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• Startup firm IG Drones, which was born out of Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT) campus in Odisha’s Sambalpur has developed a 5G-enabled drone Skyhawk, that is capable of vertical take-off and landing.

Key Features

• Skyhawk drone can carry a 10 kg payload and has an endurance of around five hours.
• As it is a VTOL (Vertical Take-off and Landing), it can be operated from any terrain without the need of a conventional runway.
• With the addition of Artificial intelligence and thermal imaging capabilities, the drones can be used in monitoring border intrusion and during regular patrolling by the defence forces, according to the company.
• It is IP67 rated and can be controlled via a combination of NavIC + GPS navigational satellites which remain connected in the upper range of 50 to 60 in case of failsafe activation.
• The first digit – a number between 0 and 6 – after ‘IP’ denotes the level of protection a drone has against the ingress of solid objects. The second digit – a number between 0 and 9 – after the ‘IP’ denotes the level of protection a drone has against the ingress of liquids.

NavIC

• NavIC- the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) or NavIC is designed as a constellation of 7 satellites and a network of ground stations operating 24×7.
• There are a total of eight satellites however only seven remain active.
• Three satellites in geostationary orbit and four satellites in geosynchronous orbit.
• It was recognised by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) as a part of the World-Wide Radio Navigation System (WWRNS) for operation in the Indian Ocean Region in 2020.
• Geostationary Satellites- Geostationary satellite is a satellite that revolves from west to east during a period of revolution (24 hours). It is placed in orbit at a distance of around 35,800 km from the earth’s surface. The orbital plane for a typical geostationary satellite is the equatorial plane.
• Geosynchronous Satellites- Geosynchronous satellite is placed in the geosynchronous orbit with an orbital period matching the Earth’s rotation period. These satellites take 24 hours to complete one orbit around the earth. However, the orbital plane for a typical geosynchronous satellite is generally not the equatorial plane.

• As per the revised Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) norms Ceiling fans would come under the ambit of mandatory star labelling.
• Star ratings are provided to all the major kind of appliances in the form of labels.These star ratings are given out of 5 and they provide a basic sense of how energy efficient each product is, just in a single glance.
• The manufacturers are officially required to put these labels as per the Standards and Labelling Program introduced in 2006.

Bureau of Energy Efficiency

• It is a statutory body set up under the Energy Conservation Act, 2001.
• The Bureau of Energy Efficiency assists the government in developing policies and strategies with a thrust on self-regulation and market principles with the primary objective of reducing the energy intensity of the Indian economy within the overall framework of the Energy Conservation Act, 2001.

• The Department of Science & Technology (DST) has announced the creation of India’s first Dark Sky Reserve in Hanle, Ladakh, in a ground-breaking project.
• A region or parcel of land that has measures in place to guarantee that artificial light interference is kept to a minimum is known as a “Dark Sky Reserve.”
• Depending on the requirements they satisfy, the International Dark Sky Association, a nonprofit organization with headquarters in the United States, recognizes locations as International Dark Sky Places, Parks, Sanctuaries, and Reserves.
• In order to create the Dark Space Reserve, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the government of the Union Territory, the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC), Leh, and the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bengaluru, which operates and maintains the telescopes.

• The Central drug regulatory authority, Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI), has given the green light for the market authorization of Serum Institute of India’s Covid-19 vaccine, Covovax, as a heterologous booster dose for those who have already received two doses of Covishield or Covaxin.
• Covovax is a recombinant protein-based vaccine that is manufactured through technology transfer from Novavax. It has received conditional marketing authorization from the European Medicines Agency and emergency-use listing from the World Health Organization (WHO) on December 17, 2021.

• The Science Congress is a first-of-its-kind occasion in the nation with a history that dates to 1914.
• In addition to scientists and researchers from the top institutes it also brings together science professors and instructors from colleges and universities and laboratories. It provides a forum for their discussion of scientific issues with the general public and students.
• The Indian Science Congress conducted its inaugural session in 1914.
• The theme of this year’s Science Congress is “Science Technology for Sustainable Development with Women Empowerment.”
• The country is now ranked 40th on the Global Innovation Index 2022, up from the 81st rank in 2015. The chief guest at the event was Nobel Laureate Dr. Ada Yonath and President of Indian Science Congress Dr Arvind Saxena.
• The theme for this year’s ISC was “Science and Technology for Sustainable Development with Women Empowerment”
• Ada E. Yonath is an Israeli crystallographer best known for her pioneering work on the structure of ribosomes. She is the current director of the Helen and Milton A. Kimmelman Center for Biomolecular Structure and Assembly of the Weizmann Institute of Science.
• In 2009, Yonath received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry along with Venkatraman Ramakrishnan and Thomas A. Steitz for her studies on the structure and function of the ribosome, becoming the first Israeli woman to win the Nobel Prize.

National Science Day 2023

• The theme for National Science Day 2023 is- “Global Science for Global Wellbeing”. This year’s theme highlights India’s emerging role on the global stage and its increasing visibility in the international community.

National Science Day in India

• National Science Day is a significant annual event in India, celebrated on February 28th to mark the discovery of the Raman Effect by Indian Physicist Sir C. V. Raman on the same date in 1928.
• The celebration of National Science Day aims to spread awareness about the importance of science in daily life and to showcase the efforts and achievements in the field of science for human welfare.
• It also serves as an opportunity to discuss and implement new technologies for the development of science in the country.

• The Union Cabinet, presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has given the nod to the National Green Hydrogen Mission.
• This mission lays out a plan to transform India into a world leader in the production, application, and export of green hydrogen and related products.
• It aims for achieving energy independence for India as well as decarbonizing major sectors of the economy.
• The initial investment for this mission will amount to Rs. 19,744 crores,which includes Rs. 17,490 crores for the Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition (SIGHT) program, Rs. 1,466 crores towards pilot projects, Rs. 400 crores on research and development, and an additional Rs. 388 crores towards other components of the mission.

Projected Outcomes by 2030

• By 2030, the National Green Hydrogen Mission is expected to achieve the following outcomes:

1. Development of green hydrogen production capacity of at least 5 million metric tons per year, with an associated renewable energy capacity addition of about 125 GW
2. Over Rs. 8 lakh crores in total investments
3. Creation of over 6 lakh jobs.
4. Cumulative reduction in fossil fuel imports of over Rs. 1 lakh crore
5. Abatement of nearly 50 million metric tons of annual greenhouse gas emissions

India’s First Green Hydrogen Blending Project

• NTPC Limited and Gujarat Gas Limited (GGL) have commissioned India’s first green hydrogen blending project in the piped natural gas (PNG) network of NTPC Kawas township, Surat.
• The project, aims to supply H2-NG (natural gas) to households township, was made possible through the electrolysis of water using power from a 1 MW floating solar project.
• Green Hydrogen

1. Green hydrogen is produced through the electrolysis of water, using electricity generated from renewable sources such as solar or wind power.
2. This process splits water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen, with the hydrogen being captured and stored for use as a fuel. The oxygen is released into the atmosphere.

• Land subsidence is the gradual settling or sudden sinking of the Earth’s surface because of underground material movement.
• The tragedy in Joshimath, Uttarakhand is a severe reminder of the harm caused by haphazard infrastructure development and the role of climate change in exacerbating the situation.
• The immediate cause of land subsidence is believed to be the National Thermal Power Corporation’s Tapovan Vishnugad Hydro Power Project. It is a 520MW run-of-river project being constructed on Dhauliganga River
• Joshimath is a hilly town located on the Rishikesh-Badrinath National Highway (NH-7) in Chamoli district of Uttarakhand.
• It is not situated on the main rock, but rather on a layer of stone and sand, according to the 1976 Mishra Committee study. It is situated on a historic landslide.
• It falls in high-risk seismic Zone-V and is drained by running streams with a high gradient (slope) from Vishnu Prayag, a confluence of the Dhauliganga and the Alaknanda rivers.
• It is home to one of the four cardinal maths or monasteries established by Adi Shankara – Sringeri in Karnataka, Dwarka in Gujarat, Puri in Odisha and Joshimath near Badrinath in Uttarakhand.

• India has a unique marine situation, with a 7517-kilometer-long coastline that includes nine coastal states and 1,382 islands. It supports fisheries and aquaculture, tourism, livelihoods, and blue trade.
• Largest coast: Gujarat
• Smallest coast: Goa

Other Deep Ocean Missions-

• NASA- Systematic Underwater Biogeochemical Science and Exploration Analog (SUBSEA)

• On 18 June 2023, Titan, a submersible operated by American tourism and expeditions company OceanGate, imploded during an expedition to view the wreck of the Titanic in the North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
• On board the submersible were Stockton Rush, the American CEO of OceanGate; Paul-Henri Nargeolet, a French deep-sea explorer and Titanic expert; Hamish Harding, a British businessman; Shahzada Dawood, a Pakistani-British businessman; and Dawood’s son Suleman.
• Communication between Titan and its mother ship, Polar Prince, was lost 1 hour 45 minutes into the dive.

• The Samudrayaan Mission aims to create a self-propelled manned submersible capable of transporting three humans to a depth of 6000 meters in the ocean, together with a set of scientific instruments and equipment for deep ocean research.
• It has an operational endurance of 12 hours and an emergency endurance of 96 hours.
• The piloted submersible will allow scientists to directly examine and study undiscovered deep-water locations.
• It will also improve the capability for developing deep sea man-rated vehicles. The anticipated timescale spans five years, from 2020-2021 to 2025-2026.
• The National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai, an autonomous institute within the MoES, has produced a 6000m depth rated Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) and a variety of other underwater devices such as Autonomous Coring System (ACS), Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) and Deep-Sea Mining System (DSM) for the exploration of deep sea.
• It is India’s first unique manned ocean mission and is a part of the Rs 6000-crores Deep Ocean Mission.
• The submersible features a spherical titanium hull, which is crucial for withstanding the immense pressure at great depths. The titanium hull is manufactured by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), as no commercial fabricators in India were capable of producing such a hull.