National

Bengaluru: A deputy commissioner in Karnataka, S Sasikanth Senthil, resigned from the Indian Administrative Service on Friday, saying in a letter that the "fundamental building blocks of democracy are being compromised in an unprecedented manner". He was the Dakshina Kannada district deputy commissioner.

"It simply cannot be business as usual anymore," writes the bureaucrat, apologising to the people for "discontinuing the job".

Senthil said it was a personal decision, but in the letter, he writes that it is "unethical" for him to continue as a civil servant in the government when the "fundamental building blocks of democracy are being compromised in an unprecedented manner".

"I also feel strongly that the coming days will present extremely difficult challenges to the basic fabric of our nation and that I would be better off outside the IAS to continue with my work at making life better for all," he writes.

 Senthil is a 2009 batch Karnataka cadre officer, he had taken charge in Dakshina Kannda two years ago.

His resignation comes days after a 2012 batch officer, Kannan Gopinathan, also an IAS, resigned from the Dadra and Nagar Haveli administration. The 33-year-old bureaucrat quit on August 21 to protest what he claimed was the denial of fundamental rights to lakhs of people in Jammu and Kashmir.
Mr Gopinathan has rejected the centre's claim that the security restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir were meant to prevent deaths due to violent reprisals, saying that life holds no meaning to a human being without the right to liberty.

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New Delhi: Former finance minister P Chidambaram has been sent to Tihar jail till Sept 19 in the INX Media case after Delhi Court rejected his request to free him on bail. To keep Chidambaram out of Tihar jail , his legal team in their ultimate attempt tried to convince the judge by offering his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) which could take him into custody to question him.

It was an offer high on symbolism, particularly since the Supreme Court had already rejected his request for pre-arrest bail in the INX Media case being investigated by the ED.

With the top court’s order in its favour, the ED can arrest him any time. But the ED has decided against making its move today. That left Special Judge Ajay Kumar Kuhar with only two options: Either release Chidambaram on bail or remand him in judicial custody.

Judge Kuhar ruled in favour of sending him to Tihar.

Bengaluru : The Chandrayaan 2 mission to land an Indian lander and rover on the moon's surface has been spectacularly successful launch since its launch on 22 July. As of 6 September, the spacecraft's landing module (a composite of the lunar lander Vikram, and rover Pragyan) separated and entered independent orbits around the moon.

In the week leading up to the landing, ISRO carried out four successful in-orbit manoeuvres to bring the landing module closer it the moon's surface for its powered descent and landing. 

If everything goes smoothly, the Vikram lander is scheduled to begin its descent at 1.40 am IST on 7 September. The propulsion system of the lander will play an important task here, breaking the velocity of the lander in a controlled fashion. The engines will be shut off well before the spacecraft touches the moon's surface.

From the 30 km orbit the lander will use till the landing is a 15-minute window of "terror", This 15-minute flight is one that ISRO has never attempted before, making Chandrayaan 2 the most complex mission ISRO has ever undertaken, in the view of ISRO's Chairman Dr K Sivan 

In the final seconds before landing, the Vikram lander will be assisted only by the moon's gravity and not the spacecraft's thrusters. This move will help the lander avoid the mini-plume of lunar dust from covering the lander — and more importantly, its solar panels. You can watch the same  live on DD National or ISRO's youtube channel at 1 am on September 7. 

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said India will walk shoulder-to-shoulder with Russia in its development of the Far East and announced a $1 billion line of credit for the development of the resource-rich region.

Addressing the plenary session of the 5th Eastern Economic Forum here,  PM Modi said the friendship between India and Russia was not restricted to governmental interactions in capital cities, but was about people and close business relations.

“India’s connection to Russia’s Far East go back a long way. India was the first country to open a Consulate in Vladivostok,” he said.

“For the development of Far East, India will give line of credit worth USD 1 billion. My government has actively engaged East Asia as part of its ‘Act East’ policy. I firmly believe that today’s announcement will add a new dimension to the economic diplomacy of the two countries,” PM Modi said at a packed house in Vladivostok.

The Prime Minister, in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, also unveiled the “Act Far East” policy to boost India’s engagement with Russia’s Far East region.