News Broadcasting
GSLV-F-01 carrying Edusat launched
NEW DELHI: The geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV-F-01), carrying Edusat, India’s exclusive satellite for educational services, was launched from the space centre at Srharikota here today at 4.01 pm.
The GSLV-F-01, carrying the 1950-kg satellite, soared majestically into the sky, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre here, Press Trust of India reported today.
As the 49-metre-tall three-stage GSLV, weighing 414 tonnes, rose into the sky from this spindle-shaped island, off Bay of Bengal, there was jubilation all round with many scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation, hugging each other and clapping their hands.
The GSLV will place the satellite into a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO) within a few minutes after the lift-off, and from GTO, the satellite would reach the 36,000 km high Geostationary Orbit (GSO), by firing, in stages, its on-board Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM).
In GSO, the satellite will be co-located with Kalpana-1 and INSAT-3C satellites.
Built for a mission life of seven years, the Edusat is mainly intended to meet the demand for an interactive satellite-based distance education system for the country.
The exclusive satellite project will be utilised to demonstrate the concept of “multicasting” interactive multimedia for the educational sector. It will have multiple beams, with one Ku-band transponder covering the entire footprint of the country, while five Ku-band transponders will provide spot beams directed in four different regions (north, south, west and east, including north-east).
In addition, Edusat will carry six C-band transponders for other communication and broadcasting services covering the entire country.
The dedicated satellite will become operational in three months after it is deployed in the geo-orbit and we hope the first phase of the programme will be implemented before the end of the current fiscal (2004-05).
News Broadcasting
Rajesh Sundaram joins NDTV Profit as senior editor, assignment
The 32-year newsroom veteran has launched channels on three continents and covered everything from 9/11 to South African television
MUMBAI: NDTV Profit has bolstered its newsroom with a hire who has done rather more than most. Rajesh Sundaram, a journalist with over three decades of editorial, managerial and consultative experience across India and international markets, joins as senior editor, assignment, tasked with sharpening the network’s newsgathering and real-time response.
Sundaram’s career reads like a tour of Indian media’s most formative moments. He began at Businessworld in 1994, moved to Zee News as bureau chief across Mumbai and Chennai, then joined NDTV in 2002 as part of its political bureau during a particularly febrile period in Indian politics. A stint as India correspondent for Al Jazeera International followed, where he covered key geopolitical developments and got his first serious taste of the global newsroom.
What sets Sundaram apart, however, is his serial channel-launching habit. At NewsX, he helped get the operation off the ground. At Headlines Today, part of the India Today Group, he served as editor. At News Nation, he helped launch the Hindi news channel and its digital ecosystem. He then crossed continents to lead the launch of ANN7 in South Africa as editor-in-chief, overseeing both television and digital. Back in India, he launched Tamil news channels News7 Tamil and Cauvery News, and later served as principal consultant for the launch of Marathi channel Lokshahi. Most recently, he helped build and lead the Press Trust of India’s video service and content studio, before stints consulting for Business Today and The Himalayan Times.
Rahul Kanwal, chief executive and editor-in-chief of NDTV, left little doubt about what Sundaram is expected to deliver. “The assignment desk is where a newsroom’s intent becomes action,” he said. “Rajesh brings a rare combination of field experience and leadership in building news operations at scale.”
Sundaram has reported from across India and the world, covering elections, civil conflicts, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and the 2008 US presidential election.
At NDTV Profit, he will lead the assignment desk, driving editorial coordination and real-time response across markets and breaking developments. For a business news network sharpening its focus on speed and multi-platform delivery, it has hired a man who has built newsrooms from scratch on three continents. The assignment desk is in good hands.
