Science and Technology Quiz: Awareness in Science & Technology |17 Mar, 2021

Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam Limited (BHAVINI) is a Government Company under the administrative control of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) incorporated on 22nd October 2003 as Public Limited Company under the Companies Act, 1956.

With the objective of constructing and commissioning the first 500 MWe Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR) at Kalpakkam in Tamilnadu and to pursue construction, commissioning, operation and maintenance of subsequent Fast Breeder Reactors for generation of electricity in pursuance of the schemes and programmes of Government of India under the provisions of the Atomic Energy Act,1962.

Source: Agrahari

Picard is a CNES solar-terrestrial microsatellite mission of the Myriade series with French multi-institutional and international cooperation.

· The overall objective is to monitor the solar diameter, the differential rotation, the solar constant (simultaneous measurement of the absolute total and spectral solar irradiance), and to study the long-term nature of their interrelations.

· The mission was named in honor of the 17th century French astronomer Jean Picard (1620-1682), who made the first long-term measurements of the solar diameter, observed sunspots, and determined the rotational velocity of the sun.

· Picard was also the first who accurately measured the length of a degree of a meridian (longitude line) and from that result estimated the size of the Earth.

· Beyond the determination of the Earth orbit eccentricity, the diameter measurements brought important information about the particular state of the sun during the so-called Maunder Minimum [named after E. W. Maunder (1851-1928), an English astronomer who studied solar records of the period 1645-1715], a period showing a quasi-absence of sunspots as compared to the early 17th century.

Source: ForumIAS factly

The C-17 Globe-master military transport aircraft was originally built by Boeing and McDonnell Douglas together for the US Air Force.

· A high-wing, 4-engine, T-tailed military-transport aircraft, the multi-service C-17 can carry large equipment, supplies and troops directly to small airfields in harsh terrain anywhere in the world day or night.

· The Indian Air Force has a fleet of 11 C-17 Globe-master IIIs.

Source: ForumIAS factly

Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS) at Dehradun is a premier institute with the objective of capacity building in Remote Sensing and Geo-informatics and their applications through education and training programmes at postgraduate level.

· The Institute also hosts and provides support to the Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific (CSSTE-AP), affiliated to the United Nations.

· The training and education programmes of the Institute are designed to meet the requirements of various target / user groups, i.e., for professionals at working, middle and supervisory levels, fresh graduates, researchers, academia, and decision makers. The duration of courses ranges from one week to two years.

Source: Agrahari

Indian Space Research Organisation has launched a special programme for School Children called “Young Scientist Programme” “YUva VIgyani KAryakram” (युविका) from the year 2019.

The second session of the programme is scheduled to be held during the month of May 2020.

· The Program is primarily aimed at imparting basic knowledge on Space Technology, Space Science and Space Applications to the younger ones with the intent of arousing their interest in the emerging areas of Space activities.

· The program is thus aimed at creating awareness amongst the youngsters who are the future building blocks of our Nation. ISRO has chalked out this programme to “Catch them young”.

· The programme will be of two weeks duration during summer holidays (May 11-22, 2020) and the schedule will include invited talks, experience sharing by the eminent scientists, facility and lab visits, exclusive sessions for discussions with experts, practical and feedback sessions.

· 3 students each from each State/ Union Territory will be selected to participate in this programme covering CBSE, ICSE and State syllabus.

· 5 additional seats are reserved for OCI candidates across the country. Those who have finished 8th standard and currently studying in 9th standard (in the academic year 2019-20) will be eligible for the programme.

· Students who are studying in India including OCI (Overseas Citizen of India) are eligible for the programme. The selection is based on the 8th Standard academic performance and extracurricular activities.

Source: ForumIAS factly

India’s defence scientists have successfully launched Agni 5, the nuclear-capable ballistic missile, with over 5,000 km range.

· It is a three-stage missile, 17 metres tall, and two metres wide and capable of carrying upto 1.5 tonne of payload, especially nuclear warheads.

· It is developed by labs (DRDO) under the Missile Complex in Hyderabad and several industries across the country were first flight tested in 2012.

Source: ForumIAS factly

The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) is the Central Drug Authority for discharging functions assigned to the Central Government under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.

· CDSCO has six zonal offices, four sub-zonal offices, 13 port offices and seven laboratories under its control. Major functions of CDSCO:

· Regulatory control over the import of drugs, approval of new drugs and clinical trials, meetings of Drugs Consultative Committee (DCC) and Drugs Technical Advisory Board

(DTAB), approval of certain licenses as Central License Approving Authority is exercised by the CDSCO headquarters.

Source: CDSCO

The Australia Group (AG) is an informal forum of countries which, through the harmonization of export controls, seeks to ensure that exports do not contribute to the development of chemical or biological weapons.

· Coordination of national export control measures assists Australia Group participants to fulfill their obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention to the fullest extent possible.

· India joined Australia Group in 2018.

Source: ForumIAS factly

GLONASS is an acronym, which stands for Globalnaya Navigazionnaya Sputnikovaya Sistema, or Global Navigation Satellite System.

· GLONASS is Russia’s version of GPS (Global Positioning System).

· Soviet Union started the development of GLONASS in 1976.

· GLONASS is the most expensive program of the Russian Federal Space Agency, consuming a third of its budget in 2010.

Source: ForumIAS factly

Of all the mineral resources considered as potential targets for deep-sea mining, poly-metallic nodules (also commonly called manganese nodules) are probably the most likely commodity to be developed into a commercial operation.

· Poly-metallic nodules are rounded accretions of manganese and iron hydroxides that cover vast areas of the seafloor, but are most abundant on abyssal plains at water depths of 4000-6500 metres.

· They form through the aggregation of layers of iron and manganese hydroxides around a central particle (such as a shell or small rock fragment), and range in size from a few millimeters to tens of centimeters.

· The composition of nodules varies with their environment of formation, but in addition to manganese and iron, they can contain nickel, copper and cobalt in commercially attractive concentrations as well as traces of other valuable metals such as molybdenum, zirconium and Rare Earth Elements.

Source: ForumIAS factly