TECHNOLOGY

In 2022, we will continue to witness an accelerated rate of digitization and virtualization of

business and society. Covid 19 will continue to bring change, however the need for
sustainability, ever increasing data volumes and increasing computer network speeds will regain
their status as the crucial drivers of the digital transformation. An important lesson of the last two
years or so has been that truly transformative change can be achieved especially if it’s driven by
necessity. As a society we will definitely continue to go with this new openness to flexibility and
open thinking especially as the focus is to thrive in the new changed world. So let’s look at some
of the recent tech innovations and discoveries that will define the coming years.

IOC launched indoor solar cook top Surya Nutan:

On June 22, 2022 Indian oil corporation (IOC) launched its solar cooktop, Surya Nutan
developed by the oil refiner’s Faridabad R&D center. The product was demonstrated in the
presence of the Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MoPNG) HS Puri; Rural Development
and Panchayati Raj Minister Giriraj Singh; Minister of State (MoS) for Commerce & Industry
Som Prakash; MoS for Housing & Urban Affairs Kaushal Kishore, and Minister of Finance and
Parliamentary Affairs of Uttar Pradesh Suresh Khanna. This device will aid in reducing CO2
emissions of India drastically and keep its citizens insulated from high international fossil fuel
prices. This device also has online cooking mode while it is being charged. Although it is a solar
cook top is easily stationery and rechargeable which makes it even more effective and efficient at
the same time conserving energy and thus conserving our environment. Like most of the other
devices this device also works in two modes i.e. it runs on both solar and auxiliary energy
sources at the same time. The costing of product was decided to be INR 12,000(Twelve
Thousands) for basic model whereas for top model it was decided to be somewhere INR
23,000(Twenty Three Thousands) but it is being expected that it will reduce even further due to
economies of scale as the knowledge and benefits of product which reach maximum people the
sale will increase thus increasing the production and leading to economies of scale. This device
follows all the steps and rules & regulations which are made by Ministry in the current energy
crisis which also includes increase in ethanol blending to 20% thus increasing the procurement
process of compressed Biogas under SATAT Scheme from 45/kg to 54/kg which eventually
increases the area under exploration and production to 15% of geographical area from current 7-
8% and aggressively pursuing green hydrogen mission in refineries. At present, pilot projects
are being held in around 60 places such as Leh (Ladakh) to ascertain various operational and
commercial aspects related with its application.

Country with World largest Naval Fleet - CHINA

While the whole world has eyes on the Ukraine - Russia War, China is secretly building a naval
facility on the northern portion of Cambodia Ream Naval base that would extend its military
power which is limited in foreign waters. Along with that, when Sri Lanka is facing the biggest
economic crisis in its history, China has acquired one of the most valuable assets of Sri Lanka
called the Hambantota port which is Sri Lanka second largest port and it handled 1.8 million tons
of LPG and dry bulk cargo in 2020.

The reason why the Hambantota Port is crucial because it is close to two of the most important
international shipping routes which pass through the Swiss canal and Strait of Malacca. These
routes through Hambantota port are used by about 36000 ships including 4500 oil tanks and this
part saves about 3 days of sailing time and fuel.

Secondly, the deep-water terminal facility of the Hambantota port has the capacity to land the
largest ship with utmost ease and efficiency on top of that it also has ample amount of storage
and also has dry weather throughout the year.

Thirdly, using this port, Sri Lanka can even get into the market of fuel depots in both the
Singapore and Fujairah which are two of the largest fuel depots in the world that supply over 60
million tons of fuel per year. Now, China commands 350 ships which makes it world largest
Naval Fleet.

Delivery Drones

Urgent cargo delivery to remote areas has always been a significant issue to tackle. The
developers of the multifunctional delivery drones not only intend to solve the problem but make
it economically beneficial. They constructed it with deep attention to every detail. The device
launches and lands vertically, so there is no specific infrastructure needed. The drone find its
destination through an advanced navigation system while instantly providing the current location
and the route. Some drones have achieved 200 miles per hour speed and they operate up to 800
kilometers with a single charge. The maximum loading can be up to 9 kilograms. These figures
are not that great but the drone capacity is enough to deliver medications and food materials to
remote area.

India’s GSAT-24 24-Ku band communication satellite

On June 23, India launched its GSAT-24 satellite, that has been built by ISRO for NewSpace
India Limited (NSIL). GSAT-24 is a 24-Ku band communication satellite. The GSAT-24 weighs
approximately 4180 Kg. The launch took place in French Guiana, in South America. The
purpose of launching this satellite will be to provide coverage to pan-India, to meet DTH
application needs of India. The launch was done from Ariane 5 space launch vehicle, by a
renowned French company Arianespace. The GSAT-24 satellite was launched on this French
rocket (Ariane 5), because at present India does not have space-launch rocket that can lift a
satellite weighing over 4 tons into the geostationary orbit. India’s most powerful rocket GSLV
MK3 is capable of lifting up to 4 tons into geostationary orbit. It is not capable enough now to
lift a satellite over and above 4 ton equivalent to the likes of GSAT-24. Communications
satellites are necessary to be placed in a geostationary orbit, so that satellite antennas that are
based on the arth here, don’t have to be rotated to track them. They are pointed in a position
permanently facing towards the sky wherein the satellites are located in respective geostationary
orbits. GSAT-24 is a special 24-Ku band communication satellite, launched to provide coverage
to meet DTH application needs for Pan India. NSIL has leased the entire capacity of the satellite
to Tata Play. It is a first of it’s kind, a demand driven satellite, that is been configured by ISRP. It
is owned as well as funded with taking care of the operations by NSIL, for commercial uses.
NSIL is a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) and one of the commercial arms of Indian Space
Research Organization (ISRO). It was established two years back on 6th of March, 2019. It
straight away works under the complete administrative control of the Department of Space
(DoS). The organization aims at seeking to increase participation of industries in the area of
Indian space programs.