Instead of focussing on the timing of the Shakti Mission, it is important to appreciate India’s technological advancement and the capabilities developed in the segment of space-warfare. The sentiment of pride exhibited by the Prime Minister highlights the importance of the feat achieved. The low-earth orbit where the Indian ASAT hit its target, is essentially in a range where most earth-observation, navigation, weather/path-finder, spy and other military-use satellites operate. A strong political-will in conjunction with a successful test on all parameters has allowed India to join the elite club of space-superpowers. It is prudent to continually improve in the area of space-research and invest in R&D initiatives.
Girish Lalwani
New Delhi
When countries such as Russia, the US and China have been racing ahead in developing advanced space weapons over the decades, India cannot afford to lag behind and argue in the international forums against weaponisation of outer space.
While taking pride over the successful anti-satellite weapon test that built upon our already demonstrated missile defence systems, we cannot be oblivious to the imperative need to usher in measures to meet our growing security challenges in the outer space environment. Concrete steps towards the development of effective defence structures to manage the emerging defence threats brooks no delay.
M Jeyaram
Sholavandan, TN
Regulatory oversight
On Tuesday, a Boeing 737 MAX had to make an emergency landing in Orlando after facing engine trouble. Read with the two earlier fatal crashes of MAX aircraft, it points to poor regulatory review by the empowered oversight institution.
Worse, the Federal Aviation Administration seems to have vested critical aspects of safety certification to Boeing itself that stood to benefit by a speedy approval. That included a new automated flight control system — Manoeuvring Characteristics Augmentation System — that existing 737 pilots didn’t even know existed. It is evident that the FAA had set greater store by the Boeing brand name than on its own clearly set out responsibility check-list.
R Narayanan
Navi Mumbai
Jet rescue act
While the exit of Naresh Goyal and Anita Goyal from Jet Airways signals the start of a rescue act to save the airline, whether the lenders succeed in finding a buyer remains to be seen. It appears that the action taken by banks in reviving the airline has been a little too hasty, because if no buyer is found the job of rescuing the airline falls completely on the banks, which have already committed to fresh funds of ₹1,500 crore. In the normal course, the airline would have been dragged to bankruptcy court for a resolution. But in this case the government seems to have made the lenders accept the proposal. But the fact remains that banks are ill-suited to run an airline as it is not their core function. Also, this would become a precedent for other defaulters to stay out of the tentacles of the IBC.
TSN Rao
Bheemavaram AP
L&T bid for Mindtree
This is with reference to ‘Takeover drama’ (March 28). While one agrees with the view that Mindtree’s public shareholders are the only entities who should be taking a call on the merits of this offer, the approach being taken by L&T to gobble up Mindtree doesn’t seem justified. It is a lazy move, unlike the organic growth path adopted by the bigwigs of the Indian IT industry.
We need to consider how the other major IT players in India have grown. None of the top guns — TCS, Infosys, Wipro or HCL — has tried to take over another Indian IT company. And there is a solid reason for that approach.
If we analyse the Indian IT industry, all the major players have more or less the same talent pool; their people, processes, and technology are of equal strength. Hence, these companies see no advantage nor strength in gobbling up another Indian IT company.
Murthy CNSK
Bengaluru
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