Pranab Mukherjee today (25-07-2012) took oath as the 13th President of India

Pranab Mukherjee today sworn-in as the country’s 13th President at an impressive ceremony in the packed and historic Central Hall of Parliament.

Chief Justice of India S H Kapadiaadministered the oath of office to Mr Mukherjeein the presence of Vice President HamidAnsari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, LokSabha Speaker Meira Kumar, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Union Ministers, Governors and a host of dignitaries.

Mr Mukherjee took the oath of office in the name of God in English to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law”.

Mr Mukherjee was then given a 21-gun salute after which he signed the oath register amid a thunderous applause and thumping of desks.

Union Cabinet approved the Launch of Satellite to study Mars

The Union Cabinet on 3 August 2012 gave its consent to the launch of satellite to the Mars proposed in 2013. The Cabinet decision came following a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The Department of Space had sent a proposal to the Union Cabinet, in which it had sought government’s permission to launch a satellite to study Mars, also called Red Planet. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is expected to launch a Mars Orbiter in November 2013 with a 25kg scientific payload.

The Mars mission will be launched by ISRO’s advanced Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). The objective of the mission is to study the climate, geology, origin, evolution and sustainability of life on the planet.  If the ISRO fails to launch the Mars Mission next year, other opportunites are available in 2016 and 2018.

India has undertaken the massive space project with the help of United States, Russia, Europe, Japan and China.  The mission is estimated to cost the government exchequer about 450 crore rupees. An initial allocation of 125 crore rupees was already made in the budget 2012-13.