@randomradio. This when coupled with other applications like rail gun, when mature, can save a lot in terms of space and weight
Indian Science and Technology Developments : Updates and Discussions
- Thread starter Gautam
- Start date
Didn't notice that thread yet. Nice resources. May I suggest that we add the news about supercapacitors, advancements in power and signal processing related to emals as well as rail gun, coil gun in that thread as the underlying tech is similar?
I posted it and then forgot about it myself.
That would be very useful. There isn't a lot of news on those though.
When our research on railguns itself is rudimentary, what great breakthroughs are you expecting on a shoestring budget for EMALS. Besides, with the frequent breakdowns the system is having on board the US AC it clearly signifies the system's not mature enough. Small wonder that Britain & France didn't go in for it in their latest iterations of their AC. Neither should we.
I posted it and then forgot about it myself.
That would be very useful. There isn't a lot of news on those though.
Instant gratification is impossible in such technologies, but if one is patient enough, given the nature of Indian r&d organisations, we are bound to see quite a number of papers on the minute and at times, insignificant aspects of both the programs. If carefully gone through, could provide pointers to the general trend in the field, as practiced here in our nation
Mega project to map India’s genetic diversity gets govt green signal
The government has cleared an ambitious gene-mapping project that is being described by those involved as the “first scratching of the surface of the vast genetic diversity of India”. The project is said to be among the most significant of its kind in the world because of its scale and the diversity it would bring to genetic studies.
The Indian Express has learnt that the Rs 238-crore Genome India Project, which will involve 20 leading institutions including the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru and a few IITs, will be rolled out soon.
Cleared by the Department of Biotechnology (under the Department of Science and Technology) late last month, the first stage of the project will look at samples of “10,000 persons from all over the country” to form a “grid” that will enable the development of a “reference genome”.
The IISc’s Centre for Brain Research, an autonomous institute, will serve as the nodal point of the project — its director, Prof Vijayalakshami Ravindranath, will be the coordinator.
When contacted by The Indian Express, Ravindranath did not provide any details of the project. “Mapping the diversity of India’s genetic pool will lay the bedrock of personalised medicine and put it on the global map. Considering the diversity of population in our country, and the disease burden of complex disorders, including diabetes, mental health, etc., once we have a genetic basis, it may be possible to take action before the onset of a disease,” she said.
The institutions involved will work on different aspects of the project, including providing clinical samples and assisting with research. “Some IITs will help with new methods of computation, which are essential,” sources said.
Steps to get the project underway started in 2017 when Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan set up the Centre for Brain Research at IISc for research in ageing and diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
As part of a two-pronged approach, Gopalakrishnan provided funding of Rs 275 crore for a rural pilot project in Kolar and Tata Trusts came up with Rs 75 crore to fund the corresponding urban project in Bengaluru.
The group involved in the initiative then approached the central government for a nationwide project to sequence the Indian gene and push research in medicine.
Last weekend, referring to “new schemes” in the Budget, the government said: “Mapping of India’s genetic landscape is critical for next generation medicine, agriculture and for bio-diversity management. To support this development, we will initiate two new national level Science Schemes, to create a comprehensive database.”
Dr Renu Swarup, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, could not be reached for comment. However, on February 1, Swarup had posted on Twitter: “Thank you Hon’ble FM @nsitharaman for a big boost to Science&Technology in the #Budget2020 Mapping of India’s genetic landscape for next generation medicine, agriculture, bio-diversity management. Two new Science Schemes, to create a comprehensive database.”
Sources said the thought behind the project was that “all the easy hits in medical research had been met, and there was no real research coming forth”.
“To really arrive at a breakthrough with modern lifestyle diseases such as cardiac diseases, diabetes or other mental health issues, large collaborations were the need of the hour, combined with huge technological and computational endeavours,” the sources said.
For instance, on Wednesday, “Nature” and its affiliated journals reported the results of a decade-long global collaboration involving 1,300 scientists to map genetic mutations that drive the development of cancer. This is expected to play a significant role in reducing the mortality rate linked to cancer.
Scientists linked to the Indian project say genetic studies so far are based on “almost 95% white caucasian samples”. “What makes the IISc’s pilot rural Kolar study unique is that it is not of urban and rich or middle-class samples, and that could potentially have revolutionary implications on world research,” a scientist said.
“It is established that the first migrations of humans were from Africa to India, and then there were several waves of migration that provided vast horizontal diversity. And, with endogamy being practiced over many generations, across groups, it (the project) may help to get a sharper understanding of diseases transmitted genetically down the line as well as some healthy attributes,” the scientist said.
Mega project to map India’s genetic diversity gets govt green signal
The government has cleared an ambitious gene-mapping project that is being described by those involved as the “first scratching of the surface of the vast genetic diversity of India”. The project is said to be among the most significant of its kind in the world because of its scale and the diversity it would bring to genetic studies.
The Indian Express has learnt that the Rs 238-crore Genome India Project, which will involve 20 leading institutions including the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru and a few IITs, will be rolled out soon.
Cleared by the Department of Biotechnology (under the Department of Science and Technology) late last month, the first stage of the project will look at samples of “10,000 persons from all over the country” to form a “grid” that will enable the development of a “reference genome”.
The IISc’s Centre for Brain Research, an autonomous institute, will serve as the nodal point of the project — its director, Prof Vijayalakshami Ravindranath, will be the coordinator.
When contacted by The Indian Express, Ravindranath did not provide any details of the project. “Mapping the diversity of India’s genetic pool will lay the bedrock of personalised medicine and put it on the global map. Considering the diversity of population in our country, and the disease burden of complex disorders, including diabetes, mental health, etc., once we have a genetic basis, it may be possible to take action before the onset of a disease,” she said.
The institutions involved will work on different aspects of the project, including providing clinical samples and assisting with research. “Some IITs will help with new methods of computation, which are essential,” sources said.
Steps to get the project underway started in 2017 when Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan set up the Centre for Brain Research at IISc for research in ageing and diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
As part of a two-pronged approach, Gopalakrishnan provided funding of Rs 275 crore for a rural pilot project in Kolar and Tata Trusts came up with Rs 75 crore to fund the corresponding urban project in Bengaluru.
The group involved in the initiative then approached the central government for a nationwide project to sequence the Indian gene and push research in medicine.
Last weekend, referring to “new schemes” in the Budget, the government said: “Mapping of India’s genetic landscape is critical for next generation medicine, agriculture and for bio-diversity management. To support this development, we will initiate two new national level Science Schemes, to create a comprehensive database.”
Dr Renu Swarup, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, could not be reached for comment. However, on February 1, Swarup had posted on Twitter: “Thank you Hon’ble FM @nsitharaman for a big boost to Science&Technology in the #Budget2020 Mapping of India’s genetic landscape for next generation medicine, agriculture, bio-diversity management. Two new Science Schemes, to create a comprehensive database.”
Sources said the thought behind the project was that “all the easy hits in medical research had been met, and there was no real research coming forth”.
“To really arrive at a breakthrough with modern lifestyle diseases such as cardiac diseases, diabetes or other mental health issues, large collaborations were the need of the hour, combined with huge technological and computational endeavours,” the sources said.
For instance, on Wednesday, “Nature” and its affiliated journals reported the results of a decade-long global collaboration involving 1,300 scientists to map genetic mutations that drive the development of cancer. This is expected to play a significant role in reducing the mortality rate linked to cancer.
Scientists linked to the Indian project say genetic studies so far are based on “almost 95% white caucasian samples”. “What makes the IISc’s pilot rural Kolar study unique is that it is not of urban and rich or middle-class samples, and that could potentially have revolutionary implications on world research,” a scientist said.
“It is established that the first migrations of humans were from Africa to India, and then there were several waves of migration that provided vast horizontal diversity. And, with endogamy being practiced over many generations, across groups, it (the project) may help to get a sharper understanding of diseases transmitted genetically down the line as well as some healthy attributes,” the scientist said.
Mega project to map India’s genetic diversity gets govt green signal
Why did the Indian monsoon rainfall increase from the last glacial maximum to the present?
Natural variations in the strength of monsoon rainfall of the distant past are inferred from speleothems (mineral deposits in caves). The ratio of the heavy to the light isotope of oxygen in these deposits is an indirect measure of rainfall in the past. These data showed that the Indian monsoon rainfall was very low during the peak of the last ice age about 21,000 years ago. The simulation of the variation in global climate during the past 22,000 years (using a coupled ocean-atmosphere model developed by the National Centre for Atmospheric Research at Boulder, Colorado, USA) has been documented recently. In this simulation, the Indian summer monsoon rainfall increased from around 3.3 mm/day around 22,000 years ago to 6.6 mm/day 14,000 years ago and then decreased to 6 mm/day in the 20th century. This change in monsoon rainfall was attributed to changes in the amount of solar radiation incident on India during the summer monsoon. The amount of solar radiation incident over India has not changed as much (only 6% between 22,000 years ago and 10,000 years ago).
Schematic showing the evolution of Indian monsoon rainfall
We have proposed a simple model to unravel the factors that impact monsoon rainfall. Using this model we have shown for the first time the role of water vapor and clouds in amplifying the effect of solar radiation on monsoon rainfall. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increased from 180 ppm to 280 ppm over the last 22,000 years. This is one of the main causes of the increase in water vapour during this period. We have shown that this rise in water vapour led to the doubling of monsoon rainfall. Due to anthropogenic activities, carbon dioxide has increased by about 100 ppm in the last 100 years. It will increase further in the near future, and the diagnostic model proposed can be used to understand how monsoon rainfall will change.
The diagnostic model used in this study
Picture of our group : Chetankumar Jalihal, Prof. J. Srinivasan, Prof. Arindam Chakraborty
Indian Institute of Science
Whole paper : Modulation of Indian monsoon by water vapor and cloud feedback over the past 22,000 years
Natural variations in the strength of monsoon rainfall of the distant past are inferred from speleothems (mineral deposits in caves). The ratio of the heavy to the light isotope of oxygen in these deposits is an indirect measure of rainfall in the past. These data showed that the Indian monsoon rainfall was very low during the peak of the last ice age about 21,000 years ago. The simulation of the variation in global climate during the past 22,000 years (using a coupled ocean-atmosphere model developed by the National Centre for Atmospheric Research at Boulder, Colorado, USA) has been documented recently. In this simulation, the Indian summer monsoon rainfall increased from around 3.3 mm/day around 22,000 years ago to 6.6 mm/day 14,000 years ago and then decreased to 6 mm/day in the 20th century. This change in monsoon rainfall was attributed to changes in the amount of solar radiation incident on India during the summer monsoon. The amount of solar radiation incident over India has not changed as much (only 6% between 22,000 years ago and 10,000 years ago).
Schematic showing the evolution of Indian monsoon rainfall
We have proposed a simple model to unravel the factors that impact monsoon rainfall. Using this model we have shown for the first time the role of water vapor and clouds in amplifying the effect of solar radiation on monsoon rainfall. The concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increased from 180 ppm to 280 ppm over the last 22,000 years. This is one of the main causes of the increase in water vapour during this period. We have shown that this rise in water vapour led to the doubling of monsoon rainfall. Due to anthropogenic activities, carbon dioxide has increased by about 100 ppm in the last 100 years. It will increase further in the near future, and the diagnostic model proposed can be used to understand how monsoon rainfall will change.
The diagnostic model used in this study
Picture of our group : Chetankumar Jalihal, Prof. J. Srinivasan, Prof. Arindam Chakraborty
Indian Institute of Science
Whole paper : Modulation of Indian monsoon by water vapor and cloud feedback over the past 22,000 years
Quantum supremacy chase: India in select country club
Quantum supremacy chase: India in select country club
Quantum supremacy chase: India in select country club
Novel tech to decrypt data optically has potential uses ranging from surveillance to food quality analysis
By Chethan Kumar | TNN | Feb 17, 2020, 18:49 IST
BENGALURU: After more than two decades of work, researchers at Raman Research Institute(RRI) here, along with collaborators from University of Rennes, France, have developed and demonstrated a new technique of decrypting encrypted information — generally done electronically — through optical technology.
They claim that the technology has the potential for encrypting and decrypting images, surveillance, navigation under poor visibility, optically imaging through tissues and underwater vision. Besides, the technique is likely to open up possibilities for 3D ranging and imaging, optical communications, food quality analysis, and specialized scientific instrumentation.
In many fields information is encrypted or modulated by the sender and is retrieved by the receiver by the process of “demodulation”, which is extraction of the original information-bearing signal from a carrier wave.
And, demodulation is done electronically, which in the case of images, has to be done pixel by pixel. This requires time, which for most purposes, may be small enough to be ignored. However, for certain applications, like aircraft navigation, even the tiny amount of time taken for demodulation makes the technique unsuitable for practical use.
Prof. Hema Ramachandran, along with a team of scientists at the Light and Matter Physics group at RRI and collaborators, has provided a means of demodulation optically rather than electronically. For this, experiments were carried out in the real fog, both in France and in India.
“This speeds up the process significantly, and full demodulated images are obtained instantaneously upon recording a single frame using an ordinary digital camera. The technology is called FAST-QUAD (Full-field All-optical Single-shot Technique for Quadrature Demodulation),” the Department of Science and Technology, which funds RRI, said in a statement.
The technique has two components – the concept and the device. A prototype has been built and demonstrated. The team’s work has been published in Nature Communications, and two related international patents have been filed which are in the final stages of processing.
The techniques currently being used for the demodulation of optical signals at radio frequencies and higher face numerous practical challenges like the need for phase synchronization, timing jitters, inability to perform snapshot operation, and difficulty in frequency tuning.
This technology developed by Prof Hema bypasses these challenges by performing the demodulation optically, making use of the polarization of light. This technique is compatible with high-frequency operation up to the radio frequency range.
The entire process of demodulation (multiplication and integration) is performed optically, and over the entire field of view, eliminating the need for pixel-by-pixel demodulation. This offers an enormous speedup and provides a demodulated image with a single snapshot of the camera.
Novel tech to decrypt data optically has potential uses ranging from surveillance to food quality analysis - Times of India
By Chethan Kumar | TNN | Feb 17, 2020, 18:49 IST
BENGALURU: After more than two decades of work, researchers at Raman Research Institute(RRI) here, along with collaborators from University of Rennes, France, have developed and demonstrated a new technique of decrypting encrypted information — generally done electronically — through optical technology.
They claim that the technology has the potential for encrypting and decrypting images, surveillance, navigation under poor visibility, optically imaging through tissues and underwater vision. Besides, the technique is likely to open up possibilities for 3D ranging and imaging, optical communications, food quality analysis, and specialized scientific instrumentation.
In many fields information is encrypted or modulated by the sender and is retrieved by the receiver by the process of “demodulation”, which is extraction of the original information-bearing signal from a carrier wave.
And, demodulation is done electronically, which in the case of images, has to be done pixel by pixel. This requires time, which for most purposes, may be small enough to be ignored. However, for certain applications, like aircraft navigation, even the tiny amount of time taken for demodulation makes the technique unsuitable for practical use.
Prof. Hema Ramachandran, along with a team of scientists at the Light and Matter Physics group at RRI and collaborators, has provided a means of demodulation optically rather than electronically. For this, experiments were carried out in the real fog, both in France and in India.
“This speeds up the process significantly, and full demodulated images are obtained instantaneously upon recording a single frame using an ordinary digital camera. The technology is called FAST-QUAD (Full-field All-optical Single-shot Technique for Quadrature Demodulation),” the Department of Science and Technology, which funds RRI, said in a statement.
The technique has two components – the concept and the device. A prototype has been built and demonstrated. The team’s work has been published in Nature Communications, and two related international patents have been filed which are in the final stages of processing.
The techniques currently being used for the demodulation of optical signals at radio frequencies and higher face numerous practical challenges like the need for phase synchronization, timing jitters, inability to perform snapshot operation, and difficulty in frequency tuning.
This technology developed by Prof Hema bypasses these challenges by performing the demodulation optically, making use of the polarization of light. This technique is compatible with high-frequency operation up to the radio frequency range.
The entire process of demodulation (multiplication and integration) is performed optically, and over the entire field of view, eliminating the need for pixel-by-pixel demodulation. This offers an enormous speedup and provides a demodulated image with a single snapshot of the camera.
Novel tech to decrypt data optically has potential uses ranging from surveillance to food quality analysis - Times of India
MHA cancels Manipal varsity FCRA licence over ‘unauthorised research’
In a rare move, the government has barred the Karnataka-based Manipal University from receiving foreign funds after it allegedly carried out research on the Nipah virus, a a biological warfare grade pathogen, according to a senior government official who didn’t want to be named. The institution confirmed the move, but denied the allegation.
The ministry of home affairs (MHA) suspended the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act -2010 (FCRA) account of the university for carrying out the “unauthorized” research at the Manipal Institute of Virology, the official said.
“The account of Manipal University was suspended in January 2020 and the university informed,” the official added.
Manipal Institute of Virology carried out the tests on the Nipah virus, of which there was an outbreak in Kerala in 2018 and 2019. Hindustan Times reported first on February 7 that the government had asked Manipal University and the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – a federal agency of the United States which reports to the Department of Health – to stop the research immediately.
An official communication reviewed by Hindustan Times, titled “Unapproved, US-funded Indian Laboratory stored samples of Nipah Virus – a bioterrorism agent,” noted; “the Ministry has taken a serious view of the entire matter.” Manipal University was asked to stop the research and hand over samples to the Pune-based National Institute of Virology.
The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act -2010 – an internal security legislation - regulates and monitors the use of foreign contributions, donations and even hospitality (air travel, hotel accommodation and so on) extended to Indian organizations and individuals.
Foreign donations and contributions to non-governmental organizations and charitable trusts whose activities were considered to be questionable have been routinely blocked in the past. But foreign aid and grants to established universities and educational institutions have rarely been blocked.
The Union home ministry, which administers the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act -2010, did not respond to queries. Manipal University admitted that the MHA had suspended the FCRA account of the university for its research on Nipah virus.
In a detailed response to queries from Hindustan Times, Manipal University said it had written to the MHA objecting to the block on the institution receiving foreign funds.
“The University has not used any foreign contribution for Nipah testing. In addition, the University has filed reports on the use of foreign funding every 15 days. All account details have been provided,” Dr G Arun Kumar, the director of the Manipal University of Virology, said.
“Manipal Centre Virus Research (now Manipal Institute of Virology) was established in 2010 as the first operational ICMR Grade1 Virus Research Diagnostic Laboratory. The recent action of the government is actually nullifying the facility and national capacity particularly at a time when the country needs it the most,” Kumar said.
“Nipah Virus investigation done in Kerala was funded exclusively by the Indian Council for Medical Research. MIV carried out only molecular diagnostics (PCR assay) in inactivated samples for diagnosing Nipah and samples were transferred to National Institute of Virology, Pune for virus,” he said.
“We did not perform virus isolation. We have taken due diligence in bio-safety and bio-security of the Nipah samples handling at MIV and followed WHO {World Helath Organisation} EBOLA molecular diagnostic guidelines in letter and spirit. All Nipah diagnostic was done with real-time information to ICMR and National Centre for Disease Control of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare with daily email reports. We categorically deny all allegations.” Kumar said., “The research at MIV was not connected to any vaccine development and no intellectual property right was generated or transferred.”
In a rare move, the government has barred the Karnataka-based Manipal University from receiving foreign funds after it allegedly carried out research on the Nipah virus, a a biological warfare grade pathogen, according to a senior government official who didn’t want to be named. The institution confirmed the move, but denied the allegation.
The ministry of home affairs (MHA) suspended the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act -2010 (FCRA) account of the university for carrying out the “unauthorized” research at the Manipal Institute of Virology, the official said.
“The account of Manipal University was suspended in January 2020 and the university informed,” the official added.
Manipal Institute of Virology carried out the tests on the Nipah virus, of which there was an outbreak in Kerala in 2018 and 2019. Hindustan Times reported first on February 7 that the government had asked Manipal University and the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – a federal agency of the United States which reports to the Department of Health – to stop the research immediately.
An official communication reviewed by Hindustan Times, titled “Unapproved, US-funded Indian Laboratory stored samples of Nipah Virus – a bioterrorism agent,” noted; “the Ministry has taken a serious view of the entire matter.” Manipal University was asked to stop the research and hand over samples to the Pune-based National Institute of Virology.
The Foreign Contribution Regulation Act -2010 – an internal security legislation - regulates and monitors the use of foreign contributions, donations and even hospitality (air travel, hotel accommodation and so on) extended to Indian organizations and individuals.
Foreign donations and contributions to non-governmental organizations and charitable trusts whose activities were considered to be questionable have been routinely blocked in the past. But foreign aid and grants to established universities and educational institutions have rarely been blocked.
The Union home ministry, which administers the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act -2010, did not respond to queries. Manipal University admitted that the MHA had suspended the FCRA account of the university for its research on Nipah virus.
In a detailed response to queries from Hindustan Times, Manipal University said it had written to the MHA objecting to the block on the institution receiving foreign funds.
“The University has not used any foreign contribution for Nipah testing. In addition, the University has filed reports on the use of foreign funding every 15 days. All account details have been provided,” Dr G Arun Kumar, the director of the Manipal University of Virology, said.
“Manipal Centre Virus Research (now Manipal Institute of Virology) was established in 2010 as the first operational ICMR Grade1 Virus Research Diagnostic Laboratory. The recent action of the government is actually nullifying the facility and national capacity particularly at a time when the country needs it the most,” Kumar said.
“Nipah Virus investigation done in Kerala was funded exclusively by the Indian Council for Medical Research. MIV carried out only molecular diagnostics (PCR assay) in inactivated samples for diagnosing Nipah and samples were transferred to National Institute of Virology, Pune for virus,” he said.
“We did not perform virus isolation. We have taken due diligence in bio-safety and bio-security of the Nipah samples handling at MIV and followed WHO {World Helath Organisation} EBOLA molecular diagnostic guidelines in letter and spirit. All Nipah diagnostic was done with real-time information to ICMR and National Centre for Disease Control of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare with daily email reports. We categorically deny all allegations.” Kumar said., “The research at MIV was not connected to any vaccine development and no intellectual property right was generated or transferred.”
India to create its own WhatsApp! Govt proposes its alternative service for secure messaging
GIMS, which is currently under testing, will be used by govt departments for secure official communication
X
Apart from Central government offices and departments, GIMS may also be used by state governments if they so desire, sources said.
To improve confidentiality in official communications, the government is in the process of setting up its own instant messaging service for mobile phones. The platform, for which pilot tests are currently being conducted by the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY), will be named Government Instant Messaging Service (GIMS) and is expected to be rolled out later this year.
Apart from Central government offices and departments, GIMS may also be used by state governments if they so desire, sources said.
GIMS is a unified messaging platform being developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), which also set up the e-mail service for government departments. Currently, the NIC-created government e-mail service handles more than 2 crore emails daily.
A senior government official said that GIMS has been built through an open source solution in accordance with the policy on adoption of open source software for government by MeitY, thus, ensuring government’s strategic control over the solution. It provides a multilingual platform with 11 local languages and a go-live in English and Hindi initially that will be followed by other languages.
“The app (GIMS) has been developed for both Android and iOS platforms and at present beta testing is going on. A total of 17 government organisations including ministry of external affairs (MEA), ministry of home affairs (MHA), CBI, MeitY, Navy and railways are participating in the testing. Currently, there are around 6,600 users who have generated close to 20 lakh messages,” the official added.
States like Odisha and Gujarat are also participating in the beta testing, the official said.
A former government official, who has handled cyber security threats against the government in the past, said that such a service is very important, especially in light of software like Pegasus, which can be used to snoop on conversations on WhatsApp.
“Today, almost every ministry has its own chat group on commercial platforms like WhatsApp, WeChat, etc. Often officials discuss strategic and sensitive issues on these platforms. With cyber criminals or rogue states targeting such communication, it is high time India has its own government instant messaging service. Such services are crucial today for effective and efficient administration,” he explained.
India to create its own WhatsApp! Govt proposes its alternative service for secure messaging
GIMS, which is currently under testing, will be used by govt departments for secure official communication
X
Apart from Central government offices and departments, GIMS may also be used by state governments if they so desire, sources said.
To improve confidentiality in official communications, the government is in the process of setting up its own instant messaging service for mobile phones. The platform, for which pilot tests are currently being conducted by the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY), will be named Government Instant Messaging Service (GIMS) and is expected to be rolled out later this year.
Apart from Central government offices and departments, GIMS may also be used by state governments if they so desire, sources said.
GIMS is a unified messaging platform being developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), which also set up the e-mail service for government departments. Currently, the NIC-created government e-mail service handles more than 2 crore emails daily.
A senior government official said that GIMS has been built through an open source solution in accordance with the policy on adoption of open source software for government by MeitY, thus, ensuring government’s strategic control over the solution. It provides a multilingual platform with 11 local languages and a go-live in English and Hindi initially that will be followed by other languages.
“The app (GIMS) has been developed for both Android and iOS platforms and at present beta testing is going on. A total of 17 government organisations including ministry of external affairs (MEA), ministry of home affairs (MHA), CBI, MeitY, Navy and railways are participating in the testing. Currently, there are around 6,600 users who have generated close to 20 lakh messages,” the official added.
States like Odisha and Gujarat are also participating in the beta testing, the official said.
A former government official, who has handled cyber security threats against the government in the past, said that such a service is very important, especially in light of software like Pegasus, which can be used to snoop on conversations on WhatsApp.
“Today, almost every ministry has its own chat group on commercial platforms like WhatsApp, WeChat, etc. Often officials discuss strategic and sensitive issues on these platforms. With cyber criminals or rogue states targeting such communication, it is high time India has its own government instant messaging service. Such services are crucial today for effective and efficient administration,” he explained.
India to create its own WhatsApp! Govt proposes its alternative service for secure messaging
ARCI develops Fuel Cell Technology for Disaster Management
Wednesday, March 4, 2020
Scientists at International Advanced Research for Powder Metallurgy & New Materials (ARCI), Hyderabad, an autonomous R&D Centre of Department of Science and Technology (DST) have developed Polymer Electrolyte Membrane fuel cells (PEMFC).
PEMFC, in its entireness, have an advantage of operational capability at low-temperatures with applications in decentralised power generation systems. Through intense R&D efforts in the area of fuel cell technologies, ARCI at its Centre for Fuel Cell Technology, Chennai has developed in-house PEMFC systems in the power range of 1 to 20 kiloWatt (kW) and demonstrated the same in stationary (1-20 kW) and transport applications (1,3,5 kW). Emergency Operation Centres (EOC) backed with 10 kW system along with fuel cell stack (providing sustainable electricity using hydrogen gas without the need of grid power), air moving subsystems, power control devices and control and monitoring system is being planned as a natural disaster management measure.
PEMFC stack of 5 kW capacity.
Natural disasters are consequences of calamities like earthquake, landslide, cyclone, flood, tsunami, and so on that affects human activities. Tamil Nadu is generally affected by five to six cyclones every year, of which two to three are severe. There has been a paradigm shift in the focus of Disaster Management, from response-centric (rescue, relief, rehabilitation, and reconstruction) to laying greater emphasis on the other elements of disaster management cycle (prevention, mitigation, and preparedness) as a means to avert the impact of future emergencies.
The Government of Tamil Nadu places equal importance on both the approaches and is keen to develop a robust disaster management system. The latest concept in disaster management all over the World is about conversion of Control Rooms to Emergency Operation Centres (EOC). EOCs respond immediately during an emergency situation with State-of-the-Art communication systems. This helps in providing immediate support during the Golden Hour of the disaster.
Hence, the State Government decided to look at the prospect of converting the existing Control Room to EOC backed with 10 kW system along with fuel cell stack, air moving subsystems, power control devices and control and monitoring system. Fuel cell systems offer a potential benefit in terms of providing sustainable electricity using hydrogen gas without the need of grid power as required by conventional battery backup systems. Recently, ARCI demonstrated the feasibility of providing power to EOCs. PEMFC stack with a capacity of 5kW has been installed on the mobile truck and demonstrated on December 5, 2019, at Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Authority (TNSDMA). Dr J. Radhakrishnan, Commissioner, Revenue Administration, and Disaster Management, witnessed the demo and appreciated the prowess of PEMFC technology.
Wednesday, March 4, 2020
Scientists at International Advanced Research for Powder Metallurgy & New Materials (ARCI), Hyderabad, an autonomous R&D Centre of Department of Science and Technology (DST) have developed Polymer Electrolyte Membrane fuel cells (PEMFC).
PEMFC, in its entireness, have an advantage of operational capability at low-temperatures with applications in decentralised power generation systems. Through intense R&D efforts in the area of fuel cell technologies, ARCI at its Centre for Fuel Cell Technology, Chennai has developed in-house PEMFC systems in the power range of 1 to 20 kiloWatt (kW) and demonstrated the same in stationary (1-20 kW) and transport applications (1,3,5 kW). Emergency Operation Centres (EOC) backed with 10 kW system along with fuel cell stack (providing sustainable electricity using hydrogen gas without the need of grid power), air moving subsystems, power control devices and control and monitoring system is being planned as a natural disaster management measure.
PEMFC stack of 5 kW capacity.
Natural disasters are consequences of calamities like earthquake, landslide, cyclone, flood, tsunami, and so on that affects human activities. Tamil Nadu is generally affected by five to six cyclones every year, of which two to three are severe. There has been a paradigm shift in the focus of Disaster Management, from response-centric (rescue, relief, rehabilitation, and reconstruction) to laying greater emphasis on the other elements of disaster management cycle (prevention, mitigation, and preparedness) as a means to avert the impact of future emergencies.
The Government of Tamil Nadu places equal importance on both the approaches and is keen to develop a robust disaster management system. The latest concept in disaster management all over the World is about conversion of Control Rooms to Emergency Operation Centres (EOC). EOCs respond immediately during an emergency situation with State-of-the-Art communication systems. This helps in providing immediate support during the Golden Hour of the disaster.
Hence, the State Government decided to look at the prospect of converting the existing Control Room to EOC backed with 10 kW system along with fuel cell stack, air moving subsystems, power control devices and control and monitoring system. Fuel cell systems offer a potential benefit in terms of providing sustainable electricity using hydrogen gas without the need of grid power as required by conventional battery backup systems. Recently, ARCI demonstrated the feasibility of providing power to EOCs. PEMFC stack with a capacity of 5kW has been installed on the mobile truck and demonstrated on December 5, 2019, at Tamil Nadu State Disaster Management Authority (TNSDMA). Dr J. Radhakrishnan, Commissioner, Revenue Administration, and Disaster Management, witnessed the demo and appreciated the prowess of PEMFC technology.
1,00,000 employees in a 10 acre facility? How do you fit in 1 lakh there even if you ran 3 shifts? More importantly, why do you need 1 lakh employees for such a hi tech venture? This is either a misprint or someone is creating good PR in lieu of an IPO / venture capitalist / angel investor, etc which we can expect to happen in due course.