MERIGNAC (France), Oct 8: The Rafale multi-role fighter jets will boost India's air domi- nance exponentially, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said Tuesday as he formally took delivery of the first of the 36 long-awaited French-made air- craft acquired by the Indian Air Force at a ceremony here. Singh attended the handover ceremony along with his French counterpart Florence Parly at aircraft maker Dassault Aviation facility in Merignac, southwest- ern France. The Minister performed a Shastra Puja on the new aircraft as he emblazoned it with an 'Om' tilak and laid flowers and a coconut, just before he was to take off in it for a sortie in the newly-acquired two-seater jet. Singh, who changed into combat flight gear for the sortie after Puja, said the aircraft will enhance the Indian Air Force combat capability massively -- intended only for self-defence. "We do not purchase arms and other defence equipments to threaten any country but to increase our capabilities and strengthen our defences," 68- year-old Singh said. "I had never imagined that I would be flown at supersonic speed; a very comfortable and smooth flight during which I was able to observe the many capabilities of the jet, its air-to- air and air-to-ground combat capabilities," he said, describing his sortie as a memorable and once in a lifetime experience. On September 19, Singh flew in the Tejas fighter aircraft from the HAL airport in Bengaluru, becoming the first defence minister to fly in the indigenously-built light combat aircraft. "Our Air Force is the fourth- largest in the world and I believe that the Rafale Medium Multi- Role Combat Aircraft will make us even stronger and will give a boost to India's air dominance exponentially to ensure peace and security in the region," Singh said, addressing the gath- ering here in Hindi. "I have been told that the French word Rafale means andhi in Hindi or gust of wind. I am sure that the aircraft will live up to its name,” he said. The RB001 Rafale, denoting the initials of Air Chief Marshal Rakesh Bhadauria who played a key role in striking the deal for the jets in his previous role as IAF deputy chief, was unveiled with the Indian tricolour as its backdrop. "Today marks a new mile- stone in the Indo-French strate- gic partnership and indeed a new high in the bilateral defence cooperation. Such achievements encourage us to do more and that will be on my agenda when I meet minister Parly today," Singh said, in reference to the annual Indo-French Defence Dialgoue scheduled for Tuesday evening. "This is a historic and land- mark day for the Indian Armed forces, which reflects the depth of strategic partnership between India and France. Today marks Vijayadashami – the victory of good over evil – as also the 87th Indian Air Force Day. And therefore a symbolic day in so many ways," he added. Singh said the strong cooper- ation between India and France will continue to grow and con- tribute to global peace, prosper- ity and environmental sustain- ability. He also said that a large number of IAF officers and air- men are being trained in France for flying, maintenance support and logistics for handling Rafale and hoped the training will help them in acquiring knowledge and professional expertise required for performing their task in India.(PTI) STOCKHOLM, Oct 8: Canadian-American cosmol- ogist James Peebles and Swiss astronomers Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz today won the Nobel Physics Prize for research that increases the understanding of our place in the Universe. Peebles won one-half of the prize "for theoretical discoveries that have contributed to our understanding of how the Universe evolved after the Big Bang," professor Goran Hansson, secretary general of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, told a press confer- ence. Mayor and Queloz shared the other half for the first dis- covery, in October 1995, of a planet outside our solar system - - an exoplanet -- orbiting a solar-type star in the Milky Way. "Their discoveries have for- ever changed our conceptions of the world," the jury said. Developed over two decades since the mid-1960s, Peebles' theoretical framework is "the basis of our contemporary ideas about the Universe." Peebles built upon Albert Einstein's work on the origins of the Universe by looking back to the millenia immediately after the Big Bang, when light rays started to shoot outwards into space. Using theoretical tools and calculations, he drew a link between the temperature of the radiation emitted after the Big Bang and the amount of matter it created. His work showed that the matter known to us -- such as stars, planets, and ourselves -- only make up five percent, while the other 95 percent are made up of "unknown dark mat- ter and dark energy". In a telephone interview at the press conference, Peebles said that what those elements actually are is still an open question. "Although the theory is very thoroughly tested, we still must admit that the dark matter and dark energy are mysterious," Peebles said. He also advised young peo- ple contemplating a career in science that, while awards were "charming" and "very much appreciated, they should do it for the love of it. "You should enter science because you are fascinated by it. That's what I did." Peebles, 84, is Albert Einstein Professor of Science at Princeton University in the United States, while Mayor, 77, and Queloz, 53, are both professors at the University of Geneva. Queloz also works at the University of Cambridge in Britain. Using custom-made instru- ments at their observatory in southern France in October 1995, Mayor and Queloz were able to detect a gaseous ball similar in size to Jupiter, orbiting a star 50 light years from our own Sun. Harnessing a phenomenon known as the Doppler effect, which changes the colour of light depending on whether an object is approaching or retreat- ing from Earth, the pair proved the planet, known as 51 Pegasus b, was orbiting its star. The Nobel jury noted that the discovery "started a revolu- tion in astronomy" and since then over 4,000 exoplanets have been found in our home galaxy. "Strange new worlds are still being discovered," challenging our preconceived ideas about planetary systems and "forcing scientists to revise their theories of the physical processes behind the origins of planets". In a statement, the two astronomers hailed their win as "simply extraordinary", saying the discovery was "the most exciting of our careers". Professor Martin Rees of the University of Cambridge said this year's awards also seemed to show a "welcome broadening of the Nobel criteria." "In the past, astronomy has been included primarily when the discovery involves some new physics," Rees said. The prize consists of a gold medal, a diploma and the sum of nine million Swedish kronor (about $914,000 or 833,000 euros). The trio will receive the prize from King Carl XVI Gustaf at a formal ceremony in Stockholm on December 10, the anniversary of the 1896 death of scientist Alfred Nobel who cre- ated the prizes in his last will and testament. In 2018, the honour went to Arthur Ashkin of the US, Gerard Mourou of France and Donna Strickland of the US for laser inventions used for advanced precision instruments in correc- tive eye surgery and in industry. This year's Nobel prize sea- son kicked off on Monday with the Medicine Prize awarded to Americans William Kaelin and Gregg Semenza, and Britain's Peter Ratcliffe. They were honoured for research into how human cells sense and adapt to changing oxygen levels, which opens up new strategies to fight such dis- eases as cancer and anaemia. The winners of this year's Chemistry Prize will be announced on Wednesday. The Literature Prize will fol- low on Thursday, with two lau- reates to be crowned after a sex- ual harassment scandal forced the Swedish Academy to post- pone the 2018 award, for the first time in 70 years. On Friday the action moves to Norway where the Peace Prize is awarded, with bookies such as Ladbrokes backing Swedish teen climate activist Greta Thunberg.(AFP) WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2019 (PAGE 12) DAILY EXCELSIOR, JAMMU ADVERTISEMENT NO. 31552/ADVT/ST-11 CONCLUSION OF CIVIL HIRED TRANSPORT (CHT) CONTRACTS AT VARIOUS STATIONS OF NORTHERN COMMAND FOR THE PERIOD OF BETWEEN 01 APR 20 TO 31 MAR 21 Online bids for conclusion of CHT contracts in Northern Command Theatre for Contract Year 2020-21 are invited from Registered /Un-registered vendors between 01 Dec 19 to 30 Sep 20 through Notice Inviting Tender (NIT) uploaded on DPP of NIC (http://defproc.gov.in). All Registered/Unregistered CHT contractors / firms are requested to open Defence Procurement Portal of NIC accordingly regarding notification of the tender publication. davp/10602/11/0055/1920 Sd/- MG ASC Headquarters Northern Command Udhampur (J&K) 1. Bhagat Girl 83 born Bank PO in Chandigarh. Caste No bar. 2. 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SWAMI JI IS HERE IN JAMMU FROM 19TH SEPT. 2019 TO 13TH OCT 2019 With blessing from Maa Bhagwati he can read your face and palm and predict your future. He can provide solution to any problem related to health, issue, business, promotion in job, problems from enemies, physical ailments, spiritual, political, legal, increase in wealth, actors to politicians and industrialists to the common man has been benefitted. You are also cordially invited to reap the benefits. People who have lost faith in astrology are also requested to meet Pandit atleast once. Dark matter and exoplanet discoveries win Nobel Physics Prize Defence Minister receives IAF’s first Rafale fighter jet from France (From left) Canadian-American James Peebles, Swiss scientists Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz who have been declared winners of the Nobel Physics Prize for their work in cosmology. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh receiving Rafale fighter jet in Paris.