1) IIT Bombay, Nehru Science Centre launch `Internet for All` Mobile Science Exhibition in rural schools across Maharashtra.
- Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Bombay and Nehru Science Centre have launched a pilot project “Internet for All” in its Mobile Science Exhibition Bus in Mumbai, which aimed at creating awareness about the power of internet.
- It was launched under the aegis of the Union Government’s flagship ‘Digital India’ campaign.
- It is basically science exhibitions on wheels in which 20 theme based exhibition models which are mounted on specially designed Buses.
About:
- The fully equipped exhibition bus will travel to rural areas and provide hands on internet experience to all the students in rural schools.
- The aim of this initiative is to take Science to the door steps of rural school children and to enthuse students to take up careers in Science and Technology.
- Under this initiative, students will be provided few Aakash tablets during interaction session with volunteers to showcase the power of internet and its uses for the society.
2) ``INS Astravahini`` decommissioned after 31 years of service.
- ``INS Astravahini`` an indigenously built torpedo launch and Recovery vessel(TLRV), was decommissioned after almost 31 years in service.
- The vessel was decommissioned at a ceremony presided over by commodore K.A. Bopanna, Naval officer-in-charge (Andhra Pradesh division) at the ship building centre.
- The ceremony commenced with an impressive guard of honour and culminated in hauling down of Naval Ensign for the last time at sunset.
- An auxiliary vessel of TLRV class, the ship was commissioned on November 5, 1984 at Visakhapatnam, the headquarters of Eastern Naval Command.
- The only one of its class, the ship was extensively used by Naval Science and Technical Laboratory (NSTL) as a test platform to launch and recover experimental torpedoes prior to their induction into the Navy.
3) Haribhai Parthibhai Minister of State (MoS) for Home Affairs launched All-India Railway helpline.
- Hassles related to jurisdiction are expected to become a thing of the past for victims of crimes on railway property.
- Unveiled by Minister of State (MoS) for Home Affairs Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary, the All India Railway Helpline number, 1512, is all passengers need to remember and utilise in the event of falling prey to a crime on railway property including both running trains in addition to platforms and stations across 27 States and all Union Territories.
4) U.S., India to collaborate on second aircraft carrier.
- The Indian Navy formally initiating the process for the design and construction of a second indigenous aircraft carrier, the India-U.S. collaboration on technologies for such platforms got a boost.
- The Navy issued an expression of interest to identify a domestic shipyard for the construction of the carrier.
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5) Indigenously Developed High Thrust Cryogenic Rocket Engine Successfully Ground Tested.
- India’s first indigenously designed and developed High Thrust cryogenic rocket engine generating a nominal thrust of 19 tonnes was successfully endurance hot tested for a duration of 800 seconds at ISRO Propulsion Complex, Mahendragiri.
- The engine will be used for powering the Cryogenic stage (C25), the upper stage of the next generation GSLV Mk-III launch vehicle of ISRO, capable of launching four tonne class satellites.
- This cryogenic engine of C25 Stage operates on Gas Generator Cycle using extremely low temperature propellants – Liquid Hydrogen (LH2) at 20 Kelvin (-253 deg C) and Liquid Oxygen (LOX) at 80K (-193 deg C).
6) Total DNA on Earth counted: 50 tn tn tn.
- When scientists want to estimate global biodiversity, they typically tally the total species or organisms found around the world it is found as 50 trillion trillion trillion.
- In theory, there is another approach: to calculate how much DNA is contained on Earth. This would be a more fundamental way of quantifying the diversity of life, but until recently no one had tried doing it.
- In the biosphere, it all comes back to DNA. It`s the smallest unit of information we have, and all of that information has the potential of being connected to and interacting with everything else.
- By this logic, the planet is a sort of supercomputer in which total DNA represents the system`s storage capacity, and the rate of genetic transcription its computing power. But the first step in applying this approach to the study of biodiversity is to determine a composite figure for DNA.
7) NDRI scientists developed technique to decrease cholesterol level in Ghee.
- Haryana scientists at National Diary Research Institute Karnal have developed a technique to decrease cholesterol level in Ghee (clear butter) and the Ghee produced using this technique has been found up to the prescribed standards.
- Director of Institute AK Shrivastava said that the scientists have succeeded in lowering the level of cholesterol in Ghee up to 85 to 90 percent using this technique.
- NDRI has transferred the technology to Vaishal Patliputra Dugdh Utpadak Sahkari Sangh Ltd, Patna (popularly known as Patna Dairy Project) as per the memorandum of understanding signed between the two bodies. The officials of the Patna dairy has planned to launch the product within two months.
8) Indigenous Visibility Measuring System, DRISHTI, installed at IGI Airport.
- An indigenously designed and developed Visibility Measuring System DRISHTI was installed at the Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport, New Delhi.
- The CAT III B IGI Airport, New Delhi, is now the first Airport in the country to have 10 indigenous systems operating in all its three runways.
- The system developed by CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories (CSIR-NAL), Bengaluru will be used for reporting the runway visual range, which is a critical parameter for safe landing and take-off of aircraft in poor visibility conditions.
- The data from Drishti systems at IGI Airport can be viewed on a single screen at ATC, which would aid the MET officer to easily report visibility data to pilots.
About Drishti System:
- It is very cost-effective and is a mandatory system required at all airports as per International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).
- The complete system is engineered in such a way to enable easy installation and maintenance.
9) First picture released by a Nasa camera on the Deep Space Climate Observatory (Dscovr) satellite.
- A Nasa camera on the Deep Space Climate Observatory (Dscovr) satellite – hanging in gravitational balance between the Earth and the sun – has returned its first view of the entire sunlit side of the planet from one million miles away.
- Its first colour picture came from the spacecraft’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera (Epic) and was made by combining three separate images to create a photographic-quality image.
About:
- The satellite was launched in February on a Space X Falcon 9 rocket and recently reached its planned orbit at the first Lagrange point or L1, where it will be able to constantly take science-quality images of the entire sunlit face of the Earth.
11) City of the Robotic Evolution of Self-Driving Cars opened.
- The controlled test environment opened at the University of Michigan (U-M) in Ann Arbor, covers 32 acres (the size of about 24 football fields) and contains all the trappings of a real suburb or small city.
- There is an entire network of roads lined with sidewalks, streetlights, stop signs and traffic signals. There`s even a "downtown" area complete with fake building facades and outdoor dining areas.
- The idea behind Mcity is simple: test out new driverless car innovationsin a human-free environment before these technologies are unleashed in the real world.