Prelims 2016 - IAS4Sure S&T Notes - pdf01

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Contents
Biotechnology ........................................................................................ 4
3D Bioprinting ............................................................................................................................ 4
Bedaquiline ................................................................................................................................ 4
BIRAC Ace Fund .......................................................................................................................... 5
Broad Spectrum Antibiotic ......................................................................................................... 5
Colistin ....................................................................................................................................... 5
Compulsory Licensing ................................................................................................................ 5
CRISPR /Cas9 .............................................................................................................................. 5
Evergreening .............................................................................................................................. 5
GenomeAsia 100k project.......................................................................................................... 5
Gene Therapy ............................................................................................................................. 6
GM mosquitoes .......................................................................................................................... 6
Human Genome Project - Write ................................................................................................ 6
Ideonella Sakeinsis ..................................................................................................................... 6
Meldonium................................................................................................................................. 7
Patent Regulation Framework ................................................................................................... 7
Project ReAnima ........................................................................................................................ 7
Regulation of GMOs ................................................................................................................... 7
Rotavirus Vaccine ....................................................................................................................... 7
Xpert/MTB.................................................................................................................................. 7
Defence .................................................................................................. 8
Agni 5 ......................................................................................................................................... 8
Akash Missile.............................................................................................................................. 8
Amogha ...................................................................................................................................... 8
Ashwin : Advanced Air Defence ................................................................................................. 8
Astra Missile ............................................................................................................................... 8
Banshee...................................................................................................................................... 8
Barak 8 ....................................................................................................................................... 8
Brahmos ..................................................................................................................................... 9
HTT-40 ........................................................................................................................................ 9
INS Astradharani ........................................................................................................................ 9
INS Vikrant ................................................................................................................................. 9
Kalvari Class Submarines............................................................................................................ 9
K-4 Ballistic Missile ..................................................................................................................... 9
K15 Sagarika ............................................................................................................................. 10
Lakshya..................................................................................................................................... 10
MR-SAM ................................................................................................................................... 10
Nag missile ............................................................................................................................... 10
Nirbhay missile ......................................................................................................................... 10
Prithvi-II Missile........................................................................................................................ 10
Silica Aerogel ............................................................................................................................ 11
Tejas - Light Combat Aircraft ................................................................................................... 11
Varunastra................................................................................................................................ 11
Energy and Environment ...................................................................... 11
Bharat Stage Emission Standards............................................................................................. 11
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Breakthrough Energy Coalition ................................................................................................ 12

Catalytic Converter .................................................................................................................. 12
Fog Bow.................................................................................................................................... 13
Gas Hydrates ............................................................................................................................ 13
I-LTEO ....................................................................................................................................... 13
LED ........................................................................................................................................... 13
Noor 1 ...................................................................................................................................... 14
Raptors MoU ............................................................................................................................ 14
Rare earth elements ................................................................................................................ 14
SAFAR ....................................................................................................................................... 14
Smart Grid ................................................................................................................................ 14
Solar Photovoltaics .................................................................................................................. 15
Stratospheric sulfate aerosols (geoengineering) ..................................................................... 15
Transformative Carbon Asset Facility (TCAF) ........................................................................... 15
Health ................................................................................................... 16
Alloxan ..................................................................................................................................... 16
BGR-34 ..................................................................................................................................... 16
Brittle Bone Disease ................................................................................................................. 16
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.................................................................................. 16
Dengvaxia ................................................................................................................................. 16
Diabetes ................................................................................................................................... 16
Genvoya ................................................................................................................................... 17
Injectable Polio Vaccine ........................................................................................................... 17
Jet Lag ...................................................................................................................................... 17
Meldonium............................................................................................................................... 17
Microcephaly ........................................................................................................................... 17
Mono Sodium Glutamate......................................................................................................... 18
Panama Disease ....................................................................................................................... 18
Project Sunrise ......................................................................................................................... 18
Super Bug ................................................................................................................................. 18
Zika virus .................................................................................................................................. 18
ICT ........................................................................................................ 19
3D Printing ............................................................................................................................... 19
5D Data Storage ....................................................................................................................... 19
Big Data .................................................................................................................................... 19
Cognitive Computing................................................................................................................ 19
Cognitive Radio ........................................................................................................................ 19
Electronic Nose ........................................................................................................................ 20
Geo-Targeting .......................................................................................................................... 20
Google Street View .................................................................................................................. 20
IPv6........................................................................................................................................... 20
Kilo-Core................................................................................................................................... 21
Light-Fidelity (LiFi) .................................................................................................................... 21
Sunway Taihu Light .................................................................................................................. 21
UMANG Application ................................................................................................................. 21
Watson (Computer) ................................................................................................................. 21
White-Fi.................................................................................................................................... 21
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YETI Project .............................................................................................................................. 22

Super Wi-Fi ............................................................................................................................... 22
Miscellaneous ....................................................................................... 22
CASPOL ..................................................................................................................................... 22
Hypersonic Technology ............................................................................................................ 22
Heliborne Transient Electromagnetic Technique .................................................................... 23
IMPRINT India .......................................................................................................................... 23
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry ............................................................... 23
Mukhota ................................................................................................................................... 23
New Elements in Periodic Table .............................................................................................. 23
Periodic Table........................................................................................................................... 24
Pokkali/jyothi ........................................................................................................................... 24
Potassium/Sodium Bromate .................................................................................................... 24
Potassium Chlorate .................................................................................................................. 25
Quantum Spin Liquid................................................................................................................ 25
RFID Technology ...................................................................................................................... 25
Scramjet Technology................................................................................................................ 25
GeoTextile ................................................................................................................................ 25
Maitri........................................................................................................................................ 26
Graphene ................................................................................................................................. 26
Nanotechnology .................................................................................... 26
Carbon nanotube ..................................................................................................................... 26
Ceria Nanoflakes ...................................................................................................................... 26
Microplastics ............................................................................................................................ 26
Nanofabrication ....................................................................................................................... 27
Space .................................................................................................... 27
Indian satellite program ........................................................................................................... 27
Aditya L1 Satellite .................................................................................................................... 27
Air-breathing propulsion systems ............................................................................................ 28
ARIES Telescope ....................................................................................................................... 28
Astrobiology Mission ............................................................................................................... 28
Astrosat .................................................................................................................................... 28
BEAM........................................................................................................................................ 29
BeiDou Navigation System ....................................................................................................... 29
Cartosat 2 ................................................................................................................................. 29
Cassini ...................................................................................................................................... 30
CE-20 (Cryogenic Engine) ......................................................................................................... 30
Cubesats ................................................................................................................................... 30
Einstein Ring............................................................................................................................. 30
Exomars.................................................................................................................................... 30
Exoplanet ................................................................................................................................. 31
Exploration Mission 1 (EM 1) ................................................................................................... 31
Falcon 9 .................................................................................................................................... 31
GAGAN ..................................................................................................................................... 31
Geospatial Information ............................................................................................................ 32
Geosynchronous vs Geostationary Orbit ................................................................................. 32
GIRI (Gadanki Ionospheric Radar Interferometer)................................................................... 32
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Goldilocks Zone ........................................................................................................................ 32

Gravitational Waves ................................................................................................................. 32
Hayabusa 2 ............................................................................................................................... 33
HD 131399Ab ........................................................................................................................... 33
Hubble Space Telescope .......................................................................................................... 33
IBEX .......................................................................................................................................... 33
India Neutrino observatory...................................................................................................... 33
IRNSS (NAVIC) .......................................................................................................................... 33
IRNSS-1G .................................................................................................................................. 34
Juno .......................................................................................................................................... 34
K2-33b ...................................................................................................................................... 35
Keppler Laws ............................................................................................................................ 35
Kepler Space Telescope ........................................................................................................... 35
Kepler1647b ............................................................................................................................. 35
Kuiper belt................................................................................................................................ 35
Lagrangian points ..................................................................................................................... 36
LIGO.......................................................................................................................................... 36
LISA Pathfinder......................................................................................................................... 36
Mars one .................................................................................................................................. 37
MAST ........................................................................................................................................ 37
MOM ........................................................................................................................................ 37
NARL (National Atmospheric Research Laboratory) ................................................................ 37
NASA New Horizons ................................................................................................................. 37
NASA Dawn Mission ................................................................................................................. 37
NEO shield ................................................................................................................................ 38
NISAR........................................................................................................................................ 38
PSLV C-34 ................................................................................................................................. 38
RLV-TD ...................................................................................................................................... 38
Rosetta ..................................................................................................................................... 39
SOFIA ........................................................................................................................................ 39
Space X ..................................................................................................................................... 39
SPHERE instrument .................................................................................................................. 39
Space Launch System ............................................................................................................... 39
Thirty meter telescope............................................................................................................. 39
Biotechnology
3D Bioprinting
 3D printing of biological components like cells, tissues
 Cell function and viability are preserved within such components
 3D bioprinting utilizes the layer-by-layer method to create tissue-like structures that are later used in medical
and tissue engineering fields
 Bioprinting can be used to print tissues and organs to help research drugs and pills
Bedaquiline
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 It is a drug for multi-drug resistant TB patients

 Bedaquiline will be given to multi-drug resistant TB patients with resistance to either all fluoroquinolone and/or
all second line injectable and extensive drug resistant TB.
BIRAC Ace Fund
 The BIRAC AcE Fund has been launched to accelerate the growth of entrepreneurs in the Biotechnology sector
in India
 Fund will be operated by BIRAC, which is a Public Sector Undertaking under the Department of
Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology
 BIRAC stands for Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council
o It is a Not for Profit Company.
o t is mandated to foster and promote innovation research in biotech industries specially start-ups and
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)
Broad Spectrum Antibiotic

 It is an antibiotic that acts against a wide range of disease-causing bacteria
 A broad-spectrum antibiotic acts against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, in contrast to
a narrow-spectrum antibiotic, which is effective against specific families of bacteria.
Colistin
 It is an antibiotic produced by certain strains of the bacteria
 Colistin is an old drug. It is not used much because of its side effects.
 But, it remains one of the last-resort antibiotics for multidrug-resistant bacteria
Compulsory Licensing
What is compulsory licensing?
A compulsory license provides that the owner of a patent or copyright licenses the use of their rights against payment
either set by law or determined through some form of adjudication or arbitration. In essence, under a compulsory
license, an individual or company seeking to use another’s intellectual property can do so without seeking the rights
holder’s consent, and pays the rights holder a set fee for the license. This is an exception to the general rule under
intellectual property laws that the intellectual property owner enjoys exclusive rights that it may license – or decline to
license – to others.
CRISPR /Cas9
 Crispr/Cas9 is related to genome editing. (Genome: Complete DNA sequence)

 In simple terms, a DNA sequence is cut at a particular spot and then with help of a guide RNA (gRNA) that place
is re-made with desired base pairing. This way genes can be altered.
 Cas9 is the enzyme which acts as a "molecular scissors" and helps in cutting the DNA sequence.
Evergreening
What is evergreening?
 As long as a company has patent for A drug, others cannot manufacture it. But when the patent is about to
expire, the company just slightly modifies the original drug formula to create a new drug and seeks patent for
that new drug. This practice is known as “everygreening”
 Under section 3(d) of Indian patent act Evergreening is prohibited.
GenomeAsia 100k project

 GenomeAsia 100K is a non-profit consortium with a mission to generate genomic information for Asian
populations
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 It aims to promote genetic understanding of Asian populations to support research and discovery for healthy
living and longevity by sequencing 100,000 individuals
 It is intended to initially include populations from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia,
Myanmar, Nepal, Bhuttan, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Korea and Japan
Gene Therapy
 Gene therapy is the therapeutic delivery of nucleic acid polymers into a patient's cells as a drug to treat disease
 It is an attempt to cure disease via modification in DNA
 The origins of gene therapy can be traced back to the first live attenuated vaccines in the 1950s. Although
attenuated vaccines do not alter extant human genes, viruses are RNA polymers with their own genetic code that
acts upon human cells, thus live vaccines can be considered a primitive form of gene therapy.
 CRISPR/Cas9 is a method of gene therapy
GM mosquitoes
What is Genetically modified organism and their significance?
 GMO is any organism whose genetic material has been altered using genetic engineering techniques (i.e., a
genetically engineered organism)
 GMOs are used to produce many medications and genetically modified foods and are widely used in scientific
research and to produce other goods
 The first genetically modified mouse was in 1973, and the first plant was produced in 1983
What are GM mosquitoes?

 In 2010, scientists created "malaria-resistant mosquitoes" in the laboratory
 Genetically modified male mosquitoes containing a lethal gene have been developed to combat the spread of
other diseases like dengue fever
What is the controversy related to GMOs?

 The dispute involves buyers, biotechnology companies, governmental regulators, nongovernmental
organizations, and scientists
 The key areas of controversy related to GMO food are
o whether GM food should be labeled,
o the role of government regulators,
o the effect of GM crops on health and the environment,
o the effect on pesticide resistance,
o the impact of GM crops for farmers, and
o the role of GM crops in feeding the world population.
 There also ethical issues. Should humans be tempering with genetic material is the main issue? If yes, till what
level?
Human Genome Project - Write
 The project aims to write (create) a synthetic DNA rather than reading a DNA
 HGP-Write seeks to reduce the cost of engineering DNA segments synthetically in the laboratory
 Potential applications: Growing transplantable human organs, engineering cancer resistance, engineering
immunity to viruses and accelerating vaccine & drug development using human cells and organs
 Concerns: This project raises concern over the extent to which human life can or should be engineered. It also
raises troubling ethical concerns as this project has potential of creating children with no biological parents
Ideonella Sakeinsis
 It is a bacteria
 It is capable of breaking down PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) plastic
 It is isolated from outside a plastic bottle recycling facility
 The discovery of Ideonella sakaiensis has potential importance for the recycling process of PET plastics
 It has spurred discussion about biodegradation as a method of recycling
 It can be genetically modified and used for biodegradation
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Meldonium
Meldonium:
 It is a medical drug (also known as Mildronate) given to patients suffering from heart and circulatory conditions
for enhancing their physical capacity and mental function.
 Its use mainly leads to production more red blood cells (RBCs) in the body in order to increase oxygen supply to
muscles for enhancing endurance.
 It is a banned drug and has been added in the forbidden list by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)
 Why in news? Maria Sharapova banned for 2 years for using this
Patent Regulation Framework

Patent regulation framework
 Indian Patent Office is administered by the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs & Trade Marks
(CGPDTM)
 CGPDTM reports to the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion(DIPP) under the Ministry of Commerce
and Industry.
 It administers the Indian law of Patents, Designs and Trademarks.
Project ReAnima
 It is the world’s first clinical trial on the revival of brain dead patients
 It is a JV between US company and a Rudrapur (Uttrakhand) based hospital
 Why Rudrapur? India currently has no laws for clinical trials on ‘living cadaver’ or brain dead patients. And
since India has no laws, no permissions are required
 It will study the effects of stem cell therapy, Median Nerve Stimulation and a laser therapy on comatose patients
Regulation of GMOs
Regulation of GMOs:
 Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) is the apex regulatory body for GMOs (genetically modified
organisms)
 The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) examines the scientific merits of releasing genetically
modified seeds into the environment. It makes public, the results of tests and studies conducted to test the safety
of transgenic (or GM) crops.
Rotavirus Vaccine
 It is a vaccine used to protect against rotavirus infections

 These viruses are the leading cause of severe diarrhea among young children
 Vaccine reduces risk of death due to diarrhea
 WHO recommended that rotavirus vaccine be included in routine vaccinations especially in areas where the
disease is common.
 India based Bharat Biotech produces Rotavac
Xpert/MTB
 It is a diagnostic test to identify TB DNA and resistance to some medicines

 It is a cartridge based nucleic acid amplification test, automated diagnostic test that can identify Mycobacterium
tuberculosis (MTB) DNA and resistance to rifampicin (RIF).
 WHO endorsed the Xpert MTB/RIF for use in TB endemic countries
 This test has the potential to improve the diagnosis of TB in those that are likely to be missed by traditional tests
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Defence
Agni 5
 It is an intercontinental ballistic missile
 Developed by DRDO
 Range : 5500-5800km
 Engine : 3 stage solid fuel
 Capable of carrying nuclear warheads
Akash Missile
Akash Missile System
 Indigenously developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) under the Integrated
Guided-Missile Development Programme (IGMDP)
 Mid-range surface-to-air anti-aircraft missile
 Supersonic speeds ranging from Mach 2.8 to 3.5
 Nuclear capable
 It is multi target, multi directional, all weather air-defence system consisting of surveillance and tracking radars.
 Akash is powered by Ramjet-rocket propulsion system
Amogha
 Amogha-1 is an anti-tank guided missile.
 It has pin point accuracy for a range up to 2.8 km
 It is under development by Bharat Dynamics at Hyderabad
Ashwin : Advanced Air Defence

Ashwin : Indigenously developed Advanced Air Defence (AAD) interceptor missile
 AAD interceptor missile Ashwin is the advanced version of low altitude supersonic ballistic interceptor missile.
 It is indigenously developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and is capable of
destroying any incoming hostile ballistic missile.
 Features: It is capable of destroying any incoming hostile ballistic missile is 7.5-meter long and weighs around
1.2 tonnes. It has a diameter of less than 0.5 meter.
 It is single-stage solid rocket propelled guided missile. It is equipped with a hi-tech computer, a navigation
system and an electro-mechanical activator.
 The missile also has its own mobile launcher, secure data link for interception, independent tracking and
homing capabilities and sophisticated radars
Astra Missile
 It is a beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM)

 Astra is designed to be capable of engaging targets at varying range and altitudes allowing for engagement of
both short-range targets (up to 20 km) and long-range targets (up to 80 km) using alternative propulsion
modes
Banshee
Banshee : Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)
Barak 8
 Barak is a Hebrew word for lightening

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 It is an Indian-Isreli surface-to-air missile

 It is designed to defend against any type of airborne threat including aircraft, helicopters, anti-ship missiles,
and UAVs as well as cruise missiles and combat jets out to a maximum range of 70 km
 Both maritime and land-based versions of the system exist
 Jointly developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and DRDO
Brahmos
Brahmos
 Supersonic cruise missile
 Designed and developed by BrahMos Aerospace, a joint venture of India and Russia
 It has derived its name from the names of two rivers, India’s Brahmaputra River and Russia’s Moskva River.
 It operates on fire and forget principal
 Capable of being launched from land, sea, sub-sea and air against sea and land targets
 Carrying capacity : 300 Kg
 Speed : Mach 3 (that is, three times the speed of sound)
 Max Range : 290 Km
 It is two-stage missile, the first one being solid and the second one ramjet liquid propellant.
 BrahMos missile already has been inducted into the Indian Army and Navy
HTT-40
 HTT stands for Hindustan Turbo Trainer

 It is a trainer aircraft
 It is two-seater aircraft designed and developed indigenously by the HAL.
INS Astradharani
 It is an indigenously designed and built torpedo launch and recovery vessel
 She was commissioned to Navy in 2015
INS Vikrant
 It is the first aircraft carrier built in India

 The motto of the ship is Jayema Sam Yudhi Sprdhah which is taken from Rig Veda and is translated as "I
defeat those who fight against me".
 The ship is due to be commissioned in late 2018
 Being built by Cochin Shipyard
Kalvari Class Submarines

 It is a class of submarines based on Scorpene class submarines
 It is a class of diesel-electric attack submarine
 They are being built under P75 (Project 75)
 The project was necessitated by the dwindling number of submarines in the Indian Navy.
K-4 Ballistic Missile

K-4 ballistic missile
 The K-4 is part of the K-family of missiles, a series of SLBMs (Submarine-launched ballistic missile).
 The series is named after former president and scientist A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.
 It under development by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to arm the Arihant-class
submarines.
 It is a derivative of nuclear capable Agni series (medium to intercontinental range) missile which are already in
service.
 It has reduced length compared to Agni series.
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 Features: The K-4 missile is an Intermediate range SLBM with effective range of over 3500 km. It is 12 metres
long and has a diameter of 1.3 metres.
 It weighs nearly 17 tonnes. It is powered solid rocket propellant. It can carry a nuclear as well as conventional
warhead weighing up to 2 tonnes.
K15 Sagarika
 It is a nuclear-capable submarine-launched ballistic missile

 It has a range of 750 kilometres
 It forms a part of India's nuclear triad
 It will provide retaliatory nuclear strike capability
 Engine : Two stage, solid-fuelled rocket motors
Lakshya
Lakshya : Pilot less target aircraft
MR-SAM
 MR-SAM stands for medium range surface-to-air missile

 Jointly developed by India and Israel
 Supersonic missile system
 The missile consists of Multi-Functional Surveillance and Threat Alert Radar (MF-STAR) system for detection,
tracking and guidance
 The MR-SAM has strike ranges from 50 to 70 km
 The missile is designed to defend any type of airborne threat including aircraft and helicopters. It can intercept
supersonic aircraft and even missiles
Nag missile
 It is a "Fire and Forget" anti-tank missile
 Developed by DRDO under Integrated Guided Missile Development Program
 It is in service since 2015
Nirbhay missile
 It is a long range missile
 Sub-sonic cruise missile
 Developed by DRDO
 Can carry conventional as well as nuclear war-head
 It can operate in all type of weathers
 Range : 1000km
Prithvi-II Missile
Prithvi-II Missile
 Prithvi-II is a tactical short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) developed by indigenously by Defence Research and
Development Organisation (DRDO).
 It is the first missile indigenously developed by DRDO under India’s prestigious Integrated Guided Missile
Development Program (IGMDP).
 Powered by: Can operate with both liquid and solid fuel twine engines.
 Warheads: Capable of carrying 500 kg to 1,000 kg of nuclear as well as conventional warheads.
 Strike Range: It has strike range of 350 km.
 It has the ability to dodge enemy missiles and uses advanced inertial guidance system with manoeuvring
trajectory to hit its target.
 It has advanced inertial navigation, control and guidance system. It uses advanced inertial guidance system with
manoeuvring trajectory.
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 The missile was inducted into Indian armed forces in 2003.
Silica Aerogel
Silica Aerogel
 ISRO scientists have developed the world’s lightest synthetic material called ‘silica aerogel’ or ‘blue air’ or ‘frozen
smoke’
 Silica aerogel is a nano-structured material with high specific surface area, high porosity, low density, low
dielectric constant and excellent heat insulation properties
 This material has excellent thermal resistance and if used as a filler in soldiers’ uniforms it can possibly help
save many lives at the Siachen glacier
 The material has uses both in space and on Earth
 It can also be used in thermal jacket, foot insoles, as well as in window glazing. It is extremely useful for people
working in very cold environments, in a very strategic way
Tejas - Light Combat Aircraft

Tejas - Light Combat Aircraft
 Made in India
 Single-seat
 Single-jet engine,
 Multi-role light fighter
 It has been pegged as world’s smallest and lightest supersonic fighter
 LCA Tejas is not the first indigenous fighter to be inducted into the IAF. In April 1967, IAF had formed the first
operational squadron with the indigenous HF-24 Marut fighter
 Designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
 Made under Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme, which began in the 1980s to replace India’s ageing MiG-
21 fighters
 Why in news? Defence ministry announced that it will replace MiG-21 now.
Varunastra
 Anti-submarine torpedo
 Indigenously built
 Developed by Naval Science and Technological Laboratory (NSTL), a premier laboratory of DRDO
 It is capable of targeting stealthy and quiet submarines, both in deep and littoral waters in intense counter-
measure environment
 It has a GPS-based locating aid
Energy and Environment
Bharat Stage Emission Standards

What are Bharat Stage Emission Standards?
 Bharat Stage emission standards, introduced in 2000, are emission standards that have been set up by the
Central government to regulate the output of air pollutants from internal combustion engine equipment,
including motor vehicles.
 The different norms are brought into force in accordance with the timeline and standards set up by the Central
Pollution Control Board which comes under the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Climate Change.
What is the mechanism that is followed under BS?

BS is based on Euro norms.
 Euro norms define the maximum limit of pollutant that a vehicle can emit. (CO2, nitrogen oxide, sulfur and
suspended particulate matter)
 If vehicle emits more than this limit, it cannot be sold in Europe.
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 In India, we follow Euro norms under the label “Bharat stage” norms. We are gradually implementing them in
more and more cities
What is the benefit of these norms?

Bharat stage emission standard regulates the output of air pollutants from internal combustion engine equipment,
including motor vehicles.
How are they adopted/ their timelines?

India has been following European emission norms, though with a time lag of five years, with BS-IV norms currently
applicable in 33 cities where the required grade of fuel is available while the rest of the country follows BS-III
standards.
As per the original timeline in the Auto Fuel Policy, BS-IV is to be adopted across the country by 2017, BS V by 2020
and BS-VI by 2024.
Current status:
 BS-III (equivalent to Euro-III) across the country
 BS-IV in major cities
Is the fuel available to all type of vehicles across country?

No, there is a lack of BS standard fuel availability. At present, while passenger vehicle manufacturers have been selling
BS-IV variants even beyond the 33 cities where that fuel is available, all commercial vehicles (heavy trucks and buses)
comply with BS-III norms. These vehicles travel inter-state and therefore have to refuel at BS-III stations. Using BS-
III fuel in BS-IV vehicles lowers efficacy of the engine. Its performance too is affected. The objective of addressing
pollution issue by upgrading to higher emissions norms too remain defeated without uniform fuel availability across
the country.
Why BS thing in news now?

 Government is aiming to implement introduction of the cleaner Bharat Stage- VI fuel in the country by 2020. It
intends to skip BS-V.
 The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has set a deadline of 2017 by which time all the vehicles in the
country must be BS-IV-compliant and 2020 for the rollout of BS-VI fuel.
Why Government skipping BS V?

 Hydrocarbon usage in the country is growing rapidly and it is imperative that technology moves apace to ensure
the damage to the environment is limited.
What are the challenges?

 The government’s decision to leapfrog the Bharat Stage (BS)-V Emission Standards and implement the BS-VI
norms by April 2020, four years ahead of the earlier schedule, will make diesel vehicles costlier by Rs.70,000 to
Rs.1,50,000
 Technology holds the key to achieving the government’s goals of reducing carbon dioxide emissions and oil
imports by 10 per cent and introducing BS-VI-compliant fuel across the country.
 Availability of technology would not be an issue, the key challenge for Original Equipment Manufacturers
(OEMs) would be adapting the available solutions to Indian market conditions in a short time-frame, in a cost-
effective manner
Breakthrough Energy Coalition
 It is a global group of 28 high net worth investors from 10 countries

 It is committed to funding clean energy companies
 It was announced at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference
 The group aims to bolster governmental assistance in renewable energy such as solar energy and wind power to
$20 billion.
 Headed by Bill Gates
Catalytic Converter
 A catalytic converter is an emissions control device that converts toxic gases and pollutants in exhaust gas to less
toxic pollutants by catalysing a redox reaction (oxidation or reduction).
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 Catalytic converters are used with internal combustion engines fuelled by either petrol(gasoline) or diesel as well
as kerosene heaters and stoves
 "Two way" combines oxygen with carbon monoxide (CO) and unburned hydrocarbons (HC) to produce carbon
dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O).
 "Three-way" converters also reduce oxides of nitrogen (NOx)
 Although catalytic converters are most commonly applied to exhaust systems in automobiles, they are also used
on electrical generators, fork lifts, mining equipment, trucks, buses, locomotives and motorcycles. They are also
used on some wood stoves to control emissions
Fog Bow
 It is similar to rainbow except that it is created in fog rather than rain
 Because of the very small size of water droplets that cause fog, the fog bow has only very weak colors, with a
red outer edge and bluish inner edge
 In many cases when the droplets are very small, fog bows appear white, and are therefore sometimes
called white rainbows.
Gas Hydrates
 Gas hydrates are crystalline form of methane and water, and exist in shallow sediments of outer
continental margins. They are envisaged as a viable major energy resource for future.
 Promising sites of gas hydrates have been identified and surveyed in the Krishna‐Godavari (KG) and the
Mahanadi basins
 Methane gas hydrate is stable at the seafloor at water depths beneath about 500 m.
 Known as flammable ice, methane hydrates are molecules of gas contained in an ice matrix found in
permafrost regions of the arctic and on the seafloor at continental margins below 500 meters of depth.
 Gas hydrates are also important for seafloor stability studies, because "melting" gas hydrate may cause
seafloor "land" slides.
 Using methane from gas hydrate as an energy resource would be, compared to other hydrocarbons, relatively
climate friendly as combustion of methane is twice as efficient as burning coal.
 Why in news? India - US have signed a MOU on Cooperation in Gas Hydrates.
I-LTEO
 I-LTEO stands for Indian Long Term Ecological Observatories

 Aims to scientifically monitor eight different biomes (natural landscapes) across the country.
 The initiative was launched on the side lines of the Conference of Parties-21 (COP-21) of UNFCCC in Paris
 The programme aims to identify and monitor targeted socio-ecological challenges and help build capacity within
India.
 Major highlights:
o Under this programme, students and young scientists will also be trained through sustained long-term
support for research in the area of climate change
o The initiative will also help the country to have its own scientific data-base in this key area without
depending on studies done abroad
o The new initiative will cover all the major biomass of the country from Western Himalayas to Western
Ghats, Eastern Himalayas to Andaman & Nicobar Islands, central India to the Sundarbans and from
Jammu & Kashmir to Rajasthan and Gujarat.
 The work on LTEO Programme is being done in a number of developed and developing countries
LED
 LED stands for Light Emitting Diode

 It is a semiconductor based light source
 It is based on the principle of electroluminescence
 When a suitable voltage is applied to the leads, electrons are able to recombine with electron holes within the
device, releasing energy in the form of photons (electroluminescence)
 Color of the light (corresponding to the energy of the photon) is determined by the energy band gap of the
semiconductor.
 Advantages over incandescent light sources :
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o lower energy consumption,

o longer lifetime,
o improved physical robustness,
o smaller size, and
o faster switching
 LEDs have allowed new text, video displays, and sensors to be developed, while their high switching rates are
also used in advanced communications technology.
Noor 1
 It is a solar power complex in Morocco

 The plant will be able to store solar energy in the form of heated molten salt, allowing for production of
electricity into the night.
Raptors MoU
 It is also called Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Birds of Prey in

Africa and Eurasia
 It is an international treaty
 It is legally non-binding
 It aims to protect migratory birds of prey.
 Major threats to birds of prey include :
o use of pesticides and lead shot,
o collision with overhead power lines and wind turbines,
o habitat destruction,
o poaching,
o illegal trapping, and
o illegal trade
 Why in news? India has signed it recently
Rare earth elements

 Rare earth elements/metals are a group of 17 chemical elements in the periodic table
 They are not rare and are plentiful in Earth's crust
 Why the word rare is used then?
o Word rare is used in terms of difficulty we face to make them usable because :
 They tend to occur together in nature and are difficult to separate from one another
 They are typically dispersed and not often found concentrated as rare earth minerals in
economically exploitable ore deposits
 Ex. Scandium, Yttrium, Lanthanum etc.
 China is the largest producer of REMs
 Monazite sands of Indian beaches contains REMs
SAFAR
 SAFAR stands for System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research
 It is a research program to build Air-Pollution mitigation strategies in consonance with nation's economic
development
 It is launched in greater metropolitan cities of India to provide location specific information on air quality in
near real time
 It has been combined with the early warning system on weather parameters
 The ultimate objective of the project is to increase awareness among general public regarding the air quality in
their city well in advance so that appropriate mitigation measures and systematic action can be taken up for
betterment of air quality and related health issues
Smart Grid
 A smart grid is an electrical grid which includes a variety of operational and energy measures including
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o smart meters,
o smart appliances,
o renewable energy resources, and
o energy efficiency resources
 Electronic power conditioning and control of the production and distribution of electricity are important aspects
of the smart grid
Solar Photovoltaics
 Photovoltaics (PV) means the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit
the photovoltaic effect
 A Solar PV system comprises of Solar Panels (made up of solar cells) which generate electricity
 Solar PV generates no pollution
 The direct conversion of sunlight to electricity occurs without any moving parts
 Grid-connected PV systems have the major disadvantage that the power output is dependent on direct
sunlight
 Power output is also adversely affected by weather conditions, especially cloud cover
 Materials used to construct solar cells are silicon, cadmium, gallium etc.
Stratospheric sulfate aerosols (geoengineering)

 It is a method which can possibly be used to counter climate change
 This method includes delivery of precursor sulfide gases such as sulfuric acid, hydrogen sulfide (H2S) or sulfur
dioxide (SO2) by artillery, aircraft and balloons
 It presently appears that this proposed method could counter most climatic changes, take effect rapidly, have
very low direct implementation costs, and be reversible in its direct climatic effects
 It creates global dimming effect
 Proposed tethered balloon to inject sulfate aerosols into the stratosphere:
Transformative Carbon Asset Facility (TCAF)
 A new $500 million initiative to boost large scale climate action in developing countries
 Announced by 4 European countries
o Germany,
o Norway,
o Sweden, and
o Switzerland
 Aimed at large scale cuts in greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries to combat climate change
 The World Bank Group worked with the countries to develop the initiative.
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Health
Alloxan
 Alloxan
o It is chemical prepared from barbituric acid. It is used in laboratories to induce diabetes in rats and to test
the efficacy of anti-diabetic medicines.
o Alloxan’s structure mimics that of glucose, which allows it to be absorbed by the pancreas and once inside
the organ, it destroys insulin-producing beta cells.
o It is mixed with the white flour or ‘maida’ which induces diabetes
BGR-34
 It is drug for type 2 Diabetes mellitus
 It is an anti-diabetic ayurvedic drug
 BGR-34 works by controlling blood sugar and limiting the harmful effects and toxicity of other drugs
 It contains 34 identified active phyto-constitutes from herbal resources.
Brittle Bone Disease
 It is a bone disorder characterized by brittle bones that are prone to fracture

 It is not only related to bones, it may also cause seizures, hearing loss, communication problems etc.
 It is congenital disease i.e. birth defect
 There is no cure
 Treatment is aimed at increasing overall bone strength to prevent fracture and maintain mobility
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
 It is a type of obstructive lung disease characterized by long term poor airflow

 The main symptoms include shortness of breath and cough with sputum production
 It is caused by :
o Smoking
o Air pollution
o Genetic factors
Dengvaxia
 It is first vaccine for Dengue fever
 Dengue :
o Caused by virus carried by mosquitoes
o There are no specific dengue therapeutics and prevention is currently limited to vector control measures.
o A dengue vaccine would therefore represent a major advance in the control of the disease
Diabetes
 Diabetes
o Pancreas not able to produce insulin so glucose can't enter body cell to be used as fuel.
o Type 1: body not able to produce insulin.
o Type 2: Unable to produce insulin or insulin doesn't work properly.
o Insulin convert carbohydrate into sugar (glucose).
o Diabetic drug insulin is on essential medicine list by WHO.
o India 69 million people with diabetes, second largest after China.
o Ayush-82: Ayurvedic medicine for diabetes.
o This year World Health Day theme 'diabetes'.
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Genvoya
 It is a new treatment of HIV approved by USFDA
 It is a fixed-dose combination tablet
 Genvoya is approved for use in HIV-infected adults and children ages 12 years and older weighing at least 35
kilograms (77 pounds) who have never taken HIV therapy (treatment-naïve) and HIV-infected adults whose
HIV-1 virus is currently suppressed
Injectable Polio Vaccine

 IPV consists of inactivated (killed) poliovirus strains of all three poliovirus types.
 IPV is given by intramuscular injection and needs to be administered by a trained health worker
 The inactivated polio vaccine produces antibodies in the blood for all three types of poliovirus. In the event of
infection, these antibodies prevent the spread of the virus to the central nervous system and protect against
paralysis.
 Advantages of IPV:
o As IPV is not a 'live' vaccine, it carries no risk of vaccine-associated polio paralysis.
o IPV triggers an excellent protective immune response in most people.
 Disadvantages of IPV:
o IPV induces very low levels of immunity in the intestine. As a result, when a person immunized with IPV is
infected with wild poliovirus, the virus can still multiply inside the intestines and be shed in the faeces,
risking continued circulation.
o IPV is over five times more expensive than oral polio vaccine.
o Administering the vaccine requires trained health workers and sterile injection equipment and
procedures.
Jet Lag
 What is Jet Lag?
o It is also called desynchronosis and flight fatigue
o It is a temporary disorder that causes fatigue, insomnia, and other symptoms as a result of air travel across
time zones. It is considered a circadian rhythm sleep disorder, which is a disruption of the internal body
clock.
o Most living organisms, including humans, have a biological clock that resets every 24 hours, regulating
functions such as sleep and wake cycles and metabolism. When this cycle is disrupted, like in jet lag, sleep
disorders occur
o Long-term sleep loss may affect the cardiovascular, endocrine, immune and nervous systems with severe
consequences including hypertension, obesity and mental health disorders, among others
Meldonium
 It is also known as mildronate

 It increases exercise capacity of athletes
 Meldonium is used to treat ischaemia: a lack of blood flow to parts of the body, particularly in cases of angina or
heart failure
 It is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in the United States and is not authorised in the
rest of Europe
 It increases blood flow, which improves exercise capacity in athletes
 The decision to add meldonium to the banned list was approved on 16 September 2015, and it came into effect
on 1 January 2016
 Why in news? Maria Sharapova was banned for 2 years due to usage of this drug
Microcephaly
What is microcephaly?
 Microcephaly is a condition where a baby’s head is much smaller than expected. During pregnancy, a baby’s
head grows because the baby’s brain grows. Microcephaly can occur because a baby’s brain has not developed
properly during pregnancy or has stopped growing after birth, which results in a smaller head size. Microcephaly
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can be an isolated condition, meaning that it can occur with no other major birth defects, or it can occur in
combination with other major birth defects.
 Why in news? It is said to be caused by Zika Virus. However, no proof exist for that.
Mono Sodium Glutamate
 Monosodium glutamate is the sodium salt of glutamic acid.

 Glutamate is a naturally occurring amino acid that is found in nearly all foods, especially high protein foods
such as dairy products, meat and fish and in many vegetables.
 Foods often used for their flavoring properties, such as mushrooms and tomatoes, have high levels of naturally
occurring glutamate.
 Monosodium glutamate added to foods produces a flavoring function similar to the glutamate that occurs
naturally in foods.
 Human breast milk contains 10 times more glutamate than cow’s milk.
 Monosodium glutamate used to be blamed for the “Chinese Restaurant Syndrome”.
 Controversy over Maggi triggered a lot of debate for and against the commonly used food additive Monosodium
Glutamate (MSG) or as it is called by its trade name ajinomoto.
 It is widely used in Japanese & Chinese food. The US FDA considers the addition of MSG to foods to be
‘Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS).
 Headaches, flushing, sweating, fluttering heartbeats, chest pain, nausea and weakness are all common reactions
often known as the MSG symptom complex.
 The headaches caused by MSG intake may be related to its injurious effect on brain neurons.
(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2802046/)
Panama Disease
Panama disease of Banana
 caused by a soil-borne fungus
 Can be controlled by soil treatment with fungicides for control of the disease.
 Also called Fusarium Wilt of banana, Panama is caused by the soil-borne fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp.
Cubense (Foc). The fungus enters the plant through the roots and goes on to colonise the plant through the
vascular system
 It causes discoloration and wilting of leaves, and eventually kills the plant.
Project Sunrise
 Launched by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
 Aims prevention of AIDS specially among people injecting drugs in the 8 North-Eastern states.
 Project Sunrise aims at bringing the people living with HIV/AIDS into the national mainstream and create more
awareness about the disease in these N-E states
Super Bug
 What is superbug?
o A superbug, also called multiresistant, is a bacterium that carries several resistance genes. These are
resistant to multiple antibiotics and are able to survive even after exposure to one or more antibiotics.
o How they develop resistance? Like any living organism, bacteria can mutate as they multiply. Also like
any living organism, bacteria have a strong evolutionary drive to survive. So, over time, a select few will
mutate in particular ways that make them resistant to antibiotics. Then, when antibiotics are introduced,
only the bacteria that can resist that treatment can survive to multiply further, proliferating the line of
drug-resistant bugs
o Why this is a matter of concern? The World Health Organization (WHO) is afraid of a post-antibiotic
world, where loads of bacteria are superbugs. Already, infections like tuberculosis, gonorrhea, and
pneumonia are becoming harder to treat with typical antibiotics.
Zika virus
 This virus causes deadly fever and this is also linked to microcephaly
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 It is transmitted by daytime-active Aedes mosquitoes, such as A. aegypti.

 Zika disease, since the 1950s has been known to occur within a narrow equatorial belt from Africa to Asia.
 Zika virus is related to dengue, yellow fever, Japansese encephalitis and West Nile viruses. The illness it causes
is similar to a mild form of dengue fever, it is treated by rest, and cannot yet be prevented by drugs or vaccines.
 There is a possible link between Zika fever and microcephaly (smaller head size) in new born babies by mother-
to-child transmission as well as a stronger one with neurologic conditions in infected adults, including cases of
the Guillain-Barre syndrome, a condition in which the immune system attacks the nervous system, sometimes
resulting in paralysis.
 It attacks the nervous system and can lead to potentially fatal paralysis.
 There is no vaccine, and scientists have warned that developing one could take at least five years.
 First discovered in Zika forest in Uganda.
 Latin American countries are most effected by Zika Virus currently
ICT
3D Printing
What is 3D Printing?
 3D printing is the process of printing 3 Dimensional solid objects with the aid of computer/printer
 It is also called "Additive Manufacturing" because 3D printed object is created by laying down successive layers
of manufacturing material on each other until the entire object is created.
 Objects printed in this way are extremely precise
 Why in news? World's first 3D printed aircraft THOR was unveiled by European Space Agency
5D Data Storage
5D data storage could record human history forever (18/02/2016)
University of Southampton have developed the recording and retrieval processes of five dimensional digital data using
ultrafast laser writing in nanostructured glass.
Big Data
Big Data
‘Big Data’ refers to a massive accumulation of information, siphoned from multiple sources and domains, which can
then be analysed to make informed decisions.
 It is an all-encompassing term for any collection of data sets so large and complex that it becomes difficult to
process using traditional data processing applications. Big data “size” is a constantly moving target.
 It requires exceptional technologies to efficiently process large quantities of data within tolerable elapsed times.
 The use and adoption of Big Data within governmental processes is beneficial and allows efficiencies in terms of
cost, productivity, and innovation.
Cognitive Computing
What is cognitive computing?
 Cognitive computing is the simulation of human thought processes in a computerized model. It involves self-
learning systems that use pattern recognition, data mining and natural language processing to mimic the way
the human brain works.
 The objective of cognitive computing is to create automated IT systems that are capable of solving problems
without requiring human assistance.
 Cognitive computing systems use machine learning algorithms to continually acquire knowledge for processing
desired information from the data fed into them by mining data.
Cognitive Radio
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What is Cognitive radio (CR)?

 It enables users to turn their smartphones into peer-to-peer, off-grid communication tools.
 It is a form of wireless communication in which a transceiver can intelligently detect which communication
channels are in use and which are not, and instantly move into vacant channels while avoiding occupied ones.
 This optimizes the use of available radio-frequency (RF) spectrum while minimizing interference to other users.
 The network generates its own signal through proprietary ad hoc networking protocols and automatically
coordinates with other units within range which enables users to send and get text messages, share their GPS
locations on offline maps regardless of access to WiFi or cellular service
 Why in news? It is used by J&K militants
Electronic Nose
 An electronic nose is a device intended to detect odors or flavors.

 It is based on electronic sensing
 The expression "electronic sensing" refers to the capability of reproducing human senses using sensor arrays
and pattern recognition systems
Geo-Targeting
What is Geo-Targeting?
Geo targeting in geo marketing and internet marketing is the method of determining the geolocation of a website
visitor and delivering different content to that visitor based on his or her location, such as country, region/state, city,
metro code/zip code, organization, IP address, ISP or other criteria
Google Street View

What is Google’s Street View?
 Google Street View is a technology enabled service which provides panoramic views from positions along
many streets in the world.
 It was launched in 2007 in several cities in the United States, and has since expanded to include cities and
rural areas worldwide.
 Most photography is done by car, but some is done by trekker, tricycle, walking, boat, snowmobile, and
underwater apparatus.
 The service has been hugely successful but has caused problems of privacy in some countries.
 Why in news? Government has denied permission for the service citing security issues.
Is the rejection of street view valid?

 Many countries like USA, Germany and Japan have had concerns with the street view app. The objections
ranged from defence concerns (USA) to loss of privacy (Germany) but the solutions were found and street
view was launched.
 In USA, google was asked to remove the sensitive areas from street view while in Germany people could
blur their household if they wished (for privacy).
 India must also look to weed out the problems rather than completely stopping the launch because not only
can street view bolster tourism by displaying panoramic view of monuments, statues and other places of
interest but it can also be extremely helpful in disaster management.
IPv6
 It is the most recent version of the Internet Protocol

 It provides an identification and location system for computers on networks and routes traffic across the
Internet
 It was developed to deal with the long-anticipated problem of IPv4 address exhaustion
 It will replace IPv4
 Every device on the Internet is assigned an IP address for identification and location definition
 With the rapid growth of the Internet after commercialization in the 1990s, it became evident that far more
addresses than the IPv4 address space has available were necessary to connect new devices in the future
 Other benefits:
o It permits hierarchical addresses thus arranging address in fashion so that routing tables are smaller with
IPv6
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Kilo-Core
 It is a newly developed micro-chip
 It has 1000 independent programmable processors
 Each core processor on the chip is independently programmable
 It has potential to save energy when not needed as each processor is independently clocked and it can shut itself
down
 Applications: Wireless coding/decoding, Video processing and Encryption etc.
Light-Fidelity (LiFi)
LiFi (Light-Fidelity)
 Light Fidelity (Li-Fi) is a bidirectional, high-speed and fully networked wireless communication technology
similar to Wi-Fi
 Use of light to connect to internet.
 RF (radio frequency) spectrum would not be enough considering the rate of growth of wireless data
communication.
 The visible light spectrum is much larger.
 The use of the light spectrum for Li-Fi overcomes the issues in traditional wireless communication, like the
shortage of spectrum and network disruption because of interference.
 In Li-Fi, anyone who has access to light can access the Internet. The system also allows users to move from one
light source to another without losing their network connection.
 Li-Fi has the advantage of being useful in electromagnetic sensitive areas such as in aircraft cabins, hospitals
and nuclear power plants without causing electromagnetic interference
 Both Wi-Fi and Li-Fi transmit data over the electromagnetic spectrum, but whereas Wi-Fi utilizes radio waves,
Li-Fi uses visible light.
 The inability of light rays to pass through walls and similar structures is seen as a major drawback of this
technology. It is also an advantage since restriction by walls provides more security to the network and
eliminates the risk of the signal leakage to eavesdropping.
Sunway Taihu Light
 It is a Chinese Super computer

 World's most powerful supercomputer
 It is world’s first system to surpass 100 petaflops.
UMANG Application
UMANG Application
 UMANG stands for Unified Mobile App for New-age Governance
 It is single mobile application through which citizens would be able to access over 1,000 e-governance services
provided by the Centre, State governments as well as local authorities
 It will be available in 12 Indian languages, besides English.
Watson (Computer)
 Watson is a question answering computer system capable of answering questions posed in natural language
 Developed by IBM
 The computer system was specifically developed to answer questions on the quiz show Jeopardy!
White-Fi
 White-fi is a term being used to describe the use of a Wi-Fi technology within the TV unused spectrum, or
TV white space.
 Srikakulam(AP) and Varanasi (UP) are trying to use this.
 Being implemented by Microsoft
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YETI Project
 'Yeti' is a project initiated by Japan based group and Beijing Internet Institute.
 The objective of this project is to create a separate root server for IPv6 addresses.
 Significance: With growing internet use, IPv4 addresses will run out and IPV6 addresses will take the centre
stage. Currently, the root servers for IPv4 addresses are located in US and thus can result in interventions from
US governments. These root servers being the backbone of online access, if tinkered can be used to deny access
to users. In this regard, Yeti project would seek to achieve following things-
o diminishing the authority of US in control over root servers
o putting in place an alternative system for handling IPv6 addresses
o giving boost to digital initiatives being taken by developing countries
o distribution of IPv6 root serves ensures democratic internet governance
Super Wi-Fi
 Super Wi-Fi is a term coined to describe a wireless network longer-distance Internet access.
 It is not based on Wi-Fi technology
 Instead of using the 2.4 GHz radio frequency of Wi-Fi, the "Super Wi-Fi" proposal uses the lower-frequency
white spaces between television channel frequencies. These lower frequencies allow the signal to travel further
and penetrate walls better than the higher frequencies previously used.
Miscellaneous
CASPOL
What is CASPOL?
 CASPOL stands for ceramic-polymer hybrid
 CASPOL is water-based ready-to-coat product
 It was originally developed to protect the rockets from high temperature and fire to which they are exposed
during the initial moments of launch.
 CASPOL can withstand up to 800 degree Celsius.
 Seats in automobiles, public transport system and seat cushions of railway coaches can be made fireproof when
Caspol is applied.
 Caspol can also make surfaces waterproof. When applied over the concrete surface of buildings, fill up the
micro cracks and holes on concrete to prevent water from seeping in.
 When applied over concrete surface of buildings, the high emissivity of the product reduces the temperature
inside the building by at least 5 to 6 degree Celsius.
 Why in news? ISRO planning to use CASPOL to protect thatched roofs from fire
Hypersonic Technology
Hypersonic technology tested
 Tested by a joint U.S.-Australian military research team
 Project - Hypersonic International Flight Research Experimentation (HIFiRE)
 Mach 7.5 classes it as ‘hypersonic travel’, which is defined as travel at more than five times the speed of sound
 It uses scramjet technology.
 Benefits:
o Hypersonic technology could revolutionise global air travel, providing cost-effective access to space. For
instance, it could cut travelling time from Sydney to London to as little as two hours for the 17,000-km
flight.
o This will also be helpful as an alternative to a rocket for putting satellites into space.
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Heliborne Transient Electromagnetic Technique

What is heliborne transient electromagnetic technique?
 It is a technique of sending electromagnetic pulses to the ground, in timed bursts, and analysing the unique
pattern that these waves make as they bounce off the freshwater or saline water reserves.
 It is used to map water resources
 CSIR-National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) is planning to use it to map India's groundwater reserves
 Why mapping ground water is important?
o Groundwater irrigation has been expanding at a very rapid pace since 1970s and now accounts for over
60% of the total area irrigated
o About 85% of the rural drinking water supply is also met from groundwater sources.
o Share of bore-well irrigation went up from one per cent during 1960-61 to 60% during 2006-07, according
to 2008 statistics
IMPRINT India
 Pan IIT and IISc joint collaboration to develop a blue print for research of immediate relevance to society
requiring innovation, direct scientific research into identified field, ensure higher funding support with
reference to impact rural/urban areas
 Focus on 10 themes with each to be coordinated by one IIT/IISc, namely:- Health Care, Computer Science and
ICT, Advance Materials, Water Resources and River systems, Sustainable Urban Design, Defence,
Manufacturing, Nano-technology Hardware, Environmental Science and Climate Change and Energy Security.
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry

International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC)
 HQ : Zürich, Switzerland
 IUPAC is panel of scientist that governs chemical research and the admission of the new elements in the
periodic table.
 Under it rules, names of the elements must reflect one of the physical characteristics or chemical properties, a
place, a mineral, a scientist (living or dead), or a mythological concept.
 The names of elements is finalised by IUPAC which are easy to translate across major languages.
 The names usually have endings like “-ine”, “-ium,” or “-on,” depending on the grouping of elements they belong
to.
Mukhota
 Mukhota is a device that will tell fisherman that they have reached into foreign territory
 It has GPS enabled and is coded in such a way that once it comes near the coastal border, it alarms the
fisherman not to cross them
New Elements in Periodic Table

New Elements in Periodic Table
 4 new elements are added
 All these four elements are super heavy and are synthetic in nature i.e. they were created in laboratory
 These new elements are :
o Nihonium (Nh),
o Moscovium (Mc),
o Tennessine (Ts), and
o Oganesson (Og)
 They were added in the seventh row of the periodic table.
 Their addition has completed the seventh row of the periodic table of the elements
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Periodic Table
Periodic table:
There are seven rows, called periods, and 18 columns, called groups, in the table.
 Elements in the same group share similar properties. Those in the same period have the same number of atomic
orbitals (the wave-like behaviour of either one or a pair of electrons in an atom) – for instance, the first period
only has two elements, hydrogen and helium, with only a single orbital.
 Most elements on the table are metals divided into six broad categories – alkali metals, alkaline earths, basic
metals, transition metals, lanthanides and actinides. They are located on the left, separated from the non-metals
on the right by a zig-zag line.
 Lanthanides and actinides, often called “inner transition metals”, are commonly hived off as a separate section
under the main table as including all 30 – including Uranium – would make the table too wide.
 The table is a useful tool for people to derive relationships between the different properties of the elements. It
can also help predict the properties of new elements that have yet to be discovered or created.
Pokkali/jyothi
 It is a variety of paddy tolerant to saline intrusions

 It is created by genetic engineering (hybridisation technique)
 The project which began in 2008 involved the incorporation of the SalTol gene present in Pokkali, the most
saline tolerant rice variety in the world, into Jyothi.
 Jyothi, known for its superior grain quality, yet restricted by the lack of saline tolerance, has become suitable for
Pokkali fields
Potassium/Sodium Bromate
Potassium/Sodium Bromate : Carcinogenic - used in bread making
 Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) study concluded that chemical additive Potassium bromate (KbrO3)
widely prevalent in bread and refined flour is carcinogenic.
 Following this, national food regulator FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) has decided to
remove potassium bromate from the list of permitted additives.
 How and Why Potassium bromate is used?
o Potassium bromate used as chemical additive in food items in the form of white crystals or powder.
o It is added to aid baking process as it strengthens the bread dough in order to raise it higher.
o The KbrO3 powder bleaches the bread dough and increases its elasticity by making tiny bubbles that help
the bread rise.
o In India, the legal permissible limit to add Potassium bromate as chemical additive in food is 50 parts per
million (ppm). Its High dosages are harmful.
 Union Government has banned its use now.
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Potassium Chlorate
Potassium Chlorate
 Context: Kollam firework Tragedy
 It is a banned explosive.
 It is commonly used in pyrotechnics. The principal reason for using it in pyrotechnics is for the production of
beautiful colours. Despite its inherent risk, the reason it is sometimes used in pyrotechnics is because it
is cheap and easily available.
 How does it work? Potassium chlorate has very powerful oxidising ability. When heated, it decomposes to
produce oxygen. The oxygen so produced fuels the flame of the lit firework, thereby increasing the temperature
of the firework even further. The extra heat generated excites the electrons in the colour-producing chemicals
added in the firework mixture and thus produces beautiful colours.
 Why is it banned? The oxidizing property of potassium chlorate is also its biggest disadvantage when used in
fireworks. It has an inherent property to become very reactive, especially when mixed with Sulphur; the
potassium chlorate-Sulphur mixture becomes dangerously sensitive to friction and may spontaneously ignite.
Hence, potassium chlorate is banned for use in fireworks.
Quantum Spin Liquid

New state of matter : quantum spin liquid
 Scientists has successfully detected a mysterious new state of matter that causes electrons to break into pieces.
Electron was hitherto thought to be nature’s indivisible building blocks.
 What is different in this state? In a typical magnetic material, electrons each behave like tiny bar magnets. When
a material is cooled to a low enough temperature, they will order themselves so that all the north magnetic poles
point in the same direction. But in a material containing a spin liquid state, even if cooled to absolute zero, the
bar magnets would not align but form an entangled soup.
RFID Technology
What is RFID tagging?
RFID tagging is an ID system that uses small radio frequency identification devices for identification and tracking
purposes. An RFID tagging system includes the tag itself, a read/write device, and a host system application for data
collection, processing, and transmission. An RFID tag (sometimes called an RFID transponder) consists of a chip,
some memory and an antenna.
RFID tags that contain their own power source are known as active tags. Those without a power source are known as
passive tags. A passive tag is briefly activated by the radio frequency (RF) scan of the reader.
Scramjet Technology
What is scramjet technology?
 Scramjet is a supersonic combustion engine that uses oxygen from the atmosphere for fuel, making it lighter and
faster than fuel-carrying rockets.
 It is an air-breathing propulsion
 This is helpful for flying at hypersonic speed – Mach 5 and above.
 These engines have no moving parts. Instead of the rotating compressor and turbine in a jet engine, air is
compressed and expanded by complex systems of shockwaves under the front of the aircraft, inside the inlet and
under the fuselage at the rear
GeoTextile
 Geotextiles are permeable fabrics which, when used in association with soil, have the ability to separate, filter,
reinforce, protect, or drain
 Applications:
o Civil engineering applications like roads, embankments etc.
o Used for sanddune armoring to protect upland coastal property from storm surge, wave action and
flooding
o Erosion control. Geotextiles can improve soil strength at a lower cost
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Maitri
 Maitri is India's second permanent research station in Antarctica as part of the Indian Antarctic
Programme
 Work on it started in 1984
 Maitri is situated on the rocky mountainous region called Schirmacher Oasis
 The station has modern facilities to carry out research in various disciplines, such as biology, earth sciences,
glaciology, atmospheric sciences, meteorology, cold region engineering, communication, human physiology and
medicine.
 It has a capacity to accommodate 25 people for winter. Fresh water is provided through a fresh water lake
named Lake Priyadarshini, in front of Maitri
 First station Dakshin Gangotri is now buried in ice and abandoned in 1990–91
Graphene
 Graphene is an allotrope of carbon
 It is a two-dimensional, atomic-scale, honey-comb lattice in which one atom forms each vertex.
 It is the basic structural element of other allotropes, including graphite, charcoal, carbon nanotubes and
fullerenes.
 Properties :
o It is about 100 times stronger than the strongest steel.
o It conducts heat and electricity efficiently and is nearly transparent.
o It has magnetic properties
 It is used in semiconductor, electronics, battery energy and composites industries
 World’s thinnest light bulb created from Graphene
Nanotechnology
Carbon nanotube
 Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are allotropes of carbon with cylindrical nanostructure

 They have extraordinary thermal conductivity and mechanical and electrical properties due to which carbon
nanotubes find applications as additives to various structural materials
 Nanotubes are members of the fullerene structural family
 Their name is derived from their long, hollow structure with the walls formed by one-atom-thick sheets of
carbon, called graphene
Ceria Nanoflakes
 It is a ‘reusable’ nano-composite material developed by IISc

 It can degrade microbes and chemical dyes that are among common effluents in rivers
 It is made of ceria(CeO) a cheap rare earth oxide and silver salts
 Ceria can speed up the degradation of chemical dyes and the bacterium Escherichia coli (which forms a large
chunk of organic waste in sewage)
 In this composite, ceria absorbs light across the spectrum (and not just UV light), while the silver salts (silver
phosphate, and silver bromide) form photocatalysis agents, where chemical reactions are accelerated in the
presence of light
Microplastics
 Microplastics are small plastic particles in the environment that are generally smaller than 1 mm down to
the micrometer range
 They can come from a variety of sources, including cosmetics, clothing, and industrial processes.
 Because plastics do not break down for many years, they can be ingested and incorporated into
and accumulated in the bodies and tissues of many organisms
 The entire cycle and movement of microplastics in the environment is not yet known, but research is currently
underway to investigate this issue
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Nanofabrication
What is Nanofabrication?
 Nano-fabrication and nano-patterning technology entail developing methods to manufacture nano-materials or
pattern materials on a nanometre scale.
 Nano-lithography is a common method used in nano-patterning especially for producing topographically
patterned polymer films and surfaces required in the organic electronics.
 Applications: It acts as the mother board for many of the devices and applications such as
o organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs),
o opto-electronic devices,
o thin film transistors (TFTs),
o biological sensors microfluidics,
o plastic solar cells,
o data storage media,
o smart and super adhesives,
o lab-on-a-chip devices,
o surfaces for nano-biotechnology applications such as patterned substrates for probing of cell behaviour,
etc.
Space
Indian satellite program

(As on 06/05/2016)
Currently 34 Indian satellites are operational in the space.
34 operational satellites are:
13 Communication Satellites: INSAT-3A, INSAT-3C, INSAT-4A, INSAT-4B, INSAT-4CR, GSAT-6, GSAT-7,

GSAT-8, GSAT-10, GSAT-12, GSAT-14, GSAT-15 and GSAT-16.
12 Earth Observation Satellites: Resourcesat-2, RISAT-1, RISAT-2, Cartosat-1, Cartosat-2, Cartosat-2A, Cartosat-
2B, Oceansat-2, SARAL, Kalpana-1, Megha-Tropiques and INSAT-3D.
7 Navigational Satellites: IRNSS-1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E, 1F and 1G.
2 Space science Satellites: Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) and Astrosat.
About 30 service providers are utilising Ku-band (a part of K band) transponders onboard indigenous communication
satellites for various communication applications. These applications include:
 Direct-To-Home Television (DTH),
 Digital Satellite News Gathering,
 Telecommunication,
 VSAT services for banking,
 Tele-education and
 Business communication etc.
Aditya L1 Satellite
Aditya L1 Satellite
 It is India’s first solar mission
 It will study the sun’s outer most layers:
o Photosphere (soft and hard X-ray),
o Chromosphere (UV) and
o Corona (Visible and NIR)
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 It will collect data about coronal mass ejection, which will also yield information for space weather prediction
 It is a joint venture between ISRO and physicists from other institutes of India.
 Aditya- L1 satellite will be placed in the halo orbit around the Lagrangian point 1 (L1) of the sun-earth
system
 Utility: The data from Aditya mission will be immensely helpful in discriminating between different models for
the origin of solar storms and also for constraining how the storms evolve and what path they take through the
interplanetary space from the Sun to the Earth
Air-breathing propulsion systems

Air-breathing propulsion systems:
 Air-breathing propulsion system aims to capitalize on the oxygen in the atmosphere instead of liquefied oxygen
while in flight.
 Conventional launch vehicles used to launch satellites, uses liquefied oxygen for combustion of propellants with
oxidiser and fuel. It is carried by rockets along with the fuel, resulting in increase in lift-off mass.
 The air-breathing propulsion system uses natural oxygen present in the atmosphere up to 50 km from the
earth’s surface to burn the fuel stored in the rocket.
 Benefits: This system would help in reducing the lift-off mass of the vehicle as there will be no need of carrying
liquefied oxygen on board the vehicle. It help in increasing the energy efficiency of the rocket and also make it
cost-effective
 Why in news? After success of RLV-TD, ISRO has announced that it will test Air-breathing systems.
ARIES Telescope
ARIES Telescope
 Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES)
 Located in Nainital, Uttarakhand.
 ARIES telescope is a joint collaboration between Indian, Russian, and Belgian scientists
 The high end technology incorporated in the telescope enables it to be operated with the help of remote control
from anywhere in the world
 Asia's largest Telescope
 To study the structure of stars and magnetic field structure of stars
 The first optical telescope for India
Astrobiology Mission
Astrobiology Mission
 It is a joint mission of ISRO and NASA
 A joint team of scientist will mount Ladakh.
 Scientists would be from :
o NASA
o Mars Society Australia
o Birbal Sahni Institue of Palaebotany, Lucknow
 Aims to study the similarities of certain parts of the region’s topography and microbial life to Martian
surroundings
 Why Ladakh? Because Ladakh offers :
o A high UV (ultra-violet) exposed,
o dry ecosystem with Mars analogue topological features that tell us heaps about the origin and evolution of
our planet’s topological features.
 India’s second mission to Mars, scheduled to be in 2020, will involve collaboration with France and may include
a lander or rover.
Astrosat
 ASTROSAT is India’s first dedicated multi wavelength space observatory.
 This scientific satellite mission endeavours for a more detailed understanding of our universe.
 Launched by PSLV-C30.
 ASTROSAT is designed to observe the universe in the
o Visible,
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o Ultraviolet,
o Low and high energy X-ray
regions of the electromagnetic spectrum simultaneously with the help of its five payloads.
 Astrosat aims
o at understanding of the high energy processes in binary star systems containing neutron stars and black
holes,
o to estimate magnetic fields of neutron stars,
o to study star birth regions and high energy processes in star systems lying beyond the Milky Way galaxy.
o Detect new briefly bright X-ray sources in the sky
o Perform a limited deep field survey of the Universe in the Ultraviolet region
 Astrosat is being described as India’s version of the Hubble telescope that NASA had put in space in 1990.
 It has a mission life of five years.
 This mission has put ISRO in a very exclusive club of nations that have space-based observatories. Only the
United States, European Space Agency, Japan and Russia have such observatories in space.
 Why do we need sky observatory?
o The study of the celestial process can be done from the earth as well. Several observatories across the
globe have powerful telescopes that can see what is happening deep inside the universe.
 But, the atmosphere around the earth interferes with the signals from space and changes their
characteristics. What the instruments at earth receive are modified signals. These have to be adjusted to
bring in accuracy.
 A space observatory on the other hand, receives pure signals because of which the readings by instruments
are more accurate.
BEAM
BEAM:
 It is an inflatable room attached to International Space Station
 Deployed by NASA
 It will be attached to ISS for two years
 First such habitat to hold humans in orbit
 Made up of aluminium and soft fabric which expands in space
BeiDou Navigation System

BeiDou Navigation System (BNS):
 BNS is 2nd generation of the Chinese navigational system seen as rival to the US’s Global Positioning System
(GPS)
 The system comprises total 35 satellites in two separate satellite constellations
o Limited test system (operational since 2000)
o A full-scale global navigation system which is currently under construction.
 The BNS became operational in December 2011 in China with the constellation of 10 satellites of the system
 On its completion in 2020, the system will provide services to global customers.
 After completion, the navigation system would become an equivalent of the US Global Positioning System,
Europe’s Galileo and Russia’s Glonass.
 Applications:
o Civilian services: Navigation, messaging, transportation and weather forecasting sectors.
o Military applications: Ensure privacy for its military communications and missile launches by
reducing the dependence on US operated GPS
Cartosat 2
 Cartosat-2 is an Earth observation satellite in a sun-synchronous orbit
 It is an advanced remote sensing satellite capable of providing scene-specific spot imagery.
 It is a Geo Centric and Sun synchronous satellite
 Launched by PSLV C7
 It is second in the Cartosat series of satellites
 Applications : cartography (Preparing maps)
 It takes black and white pictures of the earth in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum.
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 The data from the satellite will be used for detailed mapping and other cartographic applications at cadastral
level, urban and rural infrastructure development and management, as well as applications in Land Information
System (LIS) and Geographical Information System (GIS).
Cassini
Nasa’s Cassini spacecraft
 Orbits around Saturn and its moons since 2004
 It has collected and analysed dust coming from beyond our solar system
 Cassini is the fourth space probe to visit Saturn and the first to enter orbit.
 Has confirmed that a huge sea on Saturn’s moon Titan is composed mostly of pure liquid methane.
 Methane, a compound made of one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms, exists as a gas on Earth. It becomes
liquid only at -161.5 degrees Celsius.
 Saturn’s great distance from the Sun ensures that gases like methane exist as liquids there.
CE-20 (Cryogenic Engine)

 It is a high thrust Cryogenic Engine
 It is being developed for GSLV Mark-3
 The GSLV Mark 3, the biggest rocket made in India, will be capable of launching 4-tonne satellites into
geosynchronous orbit.
 So far India's GSLVs were being powered by cryogenic engines given by Russia.
 What are Cryogenic Engines?
o It uses Hydrogen as fuel, stored at minus 253 degrees Celsius and liquid oxygen as oxidizer at minus 193
degrees Celsius.
o Managing combustible fuel at such low temperature makes this challenging
o It is essential to master this technology for any space power as launching heavier satellites requires
cryogenic engines even in the lower stages of the rocket.
Cubesats
 Cubesats are small satellites launched for space research
 It weighs less than 2 kg, easy to send, low cost and normally placed in low earth orbit
 Launched by NASA
 CubeSats are most commonly put in orbit by deployers on the International Space Station, or launched
as secondary payloads on a launch vehicle
 Uses typically involve experiments which can be miniaturized or serve purposes such as Earth
observation or amateur radio.
 Many CubeSats are used to demonstrate spacecraft technologies that are targeted for use in small satellites or
that present questionable feasibility and are unlikely to justify the cost of a larger satellite.
Einstein Ring
Einstein Ring:
 A phenomenon which proves "Theory of relativity"
 An Einstein ring is a distorted image of a very distant galaxy, which is termed “the source”. The distortion is
produced by the bending of the light rays from the source due to a massive galaxy, termed “the lens”, lying
between it and the observer. The strong gravitational field produced by the lens galaxy distorts the structure of
space-time in its neighbourhood, and this does not only attract objects which have a mass, but also bends the
paths of light. When the two galaxies are exactly aligned, the image of the more distant galaxy is converted into
an almost perfect circle which surrounds the lens galaxy. The irregularities in the circle are due to asymmetries
in the source galaxy.
Exomars
Exomars (Exobiology on Mars)
 Exomars is the mars mission launched jointly by Russia and Europe.
 The European Space Agency has announced that the second Exomars mission will be launched in 2020
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 Roscosmos State Corporation and the European Space Agency had launched the Exomars 2016 mission which is
due to reach Mars in October this year
 A key goal of the mission is to analyse methane, a gas which on Earth is created in large part by living microbes,
and traces of which were observed by previous Mars missions.
 The primary goal of the ExoMars programme is to address the question of whether life has ever existed on
Mars. This relates to its name, with the ‘exo’ referring to the study of exobiology – the possible existence of life
beyond Earth
 At present there are two rovers functional on the Mars. These are Curiosity and Opportunity which were sent by
NASA
Exoplanet
Exoplanet: It is a planet that does not orbit the Sun and instead orbits a different star, stellar remnant, or brown
dwarf. It is also termed as extrasolar planet.
Exploration Mission 1 (EM 1)
 It is the first planned flight of the Space Launch System

 It is previously known as Space Launch System 1 or SLS-1
 Launch is planned for September 2018
 It is planned to be followed by Exploration Mission 2 in 2023.
 Joint project of NASA and European Space Agency
Falcon 9
 It is created by Space X (A private company in space transport domain)
 It is a two-stage rocket powered by liquid oxygen (LOX) and rocket-grade kerosene (RP-1) propellants
 It is basically used for the reliable and safe transport of satellites and the Dragon spacecraft into orbit.
 Falcon 9 delivers payloads to space aboard the Dragon spacecraft or inside a composite fairing. Dragon carries
cargo in pressurized capsule.
 In future it will carry astronauts in pressurized channel.
GAGAN
 GAGAN) is an implementation of a regional satellite-based augmentation system(SBAS) by the Indian

government.
 Started in 2011-12. Became fully operational in 2013-14
 GAGAN enhances the GPS-derived details of location and time of objects (GAGAN is based on GPS of USA).
 ISRO + Airport Authority of India
 Application :
o Better Air Traffic management
o More accuracy on landing/takeoff/route management
o One essential component of the GAGAN project is the study of the ionospheric behavior over the Indian
region.
 The space segment will consist of one geo-navigation transponder.
 GAGAN will greatly improve safety, reduce congestion and enhance communications to meet India's growing air
traffic management needs
 GAGAN focus on airlines, airports and the civil aviation sector but applicable to land and sea-based
services.
 GAGAN system consists of 15 Indian Reference Stations (INRES), 2 Indian Master Control Centre (INMCC) and
3 Indian Land Uplink Station (INLUS), 2 Geostationary Satellites.
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Geospatial Information
What is Geospatial Information?
Geospatial Information means geospatial imagery or data acquired through space or aerial platforms such as satellite,
aircrafts, airships, balloons, unmanned aerial vehicles. Such data received may be graphical or digital data depicting
natural or man-made physical features, phenomenon or boundaries of the earth or any information related thereto
including surveys, charts, maps, terrestrial photos referenced to co-ordinate system and having attributes.
Geosynchronous vs Geostationary Orbit

Geosynchronous Orbit:
 An orbit around Earth whose orbital period is equal to a sidereal day (23 hours, 56 minutes), irrespective of
its inclination.
 A person on a point on Earth, will see a satellite in this orbit in the same place in the sky at the same time of the
day, every day.
 A geosynchronous orbit is synchronized with a day. Every day, the spacecraft makes one orbit. As others have
already pointed out, that orbit can have any inclination and eccentricity. That is, it can be tilted with respect to
the poles of the earth and it may not be a circular orbit.
Geostationary Orbit:
 It is a type of Geosynchronous orbit
 An orbit around Earth at 35,786 km above the equator, so that it remains stationary as seen from Earth.
 A person on any point on Earth, will see a satellite in this orbit stationary w.r.t his position, just like a star in
the sky.
 A geostationary orbit is a geosynchronous orbit that is also circular and in the plane of the equator. With those
additional constraints, it remains stationary above a fixed point on the equator. It is called geostationary
because it is always in the same place in the sky when viewed from the earth. That means you can point a TV
satellite antenna at it attached to your building and it will always point at that satellite.
 Communications satellites and weather satellites are often placed in geostationary orbits, so that
the satellite antennas (located on Earth) that communicate with them do not have to rotate to track them, but
can be pointed permanently at the position in the sky where the satellites are located.
Other geosynchronous orbits:

Geosynchronous orbits, which are not geostationary, can be 'circular and inclined to equator' OR can be 'elliptical with
any inclination'.
GIRI (Gadanki Ionospheric Radar Interferometer)
 Established by ISRO in Tirupati

 For ionospheric, meteor and space weather research
 Will study forces from the sun like variation in solar flux, solar flare and magnetic storm and its impact on the
ionospheric irregularities
 Will study forces from the underneath atmosphere (e.g. waves generated by weather phenomena) and its impact
on the ionospheric irregularities.
 The info provided will be used to improve the skill in Equatorial Plasma Bubble (EPB) forecasting which is
detrimental for satellite based navigation/communication applications.
Goldilocks Zone
Goldilocks zone: It refers to a habitable zone in the planetary system where the temperature is neither too high nor
too low. Such conditions could allow for the presence on the planet’s surface of liquid water – a key ingredient for life.
Gravitational Waves
Gravitational Waves:
 Gravitational waves are oscillations in the fabric of space-time, moving at the speed of light and caused by the
acceleration of massive objects.
 They can be generated, for example, by supernovas, neutron star binaries spiralling around each other, and pairs
of merging black holes.
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 Hypothesised by Albert Einstein a century ago

 These were first seen last year by the ground-based Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory
(LIGO)
Hayabusa 2
 It is a mission of JAXA (Japanese Space Agency)

 Hayabusa is expected to reach an asteroid (162173 Ryugu), survey it and return to earth
HD 131399Ab
 It is a Jovian planet orbiting a triple star system
 Usually binary solar systems (having two stars or suns) are relatively common in the universe, but solar systems
involving three stars or more are very rare
Hubble Space Telescope
 Launched in 1990
 Joint project of NASA and European Space Agency.
 It is located in low Earth orbit outside the distortion of Earth’s atmosphere that allows it to take extremely high-
resolution images
 It observe in the near ultraviolet, visible and near infrared spectra
 Hubble is the only telescope designed to be serviced in space by astronauts
IBEX
 IBEX stands for Interstellar Boundary Explorer Mission

 Its objective is to discover the nature of interactions between the solar wind and the interstellar medium at the
edge of our solar system.
 Launched by NASA in 2008
 It is making a map of the boundary between the Solar System and interstellar space.
 The mission is part of NASA's Small Explorer program and launched with a Pegasus-XL rocket.
Related Info:
 The Alpine ibex (Capra ibex) is a species of wild goat that lives in the mountains of the European Alps. Least
concern by the IUCN.
India Neutrino observatory

 It is a particle physics research project under construction to primarily study atmospheric neutrinos in a 1,300
meters (4,300 ft) deep cave
 Located in Bodi west Hills, Tamil Nadu. (See map, hills, rivers nearby)
 Underground project
 Jointly supported by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and the Department of Science and Technology
(DST)
What are neutrinos?

 Neutrinos are second most widely occurring particle in universe
 Neutrinos are found in three forms (e, mu and tau).
 It is charge less (electrically neutral), thereby enabling it to travel through planets, stars, rocks, human bodies
without any interaction; and
 This characteristic has opened new domains for humanity
IRNSS (NAVIC)
About IRNSS:
IRNSS is an independent regional navigation satellite system designed to provide position information in the Indian
region and 1500 km around the Indian mainland. Simply put, the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System
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(IRNSS) is similar to the GPS (global positioning system) of the US, Glonass of Russia and Galileo of Europe as well as
China’s Beidou. It consists of a constellation of seven satellites.
Features:
1. It is a constellation of total 7 satellite launched in space and a ground facility on land to receive signals from
space satellites. 3 of its satellite Located in Geostationary orbit and 4 are inclined to geosynchronous orbit.
However full NAVIC system has 9 satellite, 2 on ground in standby mode.
2. It covers whole India and region surrounding it up to 1500 km.
3. It provide accuracy up to 20m as claimed by ISRO.
4. Its apogee(farthest point) is 20,657km and Perigee is 284 km
5. The satellite weighs average 1330 kg approx. and each have solar panels to generate 1400wt.
6. A master control facility is set up on land to receive signals from these satellites.
What areas will it cover?

1. Primary Service Area: To provide accurate position information service to users in India as well as the region
extending up to 1500 km from its boundary, which is its primary service area.
2. Extended Service Area: It lies between primary service area and area enclosed by the rectangle from Latitude 30
deg South to 50 deg North, Longitude 30 deg East to 130 deg East.
What all services are provided?

IRNSS would provide two types of services, namely
1. Standard Positioning Services available to all users and
2. Restricted Services provided to authorised users. (Encrypted)
Significance:
1. India became one of the 5 countries having their own navigation system like GPS of USA, GLONASS of Russia,
Galileo of Europe and BeiDu of China. So India dependence on other countries for navigation purposes reduces.
2. It give real time information for 2 services i.e standard positioning service open for civilian use and Restricted
service which may be encrypted for authorised user like for military. Currently we uses GPS system of USA for
navigation.
3. It will help to mitigate the disaster effects by providing information of disaster timing, safe location and also
help the disaster relief management to make earlier plans and save the lives of people in India as well as up to
1500 km around it.
4. It will help the mariners for far navigation and fisherman for get information about the valuable fisheries
location and any disturbance in Sea.
5. It will help to make friendly relations with others countries by providing real time information during any
calamity or disaster for mitigate its after effect and for making early plans
Applications of IRNSS:
 Terrestrial, Aerial and Marine Navigation.
 Disaster Management.
 Vehicle tracking and fleet management.
 Integration with mobile phones.
 Precise Timing.
 Mapping and Geodetic data capture.
 Terrestrial navigation aid for hikers and travelers.
 Visual and voice navigation for drivers.
IRNSS-1G
IRNSS-1G
 7th and last satellite of Indian version of GPS (IRNSS - Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System)
 Launched into space via the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) C33
 This has made the nation self-reliant in the field of space-based positioning
 New Name : ‘Navic‘, which in Hindi means ‘sailor’ or ‘navigator’. The name is also supposed to be a contraction
of the phrase ‘navigation with Indian constellation’
Juno
 NASA's spacecraft
 JUNO is an acronym for JUpiter Near-polar Orbiter
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 Entered into the orbit of Jupiter

 It will orbit Jupiter from pole to pole, 5,000 kilometres above planet’s cloud
 Launched by NASA as part of its New Frontiers program in 2011 to study Jupiter’s composition, gravity field,
magnetic field, and polar magnetosphere
 Unmanned spacecraft
 Juno is not the first spacecraft to orbit Jupiter. It is second spacecraft to orbit Jupiter, after Galileo
probe which had orbited the planet from 1995–2003. Galileo probe in its mission had found evidence of
subsurface saltwater on Jupiter’s moons Europa, Ganymede and Callisto
K2-33b
 It is a new born exoplanet
 Discovered by Kepler Space Telescope
 It is locked into a tight orbit around its star and only takes about five days to complete a lap around its host star
 It will helps us understand how planets form.
Keppler Laws
 Kepler was a German Scientist
 First Law: Describes the shape of an orbit
o The orbit of a planet around the Sun (or of a satellite around a planet) is not a perfect circle. It is an
ellipse—a “flattened” circle. The Sun (or the center of the planet) occupies one focus of the ellipse.
A focus is one of the two internal points that help determine the shape of an ellipse. The distance from one
focus to any point on the ellipse and then back to the second focus is always the same.
 Second Law : Describes how speed varies along orbit
o A planet's orbital speed changes, depending on how far it is from the Sun. The closer a planet is to the
Sun, the stronger the Sun’s gravitational pull on it, and the faster the planet moves. The farther it is from
the Sun, the weaker the Sun’s gravitational pull, and the slower it moves in its orbit.
 Third Law : Compares the motion of objects in orbits of different sizes.
 A planet farther from the Sun not only has a longer path than a closer planet, but it also travels slower,
since the Sun’s gravitational pull on it is weaker. Therefore, the larger a planet’s orbit, the longer the
planet takes to complete it.
Kepler Space Telescope
 It is an unmanned space observatory

 Launched in 2009 by NASA
 It aims to detect Earth-like planets in the Milky Way galaxy
 It does not probe the environmental conditions of planets
 It works by observing a dimming in the light of a star, known as a transit, each time an orbiting planet passes in
front of it
Kepler1647b
 It is a Jupiter-like circumbinary planet named i.e. orbiting a system of two stars

 Circumbinary planets are those planets that orbit two stars
 Discovered by NASA
 Kepler1647b is the largest such cosmic body ever found
 It is 3,700 light-years away
 Kepler1647b’s mass and radius nearly identical to that of Jupiter
Kuiper belt
 It is similar to asteroid belt found beyond Neptune

 It is bigger than asteroid belt, 20 times as wide and 20 to 200 times as massive.
 Like the asteroid belt, it consists mainly of small bodies, or remnants from the Solar System's formation.
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 Although many asteroids are composed primarily of rock and metal, most Kuiper belt objects are composed
largely of frozen volatiles (termed "ices"), such as methane, ammonia and water.
 The Kuiper belt is home to three officially recognized dwarf planets:
o Pluto,
o Haumea, and
o Makemake.
 Some of the Solar System's moons, such as Neptune's Triton and Saturn; Phoebe are also thought to have
originated in the region.
Lagrangian points
What are Lagrangian points and halo orbit?
 Lagrangian points are the locations in space where the combined gravitational pull of two large masses roughly
balance each other. Any small mass placed at that location will remains at constant distances relative to the large
masses. There are five such points in Sun-Earth
Earth system and they are denoted as L1, L2, L3, L4 and L5.
 A halo orbit is a periodic three-dimensional
dimensional orbit near the L1, L2 or L3
LIGO
Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave
Gravitational Observatory (LIGO)
 MoU with USA
 LIGO is a large-scale
scale physics experiment and observatory to detect gravitational waves.
 Earlier in February 2016, the Union Cabinet had approved Rs 1200 crores for the LIGO India project. It will be
third LIGO interferometer in the world and it is expected to be functional by 2023. It will significantly improve
the ability of scientists to pinpoint the sources of gravitational waves and analyse the signals
 Other 2 LIGOs are in USA
LISA Pathfinder
LISA Pathfinder:
 It is an European Space Agency spacecraft that was launched in 2015
 LISA stands for Laser Interferometer Space Antenna, a space-based
space based gravitational wave observatory
 The primary goal of ESA’s LISA Pathfinder
Pathfinder mission is to test current technology by flying around an identical
pair of 1.8-inch
inch (46 millimeter) cubes made of a gold-platinum
gold platinum alloy, a material chosen for its high density and
insensitivity to magnetic fields
 LISA Pathfinder spacecraft has positioned
positi itself in gravitational stasis at the first Langrangian Point (L1) that
lets its instruments hang in freefall. This is expected to filter out extraneous cosmic noise so the spacecraft can
achieve its mission: measuring gravitational waves, the “sound” of the universe.
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Mars one
 It’s a mission to establish a human settlement on Mars by 2027
 Launched in 2012
 Initiative of a private company (Mars One and Interplanetary Media Group) based in Netherlands
 Mars One's original concept included launching a robotic lander and orbiter as early as 2016 to be followed by a
human crew of four in 2022.
MAST
 MAST stands for Multi Application Solar Telescope

 It is a telescope for the detailed study of the Solar activity including its magnetic field
 Established in Udaipur
 Owned by ISRO
 MAST will be used to measure vector magnetic fields of active regions at different heights of the solar
atmosphere. It will also be used to study seismic effects of solar flares
MOM
 MOM stands for Mars Orbitor Mission (Mangalyan)
 Launched by ISRO in 2013
 Launched via PSLV-XL C-25
 It is India's first interplanetary mission and ISRO has become the fourth space agency to reach Mars, after
the Soviet space program, NASA, and the European Space Agency.
 The mission is a "technology demonstrator" project to develop the technologies for designing, planning,
management, and operations of an interplanetary mission.
NARL (National Atmospheric Research Laboratory)

NARL (National Atmospheric Research Laboratory): it is Autonomous body of Department of Space research at
Gadanki, Tirupathi. It is World’s first low latitude laboratory
NASA New Horizons
 It is a Pluto moon probe

 Sent by NASA in 2006
 New Horizons is an interplanetary space probe that was launched as a part of NASA's New Frontiers program.
 The primary mission is to perform a flyby study of the Pluto system, and a secondary mission is to fly by and
study one or more other Kuiper belt objects (KBOs).
 Most of the post-Jupiter voyage was spent in hibernation mode to preserve on-board systems, except for brief
annual checkouts.
 First spacecraft to explore the dwarf planet
 NASA has given its approval to extend New Horizons mission to investigate a mysterious object deep in the
Kuiper Belt
NASA Dawn Mission
 It has become first spacecraft to orbit two extra-terrestrial targets i.e. Vesta and Ceres
 NASA's project. Launched in 2007. Spacecraft components contributed by European partners from the
Netherlands, Italy and Germany
 Vesta and Ceres are protoplanets of Asteroids belt.
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NEO shield
 NEO stands for Near Earth Objects
 It is a programme for detecting and tracking near-Earth objects (NEOs) like comets and asteroids that pass by
the Earth’s orbit, to ward off any potential impact threats to our planet
 European space agency funded. Started in 2012
 Recently NASA also started similar program
 Neo Shield 2 project has been started in 2015 for near earth object impact prevention.
NISAR
 NISAR stands for NASA ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar Mission
 Aims to study the hazards and global environmental changes
 Slated to launched in 2020-21
 Will be launched in a Sun Synchronous Low -Earth
 It is designed to observe and take measurements of some of the planet's most complex processes,
including ecosystem disturbances, ice-sheet collapse, and natural hazards such as earth quakes, tsunamis,
volcanoes and landslides.
 The satellite is likely to be launched from India aboard an Indian launch vehicle.
 Applications:
o NISAR would provide info about a place more frequently. For Ex. If the present satellite take 23 to 25 days
to revisit a particular spot and give the next round of info about it, NISAR would provide the repeat info in
two to five days.
o Objectives:
 Estimation of soil moisture
 Agriculture and forest biomass
 Estimation of glacier
 Snow and possibility of landslide
PSLV C-34
 Launched a record 20 satellites in a single mission
 Launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota
 The primary satellite in this mission was India’s latest earth observation satellite Cartosat-2
 19 other satellites from :
o US
o Canada
o Germany
o Indonesia
RLV-TD
RLV-TD
 Indigenous Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD)
 RLV-TD is winged body aerospace vehicle that operated in hypersonic flight regime.
 It is capable of launching satellites into orbit around earth and then re-enter the atmosphere
 It has been configured to act as a flying testbed to evaluate various technologies, including hypersonic flight,
autonomous landing, powered cruise flight.
 It was launched using a nine-ton solid rocket motor (SRM) which is designed to burn slowly to accommodate the
vertical lifting of winged body
 The RLV-TD was 6.5 meter long and has aeroplane like structure. It weighs about 1.75 tonnes and is very similar
to the retired US space shuttle.
 RLV is being dubbed as India’s own space shuttle and considered as the unanimous solution to achieve low
cost, reliable and on-demand space access. ISRO’s RLV will be competing with two US based private companies
namely SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Blue Origin’s New Shephard rocket, which have already partially tested re-
usable space shuttles.
 Aims to decrease the space cost and space debris
 Speed : Mach5 (Hyper Sonic)
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Rosetta
Rosetta:
 It is the first spacecraft to orbit a comet.
 Launched in 2004 and reached Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in 2014
 It carried Philae along with it
 Launched by European Space Agency
SOFIA
 SOFIA stands for Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy

 Project of NASA and German Aerospace center
 Aims to construct and maintain an airborne observatory i.e. telescope on an aeroplane
 SOFIA is the successor to the Kuiper Airborne Observatory.
 SOFIA's telescope saw first light on May 26, 2010.
 Telescope is designed for infrared astronomy observations in the stratosphere at altitudes of about 12
kilometers (41,000 ft).
 SOFIA's flight capability allows it to rise above almost all of the water vapor in the Earth's atmosphere, which
blocks some infrared wavelengths from reaching the ground.
 The aircraft can also travel to almost any point on the Earth's surface, allowing observation from the northern
and southern hemispheres.
 It is an Infrared Telescope.
 SOFIA’s telescope is by far the largest ever to be placed in an aircraft.
Space X
 US private company in aerospace and space transport sector

 It was established with the goal of creating the technologies to reduce space transportation costs and enable the
colonization of Mars
 It has developed the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 launch vehicles, both designed to be reusable, and the Dragon
spacecraft which is flown into orbit by the Falcon 9 launch vehicle to supply the International Space
Station (ISS) with cargo.
 A manned version of Dragon is in development
SPHERE instrument
 SPHERE stands for Spectro-Polarimetric High-Contrast Exoplanet Research Instrument

 It is one of the world’s most advanced instruments dedicated to finding planets around other stars
 It is sensitive to infrared light which makes it capable of detecting the heat signatures of young planet
 It has ability to correct the image distortion (twinkle) introduced by the Earth’s atmosphere. This technique is
called direct imaging
Space Launch System
 Being developed by NASA

 It is a powerful, advanced launch vehicle for a new era of human exploration beyond Earth’s orbit
 SLS will launch crews of up to four astronauts in the agency’s Orion spacecraft on missions to explore multiple,
deep-space destinations
 Offering more payload mass, volume capability and energy to speed missions through space than any current
launch vehicle, SLS is designed to be flexible and evolvable and will open new possibilities for payloads,
including robotic scientific missions to places like Mars, Saturn and Jupiter
Thirty meter telescope
 It is a proposed astronomical observatory with an extremely large telescope (ELT) that has become the source of
controversy over its planned location on Mauna Kea in the state of Hawaii.
 Construction of the TMT on land which is considered sacred to Native Hawaiian culture and religion
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 India is a part of this project

 Construction has been postponed due to protests.

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Breakthrough Energy Coalition ................................................................................................ 12

YETI Project .............................................................................................................................. 22

Goldilocks Zone ........................................................................................................................ 32

 It is a drug for multi-drug resistant TB patients

BIRAC Ace Fund

Broad Spectrum Antibiotic

 Crispr/Cas9 is related to genome editing. (Genome: Complete DNA sequence)

GenomeAsia 100k project

What are GM mosquitoes?

What is the controversy related to GMOs?

Human Genome Project - Write

Patent Regulation Framework

 It is a vaccine used to protect against rotavirus infections

 It is a diagnostic test to identify TB DNA and resistance to some medicines

Ashwin : Advanced Air Defence

 It is a beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile (BVRAAM)

 Barak is a Hebrew word for lightening

 It is an Indian-Isreli surface-to-air missile

 HTT stands for Hindustan Turbo Trainer

 It is the first aircraft carrier built in India

Kalvari Class Submarines

K-4 Ballistic Missile

 It is a nuclear-capable submarine-launched ballistic missile

 MR-SAM stands for medium range surface-to-air missile

 The missile was inducted into Indian armed forces in 2003.

Tejas - Light Combat Aircraft

Energy and Environment

Bharat Stage Emission Standards

What is the mechanism that is followed under BS?

What is the benefit of these norms?

How are they adopted/ their timelines?

Is the fuel available to all type of vehicles across country?

Why BS thing in news now?

Why Government skipping BS V?

What are the challenges?

Breakthrough Energy Coalition

 It is a global group of 28 high net worth investors from 10 countries

 I-LTEO stands for Indian Long Term Ecological Observatories

 LED stands for Light Emitting Diode

o lower energy consumption,

 It is a solar power complex in Morocco

 It is also called Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Birds of Prey in

Rare earth elements

Stratospheric sulfate aerosols (geoengineering)

Transformative Carbon Asset Facility (TCAF)

Brittle Bone Disease

 It is a bone disorder characterized by brittle bones that are prone to fracture

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

 It is a type of obstructive lung disease characterized by long term poor airflow

Injectable Polio Vaccine

 It is also known as mildronate

Mono Sodium Glutamate

 Monosodium glutamate is the sodium salt of glutamic acid.

 It is transmitted by daytime-active Aedes mosquitoes, such as A. aegypti.

What is Cognitive radio (CR)?

 An electronic nose is a device intended to detect odors or flavors.

Google Street View

Is the rejection of street view valid?

 It is the most recent version of the Internet Protocol

Sunway Taihu Light

 It is a Chinese Super computer