What war with India could mean for Pakistan..

Wed, Dec 24 02:14 PM

War between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan over last month's militant attacks on Mumbai is seen as highly unlikely.

Nevertheless, with tension high and fiery rhetoric coming from various quarters on both sides, conflict between the neighbours who have fought three wars since 1947 cannot be ruled out.

Here is a look at some possible scenarios for Pakistan in the event of war:

POLITICAL

- War would bring a wave of patriotism and national unity, analysts say. However, the authority of the civilian government that came to power this year after nine years of military rule, and had been trying to improve ties with India, would be undermined as the military would take charge of key decision-making.

- At the end of a war, assuming the country has not been flattened by Indian nuclear strikes, the government would be under huge pressure to deal with the economic consequences.

- Efforts to establish stable and sustainable civilian rule could be set back years.

- India could try to stir up trouble in regions such as the energy-rich province of Baluchistan, where Pakistan says India has been meddling for years in support of separatist rebels fighting a low-key insurgency.

- Similarly, Afghans, perhaps egged on by close ally India, could revive calls for a greater "Pashtunistan" (Afghanistan has never recognised the border with Pakistan, imposed by British colonialists in the 19th century, which divided ethnic Pashtuns).

- Such developments in Baluchistan and the Pashtun-dominated northwest would revive deep-seated Pakistani fears of the break-up of their country.

SECURITY

- The Pakistani military would effectively give up its part in the U.S.-led war on terrorism, analysts say, as it pulls troops off the western border with Afghanistan, where they have been battling militants, and deploys them on the eastern border with India.

- Pakistani Taliban militants have already said they would rally to help the Pakistani military in the event of war against India.

- Pakistani efforts to rein in militant groups fighting Indian rule in the disputed Kashmir region would likely be reversed and the groups would be given a green light, or official support, to raise funds, recruit fighters and infiltrate India.

- Public sympathy and support for militant groups would soar as they would be seen as national defenders against the "real enemy", India.

- That would be the death knell for government attempts to convince a sceptical public that militancy has to be rooted out, and efforts to tackle it are for the good of the country and not just doing America's bidding.

ECONOMY

- The economy was rescued from the brink by a $7.6 billion IMF loan agreed last month. The benchmarks and reforms involved in the IMF package, as well as lower fuel and food prices, have offered a glimmer of hope of recovery in 2009/10 but war would dash that hope and the slowdown would be prolonged.

- Several economic analysts said war was highly unlikely but even greater fear of war would lead to a flight of capital as both Pakistani and foreign investors get their money out of the country.

- There would be no hope of attracting much-needed foreign investment which is required to bridge a current account deficit.

- The Indian navy would most likely try to block Pakistan's main port at Karachi to choke off imports including fuel, though that would also disrupt supplies bound for U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

- Analysts said they doubted authorities would freeze foreign currency accounts, as they did in 1998 after Pakistan conducted nuclear tests, in the absence of full-scale war because the country's reserve position as well as external account situation was improving with the IMF programme. However, that could not be ruled out if war broke out.

Mission Perfect- Chandrayan 1(India's Moon Mission)

Bangalore (IANS): India's first probe into moon landed on the lunar surface on Friday night after riding on Chandrayaan-1, the country's first unmanned spacecraft to the moon, after travelling around 384,000 km in 24 days days after blasting off from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh Oct 22.
Soon after the launch at 6.22 a.m. the spacecraft carrying 11 scientific payloads was put in an orbit of 22,860 km apogee (farthest point to the earth) and 225 km perigee (nearest point to the earth).
This is how Chandrayaan-1 reached the lunar orbit and then sent the moon impact probe (MIP) with the colours of the Indian national flag painted on its sides to the lunar surface.
Oct 23, first orbit raising exercise: apogee 37,900 km, perigee 305 km, 11 days to go round the earth.
Oct 25: apogee 74,715 km, perigee 336 km. 25 and half hours to orbit the earth.
Oct 26: apogee 164,600 km, perigee 348 km. Enters deep space. Takes 73 hours to go round the earth.
Oct 29: apogee 267,000 km, perigee 465 km. Six days to orbit the earth.
Oct 29: The terrain mapping camera successfully tested. First pictures, of northern coast of Australia from a height of 9,000 km and of southern coast from a height of 70,000 km. ISRO says "excellent imagery"
Nov 4: Reaches 380,000 km from earth, just around 4,000 km from moon.
Nov 8: Chandrayaan-1 successfully enters lunar orbit around 5.15 p.m. and India becomes the fifth country to send a spacecraft to moon. The others are United States, former Soviet Union, Japan and China. The European Space Agency (ESA), a consortium of 17 countries, has also sent a spacecraft to moon.
Nov 9: Chandrayaan-1 nudges closer to moon, orbiting over its polar regions at 200 km periselene (nearest point from moon) and 7,500 km aposelene (farthest point from moon).
Nov 10: The spacecraft moves to 187 km from the moon (periselene) and 255 km away (aposelene), orbiting elliptically once in every 2 hours and 16 minutes over the polar regions of the moon.
Nov 11: Chandrayaan-1 moves into further lower orbit of 102-km periselene and 255-km aposelene.
Nov 12: Placed in the final circular lunar orbit of 100 km, spinning around the poles of the moon every two hours.
Nov 13: Excitement builds ahead of the landing of the moon impact probe (MIP) on lunar surface Nov 14 night.
Nov 14 morning: Countdown begins at ISRO's ground command and tracking centre in Bangalore.
Nov 14 afternoon: Former Indian president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam arrives at the command and tracking centre to be part of the 'India on Moon' mission.
Nov 14 evening: At 8.06 p.m. Chandrayaan-1 releases the MIP.
Nov 14: At 8.31 p.m., the MIP covers the 100 km distance, taking "beautiful pictures of the lunar surface" as it descends.
At 6.22 am on Oct 22, ISRO chief G. Madhavan Nair said: "Our baby is on way to the moon."
On Nov 14 night, he said: "We have given the moon to India."

Mission perfect- Chandrayan 1(India's Moon Mission)

The successful critical manoeuvre on November 8 that put Chandrayaan-1 in an orbit around the moon marked the completion of the most important phase of the Indian lunar mission. The rest of the mission involves only standard orbit manoeuvres, the likes of which the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is quite used to, and the performance of the on-board scientific instruments during the mission life of two years. The precision with which the crucial operation was exe cuted has unequivocally demonstrated ISRO’s capability to take up the more complex deep space missions as distinct from numerous near-earth missions in the past. The achievement has put India in the exclusive club of space-faring nations that have ventured beyond the sphere of earth’s gravitational influence. That ISRO brought this off in its first attempt is all the more commendable.
Although ISRO’s inherent scientific ability was never in doubt, Chandrayaan-1 — the maiden deep space endeavour — posed new technological challenges in telemetry, tracking, miniaturisation of on-board systems and devices, novel power packs and special thermal control of the spacecraft to withstand conditions of high solar load hitherto not experienced in the near-earth environment. The performance of the mission so far is testimony to ISRO’s advanced capabilities in all these respects. Nevertheless, as ISRO plans for Chandrayaan-2 in 2012-13 and a manned mission to space in 2015, when it will face even greater technology challenges, the question is whether the venture is worth the huge cost it will entail. A political factor that is relevant is the world’s constant India-China comparison and the latter’s demonstrated technological prowess in space technology. What is more, given the resurgent interest in tapping the moon’s resources, there is a strategic dimension to space missions. This becomes particularly relevant if one notes the discordance between the Moon Treaty, which very few countries have ratified, and the Outer Space Treaty, which most nations have. While the former emphasises the principle of ‘common heritage of mankind,’ the latter articulates it weakly. It is from this perspective that the rhetorical question posed by ISRO’s former chairman K. Kasturirangan, “Can we afford not to go to the moon?” and the basic question of whether India should venture into deep space need to be addressed. At the same time, as ISRO begins to think in terms of manned missions to space, which will cost a great deal more than unmanned missions, the cost-benefit analyses need to be done more rigorously than for relatively low-cost missions such as Chandrayaan. But these are policy issues that can be taken up later. Now is the time to congratulate ISRO on taking India’s exploration of space up a level — which very few developing countries have even aspired to reach.

RBI, SEBI unveil fresh measures to calm markets

Market regulator disapproves overseas lending by FIIs

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India on Monday reduced the repo rate — a short term indicative lending rate under the Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF) — by 100 basis points to eight per cent with immediate effect, “in order to alleviate the pressures and, in particular, to maintain financial stability.”
The repo rate is the rate at which banks borrow from the central bank. The global financial situation continues to be uncertain and unsettled. Even as countries directly affected by the turmoil have taken aggressive action to manage the crisis, confidence and calm is yet to be fully restored in the financial markets. Due to financial integration, this uncertainty is transmitting also to countries outside the epicentre of the crisis. “India too is experiencing the indirect impact of the global liquidity constraint as reflected by some signs of strain in our credit markets in recent weeks,” the RBI stated in a press release on Monday.Global crisis
The RBI has taken a number of measures over the last one month to augment domestic and forex liquidity.
The RBI has been and will continue to monitor the impact of global developments on our financial markets and on our liquidity conditions and will take action as appropriate, it added. Meanwhile, the Securities and Exchange Board of India on Monday disapproved overseas lending and borrowing activity of foreign institutional investors (FIIs). The market regulator stated that “SEBI disapproves of the overseas lending and borrowing activity of FIIs and the consequent selling pressure in the cash market in India. SEBI has communicated its disapproval to the FIIs. The lending borrowing activity of FIIs is being monitored and if necessary stronger measures will be taken by SEBI as considered appropriate,” it added. SEBI further stated that it has been reviewing the data submitted by (FIIs) with regard to their stock lending activities abroad. On the domestic stock lending mechanism, SEBI stated that, it finds that this facility has not been used by the institutions while the stock lending mechanism has been made operational in the Indian market. “SEBI is reviewing the difficulties in the use of the lending borrowing facility and would be taking steps to make this mechanism more effective.”

India hit by ripple effects of global financial crisis: FM

Confident of achieving 7-8 per cent economic growth
Banks have little exposure to sub-prime lending
Sound fundamentals of country’s financial system

NEW DELHI: Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Monday maintained that India was only experiencing the ripple effects of the global financial crisis without any direct impact on its economy which would succeed in growing by close to eight per cent during the current fiscal.
Speaking at a function to mark the completion of 50 years of Indo-German bilateral development cooperation here, he pointed out that even the most pessimistic estimates have projected a growth rate of not less than seven per cent. “But I am confident that the economy will grow between seven and eight per cent,” he said.
Elaborating as to why he hoped that the Indian economy would grow at an average of over eight per cent despite the global slowdown, Mr. Chidambaram said: “The global financial crisis will not directly affect India as Indian financial system has sound fundamentals and the Indian Government has put in place, systems and practices to promote a safe, transparent and efficient market to protect market integrity. Most of the Indian banks have negligible exposure to sub-prime lending.”
The Finance Minister, however, conceded that the cash crunch prevailing in the world would certainly affect the country’s financial markets indirectly, though at a limited scale.
“Credit crunch that the world faces has also impacted us. We have taken a series of measures to infuse greater liquidity and to restart the process of credit…We are moving at a calibrated pace. Our banking system is very strong and our banks are well capitalised and well regulated,” he said.
Echoing similar sentiment at a function organised by Controller General of Accounts (CGA) here, Minister of State for Finance Pawan Kumar Bansal noted that owing to the strong fundamentals of the Indian economy, the Government would be able to ward off the adverse impact of the global slowdown through swift actions. “The government will remain vigilant and take a quick action wherever required,” he said.
Mr. Bansal pointed out that one of the biggest challenges in the medium-to-long term would be to effectively sustain the high growth rate witnessed in recent years.
This, he said, would necessitate development of diverse, regionally balanced, physical and social infrastructure for which there was a need to find ways and means to mobilise resources and complete infrastructure projects without any cost or time overruns.

The Large Hadron Collider

Our understanding of the Universe is about to change...

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is a gigantic scientific instrument near Geneva, where it spans the border between Switzerland and France about 100 m underground. It is a particle accelerator used by physicists to study the smallest known particles – the fundamental building blocks of all things. It will revolutionise our understanding, from the minuscule world deep within atoms to the vastness of the Universe.

Two beams of subatomic particles called 'hadrons' – either protons or lead ions – will travel in opposite directions inside the circular accelerator, gaining energy with every lap. Physicists will use the LHC to recreate the conditions just after the Big Bang, by colliding the two beams head-on at very high energy. Teams of physicists from around the world will analyse the particles created in the collisions using special detectors in a number of experiments dedicated to the LHC.

There are many theories as to what will result from these collisions, but what's for sure is that a brave new world of physics will emerge from the new accelerator, as knowledge in particle physics goes on to describe the workings of the Universe. For decades, the Standard Model of particle physics has served physicists well as a means of understanding the fundamental laws of Nature, but it does not tell the whole story. Only experimental data using the higher energies reached by the LHC can push knowledge forward, challenging those who seek confirmation of established knowledge, and those who dare to dream beyond the paradigm.

Why the LHC

A few unanswered questions...

The LHC was built to help scientists to answer key unresolved questions in particle physics. The unprecedented energy it achieves may even reveal some unexpected results that no one has ever thought of!

For the past few decades, physicists have been able to describe with increasing detail the fundamental particles that make up the Universe and the interactions between them. This understanding is encapsulated in the Standard Model of particle physics, but it contains gaps and cannot tell us the whole story. To fill in the missing knowledge requires experimental data, and the next big step to achieving this is with LHC.

Newton's unfinished business...

What is mass?

What is the origin of mass? Why do tiny particles weigh the amount they do? Why do some particles have no mass at all? At present, there are no established answers to these questions. The most likely explanation may be found in the Higgs boson, a key undiscovered particle that is essential for the Standard Model to work. First hypothesised in 1964, it has yet to be observed.

The ATLAS and CMS experiments will be actively searching for signs of this elusive particle.

An invisible problem...

What is 96% of the universe made of?

Everything we see in the Universe, from an ant to a galaxy, is made up of ordinary particles. These are collectively referred to as matter, forming 4% of the Universe. Dark matter and dark energy are believed to make up the remaining proportion, but they are incredibly difficult to detect and study, other than through the gravitational forces they exert. Investigating the nature of dark matter and dark energy is one of the biggest challenges today in the fields of particle physics and cosmology.

The ATLAS and CMS experiments will look for supersymmetric particles to test a likely hypothesis for the make-up of dark matter.

Nature's favouritism...

Why is there no more antimatter?

We live in a world of matter – everything in the Universe, including ourselves, is made of matter. Antimatter is like a twin version of matter, but with opposite electric charge. At the birth of the Universe, equal amounts of matter and antimatter should have been produced in the Big Bang. But when matter and antimatter particles meet, they annihilate each other, transforming into energy. Somehow, a tiny fraction of matter must have survived to form the Universe we live in today, with hardly any antimatter left. Why does Nature appear to have this bias for matter over antimatter?

The LHCb experiment will be looking for differences between matter and antimatter to help answer this question. Previous experiments have already observed a tiny behavioural difference, but what has been seen so far is not nearly enough to account for the apparent matter–antimatter imbalance in the Universe.

Secrets of the Big Bang

What was matter like within the first second of the Universe’s life?

Matter, from which everything in the Universe is made, is believed to have originated from a dense and hot cocktail of fundamental particles. Today, the ordinary matter of the Universe is made of atoms, which contain a nucleus composed of protons and neutrons, which in turn are made of quarks bound together by other particles called gluons. The bond is very strong, but in the very early Universe conditions would have been too hot and energetic for the gluons to hold the quarks together. Instead, it seems likely that during the first microseconds after the Big Bang the Universe would have contained a very hot and dense mixture of quarks and gluons called quark–gluon plasma.

The ALICE experiment will use the LHC to recreate conditions similar to those just after the Big Bang, in particular to analyse the properties of the quark-gluon plasma.

Hidden worlds…

Do extra dimensions of space really exist?

Einstein showed that the three dimensions of space are related to time. Subsequent theories propose that further hidden dimensions of space may exist; for example, string theory implies that there are additional spatial dimensions yet to be observed. These may become detectable at very high energies, so data from all the detectors will be carefully analysed to look for signs of extra dimensions.

How the LHC works

The LHC, the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator, is the latest addition to CERN’s accelerator complex. It mainly consists of a 27 km ring of superconducting magnets with a number of accelerating structures to boost the energy of the particles along the way.

Inside the accelerator, two beams of particles travel at close to the speed of light with very high energies before colliding with one another. The beams travel in opposite directions in separate beam pipes – two tubes kept at ultrahigh vacuum. They are guided around the accelerator ring by a strong magnetic field, achieved using superconducting electromagnets. These are built from coils of special electric cable that operates in a superconducting state, efficiently conducting electricity without resistance or loss of energy. This requires chilling the magnets to about ‑271°C – a temperature colder than outer space! For this reason, much of the accelerator is connected to a distribution system of liquid helium, which cools the magnets, as well as to other supply services.

Thousands of magnets of different varieties and sizes are used to direct the beams around the accelerator. These include 1232 dipole magnets of 15 m length which are used to bend the beams, and 392 quadrupole magnets, each 5–7 m long, to focus the beams. Just prior to collision, another type of magnet is used to 'squeeze' the particles closer together to increase the chances of collisions. The particles are so tiny that the task of making them collide is akin to firing needles from two positions 10 km apart with such precision that they meet halfway!

All the controls for the accelerator, its services and technical infrastructure are housed under one roof at the CERN Control Centre. From here, the beams inside the LHC will be made to collide at four locations around the accelerator ring, corresponding to the positions of the particle detectors.

What is TOEFL?

The Test Of English as a Foreign Language (or TOEFL , pronounced "toe-full") evaluates the potential success of an individual to use and understand standard American English at a college level. It is required for non-native applicants at many US and other English-speaking colleges and universities. The TOEFL is the product of the Educational Testing Service (ETS), which is contracted by the private, non-profit firm, the College Board to administer the test in institutions in the US; they also produce the SAT.

Where Can I Take the TOEFL TEST?

The test is usually taken on a computer in a test center, although paper versions are available where it is not possible to take it this way. TOEFL is administered worldwide.

What is the TOEFL CBT?

The Computer Based Test for TOEFL called the CBT , is an adaptive test; meaning that your next question's difficulty level depends on the correctness of your response to the current question. This helps TOEFL to grade the person's knowledge on the English language; by assuming him/her to be of an average capability at the beginning of the test, and with the responses received at the every question the program decides to give you a tougher or easier question based on whether your question was answered correctly or not. The CBT follows computer adaptive test strategy for the Listening and Structure section alone. The reading comprehension and Essay writing are not computer adaptive.

What Does the TOEFL Test Include?

The test consists of four sections:

• Section I: Listening Comprehension
• Section II: Structure and Written Expression
• Section III: Reading Comprehension and Vocabulary
• Section IV: Essay Writing

Why take the TOEFL^® Test?

The TOEFL test gives you more choices about where you want to study.

• TOEFL is accepted by more institutions than any other English-language test in the world — including the top colleges and universities.
• See a list of 6,000+ institutions in 110 countries (PDF), including almost every university in the USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, that rely on TOEFL scores for admissions, scholarship and graduation decisions.

The TOEFL test gives you more convenience and flexibility.

• The entire test is taken in one day, which saves you travel time and costs. And, there are more than 4,000 test centers to choose from.
• You can retake the test in just 7 days, if you want to improve your scores.

The TOEFL test gives you the skills you need to communicate in real-life, academic situations.

• In the classroom and on campus, you will be able to communicate your ideas effectively.
• Listen to lectures, read textbooks and online research, write academic papers and e-mails, and speak with other students and professors.

The TOEFL test is fair and accurate.

• All test takers have a similar test-taking experience, which eliminates the inconsistency of interviews that could negatively impact your scores.
• Scores are objective and unbiased. Tests are scored anonymously by ETS-certified experts.