Science & Technology - Current Affairs for April, 2015

Russia's unmanned Progress 59 spacecraft blasted off atop a Soyuz rocket from Baikonur Cosmodrome in the Central Asian nation of Kazakhstan.

By giving a missed call on mobile number (9590666222), Rs 20 would be deducted for the PM relief fund. Only one missed call can be made from one mobile phone.

The Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) has built the Dhanush from manufacturing blueprints that Swedish company Bofors supplied India as part of the controversial 1986 purchase of 410 FH-77 howitzers.

An indigenous cryogenic engine that will help India put satellites of upto four tonnes in geostationary orbit. The powerful version of the cryogenic engine was ground tested at the Liquid Propulsion systems centre (LPSC). The test was conducted for 635 seconds and it was successful, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre.

The Armata tank has an unmanned turret and a 125mm smooth-bore cannon that can fire guided missiles as well as shells. Its computer technology, speed and maneuverability are said to be far superior to those of the T-90, the current mainstay of the Russian army. Russia plans to bring in about 2,300 Armatas, starting in 2020, to replace Soviet-era tanks.

In Haryana, National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resource (NBAGR), Karnal has developed a technology to differentiate between beef and buffalo meat. The technology is based on polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and it can easily differentiate accurately between the beef and buffalo meat. The international patent registration of the technology is underway. The technologies already available for it were expensive, while it would be economical.

President Vladimir Putin signed a decree lifting the ban on the sale of S-300 air defence systems to Tehran that Moscow imposed in 2010, joining UN-imposed arms embargo on Iran amid concerns that the country was developing nuclear weapons.

The information on the level of shaking will come from seismological inputs in a particular area. The device is now being tested for its efficacy.

The portal will mainly focus on Budget Review, Board Meetings, Zonal Railway Review, Infrastructure Targets and Project Implementation Review. The Minister said, E-Samiksha is a real time, on-line system for monitoring of follow-up action on the decisions taken during the presentations made by different ministries to the Prime Minister.

India is ranked at 113th with a penetration of 3.2 per 100 inhabitants. India ranks 125th in the world for fixed broadband penetration. In fact Bhutan and Sri Lanka are ahead of us.