National Science Day:
- 28th February is celebrated as National Science Day (NSD) in India.
- NSD is celebrated to commemorate discovery of the ‘Raman Effect’, which led to Sir C.V. Raman winning the Noble Prize.
- The first National Science Day was celebrated on February 28, 1987.
- Theme: “Future of STI: Impacts on Education, Skills, and Work”.
- Raman Effect
- A phenomenon in spectroscopy discovered by the eminent physicist Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman in 1928.
- Raman Effect is a change in the wavelength of light that occurs when a light beam is deflected by molecules.
- When a beam of light traverses a dust-free, transparent sample of a chemical compound, a small fraction of the light emerges in directions other than that of the incident (incoming) beam.
- Most of this scattered light is of unchanged wavelength. A small part, however, has wavelengths different from that of the incident light; its presence is a result of the Raman Effect.
Paper Based sensors for detecting anti- microbial resistance:
- Scientists have developed a paper-based sensor that can detect antimicrobials or antibiotics that have an inhibitory effect on bacteria in water bodies by a see and tell mechanism.
- As the world is tackling the effects of one pandemic, the scientific community has warned that Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) could be the next big pandemic, and this would involve a battle with several pathogens.
- Water bodies are the major source for the dissemination and transfer of AMR. Periodic monitoring of antimicrobials and antibiotic-resistant genes is the key to assess the current situation of AMR in India. In these conditions, low cost and field-deployable sensors to detect antimicrobials in water bodies could be a viable tool for environmental surveillance.
- The novel strategy for low-cost fabrication of the robust Laser Printed- Microfluidics Paper-Based Analytical Sensors developed by IIT Madras will help detecting antimicrobials easily in the parts per million range. It will also help understand the relationship between AMR and AMR triggering pollutants and assist policymakers in framing solutions to tackle grand societal AMR challenge.
- Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India- Water Technology Initiative in bilateral collaboration with UK’s Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) under Indo UK Water Quality Research Programme, has supported IIT Madras to develop the sensors.
- The novel strategy of combining adsorption based pre-concentration using reagents that undergo a measurable color change enabled parts per billion level detection of antimicrobials. The process utilizes the easily available laser printer and hence offers tremendous potential for large scale sensor fabrication. It could enable community-driven microfluidics
Self Reliant India to get a big push with next generation maps:
- The Ministry of Science and Technology has released new guidelines for the Geo-spatial sector in India, which deregulates existing protocol and liberalises the sector to a more competitive field.
- Under the new guidelines:
- The sector will be deregulated and aspects such as prior approvals for surveying, mapping and building applications based on that have been done away with.
- For Indian entities, there will be complete deregulation with no prior approvals, security clearances and licences for the acquisition and production of geospatial data and geospatial data services, including maps.
Vertical Launch Short Range Surface to Air Missile (VL-SRSAM):
- VL-SRSAM is meant for neutralizing various aerial threats at close ranges including sea-skimming targets.
- It has been indigenously designed and developed by DRDO for the Indian Navy.
- The canister-based state-of-the-art weapon system has a strike range of about 40 km.
