Science and Technology Quiz: Awareness in Biotechnology & IPR |16 Mar, 2021

Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) was launched by the Government of India in 2018. It is funded and managed by the Defence Innovation Organization (DIO).

· It primarily aims at creation of an ecosystem to foster innovation and technology development in Defence and Aerospace by engaging Industries including MSMEs, start-ups among others.

· It also provides grants/funding to carry out R&D which has good potential for future adoption for Indian defence and aerospace needs.

Source: ForumIAS factly

Recently, Astronomers have observed an exoplanet (planet which orbits a star outside the solar system) named Wasp-76b where they suspect it rains iron instead of water.

· Wasp-76b is an exoplanet that is twice the width of our Jupiter. Its name comes from the UK-led Wasp telescope system that detected it four years ago.

· It is 640 light-years from the Earth and is so close to its star that it takes just 43 hours to complete one revolution.

· According to researchers, the iron rain happens because the exoplanet always presents the same face to the star which is called as tidally locked.

· Earth’s Moon also does exactly the same thing as we only ever see one side.

Source: ForumIAS factly

It aims to promote a holistic and conducive ecosystem to catalyse the full potential of intellectual property for India’s economic growth and socio-cultural development, while protecting public interest.

· The rationale for the National IPR Policy lies in the need to create awareness about the importance of IPRs as a marketable financial asset and economic tool.

· Department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) is the nodal agency for all IPR issues and the policy will be renewed every five years in consultation with all the stakeholders.

· The policy will also suggest incentives such as tax benefits and fee waivers to encourage R&D and IP creation to strengthen the Make in India/Start-up/Digital India initiatives.

· To protect ‘small inventions’ developed especially in the informal / unorganised sectors, policy will promote ‘utility patents’ (with lower compliance burden and shorter period of protection, when compared to the normal patents) only for mechanical innovations.

Source: PRSIndia

UNNATI, a capacity building programme on Nanosatellite development, is an initiative by ISRO to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first United Nations conference on the exploration and peaceful uses of outer space (UNISPACE-50).

· The programme provides opportunities to the participating developing countries to strengthen in assembling, integrating and testing of Nanosatellite.

· UNNATI programme is planned to be conducted for 3 years by U.R. Rao Satellite Centre of ISRO in 3 batches and will target to benefit officials of 45 countries.

· The first batch started today in which 30 delegates from 17 countries are participating.

Source: ISRO

An industrial design renders an object attractive or appealing, thus increasing its marketability and adding to its commercial value.

· The design may be three-dimensional based on the shape or surface of the object, or two-dimensional based on the object’s patterns, lines or colours.

· Novelty, originality and visual appeal are essential if an industrial design is to be patented, although these criteria can differ from one country to another. Its aesthetic features should not be imposed by the technical functions of the product.

· Legally, “industrial design” is the title granted by an official authority, generally the Patent Office, to protect the aesthetic or ornamental aspect of an object.

· This protects solely the non-functional features of an industrial product and does not protect any technical features of the object to which it is applied.

· Industrial design rights are granted to the creator of designs to reward them for their effort and investment in manufacturing the product. These rights enable the owner to make articles to which the design is applied or in which the design is embodied.

· The holder of this legal title has the exclusive right to make, import or sell any objects to which the design is applied.

· They can authorise others to exploit the design and bring a legal action against anyone using the design without authorisation.

· In general, the period of protection granted is from 10 to 25 years. This is often divided into terms and an extension of the term requires renewal of the registration.

Source: Agrahari

In a landmark decision, the Lok Sabha passed “The DNA Technology (Use and Application) Regulation Bill – 2019”.

· The purpose of this Bill is to expand the application of DNA-based forensic technologies to support and strengthen the justice delivery system of the country. The utility of DNA based technologies for solving crimes, and to identify missing persons, is well recognized across the world.

· By providing for the mandatory accreditation and regulation of DNA laboratories, the Bill seeks to ensure that with the proposed expanded use of this technology in this country, there is also the assurance that the DNA test results are reliable, and furthermore that the data remain protected from misuse or abuse in terms of the privacy rights of our citizens.

· The key components of this Bill include: establishment of a DNA Regulatory Board; accreditation of DNA laboratories undertaking DNA testing, analysing, etc.; establishment of the National and Regional DNA Data Banks, as envisaged in the Bill, will assist in forensic investigations.

· This will aid in scientific up-gradation and streamlining of the DNA testing activities in the country with appropriate inputs from the DNA Regulatory Board which would be set up for the purpose.

· The Bill will add value in empowering the criminal justice delivery system by enabling the application of DNA evidence, which is considered the gold standard in crime investigations.

Source: PRSIndia

Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Science and Technology and Earth Sciences, Dr Harsh Vardhan inaugurated the Next Generation Sequencing (NSG) facility at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology in Hyderabad today.

· The facility includes technology for high genome sequencing and also diagnostic sequencing of clinical samples.

· The state of art machine, acquired at a cost of Rs. 8 crores can sequence 18,000 samples in 8 minutes.

· The NSG would help prenatal genetic screening and counselling, thereby generating large scale genomic data critical for diagnosis and therapy.

Source: ForumIAS factly

The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) functions in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).

· As per Rules, 1989, it is responsible for appraisal of activities involving large scale use of hazardous microorganisms and recombinants in research and industrial production from the environmental angle.

· The committee is also responsible for appraisal of proposals relating to release of genetically engineered (GE) organisms and products into the environment including experimental field trials.

· The committee or any persons authorized by it has powers to take punitive action under the Environment Protection Act.

Source: ForumIAS factly

Directorate of National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) is the central nodal agency for prevention and control of six vector borne diseases (VBDs) i.e. Malaria, Dengue, Lymphatic Filariasis, Kala-azar, Japanese Encephalitis and Chikungunya in India.

· It is part of the Technical Division of the Directorate General of Health Services, Government of India, equipped with Technical Experts in the field of Public Health, Entomology, Toxicology and parasitological aspects of Vector Borne Diseases.

· The Directorate is responsible for framing technical guidelines & policies as to guide the states for implementation of the above mentioned six diseases Programme strategies& is also responsible for budgeting and planning the logistics pertaining to GOI supply.

· Monitoring is done through regular reports and returns of MIS. The Directorate carries out evaluation of Programme implementation activities from time to time.

· The resource gap is also assessed as to provide an equitable support based on the magnitude of the problem and the available resources.

Source: Agrahari

A harpoon designed to capture orbital junk has been successfully tested in space for the first time as part of the active debris-removal demonstration mission called RemoveDebris.

· The pen-size titanium harpoon developed by Airbus engineers in the U.K. was fired into an aluminum target, which extended from the spacecraft attached to a carbon-fiber boom.

· During the test, it successfully snagged the target out of orbit and reeled it back to the main spacecraft.

Source: ForumIAS factly