Science & Technology

New Delhi, Dec 29 (PTI) The Indian population is a result of four major migrations, including that of the Aryans, into the country in prehistoric times, says a new book.

"Early Indians: The Story of Our Ancestors and Where We Came From" looks at how and when modern humans first arrived in India; what evidence they left behind; who their descendants are today; who else followed them as migrants to this land; how and when farming started and the world's largest civilisation of its time was built; when and why this civilisation declined; and what happened next.

New Delhi, Dec 28 (PTI) The Union Cabinet Friday approved the Gaganyaan project under which a three-member crew will be sent to space for at least seven days, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

The project will cost Rs 10,000 crore, he said at a press conference here.

The Gaganyaan project was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech.

He had said the mission will be undertaken by 2022.

India has already inked agreements with Russia and France for assistance in the ambitious project.

New Delhi, Dec 27(PTI) Train 18, India's fastest train, will begin operations in January 2019 at a curtailed speed of 130 kmph, sources said Thursday.

Train 18, which is set to replace the Shatabdi series, has the potential to run between 160 kmph to 200 kmph. At trials, it breached the 180-kmph mark.

TIANJIN, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- Haiyan, a Chinese underwater glider, has set a new endurance record after working for 141 days and sailing 3,619.6 km in the South China Sea, said the developer.

Codenamed Haiyan, which means storm petrel in Chinese, the long-distance glider completed the test in November, renewing its former record of continuously sailing 2,272.4 km over 119 days in the northern part of the South China Sea in the first half of the year, said the program team from the Tianjin University on Wednesday.

Moscow, Dec 26 (AFP) Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday hailed final tests of a hypersonic missile, which he earlier said would render existing missile defence systems obsolete.

"On my instructions, the Ministry of Defence prepared and conducted a final test of this system. This has just been completed with absolute success," Putin said during a televised meeting with members of the government.

MOSCOW, December 25. /TASS/. Russia has launched the underwater trials of the Poseidon nuclear-capable strategic drone whose development was unveiled by Russian President Vladimir Putin in his state-of-the-nation address to both houses of the Russian parliament, a source in the domestic defense industry told TASS on Tuesday.

"In the sea area protected from a potential enemy’s reconnaissance means, the underwater trials of the nuclear propulsion unit of the Poseidon drone are underway," the source said.

Beijing, Dec 22; PTI: China on Saturday launched its first communication satellite to provide broadband internet services worldwide in an apparent bid to rival Google and other international firms.

The satellite was launched from a Long March 11 carrier rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in north-western China and is the first in the Hongyun project planned by China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp (CASIC).

Balasore (Odisha), Dec 23; PTI: India on Sunday   successfully test-fired its nuclear-capable long-range ballistic missile Agni-IV, with a strike range of 4,000 km, as part of a user trial by the Army.

The strategic surface-to-surface missile was flight tested from launch complex-4 of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Dr Abdul Kalam Island, earlier known as Wheeler Island, at about 8.35 am, defence sources said.

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- Autonomous car startup Zoox Inc. on Friday became the first firm in California to transport passengers in self-driving vehicles on public roads in the U.S. state of California, state transport regulators said.

The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) said in a statement that it has authorized Zoox to "participate in California's first pilot program providing 'drivered' autonomous vehicle passenger service to the public."

JIUQUAN, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- China launched a tech-experimental satellite as part of the Hongyun Project, a low-orbit broadband communication satellite system on Saturday morning.

A Long March-11 rocket carrying the experimental satellite blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 7：51 a.m.. It successfully entered its preset orbit.