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Subject: Science and Technology

  • Vyommitra Humanoid to undergo pre-flight tests

    vyommitra

    Vyommitra, the humanoid designed and developed by the ISRO to fly aboard unmanned test missions ahead of the Gaganyaan human space-flight mission, is undergoing pre-flight ground tests at the ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU).

    Vyommitra

    • The AI-based robotic system is developed at a robotics lab at the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) at Thumba, Thiruvananthapuram.
    • Vyommitra will be used for an unmanned flight of ISRO’s GSLV III rocket in December 2020, which, along with a second unmanned flight in July 2021.
    • This will serve as the test of ISRO’s preparedness for its maiden manned space mission, Gaganyaan, being targeted for 2022 to mark 75 years of India’s independence.

    Functions of the humanoid

    • Vyommitra, equipped with a head, two arms and a torso, is built to mimic crew activity inside the crew module of Gaganyaan.
    • Attaining launch and orbital postures, responding to the environment, generating warnings, replacing carbon dioxide canisters, and operating switches, monitoring of the crew module, receiving voice commands, and responding via speech (bilingual) are among the functions listed.
    • It will have a human-like face, with lips synchronized for movement to mimic speech.
    • Once it is fully developed, Vyommitra will be able to use the equipment on board the spacecraft’s crew module, like safety mechanisms and switches, as well as receive and act on commands sent from ground stations.

    What is the recent development?

    • The IISU has successfully integrated it with a computer “brain”, which enables it to “read” control panels aboard the unmanned test flights and communicate with the ISRO ground stations.
    • It has a certain level of intelligence.
    • It is intended to operate and read the display panels and communicate back to ground station using its own voice.

    Back2Basics: Gaganyaan Mission

    • Gaganyaan is crewed orbital spacecraft intended to be the formative spacecraft of the Indian Human Spaceflight Programme (IHSP).
    • The IHSP was initiated in 2007 by ISRO to develop the technology needed to launch crewed orbital spacecraft into low Earth orbit.
    • ISRO had been working on related technologies and it performed a Crew Module Atmospheric Re-entry Experiment and a Pad Abort Test for the mission.
    • If completed in meantime, India will become the fourth nation to conduct independent human spaceflight after Russia, US, and China.

     

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  • Nobel for work on Click Chemistry

    click

    Scientists Carolyn R. Bertozzi, Morten Meldal and K. Barry Sharpless won the 2022 Nobel Prize in Chemistry on for discovering reactions that let molecules snap together to create desired compounds and that offer insight into cell biology.

    What the scientists worked on?

    • Sharpless came up with the term ‘Click Chemistry’ and worked extensively on it,
    • Meldal came up with a special chemical structure called ‘Triazole’ which has many significant applications, and
    • Bertozzi took the next step of developing click reactions that could work inside living organisms — ‘bioorthogonal’ reactions take place living systems without interfering with native biochemical processes.

    What is Click Chemistry?

    • Chemists often try to recreate complex chemical molecules found in nature, and this has applications, among other things, in the field of medicine – how to target and block pathogens in cells.
    • However, this process can be complicated and time-consuming.
    • Instead of trying to wrangle reluctant carbon atoms into reacting with each other, Barry Sharpless encouraged his colleagues to start with smaller molecules that already had a complete carbon frame.
    • If chemists choose simple reactions – where there is a strong intrinsic drive for the molecules to bond together – they avoid many of the side reactions, with a minimal loss of material.

    Applications of click chemistry

    • Meldal through his experiments came up with the useful chemical structure called triazoles, whch are stable and are found in pharmaceuticals, dyes and agricultural chemicals.
    • He also found that the reaction he used could bind together numerous different molecules.
    • Bertozzi, using the work of Sharpless and Meldal, came up with an efficient and innovative method to map glycans, which are carbohydrate-based polymers made by all living organisms.

     

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  • Quantum Technology : Next generation Computers are achievible

    QuantumContext

    • The Nobel Prize committee decided to honour three scientists Alain Aspect of France, John Clauser of the US, and Anton Zeilinger of Austria for their work in domain quantum physics.

    What is the contribution of these three scientists?

    • Together, these three have made seminal contributions to not just the foundations of quantum theory but also to efforts that have now enabled the possibility of a wide range of applications.
    • Their experiments have conclusively established that the ‘entanglement’ phenomenon observed in quantum particles was real, not a result of any ‘hidden’ or unknown forces.

    What is the Significance of this Discovery?

    • Wide applications: It could be utilised to make transformative technological advances in computing, hack-free communications, and science fiction-like concept of ‘teleportation’.

    Quantum What is Quantum Theory?

    • Subatomic level: Quantum theory is a fundamental theory in physics that provides a description of the physical properties of nature at the scale of atoms and subatomic particles.It is the foundation of all quantum physics including quantum chemistry, quantum field theory, quantum technology, and quantum information science.
    • Different from conventional physics: Quantum mechanics differs from classical physics in that energy, momentum, angular momentum.

    Development in Quantum Theory so far

    • Planck’s assumption: In 1900, Planck made the assumption that energy was made of individual units, or
    • Albert Einstein’s theory : In 1905, Albert Einstein theorized that not just the energy, but the radiation itself was quantized in the same manner.
    • Louis de Broglie theory: In 1924, Louis de Broglie proposed that there is no fundamental difference in the makeup and behaviour of energy and matter; on the atomic and subatomic level either may behave as if made of either particles or waves. This theory became known as the principle of wave-particle duality: elementary particles of both energy and matter behave, depending on the conditions, like either particles or waves (wave-particle duality).
    • Heisenberg proposed: In 1927, Werner Heisenberg proposed that precise, simultaneous measurement of two complementary values – such as the position and momentum of a subatomic particle – is impossible. Contrary to the principles of classical physics, their simultaneous measurement is inescapably flawed; the more precisely one value is measured, the more flawed will be the measurement of the other value. This theory became known as the uncertainty principle, which prompted Albert Einstein’s famous comment, “God does not play dice.”

    QuantumWhat is Entanglement?

    • Entanglement was another of several weird properties exhibited by these tiny particles. Two particles, having ‘interacted’ with each other at some stage, were found to have got ‘entangled’ in a way that the behaviour of one produced an instantaneous reaction in the other even if the two were no longer connected in any way and were separated by very large distances.
    • The entanglement property to open up new technological possibilities. first time that it was possible to ‘teleport’ the quantum states of a particle to another location without the particle moving anywhere and without a medium.

    What is Superposition?

    • It’s a phenomenon where, a particle exists simultaneously at multiple locations, known as superposition. The chance of finding the particle at any given place was dictated by probabilistic calculations, and once it was found, or observed, at one location, it ceased to exist at all other places.

    What was the Einstein’s assessment?

    • Special theory of relativity: Einstein’s Special Theory of Relativity prohibited any signal from travelling faster than the speed of light. The seemingly instantaneous communication due to entanglement had the danger of further unravelling the foundations of physics.
    • Spooky behaviour: Einstein describes the strange behaviour by quantum particles as ‘spooky’.
    • Speed of light: One major concern of Einstein, that entanglement allows for transmission of information at speeds faster than light, was not entirely accurate.When an operation is performed on one of the entangled particles, there is an instantaneous reaction in the other.
    • Communication problem: There is no way for the observer at the other end to know the reaction has happened. The observer has to be made aware of the operation having been performed, and this happens only through classical communication channels limited by the speed of light restriction.

    QuantumConclusion

    • The entanglement property is now being utilised to build the next generation of computers, called quantum computers, which exploit the quantum behaviour of particles to overcome challenges considered as unsurmountable. It is being used to create secure communication algorithms that would be immune to hacking.

    Mains Question

    Q.What is the quantum theory? How it is different from classical theory of physics? How entanglement property is used in various applications?

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  • Medicine Nobel for Work on Human Evolution

    Swedish scientist Svante Paabo won the Nobel Prize in medicine for his discoveries on human evolution that provided key insights into our immune system and what makes us unique compared with our extinct ancestors.

    Svante Paabo: His work, explained

    • Svante Paabo’s seminal discoveries provide the basis for exploring what makes us uniquely human.
    • Hominins refer to the now-extinct species of apes that are believed to be related to modern humans, as well as modern humans themselves.
    • Paabo found that gene transfer had occurred from these now extinct Hominins to Homo sapiens following the migration out of Africa around 70,000 years ago.
    • This ancient flow of genes to present-day humans has physiological relevance today, for example affecting how our immune system reacts to infections.
    • Paabo established an entirely new scientific discipline, called paleogenomics that focuses on studying the DNA and genetic information of extinct hominins through reconstruction.

    What is the relation between evolution and biology?

    • Paabo’s discoveries have established a unique resource, which is utilized extensively by the scientific community to better understand human evolution and migration.
    • We now understand that archaic gene sequences from our extinct relatives influence the physiology of present-day humans.

    How did Paabo establish the linkage?

    • Paabo extracted DNA from bone specimens from extinct hominins, from Neanderthal remains in the Denisova caves of Germany.
    • The bone contained exceptionally well-preserved DNA, which his team sequenced.
    • It was found that this DNA sequence was unique when compared to all known sequences from Neanderthals and present-day humans.
    • Comparisons with sequences from contemporary humans from different parts of the world showed that gene flow, or mixing of genetic information among a species, had also occurred between Denisova and Homo sapiens – the species of modern-day humans.
    • This relationship was first seen in populations in Melanesia (near Australia) and other parts of South East Asia, where individuals carry up to 6% Denisova DNA.
    • The Denisovan version of the gene EPAS1 confers an advantage for survival at high altitudes and is common among present-day Tibetans.

    What are the challenges in carrying out such research?

    • There are extreme technical challenges because with time DNA becomes chemically modified and degrades into short fragments.
    • The main issue is that only trace amounts of DNA are left after thousands of years, and exposure to the natural environment leads to contamination with DNA.

    Back2Basics: Neanderthal Man

    neanderthal

    • Neanderthals were humans like us, but they were a distinct species called Homo Neanderthalensis.
    • Together with an Asian people known as Denisovans, Neanderthals are our closest ancient human relatives. Scientific evidence suggests our two species shared a common ancestor.
    • Current evidence from both fossils and DNA suggests that Neanderthal and modern human lineages separated at least 500,000 years ago. Some genetic calibrations place their divergence at about 650,000 years ago.
    • The best-known Neanderthals lived between about 130,000 and 40,000 years ago, after which all physical evidence of them vanishes.
    • They evolved in Europe and Asia while modern humans – our species, Homo sapiens – were evolving in Africa.

     

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  • Satellite Broadband Services in India

    satellite broadband

    The race for providing satellite broadband connectivity in India is heating up as companies like Jio, Oneweb, Hughes and Tata-backed Nelco are preparing to provide these services.

    Recent developments on satellite broadband

    • Earlier last month, Hughes Communications India (HCI), a satellite internet service provider launched India’s first high throughput satellite (HTS) broadband service powered by ISRO satellites.
    • It used Ku-band capacity from ISRO GSAT-11 and GSAT-29 satellites with Hughes JUPITER Platform ground technology to deliver high-speed broadband.

    What is a Satellite Broadband Service?

    • Broadband essentially means a wide bandwidth, high-capacity data transmission technique, using a broad range of frequencies.
    • In the case of a satellite broadband service, broadband services are delivered directly via satellites instead of optical fibre or mobile networks.

    How is it different from existing broadband services?

    (1) Transmission of data over space

    • The main difference is that aggregation of all the data generated and transmitted by users accessing the internet happens in the sky or space that is in the satellite.
    • In contrast to this, if we take a look at cellular networks, aggregation happens on the ground, in the base stations through optical fibre, cable, etc.

    (2) Access to the services

    • Another key difference is that to access satellite services, we will need a dish antenna just like we do in the case of TV services, so a normal mobile handset cannot directly access satellite broadband.
    • For a user to access satellite broadband a clear line of sight to the satellite is needed.

    Advantages offered

    • Speed: The main advantage of satellite services is that you can provide high-speed internet services in remote areas, where terrestrial networks cannot be set up.
    • Eliminating terrain shortcomings: For instance in the middle of the ocean, in rugged unreachable terrain such as the Himalayas — even as remote as on top of Mt. Everest, satellite broadband will work.
    • Curbing the divide: In a country with a wide range of geographies such as India, 20-25 per cent of the Indian population resides in areas where it is extremely hard for terrestrial operators to install internet facilities.

    Present scope in India

    • Currently, VSAT operators offer satellite broadband services at a very limited capacity in India in a few remote locations.
    • The utilisation of satellite services for broadband services is restricted to minimal applications — such as disaster management, defence, scientific locations, etc.

    How India (undoubtedly, the ISRO) has geared up for adapting to this?

    • ISRO’s high throughput GEO (Geostationary Equatorial Orbit) satellites – GSAT-11 and GSAT-29 a few years ago, can beam high-speed internet up to 300 gigabytes per second.
    • Apart, many global players look to provide satellite broadband services in India by deploying low earth orbit (LEO) satellites.
    • They are launching a constellation of satellites very close to the earth’s surface in order to reduce the latency of satellite broadband.
    • Presently, Elon Musk’s Starlink, Sunil Bharti Mittal-backed OneWeb and the Canadian satellite major Telesat are eyeing the Indian market.

    When will these services be available in India?

    • If things go as planned and the players get the necessary regulatory clearance, these services could become operational in India as soon as next year.
    • OneWeb wants to provide backhaul services to telcos by mid-next year, while Starlink wants to provide direct broadband services by December 2022, aiming at 2 lakh terminals.
    • Telesat, on the other hand, is eyeing an India launch by 2024.

    How much will it cost?

    • The provision of direct broadband services through satellites will be pricey.
    • According to a user guide for India, provided by Starlink, the first-year cost of a Starlink terminal will be ₹1,58,000 after which it will cost around ₹1,15,000 every year.

    Has it been rolled out in other parts of the world?

    • Starlink is operational in 14 countries, with 1 lakh terminals shipped to North America and Europe.
    • Starlink and OneWeb are still launching satellites that will be a part of their LEO constellation.

    What are the major hurdles?

    • Latency: Additionally, satellite Internet latency can be a significant problem. This can be a matter of only a second or two, but a delay on that scale can seriously affect real-time applications like video chats.
    • Spatial hurdles: Users might not be able to connect to a satellite at all if they are located under heavy foliage or surrounded by other obstructions.
    • Limited bandwidth: Satellite data transfer provides very slow Internet speeds and limited satellite bandwidth because of the distances the signals have to travel and all the potential obstacles in between.
    • Connection times: This can also be impacted by your surroundings, the length of your message, and the status and availability of the satellite network.
    • High input cost: This along with the complex equipment like satellite dishes being used to avail these services makes the service expensive.

    Perspective analysis: Why is India itself lagging in this race?

    • Globally, companies are striving to build and deploy “mega-constellations” of hundreds or thousands of satellites for this.
    • Despite India’s impressive achievements in the space sector, growth has been at snail’s pace.
    • Satellite broadband services in India remains primarily for the B2B sector with a market size of roughly $100 million.

    Reason’s for India’s slow pace

    • Upgrade issues: The Indian networks are still using conventional satellites despite the proliferation of high throughput satellites world-over.
    • Lack of domestic industries: There is a lack of domestic participation for building space infrastructure despite ‘Make in India’ mission.

    Way forward

    • An urgent re-look at deregulation and privatization is required.
    • Advanced space-faring nations have privatized most of these blocks in the value chain.
    • There is a need for building systems to help nurture the industry and create an extensive ecosystem to generate a ‘Space 2.0’ in India.

     

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  • MeFSAT Database for Medicinal Fungi

    mefsat

    An analytical study of medicinal fungi using MeFSAT carried out by researchers from Chennai shows that some chemicals they secrete may find use as novel drugs.

    What is MeFSAT?

    • MeFSAT (Medicinal Fungi Secondary Metabolites and Therapeutics) is a database that compiles information on 184 medicinal fungi, including mushrooms.
    • It is a manually curated database that compiles information on secondary metabolites and reported therapeutic uses of medicinal fungi from published research articles and specialized books on the subject.

    Why in news?

    • Chennai-based researchers analysed the structure of 1,830 secondary metabolites of medicinal fungi.
    • Secondary metabolites are chemical compounds that fungi produce when they are stressed.
    • They enhance the fungus’ ability to survive.

    What are medicinal fungi?

    • Medicinal fungi belongs to two taxonomic divisions namely, basidiomycota and ascomycota.
    • Mushrooms belong to the basidiomycota division. An example is Agaricus bisporus, the button mushroom, which can be consumed.
    • Fungi belonging to the ascomycota division are generally not mushrooms.

    Examples of fungi-based medicines

    • Cordycepin, a secondary metabolite produced by Cordyceps species of fungus, is known to have anti-tumor properties.
    • Not only cordycepin, in general, but several secondary metabolites are also known to be beneficial for humans in terms of both therapy and health.

     

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  • Places in news: Ram Setu

    ram setu

    A movie has once again generated buzz around the chain of shoals off the southeast coast of India that many believe is the Ram Setu or the bridge to Lanka mentioned in the Ramayana.

    The Ram Setu

    • The Ram Setu, also known as Adam’s Bridge, is a 48-km chain of limestone shoals between Rameswaram on India’s southeast coast and Mannar Island near Sri Lanka’s northwest coast.
    • The structure has significance in both Hindu and Muslim mythology – while Hindus believe this is the bridge (Setu) built by Lord Ram and his army to cross to Lanka and fight Ravan.
    • As per Islamic legend, Adam used this bridge to reach Adam’s Peak in Sri Lanka, where he stood on one foot for 1,000 years in repentance.

    Factual details of the bridge

    • Scientists believe Ram Setu is a natural structure formed due to tectonic movements and sand getting trapped in corals.
    • However, over the years, evidence has been offered to claim that the bridge is man-made.
    • The bridge is not entirely natural, Hindu right wing outfits argue, which proves that it was indeed built by Lord Ram.

    When was the structure came into highlights?

    • The Ram Setu issue snowballed into a major controversy when the Sethusamudram Project, flagged off during the UPA I government.
    • The project aimed to reduce travel time between the eastern and western coasts of India, as ships would no longer have to circle Sri Lanka to travel between the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea.
    • The project was perceived as an attack on Hindu sentiments.
    • Various studies have been proposed on the Ram Setu, with the most recent being in 2021, when the government approved an underwater research project to ascertain its origins.

    Ecological arguments against the project

    • The Sethusamudram project has been opposed on environmental grounds.
    • Some claims that it will harm marine life, and that dredging of the line of shoals will make India’s coast more vulnerable to tsunamis.
    • In March 2018, the Centre told the Supreme Court that the Ram Setu will not be affected in the execution of the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal project.

    NASA images, and other proofs

    • Images of the Ram Setu clicked by NASA have been used over and over again to claim that this proves the existence of a man-made bridge.
    • NASA has repeatedly clarified that it does not agree with these claims.
    • Remote sensing images or photographs from orbit cannot provide direct information about the origin or age of a chain of islands.
    • It certainly cannot be determined whether humans were involved in producing any of the patterns seen.

     

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  • In news: Rotterdam Convention

    International trade of two new hazardous pesticides — Iprodione and Terbufos — has been recommended for “prior informed consent” (PIC) procedure under the Rotterdam convention.

    Why in news?

    • In India, the use of these chemicals was permitted by the 2015 Anupam Verma committee report. The country is among the largest exporters of Terbufos.
    • The chemicals are dangerous for humans and aquatic animals.

    Rotterdam Convention

    • The Rotterdam Convention is formally known as the Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade.
    • It is a multilateral treaty to promote shared responsibilities in relation to importation of hazardous chemicals.
    • The convention promotes open exchange of information and calls on exporters of hazardous chemicals to use proper labelling, include directions on safe handling, and inform purchasers of any known restrictions or bans.
    • Signatory nations can decide whether to allow or ban the importation of chemicals listed in the treaty, and exporting countries are obliged to make sure that producers within their jurisdiction comply.
    • India is a party to the convention, with 161 other parties.

    What is the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure?

    • The PIC procedure is a mechanism for formally obtaining and disseminating the decisions of importing parties on their willingness to receive future shipments of hazardous chemicals.
    • The PIC procedure is a mechanism for formally obtaining and disseminating the decisions of importing Parties as to whether they wish to receive future shipments of those chemicals listed in the Convention.
    • For each of the chemicals listed in Annex III and subject to the PIC procedure a decision guidance document (DGD) is prepared and sent to all Parties.
    • All Parties are required to take a decision as to whether or not they will allow future import of each of the chemicals in Annex III of the Convention.
    • These decisions are known as import responses.

    Which are the new chemicals listed?

    • Iprodione, a fungicide used on vines, fruits, trees and vegetables, has been classified as carcinogenic and toxic for reproduction.
    • Terbufos is a soil insecticide used commonly on sorghum, maize, beet and potatoes. It has also been found to pose risk to aquatic organisms due to its toxicity.
    • Both pesticides, which are used in agriculture, are known for their harmful impacts on human health and the environment.

     

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  • Rohini RH-200: ISRO eyeing 200th successful launch of Rohini RH-200

    rohini

    In a few weeks’ time, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) hopes to achieve a remarkable feat — the 200th successful launch of the Rohini RH-200 sounding rocket in a row.

    Rohini RH-200

    • RH-200 is a two-stage rocket capable of climbing to a height of 70 km bearing scientific payloads.
    • The first and second stages of RH-200 are powered by solid motors. The ‘200’ in the name denotes the diameter of the rocket in mm.
    • Other operational Rohini variants are RH-300 Mk-II and RH-560 Mk-III.
    • For years, the RH-200 rocket had used a polyvinyl chloride (PVC)-based propellant.
    • The first RH-200 to use a new propellant based on hydroxyl-terminated Polybutadiene (HTPB) was successfully flown from the TERLS in September 2020.
    • The first and second stages of RH200 rocket are powered by solid motors.
    • Since inception of RH200 rocket, both solid stages are processed using polyvinyl chloride (PVC) based propellant.
    • As compared to PVC based propellants, HTPB based propellant is more energetic, higher mechanical & interface properties and has less defects due to lower processing temperature.

    What basically is a Sounding Rocket?

    • A sounding rocket is an instrument-carrying rocket designed to take measurements and perform scientific experiments during its sub-orbital flight.
    • The rockets are used to launch instruments from 48 to 145 km above the surface of the Earth, the altitude generally between weather balloons and satellites.
    • The maximum altitude for balloons is about 40 km and the minimum for satellites is approximately 121 km.

    History of sounding rockets in India

    • Sounding rockets have an important place in the ISRO story.
    • The first sounding rocket to be launched from Thumba was the American Nike-Apache — on November 21, 1963.
    • After that, two-stage rockets imported from Russia (M-100) and France (Centaure) were flown. The ISRO launched its own version — Rohini RH-75 — in 1967.
    • The ISRO has launched more than 1,600 RH-200 rockets so far.
    • Currently, the RH200, RH300 MkII and RH560 Mk-III rockets are operational which were developed during the early phase of our journey in rocketry.

     

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  • Centre’s push for NavIC System  

    navic

    The Union government is pushing tech giants to make smartphones compatible with its home-grown navigation system ‘NavIC’.

    What is NavIC?

    • NavIC, or Navigation with Indian Constellation, is an independent stand-alone navigation satellite system developed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
    • NavIC was originally approved in 2006 at a cost of $174 million.
    • It was expected to be completed by late 2011, but only became operational in 2018.
    • NavIC consists of eight satellites and covers the whole of India’s landmass and up to 1,500 km (930 miles) from its boundaries.

    Note: The numbers of satellites in this constellation is disputed. It is given as 7 and 8 on different sources. Total Nine satellites were launched out of which the very first (IRNSS-1A) is partially failed because of some issue in its Atomic Clock. Another and the last satellite had a launch failure. Hence the number 7/8.

    Why is the Centre pushing for NavIC?

    • Currently, NavIC’s use is limited.
    • It is being used in public vehicle tracking in India.
    • It helps providing emergency warning alerts to fishermen venturing into the deep sea where there is no terrestrial network connectivity, and for tracking and providing information related to natural disasters.
    • Enabling it in smartphones is the next step India is pushing for.
    • India’s 2021 satellite navigation draft policy stated the government will work towards expanding the coverage from regional to global to ensure availability of NavIC signal in any part of the world.

    How does NavIC compare?

    • The main difference is the serviceable area covered by these systems.
    • GPS caters to users across the globe and its satellites circle the earth twice a day, while NavIC is currently for use in India and adjacent areas.
    • Like GPS, there are three more navigation systems that have global coverage – Galileo from the European Union, Russia-owned GLONASS and China’s Beidou.
    • QZSS, operated by Japan, is another regional navigation system covering Asia-Oceania region, with a focus on Japan.

    Strategic significance of NavIC

    • India says NavIC is conceived with the aim of removing dependence on foreign satellite systems for navigation service requirements, particularly for “strategic sectors.”
    • Relying on systems like GPS and GLONASS may not always be reliable, India says, as those are operated by the defence agencies of respective nations.
    • It is possible that civilian services can be degraded or denied.
    • NavIC is an indigenous positioning system that is under Indian control.
    • There is no risk of the service being withdrawn or denied in a given situation.

     

    Try this PYQ:

    Q. With reference to the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS), consider the following statements:

    1. IRNSS has three Satellites in geostationary and four satellites the geosynchronous orbits.
    2. IRNSS covers entire India and about 5500 sq. km beyond its borders.
    3. India will have its own satellite navigation system with full global coverage by the middle of 2019.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 1 and 2 only

    (c) 2 and 3 only

    (d) None

     

    Answer: [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”20zudmif0g” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″](Post it here.)[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

     

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