1. Successfully test-fired anti-tank guided missile 'Helina'
Tags: Defence
Indigenously developed helicopter launched Anti-Tank Guided Missile ‘HELINA’ was successfully flight tested on April 11, 2022 at high-altitude ranges as part of user validation trials.
The flight-test was jointly conducted by the teams of scientists from Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Indian Army and Indian Air Force (IAF).
The flight trials were conducted from an Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) and the missile was fired successfully engaging a simulated tank target.
The missile is guided by an Imaging Infra-Red (IIR) Seeker operating in the Lock on Before Launch mode.
It is one of the most advanced anti-tank weapons in the world.
In continuation to validation trials conducted at Pokhran in Rajasthan, proof of efficacy at high altitudes paves the way for its integration on the ALH.
2. India successfully test-fires upgraded version of Pinaka Mk-I Rocket
Tags: Defence
Pinaka Mk-I Rocket System (EPRS) and Pinaka Area Denial Munition (ADM) Rocket System have been successfully test fired by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Army at Pokhran firing range.
The required accuracy and stability were achieved by these rockets during the trials, meeting all the test objectives satisfactorily.
Pinaka Mk-I :
Pinaka Mk-I is an upgraded rocket system with a range of about 45 km. The Pinaka-II rocket system has a range of 60 km. The rocket system has been jointly designed by two laboratories of DRDO, Ordnance High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL) and Research and Development Establishment (ARDE).
Strategic Capabilities of Pinaka Mk-I:
During the escalation of tension with China, India had deployed this completely indigenous system on Eastern Ladakh and LAC.
It is named after 'Pinaka', the bow of Lord Shiva. It is a multi barrel rocket launcher system.
The Pinaka Mk-I Enhanced Rocket System is an upgraded version of the early Pinaka.
This rocket system has given the army a lethal alternative to ground attack.
The multi-barrel launcher is capable of firing 72 rockets in just 44 seconds.
3. DRDO test-fires two surface-to-air missiles
Tags: Defence
Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted two successful flight tests of the Indian Army version of Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM) at Integrated Test Range, Chandipur off the coast of Odisha on March 27, 2022.
This MRSAM version is a Surface-to-Air Missile developed jointly by DRDO and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Israel for use by the Indian Army.
It is capable of engaging multiple targets at ranges up to 70 kms.
The MRSAM Army weapon system comprises multi-function radar, mobile launcher system and other vehicles.
Important for Exam
DRDO chairman : Dr G Satheesh Reddy
The chairman of DRDO is also the Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister.
4. Russia uses Hypersonic Missile In Ukraine
Tags: Popular International News
Russia said on 19 March 2022 that it had used hypersonic Kinzhal (Kh-47M2) missiles to destroy a large weapons depot in Ukraine's western Ivano-Frankivsk region.
It was the first time Russia had deployed the hypersonic Kinzhal system since it sent its troops into Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
The Kinzhal missile can be fired from Mig-31 fighter aircraft. The missile can carry both conventional warheads or nuclear weapons.
Hypersonic Missile
Hypersonic missiles are those missiles which can fly five times the speed of sound in the upper atmosphere or about 6,200 km per hour.
The main feature of the missile is its manoeuvrability which makes its detection by radar very difficult.
At present China has tested the missile and North Korea has also claimed to have tested it. The United States of America do not have these types of missiles.
Defence and Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is also working on developing this technology in India. In 2020 it successfully conducted the maiden test of the High-Speed Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV) using an indigenously developed propulsion system.
5. Semiconductor Mission of India
Tags:
Introduction
Information Technology Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, launched the India Semiconductor Mission on December 29, 2021. Companies which are interested in tapping the Rs 76,000-crore incentives earmarked by the Center for development of semiconductors and display manufacturing ecosystem in India can begin applying for the same from January 1 2022. Semiconductors are materials which have a conductivity between conductors and insulators. They can be pure elements, silicon or germanium or compounds; gallium, arsenide or cadmium selenide.
- They are the basic building blocks that serve as the heart and brain of all modern electronics and information and communications technology products.
- These chips are now an integral part of contemporary automobiles, household gadgets and essential medical devices such as ECG machines.
Major features of the semiconductor mission of India
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What is the importance of the Semiconductor industry
- Semiconductors play a critical role and will continue to do so in an Internet of Things (IoT) environment, where physical devices of all kinds, all over the world will be connected to the internet, seamlessly collecting and sharing data over 5G networks.
- Semiconductors are an essential component of electronic devices. Information communications technology (ICT) is the engine that drives modern digital economies. Core ICT – which includes semiconductors, 5G infrastructure, data centers – is the service layer where the applications are provided be it social media or online shopping platforms. Core ICT enables innovation in smartphones, computing, healthcare, military systems, transportation, clean energy, search engines, gene sequencing and countless other applications.
Semiconductor manufacturing in India
- With this mission the government of India will work closely with the state governments to establish High-Tech Clusters with requisite infrastructure in terms of land, semiconductor grade water, high-quality power, logistics and research ecosystem to approve applications for setting up at least two greenfield Semiconductor Fabs and two Display Fabs in the country.
- In India, for instance, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh are leading manufacturing hubs for automobile, mobile phones and industrial parts and setting up semiconductor manufacturing facilities
- Currently, India has two fabrication facilities (fabs) i.e. SITAR, a unit of the Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in Bengaluru and a semiconductor laboratory in Chandigarh, which builds silicon chips for strategic purposes like defense and space and not for commercial use.
- There are many prominent startups like Signalchip, a semiconductor company also based in Bengaluru, which rolled out 4G and 5G modem chips.
- Saankhya Labs, is another Bengaluru-based startup that has been creating chipsets for use in defense, satellite communication and broadcast. Another one is a microprocessor called Shakti, developed at IIT Madras which can be used in mobile computing devices, embedded low power wireless systems like smartphones, surveillance cameras and networking systems.
What is the need of semiconductor mission in India
- Monopoly of China: China constitutes 54% of the world’s global semiconductor market, so it may not be possible to decouple economic activity from China.The US-China strategic competition will place pressure on Indian companies because it might lead to losing out on the massive economies of scale that the industry benefits from. It has been assumed that excluding China from the global supply chain of microelectronics is not possible therefore it is nonetheless important to develop indigenous design capability.
- Need for the robust semiconductor ecosystem: Due to Covid -19 many industries have witnessed the shortage of chips and demanded to establish a robust semiconductor ecosystem in India. Several sectors, including electronics, auto and medical technology, have been severely hit by the scarcity of chips that are manufactured mainly in East Asia. Against this backdrop, the mission is a 'comprehensive programme for the development of a sustainable semiconductor and display ecosystem'.
- The Center has committed a support of Rs 2.30 trillion for positioning India as a global hub for electronics manufacturing. In this context the mission is a way forward for the atma nirbhar bharat.
- Strategic importance: In the current geopolitical scenario, trusted sources of semiconductors and displays hold strategic importance and are key to the security of critical information infrastructure.
- Digital Sovereignty: The approved program will propel innovation and build domestic capacities to ensure the digital sovereignty of India. With the bulk of semiconductor manufacturing and supply capability concentrated in a handful of countries including Taiwan, South Korea, U.S, Japan and, more recently, China, governments worldwide have realized that it is in the national interest to treat chip manufacturing as a strategic imperative.
- Skilled employment opportunities: It will also create highly skilled employment opportunities to harness the demographic dividend of the country.
- Deeper Integration with the global market: Development of the semiconductor and display ecosystem will have a multiplier effect across different sectors of the economy with deeper integration to the global value chain. The program will promote higher domestic value addition in electronics manufacturing and will contribute significantly to achieving a USD 1 Trillion digital economy and a USD 5 Trillion GDP by 2025.
- Globally competitive incentive package: The program will usher in a new era in electronics manufacturing by providing a globally competitive incentive package to companies in semiconductors and display manufacturing as well as design. This shall pave the way for India’s technological leadership and economic self-reliance.
- Semiconductors and displays are the foundation of modern electronics driving the next phase of digital transformation under Industry 4.0.
- Semiconductors and display manufacturing is a very complex and technology-intensive sector involving huge capital investments, high risk, long gestation and payback periods, and rapid changes in technology, which require significant and sustained investments. The program will give an impetus to semiconductor and display manufacturing by facilitating capital support and technological collaborations.
Challenges before India to start semiconductor mission
- Stronghold of Taiwan and Vietnam: India is offering benefits even in this pandemic situation to foreign companies to come to India for starting their business like double the land than they required for doing business and free electricity & water supply etc. for attracting new companies. But majority of the companies exiting China are preferring Vietnam and Taiwan.
- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, holds a virtual monopoly in the global chip manufacturing industry. The company is responsible for over half of all semiconductor chips that are manufactured in the world, and the country as a whole is responsible for over 60 percent of global production. Other major centers include South Korea and the US.
- India’s failed bids: The government had previously floated an offer to foreign companies in 2017 to set up their facilities in India by waiving customs duty for the import of the relevant machinery and equipment. However it had zero response.
- In 2020, the central government floated another expression of interest (EoI), inviting companies that were interested in setting up semiconductor fabrication units. An earlier failed attempt to woo semiconductor giant Intel to India which chose Vietnam instead also stands as a stark reminder of India’s lack of real progress on the front.
- Loopholes in the semiconductor scheme: The recently launched scheme does not talk about the design services firms in the country whereas most Indian engineers in the sector provide services to global semiconductor design firms. The government should have brought these design services companies under the design infrastructure support incentive.
- Administering an industrial policy for 100 firms requires the nodal agency, C-DAC, to substantially improve its regulatory capacity. Otherwise, delays, rent seeking and corruption will mar the scheme.
- The scheme provides incentives for specialized fabs used to manufacture high frequency, high power, optoelectronic devices. It will also cover assembly, testing, marking, and packaging (ATMP) units of conventional silicon semiconductor chips. Whether the scheme will lead to the setting up of ATMP units in India might depend on factors outside the scheme. That is because most ATMP units are coupled with chip fabs for cost reasons.It will need to be imported, packaged in India, and then re-exported.
Keeping such ATMP units cost-competitive will require lowering import barriers.
- Change in technology: Technology is changing fast related to semiconductors and that too is limited with the few companies. Given the limited improvements from node scaling, chip packaging is becoming a hot area of research to increase the density of chips. Research collaboration in this area with other trusted partners such as the Quad and Taiwan will be critical to ensure long-term success.
- Requirement of Massive Investment: One of the biggest hurdles in setting up fab manufacturing units is the fact that it requires massive investment running into billions .
- Lack of Basic Infrastructure: The heart of the issue is that India is still not unto the par in terms of the basic infrastructure needed to pursue endeavors in the chip manufacturing space. A single chip requires hundreds of gallons of pure water, which may also be hard to find in India in the required quantities.
Chip manufacturing requires uninterrupted power supply.
- There is also constant price pressure from other global players, particularly China which is also building a homegrown chip program for the adoption of local semiconductors in 70% of its products by 2025.
What can be done
- The semiconductor production is a highly resource, knowledge and emission intensive process. Factories need a constant uninterrupted supply of power and vast quantities of water, besides the technical knowledge and a supporting ecosystem that involves the rest of the processing between the chips being made and then being put to actual use in products.
- There is also a need for suitable locations to set up the planned area for plants with adequate land, water and manpower.
- India must work on the Tax barriers to provide a hustle free business process.
Written by Rashmi
6. India successfully tests advanced “Sea to Sea” variant of BrahMos Missile
Tags: Science and Technology
India on 11th January 2022 successfully tested an advanced sea variant of BrahMos Supersonic Cruise Missile from newly commissioned INS Visakhapatnam.
- Defence Research and Development Organisation, DRDO said the missile hit the designated target precisely.
- Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh congratulated the team work of DRDO and Indian Navy.
- The Indian Navy tweeted, “Successful test-firing of the extended-range BrahMos Supersonic Cruise missile from INS Visakhapatnam, Indian Navy’s newest indigenously-built guided missile destroyer, represents a twin achievement: Certifies the accuracy of the ship’s combat system and armament complex. Validates a new capability the missile provides the Navy and the Nation.”
Additional Information:
- The Indian Navy began deploying BrahMos, which has the capability to hit sea-based targets beyond radar horizon, on its frontline warships from 2005.
- The BrahMos from ship can be launched as a single unit or in a salvo up to eight in numbers separated by 2.5 second intervals. These salvos can hit and destroy a group of targets having modern missile defence systems. BrahMos as a ‘prime-strike weapon’ for the ships significantly increases their capability of engaging naval-surface targets at long ranges.
A combination of the names of Brahmaputra and Moskva rivers, BrahMos missiles are designed, developed and produced by BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture company set up by the DRDO and the Mashinostroyenia of Russia.
7. Vice President’s visit to Lakshadweep and Kerala
Tags: National News
- The Vice President is on a 5 days state visit to Lakshadweep and Kerala from 31st December 2021 to 4th January 2022.
Important highlights of his Lakshadweep visit:
- He visited Lakshadweep on 31st December, 2021.
- He inaugurated two Colleges of Arts & Sciences in the Kadmat and Andrott islands of Lakshadweep on 1st January, 2022.
He then visited Kerala on 2nd January 2022:
- He visited Kochi, where India’s Indigenous Naval Aircraft Carrier INS Vikrant is under construction at the Cochin Shipyard Ltd.
- Addressing an event later at Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), a DRDO facility in Kochi he unveiled Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Memorial.
- He also laid the foundation stone of a Towed Array Integration Facility and handed over an Automated Sonar Trainer to the Navy.
INS VIKRANT :
The motto of the ship is "Jayema Saṁ Yudhi Spr̥dhaḥ", which is taken from Rigveda and means "I defeat those who fight against me".
- INS Vikrant, also known as Indigenous Aircraft Carrier 1 (IAC-1) is the first aircraft carrier to be built in India, it is being constructed by the Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) for the Indian Navy.
- It is named 'Vikrant' as a tribute to India's first aircraft carrier, Vikrant (R11).
8. Defence minister lays the foundation of new Brahmos manufacturing center in Lucknow
Tags: Defence
- Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh laid the foundation stone for Defence Technology & Test Centre and BRAHMOS Manufacturing Centre, established by Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh in the Uttar Pradesh Defence Industrial Corridor (UP DIC).
- It will cover over 200 acres and produce the new BRAHMOS-NG (Next Generation) variant, which carries forward the lineage of the BRAHMOS weapons system.
- This new centre would be ready over the next two to three years and will commence production at a rate of 80-100 BRAHMOS-NG missiles per year.
Brahmos Aerospace Limited
- It is a joint venture of DRDO and NPO Mashinostroyenia of Russia.
- The Company is named after the river Brahmaputra and Moskva.
- It has developed the world's first supersonic cruise missile Brahmos with a range of 290 Km with a speed of 2.8 to 3 Mach.
- At present Brahmos Aerospace ltd has manufacturing centres at Hyderabad, Nagpur and Bilani (Madhya [Pradesh).
The new Generation Brahmos missile BrahMos-NG (Next Generation) is a mini version based on the existing BrahMos, will have same 290 km range and speed but it will weigh around 1.5 tons, 5 metres in length and 50 cm in diameter, making BrahMos-NG 50 percent lighter and three metres shorter than its predecessor.
9. DRDO successfully test Abhyas
Tags: Defence
- Defence Research and Development Organisation(DRDO) has successfully conducted the flight test of Indigenously developed High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) Abhyas on 23 December from the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur off the coast, Odisha.
- Abhyas is an unmanned aerial vehicle which is used by the armed forces for target practice .
10. India’s quasi ballistic missile “Pralay” successfully conducted the second flight-test
Tags: Defence
To the Point:
- Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on December 23, 2021, successfully conducted the second flight-test of indigenously developed conventional Surface-to-Surface missile ‘Pralay’ from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha.
- For the first time, two consecutive flight tests of a ballistic missile have been conducted successfully on two consecutive days.
- In today’s launch, the ‘Pralay’ missile was tested for heavier payload and different range to prove the precision and lethality of the weapon.
Pralay, the short-range solid fuel surface-to-surface ballistic missile can hit the target at a range of 150 to 500 kilometres with an accuracy of less than 10 metres and can be launched by Mobile Launcher.
- The missile guidance system includes the latest navigation system and integrated avionics.
