Relevance IN - Prelims (about MeitY startup Hub (MSH) + Mains ( GS III Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
What's the NEWS

• Minister for Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY ) Startup Hub (MSH), a platform to connect the startup ecosystem, has been formally inaugurated by Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister for Electronics & Information Technology, Communications and Law & Justice at the MeitY Startup Summit 2019.
• A single-window platform to collect Indian software product database, Indian software products registry
• The objective of this summit is to provide an environment where entrepreneurs and startups can share strategies and techniques that they find effective with one another.

Know! about MeitY Startup Summit 2019.

• It is supposed to work like a social media platform for all the stakeholders of the ecosystem, including incubators, accelerators, mentors, angel funds, and venture capitalists. At present, India has about 23,974 DPIIT recognised startups in the country.
• Apart from that, an overarching collaborative platform, MeitY StartUp Hub (MSH), has been envisioned to act as national coordination, facilitation and interconnected centre for all activities in the tech startup ecosystem.
• This platform will support startups to reach out to mentors and facilitate startups to scale from ideation to the marketplace.

Know! more about MeitY Startup Hub (MSH)

• MSH will act as a national coordination, facilitation, and monitoring centre that will integrate all the incubation centres, startups, and innovation related activities of MeitY.
• The hub will promote technology innovation, startups, and the creation of Intellectual Properties. According to a media report, former entrepreneur Deepak Agarwal will put together a team to run this platform.
• Besides this, at the event, the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) signed four different MoUs with Intel India Pvt Limited, IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, Pontacq, and IBM to promote innovation in Information and Communications Technology and related emerging fields.
• These MoUs will help in knowledge exchange and enhancing cooperation between technological institutions, venture capitalists, industries, and government agencies. The platform will leverage and bring startup intervention programme to STPI.
• They are meant to promote entrepreneurship and create a nurturing ecosystem for STPI CoEs in areas such as digital and mobile payments, blockchain, IoT, big data, and other emerging technologies.

Health and Family Welfare
October 2019 marks 25 years of Pulse Polio Programme in India
Relevance IN -Mains (GS II Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
Know! more about the Pulse Polio Programme (How India achieved it)

• India being declared Polio free in 2014 was a long and momentous . It all began with a single thought that if ballot papers can reach each person, two life saving drops of vaccination too can reach every child".
• The success of administering polio vaccination drops to12 lakh children through 4000 ‘polio kendras' on 2^nd October, 1994 in the city of Delhi, led to a countrywide movement and Pulse Polio Program was taken countrywide a year later in 1995.
• India achieved this monumental triumph with the strong Government leadership, hard work and dedication of frontline health workforce, community and religious influencers, health officials, state governments, civil society organizations, professional bodies like IMA, IAP etc., partners such as WHO, Rotary and UNICEF and most importantly the support of our countrymen
• The best practices and the systems established by the Pulse Polio programme have benefitted other health programs, viz. the community mobilization, logistics management, reaching the last mile or setting up a surveillance system.
• The learnings from Pulse Polio programme have helped implementation of other immunization programme i.e. the Mission Indradhanush (MI) and the Intensified Mission Indradhanush (IMI)
• In 1988, the World Health Assembly (WHA) passed a resolution to launch the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI).
• The Government of Delhi, piloted the first ever large scale supplementary immunization campaign with OPV in 1994 giving birth to the "Pulse Polio" immunization campaign with the iconic ‘Do Boond Zindagi Ki' tagline, on 2nd October 1994, Mahatma Gandhi's birthday.
• India's attainment of polio-free status in 2014 was coined by the World Health Organization as "one of the most significant achievements in public health," and marked not just India but the entire South East Asia Region being declared polio-free.

Prelims Factoids
Most advanced Electronic Interlocking System installed
Relevance IN - Prelims 9 about electronic interlocking system + grand chord route)
Know about electronic interlocking system and about grand chord route

• Most advanced Electronic Interlocking System has been installed on the Grand Chord route.
• The measure is expected to help Indian Railways speed up trains and to achieve its future objective of reducing the travel time between Delhi and Howrah to about 12 hours from the existing 17-19 hours.
• Grand Chord is part of the Howrah-Gaya-Delhi line and Howrah-Allahabad-Mumbai line.
• This achievement become possible by replacement of the 65-year old outdated Mechanical Signaling System with the most advanced and safer Electronic Interlocking System at Tundla station in Uttar Pradesh now.

Economic Development
Govt launches BHIM 2.0 with new functionalities

Relevance IN -Prelims ( about BHIM 2.0 + Mains (GS III economic development)
What's the NEWS

• The Ministry of Information Technology announced new initiatives and programs including BHIM 2.0 on October 21.
• The new version of BHIM 2.0 mobile app includes additional languages, new functionalities and increased transaction limits among other features.

Know! about BHIM 2.0

• BHIM app, a UPI based payment interface developed by NPCI that allows real time fund transfer
• BHIM 2.0 is developed by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
• It was established in December 2016 that allows real-time fund transfer.
• BHIM 2.0 offers additional features including increasing transaction limits with additional languages.
• BHIM 2.0 will be more useful and effective with new features added to it.
• BHIM 2.0 is already available in 13 languages and it will be available in three additional languages - Haryanvi, Bhojpuri and Konkani.
• Some of the striking features marking BHIM 2.0 include a 'Donation' gateway, increased transaction limits for high value transactions, linking multiple bank accounts, offers from merchants, option of applying in IPO, gifting money

Know! more about MeitY StartUp Hub (MSH)

• MeitY StartUp Hub (MSH) has been envisioned as an overarching collaborative platform to act as a national coordination, facilitation and interconnected centre for all activities in the tech startup ecosystem.
• MSH will support startups to reach out to mentors and facilitate startups to scale from ideation to marketplace.
• MSH portal brings onboard key constituents of the tech startup ecosystem with startups, technology incubation centres, Centres of Excellence (CoEs), mentors, VCs and angels together.
• The minister also launched an Indian software products registry, which will act as a single window portal to collate Indian software product database.

Defence
DRDO starts work on ‘next-gen' hypersonic weapon
Relevance IN - Prelims (about next-gen hypersonic weapon)

What's the NEWS

• The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has started work to produce a hypersonic weapon - missiles that travel at five times speed of sound, or a little over a mile every second.
• A wind tunnel to test and fine tune the technology will be operational soon

Know! more about it (Hypersonic missiles)

• Billed as a "next-gen" weapon system, the race to acquire hypersonic weapons technology is heating up.
• China, Russia, and the United States are testing hypersonic weapons of various types to enhance strategic nuclear deterrence and strengthen front-line combat units.
• Existing intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) re-entry vehicles also travel at those super fast speeds, but the hypersonic glide vehicles now in development are far more manoeuvrable, making their tracking and interception nearly impossible.
• Hypersonic weapons are specifically designed for increased survivability against modern ballistic missile defence systems.
• These missiles are capable of delivering conventional or nuclear payloads at speeds not imagined hitherto over long ranges.

What's the need of having it

• Hypersonic weapons will become very critical in the near future. China has demonstrated that it has the technology. Others like US and Russia may already possess such weapons. It's time that India also starts looking at these technologies

Steps taken by DRDO to boost defence manufacturing

• In a bid to boost defence manufacturing in India, the DRDO is also offering 1,500 of its patents, including critical missile technology, life sciences, and naval technology, for use by Indian Industry
• The patents can be accessed by free of cost even by start-ups and medium and small manufacturing enterprises.
• DRDO is determined to encourage industry to develop advanced defence equipment thereby making the Make-In-India programme a success.
• Indian industry will not have pay "license fee or royalty" for any of the patented . DRDO won't be just offering the technology but will also be handholding the industry and help them produce the product
• DRDO has also tweaked its policy for "Transfer of Technology" (ToT) to the industry. No, ToT fee will be charged from the industry, DRDO Development Partners developing systems or sub-systems for military applications.
• And, for other industries, the ToT fee is reduced to 5% against an earlier rate of 20%. Also, no royalty is charged for supply to Indian Armed forces and other government departments. A nominal royalty of 2% will be charged for supply in the commercial market and for exports.

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