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ASTRONOMICAL SATELLITES

• These satellites are used for the observation of distant stars and other objects in space. India’s ASTROSAT is an Astronomical satellite.
• Astronomical satellites are those which are used for observation of distant planets, galaxies, and other outer space objects. Astronomical performance from the Earth’s surface is limited by Earth’s atmospheric conditions. It makes it even more worse by the filtering and distortion of electromagnetic radiation. This makes it desirable to place astrononomical observation devices into space.
• But space-based astronomy is even more important for frequency ranges which are outside the optic and radio window. For example, X-ray astronomy is nearly impossible when done from the Earth, and has reached its current important stand within astronomy only due to orbiting satellites with X-ray telescopes. Infrared and ultraviolet are also greatly blocked.
• The most famous astronomical satellite is the Hubble Telescope. Although now reaching the end of its life it has enabled scientists to see many things that would otherwise not have been possible. Nevertheless it did suffer some major design setbacks that were only discovered once it was in orbit.

The scientific objectives of ASTROSAT mission are:

• To understand high energy processes in binary star systems containing neutron stars and black holes
• Estimate magnetic fields of neutron stars
• Study star birth regions and high energy processes in star systems lying beyond our galaxy
• Detect new briefly bright X-ray sources in the sky
• Perform a limited deep field survey of the Universe in the Ultraviolet region

The best known and currently the most widely used navigation satellite system is the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS), which became operational two decades ago.

Russia too offers global coverage with its Global Navigation Satellite System (GLONASS). Europe is establishing its own global system, Galileo. Although the full constellation will be ready only by 2019, it plans to begin some services with a reduced number of satellites by the end of next year.

China’s Beidou satellite navigation system, that launched its first navigation satellite in 2000, plans to have a full global coverage by 2020. China has already launched 16 satellites and four experimental ones onto space as part of the Beidou system.

Some of the proven and more popular systems include the Chinese Beidou, Russian Glonass and Japanese Quazi-Zenith Satellite System (QZSS) that is making slow progress.

The term “nanosatellite” or “nanosat” is applied to an artificial satellite with a wet mass between 1 and 10 kg.

The term “microsatellite” or “microsat” is usually applied to the name of an artificial satellite with a wet mass between 10 and 100 kg. However, this is not an official convention and sometimes those terms can refer to satellites larger than that, or smaller.

There are several types of orbits:

 Polar

 Sun Synchronous

 Geosynchronous

 Geostationary

The MESSENGER mission was designed to study the characteristics and environment of Mercury from orbit. Specifically, the scientific objectives of the mission were:

1. To characterize the chemical composition of Mercury’s surface.
2. To study the planet’s geologic history.
3. To elucidate the nature of the global magnetic field (magnetosphere).
4. To determine the size and state of the core.
5. To determine the volatile inventory at the poles.

To study the nature of Mercury’s exosphere.

Agencies allocating Spectrum

For international purposes, spectrum is allocated by the world body called International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

For domestic purposes, it is done by Wireless Planning and Coordination (WPC) Wing of the Ministry of Communications, created in 1952, is the National Radio Regulatory Authority responsible for Frequency Spectrum Management, including licensing and caters for the needs of all wireless users in the country. It issues licenses to operate wireless stations.

LTE (Long Term Evolution) is a wireless broadband technology designed to support roaming Internet access via cell phones and handheld devices. Because LTE offers significant improvements over older cellular communication standards, some refer to it as a 4G (fourth generation) technology along with WiMAX.

LTE, an acronym for Long Term Evolution, commonly marketed as 4G LTE, is a standard for wireless communication of high-speed data for mobile phones and data terminals.

Long Term Evolution or LTE is the first step towards true 4G technologies. To be a truly 4G technology, download speeds of 100 Mb/s and 1Gb/s should be available from moving (i.e. in a car) or pedestrian points respectively. It was however widely decided across the world that companies could market LTE as “4G LTE” due to some having already taken that step and to avoid further consumer confusion with the terms 3.5G or 3.9G that were starting to surface.

LTE offers maximum download speeds of 299.6 Mb/s although there has been controversy over the speeds some operators running LTE networks are providing, sometimes being lower than the supposedly ‘inferior’ HSPA (plus) technology. Commercially available speeds vary wildly and using the (at the time of writing) recently launched UK LTE network, tests have shown anywhere in between 8-50 Mb/s in available areas. LTE requires brand new network technology and masts / radios. This also means that the devices that support LTE will also need to have a compatible receiver.

MYSTIC PROJECT

It is a secret surveillance project of National Surveillance Agency of USA, to record 100% of foreign country’s telephone calls. These calls are stored in a database code named NUCLEON and can be retrieved at a later date using a code named RETRO. Former NSA contractor and whistle-blower of USA’s surveillance program Edward Snowden have revealed this.

The Convention on Cybercrime, also known as the Budapest Convention on Cybercrime or the Budapest Convention, is the first international treaty seeking to address Internet and computer crime by harmonizing national laws, improving investigative techniques, and increasing cooperation among nations.

• It was drawn up by the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France, with the active participation of the Council of Europe’s observer states Canada, Japan, Philippines, South Africa and the United States.
• Since it entered into force, important countries like Brazil and India have declined to adopt the Convention on the grounds that they did not participate in its drafting.
• Russia opposes the Convention, stating that adoption would violate Russian sovereignty, and has usually refused to cooperate in law enforcement investigations relating to cybercrime.
• It is the first multilateral legally binding instrument to regulate cybercrime.
• Since 2018, India has been reconsidering its stand on the Convention after a surge in cybercrime, though concerns about sharing data with foreign agencies remain.

The Convention aims principally at:

• Harmonising the domestic criminal substantive law elements of offences and connected provisions in the area of cyber-crime.
• Providing for domestic criminal procedural law powers necessary for the investigation and prosecution of such offences as well as other offences committed by means of a computer system or evidence in relation to which is in electronic form.
• Setting up a fast and effective regime of international cooperation.

QR Code is 2 dimensional codes unlike bar code which is one dimensional.

• It can store more information than Bar codes.
• 30% error can be tolerated by QR code. Tampered QR codes can be easily read. It provides a robust coding technology.
• QR codes can store diverse information like Web URLs, Pictures, Text information, numbers etc.
• There is no need of dedicated device. Smartphone cameras other digital cameras are enough to scan these codes.
• Simple and easily installable software is needed that translates the bar code into information coded into it.
• It has wide applications from town planning to enterprise. It is being used in business marketing.

IPTV

• IPTV is new generation TV that communicates over Internet protocol in the form of packets rather than signals in normal TV’s.
• It has 3 components: IPTV where content is encoded and decoded; Delivery Network over which information in the form of packets is transmitted; Setup Box which is communication link between operator’s broadband modem and customer’s TV. Also packets delivered are reassembled here.
• IPTV enables two-way interactivity, in contrast to traditional one way cable or satellite broadcast network. The two-way IPTV network means viewers have more options to personalize interact and control their viewing experience.
• Because IPTV is based on internet protocol, it is sensitive to packet loss and delays if the IPTV connection is not fast enough.

E-SWECHA OS

• E-Swecha is free software development programme to cater the needs of engineering students.
• In realization of free software movement in India, it will develop Operating System (OS).
• The participants of this project are students itself of different engineering colleges, teaching staff and team of academician.
• The development is based on UNIX operating system. UNIX operating system is an open source platform where features can be modified, customized and added to enhance the functionality.
• The stake holders would participate in its development work in groups and teams to collaborate and implement the project.
• The development of free software will be opening up new doors of learning and employment generation in India.

SPECIFIC ABSORPTION RATE (SAR)

• It’s a standard for safe exposure to radio frequency.
• SAR measured as the amount of radio frequency or electromagnetic frequency absorbed per unit mass of tissue or human body. It’s measured in units of Watt per kilogram.
• It has gained importance because of high exposure of human beings to Mobile radio frequency.
• It is assumed that exposure of human tissue to high frequency can cause mutation and gene transformation. Hence to meet the health standard FCC has come up with a standard that is tolerable by human body.
• FCC limit for public exposure from cellular telephones is an SAR level of 1.6 watts per kilogram (1.6 W/kg).
• India, Department of Telecommunication has come up with SAR regulation to check electromagnetic radiation to address health concerns and regulate Mobile manufacturing industry.

AMBIENT INTELLIGENCE

• Ambient intelligence (AmI) is a setup of electronic devices that observes records, analyse and respond to the human environment.
• They have Ability to model user behaviour, activity prediction and recognition, decision making and controlling.
• The objective of AmI is to broaden the interaction between human beings and digital information technology through the use of ubiquitous computing devices.
• AmI comprises of three main components: ubiquitous computing, ubiquitous communication, and user adaptive interfaces.
• It has wide range of applications like Smart homes which smartly interact with residents;
• Health related Application where patients’ activity can be monitored, analyzed and quick and automatic decisions can be taken; Public transportation System where traffic can be managed efficiently.

It poses security issue and Privacy challenges.

E-EYE

• E-Eye is a pilot project started by government of India for e-surveillance
• E-surveillance is achieved by providing a set of cameras that are installed in an area especially National parks which can monitor and record the movement around it at 360 degree. These cameras are fitted with night vision features. The system can raise alarms as when required.
• In India, The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has approved the installation of these cameras in Corbet National Park.

Purpose and Benefits

• Tracking animal movement
• Checking human trespassing
• Control and avoidance of animal poaching.
• Habitat destruction, cutting of trees, grazing can be tracked
• It will help in better planning and coordination of authorities.

Flue Gases

Flue Gases is mixture of gases produced by combustion of fuel and other materials in power stations and various industrial plants and released via flu (ducts) in atmosphere. It largely contains oxides of nitrogen derived from combustion of air, sulphur oxides, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, water vapour, excess oxygen, particulate matter like soot.

Petro crops (plants) are hydrocarbon producing plants that can be grown on land which are unfit for agriculture and not covered with forests.

• These can become alternative energy sources, which can be inexhaustible and ideal for liquid fuel.
• Jatropa curcas is an important petro plant.
• Latex of Jatropa curcas is used to obtain biocrude, which is then converted into several useful products like gasoline (automobile fuel), gas oil and kerosene.

Starch and Gylcogen

Starch is the main storage polysaccharide of plants. It is the most important dietary source for human beings. High content of starch is found in cereals, roots, tubers and some vegetables.

Cellulose occurs exclusively in plants and it is the most abundant organic substance in plant kingdom. It is a predominant constituent of cell wall of plant cells. The carbohydrates are stored in animal body as glycogen. It is also known as animal starch.

Glycogen is the body’s storage form of starch, though it is technically glucose. To understand this, you must understand that starch is a plant’s storage form of glucose. However, as humans, we store the same glucose as glycogen. Our body is equipped to contain excess glucose molecules as glycogen rather than starch.

Biologics

• Biologics are medicines made from living cells through highly complex manufacturing processes and must be handled and administered under carefully monitored conditions.
• In contrast to most drugs that are chemically synthesized and their structure is known, most biologics are complex mixtures that are not easily identified or characterized.

A biological product or medicine that is intended to treat diseases so rare that sponsors are reluctant to develop them under usual marketing conditions.

• In 1983, the US government passed the Orphan Drugs Act to stimulate research in the treatment of diseases that have been largely ignored by the pharmaceutical industry. Similar laws have been enacted in Japan, Australia and the European Union.
• All these laws offer incentives such as shorter clinical trials, extended exclusivity, tax breaks and high rates of regulatory success. They have made it commercially attractive for pharmaceutical companies to invest in the research and development (R&D) required to find a cure for these diseases. India does not have a nationwide Orphan Drug policy.
• In 2016 Karnataka became the first state to release a Rare Diseases and Orphan Drugs Policy. It recommended the implementation of preventive and carrier testing as a means of reducing morbidity and mortality. Given that over 80% of rare diseases have a genetic basis, it suggested the use genetic testing to accelerate the identification of the critical genes involved in rare diseases.

Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) set up Suresh Mathur Committee to review regulatory framework on micro insurance, and to recommend measures to increase demand for such products.

Echidna

• Echidnas, also known as spiny anteaters, are unique egg-laying mammals found only in Australia and New Guinea.
• Their young hatch from eggs at a very early stage of development and depend completely on mother’s milk.
• But the mammary glands of the echidnas are devoid of nipples, forcing the young ones to lick milk from the mother’s body surface and potentially making them vulnerable to micro-organisms.
• The milk of the echidna has a protein that can puncture the cell membranes of multiple bacterial species, thus destroying the source of infection.
• The protein promises to serve as an alternative to antibiotics used on livestock.
• There is a rise of superbugs due to the indiscriminate use of antibiotics by the animal husbandry industry to raise livestock.
• The superbugs can cause mastitis, an infection of the mammary gland, in dairy animals.

Mayon is in Philippines.

GSLV is Indian Space Research Organisation’s fourth generation launch vehicle with three stages. The four liquid strap-ons and a solid rocket motor at the core form the first stage. The second stage is equipped with a high thrust engine using liquid fuel. The cryogenic upper stage forms the third and final stage of the vehicle.

Read More – https://www.isro.gov.in/launchers/gslv

Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) is a planned space probe that will demonstrate the kinetic effects of crashing an impactor spacecraft into an asteroid moon for planetary defense purposes. The mission is intended to test whether a spacecraft impact could successfully deflect an asteroid on a collision course with Earth.

Environmentalists are shocked over the drying rivers of Bihar failing to get the attention of political parties even during election time.

According to officials, there were once some 600 river streams in Bihar which nursed its human population. But now, most of them have either dried up or are on the brink of losing their existence.

There are over 100 rivers such as Lakhandei, Noon, Balan, Kadane, Sakari, Tilaiya, Dhadhar, Chhoti Bagmati, Saura and Falgu which are virtually on the brink of death.

Scientists from Nagaland University and the Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati have studied the history and evolution of smelting in Wui village of Tuensang district of Nagaland. The village is known for its traditional art of iron-smelting and iron tool production since pre-colonial times.

Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary is the northernmost wildlife sanctuary of Kerala, southwest India. It is 55 km² in area and located on the western slope of the Western Ghats.

Pathalgadi are basically a way to demarcate our territories and tell outsiders (government officials) that the law of the land does not apply here. It is a movement of the tribal people that will gradually engulf all the 32,620 villages of Jharkhand.

Gram sabhas declare themselves the highest authority within its borders, as marked by pathals:

Installed by the gram panchayat its purpose is to cite various articles of the Indian Constitution, namely 13(3), 19(5), 19(6) and others, and to prohibit outsiders from entering the village, doing any kind of business or job, and claiming that none of the laws of the Parliament or legislature can be implemented in the area, which comes under the Fifth Schedule of the Constitution.

The L&D Mechanism was established at the 19th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 19) in Warsaw, Poland, which took place in November 2013.