[SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY] November 28, 2014

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Science and technology

November

China has launched remote sensing satellite Yaogan-23 from Taiyuan

Satellite Launch Centre Yaogan-23 satellite will mainly be used for scientific

experiments, natural resource surveys, crop yield estimates and disaster

relief.

Yaogan Satellite series

In 2006, China launched the first satellite in the Yaogan series that is

Yaogan-1.

In future, China planned to launch about 70 remote sensing satellites to

detect the near-Earth space environment and predict extreme events.

China will also launch about 20 communication satellites to meet

communication demand in national security and public services.

Besides, China will launch about 30 navigation satellites to provide accurate

and reliable global positioning and navigation services.

Rosetta mission of European Space Agency (ESA) has landed its Philae

probe on the surface of Comet 67P/ Churyumov–Gerasimenko. Philae probe

landing on Comet 67P made a Space history, as for the first time probe has

landed on a comet.The 1 billion pound (1.58 billion US dollars) Rosetta

mission blasted off fromEurope‟s spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, in

March 2004, for a long journey involving loops around the Sun as it aimed

to get onto the same orbit as 67P.

India and United Kingdom (UK) have announced a “Newton-Bhabha Fund

programme” to scale up theirbilateral research & innovation relationship to

a greater level. This new initiative was announced during a meeting between

Union Minister for Scienceand Technology Dr. Harsh Vardhan and the UK

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Minister for Universities, Science and Cities Greg Clark, who co-chaired the

4th UK-India Science and Innovation Council (SIC) held at new Delhi.

India and United Kingdom (UK) have announced a “Newton-Bhabha Fund

programme” to scale up theirbilateral research & innovation relationship to

a greater level. This new initiative was announced during a meeting between

Union Minister for Scienceand Technology Dr. Harsh Vardhan and the UK

Minister for Universities, Science and Cities Greg Clark, who co-chaired the

4th UK-India Science and Innovation Council (SIC) held at new Delhi.

Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed herbal

drug Lukosin, for treatment of leucoderma (white patches on skin). This

drug is developed from medicinal plants. The scientists of Defence Bio-

Energy Research (DIBER), Haldwani inUttarakhand,

ISRO to Launch GSLV MK III in December

On 30th October 2014, ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan announced that

the experimental mission of Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle

Mark III (GSLV-MK III) will take place in the first half of December.

Date of the launch is not yet fixed because of the three reasons:

Preparedness of the vehicle.

Certain analysis and reconfirmation is yet to be done for the new vehicle.

Weather: from October middle to first week of December the weather

conditions are not good because of the cyclonic storms are so frequent.

About Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III (GSLV Mark-III)

ISRO has developed the geo-synchronous satellite launch vehicle (GSLV-

Mark I-III) with indigenous cryogenic engine

The main function of GSLV Mark-III is for Mid-Heavy Lift Launch System.

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Objective: To launch heavy satellites weighing more than two tonnes into

geostationary orbit 36,000 km above Earth.

It will allow India to become less dependent on foreign rockets for heavy

lifting.

GSLV Mark-III comprises of three stage vehicle with a first stage consisting

of two identical large solid boosters strapped onto the second liquid stage.

The third stage is a cryogenic stage.

ISRO‟s flight development plans

First development flight (GSLV MK III D1) with an operational cryogenic

stage is planned in between 2016 to 2017.

Second development flight (GSLV Mk-III D2) is planned after one year of

GSLV Mk-III D1 flight in 2017 to 2018.

Successful flight development will help in India‟s manned mission to space.

The 630-tonne GSLV-MK III will carry a crew module of 3.65-tonne. ISRO

plans to send astronauts into space eventually.

SpaceX Dragon spacecraft returns safely

October 28, 2014 No comments

SpaceX‟s Dragon spacecraft has concluded its mission to the ISS

(InternationalSpace Station) and returned to Earth. The spacecraft was

launched in September in SpaceX‟s Falcon 9 launch vehicle. This was

Dragon‟s fifth visit to the ISS.

Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, orSpaceX, is a space

transport services company that is headquartered in Hawthorne, California,

USA

ndia successfully launches IRNSS 1C

October 17, 2014 No comments

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IRNSS 1C, the next satellite in India‟s IRNSS (Indian Regional Navigational

Satellite System) series, was launched successfully on October 16 by ISRO.

IRNSS 1C was launched on a PSLV C26 from Sriharikota.

IRNSS is similar to other satellite navigation service providers like USA‟s

GPS (Global Positioning System), Russia‟s Glonass, Europe‟s

Galileo, Japan‟s Quasi Zenith and China‟s Beidou.

Applications of IRNSS

Terrestrial, Aerial and Marine Navigation

Disaster Management

Vehicle tracking and fleet management

Integration with mobile phones

Precise Timing

Mapping and Geodetic data capture

Terrestrial navigation aid for hikers and travellers

Visual and voice navigation for drivers

Government to complete Phase-III of Cable TV Digitization by 2015

ISRO to launch M3M satellite of Canada

October 6, 2014 No comments

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Canada‟s M3M (Maritime Monitoring and Messaging Micro-Satellite) is set

to be launched by India‟s PSLV rocket. The agreement for the same was

signed by India‟s Antriux Corp. and Canada‟s COM DEV Intl. The satellite is

due to be launched in July 2015. The satellite was built for the Canadian

Department ofNational Defence, and is a communications satellite

List of 2014 Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Award Winners

September 27, 2014 No comments

The winners of the 2014 edition of the annual Shanti Swaroop

Bhatnagar Award were announced by CSIR (Council for Scientific and

Industrial Research) at its 72nd Foundation Day celebrations on 26

September 2014. The 10 awardees have been chosen from various

prestigious research institutions inIndia. The list of awardees of this year‟s

prize are as follows:-

Biological Sciences

Roop Mallik Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Mumbai

Chemical Sciences

Kavirayani Ramakrishna Prasad Indian Institute of Science Bengaluru.

Souvik Maiti Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (CSIR-IGIB)

New Delhi.

Earth, Atmosphere, Ocean and Planetary Sciences

Sachchida Nand Tripathi Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur.

Engineering Sciences

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S Venkata Mohan Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR-

IICT)Hyderabad.

Soumen Chakrabarti Indian Institute of Technology Mumbai.

Mathematical Sciences

Kaushal Kumar Verma Indian Institute of Science Bengaluru.

Medical Sciences

Anurag Agrawal Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (CSIR-IGIB)

New Delhi.

Physical Sciences

Pratap Raychaudhuri Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Mumbai.

Sadiqali Abbas Rangwala Raman Research Institute Bengaluru.

Mom Inserted Into Mars Orbit

September 24, 2014 No comments

The Mars Orbiter Mission(MOM), or Mangalyaan was successfully inserted

into Mars‟ orbit on the 24th of September 2014 with the help of the Indian

Space Research Organisation (ISRO). This gives India the distinction of not

only being the first nation to send a satellite into Mars‟ orbit in its first

attempt, but also the first Asian nation to successfully send a satellite to

Mars. This combined with the fact that MOM cost India only a tenth of what

NASA incurred to insert its satellite into Mars‟ orbit, makes this

achievement a source of great pride to the nation.

India‟s first interplanetary mission was launched from the Satish Dhawan

Space Centre, Sriharikota on a PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) on the

5th of November 2013. The satellite, weighing around 1,350 kg was on an

elliptical orbit around the Earth for a month before it set off towards Mars.

The objectives of the MOM are to study Mars‟ surface features, mineral

compositions and atmospheric conditions using indigenously developed

instruments. The mission also serves to showcase India‟s capabilities in

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indigenously developing, planning and launching an interplanetary mission.

Apart from being a feat in itself, this latest milestone could help open up the

highly lucrative space technology market to India.

Union Ministry of Science & Technology announces “KIRAN” scheme for

Women Scientists

September 11, 2014 No comments

The Union Ministry of Science & Technology also announced KIRAN

(Knowledge, Involvement, Research, Advancement through Nurturing) for

women scientists –A unique advertising scheme to bring about, as far as

possible, gender equality in the field of science and technology.

Objectives:-

To increase the number of women researchers in India.

Provide Research grants particularly to those female researchers and

technologists who had to take a break in career owing to household reasons.

Bring about, as far as achievable, gender parity in the field of science and

technology.

The scholarships will be provided under three categories-

For those women linked in research work in basic or applied sciences with

any central or state level organization or university

For those women scientists involved in research and application of

innovative solutions for several social problems

For those researchers who are self-employed.

ICICI Bank presents „Cardless Cash Withdrawal‟ – Withdraw cash from

ATM without a card

Unit 5 of RAPS becomes world‟s 2nd longest running reactor

September 7, 2014 No comments

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India‟s nuclear power programme reached a fresh milestone after Unit 5 of

theRajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS), become the 2nd longest

running reactor in the world by being in operation for 765 days nonstop.

The Unit 5 of the RAPS, a 220 MW Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor

(PHWR), in Rawatbhata has been in uninterrupted operation since August

2, 2012 and it has been operating at full power with a capacity factor of 105%

and has since then generated around 4,258 million units of electricity.

Unit 7 of Canada‟s Pickering nuclear plant holds the world record of running

the largest operating plant that ran continuously for 894 days.

Email‟ invented by Indian-American V A Shiva Ayyadurai turns 32

“The Green Bus project”: India„s first ethanol-run public bus launched in

Nagpur

August 26, 2014 No comments

India launched “The Green Bus project” in Nagpur with the launch of its

firstethanol-run, environment-friendly public bus. The bus will emit carbon

dioxide as low as 15% to 90% and its emissions will be monitored by the

Union government,Maharashtra state government and Nagpur Municipal

Corporation.

President inaugurates India‟s first IIEST

August 25, 2014 No comments

President Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated the first Indian Institute of

EngineeringScience and Technology (IIEST) of the country

in Shibpur located in the city ofHowrah, West Bengal.

Indian scientist awarded prestigious grant under Obama initiative

August 20, 2014 No comments

Partha Mitra, an Indian researcher in the US has been awarded a

prestigiousresearch grant under President Barack Obama‟s initiative to map

the human brain.

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„IBM Simon‟: World‟s first smartphone turns 20

PM Modi commissions INS Kolkata into Indian Navy

August 16, 2014 No comments

Prime Minister of India, Mr. Narendra Modi, commissioned INS Kolkata

into theIndian Navy at a scintillating ceremony held at the Naval

Dockyard, Mumbai.

Key points about INS Kolkata:

Largest indigenously-built warship

Constructed by the Mazagon Dockyards Limited and designed by Navy‟s

design bureau.

The 6,800 tonne warship is a technology demonstrator and will mark

India‟s giant leap in shipbuilding technology.

To be a part of the Kolkata Class destroyers of the Indian Navy which will

include follow-on ships by the name of INS Kochi and INS Chennai

respectively.

The Project 15A Kolkata class destroyers are follow-on of the legendary

Project 15 „Delhi‟ class destroyers which entered service in the late 1990s.

Length: 164 m, Width: 18 m, Full load displacement: 7400 tonnes.

It derives her name from the cultural capital city of India and state capital of

Bengal – Kolkata – `The City of Joy`.

Ministry of Railways Launches New Improved e-Ticketing System

August 14, 2014 No comments

Now booking rail tickets through the IRCTC website will be faster and

smoother than before with the new e-ticketing system developed by Centre

for Railway Information Systems (CRIS). IRCTC has developed and

introduced following e-systems:-

1) New e-Ticketing system: This would enable booking of 7200 tickets per

minute against 2000 tickets through the current system. Developed at a cost

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of Rs 180 crore, is capable of accommodating 1.2 lakh concurrent users with

booking of e-tickets simultaneously against the earlier capacity of 40,000

concurrent users at a time. The next generation e-ticketing software will

eliminate the problems of non-availability of website like user sessions

getting terminated.

WHO approves use of experimental drug ZMapp against Ebola Virus

August 13, 2014 No comments

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has approved the use of

drug ZMapp to combat Ebola spread as the death count surged.

The WHO decision comes after a US firm Mapp Biopharmaceutical supplied

ZMapp to treat two US health workers who contracted the Ebola virus while

treating Ebola affected patients in Liberia. The drug has shown some

positive effects in saving the lives of Ebola-infected people

NASA to launch Mars 2020 Rover to further exploration of the Red Planet

August 8, 2014 No comments

NASA has announced that it will launch a new mission to Mars in 2020

named as Mars 2020 Rover mission.

NASA to launch Mars 2020 Rover to further exploration of the Red Planet

August 8, 2014 No comments

The European Space Agency‟s (ESA) spacecraft „Rosetta‟ became the first

spacecraft to intercept and go into orbit around a comet. It is now in

position tohelp researchers to begin with their investigations into how the

Solar System came into being.

Ebola is a Public Health Emergency: WHO

August 8, 2014 No comments

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The emergency committee of the World Health Organization has

unanimously agreed to proclaim the Ebola virus a Public Health Emergency

of InternationalConcern.

As per the UN body, the possible outcomes of further international spread

are particularly serious in view of the mortality rate linked with the disease,

the intensive community and health facility transmission patterns, and the

fragile health systems in the currently affected and most at-risk countries.

As per WHO, the current Ebola outbreak began in Guinea in December 2013

and has since spread to Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. As of August 4,

2014, 1,711 cases of the infection have been reported and over 1,000 of which

have been confirmed, and 932 deaths due to the virus have occurred.

Micromax dethrones Samsung, emerges as India‟s No. 1 mobile supplier

August 4, 2014 No comments

As per a report by an independent market research and consulting

firm,CounterPoint Research, Micromax has overtaken Samsung to become

the largest mobile phone supplier in India in Q2 2014.

PM Modi to induct warship INS Kolkata

August 4, 2014 No comments

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to induct country‟s largest

indigenously-built combat vessel INS Kolkata in Mumbai in August 2014.

Key points about INS Kolkata:

Largest indigenously-built warship

Constructed by the Mazagon Dockyards Limited and designed by Navy‟s

design bureau.

The 6,800 tonne warship is a technology demonstrator and will markIndia‟s

giant leap in shipbuilding technology.

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To be a part of the Kolkata Class destroyers of the Indian Navy which will

include follow-on ships by the name of INS Kochi and INS Chennai

respectively.

It also test-fired a BrahMos missile off Karwar‟s coast earlier in August 2014

as part of pre-induction weapon trials at sea.

Dongfeng-41: China‟s 12,000-kms intercontinental missile

August 2, 2014 No comments

Enhancing the reach of its fire-power, China‟s has unveiled the

sophisticatedInter-Continental Ballistic Missile (ICBM), which has a range

of 12,000 kms,placing it among the world‟s longest-range missiles.

SHERLOC: Raman UV spectrometer to be sent with Mars 2020 rover

mission to sense habitability

Japanese women are world‟s longest-lived females; Hong Kong men longest-

lived males

RTS,S: World‟s first vaccine against Malaria to hit markets soon

July 30, 2014 No comments

The world‟s first malaria vaccine– RTS,S created by pharma company GSK,

is expected to hit the markets by 2015. GSK has submitted a regulatory

application to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for its malaria vaccine

candidate, RTS,S.

Sixth C-17 Globemaster III aircraft delivered to IAF

July 29, 2014 No comments

Indian Air Force received its sixth C-17 Globemaster III aircraft at the Palam

Airbase in New Delhi in the presence of the Union Defence Minister Arun

Jaitley.

About C-17 Globemaster III

About C-17 Globemaster III

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It has the potential to carry 75 tonnes of load which is almost double the

capacity of Russian IL-76 in the IAF inventory which can carry only around

40 tonnes.

It will boost up IAF‟s flexibility in terms of operational response and with

the heavy lift capability it could easily move troops and heavy tanks to

required locations.

It will have a greater strategic reach of up to 4000 kms and will also be very

useful in relief operation with its capabilities of being operational under all

conditions and abilities to take-off from short runways with heavy loads.

Flipkart raises $1 billion, largest in Indian e-commerce field

Flipkart co-founder Sachin Bansal, described the deal inked last week as a

milestone for the Indian Internet as a whole and said that the company

hoped to become one of India‟s first $100 billion company in the next five

years or more. Work on setting up „Rural ATMs‟ underway: RBI

July 15, 2014 1 Comment

Encouraged by the Reserve Bank .of India (RBI), banks are working on

setting up„Rural ATMs‟ for dispensing currency notes of smaller

denominations. Banks have been encouraged to find a solution for

introducing rural ATMs.

Generally, in city or urban centric ATMs, they will give out high

denomination notes (Rs 1,000 and Rs 500), whereas in rural areas, the

demand of people is more of lesser denomination.

INS Kamorta: India‟s first indigenous warship delivered to Indian Navy

July 12, 2014 No comments

Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers Ltd (GRSE) delivered to the Indian

Navycountry‟s first indigenously built warship INS Kamorta. The highly

sophisticatedAnti-Submarine Warship (ASW), the first in its class of four

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corvettes being built by GGRSE for the Navy was built with indigenous steel

produced by SAIL‟s Bhilai Steel Plant.

The corvette is the first naval warship built in the country with indigenously

developed special grade high-tensile (DMR249A) steel produced by Steel

Authority of India. The hull of the ship carries the bulk of sensors and

weapon systems that are also indigenously developed by various

Indian industries.

The ASW is a significant advancement towards India‟s quest to self-

reliance in indigenous warship building. It also brings the Indian Navy‟s

pursuit to be a „Builder‟s Navy‟ as well as a true „Blue-water Navy‟ with ships

and submarines being designed and built indigenously.

Now minimum broadband speed is 512 kbps: TRAI

IMG studying GAGAN‟s potential for non-aviation sector

July 7, 2014 No comments

The government has set up an Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) under

Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation to evaluate the potential of GAGAN

(GPS Aided Augmented Navigation) system for non-aviation sectors.

Advantages of GAGAN:

It will modernize air traffic management and communication-navigation

surveillance system.

Aircrafts will get more accurate figures while landing, take-off and in-flight.

India would join the elite club of U.S., Europe and Japan who have the same

level of space-based augmentation.

GAGAN offers free enhanced satellite navigation signals over India which is

10 times more precise than GPS.

It can offer civilian users integrity, i.e. a measure of trust which can be

placed in the accuracy of the information supplied by the system, with the

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user being automatically alerted whenever an error made by the system is

beyond a certain confidence limit.

The role of integrity is significant in the safety of life applications in

transport, sensitive commercial applications and liability-critical

applications requiring legal recourse.

Trial run of India‟s fastest train on Delhi-Agra at 160 kmph successful

July 3, 2014 No comments

The first trial run of the India‟s fastest train on the New Delhi-Agra route

was performed successfully by the Indian Railways. The train covered a

distance of 200 kms in 100 minutes against the slated time of 90 minutes.

Although the average speed of the train during the entire journey was 125-

130 km/h, its speed reached a maximum speed of 160 kmph.

Currently, the Bhopal Shatabdi Express is India‟s fastest train with a highest

speed of 150 km/h.

4 new vaccines added to India‟s Universal Immunization Programme (UIP)

July 3, 2014 No comments

As per an announcement made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the

Government of India plans to introduce four new vaccines as part of

India‟sUniversal Immunization Programme (UIP).

The vaccines will be against Rotavirus, Rubella and Polio (injectable) which

will speed up India‟s progress on meeting the Millennium Development

Goal (MDG)four targets to bring down child mortality by 2/3rd by the year

2015 and meet global polio eradication targets.

India successfully launched PSLV C-23 with 5 satellites

June 30, 2014 1 Comment

India‟s ANTRIX (ISRO‟s commercial arm) successfully launched 5 foreign

satellites from four countries on board PSLV-C23 rocket which placed them

in orbit.

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The rocket was launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre

in Sriharikota and was also witnessed by PM Narendra Modi.

ISRO‟s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle PSLV-C23 placed all five satellites into

their respective orbits.

The rocket carried with it primary payload of 714 kg French Earth

Observation Satellite SPOT-7, 14 kg AISAT of Germany, NLS7.1 (CAN-X4)

and NLS7.2 (CAN-X5) of Canada each weighing 15 kg and the 7 kg VELOX-1

of Singapore.

PM Modi extolled the efforts Indian space scientists and asked the space

community to develop a SAARC satellite.

He referred to pictures showing rocket components being transported on

bicycles.

SPOT 7: French satellite, it will be part of the existing Earth observation

satellite. It has been built by European space technology

company Airbus Defence and Space.

AISAT: German nano-satellite, to focus on the global sea-traffic monitoring

system with special emphasis on high traffic zones using AIS signals.

NLS 7.1 and NLS 7.2: Canadian satellite, they will perform Two-spacecraft

precision formation flying using differential GPS with centimetre-level

relative position and sub-metre level accurate position control system.

VELOX-1: Singaporean satellite, it is a technology demonstrator for in-

house design of image sensor, MEMS-based attitude determination and

control system and inter-satellite RF link.

Biochip developed to measure blood sugar via saliva

June 26, 2014 No comments

A new biochip sensor that can selectively measure glucose concentrations in

a complex fluid like saliva has been developed by scientists at Brown

University in the US.

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