Mana La Excellence

S&T Current Affairs Gist

Jan 2023- Dec 2023
Part 2/4
26. NAVIC

Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC), formerly IRNSS; Functions- Autonomous

regional satellite navigation system; Provides real-time positioning and timing services,
Coverage includes India and 1500 km beyond its borders; Supported by various
smartphones, including iPhone 15 Pro, Mi 11X, 11T Pro, OnePlus Nord 2T, Realme 9
Pro; GoI mandates all 5G phones to support NavIC by Jan 1, 2025, and all other phones
by Dec 2025.
27. Green Crypto Mining (GCM)

Recently Bhutan announced fund for GCM; Crypto mining is process by which
transactions are verified on the blockchain; Involves solving complex mathematical
calculation that verify and record the transactions in the block chain; It requires huge
power to maintain the computational devices; Use of renewable energy such as solar,
wind, hydro, etc for crypto mining is called Green Crypto Mining; Advantages- Reduced
Carbon Footprint, Energy Efficiency, Long-Term Sustainability.
28. Monkeypox

Recently increase in cases in South Africa and other countries; Viral Zoonotic Disease,
transmitted from animals to humans; First Case-1970 in Congo; Transmission through
Human-to-human through contact; Incubation: 6 to 13 days (5-21 days); Symptoms:
Rash, fever, swollen lymph nodes, muscle ache, etc; Vaccine is not available.
29. Trans-fat

WHO Report on Global Trans Fat Elimination; 5 billion people globally remain
unprotected from harmful trans fats; These are unsaturated fatty acids that come from
either natural (Cows, Bufalos and Sheep) or industrial sources; Industrial process -
adds hydrogen to vegetable oil converting the liquid into a solid, resulting in “partially
hydrogenated” oil (PHO); Found in packaged foods, baked goods, cooking oils and
spreads; Impacts- Leads to Bad Cholesterol- Heart attacks, Diabetes and Obesity; India-
Eat Right Movement, FSSAI- all food items should contain less than 2% of trans fat from
Jan 2022.
30. Rice Fortification

A dried powder “pre-mix” of vitamins and minerals – iron, vitamin B12, folic acid – is
added to powdered rice; It is supplied for Mid-Day Meals, PDS rice distribution, ICDS
distribution and is made mandatory from 2024; Helps in addressing Hidden Hunger –
Undernourishment and Anaemia; Harmful for those suffering from Thalassemia and
Sickel Cell Anaemia; Concerns regarding quality and safety of fortified rice; As of now
the policy focuses on external fortification (Industrial addition of minerals and
vitamins) rather than bio-fortification (Fortification of nutrients in the crop through
genetic engineering and /or hybrids).
31. Brain- Computer Interface Device

A device that is capable of decoding brain activity into speech faster and accurately;
a direct communication pathway between the human brain and external devices;
Applications- assistive technology, neurorehabilitation, research, and enhanced
control applications like gaming; Concerns: cyberattacks on brain data, unequal
access due to costs, and the need for accurate translation of brain signals to speech
to avoid unintended consequences.
32. Gravitational Waves

Indian government approved the construction of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-

Wave Observatory (LIGO) project ; LIGO is an international network of
laboratories that detect gravitational waves ; LIGO- India is built by the Department of
Atomic Energy and the Department of Science and Technology with the U.S. National
Science Foundation and several other institutions; in the Hingoli district of Maharashtra;
aims to detect gravitational waves from the universe; fifth node of the planned network
for international scientific research; Gravitational Waves- produced by the movement
of massive celestial bodies, such as black holes or neutron stars, and are the ripples in
spacetime; first postulated (1916) in Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity.
33. Outer Space Governance

UN Policy brief- "For All Humanity — The Future of Outer Space Governance” discusses to
develop a new treaty for peace, security, and preventing an arms race in outer space.; UN
Summit of the Future, scheduled for September 2024, in New York; Need- Satellite
Launch Increase, Resource Exploration( minerals on the Moon and asteroids); No
international agreement on space resource exploration; Fragmented space traffic
coordination; Space Debris Concerns; UN Recommendations: Develop a new treaty for
peace and security; Establish effective coordination for space situational awareness;
Create norms and principles for space debris removal.
34. Lab Grown Diamonds

2023-24 Union Budget has put special emphasis on Laboratory-Grown Diamonds (LGD);
LGD are manufactured in laboratories, as opposed to naturally occurring diamonds.
However, the chemical composition and other physical and optical properties of the
two are the same; Manufactured through- High Pressure, High Temperature
(HPHT) method or Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) method; Applications- Industrial
use in machines and tools, Exceptional hardness and strength for cutter applications,
Pure synthetic diamonds in electronics, Function as heat spreaders, Applied in high-
power laser diodes, laser arrays, and transistors.
35. Sickel Cell Anaemia

Sickle cell anaemia is a genetic blood disorder; Genetic blood disorder; Abnormal
hemoglobin shape- Red blood cell distortion; Impacts- Low oxygen-carrying capacity,
Chronic anemia, Painful episodes, Increased risk of infections; Genetic inheritance, No
widely available cure; As per Census 2011, India has an 8.6% tribal population which is
67.8 million across the Indian states; Measures- National Sickle Cell Anaemia Elimination
Mission- eliminate by 2047.
36. Cell Cultivated Meat

United States approval of lab-grown meat; grown in a laboratory setting using isolated
stem cells derived from animals; to replicate and grow into edible meat; the process
typically takes place in bioreactors; The first country to approve the sale of alternative
meat was Singapore in 2020; Significance of Cell-Cultivation: Climate mitigation through
reduced greenhouse gas emissions, Efficient land use, requiring significantly less space,
Aims to improve animal welfare by minimizing slaughter, Potential to address future food
security needs.
37. mRNA Vaccines

mRNA vaccines work by introducing a piece of mRNA that corresponds to a viral protein; By
using this mRNA, cells can produce the viral protein; Individuals who get an mRNA vaccine
are not exposed to the virus, nor can they become infected with the virus by the vaccine;
Adv- speed and efficiency; Examples- GEMCOVAC-OM, Pfizer-BioNTech and the Moderna.
38. Titanic Submersible

Developed by OceanGate that organizes underwater expeditions; India is going for

Deep See Dive with the Vehicle Matsya-6000 (Deep Sea Mission- DSM) in late 2024
similar to the Titan submersible; DOM is a mission mode project to support the Blue
Economy Initiatives; Submarine: Larger, independent underwater vehicle with power to
depart and return to port. Submersible: Smaller, less powerful; requires a ship for
launch and recovery.
39. Coronal Mass Ejection

Eruptions of charged particles and magnetic fields from the solar atmosphere;
Disrupt ground and space-based technologies on Earth. Aditya-L1 with Visible
Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) to study CMEs; Aims to provide insights into CME
thermodynamic properties in the inner corona.
40. Bharat 6G Alliance

Bharat 6G Alliance is a collaborative platform that aims to drive innovation and

collaboration in 6G technology; The alliance was launched by the Department of
Telecommunications (DoT); Govt is planning a high speed 6G Communication Services
by 2030; India’s 6G project will be implemented in two phases, the first one from 2023
to 2025 and the second one from 2025 to 2030; The Alliance will work on- Terahertz
communication, radio interfaces, tactile internet, artificial intelligence for connected
intelligence, new encoding methods and waveforms chipsets for 6G devices.
41. Perseverance Rover

Recently NASA Perseverance rover has discovered evidence of organic compounds in a

Martian crater; Robotic explorer for NASA's Mars 2020 Mission; Objective- Seek signs
of ancient life, collect rock and soil samples; Encase samples in tubes for potential
return to Earth; Landed on Mars' Jezero Crater on Feb. 18, 2021; Multi-Mission
Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG)- MMRTG converts plutonium decay
heat into electricity.
42. Blue Sky Project

Is a decentralized social media app; Developed parallel to Twitter (Now called as X); It
was launched by Jack Dorsey in 2019; It is based on the Authenticated Transport (AT)
protocol; BlueSky currently allows only a select group to join through invite codes.
43. Superconductivity

Recently a study indicated the possibility of a room-temperature superconductor; Super

Conductivity means zero or near-zero resistance to electric current; Observed at very
low temperatures, close to absolute zero; Characteristics: Zero resistance, Perfect
diamagnetism, strong repulsion of magnetic fields, Meissner effect- Expulsion of
magnetic field during superconducting transition; Applications: Energy transmission,
transportation, scientific research, Used in MRI machines and Maglev trains.
Importance of Room Temperature Superconductivity: Achieve superconductivity at
easily attainable temperatures, Transformative advancements in various industries at
lower costs. Challenges: More complex materials, difficult to synthesize and stabilize.
44. Fukushima Radioactive Water release

Japan released contaminated water from Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea; The
water, a byproduct of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, is treated by Tokyo Electric
Power Company (TEPCO) using Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS); It removed
many radioactive materials but not tritium; Tritium concentration is claimed to be
within international standards; The IAEA has given approval ; Japan plans to release
water over 30 years, monitoring radiation, and compensating affected fishers.
45. G20- AMR: - Delhi Declaration Commitments

The G20, including India, pledged to strengthen global health systems, implement
the One Health approach, and prioritize tackling Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)
through research and development (R&D); Prioritizing AMR through research,
infection prevention, antimicrobial stewardship, and facilitating equitable access to
medical countermeasures; Government initiatives- Free Diagnostic Services and
Kayakalp.
46. Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar Award
The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Awards are the highest multidisciplinary science
awards in India; named after Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar, the founder and director of
CSIR; The awards aim to recognize outstanding Indian work in science and
technology; SSB Prizes, each valued at Rs 5,00,000, are awarded annually; Eligibility
for the award includes Indian citizens engaged in research in any field of science and
technology up to the age of 45, with overseas citizens of India (OCI) and Persons of
Indian Origin (PIO) working in India also being eligible. (CSIR, established in 1942, is
the largest research and development organization in India, with a network of
national laboratories, outreach centers, and units across the country. It operates as
an autonomous body funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology.)
47. Space Debris

Uncontrolled re-entry of space debris found on Australian Coast belongs to ISRO’s PSLV;
Means unwanted material orbiting the Earth; Challenges: Collision Risk, Satellite
Damage, Safety of Astronauts, Spacecraft Longevity, Limited Orbital Space, etc; NETRA
of ISRO to monitor Space Objects including Space Debris; In 2024 UN is going to take up
issue of Space Debris under Outer Space Regulation; Kessler Syndrome- Chain reaction
of space debris collisions escalating collision risks.
48. Aditya L1 Mission

ISRO launched Aditya L1 Mission- first Solar Mission of India using PSLV C57; Will be
placed (Reached on Jan 6th 2024) at 1.5 million kilometers in halo orbit (Lagrangian point
1 (L1) between Sun and Earth); ISRO’s second astronomy observatory-class mission
after AstroSat (2015); Objective -is to gain a deeper understanding of the Sun's behavior,
including its radiation, heat, particle flow, and magnetic fields, and how they impact
Earth. (Reaches L1 point by Jan 7th 2024).
49. Chandrayan 3

India's third lunar mission and second attempt at achieving a soft landing; Launched on
July 14, 2023 using LVM-III; Soft landed on South Pole of the Moon; Components include
a Propulsion Module, Lander Module (Vikram), and Rover Module (Pragyan); Orbiter of
Chandran 2 is used; Major findings include surprising lunar surface temperatures and
confirmation of elements like sulphur, aluminium, calcium, iron, etc; Impetus to future
space programs like Chandrayaan-4, LUPEX, XPoSat, NISAR, Gaganyaan, Shukrayaan 1,
and SPADEX (Chandrayaan-4, aiming for lunar sample return and rover exploration.)
50. Astrosat

ISRO's AstroSat, launched in 2015, has detected over 600 gamma-ray bursts; Gamma-
ray bursts signify the death of massive stars or neutron star mergers; The first Indian
satellite dedicated to astronomy; The Cadmium Zinc Telluride Imager (CZTI) on AstroSat
is responsible for the detections.; AstroSat, exceeded its design life of five years;
Gamma-ray bursts are highly energetic, emitting more energy in seconds than the Sun
does in its entire lifetime; AstroSat-2, the successor to AstroSat, is India's second space
observatory mission is pending.
All The Best