The relaunch of the Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle D1(GSLVD1) went off successfully today from the SHAR Centre, Sriharikota in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh. The GSLV was carried the G-Sat 1 communications satellite into orbit.

The countdown began at Sriharikota yesterday. The GSLV, using a cryogenic engine, blasted off at 3:43 pm with all systems go.

As the rocket lifted majestically into the clear blue skies, the scientists, engineers and technicians, led by Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman K Kasturirangan, who had been working on the project for several months, clapped for joy and shook hands with one another.

Indian prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, in a televised address to the nation on national broadcaster Doordarshan, congratulated the team behind the effort and said it was an endorsement of India‘s efforts at self reliance in its space programme.

As a precautionary measure this time round additional flame protection for the insulation pads was provided.

Isro has been developing the GSLV for the past 10 years and has poured in some Rs 14 billion as investment.

The heaviest-ever spacecraft developed indigenously is powered by a Russian cryogenic engine in the third and final stage. The GSLV will be inducted into the country‘s regular satellite launch system after two more developmental flights.

The ambitious project launches India into the elite club of five space-faring nations - US, Russia, Japan, China and the European Union - that have already crossed the geostationary milestone.

The GSLV series are meant to carry payloads of 2000 kg and above into geosynchronous orbits. The success of the GSLV mission opens up immense commercial possibilities for the country in the lucrative multi-billion global satellite launch business.

In bid to revive the sagging fortunes of its Kaun Banega Crorepati riposte, Jeeto Chappar Phaad Ke, Sony Entertainment Television is set to introduce some bells and whistles and some decorative elements into the Govinda-hosted game-cum-quiz show. According to the grapevine, Bollywood stars of the likes of Jackie Shroff, Javed Jaffrey, Shekar Suman, Urmila Matondkar are expected to come and do a number on JCPK a la KBC. Newspaper reports however have pointed out that National Film Award winner Raveena Tandon and that exasperating but lovable thespian Kader Khan are being talked to currently to put their might behind the show.

"The forthcoming JCPK episodes will be more on the interactive level and participation from the audience will increase, especially the from the school and college going kids who were till now tied up with exams," says SET senior vice president programming and production Rekha Nigam. Nigam admits that JCPK has not managed to set TV sets in homes afire on weekends but she is still hopeful of a spike in the ratings which fell to as low as three in the last week of March (according to ratings firm TAM Media.)

Apart from jazzing up JCPK to make it more appealing to viewers, the channel‘s management is tomtomming its "week of events" which will showcase a clutch of event-based programmes between 23 April and 30 April.

The first off the starting blocks in the current rollout will be Hrithik Roshan: The man behind the star (23 April 9 pm) and will culminate with two new daily soaps - Kusum (1 May 9 pm) and Kahi Diyaa (1 May, 9:30 pm). It will be followed by Showman of the Millenium (26 April 9pm), Great Bollywood Boogie Woogie (27 April 9.00 pm), the Lata Mangeshkar concert Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo (29 April, 9 pm), and the Hrithik Roshan Special Part II (30 April, 9 pm) which will be immediately followed by Millenium Utsav at 10 pm.

The curious part of this entire affair is that most of what is being aired in this period during the week of events is actually old programming. The Showman of the Millenium was first aired on 31 December ‘99, the Great Bollywood Boogie Woogie too was telecast in the same year. The Lata Mangeshkar concert had its first telecast last month.

Will viewers take kindly to the old fare that is being shoved down at them? Is Sony showing older shows to get its competitors off guard? Will it unleash a plethora of new earth shaking new shows all of a sudden next month? That only Sony and time can tell us. And both of them are not talking now.