Science & Tech-Dec-2023

UAE inaugurates world’s largest single-site solar power plant ahead of COP28

The United Arab Emirates has inaugurated the world’s largest single-site solar power plant ahead of the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28). The 2-gigawatt Al Dhafra Solar Photovoltaic Independent Power Project (IPP) is located 35 kilometers from Abu Dhabi city and will generate enough electricity to power almost 200,000 homes. The plant is expected to displace 2. 4 million tonnes of carbon emissions annually. Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) and its partners Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA), EDF Renewables and JinkoPower developed the project. Emirates Water and Electricity Company (EWEC) procured it. The plant uses almost 4 million solar panels which deploy innovative bi-facial technology, ensuring sunlight is captured on both sides of the panels to maximize yield.

Indian Navy tests first indigenously developed ‘anti-ship missile’

Indian Navy in association with Defence Research and Development Organisation successfully undertook Guided Flight Trials of the first indigenously developed Naval Anti-Ship Missile from Seaking 42B helicopter. The trial test took place in Visakhapatnam. This is a step towards achieving self-reliance in niche missile technology, including seeker and guidance technologies. Moreover, the Indian Navy announced in October its preparations for the inaugural trial of a new Long Range Anti-Ship Missile, developed by DRDO, with a range of 500 km—surpassing that of the BrahMos missile. BrahMos, an Indo-Russian cruise missile, originally possessed a range of 290 km but now boasts an extended range of 350 to 400 km.

Rare metal tantalum found in Sutlej

A team of researchers from IT Ropar detected the presence of tantalum, a rare metal, in the Sutlej river sand in Punjab. Tantalum is a hard, lustrous transition metal that’s highly corrosion-resistant. Although the source of tantalum in Sutlej isn’t clear yet, a professor said it could be due to movement of tectonic plates in the Himalayan region.

Tantalum:

When pure, tantalum is ductile, meaning it can. be drawn into a thin wire. It is almost completely immune to chemical attack at temperatures below 150°C, and is attacked only by hydrofluoric acid, acidic solutions containing the fluoride ion, and free sulphur trioxide, according to US’ Department of Energy.

UK approves world’s 1st gene therapy to treat sickle-cell, thalassemia

The United Kingdom’s drug regulator has approved the world’s first gene therapy treatment for sickle cell disease and thalassemia. The Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency said that it approved Casgevy for patients with sickle cell disease and thalassemia who are 12 years old and over. Vertex Pharmaceuticals (Europe) Ltd. and CRISPR Therapeutics make Casgevy. Both sickle cell disease and thalassemia are caused by errors in the genes that carry hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that carry oxygen. Millions of people around the world have sickle cell disease. It occurs more often among people from places where malaria is or was common, like Africa and India, and is also more common in certain ethnic groups, such as people of African, Middle Eastern and Indian descent. The Casgevy works by targeting the defective gene in a patient’s bone marrow stem cells so that the body can make properly functioning hemoglobin.

SBI to soon launch ‘Yono Global’ app in Singapore and US

State Bank of India (SBI) will soon launch its banking mobile app ‘Yono Global’ in Singapore and the US, offering digitalized remittance and other services to its customers. Currently, SBI offers Yono Global services in 9 countries, starting with the UK operations in September 2019. SBI’s foreign operations have a total balance sheet size of USD 78 billion. In Singapore, SBI is integrating its Yono Global app with PayNow and aims to launch it soon.

Navy’s 4th Anti-Submarine Waterfare Craft ‘Amini’ Launched

‘Amini’, the fourth in a series of eight Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft (ASW-SWC) projects built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) for the Indian Navy, was launched at Kattupalli in Tamil Nadu. The ship has been named ‘Amini’ to signify the strategic maritime importance accorded to the island of Amini at Lakshadweep, located about 400 km west of Kochi. The 77m long ASW SWC ships with a displacement of 900 tons have a maximum speed of 25 knots and endurance of approx 1800 NM. The third ship of the class was launched on June 13, 2023, at L&T, Kattupalli. Launch of four ships of the same class within a year highlights our strides in indigenous shipbuilding, towards AatmaNirbhar Bharat.

USFDA okays world’s first chikungunya vaccine

The U. S. Food and Drug Administration approved Ixchiq, the first chikungunya vaccine. Ixchiq is approved for individuals 18 years of age and older who are at increased risk of exposure to chikungunya virus. The chikungunya virus is primarily transmitted to people through the bite of an infected mosquito. Ixchiq is administered as a single dose by injection into the muscle. It contains a live, weakened version of the chikungunya virus and may cause symptoms in the vaccine recipient similar to those experienced by people who have chikungunya disease.

Krishi 24/7, the first-ever AI-powered solution for automated agricultural news monitoring and analysis

Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (DA&FW) in collaboration with Wadhwani Institute for Artificial Intelligence (Wadhwani AI) developed Krishi 24/7, the first-ever AI-powered solution for automated agricultural news monitoring and analysis, with support from Google. org. Krishi 24/7 will aid DA&FW to identify relevant news, generate timely alerts, and take prompt action to protect farmers’ interests and promote sustainable agricultural growth through improved decision-making.

Russia tests new nuclear submarine with Bulava missile

The new nuclear-powered submarine Emperor Alexander III successfully carried out a test launch of a Bulava ballistic missile. The test launch was conducted from the White Sea to a target on the Kamchatka Peninsula. The missile firing took place in normal mode from an underwater position. The missile’s warheads arrived at the designated area on time. The Emperor Alexander III is the fourth submarine of the Borey-A project, which aims to build eight nuclear-powered submarines armed with the Bulava missile. These submarines belong to the fourth generation and are part of the underwater forces of the Northern and Pacific fleets.

ECI designed in-house software for complete Candidate and election management ‘ENCORE’

The Election Commission of India has designed in-house software for complete Candidate and election management through ‘ENCORE’ which stands for Enabling Communications on Real-time Environment. This provides a seamless facility for Returning Officers to process candidate nomination, affidavit, Voter turnout, counting, results and data management. The ENCORE counting application is an end-to-end application for returning officers to digitize the votes polled, tabulate the round-wise data and then take out various statutory reports of counting. Another application called ENCORE Scrutiny Application allows Returning Officers to do scrutiny of the nominations filed by the candidates on-line.