1. ‘SMART’ program for Ayurveda professionals launched to regulate and boost R&D in Ayurveda
Tags: National Science and Technology
In order to regulate Ayurvedic medical education and boost the research and development in Ayurveda, the government has launched ‘SMART’ (Scope for Mainstreaming Ayurveda Research in Teaching Professionals) program on 2 January 2023.
The SMART program has been jointly launched by the Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) and the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS). Both the Institutions come under the Union Ministry of Ayush.
The proposed initiative is conceptualized with an objective to identify, support and promote innovative research ideas in healthcare research areas through Ayurveda colleges and hospitals.
The program was launched by Vaidya Jayant Deopujari, Chairman, NCISM and Prof. Rabinarayan Acharya, Director General, CCRAS in the presence of Prof. B. S. Prasad, President of Board of Ayurveda, NCISM and other senior officials.
Every year 23 October is observed as Ayurveda Diwas in India.
Union Ministry of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, Homoeopathy)
- The Ministry of AYUSH was set up on the 9th of November 2014 to revive the knowledge of traditional Indian systems of medicine.
- It focuses on education and research in the fields of Ayurveda, Yoga Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and Homoeopathy.
- Minister of AYUSH: Sarbananda Sonowal
2. Centre to launch the Digital India Innovation Fund for catalyzing deep tech start-ups
Tags: Science and Technology National News
Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar on 30th December 2022 said that the central government is going to launch a Digital India Innovation Fund that will support deep-tech startups.
What is Deeptech?
Technology that is based on tangible engineering innovation or scientific advances and discoveries are known as Deep tech.
It is a term used to describe technologically based companies or enterprises that develop innovative solutions and approaches to address major societal challenges such as climate change, food production, chronic diseases, waste recycling and others.
As for the technologies, deep tech involves the vast utilization of advanced solutions, including Artificial intelligence & Machine learning, Big data, Nanotechnologies, Blockchain, Quantum computing, Robotics etc.
India’s Deeptech ecosystem
India's deep-tech ecosystem has grown by 53% in the last decade and is now at par with developed economies such as the US, China, Israel and Europe.
From drone delivery and cold chain management to climate action and clean energy, deep-tech start-ups are making their presence felt in all sectors.
Bengaluru accounts for 25-30% of India's deep-tech start-ups, followed by Delhi-NCR (15-20%) and Mumbai (10-12%).
3. PM to address 108th Indian Science Congress to be held in Nagpur
Tags: place in news National Science and Technology Summits
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the 108th Indian Science Congress (ISC) on 3rd January, 2023 through video conferencing. The 108 Indian national Science Congress is being organised by the Indian Science Congress Association from 3-7 January 2023 at the Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University.
The 107 Indian Science Congress 2022 was held at the University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK Campus, Bangalore, Karnataka in January 2022.
Theme of the 108th Indian Science Congress 2023: Science and Technology for Sustainable Development with Women Empowerment”.
The Congress will hold discussions on issues of sustainable development, women empowerment and the role of science & technology in achieving this. A special programme to showcase the contribution of women in science and technology will also be held, which will also witness lectures by renowned women scientists.
Other Programmes at the ISC
Several other programmes will also be organised alongside ISC. Children’s Science Congress will also be organised to help stimulate scientific interest and temperament among children. Farmer’s Science Congress will provide a platform to improve the bio-economy and attract youth to agriculture.
Tribal Science Congress will also be held, which will also be a platform for scientific display of indigenous ancient knowledge system and practice, along with focusing on the empowerment of tribal women.
Indian Science Congress Association
The Indian Science Congress Association owes its origin to the two British Chemists, Professor J. L. Simonsen and Professor P. S. Mac Mahon. It was set up in Kolkata in 1914.
It was their view that scientific research in India would be stimulated if an annual meeting of research workers somewhat on the lines of the British Association for the Advancement of Science could be arranged.
Every year its members meet annually in the first week of January named Indian Science Congress. The first session of the Congress was held in 1914.
4. Dinesh Kumar Shukla assumes the charge as the Chairman of the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board
Tags: Science and Technology Person in news
Distinguished Scientist and former Executive Director of Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) Dinesh Kumar Shukla assumed the charge as Chairman, AERB on 31st December 2022. He has been appointed to this post for a period of three years.
The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board was constituted on November 15, 1983, by the President of India under the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 to carry out certain regulatory and safety functions.
The regulatory authority of AERB is derived from the rules and notifications promulgated under the Atomic Energy Act and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
The Mission of the AERB is to ensure the use of ionizing radiation and nuclear energy in India does not cause undue risk to the health of people and the environment.
Currently, the Board consists of a full-time Chairman, an ex officio Member, three part-time Members and a Secretary.
Headquarters of AERB: Mumbai
5. ISRO, NCES and Andhra University to set up equipment along beaches to predict rip currents and prevent drowning at sea
Tags: place in news Science and Technology State News
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) with National Centre for Earth Sciences (NCES), Thiruvananthapuram and Andhra University will jointly set up equipment to forecast rip currents at Rushikonda and RK beach of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
According to the state government over 200 people have drowned in sea at various beaches in and around Visakhapatnam during 2012 to 2022 and of these, RK beach in the city accounted for 60 percent of deaths. Majority of the death has been due to the presence of rip currents.
The equipment will be used to inform the local marine and local police to alert visitors in the coastal areas.
Rip currents are powerful, narrow channels of fast-moving water which moves from shore towards sea. The rip currents are so powerful that they pull people away from the shorelines towards sea. The majority of people who are pulled away by the rip currents die when they are unable to keep themselves afloat and swim to the shore.
Rip currents are found in almost all the beaches of the world.
6. SpaceX launched the first 54 Starlink v2.0 satellites into orbit
Tags: Science and Technology
On December 28, 2022, the SpaceXFalcon 9 launch vehicle launched into low Earth orbit the first 54 Starlink satellites of the new generation - v2.0 or Gen2.
Important facts
The launch took place from the SLC-40 launch pad of the US Air Force Base at Cape Canaveral. This is the 60th successful SpaceX mission since the beginning of 2022.
Starlink v2.0 satellites have several different configurations depending on the launch vehicle.
v2.0 is carried by the old Falcon 9. The mass of such satellites is 303 kg, and the dimensions are almost the same as in v1.5.
SpaceX currently has 3,604 operational Starlink satellites in orbit.
The total number of satellites planned is 12,000 with the possibility of additional expansion up to 42,000.
About SpaceX
It is a private spaceflight company that sends satellites and people to space, including NASA crews to the International Space Station (ISS).
The company sent its first two astronauts to the ISS on May 30, 2020, aboard the SpaceX Crew Dragon, and several more on behalf of NASA and other organizations.
As of mid-2022, it is the only commercial spaceflight company capable of sending astronauts into space.
SpaceX was founded by Alan Musk, a South African-born businessman and entrepreneur.
7. Five generations of high-temperature stars revealed in the largest Milky Way globular cluster Omega Centauri
Tags: Science and Technology
Astronomers and scientists at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) while studying the Omega Centauri have found that hot stars and white dwarfs emitted less ultraviolet radiation than expected.
Important facts
The largest known globular cluster in the Milky Way may provide clues to the formation of a strange class of high-temperature stars in Omega Centauri.
What are Globular clusters?
A globular cluster is a globular group of stars.
Globular clusters are bound together by gravity, with high concentrations of stars toward their centres.
They can include anywhere in the millions of stars.
These mostly orbit in the extended stellar halo surrounding spiral galaxies.
It is a matter of research how globular clusters are formed. Or what role they played in the evolution of galaxies.
Omega Centauri
It is a globular cluster in the constellation of Centaurus that was first identified as a non-stellar object by Edmond Halley in 1677.
Located at a distance of 17,090 light-years, it is the largest known globular cluster in the Milky Way at a diameter of about 150 light-years.
It also includes stars of a variety of ages, whereas other globular clusters contain stars from only one generation.
What is Galaxy?
It is a huge collection of gas, dust, and billions of stars and their solar systems bound together by gravity.
There are more than 100 billion galaxies in the universe, presenting beautiful structures that can be seen in telescopic images taken from the distant universe.
8. MoU signed for commercial production of indigenously developed vaccine ‘Lumpi-ProVac’
Tags: Science and Technology National News
An MoU for the production of Goat Pox Vaccine and “Lumpi-Provac” vaccine was signed in Nagpur on December 29, 2022 in the presence of Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, Parshottam Rupala and Chief Minister of Maharashtra Eknath Shinde.
Important facts
Rupala praised the commendable effort put forth by ICAR in developing indigenous vaccine Lumpi-ProVac for LSD.
Lumpi-ProVaccine is used for the prophylactic immunization of animals against Lumpy Skin Disease.
The vaccine technology will meet the standard of the market and significantly provide a defence mechanism to control the devastating lumpy skin disease.
Goat pox vaccine is currently used to control lumpy Skin Disease in livestock and has been shown to be effective against lumpy.
Union Minister Rupala further highlighted the relevance of the technology and requested the IVBP, Pune to start manufacturing the vaccine at a large scale without any delay.
National Centre for Veterinary Type Culture, ICAR-National Research Centre on Equines (ICAR-NRCE), Hisar (Haryana), in collaboration with ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Izatnagar (UP) developed a homologous live-attenuated LSD vaccine, named Lumpi-ProVacInd.
Agrinnovate India Limited (AgIn), the commercial arm of DARE, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, granted “Non-Exclusive Rights” for Commercial production of “Lumpi-ProVac”, to Institute of Veterinary Biological Products (IVBP) , Pune.
Lumpy Skin Disease
It is caused by infection of cattle or buffalo with the poxvirus Lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV).
The virus is one of three closely related species of the genus Capripoxavirus.
The other two species are Sheeppox virus and Goatpox virus.
Due to its infectious nature and its impact on the economy, the World Organization for Animal Health (WOIE) has declared it a notable disease.
9. Union Home Minister Amit Shah launches the “Prahari app” of the Border Security Force
Tags: National Defence Science and Technology
The Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah launched the Mobile App ‘Prahari’ of the Border Security Force (BSF) in New Delhi on 29 December 2022. Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai, Director General of BSF Pankaj Kumar Singh were amongst those dignitaries present on the occasion.
Usefulness of the Prahari’ app
Amit Shah said that the BSF ‘Prahari’ app is a great example of Proactive Governance. “Now jawans can get personal information and information related to accommodation, Ayushmann-CAPF and leaves on their mobiles. Be it GPF, Bio Data or grievance redressal on “Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System” (CP-GRAMS) or information on various welfare schemes, now Jawans can get all this information through the app and this app will also connect them with the portal of the Ministry of Home Affairs.”
The Union Home Minister also said that a “BSF Drone/UAV and Cyber Forensic Lab” has been set up in Noida, Uttar Pradesh through which captured drones of Pakistan have been thoroughly mapped for their linkages and locations across the border. These drones are used to bring narcotics and arms and ammunition to spread terrorism in India.
The Border Security Force was raised on 1 December 1965 after the India-Pakistan war of 1965. It is a border force which is deployed along the International border with Bangladesh and Pakistan.
BSF is also known as the nation’s ’first line of defence'. It comes under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
10. Indian Army inaugurates first ever two-storey 3-D printed dwelling unit in Ahmedabad
Tags: Defence Science and Technology National News
The Indian Army inaugurated its first 3-D Printed House Dwelling Unit (with Ground plus One configuration) for soldiers at Ahmedabad Cantt on 28 December 2022.
Important facts
The dwelling unit has been constructed by Military Engineering Services (MES) in association with MiCoB Pvt Ltd, incorporating the latest 3D Rapid Construction Technology.
The 71 sqm dwelling unit with garage space was completed in just 12 weeks using 3D printed foundations, walls and slabs.
The disaster-resistant structures comply with Zone-III earthquake specifications and green building norms.
The formation is a testimony to the commitment of the Indian Army in promoting the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan'.
About Technology
This technique uses a solid 3D printer that accepts computerized three-dimensional designs.
It builds up a 3-D structure in a layer-by-layer manner by extruding a specially designed special type of concrete.
The Ahmedabad-based Golden Katar Division of the Indian Army has been instrumental in taking forward the project with manifold applications in operation.
What is 3D Printing?
3D printing uses computer aided design (CAD) to create three-dimensional objects through the layering method.
The model to be printed with the help of software is first developed by the computer, which then instructs the 3D printer.
