Category Archives: Science & Technology

NATIONAL: FLOOD FORECASTING: Central Water Commission launches ‘FloodWatch’ Mobile app to Forecast Flood

The Chairman of the Central Water Commission Kushvinder Vohra launched the app in New Delhi on Thursday.

The Central Water Commission has launched its in-house developed mobile application, “FloodWatch” to forecast flood situations for the next seven days on a real-time basis. The Chairman of the Central Water Commission Kushvinder Vohra launched the app in New Delhi on Thursday.

With this app, users can access essential information regarding the flood situation across the country. The user-friendly interface will make it easy for anyone to stay informed and minimise risk during flood events.

However, the application will make forecasts based on only 328 flood monitoring points out of 1543 that are spread across the 24 river basins. The flood monitoring points are where water levels of rivers, reservoirs, and canals are gauged hourly.

“We will include as many flood monitoring points by this year’s end. The app aims to use the most common platform today i.e. mobile phones to disseminate information related to the flood situation and forecasts up to 7 days on a real-time basis,” says the ex-officio Secretary to the Government of India.

These data help in making informed decisions about water allocation and forecasting flood and drought risks. The bilingual app is available for download on Android devices, providing widespread accessibility to users globally.

He further said the current monitoring points are selected in consultation with state governments, which are mostly located around human settlements. In its presentation, the official said the app utilizes advanced technologies such as satellite data analysis, mathematical modelling, and real-time monitoring to deliver accurate and timely flood forecasts.

India’s flood situation monitoring system has been in question for a long time. There are around 400 rivers and seven major river systems which are more than 2 lakh km in length. But the flood monitoring points are too low to give a true picture of situational assessment.

“Delhi floods are a case in point,” says a senior official. “We couldn’t assess it timely and forecasted” he added.  

The Yamuna River in the national capital reached the staggering 208.62-meter mark, breaking the 45-year-old record of 207.49 meters by a big margin. It flooded the low-lying areas along the river and water logged in the heart of the city throwing daily life into disarray.

Vohra briefed the media that the mobile application would address the gap in the current forecasting of flood situations in the country.

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: INDIA’S GLOBAL TECHNOLOGY TIE-UPS: Trinidad and Tobago becomes latest Country to Sign up for IndiaStack Tech Package

The Caribbean nation joins the list of others such as Papua New Guinea, Antigua & Barbuda, Armenia to tap India’s home-grown technologies such as UPI to advance their own digitization. 

Trinidad and Tobago has become the latest country to sign for IndiaStack — a set of technologies such as UPI — to help with the digital transformation of the Caribbean nation. 

These set of technologies were developed to solve India’s problems while progressing towards a presence-less, paperless, and cashless society.

Having been successfully deployed in India, the country is keen on exporting low-cost technology to other developing nations. 

A similar MoU was signed with Papua New Guinea also last month, showcasing the growing interest and acceptance of the initiative on a global scale.

Since June 2023, India has already signed technology export agreements with Armenia, Sierra Leone, Suriname, and Antigua & Barbuda.

In addition, UPI, which is also a part of India Stack, has been exported to France, UAE, Singapore and Sri Lanka.

The government said it is in advanced discussions with several other countries such as Mauritius and Saudi Arabia for finalizing cooperation on IndiaStack.

Under the latest agreement, India and Trinidad and Tobago agreed to conduct capacity building, training programmes, exchange of best practices, exchange of public officials and experts, development of pilot or demo solutions, etc.

This collaboration comes after Union Minister of State for Skill Development & Entrepreneurship and Electronics & IT, Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar met with Trinidad and Tobago’s Minister of Digital Transformation, Senator Mr Hassel Bacchus, in August last week.

During the meeting, they discussed mutual cooperation in the fields of IT, emerging technologies, and the India stack.

The Indian government is keen to export the technologies across the globe, especially to “those that have been left behind in their digitalisation efforts”.

“With the help of India Stack, these countries can climb up the digitalisation ladder rapidly and transform their economies and governance,” the government said. 

source/content: newindianexpress.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / HEALTH & MEDICAL/ RESEARCH: INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY ( IIT) Roorkee, Pioneers unveil Innovative Catalyst to Alleviate Environmental Impact of Antibiotics

‘This increased usage of antimicrobials and their accumulation in the environment has exacerbated the problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among microbes.

In a significant breakthrough, scientists at IIT Roorkee have unveiled an innovative catalyst designed to tackle the burgeoning concern of antibiotic pollution in the environment.

This pioneering strategy aims to effectively detect, mitigate, and disintegrate prevalent antibiotics such as tetracycline and erythromycin that pervade aquatic ecosystems, the researchers said.

The team noted that recurrent waves of the COVID-19 virus and its variants have resulted in a huge increase in the use of antimicrobials to control infections. These antibiotics and other antimicrobials end up accumulating in the water bodies.

This increased usage of antimicrobials and their accumulation in the environment has exacerbated the problem of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) among microbes, they said.

Addressing this crucial concern, the team led by Naveen Kumar Navani from the Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee, devised a simple but effective strategy by merging nanotechnology and biology.

The innovative strategy addresses three major events in the process —detection of antibiotics using biosensors, removal of antibiotics and related xenobiotics using a carbon nanotubes-based magnetic system, and degradation of antibiotics using a catalytic process within 3-4 hours.

The research, published in the Chemical Engineering Journal, tackles the challenge of identifying, minimising, and breaking down two of the most commonly used antibiotics, i.e. tetracycline and erythromycin, in aquatic environments.

The team used carbon-based nanotubes and modified them to be magnetic in nature for easy extraction. Carbonaceous surfaces provide amazing sticking sites for antibiotics, which can be removed or degraded further.

They genetically engineered bacteria for biosensing these particular antibiotics in such a manner that the biosensor bacteria start to glow in the presence of antibiotics.

The team found that these bacteria are really good at their job, detecting even trace amounts of these particular antibiotics.

Followed by detection, these antibiotics can be broken down by a simple strategy, which triggers a specialised free radical-based chemical reaction, according to the researchers.

This special chemical reaction was like a key that unlocked the potential of the modified carbon nanotubes and facilitated the degradation of more than 93 per cent of the antibiotics within a time frame of 3-4 hours, they said.

The researchers found that the strategy’s versatility extends beyond antibiotics. It proved effective in addressing a spectrum of hazardous compounds, encompassing dyes, pharmaceutical chemicals, and other antibiotics, that may be present within the water bodies.

The research was funded by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT). In addition to Navani, the team comprises Shubham Jain, Ankita Bhatt, Shahnawaz Baba, Pinakshi Biswas, Kiran Ambatipudi, and Vinod Bisht, all from IIT Roorkee.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.

source/content: telegraphindia.com / PTI (headline edited)

NATIONAL: RIVERS OF INDIA / SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY: IIT(ISM) in Dhanbad develops ‘Online Real-Time River Health Monitoring System’

Based on artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, IRHIS is the result of a joint effort by departments of environmental science and engineering at the IIT(ISM).

The IIT(ISM) in Dhanbad has developed an online real-time river health monitoring system called the Integrated River Health Investigation System (IRHIS) that can send early signals on flooding and pollution.

Based on artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, IRHIS is the result of a joint effort by the departments of environmental science and engineering at the IIT(ISM).

“The system developed by faculty member S.K. Gupta in association with his research scholar Sujoy Gupta in 2021-23 is inbuilt with safety alarms and video cameras to facilitate early signals to the decision makers against flooding, theft, and critical pollution locations,” said IIT(ISM) dean (media and branding) Rajni Singh.

Singh said the system was demonstrated last week during a mega exhibition of the Union ministry of education held on the occasion of the third anniversary of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the second edition of the Akhil Bhartiya Shiksha Samagam in New Delhi.

“The event was held from July 29-30 at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi and only deep-tech and high-impact innovations were selected for demonstration,” Singh added.

“IRHIS is one of the most advanced AI and IoT-based online real-time river health monitoring systems developed to fulfil the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG-6) keeping in view its vital application in the Namami Gange mission,” Gupta said.

He said IRHIS, which is equipped with advanced sensors, can help in real-time monitoring of the discharge of any toxic material in the river.

“The patent for the system has already been published,” Gupta added.

On the selection of his system for demonstration at the exhibition, Gupta said: “The education ministry’s innovation cell and the All India Council for Technical Education selected 150 Technology Readiness Level 7 (TRL-7) or above early-stage startups, edutech growth stage startups, innovations and institutions to demonstrate their contributions towards achieving the overall goal as envisioned under NEP 2020.”

“The collaboration with the Telecom startups-MSMEs Mission, SRI, DoT and the ministry of communications is in progress for its implementation in rural development, river monitoring and industrial surveillance,” Gupta added.

source/content: telegraphindia.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: PHARMACEUTICALS: RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT: India has started Manufacturing 38 Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) in past 18 months that were previously being Import Reliant: Mandaviya

Mansukh Mandaviya said that the impetus for a self-reliant strategy came in the aftermath of the 2017 border conflict with China in Doklam.

Over the past eighteen months, India has commenced the production of 38 active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) that were previously reliant on imports, Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Saturday.

Speaking at the inaugural Healthcare Summit hosted by the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A), Mandaviya said this stride towards self-sufficiency was made possible through the implementation of the production-linked incentive (PLI) initiative within the pharmaceutical sector.

Mandaviya said that the impetus for a self-reliant strategy came in the aftermath of the 2017 border conflict with China in Doklam. This in turn prompted India to reassess its dependence on a single source for 95% of APIs used in the formulation industry, he added.

“In our efforts through the PLI scheme, we tried to eliminate the need for importing 54 APIs from foreign sources and instead promote domestic production for our formulation industry. Today, I’m pleased to announce that within just a year and a half, India has successfully initiated the manufacturing of 38 APIs, illustrating a prime instance of Atmanirbhar Bharat,” the Union health minister said.

The government’s commitment to fostering self-reliance is evident in its allocation of a substantial ₹15,000 crore budget for the pharmaceutical sector under the PLI scheme, according to Mandaviya.

Mandaviya further underscored the Centre’s core objective of enhancing healthcare accessibility and affordability in rural areas.

An essential stride in this direction has been the significant expansion of medical education, with the number of MBBS seats surging from 52,000 to 1,07,000 over the past nine years, he said. Additionally, the government has approved the establishment of 54 new medical colleges, reflecting a dedicated effort to address the shortage of medical professionals, added Mandaviya.

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic instigated a comprehensive reevaluation of healthcare strategies, inspiring a fresh approach to planning, redevelopment, and innovation in the sector, said the Union health minister.

He emphasized that India is brimming with intellectual and human resources, and the key lies in recognising the aspirations of its youth and creating avenues for their fulfilment.

The Healthcare Summit, organised by the Centre of Management of Health Services (CMHS) and IIMA Healthcare Alumni Special Interest Group (SIG), showcased two tracks dedicated to pivotal aspects of healthcare innovation.

The summit featured two tracks, each focused on a crucial aspect of healthcare innovation, with panel discussions and competition for healthcare start-ups.

source/content: hindustantimes.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL: HEALTH & MEDICAL SERVICES / EDUCATION: NURSING: Japan is now the New Work Destination for Indian Nurses

With an aging population, Japan is actively recruiting Indian nurses, offering salaries that are eight to ten times higher than in India and an extendable three year visa; about 12% of Indian nurses work abroad.

Japan is the newest addition to the list of countries that are actively scouting and opening their doors for skilled Indian nurses and other healthcare support staff.

With its healthcare sector grappling with a rapidly aging population, nurses from Philippines, Indonesia, and Vietnam currently dominate the job market for caregivers in Japan. Indian nurses and trained medical staff are now entering the market as well.

“Salary that is eight to ten times the Indian remuneration, plus the chance to work and learn cutting edge medical technology for assisted care, and the ability to save anywhere between ₹40,000 to ₹1 lakh a month — these are the main attractions driving the Indian workforce to Japan,’’ said Abhishek Singh, COO, Learnet Skills Limited, a sending organisation for the Technical Intern Training Program (TITP) programme and a skill development venture.

Aging population

More than 20% of Japan’s population is over 65 years, the world’s highest proportion of senior citizens. As per a report by McKinsey, Japan’s working-age population will decline to 71 million in 2025 from 79 million in 2012, and its dependency ratio is set to soar from 0.60 to 0.73 over the same period. There are not enough young people in Japan to fill this vacuum, due to the decline in its fertility rate. In response to this demographic situation, the government of Japan has taken up measures such as the TITP, which promotes the acceptance of foreign human resources, who acquire skills and knowledge by working as technical interns in Japan. 

For Indian caregivers, Japan currently offers a three-year visa, which is extendable by two years. Caregivers who opt to stay back after that five year period must pass a language and nursing test to continue working in Japan.

Quality of life

Puspha Kumari, a health worker from Okhla, has done a short course in patient care, and is now working in Japan along with her sister. They are both happy with the opportunity, she told The Hindu.

“The respect and the quality of life are unmatched. Besides, it’s a beautiful country. Our work involves basic care of the elderly, like ensuring they have had food and water, checking vitals, including daily exercise. Food and culture are something we get used to very quickly, and we can also cook in our apartment,’’ she says. Ms. Kumari is aiming to study for her nurse’s certification in Japan or migrate to another country from there.

Joseline lpecha, who is undergoing training in West Bengal with the aim of working in Japan, says that apart from the pay and the global exposure, she was attracted to Japan because of the beauty of the country and the fact that it is safe for women.

“I plan to work in Japan for three years and then see how it goes. If all goes well, I will go back and prepare to advance my career there,’’ she said, speaking to The Hindu via an online call. Her elder sisters told her about the opportunity and they are trying to migrate to the United States, she added.

Exodus of nurses

According to Health Ministry data, one out of eight nurses from India practices in other countries. Around 88,000 Indian nurses are working in developed countries which belong to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Indian nurses also account for 8.3% of the foreign trained nurses in the U.S. and 8% of those in Singapore.

India skilling centres are working with students to offer language training and hand-hold them in learning the basic social etiquette required to integrate with an international workforce.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

NATIONAL: SPACE & SATELLITES: ISRO PSLV Launch: 7 Singaporean Satellites placed into intended Orbits

DS-SAR satellite will be used to support the satellite imagery requirements of various agencies within the government of Singapore.

The PSLV rocket by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has placed all seven Singaporean satellites into the near-equatorial orbit (NEO) after its successful launch from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota. About 23 minutes after the lift-off, the rocket separated from satellites and after covering a distance of 535 km, deployed them into their intended orbits, said ISRO.

5 facts about ISRO PSLV-C56 mission

The DS-SAR satellite was developed in partnership with the Government of Singapore’s Defence Science and Technology Agency and ST Engineering. It will be launched into a near-equatorial orbit (NEO) at 5 degrees inclination at a 535 km altitude.

Once deployed and operational, the DS-SAR satellite will be used to support the satellite imagery requirements of various agencies within the government of Singapore, as per ISRO.

The PSLV-C56 also carries six co-passenger customer satellites – VELOX-AM, a 23 kg technology demonstration microsatellite; ARCADE Atmospheric Coupling and Dynamics Explorer (ARCADE), an experimental satellite; SCOOB-II , a 3U nanosatellite flying a technology demonstrator payload; NuLIoN by NuSpace, an advanced 3U nanosatellite enabling seamless IoT connectivity in both urban and remote locations; Galassia-2, a 3U nanosatellite that will be orbiting at low earth orbit; and ORB-12 STRIDER, satellite is developed under an International collaboration.

It is the 58th flight of PSLV and 17th of PSLV in core alone configuration.

source/content: hindustantimes.com (headline edited)

GLOBAL: SPACE – INDIA IN SPACE: Final Orbit-raising Manoeuvre of Chandrayaan-3 Completed

Following the final orbit-raising manoeuvre, ISRO will perform the TransLunar Injection (TLI) on August 1.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Tuesday (July 25) successfully completed the fifth and final orbit-raising manoeuvre (Earth-bound perigee firing) of the Chandrayaan-3 mission .  It was performed successfully from ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru.

The spacecraft is expected to attain an orbit of 1,27,609 km x 236 km. This means that Chandrayaan-3 is now in an orbit, which, when closest to Earth is at 236 km and when farthest is at 1,27,609 km.

“The achieved orbit will be confirmed after the observations,” ISRO said after the successful orbit-raising manoeuvre.

The four earlier orbit raising manoeuvres were performed by ISTRAC between July 15 and July 20.

Following the final orbit-raising manoeuvre, ISRO will perform the TransLunar Injection (TLI) on August 1 to slingshot Chandrayaan-3 towards the Moon.

“The next firing, the TransLunar Injection (TLI), is planned for August 1, 2023, between midnight and 1 a.m. IST,” ISRO said.

The Chandrayaan-3 consists of a lander module (LM), propulsion module (PM) and a rover which was launched by the LVM3-M4 on July 14.

After the TLI takes place, the PM and the LM separation will happen on August 17. A series of deboost manoeuvres is also scheduled to take place before the power descent phase for the soft landing on the Moon. The lander is expected to touch down on the Moon surface on August 23 at 5.47 p.m.

  • The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully completed the fifth and final orbit-raising manoeuvre (Earth-bound perigee firing) of the Chandrayaan-3 mission. It was performed successfully from ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru.
  • The spacecraft is expected to attain an orbit of 1,27,609 km x 236 km. This means that Chandrayaan-3 is now in an orbit, which, when closest to Earth is at 236 km and when farthest is at 1,27,609 km.
  • The four earlier orbit raising manoeuvres were performed by ISTRAC between July 15 and July 20.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

INTERNATIONAL & SOUTH EAST ASIA REGION: India Recorded all-time High of 93% DPT3 Immunisation Coverage in 2022: WHO

WHO South-East Asia Region tops in vaccination recoveries following pandemic, thanks to India and Indonesia, says official.

The coverage rate for DPT3, the third dose of diphtheria, pertussis and tetanus vaccines, in India rose to an all-time of 93% in 2022, surpassing the previous pre-pandemic best of 91% recorded in 2019, and also marking a sharp increase from the 85% recorded in 2021, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.

The WHO and UNICEF estimates for national immunisation coverage for 2022, released on July 18, showed that in the WHO South-East Asia Region, the coverage rate for DPT3 recovered to the pre-pandemic level of 91%, a sharp increase from the 82% recorded in 2021.  The region also witnessed a six per cent improvement in the coverage of the measles vaccine, rising to 92% in 2022 from 86% in 2021.

In this region, the number of zero-dose children (those that have not received even the first dose of DPT vaccine) halved to 2.3 million in 2022 from 4.6 million in 2021.

Similarly, the number of partially vaccinated children (those that have received at least one dose of DPT vaccine but did not complete the primary series of three doses) reduced to 6,50,000 in 2022 from 1.3 million in 2021.

As per the report, the region had the best immunisation recoveries among all the WHO regions. This can be majorly attributed to the efforts being made by India and Indonesia, Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia, said.

She said every child deserved to be protected against life-threatening diseases with routine immunisation, adding that the momentum built with impressive efforts and immunisation service, recoveries must continue to benefit every child for a healthy and productive life.

Indonesia reported a DPT3 coverage of 85% in 2022, the same as in 2019, but rising sharply from the 67% recorded in 2021. Bhutan recorded 98% and Maldives 99%, surpassing their pre-pandemic immunisation rates.

Bangladesh with 98% and Thailand 97% demonstrated consistency in routine immunisation coverage throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond, the WHO report said.

Sri Lanka with 98% coverage, Nepal with 90% and Timor-Leste with 86% were closer to the pre-pandemic coverage of 99%, 93% and 90%, respectively.

Myanmar with 71% DPT3 coverage in 2022, was far from the pre-pandemic 90% coverage in 2019, the report noted.

Due to border restrictions enforced during the COVID-19 pandemic in North Korea, national vaccine stock-outs were reported in 2021 and 2022, leading to no vaccination at all for several antigens. However, with the country receiving vaccines early this year, the coverage is expected to increase, the WHO said.

“While we draw lessons from the pandemic to strengthen capacities to respond to future health emergencies, we must learn from countries which maintained their immunisation rates even while responding to a pandemic,” Dr. Singh said. 

The South-East Asia regional office noted that while overall immunisation coverage levels were looking good, and the progress encouraging, there remained variabilities in the coverage at subnational levels in countries, especially in those with large populations. 

The inequities in immunisation coverage leading to accumulation of pockets of unvaccinated children posed the risk of outbreaks of measles, diphtheria, and other vaccine-preventable diseases, the WHO said, adding that these gaps should be closed.

Countries and partners agencies must continue to and scale up efforts to identify the unvaccinated children, strengthen capacities of the health workforce, better understand, and engage with vulnerable populations and roll out tailored strategies to reach each child with the lifesaving routine immunization vaccines, Dr. Singh said.

source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)

INDIA IN SPACE: Chandrayaan-3: First orbit-Raising Maneuver Successfully Performed, says ISRO

Scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation have performed the first orbit raising maneuver of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft on Saturday.

Scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation have performed the first orbit raising maneuver of the Chandrayaan-3 spacecraft on Saturday, the space agency said. The health of the spacecraft was “normal”, ISRO said in a social media post. Chandrayaan-3 is now in an orbit, which when closest to Earth is at 173 km and farthest from Earth is at 41,762 km, the space agency said.

“Chandrayaan-3 Mission update: The spacecraft’s health is normal. The first orbit raising manoeuvre (Earthbound firing-1) was successfully performed at ISTRAC/ISRO, Bengaluru. Spacecraft is now in 41762kms x 173kms orbit,” ISRO said.

ISRO on July 14 successfully launched the third edition of its Moon exploration programme from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, aimed at making a soft landing on the unexplored south pole of the Moon that would make India achieve a rare feat.

Only three countries, the United States, China and Russia, have managed to land on the lunar surface so far.

source/content: hindustantimes.com (headline edited)