The Evening Wrap: ISRO successfully launches INSAT-3DS meteorological satellite

The GSLV-F14 carrying INSAT-3D meteorological satellite was successfully launched on Saturday from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. About 18 minutes after the lift-off from the spaceport’s second launchpad, the GSLV-F14 deployed the INSAT-3DS into the intended geosynchronous transfer orbit. “The spacecraft has been injected into a very good orbit. The injection conditions were as expected and we also noted that the vehicle has performed very, very well,” ISRO Chairman S. Somanath said. The INSAT-3DS satellite is a follow-on mission of the third generation meteorological satellite from geostationary orbit. The satellite is an exclusive mission designed for enhanced meteorological observations, monitoring of land and ocean surfaces for weather forecasting, and disaster warning. The INSAT-3DS satellite will augment meteorological services along with the presently operational INSAT-3D and INSAT-3DR in-orbit satellites. The primary objectives of the mission are to monitor Earth’s surface, carry out oceanic observations and its environment in various spectral channels of meteorological importance, provide the vertical profile of various meteorological parameters of the atmosphere, provide data collection and dissemination capabilities from data collection platforms, and provide satellite-aided search and rescue services. Lauding Modi, Nadda asks BJP workers to ensure ‘hat trick, record-breaking win’ in Lok Sabha election BJP president J.P. Nadda on Saturday emphasised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership for the party’s rise since he took office, urging party men to ensure the Modi government scored a hat trick of victories in the upcoming Lok Sabha election, “with record-breaking numbers”. He was delivering the inaugural address at the BJP’s national council meeting in New Delhi over the weekend, with nearly 12,000 delegates present from all over the country. Mr. Nadda’s speech, which was interspersed with delegates chanting “Modi hai toh mumkin hai” (Modi makes everything possible) and “Jai Shri Ram”, and cheers over the women’s reservation Bill, not only talked of the government’s work in terms of development and welfare, but also the growth the party has seen since Mr. Modi’s ascent on the national political stage in 2013. Coining a new acronym, ‘GYAN’ (knowledge), which he broke down as “Gareeb” (poor), “Yuva” (youth), “Annadata” (farmer) and “Nari” (women), Mr. Nadda said that Mr. Modi had broken the “Opposition-built silos of vote bank politics” and worked for these sections regardless of caste and community. In his speech, Mr. Nadda noted that the BJP had ruled in only around five States before Mr. Modi’s rise in 2014 and the party was is in power in 12 States now, with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in power in 17 States. The BJP retained power for a second term in Uttar Pradesh with a big win in 2022, and broke the trend of alternating wins in Uttarakhand, and had recently won Assembly elections in three States — Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan — when many thought it improbable, he said. In West Bengal, the BJP had risen from 10% votes and three seats to 38.5% and 77 seats in the 2021 Assembly election, Mr. Nadda said, asserting that the party would come to power in the State next time. Ahead of the meeting, Prime Minister Modi told BJP office-bearers that winning 370 seats in the next Lok Sabha election, a figure he had mentioned in his speech in Parliament more than a week ago “will be a true tribute to Syama Prasad Mookerjee”, the Jan Sangh founder who was resolutely against Article 370. PM Modi added that the party’s candidate in each seat would be “kamal ka phool” (the lotus flower - the party’s symbol) and not any individual face. The BJP’s national office-bearers were also told by Prime Minister Modi his speech that every booth worker “should now focus on polling booths and ensure at least 370 more votes for the party at each” in the upcoming election compared to that in 2019. ‘I would inform you first’: Kamal Nath on speculation over switch to BJP Senior Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath arrived in the national capital Saturday afternoon amid speculation that he could cross over to the BJP. He said if there would be any such thing, he would inform the media first. In his brief interaction with reporters, he told that he would inform the media if he made any such decision. Asked if he is joining the BJP, Mr. Nath said, “If there would be any such thing, I would inform you first.” When a reporter asked if he was not denying a possible switch, he said, “It is not about denying, you are saying this, you people are getting excited. I am not getting excited, this side or that side, but if there would be any such thing, I would inform you first.” Though speculations about Mr. Nath’s shift have been going on for the last few days, they got a fresh boost on Feb. 16 when State BJP president VD Sharma said Mr. Nath and his son are welcome in the BJP if they are unhappy with Congress’ decision to boycott the Ram mandir consecration event held in Ayodhya. “Kamal Nath and his son are welcome in BJP if they are unhappy with their party’s decision to boycott the Ram Temple inauguration last month and if they want to join the saffron party to serve the country and society under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi,” Mr. Sharma told reporters. Over the past few days, Mr. Nath had been on a tour of his bastion Chhindwara, from where he had been an MP for nine terms. His son Nakul Nath won the seat in the 2019 polls, even as the BJP swept the remaining 28 seats in the State. Interestingly, Mr. Nakul Nath has dropped Congress from his bio on social media and his bio now identifies him only as a Member of Parliament, Chhindwara (MP). This move has added fuel to rumours swirling for the last few days that he, along with his father, are defecting to the BJP. Asked about the speculation that Mr. Nath could cross over to the BJP, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said in Jabalpur earlier in the day, “I spoke to Kamal Nath at 10.30 pm yesterday, he is in Chhindwara.... A person who started his political journey and stood with the Nehru-Gandhi family when Indira Gandhi was sent to jail by the Janata party, do you think such a person will ever leave Congress and the Gandhi family?” Alexei Navalny’s team confirms death, says his mother is searching for his body Alexei Navalny’s spokesperson has confirmed that the Russian Opposition leader had died at a remote Arctic penal colony, and said he was “murdered,” but it is unclear where his body is. An official note handed to Mr. Navalny’s mother stated that he died at 2:17 p.m. local time on Feb. 16, Kira Yarmysh said. She added that an employee of the prison colony said that Mr. Navalny’s body was taken to the nearby city of Salekhard as part of a probe into his death. She demanded that his body be handed over to his family. When a lawyer and Mr. Navalny’s mother visited the morgue in Salekhard, it was closed, his team said, writing on their Telegram channel. The lawyer called the morgue and was told that Mr. Navalny’s body was not there, his team said. “We demand that Alexey Navalny’s body be handed over to his family immediately,” Ms. Yarmysh wrote on X. The cause and the circumstances of Mr. Navalny’s death remain largely unclear. Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service reported that Mr. Navalny felt sick after a walk and became unconscious at the penal colony in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenets region about 1,900 km northeast of Moscow. An ambulance arrived, but he couldn’t be revived. The cause of death is still “being established,” it said. Maria Pevchikh, head of the board of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, said that the opposition leader would “live on forever in millions of hearts.” “Navalny was murdered. We still don’t know how we’ll keep on living, but together, we’ll think of something,” she wrote on X. Arrests continued on Feb. 17 after more than 100 people were detained in various Russian cities when they came to lay flowers in memory of Mr. Navalny at memorials to the victims of Soviet-era purges, according to OVD-Info, a group that monitors political repression in Russia. The tributes were removed overnight, but people continued trickling in with flowers on Saturday. In Moscow, a large group of people chanted “shame” as police dragged a screaming woman from the crowd, a video shared on social media showed. More than 10 people were detained at a memorial in St. Petersburg, including a priest who came to conduct a service for Mr. Navalny there. In other cities across the country, police cordoned off some of the memorials and officers were taking pictures of those who came and writing down their personal data in a clear intimidation attempt. In brief Renowned Urdu poet Gulzar and Sanskrit scholar Jagadguru Rambhadracharya have been named the recipients of the 58th Jnanpith Award, the Jnanpith selection committee announced on Saturday. Gulzar is known for his works in Hindi cinema and is considered one of the finest Urdu poets of this era. He has earlier received Sahitya Akademi Award for Urdu in 2002, Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2013, Padma Bhushan in 2004, and at least five National Film awards for his works. Rambhadracharya, the founder and head of Tulsi Peeth in Chitrakoot, is a renowned Hindu spiritual leader, educator and writer of more than 100 books. Evening Wrap will return tomorrow. [logo] The Evening Wrap 17 February 2024 [The Hindu logo] Welcome to the Evening Wrap newsletter, your guide to the day’s biggest stories with concise analysis from The Hindu. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( ISRO successfully launches INSAT-3DS meteorological satellite The GSLV-F14 carrying [INSAT-3D meteorological satellite was successfully launched]( on Saturday from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. About 18 minutes after the lift-off from the spaceport’s second launchpad, the GSLV-F14 deployed the INSAT-3DS into the intended geosynchronous transfer orbit. “The spacecraft has been injected into a very good orbit. The injection conditions were as expected and we also noted that the vehicle has performed very, very well,” ISRO Chairman S. Somanath said. The INSAT-3DS satellite is a follow-on mission of the third generation meteorological satellite from geostationary orbit. The satellite is an exclusive mission designed for enhanced meteorological observations, monitoring of land and ocean surfaces for weather forecasting, and disaster warning. The INSAT-3DS satellite will augment meteorological services along with the presently operational INSAT-3D and INSAT-3DR in-orbit satellites. The primary objectives of the mission are to monitor Earth’s surface, carry out oceanic observations and its environment in various spectral channels of meteorological importance, provide the vertical profile of various meteorological parameters of the atmosphere, provide data collection and dissemination capabilities from data collection platforms, and provide satellite-aided search and rescue services. Lauding Modi, Nadda asks BJP workers to ensure ‘hat trick, record-breaking win’ in Lok Sabha election BJP president J.P. Nadda on Saturday emphasised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership for the party’s rise since he took office, [urging party men to ensure the Modi government scored a hat trick of victories]( in the upcoming Lok Sabha election, “with record-breaking numbers”. He was delivering the inaugural address at the BJP’s national council meeting in New Delhi over the weekend, with nearly 12,000 delegates present from all over the country. Mr. Nadda’s speech, which was interspersed with delegates chanting “Modi hai toh mumkin hai” (Modi makes everything possible) and “Jai Shri Ram”, and cheers over the women’s reservation Bill, not only talked of the government’s work in terms of development and welfare, but also the growth the party has seen since Mr. Modi’s ascent on the national political stage in 2013. Coining a new acronym, ‘GYAN’ (knowledge), which he broke down as “Gareeb” (poor), “Yuva” (youth), “Annadata” (farmer) and “Nari” (women), Mr. Nadda said that Mr. Modi had broken the “Opposition-built silos of vote bank politics” and worked for these sections regardless of caste and community. In his speech, Mr. Nadda noted that the BJP had ruled in only around five States before Mr. Modi’s rise in 2014 and the party was is in power in 12 States now, with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in power in 17 States. The BJP retained power for a second term in Uttar Pradesh with a big win in 2022, and broke the trend of alternating wins in Uttarakhand, and had recently won Assembly elections in three States — Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan — when many thought it improbable, he said. In West Bengal, the BJP had risen from 10% votes and three seats to 38.5% and 77 seats in the 2021 Assembly election, Mr. Nadda said, asserting that the party would come to power in the State next time. Ahead of the meeting, [Prime Minister Modi told BJP office-bearers]( that winning 370 seats in the next Lok Sabha election, a figure he had mentioned in his speech in Parliament more than a week ago “will be a true tribute to Syama Prasad Mookerjee”, the Jan Sangh founder who was resolutely against Article 370. PM Modi added that the party’s candidate in each seat would be “kamal ka phool” (the lotus flower - the party’s symbol) and not any individual face. The BJP’s national office-bearers were also told by Prime Minister Modi his speech that every booth worker “should now focus on polling booths and ensure at least 370 more votes for the party at each” in the upcoming election compared to that in 2019. ‘I would inform you first’: Kamal Nath on speculation over switch to BJP Senior Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath arrived in the national capital Saturday afternoon amid [speculation that he could cross over to the BJP](. He said if there would be any such thing, he would inform the media first. In his brief interaction with reporters, he told that he would inform the media if he made any such decision. Asked if he is joining the BJP, Mr. Nath said, “If there would be any such thing, I would inform you first.” When a reporter asked if he was not denying a possible switch, he said, “It is not about denying, you are saying this, you people are getting excited. I am not getting excited, this side or that side, but if there would be any such thing, I would inform you first.” Though speculations about Mr. Nath’s shift have been going on for the last few days, they got a fresh boost on Feb. 16 when State BJP president VD Sharma said Mr. Nath and his son are welcome in the BJP if they are unhappy with Congress’ decision to boycott the Ram mandir consecration event held in Ayodhya. “Kamal Nath and his son are welcome in BJP if they are unhappy with their party’s decision to boycott the Ram Temple inauguration last month and if they want to join the saffron party to serve the country and society under the leadership of PM Narendra Modi,” Mr. Sharma told reporters. Over the past few days, Mr. Nath had been on a tour of his bastion Chhindwara, from where he had been an MP for nine terms. His son Nakul Nath won the seat in the 2019 polls, even as the BJP swept the remaining 28 seats in the State. Interestingly, Mr. Nakul Nath has dropped Congress from his bio on social media and his bio now identifies him only as a Member of Parliament, Chhindwara (MP). This move has added fuel to rumours swirling for the last few days that he, along with his father, are defecting to the BJP. Asked about the speculation that Mr. Nath could cross over to the BJP, senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said in Jabalpur earlier in the day, “I spoke to Kamal Nath at 10.30 pm yesterday, he is in Chhindwara.... A person who started his political journey and stood with the Nehru-Gandhi family when Indira Gandhi was sent to jail by the Janata party, do you think such a person will ever leave Congress and the Gandhi family?” Alexei Navalny’s team confirms death, says his mother is searching for his body Alexei Navalny’s spokesperson has [confirmed that the Russian Opposition leader had died]( at a remote Arctic penal colony, and said he was “murdered,” but it is unclear where his body is. An official note handed to Mr. Navalny’s mother stated that he died at 2:17 p.m. local time on Feb. 16, Kira Yarmysh said. She added that an employee of the prison colony said that Mr. Navalny’s body was taken to the nearby city of Salekhard as part of a probe into his death. She demanded that his body be handed over to his family. When a lawyer and Mr. Navalny’s mother visited the morgue in Salekhard, it was closed, his team said, writing on their Telegram channel. The lawyer called the morgue and was told that Mr. Navalny’s body was not there, his team said. “We demand that Alexey Navalny’s body be handed over to his family immediately,” Ms. Yarmysh wrote on X. The cause and the circumstances of Mr. Navalny’s death remain largely unclear. Russia’s Federal Penitentiary Service reported that Mr. Navalny felt sick after a walk and became unconscious at the penal colony in the town of Kharp, in the Yamalo-Nenets region about 1,900 km northeast of Moscow. An ambulance arrived, but he couldn’t be revived. The cause of death is still “being established,” it said. Maria Pevchikh, head of the board of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, said that the opposition leader would “live on forever in millions of hearts.” “Navalny was murdered. We still don’t know how we’ll keep on living, but together, we’ll think of something,” she wrote on X. Arrests continued on Feb. 17 after more than 100 people were detained in various Russian cities when they came to lay flowers in memory of Mr. Navalny at memorials to the victims of Soviet-era purges, according to OVD-Info, a group that monitors political repression in Russia. The tributes were removed overnight, but people continued trickling in with flowers on Saturday. In Moscow, a large group of people chanted “shame” as police dragged a screaming woman from the crowd, a video shared on social media showed. More than 10 people were detained at a memorial in St. Petersburg, including a priest who came to conduct a service for Mr. Navalny there. In other cities across the country, police cordoned off some of the memorials and officers were taking pictures of those who came and writing down their personal data in a clear intimidation attempt. In brief Renowned Urdu poet Gulzar and Sanskrit scholar Jagadguru Rambhadracharya have been [named the recipients of the 58th Jnanpith Award]( the Jnanpith selection committee announced on Saturday. Gulzar is known for his works in Hindi cinema and is considered one of the finest Urdu poets of this era. He has earlier received Sahitya Akademi Award for Urdu in 2002, Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2013, Padma Bhushan in 2004, and at least five National Film awards for his works. Rambhadracharya, the founder and head of Tulsi Peeth in Chitrakoot, is a renowned Hindu spiritual leader, educator and writer of more than 100 books. 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