Space

and
Defense
1.DRDO 2019
a)Mission Shakti
b)Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile
c)Arrest landing of LCA Tejas
d)Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile
(BVRAAM) Astra
e)INS Khanderi- P75
Chief of Defence Staff
It was recommended by the Kargil Review
Committee in 2001 and reiterated by
the Naresh Chandra committee in 2012.

The following areas will be dealt by the Department of Military Affairs headed by CDS:

1. The Armed Forces of the Union, namely, the Army, the Navy and the Air Force.
2. Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence comprising Army Headquarters,
Naval Headquarters, Air Headquarters and Defence Staff Headquarters.
3. The Territorial Army.
4. Works relating to the Army, the Navy and the Air Force.
5. Procurement exclusive to the Services except capital acquisitions, as per prevalent
rules and procedures.
 Space Force of USA
The U.S. Armed Forces are made up of the five armed
service branches:

Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and

Navy.

As of 2020, the only country with an independent space force is the

United States, which established the United States Space Force in
December 2019, while Russia previously had the
Russian Space Forces as an independent arm of service, although
they now are a sub–branch of the Russian Aerospace Forces.
Ballistic Missile
K-4 SLBM
Anti Ballistic Missiles
MH- 60 Romeo Seahawk, Apache Helicopters
Apache helicopters
✓ The Army will receive six Apache helicopters that will cost approximately $800 million.
✓ The six choppers for the Army will be in addition to the 22 Apache helicopters that
have already been ordered for the Air Force. This will be a direct commercial sale.
✓ The Apaches can operate at high altitudes, and will be deployed along the Pakistan
border. The Army is likely to get the helicopters armed with Stinger air-to-air missiles
and Hellfire Longbow air-to-ground missiles.
✓ Among the Apache’s modern capabilities are the ability to shoot fire-and-forget anti-
tank missiles, air-to-air missiles, rockets, and other munitions. It also has modern
electronic warfare capabilities to provide versatility in network-centric aerial warfare.
✓ The choppers are all-weather capable and have high agility and survivability against
battle damage. They can be easily maintained in field conditions as well as during
operations in the tropical and desert regions.
USA- India Defence Deals-
AGM-84L Harpoon Block II Missile
MK 54 Light weight Torpedoes
Defence Corridors
In pursuance to the Union Budget announcement (2018-19), it has
been decided to set up two Defence Industrial Corridors in the
Country, one in Uttar Pradesh and another in Tamil Nadu.
Subsequently, five nodes for Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor,
viz. Chennai, Coimbatore, Hosur, Salem and Tiruchirapalli have been
identified.
Investments of approximately Rs. 3100 crore were announced by
Ordnance Factory Board (OFB)/Defence Public Sector Undertaking
(DPSUs) & Private Industries in Tamil Nadu Corridor.
Setting up of Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor would
catalyse indigenous production of defence and aerospace
related items, thereby reducing our reliance on imports and
promoting export of these items to other countries.
This will lead to generation of direct & indirect employment
opportunities and growth of private domestic manufacturers
including Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and
start-ups.
LCA Tejas
Defense Procurement Procedure 2020
Important Provisions under DPP 2020

1.Indigenous Content (IC) stipulated in various

categories of procurement has been increased by about
10% to support the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
2.Leasing has been introduced as a new category for
acquisition in addition to existing ‘Buy’ & ‘Make’
categories to substitute huge initial capital outlays with Number Category of Procurement
periodical rental payments. Here, the lessor can be both 1. Buy – Indian Designed, Developed and
Indian as well as global. Manufactured (IDDM)
3.New Category Buy (Global – Manufacture in India) has 2. Buy – (Indian)
been introduced with minimum 50% indigenous content
3. Buy and Make (Make Indian)
on cost basis of total contract value.
4.There is also long-term product support — which 4. Buy and Make
would be three to five years after the warranty period is 5. Buy (Global)
over. 6. Make
5.A “price variation clause” has been introduced that
7. Buy (Global – Manufacture in India)
will be applicable to all cases where the total cost of
contract is more than Rs 1,000 crore and the delivery 8. Lease (Indian)
schedule exceeds 60 months. 9. Lease (Global)
Defence Production, Export Promotion Policy 2020

The policy has laid out following goals and objectives:

1. To achieve a turnover of Rs 1,75,000 Crores (US$ 25Bn) including export of

Rs 35,000 Crore (US$ 5 Billion) in Aerospace and Defence goods and
services by 2025.
2. To develop a dynamic, robust and competitive Defence industry, including
Aerospace and Naval Shipbuilding industry to cater to the needs of Armed
forces with quality products.
3. To reduce dependence on imports and take forward "Make in India"
initiatives through domestic design and development.
4. To promote export of defence products and become part of the global
defence value chains.
5. To create an environment that encourages R&D, rewards innovation,
creates Indian IP ownership and promotes a robust and self-reliant
defence industry.
The Policy brings out multiple strategies under the following focus areas:
1.Procurement Reforms
2.Indigenization & Support to MSMEs/Startups
3.Optimize Resource Allocation
4.Investment Promotion, FDI & Ease of Doing Business
5.Innovation and R&D
6.DPSUs and OFB
7.Quality Assurance & Testing Infrastructure
8.Export Promotion
Naval Innovation and Indigenisation
Organisation (NIIO)
 Project Cheetah

Amid border tensions with China, the

armed forces are pushing a case for
arming their Heron unmanned aerial
vehicles (UAV) with laser-guided
bombs, precision-guided munitions
and anti-tank missiles for taking out
enemy positions and armoured
regiments.
Under this project, around 90 Heron drones of the three services would
be upgraded to be armed with laser-guided bombs, air to ground and
air-launched anti-tank guided missiles.

The Indian fleet of medium altitude long endurance drones, also known
as UAVs, includes mainly Israeli equipment including the Herons.

They have been deployed by both the Army and Air Force in the
forward locations of Ladakh sector along the China border. The drones
also help in verifying the disengagement by Chinese as well as knowing
their troop build-up strength in depth areas.
Import Embargo on 101 defence items
• The embargo on imports is planned to be progressively
implemented between 2020 to 2024.
• The Government also intends to reach a turnover of $25 billion
through indigenously manufactured defence products and also
expects to export products worth $5 billion.
• Government has also decided that in any government contract
over ₹200 crore, no foreign company can participate in the
tendering process. This year ₹52,000 crore items are to be bought
only from Indian companies.
• MoD has also bifurcated the capital procurement budget for
2020-21 between domestic and foreign capital procurement
routes.
ICGS Sachet
Recently, the Defence Minister of
India has commissioned Indian
Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Sachet and
two Interceptor Boats (IBs) C-450
and C-451 in Goa.
It is the first in the series of five
Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) and
has been designed and built
indigenously by Goa Shipyard
Limited (GSL) and is fitted with
state-of-the-art navigation and
communication equipment
 Sonic Boom
• A sonic boom is the sound associated
with the shock waves created
whenever an object travels through
the air faster than the speed of sound.
• Sonic booms generate enormous
amounts of sound energy, sounding
similar to an explosion or a
thunderclap to the human ear.
• Sonic booms due to large supersonic
aircraft can be particularly loud and
startling, tend to awaken people, and
may cause minor damage to some
structures.
THHAD Missile
THHAD Missile
Nuclear Weapons- India and China
 India’s Nuclear Doctrine

1. No First Use Policy

2. Massive Retaliation

3. Credible Minimum Deterrence

4. Nuclear Command Authority

Mountain Strike Corps
Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)

China will join the UN Arms Trade Treaty that is designed to control the flow of
weapons into conflict zones. It comes after U.S. President Donald Trump
announced plans last year to pull the U.S. out of the agreement.
 Maareech: Advanced Torpedo Decoy
System
❑ Maareech is an Advanced Torpedo Defence System (ATDS)
that is capable of being fired from all frontline ships.
❑ It has been designed and developed indigenously by DRDO.
❑ It is capable of detecting, locating and neutralizing incoming
torpedoes.
❑ It applies counter-measures to protect the naval platform
against attact.
❑ Bharat Electronics Limited, a Defence PSU, would undertake
the production of this decoy system.
❑ Torpedoes are self-propelled weapons with a warhead and
can be used under or on the water surface.
❑ They are one of the mainstay of sea-warfare attack systems.
The SPICE, which stands for Smart, Precise Impact and Cost-Effective, is a guidance
and maneuvering kit manufactured by Israel's Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. The
SPICE kit adds a sophisticated guidance system—consisting of inertial navigation,
satellite guidance and electro-optical sensors for pinpoint accuracy—and control fins
to a conventional unguided bomb.
ISRO Updates
 Yuvika Program
The programme, named YUVIKA is held to
impart knowledge about space-related
theories and technologies to students.
It is also aimed to create awareness among
the youngsters about space activities, ISRO
said.
The YUVIKA programme will be held for
two weeks from May 11 to May 22, 2020.
ISRO 2019
a) Microsat and Kalamsat – PSLV C44
b) GSAT 31
c) Launch view gallery along with a Rocket space garden
was launched in Sriharikota to enable nearly 5000
people to watch ISRO launches live.
d) EMISAT -PSLV-C45
e) RISAT-2B radar imaging earth observation satellite -
PSLV-C46
f) GSLV-MK III M1- Chandrayan 2
a) Plan Gaganyan – 2022, Aditya L1- 2020
b) Cartosat-3,- a third-generation agile advanced satellite having high-
resolution imaging capability- PSLV-C47
c) RISAT-2BR1 radar imaging earth observation satellite – PSLV C48
d) New Space India Limited – Commercial arm of ISRO
e) Human Space Flight Centre
f) Small Satellite Launch Vehicle
NASA 2019
a)50th Anniversary of Apollo 11
b)Artemis in 2024
c)Image of Blackhole
Vyom Mitra
Gaganyan -
Gaganyan is the India’s first Human Flight Space Mission to be launched in 2022.

So far, USA, RUSSIA and China have launched human space flight missions.

As part of the manned Gagayaan mission, India aims to send a 3-person crew to space for a period of
seven days, with the spacecraft placed in a low Earth orbit of up between 300-400km.

Specifications—Target: 2022

✓ Crew Module Weight: 7 Tons

o Crew:3 Members
o Cost: 10,000 Cr
o Time: 3days Orbit: LEO
 GISAT

GEO Imaging Satellite or GISAT is a planned Indian geo-imaging satellite

class for providing images quickly during disasters.

Two identical satellites will provide resolution in the range of 50 m to

1.5 km. It will carry multi-spectral (visible, near infra-red and thermal),
multi-resolution (50 m to 1.5 km) imaging instruments.

Launch of the first satellite to geostationary orbit is expected in March

2020.
NASA-ISRO SAR Mission (NISAR)

A dedicated U.S. and Indian

InSAR (Interferometric
synthetic-aperture radar)
mission, in partnership
with ISRO, optimized for
studying hazards and
global environmental
change.
 Applications of NISAR
NISAR will add a tremendous new data set to create new and greatly improve upon
existing applications. By virtue of the planned frequent and regular sampling of some of
the world's most hazard-prone areas, these data will be more than a rich source of
information to guide development of applications and their associated scientific studies.
They will be a reliable source over the life of the mission for proactive planning for
disasters, and will have a store of pre-disaster images available to rapidly and
unambiguously understand what transpired in the disaster, leading to the development of
actionable applications that could inform the government for consideration of future
operational missions. Water resource monitoring, infrastructure monitoring, and other
value-added applications will also be revolutionized by access to these data.
SSLV- Small Satellite Launch Vehicle
Ingenuity – Mars Helicopter
Space Debris
Lunar Polar Exploration
Atma Nirbhar Bharat- Space Sector
Private sector will be allowed to use ISRO facilities and other
relevant assets to improve their capacities.
Future projects for planetary exploration, outer space travel etc
shall also be open for private sector.
There will be liberal geo-spatial data policy for providing remote-
sensing data to tech-entrepreneurs

InSpace
Quantum Enabled Satellite of China-Micius
UAE’s Hope Mission

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) launched its first-ever

interplanetary Hope Probe mission to Mars from

Japan's Tanegashima Space Centre.

The UAE launch marks the first of
three missions being planned to
Mars in the end of July.
China plans its first Mars probe,
Tianwen-1 (formerly Huoxing 1), in
the coming few days.
The US, the only country that has
sent previous missions to Mars,
plans its Perseverance mission on
July 30.
BEIDOU Navigational System
Mission Endeavour
TIANWEN-1 (TW-1)-
Interplanetary Contamination
 Astrosat- Discovery of Earliest Galaxy

A Global team of scientists has discovered one of the earliest galaxies

using India’s AstroSat.

AstroSat, India’s first multi-wavelength

satellite that has five unique X-ray and
ultraviolet telescopes working in tandem,
has detected extreme UV light from a
galaxy called AUDFs01, 9.3 billion light-
years away from Earth
Astrosat, India's first dedicated multi-
wavelength space telescope, was
launched by ISRO on a PSLV-XL in 2015.
Space Bricks
In a significant step towards space exploration, a team of researchers
from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Indian
Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru has developed a sustainable
process to make space bricks on the lunar surface.

The process enables making load bearing

bricks by using lunar soil, bacteria and
guar beans.
ICT and
Bio-Tech
DNA Technology Regulation Bill 2019
Earth Bio-genome Project
MANAV: HUMAN ATLAS INITIATIVE

✓ To provide better
biological insights of
human physiology
✓ To understand the roles of
tissues and cells linked to
various diseases.
✓ Develop disease models
through predictive
computing
✓ Drug discovery
 IndiGen Project- GENOME
INDIA PROJECT
✓ It is a project to carry out whole-genome sequencing of Indians.
✓ Also called ‘Bioscience Mission for Precision Health and Optimal Well-being’
✓ It is aimed at studying the diversity of Indians and its impact on lifestyle, environment and
genes that is inherited.
✓ It will help in development of personalized medicines.
✓ The initiative will involve large number of Indians from various geographies, caste, tribal
and linguistic groups.
National Genomic Grid (NGG
✓ The grid will be formed in line with the National Cancer Tissue Biobank (NCTB) which
is set up at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras.
✓ It will collect samples from cancer patients to study genomic factors influencing
cancer and identifying the right treatment modalities for the Indian population.
✓ The grid will have four parts, with the country divided into east, west, north and
south
✓ Significance- The genomic samples will help researches to have India specific studies
on cancers.
 India’s Brain Map
✓ National Brain Research Centre (NBRC) is preparing an
Indian Brain Template (IBT).
✓ It is one-of-its-kind database of brain templates.
✓ Brain templates are MRI images that provide
anatomical information of human brains.
✓ The IBT is funded by the Department of Science and
Technology.
Parthenogenesis

✓ A reproductive strategy that

involves development of a female
(rarely a male) gamete (sex cell)
without fertilisation or
development of an embryo from an
unfertilised egg cell
✓ It is an adaptive strategy when
sexual reproduction is not possible
due to environmental conditions.
 Genetically Modified Mosquitoes
✓ A new initiative aims at reducing the population of Aedes aegypti
mosquito by introducing genetically modified version of mosquitoes
✓ Genetically modified mosquitoes involve producing transgenic male
Aedes aegypti mosquito, which carries a new gene fatal only to female
mosquitoes
✓ GM male mosquitoes will then breed with normal females in the wild.
✓ In the next generation, only the males would survive, and these would
breed again, with normal females.
✓ After a few generations, the female population will be drastically
reduced and eventually whole mosquito population
National Biopharma Mission
Cultured Meat
Artificial Intelligence- AI

Meaning: AI is a
constellation of
technologies that enable
machines to act with
higher levels of
intelligence.

It allows the machine to

emulate the human
capabilities of sense,
comprehend and act.
Fig: Sophia, the Humanoid Robot with AI
Fig: Applications of AI in Health Sector
Big Data

Big Data is a phrase used

to mean a massive
volume of both
structured and
unstructured data that is
so large it is difficult to
process using
traditional database and
software techniques.

Fig: Application Areas of IoT

Measures to promote Big Data-
1. Big Data Initiative (2015) of Department of S&T to promote and encourage Big
Data Ecosystem in India.
2. NITI Aayog is currently working on a plan in collaboration with the private
players to develop the ‘National Data & Analytics Platform’, which will act as a
single source of sectoral data for citizens, policymakers, and researchers.
3. ‘Big Data Management Policy (2016)’ - It is formulated by CAG for auditing large
chunks of data generated by the public sector in the states and the union
territories.
4. Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation has proposed to establish
a ‘National Data Warehouse on Official Statistics’ which will leverage
technology and use big data analytical tools to improve the quality of macro-
economic aggregates.
5. Use of Direct Benefit Transfer in MGNREGA & Aadhaar for authentication &
availing welfare scheme benefits helps in the filtering of ghost beneficiaries.
6. The Ministry of Agriculture has signed a deal with the ISRO to use satellites
for mapping of agricultural assets.
7. Smart City Mission, Digital India, digital economy proposals like BHIM app, inter
alia are important government initiatives that are using Big Data for achieving
good governance in the country.
 5 G Technology
It is a mix of telecom technology delivering much higher data
speeds on more extensive connectivity, using much lower
power, with extended battery life, and emitting less radiation.

It is also designed to be the network for the Internet of Things

(IoT).

Not only will people be connected to each other but so will

utility machines, industrial equipment, automobiles, city
infrastructure, public safety and more.

Fig: Characteristics of 5G
The term 5G is used to describe the next-generation of mobile
networks beyond Long Term Evolution (LTE) mobile networks.

Fig: Evolution of cellular technology

Fig: Applications of 5G Technology
 4th Industrial Revolution
The Fourth Industrial Revolution
is a way of describing the blurring
of boundaries between the
physical, digital, and biological
worlds.

It includes cyber-physical
systems, the Internet of things,
big data analytics, cloud
computing, cognitive computing,
artificial intelligence, 3-D printing,
and autonomous vehicles etc.
Fig: 4th Industrial Revolution
 Drones
Drones are called with several names- Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs),
Miniature Pilotless Aircrafts or flying Robots.

There are two types of Unmanned Aircraft-

1. Remotely Piloted drones

2. Autonomous drones

✓Remotely Piloted Aircraft consists of remote pilot station(s), the required

command and control links and any other components, as specified in the type
design.

✓Autonomous drones work with Artificial intelligence.

Block Chain Technology

Fig: How a block chain works?

Fig: Characteristic of Block
Chain Technology
 Super Computers
Super Computer is a computer that performs at very
high operational rates. It is simply a group of
multiple computers that perform parallel processing.

✓Initially, India was importing Super Computers from USA – CRAY

Computers.

✓In 1980’s USA denied the import of High Performing Computers

to India. (Dual Use Good)

✓In 1988- Center for Development of Advanced Computing was

established under MeiTY.

✓Super Computer’s power is measured in FLOPS (Floating Point

Computer Power)

✓Indian Supercomputer 'PARAM 8000' was launched on July 1,

1991.
 Applications of Super Computers:

Due to high speed processing ability of super computers,

there are several applications of such computers which are
used in scientific and research woks,

1. Climate Modelling 10. Computational Material Science and

2. Weather Prediction Nanomaterials
3. Computational Biology 11. Aerospace Engineering including CFD, CSM, CEM
4. Molecular Dynamics 12. Discoveries beyond Earth (Astrophysics)
5. Atomic Energy Simulations 13. Large Complex Systems Simulations and
6. National Security/ Defence Applications Cyber Physical Systems
7. Seismic Analysis 14. Big Data Analytics
8. Disaster Simulations and Management 15. Finance
9. Computational Chemistry 16. Information repositories/ Government
Information Systems
 Quantum Computers
✓Quantum computers are different from binary digital electronic
computers that are based on transistors (a semiconductor device used to
amplify or switch electronic signals and electrical power).

✓The common digital computing requires the data to be encoded into

binary digits (bits), each of which is always in one of two definite states (0
or 1).

✓Quantum computation uses quantum bits (qubits).

✓A quantum bit (qubit) is the smallest unit of quantum information,

which is the quantum analog of the regular computer bit, used in the field
of quantum computing.
Fig: IBM’s Quantum Computer Fig: GOOGLE’s Quantum Computer
How Quantum Computers works?

They operate according to two key principles of quantum physics:

superposition and entanglement

1. Superposition means that each qubit can represent both a ‘1’ and a
‘0’ at the same time.

2. Entanglement means that qubits in a superposition state can

be correlated with each other; that is, the state of one qubit (whether
it is a 1 or a 0) can depend on the state of another qubit.

Using these two principles, qubits can act as more sophisticated

switches, solve difficult problems that are unmanageable using
today’s computers.
 Government's Initiatives to promote Quantum Computing in India:

1. QuEST Program:

1. In 2018, the Department of Science & Technology unveiled a

program called Quantum-Enabled Science & Technology (QuEST).

2. It is committed to investing ₹80 crore over the next three years to

accelerate research.

3. This plan is to have a quantum computer built in India within the next
decade.
2. National Mission on Quantum Technology:
S.No National Policies on ICT
1 National Policy on Software Products - 2019
2 National Policy on Electronics 2019
3 e-Kranti: National e-Governance Plan 2.0
4 National Digital Communications Policy-2018
5 Draft Internet of Things Policy, 2015
6 National Strategy on AI by NITI Aayog
7 Digital India Mission 2015
8 National Digital Literacy Mission: 2015
9 National Data Sharing & Accessibility Policy (NDSAP) 2012
10 National Cyber Security Policy (2013)
11 National Policy on Information Technology 2012
Cyber security
Cyber Security- is protecting cyber space including critical information
infrastructure from attack, damage, misuse and economic espionage.

Cyber Space: A global domain within the information environment

consisting of the interdependent network of information technology
infrastructures, including the Internet, telecommunications networks,
computer systems, and embedded processors and controllers.

Critical Information Infrastructure: According to Section 70(1) of the

Information Technology Act, CII is defined as a “computer resource,
the incapacitation or destruction of which, shall have debilitating
impact on national security, economy, public health or safety”.
Dark Net
FASTag
Indian Patent Act 1970
Compulsory Licensing- Section 92 of IPA 1970

Generic Drugs

Repurposed Drugs
Structure of Ministry of Health and
agencies under it
Ministry of
Health and
Family Welfare

Autonomous
Bodies

Department of
Department of
Health and Institutions
Health Services
Family Welfare
 ICMR
1. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), New Delhi, the apex
body in India for the formulation, coordination and promotion of
biomedical research, is one of the oldest medical research bodies in
the world.
2. The Governing Body of the Council is presided over by the Union
Health Minister. It is assisted in scientific and technical matters by a
Scientific Advisory Board comprising eminent experts in different
biomedical disciplines. The Board, in its turn, is assisted by a series of
Scientific Advisory Groups, Scientific Advidsory Committees, Expert
Groups, Task Forces, Steering Committees etc. which evaluate and
moniter different research activities of the Council.
3. The Council promotes biomedical research in the country through
intramural as well as extramural research. Over the decades, the base
of extramural research and also its strategies have been expanded by
the Council.
Directorate General Of Health Services
The Directorate General of Health Services (Dte.GHS) is a repository of
technical knowledge concerning Public Health, Medical Education and
Health Care. It is an attached organisation of the Ministry of Health &
Family Welfare.
The Dte.GHS is headed by Director General of Health Services (DGHS), an
officer of Central Health Services, who renders technical advice on all
medical and public health matters to Ministry of Health and Family
Welfare.
The Directorate co-ordinates with the Health Directorates of all States/UTs
for implementation of various National Health Programmes through its
Regional Offices of Health and Family Welfare.
The Dte.GHS oversees the functioning of Central Government Hospitals
and their management. It also addresses health concerns of the people
through its Subordinate Offices/Institutes spread all over the country.
Biomedical Waste Management
Rules in India
Biomedical waste comprises human & animal anatomical waste,
treatment apparatus like needles, syringes and other materials used in
health care facilities in the process of treatment and research. This
waste is generated during diagnosis, treatment or immunization in
hospitals, nursing homes, pathological laboratories, blood bank, etc.

Proposed as per Environmental Protection Act 1986

Biomedical Waste Management Rules 2016, amended Rules 2018.

Important Provisions of 2016
✓ The ambit of the rules has been expanded to include vaccination camps,
blood donation camps, surgical camps or any other healthcare activity;
✓ Phase-out the use of chlorinated plastic bags, gloves and blood bags within
two years;
✓ Pre-treatment of the laboratory waste, microbiological waste, blood samples
and blood bags through disinfection orsterilisation on-site in the manner as
prescribed by WHO or NACO;
✓ Provide training to all its health care workers and immunise all health workers
regularly;
✓ Establish a Bar-Code System for bags or containers containing bio-medical
waste for disposal;
✓ Report major accidents; (g) Existing incinerators to achieve the standards for
retention time in secondary chamber and Dioxin and Furans within two years;
✓ Bio-medical waste has been classified in to 4 categories instead 10 to improve
the segregation of waste at source;
✓ Procedure to get authorisation simplified. Automatic authorisation for bedded hospitals.
The validity of authorization synchronised with validity of consent orders for Bedded HCFs.
One time Authorisation for Non-bedded HCFs
✓ The new rules prescribe more stringent standards for incinerator to reduce the emission of
pollutants in environment;
✓ Inclusion of emissions limits for Dioxin and furans;
✓ State Government to provide land for setting up common bio-medical waste treatment and
disposal facility;
✓ No occupier shall establish on-site treatment and disposal facility, if a service of `common
bio-medical waste treatment facility is available at a distance of seventy-five kilometer.
✓ Operator of a common bio-medical waste treatment and disposal facility to ensure the
timely collection of bio-medical waste from the HCFs and assist the HCFs in conduct of
training.
 Important Provisions of 2018
amended Rules
✓ Bio-medical waste generators including hospitals, nursing homes, clinics,
dispensaries, veterinary institutions, animal houses, pathological laboratories,
blood banks, health care facilities, and clinical establishments will have to phase
out chlorinated plastic bags (excluding blood bags) and gloves by March 27, 2019.
✓ All healthcare facilities shall make available the annual report on its website within
a period of two years from the date of publication of the Bio-Medical Waste
Management (Amendment) Rules, 2018.
✓ Operators of common bio-medical waste treatment and disposal facilities shall
establish bar coding and global positioning system for handling of bio-medical
waste in accordance with guidelines issued by the Central Pollution Control Board
by March 27, 2019.
✓ The State Pollution Control Boards/ Pollution Control Committees have to compile,
review and analyze the information received and send this information to the
Central Pollution Control Board in a new Form (Form IV A), which seeks detailed
information regarding district-wise bio-medical waste generation, information on
Health Care Facilities having captive treatment facilities, information on common
bio-medical waste treatment and disposal facilities.
Ventilators Working?
Cord Blood
and Cord
Cells
Hybridoma technology- Monoclonal
Antibodies
Other
Issues
 IAU- India 2019

IAU- Pandit Jasraj- Minor planet between

Mars and Jupiter

IAU- Bibha and Santhamas

Nobel Prizes
Nobel Laureates Field Contribution
William G. Kaelin Jr, Sir
Physiology Discovered how cells sense and adapt to oxygen
Peter J. Ratcliffe and Gregg
or Medicine availability.
L. Semenza
James Peebles: theoretical discoveries in physical
James Peebles, Michel
Physics cosmology And Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz
Mayor and Didier Queloz
discovered an exoplanet orbiting a solar-type star.
John B. Goodenough, M.
Discovered the development of lithium-ion
Stanley Whittingham and Chemistry
batteries.
Akira Yoshino
Discovered an influential work that with linguistic
Peter Handke Literature ingenuity has explored the periphery and the
specificity of human experience.
For his efforts to achieve peace and international
cooperation, and in particular for his decisive
Abiy Ahmed Ali Peace
initiative to resolve the border conflict with
neighbouring Eritrea.
Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Economic For their experimental approach to alleviating
Duflo and Michael Kremer Sciences global poverty.
LIGO India
Global Cooling Award
Plastic to Diesel Manufacturing plant
Role of Technology in Forest Fire Management

1. Satellites
2. Drones
3. Artificial Intelligence and Big Data
4. Internet of Things – IoT
5. Robots
6. Virtual Reality
 Dhruva Chip
❑ It is a home-grown receiver chip developed by IIT-Bombay.
❑ Such signals can be converted into digital bits and processed by any standard
digital signal processor (DSP) to determine one’s location precisely.
❑ It will help receive and clean up the signals received from NAVIC, which are
36,000 km above from the earth’s surface.
❑ This Project was funded by the Ministry of Electronics and Information
Technology (MeitY).
❑ SAMEER (Society for Applied Microwave Electronics Engineering and Research) is
the nodal agency.
❑ NAVIC - Navigation with Indian Constellation is India’s geo-positioning system
with 9 satellites designed by ISRO to provide accurate positioning within the
country.
COVID-19 and Diabetes
 India TB Report 2020
Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare.
According to the report, National Tuberculosis Elimination
Programme has comprehensively moved closer to near-
complete online notification of all TB cases in the country
through the NIKSHAY portal.
NIKSAHAY Portal- It is the web enabled patient
management system for TB control under the National
Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP).
Disasters in News
• Biological disaster
• Chemical disaster
• Heat wave
• Forest Fire
• Locust Swarm
• Cyclones
Arms Control Treaty-
Open Skies Agreement
Central Bank Digital Currency
Role of S&T in Economic Recovery
Guidelines for Recombinant DNA Technology in India
Biosafety -
Under the Biosafety Research programme, main emphasis is given to
facilitate the implementation of biosafety procedures, rules and
guidelines under Environment (Protection) Act 1986 and Rules 1989 to
ensure safety from the use of GMOs and products thereof in research
and application to the users as well as to the environment.
Guidelines for Recombinant DNA Technology in India
A three tier mechanism comprising
Institutional Biosafety Committees (IBSC) at the Institute/company.
Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM) in the Department of
Biotechnology.
Genetic Engineering Approval Committee (GEAC) in the Ministry of
Environment & Forests (MoE&F) for granting approval Genetically
Engineered (GE) crops.
Indian Biosafety Knowledge Portal
It was launched in 2019 through which the Department receives all new
applications related to research proposals.
National AI Portal
A3i Virus
Computational Drug Discovery

3 Methods of Drug Discovery

1. Repurposed Drugs

2. Phyto-Pharmaceuticles

3. Computational Drug Discovery

DRDO’s Ultra Swachh
The system uses an advanced oxidative process
(ozonation).
Ozone is more effective than chlorine in destroying
viruses and bacteria.
It also has a catalytic converter to ensure environment
friendly exhaust i.e only oxygen and water.
A catalytic converter is a device used in exhaust systems
to reduce emissions.
The Ultra Swachh comes in two variants namely
Ozonated Space and Trinetra Technology. Trinetra
technology is the combination of Ozonated space and
radical dispenser.
25 years of Indian Mobile Phones
India is celebrating 25 years of mobility. July 31 marks the day the
first mobile call was made in India. This took place on July 31,
1995 and the call was made by the then West Bengal Chief
Minister Jyoti Basu to Union Communications Minister Sukh Ram.
Bharat Air Fibre
Bharat Air Fibre
Services have
been inaugurated
at Akola in
Maharashtra provi
ding the
residents wireless
internet
connections on
demand.
Haloarchaea- Lonar Lake

The colour of Lonar lake water in Maharashtra's

Buldhana district turned pink due to a large
presence of the salt-loving 'Haloarchaea'
microbes, a probe carried out by a Pune-based
institute has concluded.
‘MAUSAM’ MOBILE APP; KRC Net
Union Minister for Earth sciences launched MoES-
Knowledge Resource Centre Network (KRCNet) and
mobile App "Mausam” for India Meteorological
Department (IMD).
 Kakrapar Atomic Power Plant-3
The third unit of the Kakrapar
Significance of this achievement:
Atomic Power Project (KAPP-3)
in Gujarat achieved its ‘first This is a landmark event in India’s domestic civilian
criticality’ — a term that nuclear programme given that KAPP-3 is the country’s
signifies the initiation of a
first 700 MWe (megawatt electric) nuclear reactor unit.
controlled but sustained
nuclear fission reaction. It is also the biggest indigenously developed variant of
The reactor was indigenously the Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR). Until now,
designed and built by Indian the biggest reactor size of indigenous design was the 540
scientists and engineers.
MWe PHWR, two of which have been deployed in
Tarapur, Maharashtra.
Criticality?
• In a Nuclear Reactor, a controlled nuclear fission reaction takes place
that produces heat, which is used to generate steam that then spins
a turbine to create electricity.
• A nuclear reactor achieves criticality when each fission event
releases a sufficient number of neutrons to sustain an ongoing series
of reactions.
• Fission is a process in which the nucleus of an atom splits into two or
more smaller nuclei, and usually some by-product particles.
 Indian Navy- PASSEX with USA Navy
Indian Naval ships conducted a Passage Exercise
(PASSEX) with the U.S. Navy’s USS Nimitz carrier
strike group near the Andaman and Nicobar islands
as it is transiting the Indian Ocean.
 Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network
(eVIN)

The Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network (eVIN) is being used by

the State/UT governments in India to monitor the supply chain of
Covid response material.

This has been used with the requisite customization during the
Covid pandemic for ensuring continuation of the essential
immunization services.
 Time Capsules
▪ Time Capsule is a container of any size or shape, which accommodates
documents, photos and artefacts typical of the current era and is buried
underground, for future generations to unearth.
▪ To ensure that the capsules do not decay they are built using special
engineering techniques like steel or aluminium encasing, vacuuming, use
of acid-free paper, etc.
▪ The time capsules mostly have a scheduled time for reopening, and are
supposed to be buried again after opening, with people of the future
adding their own contributions to the time capsule.
▪ The International Time Capsule Society (ITCS), based in the USA and
formed in 1990, is now defunct but continues estimating the number of
time capsules in the world.
▪ As per its database, there are 10,000-15,000 times capsules worldwide.
 ITER Tokomak Assembly
Recently, the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER)
celebrated the start of Assembly of the ITER Tokamak at Saint-Paul-Lez-
Durance, France.
Vizag Gas Leak- Styrene
3 mile
island
disaster
Fukushima
Nuclear
Disaster
 KARMI Bot
1. ASIMOV Robotics, a start-up based in Kerala, has developed KARMI-Bot robot.
2. KARMI-Bot robot could be deployed at the isolation ward for COVID-19
patients.
3. Deployed at the hospital isolation ward, the robot performs a slew of activities
from dispensing food and medicines and collection of trash left behind by
patients to initiating a video call between doctors and patients. Besides, it can
perform ultraviolet-based disinfection and also spray detergents at targets.
4. Its main goal is to limit the interaction between patients and health workers.
This would help minimize the use of personal protective equipment (PPE)
kits and also help reduce the risk of disease transmission.
Sophia Robot

The World’s first humanoid robot Sophia participated in the 81st edition
of Technax, the annual tech festival of the Banaras Hindu University
(BHU).

✓ Sophia is the first robot citizen of the world after Saudi Arabia
granted her citizenship in October 2017.
✓ She is a social humanoid robot, which using artificial intelligence
(AI) programming, can imitate human gestures and facial
expressions, and is able to converse on predefined topics.
✓ It was developed by the Hong Kong-based Hanson Robotics and
‘activated’ on February 14, 2016.
Sophia, with a perfect skin and soft facial muscles, can give as many as
66 facial expressions
Ai-Da Bot
✓ Recently an exhibition of art created by a humanoid AI robot,
named Aida was held at University of Oxford.
✓ Aida is the world's first ultra-realistic humanoid artist, able to
draw creatively due to in-built artificial intelligence (AI)
technology.
✓ Ai-Da is named after Ada Lovelace, the English mathematician
and writer often called the world's first computer coder.
Xenobots

Scientists in the United States have created the world’s first “living
robots” named “xenobots”.

✓ The robot is tiny and built from the cells of the African clawed
frog.
✓ named after the species of aquatic frog Xenopus laevis (found in
Nigeria and Sudan)
✓ this is for the first time that completely biological machines are
designed from scratch
✓ The xenobots can move toward a target, perhaps pick up a
payload and even heal themselves after being cut.
✓ Applications - during radioactive contamination, gathering
microplastic in the oceans etc.
Vyomitra
✓ She is half-humanoid and her body stops at the torso and has no legs.
She is capable of switching panel operations, performing Environment
Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) functions, conversations with
the astronauts, recognising them and solving their queries.
The humanoid can detect and give out warnings if the environment
changes within the cabin.
✓ She will simulate the human functions required for space before real
astronauts take off before August 2022. She will be sent in a space
capsule around the end of 2020 or early 2021 to study how astronauts
respond to living outside earth in controlled zero-gravity conditions.
✓ The humanoid has been developed by the ISRO Inertial Systems Unit,
Thiruvananthapuram
MANAV Robot

Manav is India's first humanoid

robot which was developed in the

laboratory of A-SET Training and

Research Institutes by Diwakar

Vaish in late December 2014. It

debuted at the IIT-Bombay

Techfest 2014-15 in Mumbai.

107th Indian Science Congress
107th Indian Science Congress will be held
at University of Agricultural Sciences,
GKVK Campus, Bangalore, Karnataka
from 3-7th January, 2020

Focal Theme - Science & Technology :

Rural Development
The first meeting of the Congress was held from
January 15-17, 1914 at the premises of the
Asiatic Society, Calcutta
I- STEM Portal
India State Forest
Assessment Report, 2019
Key Highlights

• According to the report, the three states where forest area has grown the most include Karnataka
(1025 km), Andhra Pradesh (990 km) and Kerala (823 km).
• It has also mentioned in the report that the forest area of the northeastern states has decreased
except Assam.
• A marginal increase in forest cover was recorded in Himachal, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, and
Bihar.
• The report shows that the forest area has also increased in the infertile regions of Rajasthan.
• Jammu and Kashmir grew 371 sq. km of forest cover while Himachal Pradesh grew 334-sq. km of
forest area.
• The report highlights that all hill districts of India has 2,84,006 sq. km of forest area which is 40.30%
of the total geographical area of all hill districts of the country.
National Children Science
Congress 2019

National Children’s Science Congress is the flagship

program of National Council for Science and
Technology Communication (NCSTC), Department of
Science & Technology (DST), Government of India.
BEE- New Energy Performance
Standards for Air Conditioners
Year End Review of Ministry of S&T

1. Smart Dimmable LED Street Lightening Technology

2. Zero Waste Potash Technology

3. Tissue Culture Technology to produce Saffron

4. Launching Demonstration plant to

convert Plastic into Diesel

5. IndiGen Genome Project

6. Green Crackers
7. First Indigenous Fuel Cell System developed.

8. Next Generation Sequencing Facility

9. Redefined units of measurement of

kilogram, Kelvin, mole and ampere

10. India International Science Festival- RISEN: Research,

Innovation and Science Empowering the Nation

11. UMMID (Unique Methods of Management and treatment

of Inherited Disorders) initiative

12. Digital Atlas by Survey of India

Various plant diseases in news

a.Armyworm
b.Locust
c.Pink boll worm
Army Worm:
The armyworm caterpillar, the larval stage of
several species of moths, has a voracious appetite.
Entomologists say it feeds on more than 80 species
of plants.
It threatens the Rice Cultivation.
Drugs and Vaccines in news

a. BCG Vaccine- TB Vaccine

b. CovFlu- Bharat BioTech

c. Anti-Malarial Drug- Hydrocholoroquine

d. Anti-HIV/AIDS Drug- Combination of lopinavir and ritonavir

e. Anti-Ebola Drug- Remdesivir.

Testing Kits for COVID-19
RT-PCR- Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction Test

Anti body testing kits

RT- PCR
Anti body testing kits
What is Personal Protection Equipment (PPE)
DRDO’s efforts to fight COVID

a. Portable Sanitation Equipment

b. Personal Sanitation Enclosure

c. Bio-suit Development

d. Sealant for Safety Gear

e. Multi Patient usable Ventilator

COVID- Olfactory Sensory Cells

Estimating the presence of a key

enzyme — called ACE 2 (Angiotensin
Converting Enzyme) — in these
olfactory cells
The coronavirus has spike proteins
that bind to ACE 2 receptors on
human cells and the enzyme’s
presence is a proxy to revealing the
signature of the virus in the body’s
cells.
COVID 19 in Tigers
Geo Fencing and its applications
How Electrical Grid functions?
Air Quality Monitoring
Diseases in News
a. G4 Virus strain of H1N1

b. Bubonic Plague

c. WHO’s efforts on Polio

d. UN Report on Zoonotic Diseases

Phobos- Moon of Mars
Winter Diesel
Winter Diesel

Recently, the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) has sought approval from
the Directorate General of Quality Assurance (DGQA) for the use of
winter diesel by armed forces for operations in high altitude areas such
as Ladakh.
The winter diesel was introduced as a technological solution by the IOC
in 2019 in high-altitude sectors like Ladakh, Kargil, Kaza and Keylong,
which face the problem of freezing of diesel in their vehicles in extreme
weather conditions.
Winter Diesel:

It is a specialised fuel specifically for high altitude regions and low-

temperature regions such as Ladakh, where ordinary diesel can
become unusable.
It also meets the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) specification
of BS-VI grade.

* Low Viscosity
Importance:
Border Tensions with China in Ladakh: It is expected that demand for the
winter fuel may rise due to the border tensions in the Galwan valley in
Ladakh for the patrolling purposes.
Boost to Local Economy: Supply of the special fuel to Ladakh would reduce
the hardships faced by the local people for transportation and
mobility during winter months, therefore facilitate the local economy and
tourism.
Curb in Air Pollution: Before the launch of winter diesel, consumers in such
areas were using kerosene to dilute diesel to make it usable, which leads to
more air pollution.
Now use of winter diesel would replace use of Kerosene therefore helping
in the reduction of air pollution.
4. Science, Technology and Innovation
Policy 2020
“The new policy will be evidence driven, rather than wisdom based. It
will be thematic, and not broad-based, and will be inclusive, with a
bottom-up approach,” explained Professor Akhilesh Gupta, Head of
STIP 2020 Secretariat, Department of Science and Technology.
5. Vaccines
under
Human
Trials
ZyCoV-D

The Central Drug Standard Control Organisation (CDSO), the

National regulatory body for Indian Pharmaceuticals and medical
devices, has granted approval to Zydus Cadila to initiate phase I and
II human clinical trials in India for its potential COVID-19 vaccine
‘ZyCoV-D.’

This is the second potential vaccine after Bharat Biotech COVAXIN which got
the approval for human clinical trials.
6. ACCELERATE VIGYAN (AV) SCHEME
The Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) has launched
a new scheme called ‘Accelerate Vigyan’ to provide a single
platform for research internships, capacity building programs and
workshops across the country.

The primary objective of this inter-ministerial scheme is to encourage high-end scientific

research and prepare scientific manpower, which can lead towards research careers and
knowledge-based economy.
Accelerate Vigyan will initiate and strengthen mechanisms for identifying research potential,
mentoring, training and hands-on workshop on a national scale.
The scheme is sub-divided into two components: ‘ABHYAAS’ and ‘SAMMOHAN’
LiDAR Technology
Disasters of the week
Russian Oil Spill
Assam Oil Spill
Delhi Earthquake
Russian Oil Spill
What is permafrost?
The term is used for ground that is frozen continuously for two or
more years.
Some 55% of Russia's territory, predominantly Siberia, is
permafrost and home to its main oil and gas fields.
Assam Oil Spill
 Oil Spill
Reasons for Impacts Measures Way forward
Oil Spill Taken
Delhi Earthquake
 Earthquake
Reasons for Oil Impacts Measures Way forward
Spill Taken
Healthy and Energy Efficient Buildings
 The Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), in
partnership with the U.S. Agency for International
Development’s (USAID) MAITREE program, launched the
“Healthy and Energy Efficient Buildings” initiative that
will pioneer ways to make workplaces healthier and
greener.

➢ The initiative was launched on the occasion of the World Environment day (5th June).

➢ This initiative is to address the challenges of retrofitting existing buildings and air
conditioning systems so that they are both healthy and energy efficient.

➢ The initiative, implemented by the EESL in its office, will pave the way for other
buildings to take appropriate steps to be healthy and energy efficient.
Social Bubble, Social Vaccine
 ANANYA Disinfectant
Defence Institute
➢ It has been named “ANANYA”. This can be used by anyone,
of Advanced
from a common man to a healthcare worker, for individual
Technology as well as large scale use.
(DIAT), a Deemed ➢ This spray can be used on masks, PPEs, hospital linens, as
University, Pune well as other likely contaminated surfaces such as medical
instruments, elevator buttons, door knobs, corridors and
has developed a
rooms.
Nano-technology ➢ This Nano-technology assisted formulation will not only
based disinfectant stop the novel coronavirus from entering human body, but
spray to combat it will also kill the virus when the virus comes in contact
with this formulation layer on masks and PPEs.
COVID-19 by
disinfecting all ➢ This is a water based spray and will be effective for more
types of surfaces. than 24 hours after spray.
 Anonymous Cyber Threat

The Anonymous group has been described as a decentralised

online collective with no particular political affiliation, that rallies
around causes such as opposing censorship and government
control and promoting freedom of speech.
‘Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks’ –hackers
swamp a website’s server with data that causes it to
crash, making the website inaccessible.
‘Defacement’ –the target website’s pages are replaced
with the hacktivists’ messages and graphics.
‘Redirection’ – A change in the chosen web site’s
addressing causes its users to be redirected to another
page.
‘Doxin’- private or sensitive information is stolen,
destroying data using computer viruses, and ‘phishing’ for
extracting personal data.
Draft Unmanned Aircraft Rules 2020
Aditya Ferry

Gustave Trouvé
Award.

It is the sole
entrant from
Asia.
Biotech Terms
Neutrophils

Micro RNA
Face Recognition Software
National Science Day
 Women in Science
On the occasion of National Science Day yesterday, Government has
announced 11 chairs in the name of eminent Indian women scientists
in various fields to inspire, encourage, empower women and give due
recognition to young women researchers excelling in various fields.
Theme for this year’s National Science Day - ‘Women in Science’.
The 11 Chairs have been instituted in various areas of research
including Agriculture, Biotechnology, Immunology, Phytomedicine,
Biochemistry, Medicine, Social Sciences, Earth Science & Meteorology,
Engineering, Mathematics, and Physics & Fundamental Research.
SN Chair to be instituted in the name of Fields with which the
Scientist was associated
1. Dr. Archana Sharma (1932-2008) Renowned Agriculture and Allied
cytogenetist Research
2. Dr. Janaki Ammal (1897-1984) The Biotechnology
Pioneering Botanist
3. Dr. Darshan Ranganathan Immunology
(1941-2001) Organic Chemist
4. Dr. Ashima Chatterjee (1917-2006) Chemist Organic Chemistry,
Par Excellence Phytomedicine

5. Dr. KadambiniGanguly(1861-1923) A doctor Medicine

who broke the muth
SN Chair to be instituted in the name of Fields with which
the Scientist was
associated
6. Dr IrawatiKarve (1905-1970) Studying Anthropology
Humans
7. Dr. Anna Mani (1918-2001) Pioneer Indian Meteorology
Meterologist
8. Dr. Rajeshwari Chatterjee (1922-2010) First Engineering
Woman engineer from the State of
Karnataka
9. Dr. Raman Parimala (b.1948) Mathematician Mathematics
(Bhatnagar Award, 1987)
10. Bibhachowdhuri (1913-1991) Physics
11. Kamal Ranadive (8 November 1917-2001) Biomedical Research
(medicine)
New Schemes launched

1. GATI- Gender Advancement Transforming

Institutions
2. Vigyan Jyoti
3. S&T Portal for Women
WIFI in Airplanes
Stubble Burning
 The following steps are being taken to solve the problem of stubble
burning, namely:-
1. In an all India coordinated project, efforts are on to produce bio-
gas for kitchen use and quality manure for fields using bio-
methanation of rice straw by anaerobic digestion method. Six
domestic level paddy straw based bio-gas plants have been
installed in Punjab for field trials and further study is in progress.
2. R&D project has been supported on refinement and
demonstration of an integrated process technology for conversion
of crop residues into ethanol and methane for use as transport
fuels.
3. A major focus on agriculture waste/stubble management (waste
to wealth), alternative to burning, has been taken up under waste
management technologies programme and proposals are being
considered.
Black Carbon
Black Carbon vs Brown Carbon
Impacts Measures
 Prabala protective gear
Woman troops in the Central Reserve Police
Force (CRPF) have good news for them as the
force will soon provide them gender-specific
protective gear when they are deployed to
maintain law and order. The protective gear is
"tailor made" and designed keeping
international standards in mind.

For this, CRPF worked in close coordination

with the Defence Institute of Physiology and
Allied Sciences (DIPAS), DRDO for over two
years. Scientists at DIPAS carried out detailed
studies to understand the needs of woman
troopers of CRPF's Rapid Action Force to be
able to design the gear for them.
8. Sunspots
Disasters in News
Idukki Landslide

Beruit Blast

Khozikode Air crash

Idukki Landslide
NDRF

National Landslide Susceptibility Mapping – GSI

State Disaster or National Disaster

Beirut Blasts
Kozhikode Air Crash
Blackbox
✓ The black boxes are actually two orange metallic boxes containing
the recorders.

✓ The black boxes date back to the early 1950s, when, following plane
crashes, investigators were unable to arrive a conclusive cause for
the accidents and deemed it necessary to install the said recorders
on aircraft.

✓ Most aircraft are required to be equipped with two black boxes —

the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and the flight data recorder (FDR) —
that record the information about a flight and help reconstruct the
events leading to an aircraft accident.
✓ The CVR records radio transmissions and other sounds in the cockpit
such as conversations between the pilots and engine noises.

✓ The flight data recorder records more than 80 different types of

information such as altitude, airspeed, flight heading, vertical
acceleration, pitch, roll, autopilot status etc.
Submarine Optical Cable Network
The first intercontinental fiber optic cable was strung

across the floor of the Atlantic Ocean in 1988.

The cable—known as TAT-8*—was spearheaded by

three companies; AT&T, France Télécom, and British

Telecom.

The cable was able to carry the equivalent of 40,000

telephone channels, a ten-fold increase over its

galvanic predecessor, TAT-7.

• The submarine cable will also connect Port Blair to Swaraj Dweep (Havelock), Little
Andaman, Car Nicobar, Kamorta, Great Nicobar, Long Island, and Rangat.
• This connectivity will enable delivery of faster and more reliable mobile and
landline telecom services to Andaman & Nicobar Islands, at par with other parts of
India.
• The foundation stone for this project was laid by the Prime Minister in 2018 at
Port Blair.
The submarine OFC link will deliver bandwidth of 2 x 200 Gigabits per second
(Gbps) between Chennai and Port Blair, and 2 x 100 Gbps between Port Blair and
the other islands.
The project is funded by the Government of India through the Universal Service
Obligation Fund (USOF) under the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of
Communications.
• Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) executed this project while
Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL) are the Technical
Consultants.
6. Sputnik V Vaccine
History of Space Program:

✓ 13thCE—Chinese created rocket to launch gunpowder filled tubes.

✓ 1940’s V2Rocket—Modrn form of rocket developed by Germany. Germany
used them during WW-II, but the guidance system failed.
✓ After WW-II, during cold war period, technology race started between USA
& former USSR.
✓ 1957- Sputnik 1, 2 Satellites by USSR
✓ 1958 – Explorer -1 Satellite by USA.
✓ 1961- USSR launched VOSTOK & sent humans to space;
✓ Yuri Gagarin is the first human to enter into the Space.
✓ 1964 – SYNCOM-3 was launched by USA using this it
✓ live telecasted the Tokyo Olympics.
✓ 1969 – Apollo 11 – USA landed humans on Moon.
 7. Tick bite disease
Recently, deaths and
infections have been
reported due to the Severe
Fever with
Thrombocytopenia
Syndrome (SFTS) in East
China’s Jiangsu and Anhui
provinces.
SFTS is caused by the Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia
Syndrome Virus (SFTSV) which belongs to the Bunyavirus family
and is transmitted to humans through tick bites.

Symptoms: Fever, fatigue, chill, headache, nausea, myalgia (muscle

pain), diarrhoea, vomiting, abdominal pain, gingival haemorrhage,
conjunctival congestion, etc.
There is no vaccine to treat the disease yet. However, the antiviral drug Ribavirin is known
to be effective in treating the illness.

SFTS has been listed among the top 10 priority diseases blueprint by the World Health
Organisation (WHO) due to its fast spreading rate and high fatality rate.
8. Next Generation Sequencing
Next generation sequencing (NGS), massively parallel
or deep sequencing are related terms that describe a
DNA sequencing technology which has revolutionised
genomic research.
Using NGS an entire human genome can be
sequenced within a single day
National
Technology
Day 2020
May 11th
This year, on behalf of the
Ministry of Science &
Technology, Technology
Development Board (TBD) has
organized a conference to
celebrate the day.
The theme of the conference is
‘Rebooting the Economy
through Science, Technology
and Research Translations
titled RESTART’.
 Important Environmental
Conventions in news
1. CITES- Convention on Trade in
Endangered Species
✓ CITES entered into force in July 1975.
✓ Currently there are 183 Parties (include countries or regional economic integration organizations).
✓ Aim: Ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their
survival.
✓ The CITES Secretariat is administered by UNEP (The United Nations Environment Programme) and is located
at Geneva, Switzerland.
✓ Although CITES is legally binding on the Parties, it does not take the place of national laws.
✓ Rather, it provides a framework to be respected by each Party, which has to adopt its own domestic
legislation to ensure that CITES is implemented at the national leve
2. Biological Weapons Convention
✓ The Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of
Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction is usually referred to as
the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) or Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention
(BTWC).
✓ The Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) is a legally binding treaty that outlaws biological
arms.
✓ The BWC is the first multilateral disarmament treaty to ban an entire category of weapons of
mass destruction.
✓ the BWC opened for signature in 1972, and entered into force in 1975.
✓ It currently has 183 states-parties, including Palestine, and four signatories. Ten states have
neither signed nor ratified the BWC.
Dwarf Stars
✓ Brown dwarfs are also called failed stars because their
masses are intermediate to the largest planets and the
smallest main sequence stars.
✓ Their masses being too small, they are unable to sustain
fusion of their hydrogen to produce energy.
✓ It is believed that some of the more massive brown dwarfs
fuse deuterium or lithium and glow faintly.
✓ Luhman 16 is a binary star system, the third closest
system to the Sun after Alpha Centauri and Barnard’s star.
✓ At a distance of about 6.5 light-years from the Sun, this
pair of brown dwarfs referred to as Luhman 16A and
Luhman 16B orbit each other, casting a dim light.
Importance of the finding:

✓ The researchers have used an idea put forth nearly two decades
ago by Indian astrophysicist Sujan Sengupta, who works at the
Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru.
✓ Sengupta had propounded the light emitted by a cloudy brown
dwarf, or reflected off an extrasolar planet, will be polarized.
✓ He then suggested that a polarimetric technique could serve as
a potential tool to probe the environment of these objects.
9. Super Spread Clusters

WHO- The spread of a virus like the new coronavirus depends

on a range of environmental and epidemiological factors that
ultimately lead to transmission in individual cases or clusters.
These include the patient and what stage of disease they are
in, their behaviour, their environment, and the amount of
time spent in that environment.

Ex: Koyambedu, Tabligi Jamati, etc

India’s Indigenous ELISA Kit
e-NAM
GI Tags in News
Recent GI tags
Name Speciality

Kashmir Saffron Costliest Species

Manipur Chak Hao Black Rice

Gorakpur Terracotta Handmade Terracotta Figures

Puttapaka teliya Rumal Handwoven cloth

Hazaribhagh Sohrai Tribal Art Ritual Art

Koval Patti - TN Mithai

 Smart Meters
India's state-owned Energy Efficiency Services Limited
(EESL) has announced the completion of installation of 10
lakh smart meters across India under the Government
of India's Smart Meter National Programme. (As on Feb
2020)

EESL has set the target to install 25 crore smart meters over
the course of next few years

It Provides Advanced Metering Infrastructure

Benefits
The benefits of AMI are multifold and can be generally categorized as:
•Operational Benefits – AMI benefits the entire grid by improving the accuracy of meter
reads, energy theft detection and response to power outages, while eliminating the
need for on-site meter reading.
•Financial Benefits – AMI brings financial gains to utility, water and gas companies by
reducing equipment and maintenance costs, enabling faster restoration of electric
service during outages and streamlining the billing process.
•Customer Benefits – AMI benefits electric customers by detecting meter failures early,
accommodating faster service restoration, and improving the accuracy and flexibility of
billing. Further, AMI allows for time-based rate options that can help customers save
money and manage their energy consumption.
•Security Benefits-AMI technology enables enhanced monitoring of system resources,
which mitigates potential threats on the grid by cyber-terrorist networks.
Favipiravir Anti Viral Drug- Glenmark
NEON by Samsung
AIRAWAT
Brain Computer Interface
Green Computing
Important Environmental Conventions

1. Climate Action Summit

2. UNCCD COP14
3. Basel Convention in Geneva
4. International Stocktaking Conference on Tiger
Conservation
5. COP 24- UNFCCC
6. UN Environment Assembly
Climate Action Summit:
At the 74" session of the United Nations General Assembly, Indian Prime
Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed the United Nations Climate Action
Summit and the Universal Health Coverage Meeting, held in New York on 23
September 2019.
1. Leadership Group: India and Sweden together with other countries,
announced a new 'Leadership Group for Industry Transition' to help guide the
world's heaviest greenhouse gas emitting (industries towards a low-carbon
economy.
2. Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure
PM announced global Coalition of CDRI, an International parties that will
support both developed countries to build climate and disaster-resilient
infrastructure.
3. "PM called for people's Global Movement“
United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification (UNCCD): COP 14
For the first time ever, India hosted the 14' session of the
conference of Parties (COP 14) of the UNCCD, held at India
Expo Mart Limited, Greater Noida from 2 to 13 September
2019.
The theme of the Conference was "Restore land, Sustain
future“.
Basel Convention in Geneva
The 14th meeting of the Basel Convention, which laid down
guidelines on the movement of hazardous waste, concluded in
Geneva on 10 May 2019.
A key outcome of the meeting was an amendment to the
Convention that includes plastic waste in a legally-binding
framework, which would make global trade in plastic waste more
transparent and better regulated, whilst also ensuring that its
management is safer for human health and the environment.
However, it does not bar countries from exporting various
categories of plastic waste.
International Stocktaking Conference on
Tiger Conservation
The 3rd International Stocktaking Conference on Tiger
Conservation, relating to the Global Tiger Recovery Program
(GTRP) implementation was held in New Delhi on 28
January 2019.
The conference was hosted by the National Tiger
Conservation Authority, Ministry of Environment, forest and
Climate Change in close collaboration with the Global Tiger
Forum.
UNFCC COP 24
The 24th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP
24) to the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC) was concluded in Katowice,
Poland.
The conference finalized a rulebook for implementation
of the Paris Agreement termed as "Katowice rule". The
Paris: climate pact will 2020 and will replace the come
into effect in existing Kyoto Protocol.
The 25th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP
25) will be held in Chile.
UN Environment Assembly
The 4th session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-
4) took place in Nairobi, Kenya. The theme of UNEA-4 was
"Innovative Solutions for Environmental Challenges and
Sustainable Consumption and Production".
Nations unanimously agreed to significantly cut down on
single-use plastic products like cups. cutlery and bags by
2030.
Along with the summit, the United Nation Environment
Program has also launched the Global Environment
Outlook Report.
 R0 of Corona Virus
The metric, called the R-Naught or R-Zero – and written as R0 –
estimates that the infection rate in India has fallen to 1.55 on 11
April from 1.83 on 6 April, indicating that the restrictions imposed
under the three-week lockdown could be helping.

The R0 is a metric calculated through modelling, and is meant to examine how a certain
disease will progress while guiding authorities on how to deal with it. An R0 of less than 1
means a disease will not grow to epidemic proportions, as was the case with the 2012
MERS outbreak that originated in Saudi Arabi

However, if people are vaccinated or have immunity through prior infection, even a
high R0 won’t translate into high fatalities, as is the case with measles, which has an
estimated R0 of 12-18.
Convalescent Plasma
Corona Virus in Indian Bats
Chemicals in News- Sodium
Hypochlorite, Methyl Isocyanate
Even though sodium hypochlorite, a liquid bleach agent, is being used
worldwide for sanitisation of airports, railway stations, bus stands and
other public places since the Covid-19 outbreak, some of its
unsavoury side effects have come to the fore.

Recommended only for use on “non-living surfaces,” after sodium

hypochlorite began to be used in disinfection tunnels to “mist spray”
on people passing through them, the World Health Organisation
(WHO) brought out an advisory against it.
Pooled Testing strategy of ICMR
Geo Spatial Information – Arogyasetu
and Sahyog Apps
India’s First Gas Exchange- Liquified Petroleum
Natural Gas
The IGX is a digital trading
platform that will allow buyers
and sellers of natural gas to
trade both in the spot market
and in the forward market for
imported natural gas across
three hubs, Dahej and Hazira in
Gujarat, and Kakinada in
Andhra Pradesh.
 Natural Gas Energy
Advantages Disadvantages Constraints Govt. Way forward
Programs

High Energy Low density Imports HELP (Hydro Regasification

Density Carbon
Exploration
Policy)

Easy to produce , High Handling Limited Open Acreage Alternatives

use Costs Resource Policy

Wide variety of Concentrated at

use in Industries few locations
 DEXAMETHASONE

Dexamethasone is a corticosteroid, an easily available medicine that

prevents the release of substances in the body that cause
inflammation. Its effects are frequently seen within a day, and last for
about three days.

The drug is used when there is any inflammation in the body due to
infection or injury.

The low-cost, anti-inflammatory steroid is well known in the world of

sport. Dexamethasone has been used for years by sportspersons to
hasten their rehabilitation from injuries and recover from infections.
Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence
GPAI will be supported by
a Secretariat, to be hosted by
Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development
(OECD) in Paris, as well as by two
Centers of Expertise- one each in
Montreal and Paris.
 GM Crops in India
Genetically Modified Crops in India
➢ In India, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) is
the apex body that allows for commercial release of GM crops.
➢ In 2002, the GEAC had allowed the commercial release of Bt
cotton. More than 95 per cent of the country’s cotton area has
since then come under Bt cotton.
➢ Use of the unapproved GM variant can attract a jail term of 5
years and fine of Rs 1 lakh under the Environmental Protection
Act , 1989.
Use of Tech to fight against COVID-19
a. AI to identify, track and forecast outbreaks

b. AI to help diagnose the virus, Process healthcare claims, Develop drugs

c. AI to identify non-compliance or infected individuals

d. Drones deliver medical supplies

e. Robots sterilize, deliver food and supplies and perform other tasks

f. Nano Technology for Advanced fabrics offer protection

g. Supercomputers working on a coronavirus vaccine

Examples:

✓ Emerging technologies are being deployed all across

Asia to help fight the coronavirus outbreak.
✓ China are using robots to disinfect hospitals and deliver
medical supplies.
✓ In Singapore, government data has enabled detailed
mapping of the outbreak and in South Korea, authorities
are tracking potential carriers using cell phone satellite
technology.
Soap or Sanitizer?
 CMS- Bonn Convention
India is hosting the 13th Conference of Parties (COP)
of the Convention on the Conservation of
Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) from
17th to 22nd February, 2020 at Gandhinagar in
Gujarat.
•The theme of CMS COP-13 is ‘Migratory species
connect the planet and we welcome them home’.
•The mascot for CMS COP-13 is ‘Gibi – The Great
Indian Bustard’.
•It is a critically endangered species (according to the
IUCN) and has been accorded the highest protection
status (listed in Schedule I) under the Wildlife
Protection Act, 1972.
Other Info:
1983- UNEP
Also referred to as the Bonn Convention
Legally Binding
Once in 3 years
Appendix I

Appendix II

India has signed a non legally binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

with CMS on the conservation and management of Siberian Cranes (1998),
Marine Turtles (2007), Dugongs (2008) and Raptors (2016).
India is a temporary home to several migratory animals and birds. The important
among these include Amur Falcons, Bar headed Geese, Black necked cranes,
Marine turtles, Dugongs, Humpback Whales, etc.
Beach Environment & Aesthetic
Management System (BEAMS)
Infrastructure Facilities, Pollution Abatement & Safety/Surveillance Services
for Pilot Beaches of India

A “Clean” Beach is the primary indicator of the Coastal environmental quality

& management. However, the coastal region in India is highly susceptible to
litter accumulation. The presence of such debris not only affects the aesthetic
appeal of beaches negatively but also reduces their recreational (tourism)
value drastically.
To plan sustainable tourism and healthy coastal management, MoEF&CC has
conceived an integrated coastal management scheme viz. BEAMS (also
referred to as Beach Management Services) to reduce existing pollutants on
beaches and to aspire & achieve such high International Standards in India.
The main objective of setting up of BEAMS
programme is to promote sustainable
development in coastal regions of India for
the beach management authorities to strive
to achieve high international standards in
four categories of:
❑ Environmental Management including
cleanliness, solid waste management
in beaches.
❑ Environment Education.
❑ Safety & Security of Beachgoers.
❑ Bathing Water Quality Standards.
Budget 2020 on S&T
 ICT in Education
i. PM e- VIDYA
A comprehensive initiative - unifies all efforts related to digital/online/on-air education.
1. DIKSHA (one nation-one digital platform) - nation’s digital infrastructure for providing quality e-content
in school education for all the states/UTs.
2. TV (one class-one channel) where one dedicated channel per grade for each of the classes 1 to 12 will
provide access to quality educational material.
3. SWAYAM online courses in MOOCS format for school and higher education.
4. IITPAL for IITJEE/NEET preparation.
5. Air through Community radio and CBSE Shiksha Vani podcast.
6. Study material for the differently abled developed on Digitally Accessible Information System
(DAISY) and in sign language on NIOS website/ YouTube.
7. Manodarpan initiative - It is being launched to provide psychosocial support to students, teachers and
families for mental health and emotional wellbeing.
8. National Foundational Literacy Mission
ii. SAMARTH ERP
The Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has
developed an e-governance platform ‘SAMARTH Enterprise
ERP:
Resource Planning (ERP)’ under the National Mission of
Education in Information and Communication Technology Enterprise Resource Planning
Scheme (NMEICT). (ERP) refers to a type of software
SAMARTH ERP is an open source, open standard enabled used to manage day-to-day
robust, secure, scalable, and evolutionary process automation business activities such as
engine for Universities and Higher Educational Institutions. accounting, procurement, project
The platform has been implemented at the National management, risk management
Institute of Technology (NIT), Kurukshetra, a and compliance, and supply chain
participating unit under the World Bank-supported operations.
Technical Education Quality Improvement Program ERP in a University can improve
(TEQIP). management and administration.
 Moderna’s COVID-19 Vaccine
mRNA-1273 vaccine
• mRNA-1273 vaccine is the working name of US firm
Moderna’s vaccine.
• US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases (NIAID).
• The mRNA in the name means messenger RNA,
which carries the genetic formula for the coding of a
specific protein.
• The vaccine, when injected into a person, codes for
the spike protein.
Pandemic, Syndemic and Endemic
1. Pandemic - A pandemic is declared when a new disease for
which people do not have immunity spreads around the world
beyond expectations.
2. Epidemic - An epidemic is a large outbreak, one that spreads
among a population or region. It is less severe than pandemic
due to a limited area of spread.
3. Endemic - A disease is called endemic when the presence or
usual prevalence of its infectious agent is constant within a
given geographical area or population group.
4. Syndemic - A Syndemic is a situation when two or more
epidemics interact synergistically to produce an increased
burden of disease in a population.
Micro RNA
They are non-coding
molecules, meaning that they do
not translate into protein.
They are part of our line of attack
against a viral infection.
They fight the virus by latching
on to the virus’s genetic material
(RNA) and cutting it.
 Eventbot
The Computer Emergency Response of Team
(CERT) of India has issued warning against a
new malware called “EventBot”.
The malware steals personal financial
information from Android phone users.
The Eventbot is a Trojan. It cheats victims
secretly attacking computer or phone
operating system.
It targets money-transfer services, financial
applications.
 Geo Textiles
Coir Geo textiles, a permeable fabric, natural, strong, highly
durable, resistant to rots, moulds and moisture, free from any
microbial attack, has finally been accepted as a good material for
rural road construction under the PMGSY-III.
International Research Initiatives:

Thirty Meter Telescope

 Pulse Polio Program
With the global initiative of eradication of polio in 1988 following World Health Assembly resolution
in 1988, Pulse Polio Immunization programme was launched in India in 1995. Children in the age
group of 0-5 years administered polio drops during National and Sub-national immunization rounds
(in high risk areas) every year. About 172 million children are immunized during each National
Immunization Day (NID).
The last polio case in the country was reported from Howrah district of West Bengal with date of
onset 13th January 2011. Thereafter no polio case has been reported in the country (25th May 2012).
WHO on 24th February 2012 removed India from the list of countries with active endemic wild polio
virus transmission.
Objective :
The Pulse Polio Initiative was started with an objective of achieving hundred per cent coverage under
Oral Polio Vaccine. It aimed to immunize children through improved social mobilization, plan mop-up
operations in areas where poliovirus has almost disappeared and maintain high level of morale
among the public
GSAT 30
National e Mobility Mission Plan 2020
 Blackrock Malware
A new Android
malware named
BlackRock has been
discovered that steals
data such as password
and credit card details
from 337 apps
including some of the
popular ones like
Gmail, Amazon,
Netflix, Uber, and
more.
The malware steals login credentials including username and

passwords) and sends prompt to users to enter payment credit

card details.

It collects data through a technique called “overlays”.

It basically detects when a user interacts with a legitimate app

and places a fake window on top that asks for login and credit

card details before the user enters the actual app.

 3. Jio 5G
The 5G networks will have even faster speeds with latency down
to between 1-10 milliseconds.

Latency is the time a device takes to communicate with the

network, which stands at an average of up to 50 milliseconds for
4G networks across the world.

It uses beam tracking to follow all devices on the network to

ensure consistent connection in real-time for the device.

5G networks are also designed to multiple-input multiple-output

(MIMO) efficient which improves signal throughput for all devices
on the network.
4. Vaccines in News-
I. Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has
given approval to the first fully indigenously
developed Pneumococcal Polysaccharide
Conjugate Vaccine.

II. India has started phase I/II clinical

trials of Covid-19 vaccine - ZyCoV-D, designed
and developed by Zydus (a pharmaceutical
company) with support from the Department
of Biotechnology (DBT).
National Biopharma Mission

❖ It is an industry-academia collaborative mission for accelerating biopharmaceutical

development in the country.
❖ It was launched in 2017 at a total cost of Rs. 1500 crore and is 50% co-funded
by World Bank loan.
❖ It is being implemented by the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council
(BIRAC).
❖ BIRAC is a Public Sector Enterprise, set up by the Department of Biotechnology
(DBT), Ministry of Science & Technology.
❖ Under this Mission, the Government has launched Innovate in India (i3)
programme to create an enabling ecosystem to promote entrepreneurship and
indigenous manufacturing in the biopharma sector.
❖ Objectives: Development of vaccines, medical devices, diagnostics and
biotherapeutics besides, strengthening the clinical trial capacity and building
technology transfer capabilities in the country.
 5. Global Fund
Recently, ‘key populations affected by HIV/AIDS (or KPs)’ have
protested for being ignored by governments and multilateral agencies
(including United Nations) in Covid-19 related emergency relief efforts.

▪ They have petitioned the Global Fund to Fight

AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (or simply the Global Fund),
demanding allocation to meet their basic survival needs of food,
shelter, and emergency medical care.
▪ KPs include sex workers, transpeople, gay and bisexual men, drug
users, and people living with HIV/AIDS.
Global Fund:
❖ The Global Fund is an international financing and partnership organization.
❖ It was created in 2000 and its secretariat is located in Geneva, Switzerland.
❖ The Global Fund aims to attract, leverage and invest additional resources
to end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria to support
attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals.

❖ India joined the Global Fund as a donor in 2006, and has contributed a
total USD 46.5 million to date.
❖ In 2019, the Government of India pledged USD 22 million to the Global
Fund's Sixth Replenishment for 2020-22, demonstrating shared
commitment toward ending the epidemics of HIV, TB and malaria.
6. Earthquake Prediction
o The magnitude scale is known as the Richter scale. The
magnitude relates to the energy released during the earthquake
which is expressed in absolute numbers, 0-10.

o The intensity scale or Mercalli scale takes into account the visible
damage cause d by the event. The range of intensity scale is
from 1-12.
7. Rewa Solar Power Plant
Solar PV Energy
Solar Thermal Energy
 Solar Energy
Advantages Disadvantages Constraints Govt. Programs Way forward

Renewable Intermittency High maintenance National Solar Promote

cost Mission decentralized
power production
No direct Disposal of Solar Land use concerns Solar Park Scheme Roof top solar
emissions cells-
Geographical Grid Connectivity National Wind Solar related
Advantage and Solar Hybrid maintenance and
Policy , 2017 repair industry
Decentralized and Revised
distributed Renewable Energy
Target – 450 GW
Employment KUSUM
Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects, also known as Ultra Mega Solar
Parks, are a series of solar power projects planned by the Ministry of
New and Renewable Energy of the Union Government of India.
Each power project has a minimum capacity of 500 MW.
8. Malabar Exercise
9. Non Personal Data sharing: Kris
Gopalakrishnan Committee
A government committee headed by Infosys co-founder
Kris Gopalakrishnan has suggested that non-personal data
generated in the country be allowed to be harnessed by
various domestic companies and entities.
Kris Gopalakrishnan committee
• The government committee, which submitted its report has
classified non-personal data into three main categories,
namely public non-personal data, community non-personal
data and private non-personal data.
• It has also suggested setting up of a new authority which
would be empowered to monitor the use and mining of such
non-personal data.
10. NATGRID
11. COVID-19 T Cells
4. FoldScope
It was developed by Manu Prakash and is part of the "frugal
science" movement which aims to make cheap and easy tools available
for scientific use in the developing world
5. COVID 19 related Drugs
a) Remdesivir
b) CobiFlu- Glenmark- Flavipinavir
c) Dexamthanosisn
d) Umifenovir

CSIR constituent lab CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute(CDRI) Lucknow,

has received permission for carrying out Phase III randomised clinical trial
of antiviral drug Umifenovir.
7. Zoonosis and Reverse Zoonosis
1. Digital Solutions in India
a) DigiLocker
b) e- Courts
c) eNAM
d) ePathasala, SWAYAM Portal
e) UMANG
 2. Digital Payments
10 Types of Digital Payment Methods in India
1.Banking cards
2.USSD
3.Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS)
4.UPI
5.Mobile Wallets
6.Bank pre-paid cards
7.Point of Sale (PoS)
8.Internet Banking
9.Mobile Banking
10.Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) app
3. Technology for Wildlife Conservation
a) Radio Telemetry/ Radio tagging
b) Camera Traps
c) Geographic Information System
d) Turtle Tracking Devices
e) Drones
f) SIM Cards
g) Automatic Bioaccoustic Monitoring
devices
h) Remote Sensing
4. Anti Viral vs Vaccine
Solar Eclipse
Which of the following is correct?

A. Umbra is the full shadow region where

as Penumbra is the partially shadowed
region.
B. Solar eclipse is visible to all parts of the
world at a time where as lunar eclipse is
not.
C. Lunar eclipse happens once in a month
D. None of the above
Quick Reaction Surface to Air Missile
Hypersonic Missiles

Avangard and the Kinzhal

Hydroponics
Which of the following are the advantages of
Hydroponics?
1. Land Conservation
2. Less use of fertilizers and pesticides
3. Healthy alternate food
Choose correct code
A. 1,2 only
B. 3 only
C. 1,3 only
D. 1,2,3
1. Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals
In order to protect the migratory species throughout their range countries, a
Convention on Conservation of Migratory Species (CMS), has been in force since
1983, under the aegis of United Nations Environment Programme.
Also referred to as the Bonn Convention, it provides a global platform for the
conservation and sustainable use of migratory animals and their habitats.
The Conference of Parties (COP) is the decision-making organ of this convention.
CMS Appendices
Under this convention, migratory species threatened with extinction are listed 1.
Appendix I
2. Appendix II of the Convention.
India has been a Party to the CMS since 1983.
COP13-
✓ The UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) 13th Conference
of Parties (COP) on the Conservation of Migratory Species of
Wild Animals (CMS) concluded in Gandhinagar (Gujarat) on
22nd February 2020.
✓ The theme of CMS COP-13 was ‘Migratory species connect
the planet and we welcome them home’.
✓ The mascot for CMS COP-13 was ‘Gibi – The Great Indian
Bustard’. It is a critically endangered species (according to
the IUCN) and has been accorded the highest protection
status (listed in Schedule I) under the Wildlife Protection
Act, 1972.
Takeaways of COP13-
✓ The CMS COP-13 has adopted the Gandhinagar Declaration which calls
for migratory species and the concept of ‘ecological connectivity’ to be
integrated and prioritized in the post-2020 global biodiversity
framework.
The post-2020 global biodiversity framework is likely to be adopted by
the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP 15) to the
Convention on Biological Diversity in China’s Kunming in October 2020.
✓ Ten migratory species were added to CMS Appendices at COP-
13 including the Asian Elephant, Jaguar and Great Indian Bustard.
✓ India, as COP-13 host, has assumed the role of COP Presidency for the
three years.
✓ The Indian sub-continent is also part of the major bird flyway
network, i.e, the Central Asian Flyway (CAF) that covers areas
between the Arctic and Indian Oceans.
✓ India has also launched the National Action Plan for the
conservation of migratory species under the Central Asian Flyway.
✓ India pledged to focus on the conservation of migratory birds along
the Central Asian Flyway and announced the establishment of an
institutional facility for undertaking research and assessment of the
conservation of migratory birds, the conservation of marine turtles,
reduction of pollution from micro-plastic and single-use plastic,
transboundary protected areas, and sustainable infrastructure
development.
2. Anthocyanin Biofortified Colored Wheat
Anthocyanins are a type of flavonoid, a class of compounds with
antioxidant effects. Found naturally in a number of foods,
anthocyanins are the pigments that give red, purple, and blue
plants their rich coloring.

In addition to acting as antioxidants and fighting free radicals,

anthocyanins may offer anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and anti-
cancer benefits.
 5. BS-VI Fuel
Bharat Stage Emission Standards are emission regulations
implemented by the government to keep a check on emissions
from motor vehicles.
Introduced first in 2000, the current BS-IV norms were enforced in
2017, after BS-II and BS-III norms, which were enforced in 2005
and 2010 respectively.
BS-V has been skipped in order to have a more stringent standard
to curb pollution levels, apart from the gap between the
enforcement of different emission standards also dwindling.
Emission limits:
According to reports, BS-VI compliant petrol cars are required
to emit no more than 60mg/km of NOx (Nitrogen Oxides)
emissions, versus the cap of 80mg/km for BS-IV vehicles.
The particulate matter (PM) limit has been capped at
4.5mg/km for petrol engines that use direct injection, reports
further state.

As for diesel cars, NOx emissions have to be reduced from

250mg/km to 80mg/km, HC+NOx emissions from 300mg/km
to 170mg/km, and PM emissions from 25mg/km to 4.5mg/km.
7. Assisted Reproductive
Technology Bill, 2020
 8.SUTRA PIC
✓ Recently, the Ministry of Science and Technology has launched the “Scientific
Utilization through Research Augmentation-Prime Products from Indigenous
Cows” (SUTRA-PIC India).
✓ It is one of the research programmes into indigenous cattle announced during
the 2019-20 Union Budget, which aims to develop products as well as improve the
genetic quality of indigenous cattle breeds.
✓ Key Points
✓ It is a collaborative effort of the Department of Biotechnology, the Council of
Scientific and Industrial Research, the Ministry for AYUSH (Ayurveda, Unani,
Siddha, Homoeopathy) and the Indian Council of Medical Research.
✓ The department of the Science for Equity, Empowerment and Development
(SEED), under the Ministry of Science and Technology, is in charge of the
programme.

✓ It can be noted that SEED had also constituted a National Steering Committee to
initiate a National Programme on “Scientific Validation and Research on
Panchagavya” (SVAROP) in 2017.
The program consists of five themes:

1. Uniqueness of Indigenous Cows,

2. Prime-products from Indigenous Cows for Medicine and
Health,
3. Prime-products from Indigenous Cows for Agricultural
Applications,
4. Prime-products from Indigenous Cows for Food and Nutrition,
5. Prime-products from indigenous cows-based utility items.
The above themes aim to perform:

• Scientific research on the complete characterization of milk and

milk products derived from Indian indigenous cows.
• Scientific research on nutritional and therapeutic properties of
curd and ghee prepared from indigenous breeds of cows by
traditional methods.
• Development of standards for traditionally processed dairy
products of Indian-origin cows, etc.
9. Swine flu
10. End to End Encryption
3. Swadeshi Microprocessor
Challenge
Union Minister of Electronics & Information Technology
launched “Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge- Innovate
Solutions for #Aatmanirbhar Bharat” to provide further
impetus to the strong ecosystem of Start-up, innovation
and research in the country.

IIT Madras and Center for Development of Advance Computing (CDAC) have developed two
microprocessors named SHAKTI (32 bit) and VEGA (64 bit) respectively using Open Source
Architecture under the aegis of Microprocessor Development Programme of Ministry of
Electronics and IT.
 4. Centre for Biopharma Analysis- National
Biopharma Mission
Secretary of Department of Biotechnology (DBT) inaugurated the Pune-
based Center for Biopharma Analysis (CBA).
This center is supported by the National Biopharma Mission of the
Department of Biotechnology, DBT, and Biotechnology Industry
Research Assistance Council, BIRAC.

It will provide high-quality analytical services to biopharmaceutical

developers and manufacturers and create long lasting value for
bio-entrepreneurs and industry.

CBA is expected to play a pivotal role in supporting biopharma

innovations from academic and government research labs, start-
ups and many Indian companies.
5. Sarabhai Crater- Chandrayan 2
 6. Srijan Portal
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has launched ‘SRIJAN’ portal
which is a one stop shop online portal that provides access to the
vendors to take up items that can be taken up for indigenization.
7. Space Bricks
In a significant step towards space exploration, a team of researchers
from the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Indian
Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru has developed a sustainable
process to make space bricks on the lunar surface.

The process enables making load bearing

bricks by using lunar soil, bacteria and
guar beans.
8. Disasters in News: Oil Spill- Mauritius,
Floods in India
9. Naval Innovation and Indigenisation
Organisation (NIIO)
10. Saliva Direct
11. National Digital Health Mission
12. Ninja Drones for railways
13. Barakh Nuclear Power Plant
14. Serological Survey- Herd Immunity
15. Aircraft Carriers of India- INS Viraat
1. Microbes
 Types of Microbes
Microbe Virus Bacteria Protozoa Fungus Algae Worm

Size/ 1. Very small, 1. Prokaryotic, 1. Single cell 1. Eukaryotic 1. Eukaryotic 1. Not a

Genetic just a protein single cell with Eukaryotic, multicell- DNA single or microbe
Material membrane with defined DNA DNA with cell with cell multicellular 2. Disease
RNA or DNA 2. No nuclear membrane membrane 2. Chlorophyll causing
inside it membrane 2. Bigger than synthesis like agent
2. Not 3. Bigger than bacteria plants
considered as virus
living organism
Cell Inside the host Inside or Inside or Inside or - -
division cell outside the outside the outside the
host cell host cell host cell

Diseases Corona, TB, Leprosy, Plasmodium- Athlete’s foot Contaminated Filaria,

Influenza, Pneumonia, etc Malaria sea food Helminths
HIV, Dengue, poisoning
etc
2. How different masks work?
Nano Technology
Nano Mission:
The Government of India launched the Nano Mission in May 2007 as an
"umbrella capacity-building programme".
As a result of the efforts led by the Nano Mission, today, India is amongst
the top five nations in the world in terms of scientific publications in nano
science and technology (moving from 4th to the 3rd position).
The Nano Mission itself has resulted in about 5000 research papers and
about 900 Ph.Ds and also some useful products like nano hydrogel based
eye drops, pesticide removal technology for drinking water, water filters
for arsenic and fluoride removal, nanosilver based antimicrobial textile
coating, etc.
4.
Disinfection
Trolley
5. Samvita
Scheme- Drone
Technology
6. Drones –
Applications in
fighting COVID-19
Other Applications of Drones
7. Sathi
Chatbots-
Artificial
Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence
Investment on education pays best interest