Civil Services Simplified: Decoding the Enigma of UPSC by Dr. CP. Kaushik

Day 20: Sep 08 1.NASA’s Artemis Project: NASA is forging ahead with its ‘Artemis program’ to land humans on the moon by 2024. 􀀇 NASA is committed to landing American astronauts, including the first woman and the next man, on the Moon by 2024. 􀀇 Through the agency’s Artemis lunar exploration program, NASA will use innovative new technologies and systems to explore more of the Moon than ever before. 􀀇 The astronauts going for the Artemis program will wear newly designed spacesuits, called Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit, or xEMU. 􀀢 These spacesuits feature advanced mobility and communications and interchangeable parts that can be configured for spacewalks in microgravity or on a planetary surface.

3. Railway Protection Force (RPF) has busted an illegal software operation called “Real Mango” — used for cornering confirmed train reservations during the coronavirus pandemic. What is ‘Real Mango’? 􀀇 “Real Mango” is illegal software used for cornering confirmed Railway reservations. 􀀇 The software was earlier with the name ‘Rare Mango’. 􀀇 The operation of an illegal software called “Rare Mango” (later changed its name to “Real Mango”) was revealed during action against touts by the field units of RPF. 􀀇 The software has now been fully decimated

2. Budapest Convention on Cyber Security: 􀀇 It is the first international treaty seeking to address Internet and computer crime by harmonizing national laws, improving investigative techniques, and increasing cooperation among nations. 􀀇 Its objective is to pursue a common criminal policy aimed at the protection of society against cybercrime, especially by adopting appropriate legislation and fostering international cooperation.

Day 19: September 06 1. The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) achieved a milestone in Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) technology. What is Quantum Key Distribution (QKD)? 􀀇 QKD is a secure communication method that uses cryptographic protocol involving components of quantum mechanics. 􀀇 The technology enables two communicators to produce a random secret key known only to them and later it can be used to encrypt and decrypt messages. What makes QKD unbreakable? 􀀇 The security of QKD stems from the ability to detect any intrusion on the QKD transmission. 􀀇 Because of the unique and fragile properties of photons, any third party who tries to read or copy the photons in any way will change the photons’ state. 􀀇 The change will be detected by the endpoints, alerting them that the key has been tampered with and must be discarded. 􀀇 A new key is then transmitted. Moreover, since the keys generated are truly random, they are protected from future hacking attempts.

3. The International Space Station (ISS) *It is a modular space station (habitable artificial satellite) in low Earth orbit. *The ISS programme is a multi-national collaborative project between five participating space agencies: 1. NASA (United States), 2. Roscosmos (Russia), 3. JAXA (Japan), 4. ESA (Europe), 5. CSA (Canada). *The ownership and use of the space station are established by intergovernmental treaties and agreements. *It is suited for testing the spacecraft systems and equipment required for possible future long-duration missions to the Moon and Mars. *It is the only active modular space station (habitable artificial satellite) in the Low-Earth Orbit (LEO). *It is the largest artificial object in space and the largest satellite in low Earth orbit, regularly visible to the naked eye from Earth's surface. * It is like a large laboratory in space that has been there since 1998. It allows astronauts to come aboard and stay for weeks or months to carry out experiments in microgravity. *Recent Developments - Russia announced that it would be withdrawing from the International Space Station in 2025, and build and manage its own floating laboratory that will be launched into orbit by 2030.

2. Vikas Engine: *Vikas is a family of liquid fuelled rocket engines that powers India‘s launch vehicles PSLV and GSLV. *It is aimed at improving the payload capability of PSLV, GSLV and GSLV Mk-III launch vehicles. *It is used in second stage of PSLV which consists of four stages in its operation (Solid-Liquid-Solid-Liquid) and in second stage and four strap-on stages of GSLV. *GSLV is a three-stage vehicle (Solid-Liquid-Cryogenic Engine) with four liquid strap-on boosters. *ISRO has recently improved the thrust of the Vikas engine which is expected to boost the rocket engine. *The main beneficiary of the high-thrust Vikas engine is GSLV-Mark III launcher, which is expected to lift 4,000-kg satellites to space. *GSLV-Mark III uses twin engine core liquid stage (L110).

Day 18: September 05: 1.m-RNA Vaccine *It is a coronavirus vaccine based on mRNA, once injected into the body, will instruct the body‘s cells to create copies of the spike protein. *The mRNA is coded to tell the cells to recreate the spike protein of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19. *It is the spike protein which appears as spikes on the surface of the coronavirus that initiates the process of infection and it allows the virus to penetrate cells, after which it goes on to replicate. *The mRNA vaccines work by using mRNA or messenger RNA, which is the molecule that essentially puts DNA instructions into action. *The mRNA vaccines have the advantage that scientists are not growing the virus in the lab, which has been a hindrance sometimes to create enough virus or viral particles to give in a vaccine. *HCO19 – It is India‘s 'first of its kind' mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine. *mRNA vaccines are considered safe as mRNA is non-infectious, non-integrating in nature, and degraded by standard cellular mechanisms.

3. NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES • Definition: As per WHO these are a diverse group of communicable diseases that prevail in tropical and subtropical conditions in around 149 countries and affect more than one billion people worldwide like malaria, leishmaniasis,trypanosomiasis,rabies etc. • Why called ‘Neglected’: - These remain underreported because the victims are the poorest and the most marginalized, with no accessibility of treatment and reporting. - These diseases are often overlooked by drug developers, government officials, public health programs and the news media. • Total NTDs: at present 17 NTDs are covered by WHO. -India is home to the world’s largest absolute burden of at least 11 major neglected tropical diseases. - India also leads the world in terms of the total number of cases for each of the major NTDs. - 45% of the world’s visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar) cases and 33% of rabies cases were reported from India in 2016. - NTDs reduce workers’ productivity and child intellectual growth and ultimately impair India’s economy.

2. BHABHA KAVACH: It is the India‘s lightest and cheapest “bullet-proof jacket” for the CRPF and the Ministry of Home Affairs Personnel. *Bhabha Kavach is indigenously developed by the Ordnance Factories Board, a public sector undertaking MIDHANI, along with BARC. *It can shield from AK-47 (7.62 mm hard steel bullets), SLR and INSAS (5.56 mm) weaponry. *It is made using extremely hard boron carbide ceramics, carbon nano-tubes and composite polymer. *It is available in 3 variants as per the requirement of the armed forces.

Day 17: September 03 1. National Informatics Centre (NIC) • NIC under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is the technology partner of the Government of India, established in 1976. • Objective: To provide technology-driven solutions to Central and State Governments in various aspects of development. • Functions: - NIC has been instrumental in adopting and providing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and e-Governance support to Central Government. - Its services which include multi-gigabit nationwide networks NICNET, NKN, National Data Centres, National Cloud, pan India VC infrastructure, Command and Control Centre, multi-layered GIS-based platform, Domain Registration and Webcast. - NIC has also developed several digital platforms in the country with ‘One-Nation One-Platform’ initiative to empower citizens digitally. - With an objective of focused study of new technology, explore and experiment their use in governance, NIC has set up a Centre of Excellence(CoE) in Data Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain and Application Security.

3. Solid Fuel Ducted Ramjet (SFDR) Technology ● DRDO had successfully carried out a flight demonstration based on SFDR technology. ● A ramjet is a form of air-breathing jet engine that uses the vehicle’s forward motion to compress incoming air for combustion without a rotating compressor. Ramjets work most efficiently at supersonic speeds; however, its efficiency starts to drop when the vehicle reaches hypersonic speeds. ● Air-to-air missiles which use SFDR technology can achieve longer ranges as they do not require oxidisers, among other reasons. ● A scramjet engine is an improvement over the ramjet engine as it efficiently operates at hypersonic speeds and allows supersonic combustion.

2. RESPOND (Research Sponsored) Program : ISRO ● The ISRO announced that it will support the eight joint research projects mooted by the Space Technology Cell (STC), IIT-Delhi under its RESPOND programme. ● ISRO started the RESPOND programme in the 1970s, with the objective of encouraging academia to participate and contribute in various Space related research activities. ● It aims to enhance academic base, generate quality human resources and infrastructure at the academic institutes to support the Indian Space programme.

Day 16: September 02 1.Trans fats • The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has capped the amount of trans fatty acids (TFA) in oils and fats to 3% for 2021 and 2% by 2022 from the current permissible limit of 5%. • Trans fats, or trans-fatty acids, are a form of unsaturated fat. They come in both natural and artificial forms. • Natural, or ruminant, trans fats occur in the meat and dairy from ruminant animals, such as cattle, sheep, and goats. They form naturally when bacteria in these animals’ stomachs digest grass. • In a series of clinical studies, people consuming trans fats instead of other fats or carbs experienced a significant increase in LDL (bad) cholesterol without a corresponding rise in HDL (good) cholesterol.Thus trans fats increases risk of heart diseases.

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3. NISAR: ISRO and NASA are collaborating on NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission. *The NISAR mission is a joint project between NASA and ISRO to co-develop and launch a dual frequency (L & S Band) synthetic aperture radar satellite. *NASA is responsible for development of L-band SAR and ISRO is responsible for development of S-band SAR. The L & S band SAR will be integrated with ISRO’s spacecraft and launched on-board India’s GSLV. * It will be the first radar imaging satellite to use dual frequency. *Aim - to study global environmental change and natural disasters. *Mission duration - It is expected to be launched in year 2022. It will have mission life of 3 years.

2. NETRA: Netra is the first indigenously built Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AEW&CS) developed by DRDO. *It is light-weight autonomous UAV for long range surveillance and reconnaissance operations. *This radar system is also mounted on Embraer aircraft which gives 240-degree coverage of airspace. *This is to detect and track aircraft, missiles, ships and vehicles and provide command and control to direct friendly forces. *The other countries which have developed AEW&C are United States, Russia and Israel. Remember that ISRO has initiated ‘Project NETRA’ – an early warning system in space to detect debris and other hazards to Indian satellites. Under the project, the ISRO plans to put up many observational facilities: connected radars, telescopes; data processing units and a control centre. So, NETRA & Project NETRA are two different things from houses of DRDO and ISRO

Day 15: September 01 1. MAAREECH: The Indian Navy has recently inducted an advanced anti-torpedo decoy system called 'Maareech' that is capable of being fired from all frontline ships. 'Maareech' has been designed and developed indigenously by the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) labs and it is capable of detecting, locating and neutralizing incoming torpedo. -Bharat Electronics Limited, a Defence PSU, would undertake the production of this decoy system. -This system offers a complete solution to detect and locate the incoming torpedo and to apply countermeasures to protect naval platform against torpedo attack.

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