1. ISRO launches PSLV-C54 rocket carrying earth observation satellite Oceansat & 8 nanosatellites
Tags: Science and Technology
The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) successfully launched PSLV C 54 and eight nanosatellites, into space from the first launch pad at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh's Sriharikota on 26 November.
Important facts
This is the 56th flight of the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle of ISRO and 24th flight of the extended PSLV-XL version.
The mission payloads including Oceansat (PSLV C 54) and eight other nanosatellites have separated in the specified two hours in two different sun-synchronous orbits.
Specific data from the satellite will be used by the Government departments.
Mission Director S.R.Biju said PSLV rockets are the workhorses of ISRO.
the payloads are indigenous and will provide crucial Data including maritime security and detection of cyclones in potential zones.
The customer payloads are ISRO Nano Satellite-2 for Bhutan (INS-2B), Anand, four satellites of Astrocast, and two satellites of Thybolt.
The mission objective is to ensure data continuity of ocean color and wind vector data to sustain the operational applications.
2. Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar Inaugurates 63rd STPI at Davanagere, Karnataka
Tags: place in news Science and Technology Person in news State News
The Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Rajeev Chandrasekhar inaugurated a Digital India Startup hub at the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) centre at Davanagere, Karnataka on 25 November 2022.
This is the 63rd STPI centre in the country and the fifth in Karnataka.
The minister said that India has the fastest growing innovation system with more than 80,000 Startups and over 107 Unicorns, the Minister said the world today looks at India with awe and respect.
Software Technology Park of India (STPI)
It was set up in 1991 by the under Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
It was set up to promote Software to promote the development and export of software and software services including Information Technology (I.T.) Enabled Services / Bio-IT.
It aims to be the largest technology Startup ecosystem in the country and to transform the country into a software product nation.
The total export from STPI in 2020-21was Rs. 4, 96,313 crores, which is around 50% of the national software exports and 2.3% of India’s GDP in 2020-21.
Director General of STPI : Arvind Kumar
3. Europe announces name of world's first disabled astronauts
Tags: Science and Technology International News
The European Space Agency announced the name of the first "parastronaut" on 23 November in a major step towards allowing people with physical disabilities to work and live in space.
Important facts
The 22-nation European Space Agency said it selected former British Paralympic runner John McFall as part of a new generation of 17 recruits selected for astronaut training.
He will participate in a feasibility study designed to allow ESA to assess the conditions needed for people with disabilities to participate in future missions.
Five new astronauts have been roped in to take part in the training after ESA replenished its astronaut ranks for the first time since 2009.
The EAS received 257 applications for the role of an astronaut with a disability, designated a "parastronaut".
McFall, who lost his right leg due to a motorcycle accident at the age of 19, won a bronze medal in the 100 metres at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games.
4. ISRO successfully launches 200th 'RH-200' Rohini sounding rocket
Tags: Science and Technology
ISRO's versatile sounding rocket RH200 carried out its 200th consecutive successful launch from the coast of Thumba, Thiruvananthapuram on 23 November.
Important facts
The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) termed it a "historic moment". It was witnessed by former President Ram Nath Kovind and ISRO Chairman S Somnath, among others.
The successful flight of RH200 took off from the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS).
Indian sounding rockets are used as privileged instruments for the scientific community to conduct experiments on meteorology, astronomy and similar branches of space physics.
Indian sounding rockets are used as privileged instruments for the scientific community to conduct experiments on meteorology, astronomy and similar branches of space physics.
The national space agency headquarters said the Rohini sounding rocket series has been the forerunner to ISRO's heavier and more complex launch vehicles.
The 200th consecutive successful flight is a testimony to the commitment of Indian rocket scientists towards the unmatched reliability demonstrated over the years.
5. Yogi Adityanath inaugurates the UNESCO-India-Africa Hackathon 2022 at Noida
Tags: place in news Science and Technology State News
Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated the UNESCO-India-Africa Hackathon 2022 at the Gautam Buddha University in Greater Noida on 22 November 2022.
The Hackathon has been organized by the Union Ministry of Education and students from 22 African countries are participating in the Hackathon.
What is a Hackathon?
A hackathon, also known as a codefest, is a social coding event that brings computer programmers and other interested people together to improve upon or build a new software. In the present Hackathon students will engage themselves in coding for 36 hours non-stop to find technology-based solutions for issues in education, agriculture, health, energy and drinking water, among others. They will also try to figure out smart solutions for global issues such as climate change, environmental issues, and renewal energy.
The students participating in the Hackathon have come from countries, including Botswana, Cameroon, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zimbabwe.
The U.P. CM also invited participating African students to travel to ancient cities like Varanasi, Prayagraj, Ayodhya, and others in the state.
UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization)
- It is a specialised agency of the United Nations.
- It was set up on 16 November 1945.
- Its Headquarters : Paris, France
6. Over 60 people dead in the Indonesian earthquake
Tags: place in news Science and Technology International News
A 5.6-magnitude earthquake killed more than 60 people and injured hundreds in Indonesia's West Java province on 21 November 2022. However the death toll is likely to rise further as many are still trapped under the rubbles.
The epicentre was near the town of Cianjur in West Java, about 75 km (45 miles) southeast of the capital, Jakarta.
Indonesia lies across the "Pacific Ring of Fire", a highly seismically active zone, where different plates on the Earth's crust meet and create a large number of earthquakes and volcanoes.
In 2004, a 9.1 magnitude quake off Sumatra Island in northern Indonesia triggered a tsunami that struck 14 countries, killing 226,000 people along the Indian Ocean coastline, more than half of them in Indonesia.
Earthquake
Earthquakes happen when the plates of the earth collide with each other. The earth's lithosphere consists of 7 major plates and they float over the molten surface of the upper mantle. When they collide energy waves are released which causes vibration on the surface of the Earth known as Earthquake.
The location below the earth’s surface where the earthquake starts is called the hypocenter, and the location directly above it on the surface of the earth is called the epicenter.
Earthquakes are recorded by instruments called seismographs. The recording they make is called a seismogram.
The scale for measuring earthquakes is called the Richter scale. It is a mathematical scale used to measure the intensity of earthquake waves. It ranges from 0 to 9. However it can be more than 9.
7. India and European Union sign agreement for cooperation in high-performance computing
Tags: National Science and Technology
India and the European Union (EU) have signed an agreement on cooperation in hi-tech areas such as climate modelling and quantum technologies on 21 November 2022. This agreement seeks to implement the provision of the India-EU TTC (Trade and Technology Council) agreement signed during the visit of the European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on 25 April 2022 at New Delhi.
The agreement named ‘Intent of Cooperation on High Performance Computing (HPC), Weather Extremes and Climate Modelling and Quantum Technologies’ was signed by the ministry of electronics and IT (MeitY) and the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology (DG CONNECT) during a virtual ceremony. The agreement was signed by MeitY secretary Alkesh Kumar Sharma and DG CONNECT director general Roberto Viola.
The agreement aims to facilitate collaboration on high performance computing applications using Indian and European supercomputers in areas such as bio-molecular medicines, Covid-19 therapeutics, mitigating climate change, predicting natural disasters and quantum computing.
India-EU TTC (Trade and Technology Council)
The India-EU TTC (Trade and Technology Council) was established between India and the European Union during the visit of the European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on 25 April 2022 at New Delhi.
The India-EU TTC (Trade and Technology Council) is a strategic mechanism that gives New Delhi access to advanced technologies and allows the two sides to set standards in crucial areas such as 5G and artificial intelligence.
This is the first such trade and technology council set up by India with any of its partners.
India is the second country after the United States of America with which the European Union has signed such an agreement.
European Union
The European Union is a group of 27 European countries.
The United Kingdom which was the founding member of the European Union has left the organisation.
It was founded on 1 November 1993
Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium
8. India to take over Chairmanship of the Global Partnership on AI from France
Tags: place in news Science and Technology Summits
India will take over the Chairmanship of the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) from France during the third edition of the annual Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence (GPAI) being held in Tokyo, Japan on 21 November 2022. India will be chairman for the 2022-23 period.
France will symbolically hand over the chairmanship to the Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar who is representing India at the 2day (21-22 November) Tokyo summit meet.
AI which stands for artificial intelligence refers to systems or machines that mimic human intelligence to perform tasks and can iteratively improve themselves based on the information they collect.
Artificial Intelligence is expected to contribute 450 to 500 billion US dollars to India’s GDP by 2025 accounting for 10 per cent of the country’s 5 trillion dollar GDP target. It is expected to contribute 967 billion US dollars to the Indian economy by 2035.
What is Global Partnership in Artificial Intelligence?
It was launched on June 15, 2020, with fifteen members as its founding member. India is one of the founding member country of Global Partnership in Artificial Intelligence (GPAI).
The initiative facilitates international cooperation on artificial technology by bringing together on a single platform, experts from fields such as science, industry, civil society, governments, international bodies, and academia.
At present, GPAI has twenty-five member Countries. They are : Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, the Republic of Korea (South Korea), Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union (EU).
9. India moves up 6 place to be ranked 61st on the Network Readiness Index 2022
Tags: INDEX National Science and Technology
India has improved its rank by 6 places to be ranked at 61 place in the recently released Network Readiness Index 2022 (NRI 2022). The report prepared by the US-based non-profit body Portulans Institute compliments India and says that “India has a greater network readiness than would be expected given its income level”.
The Network Readiness Index ranks the 131 countries on 58 variables across four pillars of four different pillars: Technology, People, Governance, and Impact.
India’s Performance
- India improved its score from 49.74 in 2021 to 51.19 in 2022.
- India has secured 1st rank in “AI talent concentration”,
- 2nd rank in “Mobile broadband internet traffic within the country” and “International Internet bandwidth”,
- 3rd rank in “Annual investment in telecommunication services” and “Domestic market size”, 4th rank in “ICT Services exports” and
- 5th rank in “FTTH/Building Internet subscriptions” and “AI scientific publications”.
- India is ranked 3rd out of 36 in the group of lower-middle-income countries after Ukraine (50) and Indonesia (59).
Top three countries on the Network Readiness Index
The United States topped the list with an overall score of 80.3. It was followed by Singapore with a score of 79.35 and Sweden with a score of 78.91.
In the Asia Pacific region, the list was led by Singapore, followed by South Korea and Japan.
Full Forms
FTTH: Fiber to the Home
ICT: Information Communication Technology
AI: Artificial Intelligence
10. India's first privately built rocket, Vikram-S, launched by ISRO
Tags: Science and Technology
India's first ever private Vikram-S (Suborbital) rocket was launched on 18 November from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.
Important facts
The rocket reached an altitude of 89.5 km with three payloads weighing a total of 83 kilograms.
Vikram-S, designed by Skyroot Aerospace as a tribute to the father of the country's space programme, Vikram Sarabhai, successfully completed its maiden mission.
Skyroot Aerospace has become the first privately owned rocket manufacturing company in India after the Center opened up the space sector to private players in 2020.
This first mission of Skyroot Aerospace has been named 'Prarambh'.
The rocket after taking off from Sriharikota splashed down safely in the waters of the Bay of Bengal, about 115 km away.
Two indigenous and one foreign payloads are also going on this rocket. This six metre high rocket is the world's first all composite rocket. It has 3D-pretended solids to handle its spin capability.
Through this rocket, avionics, telemetry, tracking, inertial measurement, global positioning system, onboard camera, data acquisition and power system will be tested.
It is a sub-orbital flight carrying satellites from Chennai-based space startup SpaceKidz, Andhra Pradesh-based N-SpaceTech and Armenia's BazoomQ Space Research Lab.
