IAF’s AN-32 Aircraft formally Certified to Operate on Indigenous Bio-Jet Fuel     

Indian Delegation participates in Second SCO Mass Media Forum at Bishkek     

Women’s representation in Lok Sabha rises to a record at 14.4%                          

Finally,IISc team confirms breakthrough in superconductivity at room temperature                                                                                                                   

Russia, eyeing Arctic future, launches nuclear icebreaker                                     

IAF’s AN-32 Aircraft formally Certified to Operate on Indigenous Bio-Jet Fuel

GS PAPER - 03 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY - science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.

Context :

Recently,Indian Air Force’s(IAF’s) AN-32 aircraft was formally fleet certified to fly on blended aviation fuel containing up to 10% of indigenous bio-jet fuel.

Background :

The indigenous bio-jet fuel was first produced by the Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun in 2013 but it could not be tested or certified for commercial use on aircraft due to lack of test facilities in the civil aviation sector.

In 2018, Chief of the Air Staff had formally announced IAF’s intention to permit the use of all its resources for testing and certifying the indigenous fuel.Since then,IAF’s flight test crew and engineers have been evaluating the performance of this fuel against international standards.

Further, IAF officials has said that the bio-fuel which will be used by AN-32 fleet would be produced from tree borne oils(TBOs) sourced from tribal areas.

Bio Fuels :

Biofuels are fuels manufactured from biomass.Biomass resources are the biodegradable fraction of products, waste and residues from agriculture, forestry and related industries as well as the biodegradable fraction of industrial and municipal wastes.

Categories of Biofuels :

First generation biofuels - First-generation biofuels are made from sugar, starch, vegetable oil, or animal fats using conventional technology. Common first-generation biofuels include Bioalcohols, Biodiesel, Vegetable oil, Bioethers, Biogas.

Second generation biofuels - These are produced from non-food crops, such as cellulosic biofuels and waste biomass (stalks of wheat and corn, and wood). Examples include advanced biofuels like biohydrogen, biomethanol.

Third generation biofuels - These are produced from microorganisms like algae.

                                                                                                                                                                      Source :- PIB

Indian Delegation participates in Second SCO Mass Media Forum at Bishkek

GS PAPER - 02 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS - Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India's interests.

Context :

The Indian delegation has participated in the second Shanghai Cooperation Organisation(SCO) Mass Media Forum at Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan.

2nd SCO Mass Media Forum :

The Forum aims to strengthen the exchange and cooperation in the field of mass media amongst SCO countries.

It offers a unique platform for active work through mass media to create an objective vision of the organization and strengthen its positive image in the global information space.

The representative of state bodies supervising mass media of the SCO countries (Member States, Observer Countries, Dialogue Partners); representatives of leading mass media of the SCO countries and representatives of the SCO Secretariat are participating in the Forum.

The Delegation emphasized the need for media collaborations and exchange of best practices amongst the various mass media agencies, organizations and associations across the SCO partner states. The Delegation suggested that media personnel exchange programmes may be undertaken along with joint international press conferences.

SCO Media Summit :

The SCO Member States also adopted the Resolution of Media Forum which calls for establishing successful collaborations of Mass Media Organizations of the SCO member Countries.

The first SCO Media Summit was held in Beijing on 1 June 2018 under the motto “Development of the Shanghai Spirit” and opening of a new era in the mass media cooperation”.

                                                                                                                                                                   Source :- PIB

Women’s representation in Lok Sabha rises to a record at 14.4%

GS PAPER - 02 POLITY - mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.

Context :

During the recent 17th Lok Sabha,78 elected women MPs have got elected.This is highest number of women representatives ever.

More about the news:

Women will account for 14.39% of the entire strength of the Lower House, which was at 12.5% with a total of 65 women MPs in the previous Lok Sabha. However,the regional parties has the higher ratio of women MPs.

Women candidates also displayed a higher winnability factor or strike rate.A higher success rate or winnability factor shown by women candidates is consistent with the past record.

The 78 elected women MPs emerged winners out of the total 716 women candidates who fought during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, which is a success rate of 10.89%.This is much higher than the success rate shown by male candidates of 6.41%.

                                                                                                                                                                  Source :- The Hindu

Finally,IISc team confirms breakthrough in superconductivity at room temperature

GS PAPER - 03 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY - Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.

Context :

Recently, a team from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru led by Prof. Anshu Pandey has confirmed that the material they tested exhibits major properties of superconductivity at ambient temperature and pressure.

How Superconductors help:

Superconductors will help build very high efficiency devices leading to huge energy savings.

Until now, scientists have been able to make materials superconductor only at temperature much below zero degree C and hence making practical utility very difficult.

This is where the IISc’s work becomes particularly important.

The material that exhibited superconductivity is in the form of nanosized films and pellets made of silver nanoparticles embedded in a gold matrix.

Interestingly, silver and gold independently do not exhibit superconductivity.

The team examined 125 samples, of which 10 showed a drop in resistance, signalling the onset of superconductivity.

The remaining samples were exposed to oxygen at the time of sample preparation leading to unsuccessful results.

It is important to note that reproducibility and repeatability are the cornerstones of science, and the IISc team was able to achieve it.

Experts Opinion :

“If this result is correct, it would be the greatest work done in India since the discovery of the Raman effect,” said Professor T.V. Ramakrishnan from the Department of Physics at IISc. “They have found a sharp drop in resistivity [in their material]. This is potentially amazing.”

“This looks like a case where granular superconductors play a role. I am excited that the key first step in this challenging field has been brought about by a systematic and detailed effort,” says Professor G. Baskaran from The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai.

                                                                                                                        Source :- The Hindu

Russia, eyeing Arctic future, launches nuclear icebreaker

GS PAPER - 03 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY - Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.

Context :

Russia launched a nuclear-powered icebreaker, part of an ambitious program to renew and expand its fleet of vessels in order to improve its ability to tap the Arctic’s commercial potential.

More about the news:

The ship, dubbed the Ural and which was floated out from a dockyard in St Petersburg, is one of a trio that when completed will be the largest and most powerful icebreakers in the world.

It is important to note that Russia is building new infrastructure and overhauling its ports as, amid warmer climate cycles, it readies for more traffic via what it calls the Northern Sea Route (NSR) which it envisages being navigable year-round.

The Ural is due to be handed over to Russia’s state-owned nuclear energy corporation Rosatom in 2022 after the two other icebreakers in the same series, Arktika (Arctic) and Sibir (Siberia), enter service.

                                                                                                                   Source :- The Times Of India

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