[Current Affairs] Jan-Week2: Science Technology- Triglycerides, Cloned Buffalo, DPP-2016, SDR Radio

1. Environment: International cooperation
2. Environment: Pollution
3. Environment: Water Resources
   1. IMD says impossible & drought are not in my dictionary
   2. World Bank to finance Neeranchal
4. Defense Defense Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2016
5. Indian Contribution for GS2- Fringe science
6. Medicine and Biotech
   1. Triglyceride’s to prevent obesity
   2. CIRB Gaurav: Cloned buffalo
   3. Blood Plasma: A cure for Ebola?
7. ICT/E-Governance
   1. SDR radio
   2. IT/Space: Misc.

Environment: International cooperation

Environment: Pollution

Environment: Water Resources

IMD says impossible & drought are not in my dictionary

• India Meteorological Department (IMD) says there is no “drought” word in its new office manual.
• It is for Government to declare “Drought”, IMD is not the nodal agency for that.
• IMD can only say following:
  • if rainfall <10% of normal and affected 20-40% of area then it would be called a “deficient” (instead of “All India Drought Year”)
  • if rainfall deficiency >40 per cent then it’ll be called “All India Severe Drought Year” (instead of “Large Deficient Year”).
• besides, IMD has several definitions of drought: meteorological, hydrological and agricultural. For example, if 90% shortfall in monsoon then its meteorological drought. But still if <20% area affected, then it can’t be called an agricultural drought.

World Bank to finance Neeranchal

• Rural Development Ministry: World Bank to give loan for its Neeranchal National Watershed Project.
• It’ll run for 6 years (2016-21) and it will support the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayi Yojana.
• Major beneficiaries will be 9 states with large watershed projects viz. Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujrat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana will benefit more from the project due to implementation of large number of watershed schemes in these states.

Defense Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2016

• Government to promote MSME and R&D in defense sector upto 90% R&D funding to be given.
• Accepted most recommendations of Ex-Home Secretary Dhirendra Singh’s Committee

Why should we promote desi defense mfg?

• To reduce current account deficit.
• Because desi industry will also innovate technology that has applications in other sectors such as medicine, e-governance etc.
• Example- the bio-toilets designed for army for harsh terrain and environment- they also have use in railways.
• Therefore, to become a developed nation, India must have domestic military industrial base.

Will new DPP cure everything?

• Desi vendor’s payment not cleared until inspector gives work completion certificate. Same doesn’t apply to foreign vendors.
• Foreign vendor exempted from custom duty payment, but desi vendor has to wait for months before his excise rebate comes.
• This new DPP doesn’t solve above issues.
• Tonbo is an Indian company making night vision equipment’s and drones for US army. But it operates from Singapore, due to “no ease of doing business” in India for defence production companies.

Indian contribution to Fringe science for GS2

• 2016’s Indian Science Congress (ISC) held in Mysuru, Karnataka. Theme- science & technology for indigenous development for India
• Nobel Chemistry winner Venkatraman Ramakrishnan (Venki) says, “Indian Science Congress (ISC) is a “circus” and I shall never attend it again.” He’s angry over the “Fringe scientists” given platform at ISC e.g. research papers on
  • Detailed plans of airplanes available in Ancient Indian literature
  • Lord Shiva was a great environmentalist
  • Blowing of Shankh: an indigenous tradition for fitness and wellness.
• Such things are discouraging real scientists from ISRO and elsewhere, whose real achievements are not highlighted by media.

GIAN initiative: HRD ministry: Global Initiative of Academic Network (GIAN) – it aims to bring foreign noble laurates and academicians to Indian colleges, so our students can benefit from their coaching and xeroxed notes.

Medicine and Biotech

Triglycerides to prevent obesity

• Vegetable oils are usually rich in triglycerides. Triglycerides is a class of fats that are associated with stroke and heart disease, because though our digestive system breaks them down for energy but they’re stored in the body as fat.
• So, researchers came up with new type of cooking oil containing Diglycerides.  less of it is stored as fat and more burned of to provide energy. Therefore, less chances of weight-gain compared to traditional cooking oils.
• Now  Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) of Mysuru, is planning for human clinical trials of this “anti-obesity cooking oil.”

CIRB Gaurav: Cloned buffalo

• Indian scientist at Central Institute for Research on Buffaloes (CIRB) in Hisar, Haryana produce a cloned buffalo ‘Cirb Gaurav’.
• They used cells from ventral side of bull-buffalo’s tail, because it’s least exposed to sunlight hence minimal mutation.
• National Dairy Research Institute in Karnal was the first to produce a cloned calf
• 2016: CIRB becomes India’s 2^nd and world’s 3^rd institute to produce cloned buffalo.

Blood Plasma: A cure for Ebola?

• If patient survives a disease- his convalescent plasma can be used for treating measles, mumps, pneumonia, influenza and diphtheria, because it contains antibodies that can fight against virus.
• Although, Scientists tried this plasma for Ebola but promising results not coming yet.

ICT/E-Governance

SDR radio

• SDR/software defined radio is a radio communication system where components that have been typically implemented using hardware are instead replaced by software.
• This reduces cost, power consumption and size of components on a personal computer or embedded system.
• It can be used for powering satellite phones, drones and satellite receiver for ISRO.
• An Indian startup company- Saankhya Labs has built such SDR chip- Brand name Pruthvi chip

IT/Space: Misc.

This concludes major current affairs developments in January week2, 2016