1. CSIR-NAL in Bengaluru successfully conducts Drone-based magnetic survey
Tags: Science and Technology National News
The CSIR National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) in Bengaluru successfully conducted the Drone based magnetic survey near Magnetic Hill and Puga Chumthang region of Leh-Ladakh on 14 October 2022.
Important facts
The survey was conducted last month in association with Hyderabad-based CSIR National Geophysical Research Institute.
NAL deployed its octa-copter drone which has a payload capacity of 20 kg at sea level.
NAL's OCTA-copter drone performed as designed at an altitude of more than 3600 metres, withstanding the harsh flight conditions of strong winds.
The magnetometer integrated with the drone received the magnetic data and is being analysed by scientists from the National Geophysical Research Institute.
The Director of NAL Dr.Abhay A Pashilkar said that the data will help to plan developmental activities in Ladakh region.
National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL)
It is a constituent of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), established in the year 1959.
It is the only government aerospace R&D laboratory in the country's civilian sector.
It is a highly-technology-oriented institute focusing on advanced subjects in aerospace.
2. PM Modi to chair the meeting of CSIR Society
Tags: Science and Technology National News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a meeting of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Society in New Delhi on 15 October 2022.
Important facts
The meeting will set goals for the next 25 years for CSIR which is a world class body in the field of science and research.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, 13 secretaries of central ministries and all secretaries of science-based ministries will also attend the meeting.
CMDs of four PSUs, NTPC, BHEL, GAIL and HAL, three industry leaders and 12 academicians and members of the scientific community will also participate in the meeting.
The Society meets annually to review CSIR activities and consider future programmes.
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)
It is the largest research and development organisation in India in the field of science and technology.
It has a dynamic network of 37 national laboratories, 39 outreach centres, 3 innovation complexes and 5 units.
It is ranked 37th out of 1587 government institutions around the world.
The Chairman (ex-officio) of CSIR is the Prime Minister and the Union Minister of Science and Technology is the Vice President (ex-officio).
It is funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Established - September 1942
Located - New Delhi
Director-General of CSIR - N Kalaiselvi
Union Science and Technology Minister - Jitendra Singh
3. INS Arihant carries out successful launch of Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile
Tags: Defence Science and Technology
India's submarine INS Arihant carried out a successful launch of a ballistic missile on 14 October, 2022.
Important facts
The missile was test fired to a predetermined range and was successful in hitting the target area in the Bay of Bengal with high accuracy.
All operational and technical parameters of the weapon system have been validated.
The successful user training launch of the SLBM by INS Arihant is critical to proving crew competency and validating the SSBN programme, a key element of India's nuclear deterrence.
About INS Arihant
It is India’s first indigenously-designed, developed and manufactured nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine.
It was designed in the 1990s and its development project was officially accepted in 1998.
Its design is based on the Russian Akula-1 class submarine.
It was launched on 26 July 2009, the anniversary of Vijay Diwas (Kargil War Victory Day) by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
It is a 6,000 ton submarine with a length of 110 meters and a width of 11 meters.
It is powered by an 83 MW pressurized light water nuclear reactor with enriched uranium fuel.
It was built under the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project at the Ship Building Centre in the port city of Visakhapatnam.
4. President Droupadi Murmu inaugurates ‘PARAM KAMRUPA’ Supercomputer facility at IIT Guwahati
Tags: Science and Technology State News
President of India, Droupadi Murmu, inaugurated ‘PARAM KAMRUPA’ Supercomputer facility and a high-power active and passive component laboratory of at Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati on 13 October, 2022.
Important facts
The President inaugurated the Dhubri Medical College and Hospital, and laid the foundation stone of regional institutes of the National Institute of Virology at Dibrugarh in Assam and Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh.
She urged the science and technology institutions to lay emphasis on research and technology.
The program was also addressed by Assam Governor Professor Jagdish Mukhi, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Bharati Praveen Pawar.
About ‘PARAM KAMRUPA’ Supercomputer
PARAM Kamrup, a one of its kind supercomputer in the North East region, has been set up under the National Supercomputing Mission.
National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) is a joint initiative of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
It will provide advanced computing, healthcare techniques along with solutions for many issues to this region.
Many components of this supercomputer are indigenously developed.
Such technological development will make India a world leader in super computing and enhance India's capability in solving the challenges of the country as well as the world.
The National Supercomputing Mission (NSM) has deployed Supercomputer PARAM Ganga at IIT Roorkee in March 2022.
What are supercomputers?
A supercomputer can perform high-level processing at a faster rate than a normal computer.
They work together to perform complex operations that are not possible with normal computing systems.
Fast speed and fast memory are the characteristics of supercomputers.
The performance of a supercomputer is generally evaluated in petaflops.
National Supercomputing Mission
The National Supercomputing Mission was launched In 2015.
The aim of the mission was to enhance the research capacities in the country to form a Supercomputing grid.
It supports the government's vision of 'Digital India' and 'Make in India' initiatives.
The mission is being jointly operated by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
It is implemented by Center for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Pune and IISc, Bengaluru.
Some important facts about supercomputer
China has the maximum number of supercomputers followed by the US, Japan, France, Germany, Netherlands, Ireland and the United Kingdom..
India’s first supercomputer - PARAM 8000
first supercomputer assembled indigenously - PARAM Shivay, installed in IIT (BHU)
PARAM Shakti, PARAM Brahma, PARAM Yukti, PARAM Sanganak are some name of india's supercomputers
India's PARAM-Siddhi AI, has been ranked 63rd in the Top 500 list of most powerful supercomputers in the world.
5. Maharatna Coal India to set up 1190 MW Solar Power Project in Rajasthan
Tags: Economy/Finance Science and Technology State News
The Government of India owned Maharatna Company, Coal India Limited (CIL) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Rajasthan Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd (RUVNL), for setting up a 1,190-MW solar power plant in the Bikaner district of Rajasthan on 13 October 2022. The plant will be installed in a 2,000-MW solar park being developed by RVUNL in Poogal, Bikaner.
RVNUL CMD R K Sharma and Technical Director of Coal India Limited, V Reddy signed the MoU in the presence of Union Minister of Coal Prahlad Joshi and Chief Minister of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot in Jaipur.
Recently the e-commerce giant Amazon announced to set up its first solar plant in Rajasthan.
Rajasthan as an attractive destination for solar power
Rajasthan with Thar Desert is suitable for generation of solar power using the desert's intense heat. Furthermore, in comparison to the rest of the country, the state is thinly populated. Solar power plants in less populated areas enable clean energy to reach isolated communities that do not have access to electricity.
Rajasthan has the world's largest solar plant with a capacity of 2,245 MW in Bhadla of the Jodhpur district of the state.
In March this year the state government announced two new solar parks of 1,800 MW to be developed in the Jaisalmer and Bikaner districts of the state.
For the 800 MW project in Jaisalmer RNVUL was the developing agency while the 1,000 MW solar power project in Bikaner will be developed by Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation in the first phase.
Private solar project developer Rays Experts also announced in May this year that they will develop the world's largest solar park in Rajasthan with a capacity of 3000 MW. The project will be set up in Bikaner.
6. First Sanctuary for 'Slender Loris' to be set up in Tamil Nadu
Tags: Science and Technology State News
India’s first sanctuary for the endangered species, Slender Loris was notified by the Tamil Nadu government on 12 October 2022. The first 'Kadavur Slender Loris Sanctuary' in will be set up in the Karur and Dindigul districts of the state, in about 11,806 hectares of land.
Slender Loris
Slender Loris are small nocturnal mammals that are arboreal in nature as they spend most of their life on trees. These look like monkeys and are about 25 cm long and have long, thin arms. They weigh around 275 grams. They are mainly found in India and Sri Lanka.
Apart from insects they are also known to eat leaves, flowers, slugs and sometimes eggs of birds. The species acts as a biological predator of pests in agricultural crops and benefits farmers. The nocturnal mammal is listed as an endangered species as per the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUNC).
Sanctuary for Slender Loris
A total of 11,806 hectares of forest areas in the Karur and Dindigul districts of Tamil Nadu have been identified as important habitats for Slender Loris. The Kadavur Slender Loris sanctuary will cover Vedasandur, Dindigul East, and Natham taluks in the Dindigul district and Kadavur taluk in the Karur district of Tamil Nadu.
7. NGT fines Delhi government Rs 900 crore for its failure in ‘solid waste management’
Tags: Science and Technology State News
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) in an order passed on 12 October 2022 has ordered the Delhi government to pay Rs 900 crore as environmental compensation for improper management of solid municipal waste, stating that "citizens cannot be faced with an emergency situation due to lack of governance."
The NGT bench heard by Justice Adarsh Goel held the Delhi government responsible for not taking remedial steps to deal with the solid waste at the three landfills sites of Delhi- Ghazipur, Bhalswa, and Okhla .
The Bench said that there was continuous emission of methane and other harmful gasses along with groundwater contamination which posed a direct threat to the environment and people of Delhi.
The Bench directed the Delhi government to deposit the fine amount in a separate account which will be used by the Delhi Chief Secretary to for restoration of the environment by remediation of waste and other measures.
The NGT is monitoring compliance of Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, and other environmental issues by states and Union territories.
National Green Tribunal
- It deals with cases relating to the environment protection and conservation of forest.
- It was set up in 2010 under the National Green Tribunal Act 2010.
- The Tribunal is not bound by the procedure laid down under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, but is guided by principles of natural justice.
- New Delhi is the Principal Place of Sitting of the Tribunal and Bhopal, Pune, Kolkata and Chennai are other four places of sitting of the Tribunal.
Chairperson : Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel
8. Indian Railways plans to replace fossil fuel fleet with electric fleet by 2025
Tags: National Economy/Finance Science and Technology
In a big boost to the Centre’s ambitious plan to make India a 100% electric vehicle nation by 2030, the Indian Railways has proposed to replace its entire fleet of vehicles that run on diesel, biofuels or even natural gas with electric vehicles by December 2025.
To achieve the ambitious target of 2030 the country needs to set up 46,000 EV charging stations by 2030 to match the global benchmark.
Phase wise target of Railways
According to the timeline proposed by the railways, it aims to achieve the target of installing EV-charging stations and phasing out 20% of its fleet by December 2023, 60% by 2024 and 100% by 2025.
The replacement of inspection vehicles in divisional offices and attached units would not be mandatory in the initial phase of three years since the vehicles would be required by officials for frequent visits to far-flung areas where adequate charging infrastructure may not be available.
The railways will also create an affordable and accessible charging infrastructure for users, including passengers, visitors and the general public, on its premises.
9. Nitin Gadkari launches Toyota’s pilot project on Flex-Fuel Strong Hybrid Electric Vehicles (FFV-SHEV) in India
Tags: place in news National Science and Technology
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Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari launched Toyota’s first of its kind pilot project on Flex-Fuel Strong Hybrid Electric Vehicles (FFV-SHEV) in India on 11 October 2022, which would run on 100% petrol as well as 20 to 100% blended ethanol and electric power.
The Toyota car which was unveiled by the minister has been imported from Toyota Brazil. Flex-fuel vehicles are at present available in Brazil, the USA and Canada.
Ethanol in India is mainly derived from molasses of the sugarcane.
An FFV SHEV has a flex-fuel engine and an electric powertrain, providing dual benefit of higher ethanol use and greater fuel efficiency. It can run for a significant time period on its Electric Vehicle mode, wherein the engine is shut off.
Flex-fuel compatible cars can run on more than one type of fuel and also a mixture of fuel. It typically runs on a blend of petrol and ethanol or methanol is used.
FFVs provide an opportunity of greater substitution of petrol by ethanol as it is capable of using any of the higher blends of ethanol mix from 20 per cent up to 100 per cent.
Toyota was also the first company in India to launch India's first green hydrogen-based advanced fuel cell electric vehicle (FCEV), Toyota Mirai.
Toyota Motor Company of Japan has a joint venture with Kirloskar in India and the company is called as Toyota Kirloskar Motor ltd.
10. Second United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress
Tags: Science and Technology
The Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) is organizing the 2nd United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress (UNWGIC) in Hyderabad, India from 10-14 October 2022.
Important facts
It is organized by the Government of India through the Ministry of Science and Technology.
It is a global event bringing all stakeholders together to address at the highest level and ensure that geospatial information has broad utility in sustainable social, economic and environmental development.
The theme of the congress is "Geo-Enabling the Global Village : No one should be left behind".
The second UNWGIC will reflect the importance of integrated geospatial information to support sustainable development and the well-being of society, address environmental and climate challenges, embrace digital transformation and technological development, and catalyze a vibrant economy.
About UNWGIC
It is organised by the United Nation Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM).
Its objective is to enhance international collaboration among the Member States and relevant stakeholders in Geospatial information management and capacities.
It is conducted every four years.
The first UNWGIC was organized by China in October 2018.
About UN-GGIM
It aims to play a leading role in setting the agenda for the development of global geospatial information and promoting its use to address major global challenges.
What is Geospatial Technology?
It is an emerging field of study that includes Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Remote Sensing (RS), and Global Positioning Systems (GPS).
It enables us to obtain data that is in reference to the Earth and used for analysis, modelling, simulation and visualization.
This technology can be helpful in making decisions based on the importance and priority of scarce natural resources.
Geospatial technology was used optimally during the COVID-19 vaccination campaign.
