawang. Chinese are known for expanding their areas of strategic interests with time unlike the Indians who are in a tearing hurry to convert Siachen Glacier into a “mountain of peace” or LOC into “line of peace” or equating Pakistan as an equal victim of terrorism.

It is a matter of grave concern that New Delhi is so prone to issue statements without thinking it through, as long as it appeases the adversary even temporarily. Therefore the Northeast – with the internal turmoil in the Siliguri Corridor, with low population surrounded by overpopulated Bangladesh exporting Islamic terrorism under tutelage of Islamabad, with China gaining influence in Nepal and Bangladesh and its upping the ante on Tawang – the danger to the region is grave. Manipur is a stark indicator. The insurgents have nearly weaned the state from the Indian Union. The writ of the Indian Union has ceased to operate; insurgents, compelling people to turn to South Korean music and films, ban Hindi music and films.

New Delhi continues to fiddle while the Northeast burns which in turn poses a grave problem to the territorial integrity of the Union of India. The world once again is getting polarized into two camps after the end of the Cold War – democracies and authoritarian regimes of all hues, which includes Islamists, Communists, and the Maoists. Their perspectives are totally totalitarian. Therefore with China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Nepal (Maoists), being neighbours, the danger to the Indian territorial integrity stands enhanced.

http://www.indiandefencereview.com/

Why India should Deploy Dedicated Defence Satellites?

The successful launch of India’s advanced communications spacecraft, GSAT-7 by means of an Ariane-5 vehicle of the European space transportation company, Arianespace, on August 30 has come as a shot in the arm for the Indian defence set up. For this 2,550-kg multi band satellite designed and developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will serve as an exclusive satellite of the Indian Navy, the youngest of the Indian services. The significance of GSAT-7 lies in the fact that it is the first dedicated military satellite that India has put in place. As envisaged now, the safe and reliable communication channels provided by GSAT-7 satellite, will help the Indian Navy strengthen its blue water combat capabilities in all its manifestations. With its 2000 nautical miles footprint over the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), GSAT -7 will help Indian Navy network all its 140 warships, 13 submarines and 200 aircraft along with its ground based “resources and assets.” Specifically, GSAT-7 will serve as a “force multiplier” by sharpening Indian Navy’s edge in terms of network centric operations. On another front, it will provide the Indian Navy the necessary level of expertise for its seamless integration into the tri service aerospace command, the formation of which is awaiting clearance from the Government of India. More importantly, the robust communications link up facilitated by GSAT-7 will substantially enhance India’s maritime security over a wide swath of eastern and western flanks of IOR. GSAT-7 communications space platform is well equipped to serve as a “sensitive command post” in space over IOR and help transform the entire maritime domain awareness of the Indian Navy.

With a view to boost its striking punch and also expand its area of influence, Indian Navy is working on a well conceived strategy to link up its long range missiles, radars and air defence systems on all the sea based assets to a central room through a highly reliable satellite network made available by GSAT-7. The synergy between combat platforms moving in the high seas of the world with the land based nodes through GSAT-7 capability would help bring about a radical shift in the operational strategy of the Indian Navy .There is no denying the fact that a satellite based communications network is immune to many of the “deficiencies and limitations” associated with a conventional communications system. As a follow up to GSAT-7, it is planned to launch GSAT-7A for the exclusive use of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

Meanwhile, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has revealed that in the years ahead it is planned to launch a range of dedicated military satellites for the exclusive use of the three wings of the services. Clearly and apparently, there is a growing realization that satellites could serve as “ears” and “eyes” of the defence forces on the lookout for a strategic lead. Of course, ISRO has maintained a stoic silence over the use of GSAT-7 by the Indian Navy. For being a civilian space agency, ISRO cannot openly associate itself with a space defence project. GSAT-7, which is the last of ISRO’s seven fourth generation communications satellites, would provide a substantial level of expertise for the optimum utilization of military oriented space platforms that India will launch in the years ahead.

By all means, the Indian Navy is keen on acquiring a range of spacecraft meant for a variety of end uses. For the tech savvy Indian Navy is fully well aware that ocean watch satellites snooping on the naval movements, electronic ferret satellites gathering data on radio frequencies, meteorological satellites predicting weather to facilitate an effective use of the weapons systems, navigation satellites guiding lethal weapons to designated locations with an unfailing accuracy, reconnaissance satellites providing vital data on the strength of the potential adversaries and the communications satellites ensuring a real time link up for the effective use of the resources have all become vital components in the mechanism of the modern day warfare. But then for now, GSAT-7 located over the Indian Ocean will enable Indian Navy to stand up to the expanding Chinese influence in the IOR. As strategic analysts observe, with China beefing up its presence in the Indian neighbourhood including Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Maldives through its much hyped “string of pearls” strategy, India should make vigorous efforts to realize a versatile, robust satellite based surveillance network designed to enable Indian Navy enhance its vigil in the Indian Ocean Region with the objective of warding off any threat to the Indian mainland.

Indeed, not long back, Dr.V.K.Saraswat, the former Scientific Adviser to the Indian Defence Minister had rued the fact that the tremendous strides made by India in space exploration has not gone to fill the gap in India’s capability to create space assets designed to help Indian defence forces meet the challenges of the future. According to him, in a futuristic battlefield scenario, successful operations of the defence forces on the ground, sea and air would depend on how efficiently space resources are exploited. Any denial of access to space would mean a clear cut set back to military operations at all levels. As such, ensuring the security of space assets too has assumed more than usual importance.

Space based assets are also critical to the flawless functioning of the Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) shield being put in place by DRDO. Indeed, in the context of rapidly changing global security scenario, the need for a range of satellites equipped with electro optical sensors and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) for early warning and other strategic purposes has become all the more pronounced. Currently, Indian defence forces have a limited access to the INSAT communications and IRS earth observation spacecraft constellations being operated by ISRO. But with the possibility of fighting a battle on the two fronts being very much on the cards, Indian defence forces are clearly in need of a wide variety of dedicated satellites to stay at the winning edge of the war.

But then ISRO’s civilian mandate and nature of operations focused on exploiting the fruits of space technology for the socio-economic development of the country, could act as a significant check on the attempt of the Indian defence establishment to involve the Indian space agency in a big way in realizing a resurgent space defence capability. However, technology developed by ISRO for its satellites meant for earth observation, communication and other end uses could well serve as a test bed for future military space projects. In the context of the efforts to revive the spectre of space war, as highlighted by the Chinese and American moves, India’s political leadership should seriously consider the issue of giving a military edge to India’s exclusive civilian space programme. Not surprisingly then , strategic analysts hold the view that launch by ISRO of increasingly capable, higher resolution earth imaging satellites has implications for surveillance and reconnaissance. The Cartosat series of satellites though designed for cartographic applications can be exploited to meet a part of the requirements of the Indian defence forces. But then there is no denying the point that Cartosat series of satellites fall short of the 10-15 cm resolution featured by the best of the defence satellites.

The launch of the 300-kg RISAT-II all weather microwave imaging satellite realized by ISRO in association with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) in April 2009 did give a new edge to the surveillance capabilities of the Indian defence forces. In fact, RISAT-II was built and launched on a fast track mode to meet the challenges posed by the growing terrorist threat to the country and heighten vigil along the Indo-Pakistan border. Equipped with a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), RISAT-II is an all weather satellite capable of collecting data even under conditions of cloud, darkness, haze and dust. The fully home grown RISAT-1 satellite launched in April 2011 can easily complement the surveillance capabilities inherent in RISAT-II. The all weather microwave earth imaging satellites like RISAT-1 and RISAT-II would give early warning about any kind of troop build up and terrorist camps. Indian defence forces can access the remote sensing satellite capability built up by ISRO for meeting a part of their surveillance requirements, as remote sensing and surveillance are considered the two faces of the same coin.

The satellite intelligence capability is expected to provide Indian military planners, tactical and strategic information on military build up in China and Pakistan. The Hyderabad based Defence Electronics Research Laboratory (DLRL) of DRDO has hinted at developing an electronic intelligence satellite for the exclusive use of the Indian defence forces. This satellite would be capable to intercepting radar communications and satphone conversations of the adversaries .The glaring intelligence failure suffered by the Indian Army during 1999 Kargil skirmish with Pakistan has strengthened the urge of the Indian defence establishment to go in for space assets at an accelerated pace.

Clearly and apparently, the limited capability of ISRO in building and launching satellites could be a big hurdle in the way of helping the Indian defence establishment to meet their needs for “space assets”. Moreover, with the Indian industrial base lacking in resources and expertise to build satellites and launch vehicles on a turnkey basis, the Indian defence forces may find it difficult to get the kind of space platforms delivered into orbit well on time. However, a synergy between the technologies developed by ISRO and DRDO could prove a win win development for putting in place a platform for developing and launching a range of defence satellites. Indeed, in early 2010, DRDO had emphasized on a comprehensive Indian space defence capability on the strength of technological advances made by DRDO and ISRO. However, the road map for the building up of defence space capability of the country is far from clear. In particular, enough focus should be given to the institutional support mechanism for meeting the Indian defence forces’ rapidly growing needs of high performance defence satellites.

Of course, Indian industries continue to support the Indian space program by way of the supply of components and systems and hardware for satellites and launch vehicles. In sharp contrast, in US and West Europe, private industrial outfits have built up a technological and manufacturing base resurgent enough to supply both the satellites and launch vehicles in a ready to use condition. Against this backdrop, it may be appropriate to set up a high powered space defence agency authorized to pool the resources, expertise, talent and infrastructure available in the country-cutting across the private-public sector barriers for realizing the space based assets for the exclusive use of defence forces on a fast track mode with least bureaucratic interference.

The Indian Defence Ministry‘s “Technology Perspective and Capability Roadmap” till 2025 has identified space warfare as a priority area. The concept of integrated warfare and the need for reducing the “sensor to shooter loop” underpins the need for a totally radical approach focussed on “battlefield dynamics” with system capable of making available information on real time basis to all the three wings of the services. The roadmap of the Indian Defence Ministry identifies in unambiguous terms, the development of an anti satellite capability based on “electronics or physical destruction of satellites in both low and geostationary orbits.”

The launch of India’s first full fledged navigation satellite IRNSS-1A on July 2 is a development that could positively impact on the battlefield strategy of the Indian defence forces. IRNSS-1A, the first of the seven spacecraft constituting the space segment of the home-grown Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), would provide the Indian defence forces a robust system for location identification and navigational support for combat aircraft as well as for combat platforms on land and sea. For the defence forces in the thick of the battle field operations, a GPS system like IRNSS enables locating objects in the dark and paves way for the coordination of the troop movements even in hitherto unfamiliar territory in addition to facilitating reconnaissance as well as search and rescue operations. For the Indian defence forces which had difficult times accessing the “restricted capability” of the US GPS system, IRNSS would provide hassle free, uninterrupted access to the satellite navigational capabilities.

Indeed the stunning effectiveness of the American GPS was demonstrated during the ‘Desert Storm’ operations of 1990-91 that was aimed at freeing Kuwait from the clutches of the invading forces from the neighbouring Iraq. Here the potentials of the American GPS was mainly pressed into service to guide bombers to targets, allow infantry and armoured units to locate their bases in frightening, featureless expanse of the desert and position artillery in a war zone ideally suited to fire at enemy lines apart from precisely navigating missiles to chosen targets. The US-led allied forces during their operations in both Afghanistan and Iraq relied heavily on satellite based navigation with hand held portable GPS devices to realize their strategic goals at a rapid pace.

By all means, GPS is considered a veritable force multiplier by the defence forces in the battlefield. Moreover, it has also been instrumental in shaping the contours of the precision warfare. For the Indian defence forces, the IRNSS system capabilities will be of immense use in refining the network centric warfare techniques. Similarly, the proposed Indian tri service aerospace command would need a large and independent satellite navigation capability that can be accessed anytime to boost its combat superiority. Indeed, for the Indian tri service aerospace command, access to GPS along with other satellites meant for communications, surveillance and weather watch would mean a quantum leap in meeting the challenges of the future warfare with confidence.

For India, there is an imminent need to develop a robust system to protect space assets that are critical to every aspect of military operations on the ground, in the air and on the sea. DRDO has hinted that it is working on putting in place the building blocks of an Indian anti satellite system to neutralize hostile satellites moving in low earth and polar orbits. The focus of DRDO would be on laser based sensors and exo atmospheric killer vehicle (EKV), the technology of which could be derived from its missile development programme. As it is, the technologies developed for India’s long range, nuke capable Agni-V missile which had its second successful test flight on Sept.16 could be profitably exploited for boosting India’s space defence and space warfare capabilities.

It was the early 2007 Chinese test that made use of a ground based medium range ballistic missile to smash an ageing weather watch satellite stationed at an altitude of 537-kms above the earth that sent shock waves through the Indian defence establishment. Subsequently, there was a strident clamour to develop a full fledged Indian space war capability along with a range of dedicated defence satellites. And the modest effort now on in this direction seems to be a response to Chinese strides in space defence capability. In realizing the military space capability, India should look beyond the Chinese threat by taking into account the global advances in the area of satellite technology and space warfare techniques.