Satellite imagery helps in…
…gauging cocaine
South America’s cocaine output rose by 2 percent last year, according to an U.N. report. The main source for data on coca production was satellite imagery of the production areas, backed by plane and helicopter observation and field studies on the ground. www.signonsandiego.com

Indo-Canada to sign S&T agreement
India and Canada will sign a comprehensive agreement on science and technology later this year to give a boost to the research activities taking place in both countries and to help the transfer of technologies. Announcing this at a joint press conference with the Minister of Science and Technology, Kapil Sibal, the Canadian High Commissioner to India, Lucie Edwards said her country would sign such an ‘umbrella agreement’ for the first time in 25 years.
The collaborations this year will focus on five themes – Earth Sciences and Disaster Mitigation, Environmental and Climate Change Technologies and Alternative Fuels, Information and Communications Technology, Nano-technology and Nano-science, Biotechnology, Health Research and Medical Devices. She also disclosed that the recently released Canadian International Policy Statement “paid significant attention to India as well as Science and Technology and suggested key initiatives to support partnerships in this sector with key markets, like India”.
Mr Sibal announced that Canada will be the partner country in this year’s Technology Summit and Technology Platform to be held in New Delhi from September 21-22.

SatNav Technologies launches SatGuide
SatNav Technologies (P) Ltd., announced the launch of India’s First Navigation System SatGuide™ late last month. It has come into an agreement with Nippon Audiotronix, who will handle the Sales and Marketing of Nippon SatGuide on an exclusive basis in India. Nippon would handle both retail channels as well as the OEM route using their network of over 650 outlets across the country. SatGuide™ will be available with one city default information. Additional city information can be bought at a nominal charge and will be very useful for those who travel across cities regularly. Mr. Amit Prasad, MD & CEO – SatNav Technologies said, “As product principals, we will focus on the technology aspects and in expanding the geography to multiple cities in India.
www. satnavtech.com
www.satguide.in

GPS surveys to resolve Sir Creek dispute
Top scientists from India and Pakistan conducted geologic surveys in the disputed region and a seal of approval is likely soon for a newly demarcated boundary. The decades-old Sir Creek boundary dispute between India and Pakistan is on the verge of a final settlement. Following the ongoing composite dialogue between the two countries and general improvement in relations, both New Delhi and Islamabad have exchanged final documents related to the boundary dispute after detailed surveys were carried out by joint teams in the Rann of Kutch. www.deccanherald.com

SiRF India will focus on new product development, specifi- cally chipsets and software that combine GPS with complementary technologies. It will also extend SiRF’s reach into growing Indian and Asian markets for GPS-enabled systems, providing marketing and customer support throughout the continent.

Galileo – the European Programme for Global Navigation Services for civil purposes is an initiative led by European Union. We will provide regular updates to our readers on the Galileo programme. Just as South Korea plans to join Galileo, so do some companies from China and Israel
South Korea to join Galileo
Science and Technology Minister Oh Myung approved a plan to join a satellite- based navigation system project led by the European Union, in a bid to reduce its reliance on the United States’ GPS. The 3.4 billion euro Galileo project is expected to rival the GPS navigation system. South Korea will likely pay at least 5 million euros, or about 6.7 billion won, to participate in the project, the ministry said. If all goes as scheduled, a formal agreement will be sealed within this year. Joining the Galileo project is also expected to help South Korea widen its political, economic and scientific ties with the European Union, the ministry said.
http://english.yna.co.kr

FDI to accelerate mapping in India
The Indian Govt. is going to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) in the GIS and aerial mapping sectors to prepare an exhaustive database for the entire country. Union Minister of State for Science, Technology and Ocean Development, Kapil Sibal said that opening the sector for FDI would help speed up the area mapping work in the country.
‘‘The map database, being prepared by using GIS, would help tackle future challenges more effectively and improve India’s performance in areas like agriculture and infrastructure,’’ said Sibal. http://cities.expressindia.com

Patong, Thailand gets disaster alert system
The first sites to broadcast warnings in the event of an emergency at Patong beach, Phuket will be operational this month as part of a national disaster early warning system, according to the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency (GISTDA).

These will become the first of between 40 and 50 locations in six provinces facing the Andaman Sea with loudspeakers to broadcast information in the event of a natural disaster such as a tsunami wave.
http://www.bangkokpost.com

Tsunami shifts Bangkok southwest…
Bangkok has moved about nine centimetres (3.5 inches) horizontally southwestwards because of the December 26 earthquake that measured 9.0 on the Richter scale and sent devastating tsunamis across the Indian Ocean. The tourist island of Phuket also moved 32 centimetres (12.6 inches) southwestwards since the quake, said the Chulalongkorn University researchers, who used GPS satellites to measures the shifts during a January 20-24 survey. Researcher Itthi’s survey engineering department at Chulalongkorn is collecting data from six other locations in Thailand to get a better picture of how the nation’s geography has changed, the Nation newspaper reported.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com