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Subject: Science and Technology

  • Poets quoted in Budget Speech

    Finance Minister has quoted four poets in her Budget speech: Pt. Dinanath Nadim, Avvaiyar, Thiruvalluvar and Kalidas, a sweep from Tamil Nadu to Kashmir, from ancient to contenporary India.

    Dinanath Nadim

    • The Kashmiri nationalist poet Dinanath Nadim was at the centre of Kashmir’s progressive movement, especially in the 1930s, 40s and 50s.
    • Nadim was born in 1916, and passed away in 1988. Nadim wrote in Kashmiri, Hindi and Urdu, and inspired a powerful tradition of Kashmiri poetry.
    • Nadim received the Sahitya Akademi award in 1986 for his opera Shuhul Kull (The Shady Tree).
    • Among his other well known works are Vitasta (Jhelum River), Safar Taa Shehjaar (The Journey And The Shade), Heemaal Taa Naaegrai (Heemaal and Naagraaj), and Bombur Taa Yamberzal (The Bumble Bee And The Narcissus Flower).

    Avvaiyar

    • Avvaiyar translates to “Respected Woman”, and the title was used by several woman poets who contributed to Tamil literature during different periods of time.
    • In the Budget’s section on “Aspirational India”, Sitharaman said, “Our government shall encourage balanced use of all kinds of fertilizers including the traditional organic and other innovative fertilizers.
    • This is a necessary step to change the prevailing incentive regime, which encourages excessive use of chemical fertilisers.”
    • She quoted from Aaathichoodi’s verse 81 which translate to “first tend to till one’s land and then eat. One must eat only after work.”

    Thiruvalluvar

    • Thiruvalluvar is fondly referred to as Valluvar by Tamils. His ‘Tirukkural’, a collection of 1,330 couplets (‘kurals’ in Tamil), are an essential part of every Tamil household.
    • It holds importance in the same way the Bhagavad Gita or the Ramayana are in traditional North Indian Hindu households.
    • He is an essential anchor for Tamils in tracing their cultural roots; Tamils are taught to learn his couplets word-for-word, and to follow his teachings in their day-to-day living.
    • FM quoted Thiruvalluvar: “Pini Inmai Selvam Vilaivu Inbam Emam Ani Enba”, which loosely translates to having the “five jewels” required for a country that is without illness, with wealth, with good crops, with happiness, as well as safety and security.

    Kalidas

    • Kalidas, the legendary Sanskrit scholar, is believed to have lived during the middle of the fourth and early fifth centuries AD, during the reigns of Chandragupta II Vikramaditya and Kumaragupta.
    • Raghuvamsa, from which FM quoted, is one of two long epic poems written by Kalidas.
    • She mentioned the 18th verse: “Surya, the Sun, collects vapour from little drops of water. So does the King. They give back copiously. They collect only for people’s wellbeing.”

  • [op-ed of the day] A sneeze, a global cold and testing times for China

    Context

    The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the coronavirus outbreak a global emergency, as the outbreak continues to spread outside China.

    Coronavirus outbreak and Chinese response

    • What is coronavirus? Normally, coronavirus is a large family of viruses that are often the source of respiratory infections, including the common cold.
      • A small number of common infecting virus: Most of the viruses are common among animals and only a small number of them infect humans.
      • Mutation of animal base virus: Sometimes, an animal-based coronavirus mutates and successfully finds a human host.
    • Dangers of rapid urbanisation: Rapid urbanisation that forces animals and humans into closer proximity (as in the “wet market” in Wuhan) creates a perfect petri dish from where such zoonotic outbreaks can originate.

    Concern for India

    • Reported case in Nepal and cause of concern for India: For India, the most critical is cases being reported in Nepal since India and Nepal share an open border though so far.
    • All tests undertaken in India have been negative.
    • A tweet by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on January 30 said that one positive case of a novel coronavirus patient

    Understanding the new virus

    • The possible mode of transmission: According to the World Health Organization, during previous outbreaks due to other coronavirus, human-to-human transmission occurred through droplets, contact and fomites (objects or materials which are likely to carry infection, such as clothes, utensils, and furniture).
    • This suggests that the transmission mode of the 2019-nCoV can be identical.
    • The transmission even in incubation period: More significant is the new understanding that the virus is contagious even during incubation, that is even before a patient exhibits any symptoms.
      • This characteristic amplifies

    Experience from the past outbreaks

    • Comparison with SARS: Comparisons are being drawn the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak in 2002-03.
      • Zoonotic case: SARS is also a zoonotic case, part of the coronavirus family with clues pointing to horseshoe bats in China as the likely source.
      • Late reporting by China in SARS:
      • The first incidents were reported in Guangdong province in November 2002 but WHO was officially informed only after three months.
    • Different response this time: Comparison with SARS: Comparisons are being drawn the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak in 2002-03.
      • Zoonotic case: SARS is also a zoonotic case, part of the coronavirus family with clues pointing to horseshoe bats in China as the likely source.
      • Late reporting by China in SARS: The first incidents were reported in Guangdong province in November 2002 but WHO was officially informed only after three months.
      • Different response this time: This time around, the Chinese government has been more open but the question being asked is whether it has been open enough?
      • The difference in time to develop vaccine: For SARS, it took 20 months from the genome sequencing to the first human vaccine trials; for the 2019-nCoV, authorities in the U.S. are working on a deadline of 90 days.

    Lessons from Kerala in Nipah outbreak

    • Managing an outbreak with few casualties: Kerala managed to curtail the Nipah outbreak with few casualties.
      • Nipah is also zoonotic and made the jump from fruit bats to humans.
      • Though there were 17 deaths in India, effective quarantine measures by local authorities prevented the spread.
    • Infectious disease on the rise: Infectious diseases including those of the zoonotic variety are on the rise in India.
      • In addition, regions in India suffer from seasonal outbreaks of dengue, malaria and influenza strains.
      • The nation-wide disease surveillance programme needs to be strengthened.

    Conclusion

    India should brace itself for the possible outbreak of infectious diseases and frame policies to deal with such outbreaks in fast and effective ways.

  • [op-ed snap] Cybersecurity a critical challenge for India’s digital payments ecosys

    Context

    Digital payments in India are witnessing consistent growth at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.7%.

    Growth potential and challenges involved in digital payments

    • Expected growth in mobile wallet payment: The mobile wallet market is expected to continuously grow at a CAGR of 52.2% by volume between 2019-23, according to a recent report by KPMG.
      • This digital explosion can be seen in the accelerating rise in the download and use of electronic wallets as well as an unprecedented increase in digital transactions/payments.
      • UPI/IMPS use growth: Payment systems such as UPI/IMPS are likely to register average annualised growth of over 100%, according to RBI’s 2021 vision document.
    • Challenge of Cybersecurity: Cybersecurity is one of the most critical challenges faced by stakeholders of the digital payment ecosystem.
      • Types of risks involved: With more and more users preferring digital payments, the chances of getting exposed to cybersecurity risks such as-
      • Online fraud
      • Information theft.
      • Malware or virus attacks are also increasing.
      • Digital payment frauds account for about half of all bank frauds in India.

    Steps taken by the RBI

    • Guidelines issued: In view of risks, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has also issued some guidelines as security and risk mitigation measures for digital payments.
      • It has also issued guidelines that limit the liability of customers on unauthorised electronic banking transactions
    • Steps taken: The central bank has taken steps for securing card transactions, internet banking, electronic payments, ATM transactions, and prepaid payment instruments (PPIs).

    Securing the fintech revolution

    • Fraudsters building advanced technologies: The changing nature of cybersecurity attacks such as-
      • Web application attack.
      • Ransomware.
      • Reconnaissance.
      • The DDoS attack clearly establishes cyber-risk as a new reality.
    • What needs to be done to secure the fintech revolution?
      • A robust regulatory framework.
      • An effective customer redressal framework.
      • Foolproof security measures to enable confidence and trust.
      • Incentives for larger participation and benefits similar to cash transactions- are some measures that can help ensure long-term success for digital payments.
    • Leveraging technology: Technology can be leveraged for making popular methods of cashless payments secure.
      • Biometric authentication-enabled cards can provide a greater layer of security by enabling replacement of the traditional PIN.
      • Through biometric authentication, consumers can authenticate transactions by placing their finger on a fingerprint sensor embedded in the card.
      • Ensuring security: Safety is ensured as the consumer’s fingerprint is stored only in the secure chip within the card and the same chip is used to match the scanned fingerprint with the stored one.
      • The biggest advantage: The biggest advantage is that the bank or merchant cannot access the consumer’s biometric data, which also counters potential privacy concerns.

    Conclusion

    To reap the advantages of the promising fintech revolution steps must be taken to secure the digital environment.

     

     

     

  • Nagoba Jatara

    The month long Nagoba Jatara recently concluded in Adilabad dist. of AP.

    Nagoba Jatara

    • Nagoba Jatara is a tribal festival held in Keslapur village, Inderavelly Mandal[1] Adilabad district, Telangana, India.
    • It is the second biggest tribal carnival and celebrated by Mesaram clan of Gond tribes for 10 days.
    • Tribal people from Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh belonging to the Mesram clan offer prayers at the festival.
    • It starts in pushya masam. A ceremony of ‘bheting’ is it’s integral part where the new brides are introduced to the clan god during first jatra afer their marriage
    • The few hundred Raj Gond and Pardhan Adivasis, men clad in pure white dhoti-kurta and the pagdi headgear and women in the traditional colourful nau-vari Maharashtrian style saree.
    • The temple for which a new structure is coming up is dedicated to the serpent god, known as Shri Shek to the aboriginal people, and is the centre of all activities during the week long festivities.

  • Spitzer Space Telescope

     

    NASA’s Spitzer Mission, which studied the universe in infrared light for more than 16 years, will come to an end since it is low on fuel and has been drifting away from Earth for a few years now.

    Spitzer Space Telescope

    • The Spitzer Space Telescope is a space-borne observatory, one of the elements of NASA’s Great Observatories that include the Hubble Space Telescope and the Chandra X-Ray.
    • Using different infrared wavelengths, Spitzer was able to see and reveal features of the universe including objects that were too cold to emit visible light.
    • Apart from enabling researchers to see distant cold objects, Spitzer could also see through large amounts of gas using infrared wavelengths to find objects that may otherwise have been invisible to human beings.
    • These included exoplanets, brown dwarfs and cold matter found in the space between stars.
    • Spitzer was originally built to last for a minimum of 2.5 years, but it lasted in the “cold” phase for over 5.5 years. On May 15, 2009 the coolant was finally depleted and the “warm mission” began.

    Major discoveries

    • Spitzer also studied some of the most distant galaxies ever detected.
    • The light from these galaxies reached us after traveling for billions of years, enabling scientists “to see those objects as they were long, long ago”.
    • Hubble and Spitzer in 2016 identified and studied the most distant galaxy ever observed.
    • Using these two telescopes, scientists were able to see a bright infant galaxy as it was over 13.4 billion years ago, roughly 400 million years after the Big Bang, when the universe was less than 5% of its current age.
    • It assisted in the discovery of planets beyond our solar system, including the detection of seven Earth-size exo-planets orbiting the star TRAPPIST-1.
    • Three of its seven planets were located in the “habitable zone,” where the temperature might be right for liquid water to exist on the planets’ surfaces.

    Other landmarks

    • Spitzer has logged over 106,000 hours of observation time.
    • Thousands of scientists around the world have utilized Spitzer data in their studies, and Spitzer data is cited in more than 8,000 published papers.
    • Spitzer’s primary mission ended up lasting 5.5 years, during which time the spacecraft operated in a “cold phase,” with a supply of liquid helium cooling three onboard instruments to just above absolute zero.
    • The cooling system reduced excess heat from the instruments themselves that could contaminate their observations.
    • This gave Spitzer very high sensitivity for “cold” objects.
    • In July 2009, after Spitzer’s helium supply ran out, the spacecraft entered a so-called “warm phase.”
    • Spitzer’s main instrument, called the Infrared Array Camera (IRAC), has four cameras, two of which continue to operate in the warm phase with the same sensitivity they maintained during the cold phase.

  • [op-ed snap] Here’s looking at you

    Context

    Face recognition technology calls for a more comprehensive domestic framework that promotes the use of new technologies for the public good as well as imposes necessary constraints against their abuse.

    Debate on finding the balance between regulation and promotion

    • Google calls for partial ban: TheGoogle CEO’s recent support for a temporary ban on facial recognition technologies seems uncharacteristic.
      • It is not often that companies developing a technology call for its ban.
      • Their interest is in promoting the use of technology, not proscribing it.
      • Not every one of the leading tech companies agrees with Google on facial recognition.
    • Microsoft against the ban: Microsoft has questioned the idea of a ban. Calling facial recognition a “young technology”, it said “it will get better.
      • To get better the technology has to be used: The only way to make it better is actually to continue developing it.
      • And the only way to continue developing it actually is to have more people using it.
    • IBM’s precision regulation: IBM has taken a step forward in developing the policies for the use of technology by setting up a “lab”.
      • The lab will generate actionable ideas for policymakers to manage the emergence of new technologies like facial recognition that are shaping our digital future.
      • Precision regulation vs. complete ban: The idea is to develop “precision regulation” rather than enforce “blunt” instruments like the ban.
    • The EU’s plans for temporary ban: The debate on finding the right balance between regulation and promotion of emerging technologies comes in the wake of leaked plans of the EU to issue a temporary ban.
      • The ban could be up to five years.
      • Ban on use in public places only: The proposed ban is not a comprehensive one and will be applicable to the use of facial recognition in public spaces.
    • India’s own plans for law enforcement agencies: The intensifying global debate also coincides with India’s own plans to roll out a massive project on deploying facial recognition technologies, essentially for law enforcement.
      • The international discourse provides the context for developing a broad and effective Indian policy framework for the use of facial recognition.

    Background of the backlash against the tech companies

    • Techlash: Well before the EU had begun to discuss a temporary ban on facial recognition, there has been a “techlash” against the companies.
      • The companies faced backlash because they have so dramatically altered our lives in the last few years.
    • The idea of “digital is different”: For nearly two decades, the idea that “digital is different” and does not need public oversight had triumphed in most capitals of the world.
    • Problems with regulations: The main argument was that regulation constrains technological innovation and retards progress.
    • AI and Big data:  The urge to regulate has triggered widespread concerns about the dangers of digitalisation, especially the use of big data and AI by private companies as well as governments.

    Major concerns against facial recognition

    • Surveillance capitalism and surveillance state: The companies were seen as monetising the data generated by the widespread use of digital platforms like Google and Facebook.
      • Surveillance state:  China became the prime example of states using data and information to exercise ever more control over its citizens.
    • Accuracy: At the other end are concerns that facial recognition is not entirely accurate and could lead to punitive actions against innocent people.
    • Racial bias misogyny: There is also a concern in the US that the algorithms behind facial recognition carry the baggage of racism and misogyny.
    • Concerns in India: It also remains a fact that the Indian state has always been tempted to empower itself against its citizens in the name of collective security.
      • It has also tended to weaponise information against political opponents and dissidents.

    Potential Advantages

    • In the control of crime.
    • Better border controls and countering terrorism.
    • Aid the Police: In India, a severely under-policed nation, facial recognition surely offers many benefits.

    Conclusion

    The foreign office must reclaim India’s place in the international discourse on AI and facial recognition and develop a productive alignment between India’s national interests and the development of new digital norms.

     

  • Why China has emerged as the epicentre of global outbreaks of disease?

    Several deadly new viruses in recent years have emerged in China — Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), bird flu, and now the novel Coronavirus (nCOV).

    Zoonotic infections

    • Closely packed stalls in busy marketplaces, the Chinese taste for exotic meats, and the high population density of cities create the conditions for the spread of zoonotic infections.
    • The reason could lie in the busy food markets dotting cities across the country — where fruits, vegetables, hairy crabs and butchered meat are often sold next to bamboo rats, snakes, turtles, and palm civets.
    • The relationship between zoonotic pathogens and global pandemics are not new.
    • The WHO estimates that globally, about a billion cases of illness and millions of deaths occur every year from zoonoses, i.e, diseases and infections naturally transmitted between people and vertebrate animals.
    • Some 60% of emerging infectious diseases globally are zoonoses. Of the over 30 new human pathogens detected over the last three decades, 75% originated in animals.

    Major cause: Animal markets

    • In animal markets, there are greater chances of transmission of a virus from animals to humans, and its mutation to adapt to the human body.
    • It has happened wherever in the world there is unregulated mixing of humans and animals, either wild or domesticated.
    • The official referred to the Ebola outbreak in Africa there it was wild chimpanzees who had the disease. It came into humans after these were killed and consumed.

  • Polycrack Technology

     

    Indian Railways has put in place the country’s first Waste to Energy plant in Mancheswar Carriage Repair Workshop which falls under East Coast Railway. It uses a patented technology called POLYCRACK, is first-of-its-kind in Indian Railways and fourth in India.

    Polycrack Technology

    • It is world’s first patented heterogeneous catalytic process which converts multiple feed stocks into hydrocarbon liquid fuels, gas, carbon and water.
    • The process is a closed-loop system and does not emit any hazardous pollutants into the atmosphere.

    Feeders

    • Polycrack Plant can be fed with all types of plastic, petroleum sludge, un-segregated MSW (Municipal Solid Waste) with moisture up to 50%, e–waste, automobile fluff, organic waste including bamboo, garden waste etc., and Jatropha fruit and palm bunch.

    How it works?

    • The process is a closed-loop system and does not emit any hazardous pollutants into the atmosphere.
    • The combustible, non-condensed gases are re-used for providing energy to the entire system and thus, the only emission comes from the combustion of gaseous fuels.
    • The emissions from the combustion are found to be much less than prescribed environmental norms.
    • This process will produce energy in the form of Light Diesel Oil which is used to light furnaces.

    Advantages of Polycrack

    Polycrack has the following advantages over the conventional approach of treating solid waste:

    • Pre-segregation of waste is not required to reform the waste. Waste as collected can be directly fed into Polycrack.
    • It has high tolerance to moisture hence drying of waste is not required.
    • Waste is processed and reformed within 24 hours.
    • It is an enclosed unit hence the working environment is dust free.
    • Excellent air quality surrounding the plant.
    • Biological decomposition is not allowed as the Waste is treated as it is received.
    • The foot print of the plant is small hence the area required for installing the plant is less when compared with conventional method of processing.
    • All constituents are converted into valuable energy thereby making it Zero Discharge Process.
    • Gas generated in the process is re-used to provide energy to the system thereby making it self-reliant and also bring down the operating cost.
    • There is no atmospheric emission during the process unlike other conventional methods except for combustion gases which have pollutants less than the prescribed norms the world over.
    • Operates around 450 degrees, making it a low temperature process when compared with other options.
    • Safe and efficient system with built-in safety features enables even an unskilled user to operate the machine with ease.
    • Low capital cost and low operating cost.
    • Fully automated system requires minimum man power.

  • Explained: Why are there more men than women in the field of STEM?

    Across the world, there are more men who are active in science, technology, engineering and medicine (STEM) than women. Of the 866 Nobel winners so far, only 53 have gone to women.

    Sociology behind the gender-divide

    • Research shows that when men and women apply for jobs — be in the labour market, or in places where high level qualifications are demanded, men candidates engage in self-promotion, and are boastful while equally qualified women are more ‘modest’ and ‘undersell’ themselves.
    • Even in groups and situations where men and women are present as colleagues, the views of women are either ignored or listened to less seriously than those of men.
    • As a result, women tend to underestimate their ability relative to men, especially in public settings, and negotiate less successfully.

    Why this imbalance?

    The authors suggest three socio-psychological reasons, namely:

    1. masculine culture
    2. lack of sufficient early exposure to computers, physics and related areas compared to boys in early childhood and
    3. gender gap in self-efficacy

    Stereotypes and role models

    I] Masculine culture

    • The masculine culture is due to stereotyping that men are fitter for certain jobs and skills than women, and that women are more ‘delicate’, ‘tender’ and thus unfit for ‘hard’ jobs.
    • In addition, there are not enough female role models whom women may admire and follow.

    II] Lack of exposure

    • The lack of exposure in early childhood to certain fields and the supposed stereotyping of computer field practitioners as ‘nerds’ with social awkwardness would seem to have played a role from women shying away into other fields.

    III] Gender gap in self-efficacy

    • The ‘gender gap in self-efficacy’ appears to have arisen as a result of the above two, and leads to a worry in girls’ and women’s minds as to ‘whether I am really only fit for certain ‘soft’ fields and jobs or a feeling of diffidence.
    • This is clearly a reflection and product of masculine culture.
    • But then, even when we turn to life sciences, where both men and women compete for positions and career advancements in universities and research labs, this gender disparity is glaring.

    India is no better

    • The men rule roosts here too in India. India has been a patrilineal society with the notion that women need not take on jobs, and that this notion has only recently been revised.
    • Women form only 10-15% of STEM researchers and faculty members in the IITs, CSIR, AIIMS and PGIs.
    • In private R & D labs, there are very few women scientists.

  • [op-ed snap] Frame rules to govern how devices identify us

    Context

    Facial recognition technology is set to become an integral part of the law enforcement toolkit, but we should regulate this technology before it pervades our public spaces.

    What are the issues with the use of facial recognition?

    • Enormous possibilities for law enforcement agencies:
      • Detectives have been using facial recognition to solve crimes for almost as long as the camera has been in existence.
      • Use of AI for facial recognition: It is but a logical extension of the modern crime solver’s toolkit to use artificial intelligence (AI) on the most identifiable physical feature of people, their face.
      • Screening faces within hours: An image captured at the scene of a crime can now be screened against photographs of entire populations for a match within a matter of hours.
    • Uneasiness with being watched: The idea of being watched by devices linked to vast databases far out of sight makes liberal societies uneasy.
    • Invasion of privacy:  The intrusion that is causing alarm, however, has nothing to do with the technology itself, and everything to do with the all-pervasive surveillance it enables.

    Should there be no rules governing it?

    • Issue of accuracy: How accurately faces are identified by machines is a major point of concern. Deployed in law enforcement, false matches could possibly result in a miscarriage of justice.
      • Judicial scrutiny: Even a low rate of error could mean evidence faces judicial rejection. It is in the judiciary’s interest, all the same, to let technology aid police-work.
    • Racial bias: First up for addressal is the criticism that facial recognition is still not smart enough to read emotions or work equally well for all racial groups.
      • With iterative use, it will improve.
    • Mala fide use: Since such tools can be put to mala fide use as-rogue drones equipped with the technology, for example, should never be in a position to carry out an assassination.
      • Nor should an unauthorized agent be able to spy on or stalk anyone.
      • Caution in the developed countries:  Apart from California, the European Union has also decided to exercise some caution before exposing people to it.
    • Privacy as fundamental rights in India: India, which has recently accepted privacy as a fundamental right, would do well to tilt the Western way on this.

    Conclusion

    • We need regulations that restrict the use of facial recognition to the minimum required to serve justice and ease commercial operations. For the latter, customer consent should be mandatory.
    • There will be some overlaps. Its use at an aerobridge to board an aircraft, for example, could serve the interests of both state security and the airline, but data-sharing could risk leakage.