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It is said that every newborn faces a potential risk until the baby has been screened for <keyword id="1144427" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="medical-conditions">medical conditions</keyword>. A <keyword id="2024251" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Genetic-screening">genetic screening</keyword> of the newborn means enhanced <keyword id="2024262" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Biotechnological-capacity">biotechnological capacity</keyword>, which ensures fast, accurate and expanded testing going beyond routine disorders. <keyword id="2024252" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Newborn-screening">Newborn screening</keyword> (<keyword id="116258" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="NBS">NBS</keyword>) has been made compulsory in 52 countries across the world, bringing down <keyword id="153995" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="infant-mortality">infant mortality</keyword> and disabilities in children. 
 Simply put, newborn screening (NBS) programme includes testing every newborn soon after its birth, to identify serious or life-threatening conditions which may lead to mental/physical retardation or even early death. The affected baby looks healthy at birth as there is no external defect and these disorders cannot be diagnosed until specifically tested for. However, India is yet to implement a <keyword id="2024264" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="National-newborn-screening-programme">national newborn screening programme</keyword> even though 5-15% of newborns fall prey to <keyword id="120871" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Metabolic-disorders">metabolic disorders</keyword>. 
 Understandably, not too many Indian start-ups operate in the NBS space and the <keyword id="49685" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Genetic">genetic</keyword> screening of newborns is rarely done in the country at a macro level. But here is one Mumbai-based start-up that has doing it for over a year now. <keyword id="2024246" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Navigene">Navigene</keyword> has developed a unique and <keyword id="2024273" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Non-invasive-preventive-genetic-screening">non-invasive preventive genetic screening</keyword> service for newborns and adults, which can be implemented at a mass scale. Its primary focus is <keyword id="2024274" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Non-invasive-preventive-testing">non-invasive preventive testing</keyword> including <keyword id="2024278" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Newborn-genetic-screening">newborn genetic screening</keyword>, <keyword id="2024275" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Metabolic-fingerprinting">metabolic fingerprinting</keyword>, <keyword id="2024279" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Prenatal-screening">prenatal screening</keyword> and more, besides offering <keyword id="2024280" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Diagnostic-testing">diagnostic testing</keyword> (<keyword id="2024281" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Cytogenetics">cytogenetics</keyword> &amp; <keyword id="1284857" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Molecular-Genetics">molecular genetics</keyword>). <keyword id="2024283" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Navigene-Baby-Screen">Navigene Baby Screen</keyword>, the start-up’s flagship product, screens the newborns for 110 genetic and metabolic disorders on the very 3rd day after birth and the company claims it is one of the most comprehensive screening tests in the world. Here is a snapshot that captures the start-up’s operations, vision and viability. 
 
Who runs Navigene (navigene.in): Two co-founders – Dr <keyword id="2024250" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Rishi-Dixit">Rishi Dixit</keyword> (MD &amp; CEO) and Dr <keyword id="1888201" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Vrushali-Joshi">Vrushali Joshi</keyword> (CTO) – and the early-stage incubation and <keyword id="6357097" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="venture-capital">venture capital</keyword> firm, <keyword id="720080" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="IncuCapital">IncuCapital</keyword>. An MBBS and MBA, Dr Rishi has a deep understanding of the healthcare marketing space and also worked with start-ups. Before starting Navigene, he was head of sales &amp; strategy at a start-up in the similar domain. Prior to that, he was manager, health analytics, with ICICI Prudential Life insurance. Dr Vrushali holds a Ph.D. from Mumbai University and is a leading geneticist with more that 15 years of experience. She is also a government-certified genetic counsellor. 
 Navigene was set up by the two co-founders in April 2012, along with IncuCapital’s senior venture partners’ team of <keyword id="2024248" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Surojit-Nandy">Surojit Nandy</keyword>, <keyword id="6393254" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Manish-Kumar">Manish Kumar</keyword> and <keyword id="2024247" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Prashant-Maharaj">Prashant Maharaj</keyword>. The company started operations in November that year. Currently, it boasts a state-of-the-art testing facility and central lab in Mumbai where all samples are flown in from different parts of the country and also from global destinations. This facility also serves as the head office while 2-3 sales people are assigned to each location. Weekly sales meetings are generally held at local CCDs – a good example of asset-light sales offices. 
 But going forward, the start-up plans to open sales offices in Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad – small facilities for operational and logistics management. As sample collection is generally done by the people themselves or the <keyword id="6355907" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Medical-facilities">medical facilities</keyword>, the Navigene staff simply picks them up from homes/hospitals and courier them to the HO in Mumbai. 
 
What inspired the venture: The knowledge that non-traditional, highly accurate and revolutionary ways of medical diagnosis is possible through genetic screening and diagnostic techniques. Navigene was founded to bring these advanced <keyword id="684042" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="100" keywordseo="medical-technologies">medical technologies</keyword> to India. 
 
What’s the pitch: Early and accurate prediction/diagnosis of disorders and ailments in newborns and adults, through <keyword id="2024271" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Preventive-genetic-screening">preventive genetic screening</keyword> – so that every individual has the opportunity to manage his/her health. “Over the years, we have learnt a great deal about how genes function and how they can cause certain problems. Now is the time to use that knowledge in exciting new ways to prevent and treat <keyword id="6377700" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="health-problems">health problems</keyword>,” says Dr Rishi. 
 
How it works: Navigene currently caters to the B2B segment – <keyword id="796241" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="corporate-hospitals">corporate hospitals</keyword>, high-end nursing homes with birthing facilities, NICUs (<keyword id="1145483" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="neonatal-intensive-care-units">neonatal intensive care units</keyword>) and state-of-the-art <keyword id="2024290" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Paediatric-facilities">paediatric facilities</keyword>. It also works with individual obstetricians/gynaecologists and paediatricians. The start-up typically approaches medical facilities who, in turn, offer/recommend these services to their clients. Once a client registers for the tests, he/she is given the sample collection kit and the rest of the testing procedure follows. 
 
As for newborn screening, parents get the kit as soon as they register and after the birth of the baby, either the hospital staff or the parents collect the urine sample of the baby on the 3rd day. It is then sent Navigene’s central lab in Mumbai where the sample is analysed and reports are sent within 4 days. If the report detects any abnormality, the concerned doctor/hospital/parents are immediately informed and further consultation could be arranged with medical experts. Genetic counselling for the parents is also offered in such cases. 
 
Show me the money: As of now, the start-up has a B2B revenue model in place while the B2C space is essentially serviced through its partners who can reach out to more people. Navigene charges fee per sample testing and its flagship solution, Navigene Baby Screen (NBS), which tests urine sample for 110 disorders, costs Rs 5,000. But to make it more affordable for Tier II cities and smaller medical facilities, customised packages start from Rs 900 for tracking 3-4 basic disorders and can go up to Rs 2,700 for screening 31 commonest disorders that affect infants in the first few months. The company has also tied up with a leading stem cell company for instant access to a large B2C market. “Plus, we want to work with the state governments when they start running the NBS programme at the state-run hospitals, but we will keep the packages small,” says Dr Rishi. 
 
The market size is also huge as around 30 million babies are born in India every year. “As of now, we are targeting 40 cities in India where our addressable market (a fraction of the urban population in these cities) is around 30 lakh babies a year. We aim to cover most of them over the next 3 years through our proprietary sales channel,” adds Dr Rishi. 
 
Claim to fame: A value driver in a critical industry while expansion is its forte. Navigene is a pioneer of sorts, bringing crucial preventive health screening for newborn babies at an affordable price. The start-up is currently doing 500 samples a month and targeting 10,000 samples in the next 3 years. 
 Navigene raised an undisclosed seed round with the help of its institutional co-promoter IncuCapital in August 2012 and it will be raising Series A <keyword id="6357455" type="EVENT" weightage="100" keywordseo="Funding">funding</keyword> in the next 2-3 months. The money will be utilised to grow its presence pan-India and also in other geographies such as South-east Asia and <keyword id="48890" type="COUNTRY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Latin-America">Latin America</keyword>. “We can’t disclose the names just now, but these would be all bigger and more developed countries. We are also talking to a few players in Latin America, which can lead to substantial global expansion,” says Surojit Nandy of IncuCapital. As for pan-India expansion, the company plans to reach 40 cities in next the 3 years through its own B2B sales force. 
 The start-up has hit <keyword id="2024302" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Operational-breakeven">operational breakeven</keyword> in December 2013, within 11 months from starting its sales operations. But it is not really looking at that as a landmark. “We don’t intend to remain operationally cash-positive as we are growing at a breakneck speed and want to keep investing in the growth. That’s the reason we are looking at the Series A funding soon,” says Dr Rishi. 
 “We are also working on some breakthrough <keyword id="2024304" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Screening-products">screening products</keyword> around <keyword id="350054" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="100" keywordseo="metabolomics">metabolomics</keyword> in areas like oral &amp; <keyword id="16070" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="breast-cancer">breast cancer</keyword>, and adult metabolic disorders. So a big chunk of the Series A money will be used for product development. We will <keyword id="47916" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="invest">invest</keyword> a good amount in Capex and Opex to further strengthen our testing portfolio,” he adds. 
 
Biggest challenge: According to Dr Rishi, there’s no real competition here as very few companies in India focus on genetics (metabolomics). As for the newborn screening business, a few labs who do screening through blood sample testing could be competitors, but they use an entirely different technology platform and can track a maximum of 45 disorders. However, creating awareness among prospective clients is currently the biggest challenge. <keyword id="1912844" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="patient-education">Patient education</keyword> is virtually non-existent in India while the cost of reaching them at a micro level could be huge. “That’s why we are opting for online registrations, which will reduce operational costs,” he notes. “Then there are other screening products we are working on. When they hit the market, we should be way ahead of others,” concludes Dr Rishi.

This Start-up Provides Genetic Screening For
Newborns, Adults; To Raise Series A Funding In 2-3 Months

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Chinese manufacturers' profits fell last month, but carmakers reported significant gains in the first quarter.</li><li>Weak domestic demand is causing Chinese companies to sell products en masse overseas.</li></ul>Big Chinese manufacturers' profits fell last month, but carmakers posted a significant gain in the first quarter — one of the sectors worrying US officials.The National Bureau of Statistics reported on Saturday that large-scale manufacturers' profits dipped 3.5% in March compared with a year earlier. For the first three months of the year, profits were up 4.3% to 1.51 trillion yuan, or about $208 billion.The new data highlights how weak domestic demand is eating into Chinese manufacturers' profits, causing companies to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-economy-overcapacity-dumping-manufacturing-exports-economic-woes-world-yellen-2024-4">sell products en masse overseas</a>. Janet Yellen, the US treasury secretary, and Antony Blinken, the secretary of state, visited China in the past month, where they warned of Chinese companies undercutting other manufacturers.Blinken said at a Friday press conference that he talked with Chinese officials about overcapacity in key industries, including solar panels, electric vehicles, and batteries."China alone is producing more than 100% of global demand for these products, flooding markets, undermining competition, and putting at risk livelihoods and businesses around the world," Blinken said.<h2>'A real train wreck coming'</h2>One major area of concern for the US is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-xi-jinping-crush-tesla-elon-musk-american-ev-industry-2024-2">protecting domestic car production</a>. Even though Chinese car companies don't sell cars in many large markets, such as the US, Chinese automakers' overall profit jumped 32% in the first quarter, year on year, according to the NBS.China needs to expand into new markets for many goods because domestic appetite has risen much slower than manufacturing output. Last year, China and Japan were neck and neck for the title of the world's largest auto exporter, and the Chinese EV maker BYD outsold Tesla.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-02/us-europe-gripes-on-china-overcapacity-aren-t-all-backed-by-data?srnd=all">Bloomberg</a> found earlier this month that so far, increased EV production hadn't led to a big uptick in inventory — the kind of overproduction hurting other industries.And cars weren't the only bright spot in the first quarter: Electronic industry profits were up 82.5% year on year, according to data from the NBS.Michael Froman, the US trade representative during the Obama administration, told <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnbc.com/video/2024/04/25/cfrs-michael-froman-on-trade-conflict-with-china-theres-a-real-train-wreck-coming-here.html">CNBC</a> on Thursday that China's export-led growth had come just as international markets were closing to the country. China has publicly written off US warnings about overproduction as posturing ahead of the presidential election."There's a real train wreck coming here where this is the next generation of trade conflict," said Froman, who's now the president of the Council on Foreign Relations. "This is broader than election-year activity."The NBS analyst Yu Weining wrote in a statement accompanying Saturday's data release that China was focused on boosting domestic demand and improving business confidence. Overall, domestic demand is depressed as the country faces a faltering GDP and a roiling <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/evergrande-ordered-liquidate-china-real-estate-property-crisis-winners-assets-2024-1">property market</a>.

China's big factories had a terrible March, even as automakers roar to new highs

<ul class="summary-list"><li>China's economy grew 5.3% in the first quarter of 2024, surpassing analyst expectations.</li><li>Despite this, March retail sales and industrial output fell short of forecasts.</li></ul>China reported robust economic growth for the first quarter of 2024.The world's second-largest economy grew 5.3% in the first quarter of this year from a year ago, according to the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202404/t20240416_1954583.html">National Bureau of Statistics</a> — beating the 4.8% growth analysts polled by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/live-blog/2024-04-16/china-quarterly-gdp-key-data">Bloomberg</a> had forecast and the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202401/t20240117_1946605.html">5.2% growth</a> it chalked up in the fourth quarter of 2023."We have got off to a solid start," Sheng Laiyun, the NBS's deputy director, said at a press briefing in Beijing, according to Bloomberg. He said industry was an important contributor to growth, contributing to more than one-third of first-quarter growth.Louise Loo, the China economist at Oxford Economics, wrote in a note on Tuesday that China's economy was also supported in the first quarter by consumer spending for the Lunar New Year holidays in February.Despite the rosy figures, a closer look at the figures indicates there's still pain ahead.March retail sales rose 3.1% from a year ago, missing Bloomberg forecasts of 4.8% growth. Industrial output for March also missed forecasts, coming in at 4.5% — well below the 6% predicted by analysts."'Standalone' March activity indicators suggest weakness coming through post-Lunar New Year," Loo said.In particular, China's property market continued to be in the dumps amid a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-economy-property-crisis-vanke-get-uglier-analyst-charlene-chu-2024-3">debt crisis</a>, with first-quarter <a target="_blank" href="https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/zxfb/202404/t20240416_1954590.html">new home sales</a> by value tanking nearly 31% from a year ago.Notably, the data didn't include China's youth-unemployment rate, which hit a record high of 21.3% in June 2023 before Beijing <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-economy-crash-youth-unemployment-rate-labor-market-atlantic-council-2024-2">revamped the methodology</a> for the metric to exclude full-time students.<h2>China is in a 'two-speed economy'</h2>China's data dump on Tuesday reflects the country's changing economic landscape.China's economy has traditionally relied on growth from real estate and lower-cost manufacturing. Beijing is now trying to pivot to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-economy-new-growth-areas-electric-vehicles-batteries-solar-property-2024-1">three new drivers</a> in the green sector: electric vehicles, solar cells, and lithium-ion batteries.This has created a "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-two-speed-economy-sectors-thriving-new-three-green-sustanability-travel-2024-2">two-speed economy</a>" in which some sectors are doing well — but still aren't enough to offset the massive slump in the property sector, which accounts for about <a target="_blank" href="https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202401/29/WS65b6ff1ba3105f21a507ec78.html">one-quarter of China's GDP</a>."The recent economic recovery has been driven by exports. I think it is a two-speed economy," said Raymond Yeung, the chief China economist at ANZ, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/instant-view-chinas-q1-gdp-022520387.html">Reuters</a>. "Domestic demand is still weak, but exports are good."Yeung said he expected China's economy to continue on a similar path in the second quarter of the year.Oxford Economics' Loo meanwhile expects headwinds to China's second-quarter growth as household spending normalizes and as inventory build-up is released onto the market.China has a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-economy-two-sessions-growth-goal-challenging-economists-2024-3">growth target</a> of about 5.0% this year.

China's GDP rose 5.3% in the first quarter, but it doesn't mean the economic pain is over

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Over one in 5 Chinese young adults looking for work can't find it, according to China's National Bureau of Statistics.</li><li>The Chinese government didn't report rates for July, saying it had to reevaluate its methodology.</li></ul>Chinese youth unemployment hit an all-time high in June, and it's impacting the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-economy-crash-recession-growth-retail-sales-inflation-deflation-covid-2023-7">entire Chinese economy</a> negatively.<a target="_blank" href="http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/pressrelease/202307/t20230715_1941276.html">In June</a>, China's <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-gdp-economy-second-quarter-growth-retail-industrial-production-unemployment-2023-7">National Bureau of Statistics</a> reported that for ages 16 - 24, employment hit a record high of 21.3% — or more than one in 5 people. "The trend of youth unemployment is unmistakable because NBS' own data, no matter how it has been calculated, shows that the urban youth unemployment rate has nearly doubled since 2019 and keeps growing," said Sun Xin, a lecturer at King's College London, told NBC News in an email.Sun also mentioned that the problem is exacerbated by "harsh business environments" that reduce hiring in foreign firms, while the state sector is unable to provide enough jobs that fit graduates' expectations.For their <a target="_blank" href="http://www.stats.gov.cn/english/PressRelease/202308/t20230815_1941964.html">July data</a> released last week, Chinese government officials <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/china-economy-july-misses-expectations-no-youth-unemployment-stat-2023-8">entirely omitted</a> the data on youth unemployment.A spokesperson told from the bureau told <a target="_blank" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/15/china-economy-july-industrial-output-fixed-asset-retail-data.html">CNBC</a> that the Chinese government did not release data on youth unemployment because it is reassessing its methodology and because of economic and social changes.The rate of unemployment doesn't necessarily mean there's a lack of jobs in China for people to take. According to reporting from <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/08/business/china-youth-unemployment.html#:~:text=And%20as%20more%20young%20people,for%20the%20most%20appealing%20roles.">The New York Times</a>, young people in China who graduated from higher education institutions haven't been able to find the white-collar jobs they want — jobs they went to school for.With China's economy already recovering slower than expected from catastrophic shutdowns during COVID-19, the unemployment rates could be especially harmful.The Times also reported that amid the crisis, Chinese leaders are telling young people to take jobs they might be overqualified for rather than have no job. Leader Xi Jinping encouraged them to learn how to "eat bitterness," or endure hardship to build character.But it's not quite that simple. According to research from <a target="_blank" href="https://gdc.unicef.org/resource/youth-unemployment-facts">United Nations Children's Fund</a>, youth unemployment impacts present and future economic growth and stability. The report also warns that youth unemployment can have "significant and serious social repercussions" and social unrest.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-youth-unemployment-xi-jobs-522028c5">The Wall Street Journal</a> reported that one young job-seeker, Liu Xingyu, was upset that older Chinese people felt her generation is "too picky.""They're not from our generation, and they don't understand us, so their opinions don't matter much to us," said Liu to the Journal.

One in 5 Chinese young adults looking for work is unemployed. The lack of work slows down the whole economy

<ul class="summary-list"><li>In July 1921, US aircraft demonstrated how air attacks could swiftly dispatch modern warships.</li><li>The tests were an early glimpse of the changes aviation would bring to naval warfare.</li></ul><keyword id="11938566" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="world-war-ii" source="Orion">World War II</keyword> may have definitively proved that <keyword id="12532576" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="battleship" source="Orion">battleship</keyword>s and other big-gun surface warships were no longer the dominant naval weapons, but the battleship's days were numbered well before the start of the war.In a high-profile test that culminated on July 21, 1921, aviators led by <a href="https://media.defense.gov/2010/May/25/2001330275/-1/-1/0/AFD-100525-082.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Brig. Gen. William "Billy" Mitchell</a> sank three captured German warships — demonstrating once and for all the advantage that aircraft have against warships.The test embarrassed the Navy and its significance was hotly debated, making it one of the earliest examples of US military inter-service rivalry. It was also a glimpse of the tactics that would transform naval warfare over the following decades.<h2>Battleships vs. airpower</h2><div type="image" title="British battleship HMS Dreadnought" height="1453" width="1938" msid="92991263" hostid="261" sizebytes="106914"></div>After <a href="https://www.historynet.com/dreadnought-revolutionized-naval-warfare/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HMS Dreadnought</a> entered service in 1906, battleships were considered the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-us-navy-used-battleships-in-combat-for-nearly-century-2020-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sovereigns of the seas</a>. As military aviation matured, some believed aircraft were bound to play a larger role in combat at sea — including Mitchell, an airpower advocate.A distinguished pilot who proved his command skills and the utility of airpower at the <a href="https://www.airforcemag.com/article/the-dawn-of-american-airpower-at-st-mihiel/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Battle of St. Mihiel</a> in 1918, Mitchell wanted the US military to have an independent flying branch. (He is now considered the father of the <keyword id="11940056" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="us-air-force" source="Orion">US Air Force</keyword>.)Mitchell also argued that aircraft were better suited to defend US coasts than battleships, which he believed were prohibitively expensive. For the same price, Mitchell said, the Army could buy hundreds or thousands of aircraft that could swarm and sink enemy battleships — something aircraft had never actually done before.<div type="image" title="Navy battleship USS Indiana" height="1125" width="1500" msid="92991264" hostid="261" sizebytes="159192"></div>To defend its role and its shipbuilding plans, the Navy tried to refute Mitchell with its own test on <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/i/indiana-battleship-no-1-i.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">USS Indiana</a>, a battleship built in the 1890s.Indiana sunk after being hit repeatedly during the test in November 1920, but it was later <a href="https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/data/batches/dlc_fogler_ver01/data/sn83030214/00206532592/1921012301/0694.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revealed</a> that the Navy dropped dummy bombs filled with sand and detonated explosives separately to sink the ship.A year later, Mitchell was assistant chief of the US Army Air Service — the precursor to the US Army Air Corps — and took his arguments to Congress."All we want to do is to have you gentlemen watch us attack a battleship," he said at a hearing in January 1921. "Give us the warships to attack, and come watch it."<h2>Project B</h2><div type="image" title="German cruiser Frankfurt bombing test" height="850" width="1133" msid="92991266" hostid="261" sizebytes="139092"></div>After much pressure and publicity, the Navy begrudgingly agreed to a joint Army-Navy test, dubbed Project B. Four captured German warships and the obsolete battleship <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/i/iowa-ii.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">USS Iowa</a> would be used as target ships for Army and Navy S.E.5 fighters, F5Ls flying boats, and NBS-1 and Handley Page O/400 bombers.The Navy set a number of odd conditions, seemingly to ensure the test's failure.The aircraft couldn't use torpedoes, could only use certain bomb loads on each mission, and were only allowed two direct hits with their 1,100-pound bombs. Inspections would be conducted between bombing runs, and the ships also had to be sunk some 50 miles from the Virginia Capes, limiting the time the aircraft could spend in the target area.Mitchell's 1st Provisional Air Brigade was undeterred. The unit trained to drop its bombs around the ships instead of on them, believing that the water would magnify the shockwaves. The Air Service also prepared a batch of 2,000-pound bombs for the test.<div type="image" title="German cruiser Frankfurt bombing test" height="844" width="1125" msid="92991267" hostid="261" sizebytes="141994"></div>The Navy conducted the first test on June 21, when 12 bombs from Navy F5Ls sank the submarine U-117. The next test, on June 29, saw Navy aircraft drop 80 dummy bombs on the Iowa. Only two found their mark, bolstering beliefs that no battleship could be sunk from the air.On July 13, Mitchell's unit finally took part, attacking the destroyer SMS G-102. S.E.5 fighters first conducted strafing runs, hitting the deck 25 times with 25-pound bombs to demonstrate that they could clear a ship's deck of sailors and <keyword id="14500973" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="anti-aircraft" source="Orion">anti-aircraft</keyword> weapons. Then, 16 NBS-1 bombers dropped 32 300-pound bombs, making four making direct hits and sinking the destroyer in 19 minutes.Because G-102 was a small ship, sinking it with bombs wasn't considered a groundbreaking accomplishment. Five days later, however, Mitchell's unit sank the SMS Frankfurt, a modern light cruiser, with 600-pound bombs.<div type="image" title="German battleship Ostfriesland bombing test" height="912" width="1216" msid="92991268" hostid="261" sizebytes="102894"></div>The coup de grâce came on July 20. As high-ranking observers looked on, the modern battleship SMS Ostfriesland <a href="http://www.nmusafvirtualtour.com/media/011/011k.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">was attacked</a> by Army and Navy aircraft. Multiple hits by 230- and 600-pound bombs did little damage to Ostfriesland's superstructure, but near-misses damaged its hull and caused it to list five degrees to port.The test was paused because of a storm, but the next morning Army NBS-1 bombers scored three direct hits with 1,100-pound bombs. The Navy ordered a halt to assess the damage, preventing Mitchell's men from finishing off the battleship. A few hours later, the bombers returned with 2,000-pound bombs.To prevent the Navy from stopping the test again, Mitchell ordered his men to drop the bombs in the water close to the Ostfriesland instead of on the ship itself. Three of the six bombs detonated close enough to rip holes in the hull. Twenty-two minutes later, the battleship rolled over and sank.<h2>Mitchell's vindication</h2><div type="image" title="William Billy Mitchell aerial torpedo" height="1276" width="1701" msid="92991269" hostid="261" sizebytes="151270"></div>Project B proved Mitchell's argument that modern battleships could be sunk by aircraft. The Navy disputed its relevance, arguing that Mitchell's aircraft had sunk stationary ships that had no active defenses and needed considerable resources to do it.A joint Army-Navy Board report a month after the test said battleships were still "the backbone of the fleet and the bulwark of the nation's sea defense" and would be so as long as "safe navigation of the sea" was required for commerce and conflict.The sinking of the battleship <a href="https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/ship-histories/danfs/a/alabama-ii.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">USS Alabama</a> in a similar test in September didn't change any minds, and the 1st Provisional Air Brigade was subsequently disbanded.Mitchell continued aggressively arguing his case for airpower and for an independent military flying branch. In 1923, he <a href="https://www.americanheritage.com/billy-mitchells-prophecy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warned</a> that the US naval base at Pearl Harbor was vulnerable to a Japanese <keyword id="14500972" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="air-attack" source="Orion">air attack</keyword>. His outspokenness <a href="https://www.historynet.com/the-court-martial-of-colonel-bill-mitchell/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">led</a> to his demotion and court martial in 1925.<div type="image" title="British Lancaster bombers over German battleship Tirpitz" height="900" width="1200" msid="92991270" hostid="261" sizebytes="114556"></div>Ultimately, World War II proved Mitchell correct about the transformative role of airpower in naval warfare — a role that only grew with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/nazi-attack-on-warships-introduced-world-to-precision-guided-weapons-2021-9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">technological advances during the war</a>.The British air attack on the Italian fleet <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/british-air-raid-taranto-italy-informed-japanese-pearl-harbor-attack-2020-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">at Taranto</a> was a model for the Japanese attack on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-us-navy-aircraft-carriers-avoided-destruction-at-pearl-harbor-2020-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">US ships at Pearl Harbor</a>. British aircraft were also crucial to defeating the German battleships <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-the-british-hunted-sunk-nazi-german-battleships-bismarck-tirpitz-2021-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bismarck and Tirpitz</a>.In the Pacific, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/japanese-planes-sank-prince-of-wales-repulse-ending-battleship-era-2021-12" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Japanese attacks</a> on <a href="https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/the-indian-ocean-raid-disaster-for-the-royal-navy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">British ships</a> and later Allied victories at <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/battle-of-the-coral-sea" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Coral Sea</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/battle-of-midway" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Midway</a> confirmed that aircraft were the dominant naval weapon.Even Japan's Yamato and Musashi, the largest and most powerful battleships ever built, could not defend themselves from <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/leyte-gulf-biggest-naval-battle-ever-last-time-battleships-fought-2020-10" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hundreds of aircraft committed to their destruction</a>.

A first-of-its-kind bomber test 20 years before World War II spelled the beginning of the end of the battleship era

New Delhi, Dec 4 () The government is seriously considering options for decontrolling urea by either fixing a nutrient-based subsidy(NBS) rate or making direct payment of subsidy to farmers' account, Fertiliser Minister Sadananda Gowda said on Wednesday.
 In 2010, the government had launched the NBS programme under which a fixed amount of subsidy, decided on an annual basis, is provided on each grade of subsidised phosphatic and potassic (P&amp;K) fertilizers, except for urea, based on the nutrient content present in them.
 "As far as change in the urea policy is concerned, we are open to suggestions. It can be NBS for urea or direct subsidy to the farmers account with decontrol of fertilizer sector. These are some of the alternatives which are under discussion," Gowda said while addressing an event organised by the Fertiliser Association of India (FAI) here.
 He further said that the government is "actively pursuing the issue of revision of fixed cost under urea policy" and added that any change in policy should protect the interest of farmers, industry and help conserve resources.
 Currently, urea is the only controlled fertilizer and is sold at a statutory notified uniform sale price. Its maximum retail price is fixed at Rs 5,360 per tonne. It is the most commonly used fertiliser because it is highly subsidised.
 Noting that the government is aware of the challenges faced by the industry, Gowda said, however there are "no short cut solutions" to the structural problems but the government is working very hard to find possible way out.
 As far as fertilizer policies and payments are concerned, the government is in continuous dialogue with all the stakeholders and various wings of the government.
 "It is our effort that there is an adequate provision for fertilizer subsidy and payments to the industry are made promptly," he said.
 However, there is a need to keep in mind the government's fiscal limitation in order to balance sometimes the "conflicting requirement' and meet the expectation of all stakeholders, he added.
 The minister also urged the industry to redefine the role of fertilisers industry by introducing newer forms of fertilisers and lauded efforts of cooperative fertiliser firm IFFCO in developing 'Nano fertilisers'.
 Speaking on the occasion, think-tank Niti Aayog member Ramesh Chand said there is a "disquiet trend in the fertiliser sector" as there is too much criticism about the soil nutrients which are essential for achieving food security.
 He said that consumption of fertilisers in most parts of the country is much lower than the average and there is a need to dispel misconception surrounding fertilisers impact on environment and human health.
 "Let us set perception right for growth of the agriculture sector and food security," he added. LUX LUX MR
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