Education
Jivan Vayu

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Jivan Vayu + about CPAP)
What's the NEWS

• Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar has developed a device ‘Jivan Vayu' which can be used as a substitute of CPAP machine.
• This is Nation's first such device which functions even without electricity and is adapted to both kinds of oxygen generation units like O₂ cylinders and oxygen pipelines in hospitals.

Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)

• It is a treatment method for patients having breathing problems during sleep called sleep apnea.
• The machine uses mild air pressure to keep the airways open for easy breathing. It is also used to treat infants whose lungs have not fully developed.
• The machine blows air into the baby's nose to help inflate his or her lungs. The treatment is all the more necessary during early stages of the Covid-19 infection.
• It reduces lung damage and allow patients to recover from the inflammatory effects.
• This was the need of the hour during the present Covid pandemic when power supply is the key concern for saving lives of those on medical equipments such as ventilators and oxygen concentrators
• It has an inbuilt viral filter at the air entrainment end which has a viral efficacy of 99.99%
• The viral filter ensures that the air does not bring in any pathogens from the environment.
• The device has been manufactured using 3D printing and has also been tested mechanically.
• ‘Jivan Vayu' can deliver high flow oxygen (20-60 LPM) while maintaining a continuous positive pressure of up to 20 cm H₂O. The device is designed to maintain an FiO₂ of above 40% with a PEEP (positive end-expiratory pressure) of 5-20 cm H₂O.

Defence
Defence innovation through iDEX - DIO

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about iDEX -DIO + about DDP)
What's the NEWS

• Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has approved the budgetary support of Rs 498.8 crore to Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) - Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO) for the next five years.

Know! about the budgetary support

• The budgetary support will provide a big boost to the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan' as iDEX-DIO has the primary objective of self-reliance and indigenisation in defence & aerospace sector of the country.
• The creation of the iDEX framework and establishment of the DIO by the Department of Defence Production (DDP) is aimed at creating an ecosystem to foster innovation and technology development in defence and aerospace by engaging Industries including MSMEs, start-ups, individual innovators, R&D institutes & academia and provide them grants/funding and other support to carry out R&D development which has good potential for future adoption for Indian defence and aerospace needs.
• The scheme, with budgetary support of Rs 498.8 crore for the next five years, is aimed at providing financial support to nearly 300 start-ups/MSMEs/individual innovators and 20 partner incubators under the DIO framework.
• It will support increased awareness in the Indian innovation ecosystem about defence needs and, conversely, in the Indian Defence establishment about the potential of the Indian innovation eco-system to deliver innovative solutions to meet their needs.
• The DIO, with its team, will enable the creation of channels for innovators to engage and interact with the Indian Defence production industry.
• The long-term effect to be realised by the group is the establishment of a culture, where enlisting the effort of innovators by the Indian military is commonplace and frequent.
• The scheme aims to facilitate rapid development of new, indigenised and innovative technologies for the Indian defence and aerospace sector to meet their needs in shorter timelines; create a culture of engagement with innovative start-ups to encourage co-creation for defence and aerospace; empower a culture of technology co-creation and co-innovation within the defence and aerospace sector and boost innovation among the start-ups and encourage them to be a part of the ecosystem.
• The DDP will release funds to DIO for setting up and managing the iDEX network in the form of Partner Incubators (PIs)

Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO)

• iDEX will be funded and managed by a "Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO)‟ formed as a "not for profit‟ company as per Section 8 of the Companies Act 2013 for this purpose.
• The modalities of implementation of DIF will be managed by a specialized team known as the Innovation for Defence Excellence (iDEX) within the DIO.
• DIO will provide high level policy guidance to iDEX.
• iDEX will have functional autonomy.

Know! about iDEX

• An ecosystem to foster innovation & technology development in. Defence and Aerospace by engaging innovators & entrepreneurs to deliver technologically advanced solutions for modernizing Indian Military.
• iDEX will engage Industries including MSMEs, start-ups,individual innovators, R& D institutes and academia and provide them grants/funding and other support to carry out R&D development which has good potential for future adoption for Indian defence and aerospace needs.
• Ministry of Defence aims to create an ecosystem which fosters innovation and encourages technology development in Defence by engaging R&D institutes, academia, industries, start- ups and even individual innovators.

Know! about Department of Defence Production (DDP)

• It was set up in November 1962 with the objective of developing a comprehensive production infrastructure to produce the weapons, systems, platforms ,equipment required for defence.
• Over the years, the Department has established wide ranging production facilities for various defence equipment through the Ordnance Factories and Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs).
• The products manufactured include arms and ammunition, tanks, armoured vehicles, heavy vehicles, fighter aircrafts and helicopters, warships, submarines, missiles, ammunition, electronic equipment, earth moving equipment, special alloys and special purpose steels.

Prelims Factoids
Office of Principal Scientific Adviser: Extension of Hospitals

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser and various projects supported by the PSA)
What's the NEWS

• Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser, Government of India (O/o PSA, GoI)invited private sector companies, donor organizations, and individuals to support various projects of national importance. Project Extension Hospitals is one such initiative.
• TheO/o PSA identified requirements of close to 50 hospitals in states where the highest number of COVID-19 cases were reported.

MediCAB hospitals.

• Modulus Housing, a start-up incubated at Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) developed the MediCAB hospitals.
• This enables building a 100-bedded extension facility in 3-weeks' time. MediCAB hospitals are designed with a dedicated zone of Intensive Care Units (ICUs) that can accommodate various life-support equipment and medical devices.
• These negative pressure portable hospitals have durability of around 25 years, and they can also be shifted in the future for any disaster response in less than a week.
• These rapidly deployable hospitals will plug a major health infrastructure gap in India's fight against COVID-19, especially in rural areas and smaller towns.
• The O/o PSA has been actively working towards securing CSR support to implement these projects in different areas across the nation.
• Modulus Housing has started deploying MediCAB extension hospitals with the help of the American Indian Foundation (AIF).
• The Office of PSA has also collaborated with Tata Projects Ltd to deploy modular hospitals at multiple sites in Punjab and Chhattisgarh.

Know! about the Office of PSA

• In November 1999, Cabinet Secretariat established the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India.
• The PSA's office aims to provide pragmatic and objective advice to the Prime Minister and cabinet on matters related to science, technology and innovation with a focus on application of science and technology in critical infrastructure, economic and social sectors in partnership with Government departments, institutions and industry

Know! the role of PSA

• S&T fundamentals with applied research in collaboration with multiple stakeholders, both in central and state governments
• Enabling future preparedness in emerging domains of science and technology
• Formulating and coordinating major inter-ministerial S&T missions
• Providing an enabling ecosystem for technology led innovations and techno-entrepreneurship
• Driving innovation and technology delivery towards solving socio-economic challenges for sustainable growth
• Fostering effective public-private linkages for driving research and innovation

Prelims Factoids
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Year Book 2021 released
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Year Book 2021 -highlights)
What's the NEWS

• China is in the middle of a significant modernisation and expansion of its nuclear weapon inventory, and India and Pakistan also appear to be expanding their nuclear arsenals, according to Swedish think tank Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) Year Book 2021

Know! SIPRI 2021 report highlights

• The overall number of warheads in global military stockpiles now appears to be increasing
• India possessed an estimated 156 nuclear warheads at the start of 2021 compared to 150 at the start of last year, while Pakistan had 165 warheads, up from 160 in 2020. China's nuclear arsenal consisted of 350 warheads up from 320 at the start of 2020.
• The nine nuclear armed states - the U.S., Russia, the U.K., France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea - together possessed an estimated 13,080 nuclear weapons at the start of 2021.
• Russia and the U.S. together possessed over 90% of global nuclear weapons and have extensive and expensive modernisation programmes under way

International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS)

• A report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), London, in May titled ‘Nuclear Deterrence and Stability in South Asia: Perceptions and Realities' said that chance played an important ameliorative role in the India-Pakistan crisis of February 2019 and the two countries "risk stumbling into using their nuclear weapons through miscalculation or misinterpretation in a future crisis."

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)

• It is an international institute based in Stockholm. It was founded in 1966 and provides data, analysis and recommendations for armed conflict, military expenditure and arms trade as well as disarmament and arms control.
• The research is based on open sources and is directed to decision-makers, researchers, media and the interested public.
• SIPRI's organizational purpose is to conduct scientific research in issues on conflict and cooperation of importance for international peace and security, with the goal of contributing to an understanding for the conditions for a peaceful solution of international conflicts and sustainable peace.

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