(24-06-17)

• Thirty more cities from across the country have been added to the Centre’s Smart Cities Mission, with a proposed investment of Rs.57,393 crore in various projects under the scheme.

• Marking the second anniversary of the launch of the Smart Cities Mission,Union Urban Development

• Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Friday announced the new cities added to the scheme in the third round,taking the total number of cities to 90.                                                                                   
• With the addition of the 30 cities, 23 States and four Union Territories have been included inthe Mission. 

PSLV-C38 lobs 31 satellites into orbit

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Friday successfully launched 31 satellites – 29 of them belonging to other countries through a PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle).

The PSLV-C38 took off from the first launchpad of the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SHAR) in Sriharikota at 9.29 a.m.

The PSLV, in its 40th flight, carried the Cartosat-2 series, main payload that weighs 712 kg, and NIUSAT from the Noorul Islam University, Kanniyakumari. Representatives of the client countries watched from the Mission Control as their spacecraft were placed in orbit. 

The Cartosat-2, the sixth in the series, was placed in a 505 km polar sun synchronous orbit, at 16.43 minutes after the launch and the final satellite was injected into orbit at 23 minutes. 

The total payload weighed 955 kg at liftoff. The Cartosat will provide remote sensing services for about five years. 

The Cartosat-2 will be used for cartographic applications, coastal land use and regulation, road network monitoring, water distribution, creation of land use maps, Land Information Systems (LIS) and Geograhical Information System (GIS) applications, the ISRO said.