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GS Paper: GS3-16.Achievements of Indians in Science & Technology

  • [pib] What are Gamma Ray Burst (GRB) Explosion?

    The emission from the most notable Gamma Ray Burst (GRB) explosion away from 4.5 billion light-years has been traced by Indian researchers.

    What are GRB Explosions?

    • GRBs are immensely energetic explosions that have been observed in distant galaxies.
    • They are the brightest and most energetic electromagnetic events known to occur in the universe.
    • Bursts can last from ten milliseconds to several hours.
    • After an initial flash of gamma rays, a longer-lived “afterglow” is usually emitted at longer wavelengths (X-ray, ultraviolet, optical, infrared, microwave and radio).
    • The intense radiation of most observed GRBs is thought to be released during a supernova or superluminous supernova as a high-mass star implodes to form a neutron star or a black hole.

    What makes GRB special?

    • The explosions are both extremely energetic (a typical burst releases as much energy in a few seconds as the Sun will in its entire 10-billion-year lifetime) and extremely rare.
    • All observed GRBs have originated from outside the Milky Way galaxy, although a related class of phenomena, soft gamma repeater flares, are associated with magnetars within the Milky Way.
    • It has been hypothesized that a gamma-ray burst in the Milky Way, pointing directly towards the Earth, could cause a mass extinction event.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.Which of the following is/are cited by the scientists as evidence/evidences for the continued expansion of universe? (CSP 2012)
    1. Detection of microwaves in space
    2. Observation of red shift phenomenon in space
    3. Movement of asteroids in space
    4. Occurrence of supernova explosions in space
    Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) 1, 3 and 4

    (d) None of the above can be cited as evidence.

  • India’s investment in research unsatisfactory: UNESCO report

    While India has made ‘solid progress’ towards the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets concerning the industry, infrastructure, and innovation, the country’s investment in research remains unsatisfactory, the UNESCO Science Report has observed. UNESCO Science Report.

    This newscard provides useful data about India’s expenditure on R&D and its adequacy.

    UNESCO Science Report

    • The UNESCO Science Report is a global monitoring report published regularly by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
    • Every five years, this report maps the latest trends and developments in national and regional policy landscapes, against the backdrop of shifting socio-economic, geopolitical and environmental realities.

    Data on research funding in India

    • India has one of the lowest GERD/GDP ratios among the BRICS nations, according to the report.
    • The gross domestic expenditure on research (GERD) has been stagnant at 0.7% of the GDP for years, although, in absolute terms, research expenditure has increased.

    Why flag such slowdown?

    • India’s research intensity has been declining since 2014.
    • The Science and Technology Policy of 2003 fixed the threshold of devoting 2% of GDP to research and development (R&D) by 2007.
    • This target date was set back to 2018 in the new Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (2013) then again to 2022 by the Economic Advisory Council of the Prime Minister.
    • In 2020, the task force drafting the country’s new Science and Technology Policy recommended pushing back the target date to a more realistic 2030.

    Rise of private enterprises

    • R&D in the government sector has been in steady decline since 2015, whereas the share of private business enterprises in it has shot up to 42%.
    • While in theory this is a positive trend, the R&D is focused primarily on sectors such as pharmaceuticals, automotive, and information technology.
    • Even in these industries, it is concentrated in a small number of firms, the report said.
    • It further noted that investment in R&D by foreign multinationals is on the rise, accounting for as much as 16% of private-sector investment in R&D in 2019.
    • The report noted that the majority of the software-related patents were being bagged by MNCs operating from Indian soil, while pharma patents were obtained mostly by domestic firms.

    Few successes to count

    • On the bright side is the encouraging increase in scientific publications by Indian researchers on cutting-edge technologies.
    • Total publications have risen from 80,458 in 2011 to 1.61 lakh in 2019.
    • Indian researchers are publishing between 1.5 and 1.8 times the global average on green technologies, complementing the government’s push to expand green energy sources.
    • But then again, patenting by domestic corporations, research institutes, universities, and individuals remain low in India.

    Key suggestions

    • The UNESCO Science Report underscores the need for ‘policy bridges’ for fostering a more effective interaction between foreign and local research firms.
    • Given the large number of multinational corporations now engaged in R&D, it is imperative that the host economy benefits from this activity the report said.
    • It also called for improved linkages between the start-up ecosystem and manufacturers to push technological development in sectors where India enjoys a global presence.

  • [pib] India’s First Indigenous Tumour Antigen SPAG9

    The National Institute of Immunology (NII) has received a trademark for India’s First Indigenous Tumor Antigen SPAG9.

    About SPAG9

    • India’s first indigenous tumor antigen SPAG9 was discovered by Dr Anil Suri in 1998 who is heading the Cancer Research Program at NII.
    • In a recent development, the SPAG9 antigen has received the trademark ASPAGNII-TM.
    • Currently, ASPAGNIITM is being used in dendritic cell (DC) based immunotherapy in cervical, ovarian cancer and will also be used in breast cancer.

    What is immunotherapy?

    • Immunotherapy is a new approach that exploits the body’s inner capability to put up a fight against cancer.
    • With this approach, either the immune system is given a boost, or the T cells are “trained’’ to identify recalcitrant cancer cells and kill them.
    • In this personalized intervention, those patients expressing SPAG9 protein can be treated with DC-based vaccine approach.
    • In DC-based vaccine, patient’s cells called monocytes from their blood are collected and modified into what are called dendritic cells.
    • These dendritic cells are primed with ASPAGNIITM and are injected back to the patient to help the ‘fighter’ cells, or T-cells, in the body to kill the cancer cells.

    Why need such therapy?

    • DC-based immunotherapy is safe, affordable and can promote antitumor immune responses and prolonged survival of cancer patients.
    • The ASPAGNIITM is a true example of translational cancer research and the Atmanirbhar Bharat spirit.
    • This will be a real morale boost in affordable, personalized, and indigenous products for cancer treatment.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.‘RNA Interference (RNAi)’ technology has gained popularity in the last few years. why?

    1. It is used in developing gene silencing therapies
    2. It can be used in developing therapies for the treatment of cancer
    3. It can be used to developer hormone replacement therapies
    4. It can be used to produce crop plants that are resistant to viral pathogens

    Select the correct answer using the code given below.

    a) 1, 2 and 4

    b) 2 and 3

    c) 1 and 3

    d) 1 and 4 only

    The burden of cancer in India

    • Cancer kills 8.51 lakh people in India every year (International Agency for Research on Cancer, 2020).
    • As per World Health Organization (WHO), one in 10 Indians will develop cancer during their lifetime, and one in 15 will die of cancer.

  • [pib] Bharat Ratna Professor CNR Rao

    Bharat Ratna Professor C.N.R. Rao has received the International Eni Award 2020 for research into renewable energy sources and energy storage, also called the Energy Frontier award.

    Who is CNR Rao?

    • Rao is an Indian chemist who has worked mainly in solid-state and structural chemistry.
    • Rao is one of the world’s foremost solid state and materials chemists. He has contributed to the development of the field over five decades.

    His scientific contributions

    His work on transition metal oxides has led to a basic understanding of novel phenomena and the relationship between materials properties and the structural chemistry of these materials.

    • Rao was one of the earliest to synthesize two-dimensional oxide materials such as La2CuO4.
    • He was one of the first to synthesize 123 cuprates, the first liquid nitrogen-temperature superconductor in 1987. He was also the first to synthesis Y junction carbon nanotubes in the mid-1990s.
    • His work has led to a systematic study of compositionally controlled metal-insulator transitions.
    • Such studies have had a profound impact in application fields such as colossal magnetoresistance and high-temperature superconductivity.
    • He has made immense contributions to nanomaterials over the last two decades, besides his work on hybrid materials.

    Answer this PYQ from CSP 2020 in the comment box:

    Q. With reference to carbon nanotubes, consider the following statements:

    1. They can be used as carriers of drugs and antigens in the human body.
    2. They can be made into artificial blood capillaries for an injured part of the human body.
    3. They can be used in biochemical sensors.
    4. Carbon nanotubes are biodegradable.
    Which of the statements given above are correct?
    (a) 1 and 2 only
    (b) 2, 3, and 4 only
    (c) 1, 3, and 4 only
    (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

    Citations for the Energy Frontiers award

    • Professor Rao has been working on hydrogen energy as the only source of energy for the benefit of all mankind.
    • Hydrogen storage, photochemical and electrochemical production of hydrogen, solar production of hydrogen, and non-metallic catalysis were the highlights of his work.
    • The EF award has been conferred for his work on metal oxides, carbon nanotubes, and other materials and two-dimensional systems, including graphene, boron-nitrogen-carbon hybrid materials, and molybdenum sulfide (Molybdenite – MoS2) for energy applications and green hydrogen production.
    • Green hydrogen production can be achieved through various processes, including the photodissociation of water, thermal dissociation, and electrolysis activated by electricity produced from solar or wind energy.

    Significance of this award

    • This is considered to be the Nobel Prize in Energy Research.

  • [pib] Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission

    Indian Scientists have developed a theory that helps understand the complicated nature of Sun-Earth interaction’s happening in the magnetosphere

    Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) Mission

    • The Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) Mission is a NASA robotic space mission to study the Earth’s magnetosphere, using four identical spacecraft flying in a tetrahedral formation.
    • The mission is designed to gather information about the microphysics of magnetic reconnection, energetic particle acceleration, and turbulence⁠—processes that occur in many astrophysical plasma.
    • Indian researchers have developed a theory that solves every bit of uncertainty regarding the conflict between the observations from MMS Mission.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.Consider the following statements:

    1. The Earth’s magnetic field has reversed every few hundred thousand years.
    2. When the Earth was created more than 4000 million years ago, there was 54% oxygen and no carbon dioxide.
    3. When living organisms originated, they modified the early atmosphere of the Earth.

    Which of the statements given above is/ are correct? (CSP 2018)

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 1 and 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

    What is the Magnetosphere?

    • The magnetosphere is the region of space surrounding Earth where the dominant magnetic field is the magnetic field of Earth, rather than the magnetic field of interplanetary space.
    • It is formed by the interaction of the solar wind with Earth’s magnetic field.

    Findings of the Indian Researchers

    • The MMS spacecraft observed negative monopolar potential (electric field potentials which can be visualized in the form of single-humped pulse-type structures).
    • The scientific community suddenly recognized its importance, and publications were presented.
    • However, none of the available theories could explain the characteristics of these structures due to the exotic background conditions.
    • Indian theory provides a better understanding of their characteristics and sheds light on the generation of these structures.
    • This has lead to the unraveling of nature’s greatest mystery that causes phenomena -plasma transport and heating of plasma- the fourth state of matter after solid, liquid, and gas.

  • Raman Thermometry check on health of power lines

    Researchers at IIT Madras have demonstrated that by using Raman thermometry on fibre optic cables, they can achieve the monitoring of power transmission cables.

    What is Raman Thermometry?

    • Raman spectroscopy is well known as an analytical method for identifying chemical compounds and characterizing the chemical bonding and solid-state structure of materials.
    • Perhaps less well known is the fact that one can use Raman spectroscopy to determine the temperature of the material being analyzed.

    For that, we need to get familiarized with Raman Effect

    • India’s first and so far only Nobel laureate in physics, C.V. Raman, won the prize for his discovery of the Raman Effect.
    • This consisted of experimental observations on the scattering of light.
    • In the Raman Effect, when light is scattered off an object, say a molecule, two bands are observed, with a higher and lower frequency than the original light, called the Stokes and anti-Stokes bands, respectively.
    • By studying the relative intensity of the two bands, it is possible to estimate the temperature of the object that scattered the light.
    • The anti-Stokes component of Raman scattering is strongly dependent on the temperature that the material is subjected to.

    Thus, by measuring the intensity of the anti-Stokes scattered light we can estimate the temperature. This is Raman thermometry.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Which Indian astrophysicist and Nobel laureate predicted rapidly rotating stars emit polarized light?

    (a) Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar

    (b) CV Raman

    (c) Ramanujan

    (d) Amartya Sen

    What has IITM achieved?

    • The temperature measurement was performed in not just one location, but in a distributed manner using an optical fibre.
    • To achieve this, a pulse of light was launched into the optical fibre and the backscattered radiation was observed.
    • The time of flight of the backscattered radiation provided an estimate of the distance from which the light is backscattered.
    • This can go up to tens of kilometres. This technique is married to Raman thermometry to get the results for actual measurements over tens of kilometres.

    What makes this experiment special?

    • The distribution Sector considered the weakest link in the entire power sector.
    • We are much aware of Transmission and Distribution loss that is incurred to our DISCOMS.
    • This IITM technology helps analyze transmission efficiencies in a better way.
    • The present method devised by the team is both economical and provides real-time information.

  • Explained: National Hydrogen Energy Mission (NHEM)

    Recently, the Finance Minister in her budget speech formally announced the National Hydrogen Energy Mission which aims for generation of hydrogen from green power resources.

    Background

    • With this announcement, India has made an uncharacteristically early entry in the race to tap the energy potential of the most abundant element in the universe, hydrogen.
    • The proposal in the Budget will be followed up with a mission draft over the next couple of months — a roadmap for using hydrogen as an energy source.
    • The mission would have a specific focus on green hydrogen, dovetailing India’s growing renewable capacity with the hydrogen economy.

    Hydrogen as an element

    • The most common element in nature is not found freely.
    • Hydrogen exists only combined with other elements and has to be extracted from naturally occurring compounds like water (which is a combination of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom).
    • Although hydrogen is a clean molecule, the process of extracting it is energy-intensive.
    • The sources and processes, by which hydrogen is derived, are categorised by colour tabs.

    Its types as fuel

    • Hydrogen produced from fossil fuels is called grey hydrogen; this constitutes the bulk of the hydrogen produced today.
    • Hydrogen generated from fossil fuels with carbon capture and storage options is called blue hydrogen; hydrogen generated entirely from renewable power sources is called green hydrogen.
    • In the last process, electricity generated from renewable energy is used to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.

    Hydrogen for mobility

    • While proposed end-use sectors include steel and chemicals, the major industry that hydrogen has the potential of transforming is transportation.
    • This sector contributes a third of all greenhouse gas emissions, and where hydrogen is being seen as a direct replacement of fossil fuels, with specific advantages over traditional EVs.
    • Hydrogen fuel cell cars have a near-zero carbon footprint.
    • Hydrogen is about two to three times as efficient as burning petrol because an electric chemical reaction is much more efficient than combustion.

    We already had H-CNG!

    • In October 2020, Delhi became the first Indian city to operate buses running on hydrogen spiked compressed natural gas (H-CNG) in a six-month pilot project.
    • The buses will run on a new technology patented by Indian Oil Corp for producing H-CNG — 18 per cent hydrogen in CNG — directly from natural gas, without resorting to conventional blending.

    Try this PYQ from CSP 2019:

    In the context of proposals to the use of hydrogen-enriched CNG (H-CNG) as fuel for buses in public transport, consider the following statements :
    1. The main advantage of the use of H-CNG is the elimination of carbon monoxide emissions.
    2. H-CNG as a fuel reduces carbon dioxide and hydrocarbon emissions.
    3. Hydrogen up to one-fifth by volume can be blended with CNG as fuel for buses.
    4. H-CNG makes the fuel less expensive than CNG.
    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
    (a) 1 only
    (b) 2 and 3 only
    (c) 4 only
    (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

    Green hydrogen has specific advantages

    1. One, it is a clean-burning molecule, which can decarbonize a range of sectors including iron and steel, chemicals, and transportation.
    2. Two, renewable energy that cannot be stored or used by the grid can be channelled to produce hydrogen.
    • This is what the government’s Hydrogen Energy Mission, to be launched in 2021-22, aims for.

    Philosophy behind NHEM

    • India’s electricity grid is predominantly coal-based and will continue to be so.
    • In several countries that have gone in for an EV push, much of the electricity is generated from renewables — in Norway for example, it is 99 per cent from hydroelectric power.
    • Experts believe hydrogen vehicles can be especially effective in long-haul trucking and other hard-to-electrify sectors such as shipping and long-haul air travel.
    • Using heavy batteries in these applications would be counterproductive, especially for countries such as India, where the electricity grid is predominantly coal-fired.

    Back2Basics: How hydrogen fuel cells work?

    • Hydrogen is an energy carrier, not a source of energy.
    • Hydrogen fuel must be transformed into electricity by a device called a fuel cell stack before it can be used to power a car or truck.
    • A fuel cell converts chemical energy into electrical energy using oxidizing agents through an oxidation-reduction reaction.
    • Inside each individual fuel cell, hydrogen is drawn from an onboard pressurized tank and made to react with a catalyst, usually made from platinum.
    • As the hydrogen passes through the catalyst, it is stripped of its electrons, which are forced to move along an external circuit, producing an electrical current.
    • This current is used by the electric motor to power the vehicle, with the only byproduct being water vapour.

      Issues with H-Fuel cells

    • A big barrier to the adoption of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles has been a lack of fuelling station infrastructure.
    • There are fewer than 500 operational hydrogen stations in the world today, mostly in Europe, followed by Japan and South Korea.
    • Safety is seen as a concern. Hydrogen is pressurized and stored in a cryogenic tank, from there it is fed to a lower-pressure cell and put through an electrochemical reaction to generate electricity.
    • Scaling up the technology and achieving critical mass remains the big challenge.
    • More vehicles on the road and more supporting infrastructure can lower costs. India’s proposed mission is seen as a step in that direction.

  • [pib] Metal CO2 Battery

    India’s planetary missions like Mars Mission may soon be able to reduce payload mass and launch costs with the help of an indigenously developed Metal- CO2 battery with CO2 as an Energy Carrier.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles produce one of the following as “exhaust”:

    (a) NH3

    (b) CH4

    (c) H2O

    (d) H2O2

    Metal CO2 Battery

    • An IIT professor recently demonstrated the technical feasibility of Lithium- CO2 battery in simulated Mars atmosphere for the first time.
    • The development of Metal-CO2 batteries will provide highly specific energy density with the reduction in mass and volume, which will reduce payload mass and launch cost of planetary missions.
    • Metal-CO2 batteries have a great potential to offer significantly high energy density than the currently used Li-ion batteries.
    • They provide a useful solution to fix CO2 emissions, which is better than energy-intensive traditional CO2 fixation methods.

    It’s working

    • A primary Li-CO2 battery uses pure carbon dioxide as a cathode.
    • According to chemical knowledge, Lithium metal can react with CO2 to form lithium oxalate at room temperature.
    • While at high temperatures, lithium oxalate decomposes to form lithium carbonate and carbon monoxide gas.

  • Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) Technology

    The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully demonstrated communication between its two labs using Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) technology.

    Q. What is Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) Technology? Discuss how it enables secure communication networks. (150W)

    What is QKD Technology?

    • Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a secure communication method which implements a cryptographic protocol involving components of quantum mechanics.
    • It enables two parties to produce a shared random secret key known only to them, which can then be used to encrypt and decrypt messages.
    • It gives the ability of the two communicating users to detect the presence of any third party trying to gain knowledge of the key.
    • This is a result of a fundamental aspect of quantum mechanics: the process of measuring a quantum system, in general, disturbs the system.
    • By using quantum superposition or quantum entanglement and transmitting information in quantum states, a communication system can be implemented that detects data leak.

    How does it work?

    • In the QKD, encryption keys are sent as qubits in a fibre optic cable. Time-bin encoding is used to encode qubit on a photon.
    • Quantum computing uses qubits as basic resources, similar to how bits are used as basic resources in classical computing.
    • The QKD is designed in a way that if an illegitimate entity tries to read the transmission, it will disturb the qubits – which are encoded on photons.
    • This will generate transmission errors, leading to legitimate end-users being immediately informed.

    Advantages of using QKD

    • It allows the detection of data leak or hacking because it can detect any such attempt.
    • It also allows the process of setting the error level between the intercepted data in dependence.

  • [pib] XP100: The premium grade Petrol

    The Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas has launched world-class premium-grade Petrol (with Octane number 100) in the country.

    What is XP100?

    • It is petrol developed by Indian Oil with octane number 100.
    • The availability of XP100 puts India in an elite group of countries, having access to such high-quality oil. It will provide high quality and power to the engine.
    • It will be rolled out in 15 identified cities across the country in two phases.
    • Worldwide, 100 Octane petrol has a niche market for luxury vehicles that demand high performance and is available only in six countries like Germany, USA, etc.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Lead, ingested or inhaled, is a health hazard. After the addition of lead to petrol has been banned, what still are the sources of lead poisoning?

    1. Smelting units
    2. Pens pencils
    3. Paints
    4. Hair oils and cosmetics

    Select the correct answer using the codes given below:

    (a) 1, 2 and 3 only

    (b) 1 and 3 only

    (c) 2 and 4 only

    (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

    What is Octane numbering of Petrol?

    • Octane number, also called Antiknock Rating, a measure of the ability of a fuel to resist knocking when ignited in a mixture with air in the cylinder of an internal-combustion engine.
    • Engine knock is a tapping, pinging sound that gets louder and more obnoxious as we accelerate.
    • The octane number is determined by comparing, under standard conditions, the knock intensity of the fuel with that of blends of two reference fuels: iso-octane, which resists knocking, and heptane, which knocks readily.
    • The octane number is the percentage by volume of iso-octane in the iso-octane–heptane mixture that matches the fuel being tested in a standard test engine.