Science & Technology
SAMVEDAN 2021 - Sensing Solutions for Bharat

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about SAMVEDAN 2021 + SNACS + CPS) + Mains ( GS III awareness in the field of science and technology)
What's the NEWS

• Citizens across the country can now participate in solving India-specific problems of societal interest using IoT Sensor Board through a National hackathon called ‘SAMVEDAN 2021 - Sensing Solutions for Bharat'.
• Registrations for this Grand Challenge Competition have commenced on July 1st, 2021, and are open to all Indian nationals residing in India.

Know! about SAMVEDAN 2021 - Sensing Solutions for Bharat

• It is being organized jointly by IIT Madras Pravartak Technologies Foundation (IITM-PTF), along with Sony India Software Centre, and is based on the Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation's

SPRESENSE^TM Board, which participants can use for this challenge.

• IITM-PTF is a Technology Innovation Hub (TIH) for Sensor, Networking, Actuators, and Control Systems (SNACS) area supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS).
• A team with maximum of three members can register for the grand challenge, which will be held in three stages -- quarterfinals, semi-finals and finals.
• A total of 75 ideas will be selected for the quarter-finals, and among them, 25 best ideas will be chosen for the semi-finals.
• There will be seven finalists with prizes for every finalist. Prizes worth 3 Lakhs will be awarded to the best teams.
• Apart from the prize money, the winners will be eligible for an entrepreneurial support scheme by IIT Madras Pravartak Technologies Foundation.
• Further, each quarter finalist will be provided with a SPRESENSETM board free of cost by Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation through IITM Pravartak Technologies Foundation.
• IITM-PTF is committed not only to identify innovative solutions and talents across the country in the area of sensor-based solutions but also to provide a platform to successful start-ups that could solve societal problems of national importance.
• SAMVEDAN is one of the platforms to enable this. IITM-PTF plans to offer Entrepreneur-In-Residence scholarship for the top team for a year which will enable them to nurture it into a start-up."

Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS)

• The Department of Science and Technology under its National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) aims to create a strong foundation and a seamless ecosystem for CPS technologies by coordinating and integrating nationwide efforts encompassing knowledge generation, human resource development, research, technology and product development, innovation and commercialization.
• It has funded IIT Madras to host the Technology Innovation Hub (TIH) for Sensor, Networking, Actuators and Control Systems (SNACS) area. TIHs will be the nodal centres spearheading the activities in a specific domain.
• IITM Pravartak Technologies Foundation, which is the TIH for SNACS, in collaboration with Sony India Software Centre Pvt. Ltd. is conducting a Grand Challenge Competition, based on the SPRESENSETM board named SAMVEDAN 2021 - "Sensing" Solutions for Bharat.

Science & Technology
Super Luminous Supernova (SLSNe)
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about SLSNe + about Supernova + TELESCOPES used in studying it )
What's the NEWS

• An extremely bright, hydrogen deficient, fast-evolving supernova that shines with the energy borrowed from an exotic type of neutron star with an ultra-powerful magnetic field has been spotted by Indian researchers.
• Deep study of such ancient spatial objects can help probe the mysteries of the early universe.

Know! about SLSNe

• Such type of supernovae called Super Luminous Supernova (SLSNe) is very rare.
• This is because they are generally originated from very massive stars (minimum mass limit is more than 25 times to that of the Sun), and the number distribution of such massive stars in our galaxy or in nearby galaxies is sparse.
• Among them, SLSNe-I has been counted to about 150 entities spectroscopically confirmed so far.
• These ancient objects are among the least understood SNe because their underlying sources are unclear
• SN 2020ank, which was first discovered by the Zwicky Transient Facility on 2020 January 19, was studied by scientists from Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) Nainital, an autonomous research institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST) Govt. of India
• The team observed it using special arrangements at India's recently commissioned Devasthal Optical Telescope (DOT-3.6m) along with two other Indian telescopes: Sampurnanand Telescope-1.04m and Himalayan Chandra Telescope-2.0m.
• They found that the outer layers of the onion structured Supernovae had been peeled off, and the core was shining with a borrowed energy source.

Devasthal Optical Telescope (DOT-3.6m) Sampurnanand Telescope-1.04m and Himalayan Chandra Telescope-2.0m.

• The 3.6m Devasthal Optical Telescope is a clear-aperture Ritchey-Chrétien telescope built by Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences and is located at the Devasthal Observatory site near Nainital, Uttarakhand,
• The 104-cm Sampurnanand Telescope, located at ARIES, Manora Peak, Nainital , is one of the main observing facility in optical domain.
• The Himalayan Chandra Telescope is located at the Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO) at Hanle, Ladakh.

Know! about Supernova

• A supernova is the biggest explosion that humans have ever seen. Each blast is the extremely bright, super-powerful explosion of a star.
• One type of supernova is caused by the "last hurrah" of a dying massive star. This happens when a star at least five times the mass of our sun goes out with a fantastic bang!
• Massive stars burn huge amounts of nuclear fuel at their cores, or centers. This produces tons of energy, so the center gets very hot. Heat generates pressure, and the pressure created by a star's nuclear burning also keeps that star from collapsing.
• A star is in balance between two opposite forces. The star's gravity tries to squeeze the star into the smallest, tightest ball possible. But the nuclear fuel burning in the star's core creates strong outward pressure. This outward push resists the inward squeeze of gravity.
• The balance of gravity pushing in on the star and heat and pressure pushing outward from the star's core holds the stars together
• When a massive star runs out of fuel, it cools off. This causes the pressure to drop. Gravity wins out, and the star suddenly collapses.
• The collapse happens so quickly that it creates enormous shock waves that cause the outer part of the star to explode!
• Usually a very dense core is left behind, along with an expanding cloud of hot gas called a nebula.
• A supernova of a star more than about 10 times the size of our sun may leave behind the densest objects in the universe-black holes.
• The Crab Nebula is the leftover, or remnant, of a massive star in our Milky Way that died 6,500 light-years away. Astronomers and careful observers saw the supernova in the year 1054.
• A second type of supernova can happen in systems where two stars orbit one another and at least one of those stars is an Earth-sized white dwarf.
• A white dwarf is what's left after a star the size of our sun has run out of fuel. If one white dwarf collides with another or pulls too much matter from its nearby star, the white dwarf can explode.

Prelims Factoids
First Private LNG Facility plant launched
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about LNG + about flex engines)
What's the NEWS

• Inaugurating the country's first private LNG facility plant at Nagpur Minister for Road Transport and Highways emphasised the importance of alternate biofuels for diversification of agriculture towards the energy and power sector.
• India is spending eight lakh crores for the import of petrol, diesel and petroleum products which is a big challenge.
• The government has designed a policy that encourages development of imports to substitute cost effective pollution free and indigenous ethanol, bio CNG, LNG and hydrogen fuels.
• The ministry is constantly working on different alternative fuels. We must use surplus rice, corn and sugar to prevent it from going to waste

About flex engines

• A decision would be taken in three months, making it mandatory for automobile manufacturers, particularly the four-wheelers and two-wheelers, to make flex engines.
• Countries like the USA, Canada and Brazil already have them and the cost of the vehicle remains the same whether it is petrol or flex engine.
• A flexible-fuel vehicle (FFV) or dual-fuel vehicle (colloquially called a flex-fuel vehicle) is an alternative fuel vehicle with an internal combustion engine designed to run on more than one fuel, usually gasoline blended with either ethanol or methanol fuel, and both fuels are stored in the same common tank.
• Modern flex-fuel engines are capable of burning any proportion of the resulting blend in the combustion chamber as fuel injection and spark timing are adjusted automatically according to the actual blend detected by a fuel composition sensor.
• Flex-fuel vehicles are distinguished from bi-fuel vehicles, where two fuels are stored in separate tanks and the engine runs on one fuel at a time, for example, compressed natural gas (CNG), liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), or hydrogen.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG)

• It is the liquefied form of natural gas, which has a much smaller volume than natural gas in its gaseous form. This liquefied condition is used to facilitate the carriage of natural gas over long distances, often by sea, in specialized tanks.
• LNG port terminals are purpose-built port terminals designed to accommodate large LNG carrier ships designed to load, carry and unload LNG.
• These LNG terminals are located adjacent to a gas liquefaction and storage plant (export), or to a gas regasification and storage plant (import), which are themselves connected to gas pipelines connected to on-shore or off-shore gas fields (export) or to storage and distribution plants (import).

Prelims Factoids
GI certified Fazil mango shipped to Bahrain

Relevance IN - Prelims ( recent GIs in NEWS)
What's the NEWS

• India has expanded its footprint of mango exports to the newer countries this season, notwithstanding logistical challenges posed by COVID19 pandemic.
• In a major initiative which would boost mango export potential from the eastern region especially to middle east countries, a consignment of Geographical Identification (GI) certified Fazil mango variety sourced from Malda district of West Bengal was exported to Bahrain.

GI certified varieties of Mango

• The nine varieties which were exported includes GI certified Khirsapati (Malda, West Bengal), Lakkhanbhog (Malda, West Bengal), Fazli (Malda, West Bengal), Dusshheri (Malihabad, Uttar Pradesh) and Amrapali and Chausa (Malda, West Bengal) ,Zardalu(Bihar) and Langda (Nadiya, West Bengal).
• For the first time in this season, India has shipped a consignment of 2.5 Metric Tonne (MTs) of GI certified Banganapalli & other variety Survarnarekha mangoes sourced from farmers in Krishna &Chittor districts of Andhra Pradesh recently.

Other GIs in NEWS
Madurai Malli

• Consignments of Geographical Indications (GI) certified Madurai malli and other traditional flowers such as button rose, lily, chamanthi and marigold were exported today to USA and Dubai from Tamil Nadu.
• Madurai is now the jasmine capital of the country, and the Madurai malli owns the first GI (geographical indication) tag given to a flower in Tamil Nadu.

Bhalia wheat

• In a major boost to wheat exports, the first shipment of Geographical Indication (GI) certified Bhalia variety of wheat was exported to Kenya and Sri Lanka from Gujarat.
• The GI certified wheat has high protein content and is sweet in taste.
• The crop is grown mostly across Bhal region of Gujarat which includes Ahmadabad, Anand, Kheda, Bhavanagar, Surendranagar, Bharuch districts.
• The unique characteristic of the wheat variety is that grown in the rainfed condition without irrigation and cultivated in around two lakh hectares of agricultural land in Gujarat.

Prelims Factoids
KVIC Secures Trademark Registrations in Bhutan, UAE & Mexico
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about KVIC)
What's the NEWS

• Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has recently secured trademark registrations in three countries - Bhutan, UAE and Mexico - a big stride towards protecting the identity of brand "Khadi" globally.
• Apart from these countries, KVIC's trademark applications are pending in 40 countries across the world that include the USA, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Japan, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Brazil and others.
• So far KVIC was having Trademark registrations for the word mark "KHADI" in 6 countries namely Germany, UK, Australia, Russia, China and EU where trademark registrations were granted in certain classes.
• However, with recent trademark registrations in Bhutan, UAE and Mexico, the number of such countries has gone up to nine.

Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC)

• The Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) is a statutory body formed in April 1957 (During 2nd Five Year plan)(as per an RTI) by the Government of India, under the Act of Parliament, 'Khadi and Village Industries Commission Act of 1956'.
• It is an apex organisation under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, with regard to khadi and village industries within India, which seeks to - "plan, promote, facilitate, organise and assist in the establishment and development of khadi and village industries in the rural areas in coordination with other agencies engaged in rural development wherever necessary.".
• In April 1957, it took over the work of former All India Khadi and Village Industries Board.[2] Its head office is in Mumbai, whereas its six zonal offices in Delhi, Bhopal, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mumbai and Guwahati. Other than its zonal offices, it has offices in 28 states for the implementation of its various programmes

Science and Technology
Avicennia marina
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about mangroves + about Avicennia and benefits of marina genome sequence of a mangrove species)
What's the NEWS

• Scientists at the DBT-Institute of Life Sciences, Bhubaneswar and SRM-DBT Partnership Platform for Advanced Life Sciences Technologies have reported for the first time a reference-grade whole genome sequence of a highly salt-tolerantand salt-secreting true-mangrove species,

Avicennia marina

• It is one of the most prominent mangroves species found in all mangrove formations in India.
• It is a salt-secreting and extraordinarily salt-tolerant mangrove species that grows optimally in 75% seawater and tolerates >250% seawater.
• It is among the rare plant species, which can excrete 40% of the salt through the salt glands in the leaves, besides its extraordinary capacity to exclude salt entry to the roots.
• The A. marina genome assembled in this study is nearly complete and can be considered as a reference-grade genome reported so far for any mangrove species globally and the first report from India".

Benefits of studying the genome sequencing of mangrove

• This study assumes significance as agriculture productivity globally is affected due to abiotic stress factors such as limited water availability and salinization of soil and water.
• Availability of water is a significant challenge to crop production in dryland areas, accounting for ~40 percent of the world's total land area.
• Salinity, is prevalent in ~900 million hectares globally (with an estimated 6.73 million ha in India), and it is estimated to cause an annual loss of 27 billion USD.
• The genomic resources generated in the study will pave the way for researchers to study the potential of the identified genes for developing drought and salinity tolerant varieties of important crop species of the coastal region that is significant for India with 7,500m of coastline and two major island systems.

Know! about Mangroves

• Mangroves are a unique group of species found in marshy intertidal estuarine regions and survive a high degree of salinity through several adaptive mechanisms.
• Mangroves are important resources for the coastal region and are of great ecological and economic value.
• They form a link between marine and terrestrial ecosystems, protect shorelines, provide habitat for a diverse array of terrestrial organisms.

Know! about DBT

• The Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology, boosts and augments the development of the biotechnology ecosystem in India through its expansion and application in agriculture, healthcare, animal sciences, environment, and industry.

Know! about DBT-ILS

• Institute of Life Sciences has a broad vision of carrying out high-quality multidisciplinary research in the area of life sciences.
• The goal is for overall development and betterment of human health, longevity, agriculture and environment.
• The stated mission of the institution is to work towards upliftment of the human society and generate skilled human resources for future India.

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