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Subject: Science and Technology

  • [pib] Sophisticated Analytical & Technical Help Institutes (SATHI) Scheme

    The Department of Science & Technology has launched a unique scheme called “Sophisticated Analytical & Technical Help Institutes(SATHI)”.

    SATHI 

    • SATHI aims to address the need for building shared, professionally managed and strong S&T infrastructure in the country which is readily accessible to academia, start-ups, manufacturing, industry and R&D labs etc.
    • These Centres are expected to house major analytical instruments to provide common services of high-end analytical testing, thus avoiding duplication and reduced dependency on foreign sources.
    • These would be operated with a transparent, open access policy.
    • DST has already set up three such centres in the country, one each at IIT Kharagpur, IIT Delhi and BHU.

    Objectives of the Scheme

    • SATHI will address the problems of accessibility, maintenance, redundancy and duplication of expensive equipment in the institutions.
    • This will also foster a strong culture of collaboration between institutions and across disciplines to take advantage of developments, innovations and expertise in diverse areas.

  • [pib] Classical Swine Fever (CSF) Cell Culture Vaccine

    Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) released the Classical Swine Fever Vaccine (IVRI-CSF-BS) Technology developed by ICAR -Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI).

    About the Vaccine

    • CSF is one of the most important diseases of pigs causing high mortality with annual loss of approx. Rs.4.299 billion.
    • A lapinized CSF vaccine (Weybridge strain, UK) is being used in India since 1964 for controlling the disease.
    • The vaccine is produced by sacrificing large numbers of rabbits for each batch.
    • In order to do away sacrificing of rabbits and increase the productivity, IVRI had earlier developed a cell culture CSF vaccine by adapting the lapinized vaccine virus in cell culture.
    • The vaccine virus has very high titre and lakhs of doses can be produced very easily in cell culture and country’s requirement can be easily fulfilled using this new vaccine.

  • [pib] National Mission on Quantum Technologies & Applications

    The Finance Minister in budget 2020 has announced a National Mission on Quantum Technologies & Applications (NM-QTA).

    What is Quantum Technology?

    • Quantum Technology is based on the principles of quantum theory, which explains the nature of energy and matter on the atomic and subatomic level.
    • It concerns the control and manipulation of quantum systems, with the goal of achieving information processing beyond the limits of the classical world.
    • Its principles will be used for engineering solutions to extremely complex problems in computing, communications, sensing, chemistry, cryptography, imaging and mechanics.
    • This key ability makes quantum computers extremely powerful compared to conventional computers when solving certain kinds of problems like finding prime factors of large numbers and searching large databases.

    What is Quantum Mechanics?

    • It is a fundamental theory in physics which describes nature at the smallest – including atomic and subatomic – scales.
    • At the scale of atoms and electrons, many of the equations of classical mechanics, which describe how things move at everyday sizes and speeds, cease to be useful.
    • In classical mechanics, objects exist in a specific place at a specific time.
    • However, in quantum mechanics, objects instead exist in a haze of probability; they have a certain chance of being at point A, another chance of being at point B and so on.

    About NM-QTA

    • The mission will function under the Department of Science & Technology (DST).
    • It will be able address the ever increasing technological requirements of the society, and take into account the international technology trends.
    • The mission will help prepare next generation skilled manpower, boost translational research and also encourage entrepreneurship and start-up ecosystem development.

    Why such mission?

    • Quantum technologies are rapidly developing globally with a huge disruptive potential.
    • The range of quantum technologies is expected to be one of the major technology disruptions that will change entire paradigm of computation, communication and encryption.
    • It is perceived that the countries who achieve an edge in this emerging field will have a greater advantage in garnering multifold economic growth and dominant leadership role.
    • It has become imperative both for government and industries to be prepared to develop these emerging and disruptive changes.
    • It will establish standards to be applied to all research and help stimulate a pipeline to support research and applications well into the future.

    Also read: https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/quantum-supremacy/

  • Archimedes Principle

    Recently, Archimedes Principle was used in Jharkhand to rescue baby elephant stuck in a well. The rescue team filled the well with water using motorized pipes, after which the struggling elephant floated to the top and was able to climb out through a ramp placed for it.

    What is the ‘Archimedes Principle’?

    • In physics, the Archimedes Principle refers to the law of buoyancy (the ability or tendency of something to float in water or other fluids).
    • According to the principle, when an object is completely or partially submerged in a fluid, whether gas or liquid, it is acted upon by an upward force (buoyancy) equal to the weight of the fluid it has displaced.
    • The force acting downward on the object is the weight of the object. The upward force is the one given by the Archimedes Principle.
    • The difference between the two forces is the net force acting on the object.
    • If the buoyant force is more than the weight, the object rises; if it is less, the object sinks.
    • If the net force is zero, the object remains in place, and neither rises nor sinks.

  • 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.