Science and Technology (S&T) Digest, 01-15 December 2022, Issue 3

Dr Saroj Bishoyi, Research Fellow, VIF

January 2 , 2023 Views: 1481 Comments: 0

In this Issue

I. DEFENCE AND SECURITY

Indian Navy and Coast Guard Being Equipped with Advanced Equipment

Indian Navy (IN) and Indian Coast Guard (ICG) are being equipped with indigenous state-of-the-art ships and weapons to protect the maritime borders of the country, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said in a statement on 2 December 2022. The Minister highlighted a number of initiatives taken by the Government to encourage indigenous manufacturing of weapons/ products and minimise imports by DPSUs. The initiatives include notification of Positive Indigenisation Lists comprising Major Line Replacement Units/Sub-systems and SRIJAN portal. For more information: Click here to read...

DRDO Hands Over AHSP of Akash Weapon System

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) handed over Authority Holding Sealed Particulars (AHSP) of Akash Weapon System (Indian Army Version) to Missile Systems Quality Assurance Agency (MSQAA) in Hyderabad on 3 December 2022. The handing over was held at Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL) which, as a nodal agency, has designed and developed the Akash weapon system. Akash is the first state-of-the-art indigenous surface-to-air missile system which has been with Armed Forces for nearly a decade defending the Indian skies and providing national security. For more information: Click here to read...

Space Defence Mission

Mission DefSpace was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during DefExpo in October 2022 with 75 Defence Space Challenges relevant to the end users. These challenges have been categorised into existing DDP initiatives of iDEX, Make-I and Make-2. Private Industries, including Start-ups, MSMEs and Individual Innovators, are eligible to apply. The challenges, classified into five buckets viz. Launch System, Satellite System, Communication & Payload System, Ground System and Software System, provide a holistic 3600 overview of space. In this regard, several policy initiatives and reforms have been brought to encourage indigenous design, development and manufacture of defence equipment, there by promoting self-reliance in defence manufacturing & technology in the country. For more information: Click here to read...

‘Dare to Dream’ Scheme for Promoting Start-Ups

A total of 52 individuals and 34 start-ups have been awarded under three ‘Dare to Dream’ contests out of 5,637 applications received in last three years. A total of 07 projects have been sanctioned and awarded to start-ups of Dare to Dream contest winners so far. DRDO has been launching Dare to Dream Contest every year since 2019 to bring together innovators, entrepreneurs, individuals above 18 years and start-ups, recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and with Indian founders, for innovative ideas in the field of Defence and Aerospace. For more information: Click here to read...

II. STI IN SPACE SECTOR

ISRO to Develop “Spatial Data Infrastructure geoportal ‘Geo-Ladakh’

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on 7 December 2022, Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh said that Government of UT – Ladakh has approached the Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS), a unit of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for developing “Spatial Data Infrastructure geoportal ‘Geo-Ladakh’ for UT-Ladakh”. The project encompasses spatial database generation (water resources, vegetation and energy potential) using remote sensing, geospatial techniques and the development of a Geo-portal for hosting this database. For more information: Click here to read...

Usage of NaviC System Increased in India

Dr Jitendra Singh, in a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on 7 December 2022, said that the usage of Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (NaviC system) has increased in India. The NaviC system finds utilisation in national projects like public vehicle safety, power grid synchronisation, real-time train information system, fishermen safety, etc. Other upcoming initiatives viz. common alert protocol-based emergency warning, time dissemination, geodetic network, unmanned aerial vehicles, etc. are in the process of adopting NavIC system. The Minister said that many mobile phone models in the country are already having NaviC compatibility. For more information: Click here to read...

Developing Technologies for Autonomous Precision Landing of Space Rockets

The Department of Space (DoS) has initiated studies towards undertaking the development of critical technologies required to achieve Autonomous Precision Landing of Space Rockets and their demonstration through Vertical Take-off & Vertical Landing (VTVL) of Test Vehicles. In order to become an active stakeholder in the small satellite market, ISRO/DoS has initiated development of Spacecraft buses for the small satellites, which includes nano-satellite and micro-satellites. For more information: Click here to read...

DoS Establishing a Robust Regulatory System for Space Activities

The DoS is in the process of establishing a predictable, forward-looking, enabling regulatory regime for space activities in India, through a comprehensive, well-defined policy for the entire gamut of such activities, Minister Jitendra Singh said on 7 December in a Statement in the Lok Sabha in reply to a question regarding launch of Vikram-S Rocket. The New Space India Limited (NSIL) a Public Sector Enterprise under the DoS, has been empowered to bring a commerce-oriented approach to space activities. For more information: Click here to read...

III. EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES AND APPLICATIONS

A Total of 84,102 Entities Recognised as Start-ups by the DPIIT

Under Start-up India Initiative, a total of 59,787 entities were recognised as start-ups in the last ﬁve years (years 2017-2021) by the DPIIT. As on 30th November 2022, 84,102 entities have been recognised as start-ups by the DPIIT. Recognized startups are spread across 56 sectors. Sustained Government eﬀorts in this direction have resulted in increasing the number of recognized Startups from 452 in 2016 to 84,012 in 2022 (as on 30th November 2022), Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Som Parkash said in reply to a parliament question on 7 December. For more information: Click here to read...

Biotech Start-ups Significantly Increased in Last 8 Years

Addressing an “International Conference on Emerging Trends in Biosciences and Chemical Technology- 2022”, Dr Jitendra Singh said that India's bio-economy has grown 8 times in the last 8 years under Prime Minister Modi from $10 billion in 2014 to over $80 billion in 2022. Biotech Start-ups have grown 100 times in the last 8 years from 52 odd startups in 2014 to 5300 plus in 2022. The Minister pointed out that from a paltry investment of Rs 10 Crore in Bio-economy in 2014, the fund growth saw 400 times hike to Rs 4200 crore in 2022, creating over 25,000 high skilled jobs. For more information: Click here to read...

Guidelines for PLI Incentive Scheme to Support Indigenous Drone Industry Issued

For the effective operation and smooth implementation of the PLI scheme, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has formulated and notified the operational guidelines. The guidelines have been notified on 29th November 2022 for the information of all the stakeholders and the public. To make India a global hub for the research and development, testing, manufacturing, and operation of drones under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, the liberalised Drone Rules, 2021 were released to create a growth-oriented regulatory framework for drones. To facilitate further growth, the Government has approved Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Drones and Drone Components in India. For the implementation of this scheme during 2022-23 to 2024-25, a corpus of Rs 120 crores has been allocated. For more information: Click here to read...

Reform Measures to Promote Drone Industry

The Government of India has undertaken a series of reform measures to promote India’s upcoming drone industry which include: Drones Rules, 2021 notified on 25 August 2021 provide the necessary regulatory framework for commercial use of drones; Drone Airspace Map published on 24th September 2021; PLI scheme to promote the growth of drone manufacturing by private companies launched in 30 September 2021; and, UAS Traffic Management (UTM) Policy Framework was published on 24th October 2021. Ministry of Civil Aviation has proactively engaged with various Union Ministries and State/UT Governments across the country to promote drone applications. For more information: Click here to read...

FAME and PLI Schemes Launched for Promoting Use of EVs

For promoting the use of electric vehicles in the country and to make their manufacturing cost effective, following three schemes have been formulated by the Ministry of Heavy Industries: Phase II of Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles in India (FAME India) Scheme initially for a period of three years commencing from April 2019 with a total budgetary support of Rs. 10,000 crore; the PLI Scheme for Automotive Sector with a budgetary outlay of Rs. 25,938 crores approved in September 2021; and, PLI Scheme for manufacturing of Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) in the country with a budgetary outlay of Rs. 18,100 crore approved in May 2021. For more information: Click here to read...

Steps Taken to Promote Charging Infrastructure for EVs

Under phase-II of FAME-India Scheme, Rs. 1000 Cr. is allocated for the development of charging infrastructure. The Ministry of Heavy Industries has sanctioned 2,877 electric vehicle charging stations in 68 cities across 25 states/UTs. Further, 1576 charging stations across 9 Expressways and 16 Highways under phase-II of FAME India Scheme has also been sanctioned. For more information: Click here to read...

Rolling out of 5G Network Services

The Minister of State for Communications, Devusinh Chauhan in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on 14 December said that Telecom Service Providers (TSPs) have started providing 5G services in the country from 1st October 2022 onwards and as of 26 November 2022, 5G services have started in 50 towns distributed over 14 States/UTs. As per the Notice Inviting Application (NIA) dated 15 June 2022 for auction of spectrum and the license conditions, the rollout obligations are required to be met over a period of five years, in a phased manner, from the date of allocation of spectrum. For more information: Click here to read...

S&T in Energy

Government Proposes to Set up More Nuclear Power Plants for Clean Energy

The Government of India has proposed to set up more nuclear power plants for augmenting production of clean energy. In addition to the eleven (11) reactors (8700 MW) under construction, the Government of India has accorded administrative approval and financial sanction for construction of ten (10) indigenous 700 MW Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) to be set up in fleet mode. The Government has also accorded in principle approval for five new sites for setting up nuclear power plants in the future. The present installed nuclear power capacity comprises of 22 reactors with a total capacity of 6780 MW. In addition, one reactor, KAPP-3 (700 MW) has also been connected to the grid. For more information: Click here to read...

Remaining Four units of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plants to be completed by 2027

At present, Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant Units 1&2 of 1000 MW capacity each are already in operation and the remaining four units of 1000 MW each are under construction. On their progressive completion, the full capacity of Kudankulam site of 6000 MW is expected to be reached by the year 2027, Dr Jitendra Singh said in a statement laid on the table of the Rajya Sabha in reply to a question on 8 December. For more information: Click here to read...

Scope for New and Renewable Energy

In line with the Prime Minister’s announcement at COP26, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is working towards achieving 500 GW of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030, and achieving Net Zero by 2070. A total of 172.72 GW capacity from non-fossil fuel based energy resources has been installed in the country as on 31 October 2022. This includes 119.09 GW Renewable Energy, 46.85 GW Large Hydro and 6.78 GW Nuclear Power capacity. This constitutes a share of 42.26% of total installed generation capacity in the country i.e. 408.71 GW as on 31 October 2022. For more information: Click here to read...

S&T in Agriculture

Space Satellites Herald Agritech Revolution and Agritech Start-Ups

Space Satellites herald Agritech revolution and Agritech Start-Ups which is going to mark a major next breakthrough for India’s Agriculture sector after the Green revolution of yesteryears. Dr Jitendra Singh and Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar, formally released the data products and services of RISAT-1A satellite for the user community in Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi on 13 December. The Trinity of Geospatial Systems, Drone Policy and Unlocked Space Sector will be a game-changer for Indian Agriculture in both augmenting the farmer’s income and realising the vision of the $5 trillion economy. For more information: Click here to read...

S&T in Health

Intra-Nasal Vaccine for COVID Developed by India

World’s first intra-nasal vaccine for COVID developed by India has got approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) for restricted use in emergency situations in the age group of 18 and above. Dr Jitendra Singh informed that the Product development and Clinical trials were funded by the Department of biotechnology, Government of India and BIRAC under the Mission COVID Suraksha Programme. India’s efforts through Mission COVID Suraksha under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Modi has not only strengthened AtmaNirbhar Bharat but also bolstered India’s status as a worldwide vaccine development and manufacturing center showcasing the strength of Science and Technology. For more information: Click here to read...

S&T in Education

AICTE Focuses on Outcome Based Model Curriculum

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 highlights the importance of focusing on student learning outcomes and making quality education accessible, affordable, equitable and inclusive. Accordingly, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has revamped the existing curriculum and launched outcome based Model curriculum for Diploma, Undergraduate and Post Graduate courses in Engineering and PGDM/MBA. AICTE has also prepared Model curriculum for courses in Emerging Areas like (i) Artificial Intelligence (AI), (ii) Internet of Things (IoT), (iii) Block Chain, (iv) Robotics, (v) Quantum Computing (vi) Data Science (vii) Cyber Security (viii) 3D Printing and Design and (ix) Augmented Reality (AR)/Virtual Reality (VR) etc., and permitted in engineering institutes from academic year 2020-21. For more information: Click here to read...

AIM Launches Community Innovator Fellowship

On 1 December 2022, Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, in collaboration with UNDP India announced the launch of applications for Community Innovator Fellowship (CIF) to facilitate knowledge building and provide infrastructure support to aspiring community innovators essential for their entrepreneurship journey. Currently there are 22 Community Innovator fellows being incubated at the Atal Community Innovation Centre (ACIC) programme of AIM. For more information: Click here to read...

A Centre of Excellence in AI and Robotics Inaugurated

On 3 December 2022, the Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Rajeev Chandrasekhar inaugurated a Centre of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics at the Jyothi Engineering College in Thrissur, Kerala and expressed hope that it will encourage young Indians to venture into innovation and applications of AI and robotics in different fields. The Minister said there is already a wave of opportunities for innovation and startups in India. For more information: Click here to read...

MoU Signed for Learning in the field of AI and ML

Chitkara University announced its collaboration with NEC Corporation India, a wholly owned subsidiary of NEC Corporation, for a comprehensive academic programme for aspiring students to facilitate them with hands-on training and research facilities in the area of Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning (Al/ML) and High-Performance Computing (HPC). A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between NEC Corporation India and Chitkara University. The agreement will provide an opportunity for the University to upskill its students, faculty and academic researchers in the field of AI. For more information: Click here to read...

Other Socio-Economic Sectors

E-Shram Portal, Database on Migrant Workers, Launched

Ministry of Labour & Employment has launched e-SHRAM portal, a National Database of the Unorganised Workers on 26 August 2021. It has been made available to the States/ UTs for registration of unorganised workers on e-SHRAM portal. The main objective of the e-SHRAM portal is to create a national database of all unorganised workers including Construction Workers, Gig and Platform workers, Street Vendors, Domestic Workers, Agriculture Workers, Migrant workers and similar other workers seeded with Aadhaar. For more information: Click here to read...

Digitization of MSMEs

As on date 1.24 crore Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are registered in Udyam Registration portal and further benefitted through various programmes. Under the MSME Champions Schemes ‘Digital MSME’ component has been included for digital empowerment of MSMEs in the country. The Ministry of MSME propose to support MSMEs through “Digital MSME” a component of MSME Champions Scheme to bring in digitization and digitalization and to make MSMEs digitally empowered and motivate them to adopt digital tools, applications and technologies in their production & business processes with a view to improve their competitiveness. For more information: Click here to read...

IV. INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

Setting up of Vedanta FOXCONN Semiconductor Plant in India

Vedanta Semiconductors Ltd., a Joint Venture between Vedanta and Foxconn is an applicant under the Scheme for setting up of semiconductor Fabs in India. As per their application, Telangana, Gujarat and Maharashtra, were proposed as possible locations. However, the applicants in their final submissions have informed that they had decided Dholera Industrial City, Gujarat as final location for their proposal, and have submitted definitive agreement and Government orders from the Government of Gujarat stating the details of support from the State. This information was provided by the Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha on 7 December. For more information: Click here to read...

India-UAE Space Cooperation

Addressing the Opening Ceremony of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) summit, “Abu Dhabi Space Debate” on 5 December 2022, Dr Jitendra Singh described India as a key Global Player in the Space sector and reiterated that under Prime Minister Modi, India is keen to take its Space cooperation with the UAE to newer heights. The Minister said that development of the Space sector is one of the priority areas for the leaders of both India and the UAE and added that India started its space journey seven decades back from a scratch and is today acknowledged to be a leading space power. He said that the indigenously developed Space sector of India and the fast-growing Space sector of the UAE have a lot of complementariness that can be harnessed. He shared that India’s active space partnership with the UAE dates back to 2017, when our PSLV launched UAE’s first nanosatellite - ‘Nayif-1’ meant for collecting environmental space data. For more information: Click here to read...

India-Germany Strengthen Partnership on the Skills Agenda

To propel economic growth by empowering the youth with the right skills and providing them the access to right opportunities, 12th meeting of the Indo-German joint working group was held in New Delhi on 7 December to encourage Vocational Education and Training (VET). The deliberations at the meeting were aimed at institutionalizing a standard mechanism for VET to meet the skill requirements in priority sectors as per the German standards. A skill mapping exercise will be undertaken to assess the skill gaps and based on the same, bridge courses and upskilling programmes will be designed for skill training of Indian workers. For more information: Click here to read...

India not Reliant on China for Accessing Rare Earth Minerals

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on 14 December, Dr Jitendra Singh said that India is not reliant on China for accessing rare earth minerals. In India, capacity and capabilities in terms of mining, processing, extraction, refining and production of high pure RE oxides is adequately available. The Minister said that the production of Monazite the primary source of rare earth mineral in India is around 4000 MT per annum. For more information: Click here to read...

V. REGIONAL AND GLOBAL TRENDS

Biden Administration Adds 36 More Chinese firms to its Export List

On 15 December 2022, the Biden administration added 36 Chinese firms to its export blacklist on efforts to block Beijing’s access to advanced military and surveillance technology from the U.S. Yangtze Memory Technologies, one of China’s largest chip makers, was added to the U.S.’s “Entity List” alongside 34 other Chinese companies and one Chinese subsidiary located in Japan, essentially blocking the firms from receiving U.S. technology. US Undersecretary of Commerce for Industry and Security, Alan Estevez in a statement said that the additions to the Entity List will severely restrict China’s ability to “leverage artificial intelligence, advanced computing, and other powerful, commercially available technologies for military modernization and human rights abuses.” For more information: Click here to read...

President Biden Boosts New Semiconductor Fab Facility in Arizona

On 6 December 2022, US President Joe Biden’s visit to a massive construction project in north Phoenix highlighted Arizona’s role in a major U.S. policy shift on semiconductor manufacturing.
The Biden administration is pushing to boost domestic chips manufacturing with more than $50 billion in subsidies in the new CHIPs and Science Act. President Biden’s visit to the new fabrication facility being built by Taiwanese chips giant TSMC came as the firm announced it would build a second fabrication facility and triple its investment in Phoenix to $40 billion. For more information: Click here to read...

Apple Plans to Move Production Outside of China to other Countries

The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. smartphone giant Apple Inc. is accelerating plans to move some China-based production lines to other southeastern Asian countries such as India and Vietnam. That would represent a significant shift in the so-called de-Sinification of global supply chains after manufacturers become aware of risks of concentrating production in China. Stephen Ezell, director of global innovation policy at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) in Washington told Voice of America (VOA) that more multinationals might follow suit if Apple succeeds in shipping products from India, as it had produced a small percentage of iPhone 14s there. For more information: Click here to read...

Germany Blocks Sale of Two Semiconductor Factories to Chinese Firms

Geopolitica.Info reported that Germany by blocking the sale of two semiconductor factories to Chinese companies showcased that it “will not allow China to swallow up its companies of strategic and critical importance”. Berlin’s decision comes despite German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s visit to China in November amid criticism by lawmakers from his country and the European Union. For more information: Click here to read...

China Spending $143 Billion on Semiconductor Tech to Counter US Ban

China is spending $143 billion to combat U.S. moves to cut off its supply of semiconductor technology. The funds will be used to provide financial subsidies and incentives to help China's chipmakers develop and acquire semiconductor technology to withstand the U.S. move. Meanwhile, China has initiated the process of challenging the U.S. order at the World Trade Organization. Its Commerce Ministry has accused the United States of “generalizing the concept of national security and abusing export control measures, which hinders the normal international trade in chips and other products.” For more information: Click here to read...