Civil Service Bytes

#1. Defence Capability Enhancements   India’s biggest ship, aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, finally arrives source: NDTV.com INS Vikramaditya is a Kiev class aircraft carrier  which was commissioned by Russian Navy in 1987 under the name Baku. It was later renamed as Admiral Gorshkov and last sailed in 1995 in Russia, before being offered to India. India agreed to buy it in 2004 for $974 million. The cost kept shooting up as Russia delayed the delivery by over five years. INS Kolkata – Biggest warship ever to be built in India till date source: NDTV.com INS Kolkata is the lead ship of the Kolkata-class stealth guided-missile destroyers of the Indian Navy. She was constructed at Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL),  and was handed over to the navy on 10 July 2014.  A bit of an old news but mightier still! INS Kolkata, under the Project 15 Alpha, belongs to the destroyer class and is the first of three ships currently under construction Being wholly constructed...

Imagine a planet with more than 60 moons, with a metallic hydrogen subterranean ocean 25,000 kilometres deep, with no solid surface to walk on, with clouds made of ammonia, with massive storms lasting several hundred years and with windspeeds of 400 mph, and with a magnetic field 20,000 times as powerful as the Earth. Welcome to Jupiter, the new frontier of humankind’s exploration of the Solar System. The last couple of decades have seen a flotilla of Missions to Mars — but with Juno, NASA begins a brand new trip into the mysteries of the Jovian system. Mars and Earth are similar in many aspects. They belong to the family of four planets from Mercury to Mars that are called Terrestrial Planets — thus, Mars and Earth are made of silicate rock and have broadly similar surface, interior and atmospheric processes. Hence, wind erosion, volcanic processes, the geochemical processes and the geophysics of the planetary interior on Earth and Mars bear a lot of similarities. In fact, before M...

Solar boat makes its debut in Andhra Pradesh  – Sci-Tech/Environment – The Hindu An eco-friendly solar-powered boat was launched on the pristine waters of River Krishna. There are only a handful of such boats operating on solar power in the country. The solar boat, facilitating clean and efficient cruise, has been imported from China. Solar-powered boats get their energy from the sun. Using electric motors and storage batteries charged by solar panels fitted to the roof, these boats can significantly reduce or eliminate use of fossil fuels. “Unlike conventional boats that operate using diesel engines which are fuel-guzzlers causing air and noise pollution and disturbance to the local habitat endangering the ecological balance of the surrounding areas, the solar boats are uniquely suited to transform light energy into movement.” The first solar boat designed in India was named  Surya ,  a 25-seater, by Kerala -based  TeamSustain in 2008. It operated...

7th IRNSS navsat to be launched next week India’s own Regional Navigation Satellite System, the IRNSS, is all set to be completed in space next week when the seventh and last of its spacecraft gets placed in orbit. IRNSS-1G will be launched on April 28 IRNSS will be to the subcontinent what the U.S. Global Positioning System, GPS, is to its users worldwide, but with far greater precision and in Indian control, according to ISRO. It will drive both everyday uses as a  24/7 standard service for air, sea, ship transport   and will also be used for  missile-related applications  as an encrypted and restricted service. IRNSS-1G is slated to be launched from the PSLV-C33 from Sriharikota and will be the 35th PSLV flight in the last two decades. An ISRO official said over the next three to six months, all the IRNSS satellites in the fleet would be stabilised as a constellation, their signals and performance verified and later put to use. The fleet ha...

F-16V – The Most Technologically Advanced 4th Generation Fighter in the World The Lockheed Martin F-16V configuration provides relevant combat capabilities in a scalable and affordable package. The core of the F-16V configuration is an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, a modern commercial off-the-shelf (COTS)-based avionics subsystem, a large-format, high-resolution display; and a high-volume, high-speed data bus. Operational capabilities are enhanced through: A Link-16 Theater Data Link The  Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod Advanced Weapons Precision GPS navigation and Auto Ground Collision Avoidance System INDIA_USA_PAKISTAN: NEGATIVE TRIANGULAR DYNAMIC The US notification last week on the sale of F-16s to Pakistan and India’s expression of displeasure in reaction suggest how difficult it is to alter the entrenched negative triangular dynamic between New Delhi, Rawalpindi and Washington. India’s objections to US military assistance to Rawalpindi da...

Mercury appears to be dark due to the abundance of carbon that originated deep below the surface of our solar system’s innermost planet, a new study has found. The planet reflects much less sunlight than the Moon, on which surface darkness is controlled by the abundance of iron—rich minerals that are known to be rare on Mercury’s surface, researchers said. Researchers led by Patrick Peplowski of the Johns Hopkins University in US have confirmed that a high abundance of carbon is present at Mercury’s surface. They have also found that the carbon most likely originated deep below the surface in the form of a now-disrupted and buried ancient graphite-rich crust, some of which was later brought to the surface by impact processes after most of Mercury’s current crust had formed. The researchers obtained data from NASA’s MESSENGER (MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging) spacecraft, the first space mission designed to orbit Mercury. “We used MESSENGER’s Neutron...

In a major boost to Indian science research, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a proposal to establish a state-of-the-art gravitational wave observatory  in India in collaboration with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) in the US. The "in-principle" approval for the  LIGO-India  project for research on gravitational waves -- a discovery that is regarded as the breakthrough of the century -- is piloted by the department of atomic energy (DAE) and department of science and technology (DST), a press release said. The project will bring unprecedented opportunities for  scientists  and engineers to dig deeper into the realm of gravitational wave and take global leadership in this new astronomical frontier. The LIGO-India project will also bring considerable opportunities in cutting-edge technology for the Indian industry which will be engaged in the construction of the 8-km long beam tube at ultra-high vacuum on a levelled terra...

According to a new  report from the World Bank , more than 40% of the global population now has internet access. On average, eight in ten people in the developing world own a mobile phone. Even in the poorest 20% of households this number is nearly seven in ten, making cellphones more prevalent than toilets or clean water. Digital technologies are spreading rapidly in developing countries. Digital Dividends Report There is no doubt that the world is experiencing a revolution of information and communication technology, bringing about rapid change on a massive scale. But despite great expectations for the power of digital technologies to transform lives around the world it has fallen short and is unevenly distributed, with the most advantages going, as ever, to the wealthy. The World Bank argues that increasing connectivity alone is not going to solve this problem. Digital dividends Around the world, digital investments bring growth, jobs and services. They help busi...

Technology-guided cultural practices enrich the existing cultural diversity of the nation and do not replace it, states the document prepared by country’s technology think-tank TIFAC. Against the backdrop of “intolerance” debate in the country, the Technology Vision 2035 document released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi says people should be “especially vigilant” that no one culture is able to dominate others. Stating that diversity in culture and languages is a key defining feature of India, the Technology Vision 2035 prepared by the country’s technology think-tank also said that caution has to be exercised to ensure that technology-guided cultural practices enrich the existing cultural diversity of the nation and do not replace it. “Diversity in culture and languages are a key defining feature of India. These are at the very core of India’s existence and are its very soul, giving our country its various hues of differences and harmony and making us a vibrant nation,” said t...

Social media giant Facebook is agressively pushing its Free Basics scheme, which some say violates the principles of net neutrality. TRAI has issued a consultation draft on differential data pricing. Here is a rundown on the issue. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Wednesday extended the last date for submission of comments on its paper on differential data pricing to January 7 from December 30. Similarly, the last date for counter-comments has been pushed to January 14. This is the second time the regulatory body has sought views and comments on for framing policies on internet services. Earlier this year, TRAI released a draft consultation paper seeking views from the industry and the general public on the need for regulations for over-the-top (OTT) players such as Whatsapp, Skype, Viber etc, security concerns and net neutrality. The objective of this consultation paper, the regulator said, was to analyse the implications of the growth of OTTs and conside...

In an innocuous tweet on Wednesday, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari let the cat out of the bag with the announcement that the country will "leap-frog to BS-VI directly from 01/04/2020". That is good news considering the pollution levels in the National Capital Region. The Delhi government as well as the National Green Tribunal has implemented a slew of measures including bringing into force an Odd-even policy for vehicles to curb pollution, but a lot remains to be done. Gadkari's tweet in this light brings forward the date from which the BS-VI norms are to be brought into force in India. What are BS norms? Bharat Stage emission standards, introduced in 2000, are emission standards that have been set up the Central government to regulate the output of air pollutants from internal combustion engine equipment, including motor vehicles. The different norms are brought into force in accordance with the timeline and standards set up by the Central Pollution C...