February 2021 Science and Technology

Sakshi Education

Go Electric campaign launched in India
Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways launched the “Go Electric” Campaign to spread awareness on the benefits of e-mobility and EV Charging Infrastructure as well as electric cooking in India.

The electric fuel is a major alternative for fossil fuels which have an import bill of Rs. 8 lakh Crore ,When its compared to conventional fuels the electric fuel has low cost, reduced emissions and it is also indigenous developed product .

Go Electric Campaign is an important initiative that would help in reducing the import dependence of our country in the coming years and would be an important step towards a cleaner and greener future.

The campaign is aimed at creating awareness at PAN-India level and is expected to boost the confidence of Electric Vehicle manufacturers.

The industry displaying different electric vehicles including e-buses, e-cars, 3-wheelers, and 2-wheelers apart from available charging options such as Fast Chargers and Slow Chargers.

To implement the ‘Go Electric’ campaign at National and State level, Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) will extend technical support to the State Designated Agencies (SDAs).

As a Central Nodal Agency, BEE will provide content and details to State Designated Agencies and other partners to ensure uniformity of information.

Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), under the aegis of the Ministry of Power has been mandated to undertake an awareness drive for promoting Public Charging, e-mobility & its ecosystem.

To implement the ‘Go Electric’ campaign at National and State level, BEE will extend technical support to the State Designated Agencies (SDAs).
Scientists develop lead-free material for converting heat into electricity
Scientists at the Jawaharlal Nehru Advanced Scientific Research Center based in Bangalore have discovered a new material, Silver Antimony Telluride (AgSbTe2), which can help utilize waste heat generated by various household appliances and industrial equipment and use it for other useful work.

It is a nano-material compound synthesized from Silver, Copper and Tellurium.

A crystalline solid, which has free electrons that help electricity conduction, but its crystal lattice (arrangement of atoms) is quite inflexible and vibrates very slowly, thereby inhibiting the propagation of heat.

Therefore, it is a good conductor of electricity, but a bad conductor of heat, which is important for the Thermo-electric effect.

There are various potential applications. Industrial processes and power plants and various household appliances will generate a lot of waste heat, which can be used to do a lot of work.

For example, the heat generated by a laptop can be used to charge a mobile phone. Alternatively, the small watch can be charged from the phone.

Energy conversion is not a very efficient process. Generally, the unusable waste heat does not exceed 15% to 20%.
NASA releases Mars landing video – ‘Stuff of our dreams’
NASA released the first high-quality video of a spacecraft landing on Mars, a three-minute trailer showing the enormous orange and white parachute hurtling open and the red dust kicking up as rocket engines lowered the rover to the surface.

The footage was so good _ and the images so breathtaking _ that members of the rover team said they felt like they were riding along.

The Perseverance rover landed last Thursday near an ancient river delta in Jezero Crater to search for signs of ancient microscopic life

NASA has launched its Mars 2020 Perseverance rover aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V.

This is the third launch to Mars this month, following the UAE’s Hope and China’s Tianwen-1 spacecraft.

Mission objectives is to

Look for signs of ancient microbial life.

Collect Martian rock and dust samples for later return to Earth.

Deliver an experimental helicopter.

Study the climate and geology of Mars.

Demonstrate technology for future Mars missions.
Scientist from IIT Kanpur develops washable adhesive and related products
Scientists have developed a sticky mat which takes away dust from a contacting surface, ensuring a clean, hygienic, healthy, and refreshing atmosphere at our home, offices, hospitals, and laboratories as also smooth functioning of many expensive equipments.

The mat is a low-cost one and remains washable and usable over many cycles.

Prof AnimangsuGhatak from the Department of Chemical Engineering IIT Kanpur, who developed the mat with the support of Department of Science & Technology, Government of India under Make in India initiative, took inspiration from adhesive pad present at the feet of wall climbing animals, like house lizards.

The adhesive associated makes use of nanoscopic pyramidal bumps on its surface to attract dust particles towards it, thereby cleaning the sole of our shoes when we step on it.

When the adhesive gets completely covered with particulate matter, it is washed in a way that we wash our clothes.

At this, the surface gets back its ability to stick and remains usable through hundreds of such cycles.

The scientists have used a bottom-up approach of preparation of nano- to micro-patterned surface on elastomer over a large area, control of geometry of surface patterns by simple methods, wash ability, and reusability of the adhesive over many cycles for the development of this mat.

It has been validated, and an Indian patent application has been filed for the sticky mat. It is simple to prepare, easy to wash, environmentally benign, cost-effective, and can be a replacement for materials imported for the same purpose.

The closest substitute is the 3M sticky pad that is not washable or reusable.

This mat can be used in ICU of Hospitals, clean rooms, facilities housing sophisticated equipment as a component of air filters.

The technology is important wherever cleanliness and hygiene is desired. The product is in 7 – 8 level of technology readiness level and is yet to be commercialised. A pilot plant is being built to make the material in a scale larger.
Microbes from Earth could temporarily survive on Mars
A study published in Frontiers in Microbiology suggests that certain microorganisms found on Earth may temporarily survive on Mars.

This research is of great significance to the success of future MARS missions.

The endurance of these microorganisms was tested by researchers from NASA and the German Aerospace Center.

They were tested by launching them into the stratosphere, which represents some of the key conditions for the Red Planet.

By using scientific balloons to transport experimental equipment to the stratosphere, new methods of exposing bacteria and fungi under Martian-like conditions have been tested.

During the journey, some microorganisms, especially black mold spores, can survive even when exposed to high ultraviolet rays.
New molecule developed could be potential drug candidate for the treatment of Alzheimers
JNCASR scientists have developed a new molecule that is expected to become a potential drug candidate for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

JNCASR-Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, autonomous institute under the Dept. of Science and Technology, GOI. Located in Bangalore.

Scientists have developed a small molecule that disrupts the mechanism of neuronal dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease (AD).

This molecule may be a potential drug candidate (70-80%) to stop or cure the main cause of dementia in the world. In Alzheimer's brain, abnormal levels of naturally occurring proteins clump together to form plaques that ga

ther between neurons and disrupt cell function. This is caused by the production and deposition of amyloid peptide (Aß) accumulated in the central nervous system.

The multifactorial nature of Alzheimer's disease due to the multifaceted toxicity of amyloid prevents researchers from developing effective treatments.
A puppet master with a chip in the brain
When tradition meets modernity, the result can sometimes be amazing. A puppet with robotic movements may not sound very charming but in a melding of traditional art and cutting edge technology, a shadow leather puppet in Kerala’s famous temple art Tholpavakkoothu is being animated by a robot.

For the first time, the famous shadow leather puppets will tell stories of the epic Ramayana with the help of robots.

People from HarishreeKannanTholpavakkoothu Kala Kendra, Koonathara, are set to animate their leather puppets using robotics with help from Inker Robotics.

The first robotic leather puppet was installed at the Palakkad District Heritage Museum, which was inaugurated by Minister for Museums Kadannappally Ramachandran recently.

Although there is a wide variety of art and cultural symbols showcasing the rich cultural heritage of Palakkad at the museum, the shadow leather puppets installed have been a big draw with visitors with their robotic movements.

The most difficult part of Tholpavakkoothu is the limb movements of the puppets. These are now being controlled through robotics.

Tholpavakkoothu is a traditional temple art in Kerala having its roots in Palakkad and neighbouring regions.

It used to be performed in the Bhadrakali temples of Palakkad, telling tales from the Ramayana. It is also known as Nizhalkkoothu and Olakkoothu.

Tholpavakoothu or shadow puppetry is a temple art form which is prevalent in the Bhagavathy temples (mother Goddess) in Palakkad district and nearby regions in Kerala.

Tholppava (Thol means leather, Pava means puppet) are moved with the help of strings, and their shadows are depicted on a screen with the help of a row of oil lamps in the background.

The story of Tholppavakoothu performance is from the Indian epic, Ramayana.

In the olden days it was performed elaborately over a period of forty-one days. The narrative used for the performance is a mixture of prose and poetry called Adalpattu.

Tholppavas are made of the skin of deer and the puppet forms are made by making small holes in the leather that is then attached vertically to a bamboo stick.

Accompanying instruments include Ezhupara, Chenda and Maddalam. The artists have to undergo several years of rigorous training to master this art form. The puppetry is staged on a special structure in temple premises called Koothumadam.
New AI 'Ramanujan Machine' uncovers hidden patterns in numbers
A new type of artificial intelligence "mathematician" called " Ramanujan Machine " may reveal hidden relationships between numbers.

The Ramanujan machine consists of algorithms that look for mathematical conclusions. These mathematical conclusions may be correct, but they have not been proven.

This set of the algorithm is named after the Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan.

The new AI mathematician aims to extract promising mathematical models from a large number of potential equations.

The Ramanujan machine is designed to first identify promising conjectures.

In machine learning, algorithms detect patterns in large amounts of data. The detection of the pattern is done under the minimum guidance of the programmer.

Machine learning has been applied in various pattern-finding applications. It is used for image recognition and drug discovery.
Biometric authentication to benefit farmers: Centre
In a bid to cut out the middleman and ensure greater transparency in the procurement of farm produce, the Centre is encouraging the States to deploy biometric authentication of farmers.

The practice, already adopted in Uttar Pradesh and set to be rolled out in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha this year, will aid in tracking the end-use beneficiary.

The initiative comes at a time when farmers are agitating for a legal guarantee that all their crops will be procured at a minimum support price (MSP) and demanding the repeal of three farm reform laws.

In States such as Punjab and Haryana, where the agitation has been the strongest, middlemen who act as commission agents or arhitiyas are a key part of the procurement process at these mandis.

The Centre had already taken steps to roll out online payments to farmers who sell their produce to the government.

It had directed the State governments of Haryana and Punjab to ensure payments in e-mode from the upcoming season, and was expecting all the States to follow suit this year.

There should not be any intermediaries, farmers should not be given cheques to be encashed. The money should go directly into the farmers’ accounts.

The next step was the biometric authentication scheme that Uttar Pradesh had already rolled out.

The entire process of procurement has to be made faster.

Once you have data of farmers available and once they are bio-authenticated, the entire details are digitally available to the procurement machinery, the kind of crop he is cultivating, the kind of landholding he has, all the details are available.

This initiative reduced the need for extensive paperwork, prevented leakages and speeded up process of procurement, with payment settlement being completed within 72 hours.

The other advantage is that the farmer gets a receipt for his goods, showing the quantity and the MSP price, so nobody can cheat the farmer.
We See Hydrogen As 'Future Energy’, says Dharmendra Pradhan
Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel, Dharmendra Pradhan signed the Statement of Intent between Indian Oil Corp. Ltd. and M/s Greenstat Hydrogen India Pvt. Ltd., a subsidiary of Greenstat Norway for setting up of Centre of Excellence on Hydrogen.

This association aims to develop a Center of Excellence on Hydrogen (CoE-H) including CCUS and Fuel Cells by IndianOil and M/s Greenstat for clean energy in cooperation with Indo-Norwegian Hydrogen Cluster companies/organizations.

The CoE-H will facilitate transfer and sharing of technology, know-how and experience through the green Hydrogen value chain and other relevant technologies including hydrogen storage and fuel cells.

The CoE-H will be a vehicle for promoting R&D projects in Green and Blue Hydrogen between Norwegian and Indian R&D institutions/universities.

Working closely with Industry and Governments on both sides, CoE-H will be levering its intellectual strengths in developing cost-efficient and scalable and sustainable technological solutions.

The CoE will also pilot fuel cell research. The institute will also act as a think-tank towards developing codes and standards for best industrial practices, safety, product protocols and regulations in the area of hydrogen and fuel cells.

The partnership between IndianOil and Greenstat will actively assist partners/stakeholders to develop business models based upon feasibility studies besides facilitating consultancies to industry, utilities and regulators on hydrogen storage, hydrogen production, refueling stations, fuel cells and CCUS technologies.

Government of India is giving to exploration of new and emerging forms of energy.

India is the third-largest energy consumer with growing energy demand, making it the place to be, for any energy entrepreneur in any part of the globe.

Prime Minister had highlighted the importance of niche renewable technologies like hydrogen in the renewable energy mix. Pursuant to that, launch of the National Hydrogen Energy Mission was announced in the budget 2021-22.

The National Hydrogen Energy Mission aims to lay down the Government of India’s vision, intent and direction for hydrogen energy, strategies and approaches for realizing the vision.

A pilot project for blending hydrogen with compressed natural gas for use as transportation fuel is running at Rajghat Bus depot in Delhi.

Under this pilot, 50 buses in Delhi are plying on blended Hydrogen in Compressed Natural Gas and result are extremely encouraging.
Nasa's Perseverance rover makes historic Mars landing, sends first image
Seven months after leaving the earth, NASA's perseverance finally reached the destination Mars.

Perseverance Rover was Launched in July 2020. It is expected to land on Mars at Jezero Crater. Perseverance’s main task is to find signs of ancient life and collect samples of rocks and conglomerates to return them to earth.

Through the radioactive decay heat of plutonium, electricity can power perseverance. NASA is determined to keep the shape memory alloy stable on the surface of Mars. Persistent drilling, cameras and laser equipment will explore Mars.

Since the launch of the "Mars Pathfinder" mission in 1997, NASA has been transporting rover on Mars. With the successful completion of the mission, NASA decided to continue to Mars to find evidence.

For the second time, the space organization sent the dual-stream rover "Spirit and Opportunity" to Mars in 2003. The third attempt was to send Curiosity in 2012.
HAL hands over five ALHs Mk III to Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard
HAL handed over five ALHs Mk III to the Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard.

ALH Mk III or Mark III Advanced Light Helicopters are used for coastal security.

The helicopter has a full-glass cockpit, an Integrated Architecture Display System (IADS) with HAL, a more powerful "Shakti" (SafranArdiden 1H1) engines and many new systems.

It is fully loaded, multi-tasking, and equipped with a series of advanced sensors.

These helicopters are equipped with the latest generation of avionics and role equipment.

It is mainly used for shore-based roles.

Mk-III ALH is also equipped with an indigenous low-frequency dunking sonar (LFDS) developed by the Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory in Kochi.

The aircraft also has a nose-mounted surveillance radar with a coverage of 270 degrees, which can detect, classify and track multiple marine targets.

It also has synthetic aperture radar, anti-synthetic aperture radar and moving target indication classification function.

Hindustan Aeronautics' light utility chopper for army gets initial nod
HAL LUH (Army Variant) obtained Initial Operational Clearance.

The Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) obtained the Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) of the Indian Army from the Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC).

LUH is a three-ton class new generation single-engine helicopter indigenously designed and developed by the HAL’s Rotary Wing Research and Design Center. Its characteristics are suitable for various unique operating conditions in India.

LUH will replace the ageing Cheetah/Chetak helicopter fleet operated by the Services.

LUH is powered by a single turboshaft engine Ardiden 1U (from France), which has enough power margin to easily complete high-altitude missions in the Himalayas.

LUH is equipped with a Smart Cockpit Display System (Glass Cockpit), the most advanced HUMS (Health and Usage Monitoring System), and is designed for various utilities and armed roles.
MCA21 Version 3.0 to be launched in Fiscal 2021-22
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) will release version 3.0 of MCA21 driven by data analysis from October 2021 to the 2021-22 fiscal year. The MCA21 3.0 version system is a task-based e-government project in India.

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs emphasized that the project will include other modules for electronic adjudication, electronic consulting and compliance management.

The project will also include microservice architecture and high scalability and advanced analysis capabilities.

The MCA21 V3 project further aims to change the corporate regulatory environment in India.

The project is helped by the latest technologies such as artificial intelligence.

The main components of the project include electronic review, electronic adjudication, MCA laboratory, electronic consulting and compliance management system (CMS).

The project will be operated by L&T InfoTech.

It will also include interactive user dashboards, chatbot-enabled service desks and mobile applications.
Scientists find geological evidence of eastern Himalaya earthquake recorded in history
The scientists from Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG) have carried out a mega trench excavation at Himebasti village in Arunachal Pradesh.

The scientists have found the first geological evidence of an earthquake at Himebasti Village on the border of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

The first geological evidence of an earthquake is documented by historians as Sadiya earthquake in history.

It is recorded to have caused massive destruction in the region and almost destroyed the town in 1697 CE.

The finding could contribute to a seismic hazard map of the eastern Himalaya, which can facilitate construction and planning in the region.

They found the first geological surface rupture signatures in the form of exposed deposits associated with rivers and streams deformed by a thrust fault along a Northeast dipping fault zone.

The scientists have found large tree trunks embedded in the youngest flood deposits at the exit of the Subansiri River.

The study of the earthquake at Sadiya standing on a grassy plain, almost surrounded by forested Eastern Himalayas on the right bank of Lohit River, adds an important site to the seismic hazard assessment of the eastern Himalaya.
Einsteinium Is Mysterious. Scientists have unlocked some of its secrets
A team of scientists at the Berkeley Lab has reported some of the properties of element 99 in the periodic table called “Einsteinium”, named after Albert Einstein.

With a new study published in the journal Nature recently, for the first time, researchers have been able to characterise some of the properties of the element.

Discovered in 1952 in the debris of the first hydrogen bomb (the detonation of a thermonuclear device called “Ivy Mike” in the Pacific Ocean).

Einsteinium-254: one of the more stable isotopes of the element that has a half-life of 276 days. The most common isotope of the element, einsteinium 253 has a half-life of 20 days.

High radioactivity and short half-life of all einsteinium isotopes, even if the element was present on Earth during its formation, it has most certainly decayed.

It cannot be found in nature and needs to be manufactured using very precise and intense processes.

So far, the element has been produced in very small quantities and its usage is limited except for the purposes of scientific research.

The element is also not visible to the naked eye and after it was discovered, it took over nine years to manufacture enough of it so that it could be seen with the naked eye.
After oils, FSSAI caps transfats in foods
Rules have been amended by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to put cap on trans fatty acids (TFAs) in the food products. This decision was taken one week after it amended the norms for oils and fats.

Under the new regulations, in the food products which comprises of the edible oils and fats as an ingredient the total amount of the industrial trans fats should not exceed 2% of the total oils or fats present in the product.

This regulation will be applicable from January 1, 2022.

FSSAI, in December 2020, had capped the amount of the TFAs in oils and fats to 3% that needed to be done by 2021. It has also capped it to 2% by 2022 from the present level of 5%.

World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that, around 5.4 lakh deaths happen each year globally as a result of the intake of the industrially produced trans fatty acids. The WHO aims to eliminate the industrially-produced trans fatty acids from the food supply by 2023.
Square Kilometre Array: 'Lift-off' for world's biggest telescope
The Square Kilometer Array Astronomical Observatory (SKAO) committee recently held a meeting. During the meeting, the council has approved the establishment of the world's largest radio telescope.

The Square Kilometer Array Observatory is a new inter governmental organization. It is dedicated to radio astronomy. Its headquarters are in the UK.

The Square Kilometer Array Observatory is composed of organizations from ten countries, namely Canada, China, Australia, India, New Zealand, Italy, Sweden, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.

Radio telescopes can be used to detect invisible gas, and it has the potential to reveal areas of space that may be covered by cosmic dust. In this respect, it is different from conventional optical telescopes.

The square kilometer array is the largest radio telescope in the world. The telescope will be established in Africa and Australia.

The installation of the telescope will take ten years. SKAO will be responsible for the operation, maintenance and construction of the telescope. Since, the discovery of radio signals in the 1930s, astronomers have been using radio telescopes.

They use it to detect radio waves emitted from different objects in the universe. However, after World War II, the field of radio astronomy developed.
Ladakh to get India’s first geothermal power plant
India's first geothermal power generation project will be established in Puja village in eastern Ladakh. This decision was made because scientists identified Puja Village as a hot spot for geothermal energy.

The project will be completed in four stages. ONGC Energy signed a tripartite memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the establishment and implementation of the first phase on February 6, 2021. Ministry of Electricity of LAHDC, Leh and UT Ladakh

This geothermal project is called a geothermal field development project. It will be put into use at the end of 2022.

The first phase of the project will generate one megawatt of electricity. In the first phase, the pilot project will be implemented by ONGC-OEC. ONGC-OEC will explore at a depth of 500 meters. In the first phase, it is planned to provide free 24-hour electricity to 10 neighboring villages not connected to the northern grid.

In the second stage, the deep and lateral exploration of geothermal reservoirs will be conducted by drilling the optimal number of wells. At this stage, a demonstration plant with higher capacity will also be established in Ladakh.

This phase of the project will be the R&D phase or demonstration of the project. The third phase of the project. In the third phase, joint ventures and commercial projects will be promoted.

Puga Village, scientists have discovered geothermal energy with a potential of more than 100 megawatts. It is located in the southeast of Ladakh. The village is part of the tropical Himalayas.

The area has shown evidence of various forms of geothermal activity, including mud pools, hot springs, sulfur deposits and borax deposits. Since 2008, discussions about potential geothermal projects in Puja Village have become news. The region has the potential to generate approximately 40% of energy demand.
Bengaluru scientists develop a new marigold variety
New variety of marigold developed by the Hessarghatta-based Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR) will fetch money even if they get spoilt as it can be used for extraction of crude carotene, which is mainly used in the pharmaceutical sector.

Generally, flowers lose their value if they get spoilt either due to rain or delay in harvest.

All marigolds have a carotene content of up to 1.4%.

Arka Shubha variety of marigold has a carotene content of 2.8%, which is the highest content from a plant source.

These flowers can be sold for ornamental purpose too. Farmers consider this variety purely for extraction of carotene.

There is always a high demand for carotene in the pharma sector. Presently, India imports most of its carotene from China and other countries.

It is better to take up the carotene extraction venture through farmers’ groups as a large area is needed for marigold cultivation. This also provides scope for exports.

The Arka Shubha variety is of use in the poultry sector as well.

Its petals could be used as feed to get quality yolk, she said. It is used as feed for sheep too.
Russia to Launch Around 40 Satellites from 18 Countries in March
The Russian Aerospace Industry announced that Russia will launch 40 satellites into orbit from 18 different countries in the world in March 2021.

The satellite will be launched using the Soyuz-2 launch vehicle. It was also learned in November 2020 that the aerospace industry will bomb Soyuz-2.1 on March 20, 2021.

Soyuz 2.1 is a launch vehicle with Fregat boosters. It will be launched together with the Korean compact Advanced Satellite 500 spacecraft named CAS500-1.

Payloads from 18 countries will also be sent to orbit along with Soyuz 2.1 and CAS500-1. However, the list of satellites has not yet been finalized.

The Soyuz 2.1 payload will launch satellites from Russia, Saudi Arabia, Japan, South Korea, UAE, Israel, Thailand, Germany, Brazil, Canada, Italy, Hungary, Argentina, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain, Tunisia and the United Kingdom.

Soyuz is a family of Soviet expendable launch systems. It was developed by OKB-1, and Progress Rocket Space Center was manufactured in Samara, Russia. It launched its first satellite in 1966. So far, it has launched more than 1,700 flights. It is the most commonly used launch vehicle in the world.
China’s Tianwen-1 probe successfully enters Mars orbit
A Chinese spacecraft named Tianwen-1 has successfully entered the orbit around Mars on February 10, 2021.

The probe entered the MARS Orbit after making the journey of 6 and a half month from the Earth.

This mission is China’s first independent mission on the red planet.

After reaching near to the orbit, robotic probe initiated and completed its 15-minute burn of the thrusters.

Burning of the thrusters slowed down the speed of the spacecraft so that it could be captured by the gravity pull of the MARS.

Tianwen-1 mission will attempt to send a landing capsule which is carrying a 240-kilogram rover in a rapid seven-minute descent. The rover will be sent to the northern hemisphere of Mars called as Utopia Planitia.

After the rover is landed successfully, the solar-powered rover will be exploring the Martian surface for 90 days.

The rover will study the soil and study if any signs of ancient life, is present there.

It would also trace the sub-surface water and ice using the ground-penetrating radar.
What is TROPEX?
TROPEX 21, which started in January, is underway in Indian Ocean Region. TROPEX (theatre-level combat readiness exercise) is the largest exercise of the Indian Navy.

TROPEX (theatre-level combat readiness exercise) is the largest exercise of the Indian Navy. It sees the participation of all naval combat units, including ships, submarines, aircraft, and units of the Indian Army, Indian Air Force and Coast Guard.

The exercise is being conducted in a wide geographic area of the Indian Ocean region (including its affiliated waters). The purpose is to test the navy's combat readiness in complex multidimensional scenarios in the context of the current geographic strategic environment.

Theatre-level exercises are also aimed at verifying the navy’s offensive and defensive capabilities, safeguarding national interests in the sea and promoting stability and peace in the Indian Ocean region.

The month-long exercise will witness different stages, which will also test the navy’s transition from peacetime to hostilities.

In the first phase, the Indian Navy conducted a maritime defence exercise "Sea Vigil" throughout India's coastline and island territories.

After the maritime vigil exercise, a large-scale tri-service joint amphibious exercise AMPHEX-21 was carried out in the Andaman and Nicobar groups in the archipelago.

The latest stage is the "weapons inspection stage", in which "target" ordnance has been delivered many times, including missiles, torpedoes and rockets for first-line battleships, aircraft and submarines.

It demonstrated the lethal firepower of the Indian Navy and reaffirmed the navy's ability to conduct long-range naval strikes in the Indian Ocean region.
India to formulate a policy to develop new battery tech for EVs
India will work out a policy to institutionalise research and development on the next generation of battery technologies for electric vehicles, like metal-ion, metal air, hydrogen fuel cell, etc, to replace lithium-ion batteries and reduce India’s dependence on other countries for its import within this decade.

Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways recently said that an integrated approach, with all key arms of the government working in tandem, to develop the next generation technology will require a policy and work on that has started.

The challenge that we currently face as a nation is the control on strategic reserves on lithium.

It is hence imperative for us to look for alternative technologies, like metal-ion and metal-air, using metals such as aluminium, zinc, iron-ore etc.

Minister said that work on these areas has been happening in silos. “We will now work in an integrated and concerted manner bringing together the best technologies.

India will also focus on economic viability and will need a policy in this regard and for it we have decided to take an integrated approach.

Most of us have come to realise that for lithium supply we are going to be dependent on one or two countries in the future. That can actually create some strategic issue with the country.

China is currently the leader in supplying lithium-ion batteries to the world, and India’s EV industry is heavily dependent on import of the batteries.

China also has stakes in strategic reserves of lithium mines in other countries. The move to boost R&D on battery technology is significant in this context.

The various agencies made presentations on their projects and roadmap on battery technologies like lithium-ion, metal-ion, sodium sulphur, hydrogen, iron sulphur, polymer electrolyte membrane cell system, zinc gel, etc.

DRDO in its presentation showed how technology transfer has resulted in manufacture of 400 batteries of 120 MW by some institutes, and added that mass production could reduce its prices.

NITI Aayog said it has collaborated with four IITs including Guwahati and Delhi for research in aluminium-ion battery.

CEO Amitabh Kant said that India should concentrate on lithium-ion alternative batteries and mining sector companies should explore opportunities abroad for acquiring assets in this regard.
Bowenpally garbage to power plant finds mention in PM’s radio address
Prime Minister made a mention of the garbage-to-power plant being commissioned inside the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Agriculture Market in Bowenpally.

Vegetable and fruit waste is used to generate power to the extent of 500 units a day and 30 kilos of green manure at the plant. This is being done by making use of 10 tonnes of left over market waste.

The power generated is being used to light up the market and also run the canteen in the premises enabling the market committee to make substantial savings in power bills.

“This is the power of innovation, it was nice to learn about it. This is the journey of turning garbage into gold,” the Prime Minister remarked. The CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) has designed and patented the high rate biomethanation technology-based Anaerobic Gas lift Reactor (AGR) for this ?3 crore project funded by the Department of Biotechnology and the Telengana government’s Agriculture Marketing Department.

Gasification of biomass produces a mixture of gas (mainly carbon monoxide, CO 2 and hydrogen) called synthesis gas, or singes, by thermal degradation without combustion.

Syngas can be used for heat or electricity production by thermochemical processes. This project aims at developing an alternative way to bio-upgrade syngas into biogas (mainly methane), via anaerobic fermentation. A few strains of archaea are able of carboxydotrophicmethanogenesis, some potentially present in industrial wastewater-treating anaerobic granules.

An industrial granular sludge was first characterized for its carboxydotrophicmethanogenesis potential using batch tests under various conditions. Then those granules were inoculated into a 30 liters gas-lift reactor and supplied with a gas mixture containing carbon monoxide, to study the production of methane and others metabolites, at different gas feeding and recirculation rates.

Carbon monoxide being a poorly soluble gas, a challenge was to reach an adequate gas-to-liquid mass transfer, without exceeding the toxicity level.
Green tax may drive up CNG car sales
Two executives in the automotive industry recently emphasized that Maruti Suzuki India Co., Ltd. would benefit most from the government's proposed green tax on gasoline and diesel vehicles. Maruti is India's top car manufacturer and has the largest Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) car product portfolio among all domestic car manufacturers. Suzuki Motor Company also plans to increase its annual sales of CNG cars to 200,000 or more by 2022.

In fiscal year 2020, Maruti sold a record 106,443 CNG vehicles. Sales of this type of vehicles are increasing by 15.5% annually on average. Compared with diesel, Maruti further promotes CNG vehicles as an environmentally friendly option.

Maruti has stopped selling diesel vehicles and has formulated ambitious plans to expand its CNG model portfolio. Maruti has decided to cooperate with South Korean Hyundai Motor Company, which also sells CNG cars.

Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road Transport and Highways, announced that from April 1, 2022, a green tax will be imposed on certain types of vehicles. The government proposes to impose a green tax on personal vehicles when the registration certificate is renewed.

It will be levied 15 years later, equivalent to 10% to 25% of the road tax on gasoline or diesel vehicles. When renewing the registration certificate and fitness certificate, similar taxes will also be levied on transportation vehicles or commercial vehicles over eight years old.

According to the green tax guidelines, hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles and vehicles running on clean alternative fuels (such as CNG, ethanol and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG)) will be exempt from green tax. Gasoline or diesel vehicles will be subject to higher taxes.

Higher taxes on gasoline and diesel cars will force people to switch to CNG. In turn, this will benefit companies such as Maruti and Hyundai. In addition, companies and dealers can use green transactions and increased purchase costs as marketing strategies to induce customers to buy CNG vehicles.
SpaceX announces first mission to space with all-civilian crew
The SpaceX of Elon Musk has recently announced to launch its first all civilian mission to space. SpaceX is planning to launch Inspiration4 on Falcon 9.

This will be the world's first fully commercial astronaut mission.

The spacecraft will begin orbiting in the fourth quarter of this year.

The mission will be launched from the 39A Launch Complex at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The mission is named Inspiration4.

The name is in recognition of the four crew members mission that inspired support for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

It also seeks the possibility of sending humanitarian messages.

Jude's multi-billion dollar expansion plan aims to accelerate research progress and save children around the world.

SpaceX will provide commercial astronaut training for the Inspiration4 crew on the Falcon 9 launch vehicle.

It will also provide training for the Dragon spacecraft through orbital mechanics, zero gravity, microgravity operation and other stress tests.

The mission will orbit the earth along a customized flight path every 90 minutes.