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International Conference on Nano-Science and Nano Technology held in Kolkata

 On March 5, 2020, the Department of Science of Technology operating under Ministry of Science and Technology organized an International Conference on Nano-Science and Nano Technology (ICONSAT) at Kolkata. The Conference is to be held between March 5, 2020 and March 7, 2020.
  • Highlights
The Conference highlighted the current need of India in the field of Nano-Science. It includes 5Ms namely Material, Mechanical, Manufacturing, Manpower and Machines. The Conference was attended by more than 450 scientists from all over the world.
  • Current Scenario
India started its journey of nanotechnology with the launch of “Nano Science and Technology Initiative” (NSTI) in 2001 for a span of 5 years. In 2007, it was renamed as “Nano Mission”. Nano Mission had wider objectives and larger funding of 250 million USD. This effort paid off well with Indian researchers publishing more than 23,000 papers in the field in next 5 years. In 2013, India ranked third in research paper publication in the field after China and USA. Also, the contribution of private firms on Nano Technology has also been minimal. India currently works towards producing 10,000 researchers in the field in the next 10 years as of 2017.
Catgeory: Science & Technology

ARCI develops “PEMFC” system for Disaster Management

 The International Advanced Research for Powder Metallurgy & New Materials (ARCI), Hyderabad has developed a fuel cell technology called Polymer Electrolyte Membrane fuel cells (PEMFC). The ARCI, Hyderabad is an autonomous R&D Centre of Department of Science and Technology (DST). It has developed an in-house PEMFC systems in the power range of 1 to 20 kiloWatt (kW) for Disaster Management.
  • About Polymer Electrolyte Membrane fuel cells:
The Polymer Electrolyte Membrane fuel cells has been developed by ARCI in the power range of 1 to 20 kiloWatt (kW). The in-house PEMFC system has operational capability at low-temperatures with applications in decentralised power generation systems. It has been observed that when an Emergency Operation Centres (EOC) would be backed with 10 kW system along with fuel cell stack, air moving sub systems, power control devices and control and monitoring system will perform as a natural disaster management measure. This system backing EOC is expected to provide immediate support during the Golden Hour of the disaster. The Fuel cell systems provides sustainable electricity using hydrogen gas without the need of grid power as required by conventional battery backup systems.
Catgeory: Science & Technology

Telecommunications Department launches 5G Hackathon

  The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has launched the ‘5G Hackathon’ in association with the government of India, academia and industry stakeholders. The aim of 5G Hackathon is shortlisting India’s focused cutting edge ideas that can be converted into workable 5G products and solutions. The Hackathon will be spread across three phases. The event will culminate in a grand felicitation ceremony at India Mobile Congress on 16 October 2020. Winners of the various phases of the 5G Hackathon will share a total prize pool of Rs. 2.5 crore.The 5G technology provides quantum leap over 4G in terms of speed, peak data rate, latency, spectrum efficiency, and connection density. The Hackathon will convert innovating ideas into products and solutions in different verticals and develop India specific use cases around 5G. The 5G Hackathon is open to developers, students, start-ups, SMEs, academic institutions and registered companies in India and Non-resident Indians (NRIs). All Stakeholders can participate as individuals or as a team to present use cases for the 5G network in the Indian context.
Catgeory: Science & Technology

Cabinet approves to set up a 12-member Technology Group

  On February 19, 2020, the Union Cabinet approved to set a technology group. The 12-member group will provide scientific advice on mapping of technologies, commercialization of dual use technologies and develop a road map on selected key technologies. The group will provide three major pillars of support namely Policy support, research and development proposals and procurement support.
  • Functions of the group
The group will help the GoI in achieving the following
  • To render advice on technology procurement strategy
  • To develop in-house expertise in developing merging technologies
  • To make sure the public sector technologies developed are sustainable.
  • Why was the group constituted?
The Group has been constituted as the GoI faced the following challenges
  • There was no mapping of technologies and their uses spread across the country
  • The Researches were not aligned to technology development
  • The dual use of technologies was not commercialized
  • The standards of technologies were not fixed. This led to sub-optimal industrial development
  • Silo-centric approaches to the development of technologies are being adopted
Catgeory: Science & Technology

ISRO to launch 10 Earth Observation Satellites in 2020-21

  The Indian Space Research Organisation has revealed in its annual report for 2019-20 that it will launch 10 Earth Observation Satellites in 2020-21. The 10 earth observation (EO) satellites will include categories such as the first Geo Imaging Satellite, GISAT-1 along with three communication satellites and two navigation satellites. The Indian Space Research Organisation’s annual report for 2019-20 plan also mentions 36 missions including satellites and their launchers.
  • About Earth Observation Satellites:
The Earth Observation Satellites (EO) are basically used for land and agriculture watch and also helps the military to keep an eye on the borders. The other satellites such as RISATs carries a synthetic aperture radar on them which provides all-weather, 24-hour information to security agencies.
Catgeory: Science & Technology

NASA sends probes to map poles of the sun

 NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) of the United States and the ESA (European Space Agency) will send space probes to the sun to map its poles. The solar orbiter was launched on February 9, 2020.
  • Highlights
The probe will use gravitational influence of the Earth and Venus to position itself at 26 million miles from the sun. It is 95% of distance between the sun and the earth. The probe will map the poles for the first time. This will help scientists to observe the solar winds. The solar winds permeate the solar system.
  • Solar Winds
The solar winds are released from the upper atmosphere of the sun. These winds carry charged particles and magnetic clouds from the sun. These winds are capable of damaging life on the earth. Therefore, it is important to learn about these winds. They are now being filtered by the thick atmosphere around the earth. The winds are a reason for the planets including the earth to revolve around the sun.
Catgeory: Science & Technology

ISRO working on low-cost satellite launch vehicles

  The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has announced that it is preparing low-cost satellite launch vehicles costing around 30-35 crores each. These low-cost launch vehicles can put into orbit satellites weighing 500 kgs. This capability will give ISRO a big commercial boost as it will be able to cater to micro, mini and medium segments of the market. The biggest advantage is that ISRO now can manufacture these vehicles in a turnaround time of just 3 weeks’ time.
Catgeory: Science & Technology

Gaganyaan Mission’s Flight Surgeons will be trained by France

  France will train Indian flight surgeons for the ambitious human space mission Gaganyaan. The training is a critical aspect of the Gaganyaan project that is aimed at sending three Indians to space by 2022. The flight surgeons, who will be Indian Air Force doctors specialising in aviation medicines and responsible for the health of astronauts before, during and after the flight. France has a well-established mechanism for space medicine. It also has the MEDES space clinic, a subsidiary of CNES, where space surgeons undergo training. The four shortlisted astronauts all test pilots from the Indian Air Force are currently in Russia for an 11-month training programme.
Catgeory: Science & Technology

ISRO will launch GSAT-30 satellite

  ISRO will launch GSAT-30 satellite onboard Ariane-5 launch vehicle (VA 251) from French Guiana on January 17, 2020. GSAT-30 is a communication satellite of India which is configured on ISRO’s enhanced I-3K Bus structure to provide communication services from Geostationary orbit in C and Ku bands. The satellite derives its heritage from ISRO’s earlier INSAT/GSAT satellite series. The Weighing 3357 kg, GSAT-30 is to serve as a replacement to INSAT-4A spacecraft services with enhanced coverage. The satellite provides Indian mainland and islands coverage in Ku-band and extended coverage in C-band covering Gulf countries, a large number of Asian countries and Australia.
Catgeory: Science & Technology

ISRO launches Massive Human Space Flight Centre in Challakere, Karnataka

  On January 6, 2020, the ISRO proposed 2,700 crores of infrastructure plan to construct Human Space Flight Infrastructure Centre. The facility is to be set up at Challakere, Chitradurga district of Karnataka and is expected to become operational in three years.
  • Highlights
The Centre is to be located in the NH-4 Bengaluru-Pune Highway. ISRO aims to establish a self-contained training facility here. At present, astronauts part of Gaganyaan Mission, the Human Spaceflight Programme of ISRO are trained in Russia. The centre aims at bringing in all the features that are provided by Russia and begin training astronauts within the country. Also, the centre aims to integrate the works of Human Spaceflight Programme that are currently spread across various centres such as UR Rao Satellite Centre, Bengaluru, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram and Institute of Aerospace Medicine of Air Force. If successful in the Gaganyaan mission, India will become the fourth country after US, Russia and China to send humans to space. In order to achieve this, India is also working on preparing ready to eat foods at DFRL (Defence Food Research Laboratory).
  • Challakere-The Science City
The city is located at 400 km from Bengaluru. It is called the science city as it accommodated facilities of ISRO. Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, DRDO’s Advanced Aeronautical Test Range and Indian institute of Science.
Catgeory: Science & Technology

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