Sunday 13th October 2024

ISRO Launches Two Singaporean Satellites To Space On PSLV-C55

On Saturday, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully launched two customer satellites of Singapore using Polar Satellite Launch Vehicles. On its 57th flight, the 228-ton PSLV launched into orbit from Satish Dhawan Space Sriharikota.

The two satellites, which belonged to Singapore, weighed a total of 757 kilograms. The Indian space agency, which is currently preparing for major missions such as Chandrayaan-3 and the first solar mission, Aditya L-1, conducted its third significant launch of the year with this one.

PSLV successfully deployed both satellites in their planned orbit, according to ISRO Chief S Somnath. “In its 57th mission, PSLV has demonstrated its higher reliability, and congratulations to the team and the NSIL for this mission,” Somnath continued.

The PSLV-C55 mission carried two satellites, the main one being the TeLEOS-2, a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) payload capable of providing all-weather day and night coverage and imaging at 1m full-polarimetric resolution.

On the other hand, the second payload was created to demonstrate the technology of the High-Performance Space-borne VHF Data Exchange System (VDES). The National University of Singapore’s Satellite Technology and Research Centre (STAR) and A*STAR’s Institute for Infocomm Research (I2R) jointly developed the 16-kg LUMELITE-4.

The PSLV Orbital Experimental Module, also known as the POEM, which is a modified fourth stage of the rocket that typically ends in space debris, is the mission’s third major highlight. In order to undertake tests with non-separable payloads, ISRO has recently built it to be utilised as an experimental platform. Seven of these experimental payloads are carried by the Poem and are from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bellatrix, Dhruva Space, and Isro. The payloads have a 30-day operational life in space.

The operation, which took little over 20 minutes to complete from launch to deployment of the two customer satellites, ran well throughout. The three stages separated with accuracy and promptness, lifting the two satellites to the necessary altitude above the earth. At the height of more than 600 kilometers above the earth, the satellites were launched.

 

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India Singapore Link Digital Payment Systems For Cross-Border Remittances

India and Singapore on Tuesday launched the linkage between Unified Payment Interface (UPI) and Singapore’s PayNow to enable cost-efficient, fast, and safe transfer of cross-border remittances. PM Narendra Modi and Singapore PM Lee Hsien Loong virtually witnessed the launch of cross-border connectivity. According to official information, the link was launched during the virtual ceremony by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Shaktikanta Das and Ravi Menon, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), by symbolically transferring funds to each other from the mobile phones.

For India, the connection between UPI and PayNow is the first cross-border person-to-person (P2P) payment link and the second for Singapore.

PM Narendra Modi said that the connection between UPI and PayNow is a gift to the citizens of both countries with a cheaper and real-time facility for remittances. This facility will benefit our overseas brothers and sisters, students, professionals, and their families. With this linkage, a new chapter opens in cross-border fintech connectivity.

Now, citizens can send and receive funds between bank accounts or e-wallets in real time by using their UPI ID, mobile phone number, or virtual payment address (VPA).

The banks participating from the Indian side are ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, DBS India, Indian Bank, State Bank of India, and Indian Overseas Bank. From the Singapore side, the participants are Liquid Group and DBS.

Through the new link, Indians can transfer upto a maximum of  Rs. 60,000 a day, and Singapore’s DBS allows its selected customers to transfer up to 200 per transaction. By the 31st of March, DBS allows all its customers to transfer upto SGD1000.

Deputy Governor of RBI, T Rabi Shankar, said that linking the payment networks across borders was a part of the G20 agenda to minimize the costs of cross-border remittances. He also added that currently, transfers happen through banks but attract a certain cost and time as India is a country with capital controls.

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