1. COVID-19

Topics Covered GS-3: Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology. GS-3: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment..

Combating Covid-19

• The Vaccine Task Force strategizes for an urgent and critical action plan for India’s Scientific R&D response to Covid-19 pandemic. These are based on the six major pillars. These are:

• Vaccine Development
• Personnel Protection Equipment (PPE) and Ventilators
• Testing, Tracking and Diagnostic
• Therapeutic and drugs
• Surveillance: Seroprevalence and genome sequencing
• Regulation and regulatory support

• CSIR-IGIB (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research- Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology), Delhi developed FELU-DA, FnCas9 Editor Linked Uniform Detection Assay and partnered with TATA Health to create the TATA MD CHECK CRISPR Feluda Cas9 based integrated system for collection, testing, reporting and tracing. The data is being managed in a centralised cloud from where it can directly be sent to the ICMR database.
• Regulation and regulatory support:

• Fast track clearances were facilitated, with a recognition that regulatory processes needed an overhaul and evolution into a permanently efficient system.
• India was unprepared for participation in global trials due to a lack of identified clinical trial sites. The pandemic saw unpowered clinical trials being carried out in India with few such trials aiming to look for definitive answers.
• The VTF recommended that the Government must support and partner with the industry in vaccine development Phase 3 clinical trials and set up testing and certification labs.

Facts Covaxin was developed in collaboration with the Indian Council Medical Research (ICMR). This vaccine was available in record time, nine months from the declaration of the pandemic. Currently, 50% of India has been vaccinated for the first dose. The momentum of vaccination has picked up, crossing 1 crore on 27 August 2021. The single gene PCR diagnostic test is developed by IIT Delhi. DRY Swab Collection-Direct RT-PCR Diagnostic protocol has been developed by the CSIR’s Centre for Cellular and molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad. Considering the need for enhanced batch testing of vaccines, two DBT Autonomous Institutes - National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NIAB), Hyderabad and National Centre for Cell sciences (NCCS), Pune, have been identified for upgradation as Central Drug Laboratories (CDLs) for vaccine testing..

India’s Response to Covid-19

• Mission COVID Suraksha-The Indian Covid-19 Vaccine Development Mission was launched under the Atmanirbahr Bharat 3.0 package for the development of safe, efficacious and affordable vaccines for Covid-19.
• Nationally, five vaccines have been accorded Emergency Use Authorization in India. There is also a promising pipeline of four vaccine candidates in various stages of clinical development.
• Strengthening Vaccine Development Ecosystem:

• Efforts to strengthen the vaccine development ecosystem have been undertaken under focused Missions of Departement. Fifty- four clinical trials sites, across India, consisting a network of public and private hospitals, clinics and reputed academic institutions are facilitating vaccine clinical trials.
• Each site has access to a cohort of about 50000 to 100000 healthy volunteers, who can be tracked for prolonged periods. These sites are equipped with harmonised systems for GCP compliance, electronic data capture on a central platform, robust disease registry for capturing patient data on clinical presentation, treatment and outcome.
• Under mission COVID Suraksha, immunogenicity assay labs are being supported at IRSHA Pune; Syngene International Ltd, Bangalore; THSTI, New delhi.
• Facilities for animal challenge studies and immunoassay laboratories are being supported to accelerate pre-clinical development of the vaccine candidates.

• Partnership for Accelerating Clinical Trials (PACT): The partnership for advancing clinical trials (PACT) program, a science diplomacy initiative of the department of biotechnology in close partnership with the ministry of external affairs is aimed at advancing vaccine development activities in neighbouring countries and conducting training programs to strengthen clinical trial capacity in those countries.
• COVID Diagnostic and Testing: DBT has identified 21 city/regional clusters to scale up covid testing as a part of the Hub and Spoke model. Nine DBT AIs are approved as habs for covid-19 testing. More than 54 lakh samples were tested to date across the hubs.
• COVID Genomics: INSACOG activities have been expanded to cover the various aspects for sentinel surveillance, targeted sampling (Surge, Vaccine-breakthrough, etc.), Hospital network sample Sequencing for clinical correlation and environmental surveillance (sewage samples, etc.)
• Therapeutics and Biorepositories: Therapeutics from natural products in partnership with the Ministry of Ayush and monoclonal antibody-based therapeutics are being developed. Five covid-19 biorepositories have been set up and so far more than 40000 samples have been archived for use by biomedical researchers.
• Regulatory Facilitation: The following Biosafety Regulations for covid-19 have been issued by the Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM) and Drug Controller General of India (DCGI):

• Rapid Response Regulatory Framework to provide expedited regulatory approvals for Diagnostic drugs and vaccines.
• Regulations and Guidelines for recombinant DNA Research and Biocontainment-Interim Guidelines of laboratory biosafety to handle covid-19 specimens for R&D purposes.
• A Rapid Response Regulatory Framework for Covid-19 vaccine development. The Department of Biotechnology has also worked with the NITI Aayog to provide guidelines for sharing Bio-specimen and data for research in covid-19.

The Vaccine Quest

• Coronavirus belongs to four families or genera namely, alpha, beta, gamma and Delta. SARS-cov-2 is a Betacoronavirus and in fact all seven coronaviruses that infect humans belong to either the Alpha or beta genera. The Genetic diversity among coronaviruses is large, so a vaccine that protects against all viruses in all families is considered extremely difficult.
• Planning for the future emergence of viruses can be done through analysis of genetic sequences of coronaviruses infecting animals and humans and modelling the evolutionary emergence of new strains.
• A broad immune response against a wide array of viruses can happen in two ways.

• The first is the antibody response, where the antibodies that can recognise many kinds of proteins that are produced and can block the entry of viruses into human host cells.
• The second is the cellular response where T-cells may limit infection by destroying infected cells.

• Antibodies are generally quite specific so inducing a wider antibody response requires having many antigens in the vaccine. T-cells recognise parts of the virus that are broken down within the cell.
• T-cell based approaches are likely to be essentially made for the wider specificity of vaccines. Researchers are using mRNA approaches to present different parts of the spike protein since there is already evidence that the spike based mRNA vaccines induced a T-cell response.
• Another approach is looking at combining the spike protein with other viral proteins such as the nucleocapsid, which is less variable than the spike protein in order to induce board T-cell response.
• In other efforts, nanoparticles studded with either the receptor binding domain or the spike protein from the different coronaviruses have been introduced into the wide range of specific antibody responses.
• Conclusion: Vaccines are a priority for Global Health and we have seen their values in the current pandemic. In India we need to be able to move faster for the next time so that we have vaccines quickly and can scale them up rapidly. This will not happen without investment so we should begin planning and implementation now or it may be too late.

2. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Topics Covered GS-3: Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life. GS-3: Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology. GS-3: Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, Nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights..

Redefining Science Communication:

• India’s science popularization agenda is achieved through several two way stakeholder-specific approaches. It serves as a robust knowledge led tool to fulfill three mutually reinforcing public policy objectives.

• The first is to create and foster a well informed citizenry. This is with special emphasis on development in Science and Technology and the continual evolution of Science and related knowledge systems.
• The second is about building capacities to communicate. This is through formal and non formal teach and learn systems.
• The third objective is engagement that follows knowledge enrichment. This is a nonlinear attribute of science communication; determined by the interplay of regulations, ease of access to alternatives, capacities to use them, and the milieu of equity and justice to exert rights.

• Vigyan Prasar, with SCoPE (Science Communication, Popularisation and Extension), has been active on every possible Communications’ platform from print to electronic to digital to social media. This creative cross-disciplinary and effective platform enables dialogue and knowledge transfer. It has thus helped put Indian Science on the global science map. Vigyan Prasar started its operation in 1989. It has been since then serving the nation to meet its SCoPE needs.

• Vigyan Prasar has been producing and telecasting weekly programmes to highlight the exemplary work of Indian scientists, institutions and laboratories.
• Vigyan Bhasha is VP’s systematic approach to expanding science communication through Indian languages.
• VP brings out publication in English and Hindi, as well as in other Indian languages.
• Films have been one of the most important tools of science communication, which is being explored and promoted by Vigyan Prasar for the past two decades.
• SCoPE through Radio: Ever since 2018, VP has produced programmes in 19 languages and broadcast from more than 117 stations of All India Radio (AIR).
• SCoPE through Network Clubs: One of VP’s niche activities is inculcating science communication/popularisation through a network of science clubs (VIPNET) in schools.
• SCoPE in Research: The project augmenting writing skill for articulating research in college PhD and postdoctoral scholar scholars in Science and Technology stream to write popular Science articles during their scholarship/fellowship programme which are later published as a book.
• SCoPE for Students: Vigyan Prasar is a partner in India’s most extensive talent search examination Vidyarthi Vigyan Manthan for The New India initiative using only digital devices initiated by Vijnana Bharati. VBM is focused on school going children from class 6 to 9th cross country.
• Engage with Science: Engage with Science is an interactive platform aimed at school teachers and students to make science teaching and learning a lot of fun by deploying gamification tools and an incentive-driven competitive process.
• Amateur Radio Station: Vigyan Prasar provides technical support and fulfills the informational needs of students and amateurs engaged in communication using amateur or ham radio.

Energy Security: Nuclear Power

• Nuclear Power in India: India embarked on its commercial nuclear power production in 1969 with the commissioning of two boiling water reactors (BWR) of 210 MWe capacities each.
• Its nuclear power programme was conceived to be a closed fuel cycle, to be achieved in three sequential stages. These stages feed into each other in such a way that the cycle is reprocessed and used in the next stage of the cycle to produce power. This kind of closed fuel cycle was designed to breed fuel and to minimise the generation of nuclear waste.
• The three-stage nuclear power production programme in India had been conceived with the ultimate objective of utilising the country’s vast reserve of Thorium-232.
• Thorium cannot be used as a fuel in its natural state. It needs to be converted into its usable “fissile” form after a series of reactions.
• India is planning to significantly increase the present share of electricity derived from nuclear power from the present level of 3% in the next two to three decades.
• Nuclear reactors in India:

Fig: Indigenous three-stage Nuclear power programme

• Relevance of Nuclear Power:

• Currently India draws nearly 63% of its total energy generation from thermal sources.Of this, nearly 55% is nmet from coal and the rest from gas, with a minuscule amount from oil-fired plants.
• The worrisome part of this configuration is that India imports a significant part of its fossil fuel. For a large and rapid developing country, bulk fuel imports raise economic and strategic vulnerabilities.

• Another important factor is electricity generation’s low carbon footprint. The large-scale use of coal has severe consequences for global warming and climate change, which is a critical issue beside air pollution.
• India’s per capita carbon emissions stand at 1-1.2 tons, compared to 20 tons per capita of the United States. If a growing Indian economy continues to rely on coal, carbon emissions are bound to rise. Nuclear energy, in this context, offers a meaningful alternative
• Renewable energy is environmental-friendly and a natural choice for India. However, its limitations should also be understood.

• Firstly, solar and wind energy generation is land-intensive.
• Secondly, while nuclear plants have become completely indigenoud, solar plants carry a dependence on imported technology and materials such as photovoltaic cells, batteries, and storage equipment.
• Another solar and wind power generation related handicap is in energy storage, which makes them unsuitable as a baseload source of electricity.

State	Location	Project	Capacity (MW)
Projects under Construction
Gujarat	Kakrapar	KAPP-3(*) & 4	2 × 700
Rajasthan	Rawatbhata	RAPP-7 & 8	2 × 700
Tamil Nadu	Kudankulam	KKNPP-3 to 6	2 × 1000
	Kalpakkam	PFBR	1 × 500
Haryana	Gorakhpur	GHAVP-1 & 2	2 × 700
Projects accorded Administrative Approval & Financial Sanction
Karnataka	Kaiga	Kaiga-5 & 6	2 × 700
Haryana	Gorakhpur	GHAVP-3 & 4	2 × 700
Madhya Pradesh	Chutka	Chutka-1 & 2	2 × 700
Rajasthan	Mahi Banswara	Mahi Banswara-1 to 4	4 × 700
Projects accorded ‘In-Principle’ Approval
Maharashtra	Jaitapur	Jaitapur-1 to 60	6 × 1650
Andhra Pradesh	Kavvada	Kavvada-1 to 6	6 × 1208
Gujarat	Chhaya Mithi Virdi	Chhaya Mithi Virdi-1 to 6	6 × 1000
West Bengal	Haripur	Haripur-1 to 6	6 × 1000
Madhya Pradesh	Bhimpur	Bhimpur-1 to 4	4 × 700
(*) - connected to the grid on January 10, 2021 and currently undergoing test runs.

 

FACTS Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL) is the public sector enterprise, under the Department of Atomic Energy (DEA), entrusted with the task of nuclear power generation in the country. Currently, there are 22 operational nuclear reactors in India with a total installed capacity of 6780 MWe. The country’s first nuclear reactors at Tarapur, Maharashtra belong to the imported BWR technology. India embarked on building PHWR plants with the setting up of the first two 220 MWe capacity reactors at Rajasthan in collaboration with Canada. India pursued collaboration with Russia and built two 1000 MWe capacity Pressurised Water Reactors of Russian design at Kudankulam in Tamil Nadu which became operational in 2014. Kakrapar Unit-3, the first reactor in the 700 MWe capacity, is currently undergoing tests before it enters commercial operation. It was commissioned in 2020.

 

The Himalayan Floods:

• The Himalayan extends for about 2400 km from west to east with width varying between 200-400 km. Over the last few decades, urbanisation has led to dramatic increase in the Himalayan region, which has grown from 19.9 to 52.8 million. And if it continues, it is expected to touch the 260 million mark by 2061.
• In the same period, a significant surface warming trend of Himalaya is predicted where it is suggested that regions above 2000m above sea level will witness a higher rate of surface warming.
• This temperature rise will increase the available atmospheric energy and total precipitation, which in combination with mountain fragility and the growing urban centres is a perfect condition for disaster.
• The IPCC-2019 indicates an overall increase in the frequency of high intensity rainfall events in the Himalayas.
• Cause of Floods in the Himalayas: In general, the large floods in the Himalaya are caused by

• Intense rainfall events,
• Landslide dammed lake outburst (LLOFs)
• Glacial dammed lake outbursts (GLOFs) and
• Cloud bursts

• During warmer and strengthened monsoon years, the southern front of the Himalayas receives longer spells of precipitation that cause large floods that may last for almost full peak in the monsoon season.
• GLOFs are generated by the breach of water bodies that are formed due to damming of  streams by surging or advancing glaciers, or by impounding hill-slope runoff and snowmelt between the two moraine ridges (called moraine-dammed lake). Shyok river in the Himalaya-Karakoram region frequently witnesses such glacial damming.
• LLOFs are analogous, with the dams being formed by landslides. Landslide activity that generally occurs during monsoon or an earthquake may potentially dam small channels for a longer duration. These dams may breach and cause floods in the downstream regions.
• Flood Mapping: Mapping of flood has four elements:

• Vertical rise in river level, which requires precise measurements of flood levels in rivers and streams which is normally done at river gauging situations.
• Rate of rising of flood
• Flow velocity: It is generally measured using current meters, acoustics Doppler current profilers, tracers and floaters.
• lateral inundation of flood plains. It can be mapped using satellite images and LiDAR.

• Reducing Flood Vulnerability in the Himalayas:

• The damage done by these events can be minimised if attempted using scientifically sound databases and models.
• Proper understanding of the orography of the Himalayas and how past floods events have interacted with it and what were the damage patterns can help in preparing the damage productive models of Himalayas.
• Landslide and glacial like monitoring systems should be in place and be linked to flood management centres via Internet of Things (IoT).
• The combination of data on flood levels, flood hydrographs and lateral inundation can be used to manage the floods and minimise the destruction.

Geomagnetism: Applications

• The very existence of geomagnetism is the reason for the survival of all life forms on earth. Efforts are being made to use it for an early-warning system of natural disasters including earthquakes and tsunami.
• Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (IIG) was given a separate mandate in 1971. It is a force to reckon within the field of geomagnetism and allied research areas.It is a global leader in magnetic and electromagnetic data collection. The year 2021 marks the golden jubilee of the foundation of IIG. Nature Index Ranking has placed IIG amongst the top 10 research institutes of India, pursuing fundamental research in Earth sciences.
• The magnetic minerals embedded in crustal rocks are harnessed to map Curie temperature symptomatic of the crust-mantle magnetic transition zone. They are also used to understand the regional deformities and structural framework of the continental and oceanic realm. Magnetic minerals play a very important role in understanding climate changes and environmental fluctuations.
• The earth is magnetic and the genesis if this field is theorised, modelled and simulated to be at the core mantle boundary. The field lines traverse through different earth layers to protectively blanket our planet. This is the shield that stops and defelects harmful radiation. Life and electrical communication are thus sustained.
• The ionosphere and magnetosphere are a closely coupled system that channels energy and momentum from the solar wind to the upper atmosphere. A number of coupled current systems flow in these regions of highly conducting plasmas. These currents are responsible for most of the temporal changes in the geomagnetic field that occur on timescales of seconds to days, including magnetic pulsations.
• The realisation of the presence of magnetic banding in the oceans ultimately led to the formulation of the concept of plate tectonics and seafloor spreading.
• To sum up, geomagnetism or earth magnetism is an ever-changing entity, because of which it has to be monitored and recorded continuously.

Nanotechnology in Textiles:

• In the 3-D structure of the matter, when the dimensions are reduced to nano-size one by one, the formed nanostructures are called thin-film, nanowire and quantum dot respectively. Thus, by engineering size and shape in nano dimensions, the properties of the matter can be manipulated to achieve the required functionality which is otherwise not possible with bulk materials.
• The textile industry caters to various segments in consumer products. Advanced textiles are desired to be smart and interactive. Smart Interactive Textiles (SITs) can sense electrical, thermal, chemical, magnetic or other stimuli for the environment and adapt or respond to them using functionalities integrated into the textile structure.
• International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI) has developed a nanosilver-based suspension that can be applied on the fabric surface to get antibacterial activity. In silver nanoparticles, Ag+ ions released from the surface interact with the bacterial cell membrane, proteins in the cell and DNA which leads to cell death. Tailored surface chemistry of nanosilver particles makes a strong chemical bond with fabric to give durability in functionality.
• Zinc, copper and their oxides coupled with metal nanoparticles can also be used as antibacterial agents. Recently, ARCI has demonstrated coating of copper oxide nanoparticles doped with a trace amount of silver in the active layer in the face mask to give protection against SARS-CoV-2 virus.
• Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) is another strong antimicrobial material that conducts the phenomena known as “Photocatalyst”. It can clean the organic pollutants just by giving sunlight exposure for a few hours.

Fig: Application of nanotechology in various segments and nanomaterials used in textile industry

• A thin coating of nanofibers on the fabric used in air filters for air conditioners and automobiles’ exhaust, stops ultra-fine particles thereby increasing the efficiency of the filters. Electro-spinning techniques have been used to produce these air filters.
• There are several other needs for everyday clothing such as thermoregulation, where fabric responds to changes in the body temperature and maintains comfort by either heating and cooling. The Phase Change Material (PCM) is incorporated into the fabric to fulfill this function.
• The synthetic fibers develop a static charge. The anti-static property can be imparted on them by coating hydrophilic nano-sized oxide particles like TiO₂, ZnO₂, Antimony Tin Oxide, silica bonding electrically conducting nanoparticles which can effectively dissipate the static charge which is accumulated on the fabric.
• There is another class of textiles called technical textiles, which are used in special applications. For example, fireproof and flame retardant fabric is required in the suit used by firefighters. The high-temperature stable materials are combined with thermally insulating and fireproof materials such as nanoporous silica acrogel for this application.
• On the contrary, the personnel working at subzero temperatures need protection against low temperatures in their clothing, tents, food storage, etc. The same silica aerogel can serve this purpose because of its thermal insulation property for cold temperatures too. The silica aerogels are ultra-low density nanoporous materials, best known for their thermal insulation performance in the temperature ranging from cryo to 800°C
• A fabric can be used as a sensor or charger by functionalising with Piezoelectric nanocrystals which can convert mechanical load into electrical energy. This electrical signal can be used to sense a heartbeat or to charge a small battery.
• Nanotechnology has great potential in the textile industry. Functional and smart textiles can play an important role in the economy of the nation. However, there are limitations in applications due to the scientific complexity and the cost adhered to it. A proper study is necessary to find any toxic effects of handling or wearing the nanomaterials to eliminate any health risk due to short or long-term exposure.

Light House Projects (LHPs):

• On 1 January 2021, the Prime Minister laid the foundation of six Light House Projects. Six sites i.e. Indore (Madhya Pradesh); Rajkot (Gujarat); Chennai (Tamil Nadu); Ranchi (Jharkhand); Agartala (Tripura), and Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) were selected for construction of model housing dy projects through a national challenge process wherein all States/UTs participated and were selected through an evaluation process that showcased a sense of co operative federalism.
• As a part of the continuous efforts of the Government of India to fulfill the housing needs of the urban poor, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) was launched in June 2015 with an aim to provide all-weather pucca affordable houses to all eligible urban households by the year 2022.
• So far, against a validated demand of 11.2 million houses under the Scheme, 11.2 million have been sanctioned; out of this over 8.4 million have been grounded for construction, and more than 5 million have been completed and delivered to the beneficiaries.
• These are called Light Houses as these projects have a demonstrative effect wherein people from all sectors such as faculty and students of engineering/ planning/ architecture institutes, builders/developers, innovators, policymakers will be able to see and get exposed to site and learn the use of innovative technologies on the ground. The six innovative projects are similar to Light Houses which would give a direction to the construction industry in housing and institutional construction (universities, yards, infrastructure).

• On the line of Satyagrahis and Swachhagrahis, a program of ‘TECHNOGRAHIS’ was launched in February 2021 for free enrolment of all stakeholders interested in learning different phases of use of innovative technologies in LHPs.
• The live labs have been expanded to reach out to many more through a free-of-cost e-Module certificate course on these innovative technologies that is open to all. This e-module includes audio-visual classes, on-site recording of construction, talks by domain experts/developers/ project engineers, etc.
• The technological adaptation will be framed under the NAVARITIH, a short-term online certificate course intended to enhance the capability of the building professionals about the new and emerging building materials and technologies for housing and building construction.
• As the dynamics of the construction sector in India are evolving and innovating at a pace much faster than envisioned, it is imperative that use of modern and alternate technologies be used vastly to save on time, cost, ensuring quality and long-term efficiency.

Drone Policy

• Drones, officially known as Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), have been in widespread use in the Indian military since the 1990s. The first drones were imported into India from Israel for use in active combat.
• To encourage domestic innovation and indigenous development of drone systems, in June 2021, the Ministry of Defence announced a budgetary allocation of INR 498.8 crore (USD 67 million) over five years, for a scheme under Innovations for Defence Excellence (DEX).
• iDEX is the executive arm of the Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO) and is responsible for creating an ecosystem that fosters indigenous innovation and technological development in India’s defence and aerospace sectors.

• It engages with MSMEs, startups, innovators, academics, and R&D institutions to evaluate technologies for scalability and aids the armed forces in technological adoption
• This scheme will provide financial support to 300 MSMEs, startups and innovators, and 20 partner incubators.
• It also promises to sustain the emergent robust synergy between India’s innovators, the defence manufacturing industry, and the country’s defence systems.
• On a larger scale, it is a testimony to the Make in India programme and the growing government support for indigenously developed technologies.

• Drone Policies:

• The new policy qualifies drones into five classifications based on their maximum all-up weight, including the payload. Mini drones can be as light as less than 250 grams while large drones can weigh over 150 kilograms. To ease the civilian purchase and use of drones, the price for obtaining a remote pilot licence has been reduced significantly to INR 100 and de-linked from the ize of the drone. Remote pilot licences will now also be valid for up to 10 years.
• Furthermore, the government no longer mandates any licences for the operation of neither a mini (less than 250 grams) nor a pilot licence to operate nano (greater than 250 grams and less than or equal to 2 kilograms) drones. Requirements for security clearance before issuance of any registration or licence have also been removed. However, all drones must be qualified with a ‘certificate of airworthiness before they can be operated.
• The Ministry of Civil Aviation will also soon release its Digital Sky programme, intended as a single window for required clearances, which have been reduced from 25 to five.
• The Ministry will also release an interactive airspace map on its website that will show three zones - yellow (controlled airspace), green (no permission required), and red (flying not permitted) so that the drone users can know where they may operate their UASS. In a significant change, a previous no-fly radius of 45 kilometres around airports has now been reduced to 12 kilometres.

• Indian Drone Market:

• Reports suggest that India is already the fastest-growing drone market in the world. A January 2020 report by PwC also suggested that the market size of drones in India would be USD 885 million. It is expected to reach USD 1,810 million by FY 2026, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.65 between 2020 and 2026.
• India is currently the third-largest importer of military grade drones with 6.8% of total unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) imports according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institutes (SIPRIS). To reduce dependence on imports, DRDO has launched several programmes to develop and deploy UAVs in India.
• There are over 185 startups engaged in the development of drones for various purposes, including military usage, surveillance, deliveries, agricultural purposes, visual mapping, etc.

3. SCIENCE EDUCATION

Topics Covered GS-3: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. GS-3: Development processes and the development industry —the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders. GS-3: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections. GS-3: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources..

• New Education Policy:

• NEP aims to implement new dimensions in school education like experiential and hands-on learning, arts-integrated and sports-integrated education, story-telling, and life skills based pedagogy.
• Classroom transactions will shift towards competency-based learning and education. The mandated content will focus on key concepts, ideas, applications, and problem-solving. Teaching and learning will be conducted more interactively.
• Curriculum content will be reduced in each subject to its core essentials, making space for critical thinking and more holistic, inquiry-based, discovery-based, discussion-based, and analysis-based learning.

• INSPIRE Programme and MANAK Scheme:

• It is one of the flagship programmes of DST and implemented by National Innovation Foundation (NIF) to encourage students to pursue science as a career.
• The Scheme has been aligned with Action Plan-18 of the Startup India programme that stipulates the launching of innovation-focused programmes for students.
• INSPIRE aims to communicate to the youth population of the country the excitement of creative pursuit of science, attract talent to the study of science at an early stage, and build the required critical human resource pool for strengthening and expanding the Science & Technology system and R&D base.
• INSPIRE Scheme has included three programmes (a) Scheme for Early Attraction of Talents for Science (SEATS), (b) Scholarship for Higher Education (SHE), and (c) Assured Opportunity for Research Careers (AORC).
• The INSPIRE Awards MANAK (Million Minds Augmenting National Aspirations and Knowledge) Scheme, being executed by DST with NIF - India, aims to motivate students in the age group of 10-15 years and studying in classes 6 to 10. The objective of the Scheme is to target one million original ideas/innovations rooted in science and societal applications to foster a culture of creativity and innovative thinking among school children.

• ‘Vigyan Jyoti’ and ‘Engage with Science’:

• The DST is scaling up its two initiatives-Vigyan Jyoti and Engage with Science. Both the programmes are mandated to create a level-playing field for the meritorious girls in high school to pursue Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) in their higher education.
• It also offers exposure to girl students from rural backgrounds to help plan their journey from school to a job of their choice in the field of science.
• Vigyan Jyoti is a programme to promote STEM learning among girl students from grades 9 to 12 to pursue STEM in their higher education, especially from the top colleges in the areas where girls are hugely underrepresented.
• Vigyan Jyoti aims to tap 100 girl students in 550 districts from 2020-2025, the students will be chosen based on their percentile.
• The initiative focuses on solving the multidimensional problems associated with the meagre representation of women in the Engineering and Technology streams in higher education, by building confidence and excitement towards these streams.
• Scaling up of the interactive learning platform - Engage with Science is another initiative of DST to build interest and create a community of practice with students, teachers and scientists connecting the high school students to the higher education institutions. This programme is being coordinated byVigyan Prasar.
• Engage with science is an interactive programme available on top of the India Science Over-The-Top (OTT) platform.

• Vidyarthi Vigyan Manthan Programme (VVM):

• It is a national programme for popularising science among school students of standard VI to XI, conceptualised to identify the bright minds with a scientific aptitude among the student community.
• VVM is organised by Vijnana Bharati in collaboration with Vigyan Prasar and the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
• With objectives to create an interest among students in science, VVM programme educates school children about India’s contributions, from traditional to modern, to the world of science and technology, and provides hands-on training to students through workshops and other events.
• VVM also provides mentors for preparing students to carry forward their education in the field of science and conducts competitive tests to identify students who have a scientific bent of mind.
• Students participating in VVM undergo multi-level testing procedures which include-objective type questions’ answering, comprehensive writing, presentation and group discussion, role-play, practical examination and other methods of science.
• VVM provides an opportunity to national winners (called Himalayans) and zonal winners, to participate in an extensive training cum internship Srijan’ for a few weeks in any one of the reputed national labs or premier research institutions.
• VVM is introducing Bhaskara Scholarship of Rs 2000 per month to the national winners for one year. VVM is a national level, App-based, science talent search examination that is conducted online.

• Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY):

• Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY) is flagship programme of the DST, implemented by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore to encourage students who are studying Basic Sciences to take up a research career in science.
• Fellowship and contingency grants are provided to the selected KVPY Fellows up to the pre PhD level or five years, whichever is earlier.

• National Children’s Science Congress (NCSC):

• It is also referred to as Children’s Science Congress (CSC) at the district and state levels and is a nationwide Science Communication programme of the National Council for Science and Technology Communication (NCSTC), DST, Government of India.
• Children’s Science Congress forum, available to children in the age group between 10-17 years, prompts children to think of some significant societal problems, ponder over its causes, and subsequently try and solve the same using the scientific process.
• This involves close and keen observation, raising pertinent questions, building models, predicting solutions on the basis of a model, trying out various possible alternatives, and arriving at an optimum solution using experimentation, fieldwork, research, and innovative ideas.
• The Children’s Science Congress encourages a sense of discovery. It emboldens the participants to question many aspects of our progress and development, and express their findings.
• It is a group activity on a local specific problem using simple methods of science.

• JIGYASA Programme

• The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has launched a student-scientist connect programme JIGYASA, in collaboration with Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS), with the primary objectives of extending the classroom education and focusing on well-planned research laboratory based learning.
• JIGYASA is planned to inculcate the culture of inquisitiveness, along with the scientific temper amongst the school students and their teachers.
• The programme is expected to connect 1,151 Kendriya Vidyalayas with 38 National Laboratories of CSIR targeting 100,000 students and nearly 1,000 teachers annually.

• Along with these innovative programmes, the Govt of India has launched Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) to create and promote a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship across the country to adopt a holistic approach, encompassing schools, universities, research institutions, industry, etc.
• With many student-centric programmes on S&T, the launch of NEP will develop a scientific attitude in children and pave the way for the creation of New India.

4. NUTRITION AND VACCINATION

Topics Covered GS-3: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation. GS-3: Development processes and the development industry —the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders. GS-3: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections. GS-3: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

• Each year, approximately 2.3 million deaths among 6-60 months-aged children in developing countries are associated with malnutrition, which is about 41% of the total deaths in this age group’.
• According to the Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey report (2016 2018), 35% of Indian children aged 0-4 years are stunted, 17% are wasted, and 33% are underweight.
• The Government implements Anganwadi Services Scheme, POSHAN Abhiyaan, Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana, and Scheme for Adolescent Girls, under the Umbrella Integrated Child Development Services Scheme (ICDS), as targeted interventions for children upto the age of 6 years: pregnant women, lactating mothers, and adolescent girls throughout the country.
• For meeting the nutritional needs of school-going children, the National Programme of Mid-Day Meal in schools is implemented.
• Anganwadi Service Scheme:

• Anganwadi Service Scheme is one of the major flagship programmes launched in 1975 by the Government of India. It represents one of the world’s largest and unique programmes for Early Childhood Development.
• It provides a package of six services, namely, supplementary nutrition, pre-school non-formal education, nutrition & health education, immunisation, health check-up, and referral services.
• The beneficiaries of the Scheme are children in the age group of 0-6 years, pregnant women, and lactating mothers.
• ICDS is the largest outreach programme operational through Anganwadi Centres (AWC) which serves as the first outpost for health, nutrition, and early learning services at the village level. The number of operational AWCs reported as of 15 August 2021 was 13.05 lakh.

• POSHAN Abhiyaan:

• Launched in 2018, POSHAN Abhiyaan is the flagship programme which aimed at drawing the nation’s attention to the complex issue of malnutrition and strived to address it in a mission-mode.
• The Abhiyaan attempts to deliver a high impact package of interventions for the first 1,000 days of life, along with strengthening the training and capacity building, multi-sectoral convergence, and bringing out behavioural change through Jan Andolan.Target is to bring down stunting of children aged under 6 years from 38.4% to 25%, by the year 2022.
• The key features devised under POSHAN Abhiyaan are:

          1.         A high-impact package of interventions with a focus on (but not limited toy the first 1000 days of a child’s life.

          2.         Strengthening delivery of high impact package of interventions through-

                      v Remodelling of nutrition-monitoring by leveraging technology and management through ICDS-CAS (now POSHAN tracker).

                      v Improving capacities of frontline workers through the Incremental Learning Approach (ILA) mechanism.

                      v Emphasising on convergent actions among the frontline workforce

          3.         A focus on cross-sectoral convergence to emphasise the multidimensional nature of malnutrition, mapping of various schemes contributing towards addressing malnutrition. Convergence committees at the state, district, and block levels will support decentralised and convergent planning and implementation, supported by flexi-pool and innovation funds to encourage contextualised solutions.

          4.         Ramping up behaviour change communication and community mobilisation through Jan Andolan, a large-scale national nutrition behaviour change campaign that uses community-based events, mass media, and other approaches.

• Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY):

• Launched on 31 December 2016, PMMVY is a maternity benefit programme which provides partial compensation for wage loss in terms of cash incentives of Rs 5000 for adequate rest, and improved health of the pregnant and lactating mothers.
• This Maternity Benefit Scheme was implemented in January 2017 as a Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) with a cash incentive of Rs 5000 to be provided to the pregnant women & lactating mothers for the first child given in three installments, subject to fulfilling specific conditions related to maternal and child health.
• PMMVY is implemented using the platform of Anganwadi Services Scheme or the Social Welfare Department and Health system.
• All the eligible beneficiaries who have applied and fulfilled with the conditionality, receive payments through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) to their individual Bank/Post Office accounts that are specified by them in their application form(s) on approval by the competent authority.
• PMMVY scheme presents a successful model of DBT scheme, ensuring that maternity benefits reach the beneficiary accounts directly.

• Scheme for Adolescent Girls:

• Fulfilling the multi-dimensional needs of out-of school adolescent girls (11-14 years) with an aim to motivate them to join school system, the Government of India approved implementation of restructured Scherne for Adolescent Girls (SAG) to focus on out-of-school adolescent girls in the age group of 11-14 years in the year 2017-18. A package of following services is provided to adolescent girls:

          I.          Nutrition supplies

          II.        Iron and Folic Acid (IFA) supplementation

          III.       Health check-up and Referral services

          IV.       Nutrition & Health Education (NHE)

          V.        Mainstreaming out-of-school girls to join formal schooling

          VI.       Life Skill Education, Counselling, etc.

• Each out of school adolescent girl in the age group of 11-14 years registered under the scheme is provided supplementary nutrition containing 600 calories, 18-20 grams of protein and micronutrients for 300 days in a year. Nutrition is given in the form of Take Home Ration or Hot Cooked-Meals, whichever is feasible.
• All these schemes addressed in one or other aspects related to nutrition, have the potential to improve nutritional outcomes in the country.
• For alleviation of malnutrition, the Government has announced Mission POSHAN 2.0 to strengthen nutritional content, delivery. outreach, and outcomes with focus on developing practices that nurture health, wellness, and immunity against disease and malnutrition.

• National Programme of Mid-Day Meal in Schools: In order to improve the nutritional status of school going to children, the National Programme of Mid-Day Meal in School is implemented by the Ministry of Education, wherein one mid-day meal is provided to children as per the nutritional standards given in Schedule-II of the National Food Security Act, 2013.
• Anemia Mukt Bharat:

• Under Anemia Mukt Bharat strategy, support is provided to the States and UTs for prevention and treatment of anemia in children (5-9 years) and adolescent girls and boys (10-19 years).
• The strategy involves provision of prophylactic iron folic acid supplementation, periodic deworming, testing and treatment of anemia using digital methods and point of care treatment through school platform along with
  addressing non-nutritional causes of anemia in endemic pockets with special focus on Malaria, Haemoglobinopathies, and Fluorosis.

• Universal Immunisation Programme:

• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India provides several vaccines to infants, children, and pregnant women through Universal Immunisation Programme (UIP).
• It is a vaccination programme launched by the Government of India in 1985. It became a part of the Child Survival and Safe Motherhood Programme in 1992, and is currently one of the key areas under the National Rural Health Mission since 2005.
• The programme consists of vaccination for 12 diseases- tuberculosis, diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), tetanus, poliomyelitis, measles, hepatitis B, diarrhoea, Japanese encephalitis, rubella, pneumonia (haemophilus influenzae type B) and Pneumococcal diseases (pneumococcal pneumonia and meningitis). Hepatitis B and Pneumococcal diseases were added to the UIP in 2007 and 2017 respectively.
• Universal Immunisation Programme is one of the largest public health programmes in the world. It targets around 2.9 crore pregnant women and 2.67 crore newbom annually.
• It is one of the most cost-effective public health interventions and largely responsible for reduction of the Vaccine-Preventable Diseases (VPD) and decrease in under-5 mortality rate. A child needs seven contacts till the age of five years to complete immunisation under UIP.
• Birth Dose Vaccination Protocol:Birth dose vaccination is an integral part of UIP. It is provided against the three VPDs of Hepatitis-B, Poliomyelitis and Childhood TB. Birth dose vaccination protocol for the same was developed and shared with the States/UTs for ensuring that no institutionally-delivered newborn gets left without the birth dose.

• Mission Indradhanush:

• The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India launched Mission Indradhanush in December 2014 that seeks immunisation coverage for children and pregnant women in India from 65% in 2014 to at least 90% in the next five years through special catch-up drives.
• Intensified Mission Indradhanush 2.0: IMI 2.0 is monitored at the highest level under a special initiative Pro-Active Governance And Timely Implementation (PRAGATI) The Intensified Mission Indradhanush 2.0 will target the districts which have immunisation coverage of 70% or below. This aims to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal of ending preventable child deaths by 2030.
• Intensified Mission Indradhanush 3.0:  It aims to ensure accessibility to the unreached population with all available vaccines and accelerate the coverage of children and pregnant women in the identified districts and blocks. Focus of IMI 3.0 will be the children and pregnant women who have missed their vaccine doses during the covid-19 pandemic.

1.      Describe various measures taken in India for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) before and after signing ‘Sendai Framework for DRR (2015-2030)’. How is this framework different from ‘Hyogo Framework for Action, 2005?                                                                                                                                                                                                           (GS:3- 2018)

2.      In December 2004, tsunami brought havoc on 14 countries including India. Discuss the factors responsible for the occurrence of Tsunami and its effects on life and economy. In the light of guidelines of NDMA (2010) describe the mechanisms for preparedness to reduce the risk during such events.                                                               (GS:3- 2017)

3.      The frequency of urban floods due to high intensity rainfall is increasing over the years. Discussing the reasons for urban floods. highlight the mechanisms for preparedness to reduce the risk during such events.          (GS:3- 2016)

4.      Why is nanotechnology one of the key technologies of the 21st century? Describe the salient features of Indian Government’s Mission on Nanoscience and Technology and the scope of its application in the development process of the country.                                                                                                                                                                         (GS:3- 2016)

1.      The Indian science community has a lot to be proud of, however, much more needs to be accomplished. Discuss.

2.      Vaccines are a priority for global health and we have seen their value in the current pandemic. How can it be improved to reach each and every person on time?

3.      Energy is the engine for economic growth and when the country moves ahead on the path of development, it is necessary to utilise every energy resource available in the country. Explain.

4.      Nanotechnology has great potential in the textile industry. Functional and smart textiles can play an important role in the economy of the nations. Analyse.

«««