On 24 February 2023, Missile Cum Ammunition (MCA) Barge, Yard 75 (LSAM 7) was launched by RAdm Sandeep Mehta, ACWP&A at Guttenedevi, launch site of M/s SECON, Visakhapatnam. With all major and auxiliary equipment / systems sourced from indigenous manufacturers, this Barge is proud flag bearer of “Make in India” initiative of Ministry of Defence. Contract for construction of 08 x MCA Barge was concluded with M/s SECON, Visakhapatnam, a MSME, in consonance with “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” initiatives of the Government of India. This Barge is being built with a service life of 30 years. The availability of MCA Barges will provide impetus to Operational commitments of IN by facilitating Transportation, Embarkation and Disembarkation of articles / ammunition to IN Ships both alongside jetties and at outer harbours. For more information: Click here to read... [2]
Keel laying of Second ship (BY 524, Malwan) and third ship (BY 525, Mangrol) of Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW SWC) (CSL) project was presided by R Adm Sandeep Mehta, ACWP&A and R Adm I B Uthaiah, DG WDB, respectively at M/s CSL, Kochi on 21 February 2023. With all major and auxiliary equipment/systems sourced from indigenous manufacturers, these ships are the proud flag bearer of “Make in India” initiative of Ministry of Defence. Contract for construction of eight ASW SWC vessels was concluded with M/s CSL, Kochi, in consonance with “Aatmanirbhar Bharat” initiatives. These ships are being built with a service life of 25 years. The availability of these vessels will provide sub-surface surveillance in coastal areas with the purpose of detecting and neutralizing underwater threats. For more information: Click here to read... [3]
The successful landing and take-off of the indigenous LCA Navy on India’s first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier is a momentous step forward towards the realisation of India’s collective vision of AatmaNirbharBharat, Adm R Hari Kumar, Chief of the Naval Staff said. The landing of LCA (Navy) on deck has demonstrated ‘AatmaNirbharta’ in India’s capability to design, develop, construct and operate indigenous Aircraft Carrier with indigenous Fighter Aircraft. It is indeed a landmark achievement being the first time that trials of a prototype aircraft - indigenously designed & produced by Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) & Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), has been successfully undertaken on an indigenous Aircraft Carrier. For more information: Click here to read... [4]
In a significant boost to Indian Army’s Air Defence and Capability development along Northern Borders, the first Medium Range Surface to Air Missile (MRSAM) Regiment is being raised in the Eastern Theatre. The Regiment has been equipped with MRSAM Weapon System indigenously developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). “The MRSAM weapon system which is also called the ‘Abhra’ Weapon System is a state of the art medium range air defence weapon system and is a joint venture of DRDO and Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI) with active participation from Indian public and private defence industry partners including MSMEs.” For more information: Click here to read... [5]
Defence and aerospace firm Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) have exchanged an expression of interest to provide Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) support for Predator drones in India. It will help in maintaining MQ-98 Guardian High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) drones manufactured by GA-ASI. The government aims to develop India as a MRO hub for defence equipment and systems. “GA-ASI and HAL eagerly look forward to formulate a comprehensive engine MRO program for upcoming HALE RPAS projects,” HAL said in a stock exchange filing. For more information: Click here to read... [6]
Bharat Dynamics (BDL) said that it has received an export order worth US $255 million. The state-owned aerospace and Defence Company said that it entered into 10 deals with several foreign and Indian companies during Aero India 2023. According to information available on the company’s website, BDL entered into MoU with UK company Thales to set up manufacturing facilities for laser-guided rocket and its major components in India. In addition, an agreement was signed by BDL with EDGE Group entity, AL TARIQ, UAE, to jointly produce an all-weather, day or night, long-range precision guided munition (LR-PGM) kits in India. For more information: Click here to read... [7]
A two-day conference on “Geospatial Policy for National Development” held from 21-22 February 2023 where experts suggested ways of pushing forward the new Geospatial Policy and harnessing it for National Development. Participants from the government sectors and industry players discussed geospatial infrastructure, skill development, transport networks, sustainable water management, agriculture, capacity building, and plans for high-end geospatial research and development at the two-day conference geared to develop a roadmap for successful implementation of the policy. For more information: Click here to read... [8]
The Troika of Space, Drone and Geospatial Policy will propel India as a pre-eminent Technological Power in a few Years from now, Minister of Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh addressing a National Conference on “Geospatial Policy for National Development” was held in Delhi on 21 February 2023. Unlocking of the Space sector for private participation in June 2020, issue of Liberalized Guidelines for Geospatial Data in February 2021 and final approval of Geospatial Policy in December 2022 and Liberalized Drone Rules, followed by Drone Amendment Rules-2022 notified by Ministry of Civil Aviation, all these transformative, game changer decisions came during the 2nd stint of Prime Minister Narendra Modi after May 2019. Dwelling on Geospatial Policy, the Minister said, as per one industry estimate, Indian Geospatial economy in 2021 employed approximately 5 Lakh people across the country spread across the domestic market (including user industries, government services and export services) which is expected to rise over 10 lakhs by 2025. For more information: Click here to read... [9]
Martin Foundation in association with Dr APJ Abdul Kalam International Foundation and Space Zone India is all set up for the APJ Abdul Kalam Satellite Launch Vehicle Mission-2023. Through this initiative, more than 5000 students from Grades VI to XII from different parts of the country, have been enabled to design and develop 150 PICO satellites, which are to be launched through the rocket. As per the official statement, this mission has also provided an opportunity for selected students to learn more about Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). A total of 2000 students from more than 100 government schools are a part of this rocket project. For more information: Click here to read... [10]
An Indian Aerospace Startup, Space Kidz India, has successfully launched its latest satellite, “AzaadiSAT-2,” on 10 February 2023. The satellite was placed into orbit by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. Built with the support of Lumina Datamatics, “AzaadiSAT-2” was conceptualized by Dr. Srimathy Kesan, CEO, SpaceKidz India. This launch marks a significant milestone for Space Kidz India and Lumina Datamatics. It was an all-girls project with 750 teenage girls from 75 rural schools across India who came together to build this satellite. The satellite will help measure various health data like temperature, reset count, and Inertial Measurement Unit data. For more information: Click here to read... [11]
Garcinia pedunculata, a medicinal plant commonly called ‘Borthekera’ in the Assamese language, traditionally forbidden for raw consumption, has been found to protect from heart diseases. Administration of the dried pulp of the ripe fruit of the medicinal plant reduced cardiac hypertrophy indicators and oxidative stress and heart inflammation brought on by ISO. The sun-dried slices of the ripe fruit are used for culinary and medicinal purposes and are known to have therapeutic properties like anti-inflammatory, anthelmintic, antibacterial, antifungal, antidiabetic, hypolipidemic, nephroprotective, and even neuroprotective activity. Scientists of Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology (IASST), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), explored this medicinal plant’s potential to prevent heart diseases. For more information: Click here to read... [12]
CSC Academy, a subsidiary of Common Service Centre e-Governance Services India Limited, and NIELIT (National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance digital literacy and skill development in India. The MoU aims to establish a long-term partnership between the two organizations to jointly develop and implement initiatives that promote digital literacy and create employment opportunities for the youth of India. Under the MoU, CSC Academy and NIELIT will work together to develop and implement training programmes in various fields of technology, such as Skill Development, Virtual Academy, Accreditation and Facilitation Centre, Faculty Development Program, Digital and financial inclusion, Entrepreneurship development, Content and certifications and Provision of support to mutual partners and NGOs. For more information: Click here to read... [13]
On 24 February 2023, the 2nd Semicon India FutureDESIGN Roadshow launched at IISc in Bengaluru with an aim to encourage startups, next-generation innovators, and business leaders to invest in semiconductor sector in India. On the occasion, outlining some of the initiatives that the Government has taken to support the semiconductor innovation ecosystem in India, Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that the India Semiconductor Research Centre (ISRC) which will be a private, industry led research centre will soon be launched and the Semiconductor Laboratory is being modernised and pivoted into research fab and will be co-located with the ISRC. For more information: Click here to read... [14]
Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), an autonomous society under Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), is instrumental in taking the Government initiative across the country including smaller towns. Based on the proposals received from respective State Government(s), STPI has set-up 63 STPI centres across the country. Additionally, the Indian government has also approved 22 new STPI centres across the country. For more information: Click here to read... [15]
Addressing a Post Budget Webinar on the subject of ‘Ease of Living using Technology’, Prime Minister Modi said that India of the 21st century is constantly empowering its citizens with the use of technology. He underlined that every budget in the past few years has stressed the ease of living for people with the help of technology. In this year’s budget, the Prime Minister emphasised, the priority is given to technology and a human touch. He elaborated upon the role of technology in this by giving examples of One Nation One Ration Card and JAM (Jan Dhan-Aadhar-Mobile) trinity, Arogya Setu and CoWin App, railway reservation and Common Service Centers. With these decisions, the Prime Minister said that the government has enhanced the ease of living of the citizens. For more information: Click here to read... [16]
Aadhaar holders have carried out over 9029.28 crore authentication transactions so far including 199.62 crore in January 2023 alone, indicative of the growth of digital economy in the country. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has already rolled out a new security mechanism for Aadhaar based fingerprint authentication. The artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) based security mechanism developed in-house is now using a combination of both finger minutiae and finger image to check the liveness of the finger print captured. For more information: Click here to read... [17]
The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) under the Ministry of Communications has offered the usage of 5G Test Bed free of cost to the Start-ups and MSMEs recognised by the Government of India up to January 2024. The 5G Test Bed is available at five locations viz., Integrated Test Bed at CEWiT/ IIT Madras and other Test Beds are at IIT Delhi, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Kanpur and IISc Bangalore. All 5G stakeholders i.e. Industry, Academia, Service Providers, R&D Institutions, Govt. Bodies, Equipment Manufacturers etc. can utilise this facility at a very nominal rate. This is being announced in order to encourage usage of the Test Bed and give a fillip to the development of indigenous technologies/ products in line with ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ vision. For more information: Click here to read... [18]
India’s bioeconomy is poised to touch US $300 billion by 2030 and with its rising innovation and scientific temper, India is set to join the global wave of a new industrial revolution, Dr Jitendra Singh said at the “National Consultation Meeting on Bio-manufacturing to build a Draft Policy Framework on Bio-manufacturing” . The Minister said that the government is committed to enable Circular-Bio-economy by advancing ‘High-Performance Bio-manufacturing’ in the country. The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) envisages to bring together scientific and technological advancement towards achieving a major goal of the Department’s vision of BioE3 (i.e. Biotechnology for Economy, Environment and Employment) for green, clean and prosperous India. For more information: Click here to read... [19]
Despite the rapid evolution of the crypto universe, there is no comprehensive global policy framework for crypto assets. Given the concerns over greater interconnectedness between crypto assets and the traditional financial sector as well as the complexity and volatility around crypto assets, policymakers are calling for tighter regulation. Under G20 India presidency, India hopes to broaden the G20 discussion on crypto assets beyond financial integrity concerns and capture the macroeconomic implications and widespread crypto adoption in the economy. This will require a data-based and informed approach to the global challenges and opportunities of crypto assets, allowing G20 members to shape a coordinated and comprehensive policy response. For more information: Click here to read... [20]
On 21 February 2023, the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) organised a seminar on Building Capacities through skill training and New Generation of Entrepreneurs in Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Partner Nations towards usage and set up of digital IT platforms. It was attended by eight countries including Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Cambodia, Maldives, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates (UAE). In addition, 50 delegates joined in a hybrid mode from SCO member states, observer states and dialogue partners. At the seminar, India presented its best practices on digital transformation across different sectors in areas of health, education, skilling, IT and more, with a special focus on sectors that helped cater to the welfare challenges faced by the masses during the pandemic. For more information: Click here to read... [21]
On the occasion of their meeting on 25th February 2023 in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chancellor Scholz agreed to deepen and widen this cooperation and to work towards a roadmap for innovation and technology with a view to using scientific and technological knowledge for the economic development of both countries as well as to address global challenges. With a view to developing a more comprehensive Indo-German roadmap on innovation and technology, India and Germany will introduce and develop further the following elements of their partnership: Energy partnership and clean technologies, including green hydrogen; Strengthening the framework and ecosystem for Indo-German business relations to thrive; Digital technologies, including fintech; AI; 5G/6G; and, Financial Provisions. For more information: Click here to read... [22]
A Letter of Intent (LoI) was signed between the Department of Science and Technology (DST), India and Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (Fraunhofer ISE), Germany for a long-term collaboration focusing on hydrogen technologies. The LoI will trigger development of higher Technology Readiness Level (TRL) for hydrogen energy clusters being set up by DST and identify existing technologies and potential interventions from Fraunhofer in green hydrogen, integrate them with indigenous technologies, and deploy /calibrate them for Indian conditions. For more information: Click here to read... [23]
A High-level Lithuanian Delegation led by its Vice-Minister of the Economy and Innovation, Karolis Žemaitis met Minister of S&T, Dr Jitendra Singh in New Delhi on 28 February 2023 where the two sides discussed ways and means to revive the 2010 Agreement in the area S&T. The two countries agreed to work in the areas of deep tech Start-Ups and also forge lasting ties in manufacturing of semiconductor chips. Responding to India’s interest to give a further fillip to Start-Up culture to create more job opportunities and wealth creation, Karolis Žemaitis assured the Indian Minister that Lithuania has robust know-how and capacities in life sciences, biotechnology and other STEM areas and keen to have cooperation between the two countries in high tech Start-Ups. For more information: Click here to read... [24]
India and Singapore have launched real time payment linkage between the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) of India and PayNow of Singapore. Singapore became the first country with which cross border Person to Person (P2P) payment facility has been launched. This will help the Indian diaspora in Singapore, especially migrant workers/students and bring the benefits of digitalisation and FinTech to the common man through instantaneous and low-cost transfer of money from Singapore to India and vice-versa. Acceptance of UPI payments through QR codes is already available in selected merchant outlets in Singapore. For more information: Click here to read... [25]
UAE’s EDGE, one of the world’s leading advanced technology and defence groups, signed a MoU with Defence and aerospace firm HAL to explore the areas of cooperation that include joint design and development of missile systems and UAVs at IDEX-2023. IDEX-2023 is one of the largest tri-service defence exhibitions in the world, which is being held in Abu Dhabi, UAE, until 24 February, HAL said in a tweet. Under the MoU, EDGE and HAL will explore areas of cooperation including the joint design and development of missile systems and UAVs. Additionally, both companies will explore the utilisation of HAL’s small gas turbine engines on EDGE’s guided weapons, the utilisation of EDGE’s GPS jamming and spoofing equipment on HAL’s platforms, and opportunities for further knowledge sharing. For more information: Click here to read... [26]
On 22 February 2023, ICOMM, a group company of Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL), has taken centre stage, signed a partnership and licensing agreement with UAE-based EDGE entity CARACAL for the first-ever Transfer of Technology (ToT) in defence articles. As per the agreement, ICOMM will locally manufacture CARACAL's complete line of small arms for the Indian market under the ‘Make in India’ and Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiatives. The signing took place at the ongoing IDEX 2023 in Abu Dhabi, UAE, one of the largest tri-service defence exhibitions in the world. ICOMM will manufacture the full range of CARACAL small arms, including the versatile CARACAL EF pistol, modern CMP 9 submachine gun, CAR 814, CAR 816 and CAR 817 tactical rifles, CAR 817 DMR tactical sniper rifle, CSR 50 anti-material sniper rifle, CSR 338 and CSR 308 bolt action sniper rifles and the CSA 338 semi-automatic sniper rifle. For more information: Click here to read... [27]
AI has been part of our lives for quite some time now. What, however, makes the ChatGPT special is that it has brought scientific progress closer to the common man. It is easy to use, and ‘communicates’ in layman’s language. The AI-powered chatbot has been “blowing everybody’s mind”. Some call it the next big tech revolution after the internet. Billionaire tycoon Elon Musk said recently that “ChatGPT has illustrated to people just how advanced AI has become. It has been advanced for a while, it just didn’t have a user interface that was accessible to most people”. The impact of ChatGPT became evident with Google announcing a rival named ‘Bard’ on 6 February. For more information: Click here to read... [28]
Snapchat is launching a chatbot powered by the AI tool ChatGPT. A customized version of the OpenAI tool, which Snapchat is calling My AI, will be available soon as an “experimental feature” for users who subscribe to Snapchat+, the company said in a blog post. Snapchat is the latest social media company to launch an AI chat tool for users. Other internet companies revealed chatbots for their search browsers earlier this month, including Microsoft, whose AI is powered through the same OpenAI technology, and Google, where the AI is powered by a separate model. For more information: Click here to read... [29]
The municipal government of Guangzhou, capital of southern Guangdong province, China, has invested 200 billion yuan (US$29 billion) to establish funds that will help spur activities involving semiconductors, renewable energy and other hi-tech fields in the city. This programme follows various technology initiatives recently launched by the municipal governments of Beijing, Shenzhen and Hangzhou to help boost China’s economic recovery, as the country emerges from three years of strict pandemic controls. Guangzhou’s latest initiative is in line with calls made by China’s leadership for help to revitalise the country’s beleaguered private sector during the 20th Party Congress last October. For more information: Click here to read... [30]
A Washington-led semiconductor alliance including Taiwan, Japan and South Korea, ‘Chip 4’, will set up an early warning system to prevent disruptions to the supply of tech hardware components that have become the centrepiece of the US-China tech war. The warning system between the “Chip 4” dialogue partners would help ensure the supply of semiconductor chips for cars and could cover chipmaking raw materials and manufacturing equipment, Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs said. The new development comes against a backdrop of deepening tensions between China and the United States. For more information: Click here to read... [31]
The White House is giving all federal agencies 30 days to wipe TikTok off all government devices, as the Chinese-owned social media app comes under increasing scrutiny in Washington over security concerns. The Office of Management and Budget calls the guidance, a “critical step forward in addressing the risks presented by the app to sensitive government data.” Some agencies, including the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security and State, already have restrictions in place; the guidance calls on the rest of the federal government to follow suit within 30 days. The White House already does not allow TikTok on its devices. For more information: Click here to read... [32]
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Links:
[1] https://www.vifindia.org/2023/march/20/science-and-technology-issue-8
[2] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1902092
[3] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1901133
[4] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1896759
[5] https://www.aninews.in/news/national/general-news/first-medium-range-surface-to-air-missile-regiment-of-indian-army-raised-in-eastern-command20230223205438/
[6] https://www.aninews.in/news/business/business/hal-to-provide-mro-support-for-predator-drone-engines-in-india20230215135902/
[7] https://www.aninews.in/news/business/business/bharat-dynamics-receives-export-order-worth-usd-255-million20230220120626/
[8] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1902070
[9] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1901124
[10] https://www.aninews.in/news/national/general-news/dr-apj-abdul-kalam-satellite-launch-vehicle-mission-2023-to-be-launched-today-from-pattipolam-village-in-tamil-nadu20230219073139/
[11] https://financialpost.com/globe-newswire/space-kidz-india-successfully-launches-satellite-with-support-from-lumina-datamatics
[12] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1902039
[13] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1901693
[14] https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1902079
[15] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1897277
[16] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1902948
[17] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1903147
[18] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1902765
[19] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1902102
[20] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1902237
[21] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1901237
[22] https://mea.gov.in/bilateral-documents.htm?dtl/36298/IndiaGermany_Vision_to_Enhance_Cooperation_in_Innovation_and_Technology
[23] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1902363
[24] https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1903126
[25] https://mea.gov.in/press-releases.htm?dtl/36278/Prime_Minister_Narendra_Modi_and_Prime_Minister_of_Singapore_Lee_Hsien_Loong_participate_in_the_Virtual_Launch_of_UPIPayNow_Linkage_between_India_and_
[26] https://www.aninews.in/news/world/asia/uaes-edge-signs-mou-with-indias-hal-to-explore-business-ties20230223031111/
[27] https://www.aninews.in/news/business/business/icomm-signs-transfer-of-technology-agreement-with-uae-govt-entity-small-arms-major-caracal-of-edge-group-for-defence-articles20230222112800/
[28] https://www.newindianexpress.com/lifestyle/tech/2023/feb/17/chatgpt-the-new-big-tech-revolution-after-internet-2548109.html
[29] https://thehill.com/policy/technology/3875676-snapchat-rolls-out-chatgpt-powered-ai-bot/
[30] https://www.scmp.com/tech/policy/article/3210888/tech-war-guangzhou-pours-us29-billion-funds-semiconductors-other-hi-tech-fields-local-governments
[31] https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3211701/us-led-semiconductor-alliance-setting-early-warning-system-protect-supply-chains-taiwan-says
[32] https://thehill.com/policy/technology/ap-white-house-no-more-tiktok-on-govt-devices-within-30-days/
[33] http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?title=Science and Technology (S&T) Digest, 16-28 February 2023, Issue 8&desc=&images=&u=https://www.vifindia.org/2023/march/20/science-and-technology-issue-8
[34] http://twitter.com/share?text=Science and Technology (S&T) Digest, 16-28 February 2023, Issue 8&url=https://www.vifindia.org/2023/march/20/science-and-technology-issue-8&via=Azure Power
[35] whatsapp://send?text=https://www.vifindia.org/2023/march/20/science-and-technology-issue-8
[36] https://www.vifindia.org/author/Dr-Saroj-Bishoyi/20220811