science and technology 2014 compilation

2014

COMPILATION OF QUESTIONS AND

ANSWERS POSTED AT S&T SECTION (2014)

ON INSIGHTSONINDIA.COM

10/27/2014

INSIGHTS ON INDIA SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY Q & A - 2014


http://insightsonindia.com INSIGHTS Page 1

Table of Contents Q-“Community Radio has been advocated as a powerful instrument of social change”.

Substantiate with the challenges CR is facing to get vital coverage. .................................................. 7

Q- Critically comment on the strategic significance of Agni-5. (200 words) ...................................... 7

Q-“The only way forward for country’s rapid indigenization of defence products, with both the

public & private sectors playing roles in the endeavour”. Comment in the light of recent

controversies in the defence sector and Steps taken in this regard. (200 words) ............................ 8

Q-“Nanotechnology has prowess to revolutionize and solve the pervasive problems of agriculture

sector.” Comment. (200 Words) ......................................................................................................... 8

Q-In what ways can IT and BT be integrated to reduce poverty in India? ......................................... 9

Q-What are the ecological and ethical issues associated with nano-technology? Mention two

ways,other than medicine,in which this technology can be used for social welfare in India. ......... 10

Q-Discuss the key decisions taken at recently held “Warsaw Climate Talk”. Do you think ............. 10

Q-“The Arctic deserves to be treated as a ‘global common’ and a common heritage of mankind.”

Discuss. (200 Words) ......................................................................................................................... 11

Q-“The present global health crisis is not primarily one of disease, but of Governance”. Comment.

(300 words) ....................................................................................................................................... 11

Q-“The lithium- ion batteries are having high potential but recent findings have defamed its

viability”. Highlight the controversy associated with it and suggest measures to overcome the

same. (200 words)............................................................................................................................. 12

Q-“The role of Women Scientists and Teachers in ‘promotion and application’ of Science and

Technology has multifarious effects in dealing with societal evil and making the society a gender

neutral”. Substantiate. (200 Words) ................................................................................................. 13

Q-“Agro-forestry has the potential to achieve sustainability in agriculture while optimizing its

productivity and mitigating climate change impact”. Critically comment. (200 Words) ................. 14

Q-What is Salvage therapy? Why it was in news recently? (200 words) ......................................... 15

Q-Analyze the features of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome

(Prevention and Control) Bill, 2014. (200 words) ............................................................................ 15

Q-“The launch of NACP-IV shows the inefficiency of government to taper AIDS from the society”.

In the light of the statement comment on the status and success of NACP. (200 words) .............. 16

“The Sonar technology expertise is a step ahead in indigenization by DRDO”. Comment on the

significance of its export to Myanmar. (200 words) ........................................................................ 16

Q-“Reform in EIA is critical for the balance between growth and development, environment and

biodiversity”. In the light of the statement analyze the Supreme Court idea of having a national

regulator for environmental impact assessment. (200 words) ........................................................ 17

Q-“Indian society is a blend of scientific and non-scientific discourse”. In the light of the statement

assess the development of scientific temper as enshrined in our constitution. .............................. 17

Q-Write a short note on MUFA,PUFA and Omega-3. What is the significance and issues related

with them. (200 words) .................................................................................................................... 18

Q-What are STAP cells? Why it was in news recently? (200 words) ............................................... 19



Q-“Mangrove Forests has been one of the potent indicators of climate change and its affects”.

Considering its importance, mention its functions and various threats in their survival? ............... 19

Q-What is Geographical Information System? Mention its various applications. ............................ 20

Q-“The critical issue in India, where the penta-valent vaccine is being rolled out, is raising the

coverage levels of immunization”. Comment on the basis of recent controversies and issues

involved. ............................................................................................................................................ 21

Q-Comment on the steps taken by government to deal with Leprosy. Do you think government

has failed to deal with leprosy? If Yes, Why ..................................................................................... 21

Q-What are Micro-grids? Enumerate its advantages and disadvantages. ....................................... 22

Q-What are QR Codes? Mention its applications ............................................................................. 23

Q-Discuss the contribution of Prof.Shatish Dhawan towards scientific developments in India ?... 23

Q-What is ‘Brain-flight’ Project? Explain its significance. ................................................................. 24

Q-Explain the significance of ‘Indian Neutrino Observatory’. What are the potential‗Geological,

Radiological and Biological’impact of INO? ..................................................................................... 24

Q-’ Malnutrition is a blot on country’s face in 21st century’. What are the challenges that exert

resistance in dealing with Malnutrition? What can be done to abridge the problem? ................... 26

Q-Explain the significance of Biobots? .............................................................................................. 26

Q-What is MOCLIC? How it can be effective in combating climate change? ................................... 26

Q-What is Ballistic Missile Defence? Comment on India’s BMD ...................................................... 27

system. .............................................................................................................................................. 27

Q-What is Polar Vertex? Explain its implications. ............................................................................. 27

Q-What is Rosetta Mission? Explain its importance ......................................................................... 28

Q-What do you understand by Ocean Acidification? Why it is one of the major causes of concern

among environmentalists? ............................................................................................................... 29

Q-“Nano-science is one of the significant areas of interest among researchers and has potential to

groom science as a whole”. What are the ways through which Indian government is promoting

Nano-Science? How important it is for India’s scientific progress? ................................................. 30

Q-Explain the significance of National Mission for Sustainable the Himalayan Ecosystem? What

are the possible causes of changes in Himalayan Eco-system? ........................................................ 30

Q-Do you think India’s effort to combat climate change through various programs and policies

well placed? Evaluate the performance of India’s climate change policies ..................................... 31

Q-Discuss the contributions of C.V. Raman in scientific development of India. .............................. 32

Q-Write a note on Ethanol Blending Program of India. What are the advantages and disadvantages

of EBP? .............................................................................................................................................. 33

Q-What are the possible environmental and health impact of biomedical wastes? Mention the

steps taken by government to deal with the problem of accumulating biomedical waste. ............ 34

Q-‘The recent outbreak of ‘Ebola Virus’ has wider implications for national security of a country’.

One of the questions that need to be addressed is the preparedness of a country for such

epidemic. Do you think India is prepared for such outbreaks? ........................................................ 35



Q-Comment on the India’s performance in achieving ‘Millennium Development Goals’. (For detail,

please refer Economic survey, it has covered well) .......................................................................... 36

Q-“Antibiotic resistance is a serious threat to public health”. Explain. What are the steps taken by

global institutions and governments to curb this menace. .............................................................. 37

Q-What are the threats to Migratory Birds in India? What steps you would take if assigned with

the task of tackling this problem?..................................................................................................... 38

Q-What is the significance of ‘Rare Earth’ minerals? Explain its advantages and disadvantages. ... 38

What is ‘Digital Radiotherapy Simulator’ being developed by BARC? Explain its significance. ........ 39

Q-What are Aerogels? Mention their applications. .......................................................................... 39

Q-‘Regenerative Medicines’ provide better prospects for biomedical research’. Explain ............... 40

Q-What is ‘Precision Farming’? Explain its significance for Indian agriculture. ................................ 41

Q-What is ‘generation-IV nuclear reactor? Mention its advantages and disadvantages. ................ 41

Q-Write a note on contribution of C.N.R Rao towards scientific development in India. He is better

regarded as a pioneer of ‘nano-science’ in India. Comment ............................................................ 42

Q-What is the recent controversy regarding National Board of Wildlife(NBWL)? What are the

implications of such issue? ............................................................................................................... 42

Q-Discuss the possible health and environmental impacts of nanotechnology. ............................. 43

Q- What is Cloud Computing? How government and other institutions can be benefited? List out

the challenges in utilizing its full potential. ...................................................................................... 43

Q-What are the challenges being faced in tackling ‘Sickle Cell Anaemia’? Mention the steps taken

by government to deal with it. ......................................................................................................... 44

Q-“Accumulation of e-waste is one of the gravest problem as well as one of the most neglected”.

Comment .......................................................................................................................................... 45

Q-What are your views on recent ban on animal tested cosmetics? Suggest alternatives for this.

How government will ensure its non-violation? ............................................................................... 46

Q-Write a short note on 3G, 4G and 5G Technology? (200 Words) ................................................. 46

Q-Write short notes on the following (150 Words) .......................................................................... 47

Designer babies: ................................................................................................................................ 47

Q-What is ‘BARC I-125 Ocu-Prosta seed’ technology? Mention its significance. ............................. 48

Q-What is the importance of Ku and C-bands in space technology? ............................................... 48

Q-“Robotics is future of the world and has potential to transform the science beyond human

capability”. Comment ....................................................................................................................... 49

Q-What is Bio-fortification? Mention its advantages ....................................................................... 50

Q- What is ‘LukoSkin’? Mention its significance. ............................................................................. 50

Q-What are the recent findings in ‘Cosmic Inflation Theory’? Explain its significance. ................... 51

Q-“Ice streams are one of the significant causes of rising sea levels”. Discuss the factors and

implications of ice streams on rising sea levels. ............................................................................... 52

Q-What are ‘Flash Floods’? Mention the causes and consequences of flash floods. ....................... 52



Q-Write short notes on .................................................................................................................... 53

Nano Mission .................................................................................................................................... 53

Aditya Mission ................................................................................................................................... 53

Kaveri Engine ..................................................................................................................................... 53

Quantum Cryptography .................................................................................................................... 53

Digital signature ................................................................................................................................ 54

Long Term Evolution (LTE) ................................................................................................................ 54

Q-―Climate change negotiations can be seen as drifting towards bipolarity and there are

infinite reasons for its failure than success in near future‖. Comment .................................. 54

Q-―Energy security has become synonymous with national security‖. Critically Analyze.

.......................................................................................................................................................... 55

Q- Write short notes on .................................................................................................................... 55

Super Ball Bot Project ....................................................................................................................... 55

Net Neutrality ................................................................................................................................... 55

BioBOT............................................................................................................................................... 56

Cyber-espionage ............................................................................................................................... 56

Dhruv-3 ............................................................................................................................................. 56

Q-What are the reasons of ever increasing Man and Wild conflict? Mention the steps you would

take as an administrator assigned to tackle the issue? .................................................................... 56

Q- “A comprehensive and partial climate change negotiation at international level can provide a

golden opportunity for not only Indian business and industries to flourish but also to decentralized

approach towards climate change mitigation efforts”. Comment ................................................... 57

Q-Write shorts on ............................................................................................................................. 58

MeghRaj Initiative ............................................................................................................................. 58

RoboEarth ......................................................................................................................................... 58

ASACUSA Experiment ........................................................................................................................ 58

Heliborne Geophysical Survey System .............................................................................................. 59

Cyber stalking .................................................................................................................................... 59

Q-“India is facing a serious and growing drug abuse problem, including the abuse of

pharmaceutical preparations containing narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances”.

Examine. Also mention the steps taken by Indian government to tackle the issue. (200 Words) ... 59

Q-“Despite having immense hydrocarbon reserves India’s growth has been stunted leading to

country being marginalized in geopolitics of hydrocarbons”. Critically analyze. (200 Words) 60

Q-Write short notes on (150 Words) ................................................................................................ 61

Nantenna .......................................................................................................................................... 61

E-textile ............................................................................................................................................. 61

Semantic web .................................................................................................................................... 61



Q-What is the difference between New Exploration and Licensing Policy andOpen Acreage

Licensing Policy? Explain how the new policy would be benefited to hydrocarbon sector? (200

Words)............................................................................................................................................... 62

Q-“India has underperformed in health related issues as per recent reports of WHO and other

related organizations”. In the light of this statement explain what ailing India’s health sector and

mention the steps taken by the government in this regard? (200 Words) ...................................... 63

Write short notes (150 Words) ......................................................................................................... 63

Cryonics ............................................................................................................................................. 63

Holography ........................................................................................................................................ 64

Quantum dots ................................................................................................................................... 64

Ferro Liquid Display........................................................................................................................... 64

Q-“There is a growing concern over Atmospheric Brown Cloud and its impact on South Asia”.

What are the causes and consequences of Atmospheric Brown Cloud? ......................................... 65

Q-What do you understand by ‘Nuclear Umbrella’? How relevant it is in contemporary world

geopolitics? Substantiate. ................................................................................................................. 66

Q-Write short notes on ..................................................................................................................... 66

OLED display...................................................................................................................................... 66

Spintronics ........................................................................................................................................ 66

Wireless Energy Transfer .................................................................................................................. 67

Q-What do you understand by “Nuclear Doctrine of India”? Do you think India needs to revisit its

nuclear doctrine? Give reasons to substantiate your views. (200 Words) ....................................... 67

Q- What is the difference between Malware, Adware and Spyware? (200 Words) ........................ 67

Q- Write short notes on:(150 Words) ............................................................................................... 68

Augmented Reality ............................................................................................................................ 68

Exascale Computing .......................................................................................................................... 68

Virtual Reality .................................................................................................................................... 69

Bio-printing ....................................................................................................................................... 69

Q- “Inland Waterways will create more issues than solving some problems for India”. Comment 69

Q-What is the significance of ‘String Theory’? Mention the contribution of Dr Ashok Sen towards

scientific development of India......................................................................................................... 70

Q-Write short notes on(150 Words) ................................................................................................. 70

Artificial Photosynthesis ................................................................................................................... 70

Energy harvesting ............................................................................................................................. 71

Ambient Intelligence ......................................................................................................................... 71

Artificial Brain .................................................................................................................................... 72



Q-“Community Radio has been advocated as a powerful instrument of social

change”. Substantiate with the challenges CR is facing to get vital coverage.

Community Radio (CR) is a manifestation of the "by people, for people" mantra. It is a

platform for local participation and debate. It is an effective medium to highlight and solve

local problems. Today, CRs are owned by educational institutions, NGOs, Krishi Vigyan

Kendras, etc. CRs like Sangham Radio, Namma Dhwani, Ujjas Radio operating in local and

rural areas are important sources of information for farmers, youth looking for employment,

health, nutrition, sanitation, etc. Women issues are also highlighted on these platform.

Further, unlike internet, CRs are easily accessible even to slum population.

CRs are facing considerable challenges. 148 out of 1200 applications have been cleared.

Communications is in Union List which delays granting of licence to CRs. Further,

regulation of CRs is highly fragmented with several departments like home, defence,

information and broadcasting, etc. involved. CRs are not allowed to broadcast current

affairs. This reduces their coverage. Applications from Kashmir, Jharkhand, Chattisgarh, etc.

have been rejected due to security concerns.

There is need to simplify regulation of CRs and promote awareness about them to realize its

full potential

Q- Critically comment on the strategic significance of Agni-5. (200 words)

Agni 5 is a intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), developed by Defence Research &

Development Organization (DRDO). It has the capacity to carry 1000 kg of arsenal upto 5000

KM covering whole Asia and other important land masses. Till now two successful launch

trails has been done, second one with full 5000 KM coverage. All three stages are solid

fueled. It should be field operational by 2016 after undergoing 5 successful trials.

With this success , India joins illustrated group of countries powered with ICBM. Agni-5

holds great strategic significance both in terms of technology and defence. Successful launch

of high range ICBM is testimony of increasing prowess in defence technology in India,

which is now focusing on indiginization it.

On the defense front, Agni-5 successful launch will consolidate the powerful position in the

region. As China was already having ICBM which made India vulnerable. Now reverse is

also true which will act as mutual deterrence. Western world was more apprehensive of

nuclear capabilities of Agni-5. But given, non -proliferation track record of India, Agni -5

should not cause any ripple in foreign waters. India is well within it's right to empower

military and defence capabilities to avert any external attack.



Q-“The only way forward for country’s rapid indigenization of defence

products, with both the public & private sectors playing roles in the

endeavour”. Comment in the light of recent controversies in the defence

sector and Steps taken in this regard. (200 words)

The changing economic scenario,burgeoning population pressure,increasing pressure on

other developmental areas has severely constrained the government's ability to serve the

state's requirements and gave the room for private sector participation,called as PPP model.

This model has been successful in education agriculture and health sectors.

The objective of self reliance in defence has led to the creation of several public

establishments to produce state of the art weapon systems for the army. However India's

defence technology base continues to remain low and made depend on imports.

There is a lot of space for the private and public sectors to coexist for defence indigenisation.

Especially the controversies like VVIP chopper deal,multibillion dollar Rafael aircraft made

PPP model as inevitable.

Efficient, hassle free and transparent PPP policy to fulfill defence requirements may yield

outstanding results. By achieving synergy between DRDO, defence PSU's, ordnance

factories,private sector and research based institutions, we can adopt the best R & D

practices.

Indian government took several steps like establishment of defence procurement board,

encouraging defence technology and manufacturing capabilities through innovation

policy,amending defence procurement procedure. In addition government is thinking to

increase FDI in defence sector from 26 to 74%.

India is a growing economic powerhouse and should no longer be satisfied with a buyer-

seller,patron-client relationship in its defence procurement. As India is expected to spend

100 $ billion over the 12th and 13th five year plans on military modernization,alongside

developing R & D infrastructure,India should insist on joint ventures in development,testing

and marketing of defence equipments in all major acquisitions. To achieve this, an

efficient,transparent public-private policy dovetailed with an effective FDI framework is the

need of the hour.

Q-“Nanotechnology has prowess to revolutionize and solve the pervasive

problems of agriculture sector.” Comment. (200 Words)

Nanotechnology has been known as a new industrial revolution came into prominence in

early 1980‘s. Nanotechnology has the potential to revolutionize the agricultural and food

industry with its new tools for some of the challenges like agricultural production and risks

of plant-related diseases.

Precision farming is a new area to increase agriculture productivity. It refers to maximizing

crop yields and minimizing the usage of pesticides, fertilizers through efficient monitoring

procedures. Precision farming helps determine plant development, soil conditions, usage of

water and fertilizers and controls environmental pollution. Utilization of Smart sensors



(nano-patterned paper sensors to detect bovine pregnancy), and monitoring devices linked

to GPS systems will increase agricultural productivity by providing farmers with accurate

information related to plant growth and soil suitability.

With the awareness of extreme environmental hazards creating by pesticides like DDT, the

use of integrated pest management systems combined with smarter and targeted use of

chemicals with granular monitoring of plant health is gaining focus. Various eco friendly

nano delivery systems like Zeon can perform dual role of preventing and early warning in

this regard. Molecular treatment of diseases, rapid disease detection, enhancing the ability of

plants to absorb nutrients is some other uses of the nano-structured catalysts.

UNFAO also highlighted the benefits of using nanotechnology to secure food products in

view of the growing population in the entire world. Eg: Durethan KU2-2601 packaging film

used to increase shelf life of food.

Nanotechnology will play a vital role in the development of the agricultural sector and it is

capable of solving pervasive problems of it. However we should take care of potential risks

of fertilizers and plant protection products containing nanoparticles that harm the earth‘s

biosystems.

Q-In what ways can IT and BT be integrated to reduce poverty in India?

The IT sector has developed quite well in India in the past 20 years. The field of

biotechnology, which is relatively recent in origin, is growing quickly too both in the private

but more under the aegis of the government. However, both have grown aloof and there

seems to be a strong need to integrate the two.

In India poverty arises from a number of problem such as unemployment, poor healthcare,

inadequate availability of clean drinking water, poor primary education, hunger and

malnutrition.

BT has entirely penetrated into sectors such as health and disease, food and agriculture,

environment and industry. Therefore, it can be used to develop new vaccines, drugs,

diagnostics or monoclonal antibodies, biomass and agriculture related products and so on.

India has a well-developed IT industry sub-sector called BPM/KPO based on the internet.

Our country is identified with software services. Therefore, the two can be integrated to

provide facilities such as telemedicine, simple diagnostic tools, automation especially in the

rural areas, new drug discovery, bioinformatics useful in drug design.

Biotechnology and IT can be integrated in the agriculture sector to produce new stress-

resistant and high yield plant varieties and explain their utility, application and economic

advantages to farmers, thus help solving India‘s food security problems. Eg. The recently

developed BT cotton. Scientists with the help of IT through teleconferencing explain groups

of farmers across India regarding its benefits to health and removing the ambiguities and

controversies surrounding it in a better way.

IT and BT can be integrated to streamline manufacturing of biotech products. Therefore,

there seems to be a huge scope for reduction in poverty if both these sectors are integrated in

the areas of health, agriculture and industrial products.



Q-What are the ecological and ethical issues associated with nano-

technology? Mention two ways,other than medicine,in which this

technology can be used for social welfare in India.

The ecological issues associated with nanotechnology essentially relate to the ultra small and

non traceable character of nano materials. Hence nano particles may enter food chain

through skin cells of certain organisms adversely affecting ecosystems, they may cause nano

pollution for example, silver nanoparticles used in socks to ward off foot odour were found

to have destroyed beneficial bacteria in water when socks were washed. Further, self

reproduction of nanorobots may lead to their population explosion referred to as gray goo

scenario.

The ethical issues are related to the god-like power that nanotechnology provides through

which even whole organisms can be created. There are concerns of security and privacy

through mass surveillance using nano equipments. Unequal access to technology between

developed and developing nations is also an ethical concern.

Beyond medicine, nanotechnology can be used to promote welfare in agriculture through

precision farming, better food processing and increased production through GM and high

yielding variety crops. Another major area of social welfare can be energy security through

use of nano solar cells and lighter vehicles, turbines, windmills that utilize lesser resources

leading to energy conservation.

Q-Discuss the key decisions taken at recently held “Warsaw Climate Talk”.

Do you think international climate change negotiations are biased?

Critically comment. (200 Words) 19th Conference of the Parties (COP19) to UNFCCC met at Warsaw Climate Change

Conference to set out their targets on curbing greenhouse gas emissions from 2020. After

series of negotiations between likeminded countries and developed countries, COP 19

agreed on some key issues.

Under the agreement, countries permitted till the first quarter of 2015 to announce their

plans (―intended nationally determined contributions‖) about how they‘ll curb greenhouse

gas emissions beyond 2020. Later the countries agreed to meet in December 2015 i.e. after

Kyoto Protocol expires, in Paris.

As per ―Warsaw international mechanism for loss and damage (IMLD)‖, victims of climate

change in developing country will receive aid and expertise from developed countries.

The agreement encourages the countries which do not have legally binding emission targets,

to use carbon credits under Clean Development Mechanism. The Green Climate Fund of

$100 billion is an important source of finance for developing countries.

The biggest decision took is to completion of a new mechanism REDD+ to save the world

from deforestation.

India worried about rolled back of countries like Japan, Canada from their earlier

commitments to reduce emissions, and asking to give special funding to transfer IPR

protected technologies to developing countries.

Although the western developed countries are responsible for climate change, they refuse to



take historical responsibility to combat it. They are showing corporate interests over the

environmental concerns. UN climate change secretariat was also acting in a partisan manner

and pushing developed countries' agenda. This seems like International climate change

negotiations are biased. But the final outcome of Warsaw Agreement showing some signs of

commitment from developed countries. The mechanism of providing aid and expertise is

also a good progress. The scale and intensity of natural disasters are set to increase in future

due to industrial pollutants, global community should take the responsibility of combating

climate change in order to save mother earth.

Q-“The Arctic deserves to be treated as a ‘global common’ and a common

heritage of mankind.” Discuss. (200 Words)

The Arctic region is known for the abundant biodiversity it contains within its territory. It

includes natural resources such as oil, gas, minerals, fresh water, fish and so on. Tundra

vegetation such as mosses, lichens etc. and animals such as arctic fox and wolf, many of

which are endangered are found in the region.

From the past half a century or what various countries have been involved in exploitation of

natural resources to support their growing populations and economic aspirations. But in

most of the cases, overexploitation of resources takes place which adversely affects the

ecosystem in the region concerned. For example, overfishing in the Grand Banks region of

the Atlantic ocean has severly lowered cod fish population. Also economically and militarily

powerful nations exercise their supremacy over the weaker ones leading to unequal

distribution of natural resources. Also the adverse affects on biodiversity also have a ripple

effect on the lives of citizens and economies of smaller nations especially the littoral ones.

The Association of Small Island States is one such example.

Therefore, at a time when very few regions on the earth are found to be available for

common use of mankind even the Arctic region should be classified as a ‗Global common‘

and all nations should be given equal rights over the natural resources of the region.

However, it should be strictly regulated by a body such as a UN by preferably forming a

regulatory authority such as the Indian Ocean Commission so that there is no over-

exploitation of the region.

Q-“The present global health crisis is not primarily one of disease, but of

Governance”. Comment. (300 words)

A revolution in global health in the past ten to fifteen years saw an unprecedented growth in

funding for global health, and changed in view of policymakers, activists, philanthropists

about global health as a prioritized issue.

The existing health framework consists of long-standing institutions, well-established

international legal regimes, public-private partnerships, national programs, innovative

financing mechanisms, and greater engagement by NGO‘s and MNC‘s. 2001 Doha

Declaration on TRIPS, drugs of US against anthrax, manufacture of very low cost generics

by India for low and middle income countries are few success for collaborative efforts.



In spite of this cooperation and framework, global health governance suffers from defects,

which include: failures to prevent health problems such as HIV/AIDS from becoming global

dangers; to produce effective responses to global health threats like counterfeit drugs, lack of

immunization vaccines and non-communicable diseases- tobacco consumption (legalization

of consuming Marijuana by Uruguay), diabetes and obesity; to implement important treaties

on global health; to develop stronger health systems to avoid migration of health workers in

developing countries and to stimulate sufficient progress on social determinants of health.

Global community should come together under the leadership of US to take following

steps:

• Design a comprehensive global health strategy

• Focus on priority areas of global health governance such as global tobacco control, the

Millennium Development Goals

• Taking health as priority for G20 nations

• Strengthen health cooperation within regional organizations

• Integrate health inputs into other areas like trade, climate change

By incorporating these mechanisms in global health governance, a fresh and pragmatic

approach can be designed, which save millions of lives and improve living standards of

lakhs of people of developing countries. We have seen this in case of issue a compulsory

licence to manufacture a generic version of Sorafenib cancer drug and eradication of polio in

India.

Q-“The lithium- ion batteries are having high potential but recent findings

have defamed its viability”. Highlight the controversy associated with it and

suggest measures to overcome the same. (200 words)

Lithium-ion batteries power everything from mobile devices-cell phones, sensors in medical

devices, laptops, automobiles, defence equipment and aircrafts.

Li-ion battery delivers high power per volume that starts a jet engine in quick time. It has

high power efficiency and less space usage over nickel-cadmium battery.

The Li-ion battery contains several cells. Each cell consists of a cathode, an anode and an

electrolyte as a separator between them. A typical cathode is made up of lithium cobalt

oxide. The electrolyte contains lithium salts, which is flammable.

When the batteries are overcharged, the electrolyte can catch fire due to thermal runaway.

Contaminants from manufacturing processes can form short circuit between electrodes. The

same incidents happen in Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft and Tesla Model S vehicles.

There are several solutions to overcome this problem.

• Using amorphous nano-silicon for anode

• incorporating automatic switch-off mechanism through the use of polythene to avoid

overheat

• using Non-flammable ionic liquid electrolytes like perfluoropolyether (PFPE) polymer

• using large number of small size batteries with spaces in between instead of one big



battery

• insulating each cell using ceramic materials and

• Using special steel for casing.

Today batteries are important sources of energy and offers very low carbon emission. They

are very critical to renewable energy. The manufacturing of Li-ion batteries involves new

approach of using nanomaterials. With the improvements in the critical safety precautions,

the Li-ion batteries can effectively serve the economies.

Q-“The role of Women Scientists and Teachers in ‘promotion and

application’ of Science and Technology has multifarious effects in dealing

with societal evil and making the society a gender neutral”. Substantiate.

(200 Words)

science and technology, being the major driver of development, provide a window of

opportunity for women to influence the development process through participation and

application of knowledge.

With science and technology at the heart of economic development, women's participation

brings lot of changes in health,energy, environment,human development sectors, where

many countries facing severe problems. It also provides opportunities to less privileged

groups and make them aware of several scientific and societal issues.

Women attain a high share of employment in agriculture sector and they are the main

sources of indigenous knowledge in villages. Women scientists compliment their traditional

knowledge with modern innovations that could help in improvement of village conditions.

Unwanted pregnancy and sexual transmitted diseases compromise the well being of

Women. The greater involvement of Women in health care technology helps in improving

their status and in achieving millennium development goals.

Research activities, knowledge based industrial sectors are dominated by men. The presence

of Women would bring additional skilled human resources and helps in gender neutrality.

Education is a key in empowerment of Women. Involvement of teachers brings

competitiveness with entrepreneurship abilities. Women SHG's are examples for this.

The Women scientists can also play active role in eradication of societal evils such as

poverty, illiteracy, female foeticide, child marriage etc by creating awareness about them,

thus become agents of change.

There is under-representation of Women in science and technology, even the existing

Women scientists facing obstacles that limit their work and advancement. So government

should help them by providing adequate social infrastructure and suitable policy

environment measures for the well being of the society.



Q-“Agro-forestry has the potential to achieve sustainability in agriculture

while optimizing its productivity and mitigating climate change impact”.

Critically comment. (200 Words)

Advantages

• Agroforestry ,by combining tree farming with agriculture ,is seen as a solution for

increasing the productivity of small scale landholdings to meet the challenges of food,

nutrition, energy, employment and environment security.

• Trees provide a range of products for home use such as food, timber, firewood, medicines,

and fodder as well as products for sale, boosting farm incomes, rural economies, and

national exports.

• Trees on farms and in forests can also provide a range of environmental services, such as

conserving biodiversity, creating wildlife habitat , reduced soil erosion and sedimentation in

rivers and lakes, and increased soil fertility.

• Agroforestry contributes to ecosystem functions in water recycling by increased rainfall

utilization compared to annual cropping systems.

• It has been shown that agroforestry systems have 3–4 times more biomass than traditional

treeless cropping systems

Constraints:

• Agro-forestry development is hampered by lack of policy incentives, inadequate

knowledge dissemination, legal constraints and poor coordination among its beneficiary

sector

• Regulations imposed by multiple agencies like departments of forest, land revenue and

other local bodies on felling and transit of trees, is another major discouraging factor in

growth of agroforestry.

Policy initiatives:

Earlier efforts to promote agroforestry have failed to take off. Policy initiatives of the past

include National Forest Policy, National Agriculture Policy of 2000, Planning Commission

Task Force on Greening India, 2001, National Bamboo Mission, 2002, National Policy on

Farmers, 2007, and Green India Mission, 2010.

Need to adopt an integrated approach for the number of schemes operating under various

ministries dealing with agroforestry.

India has become the first nation in the world to adopt an agroforestry policy. The National

Agroforestry Policy, which deals with the practice of integrating trees, crops and livestock

on the same plot of land, was launched February 10, The new policy talks of coordination,

convergence and synergy between various elements of agroforestry, scattered across various

existing missions, programme and schemes under different ministries—agriculture, rural

development and environment. The policy would be implemented through an integrated

agroforestry mission or board.

Climate mitigation potential

Cultivated lands have the potential to contribute significantly to climate change mitigation

by improved cropping practices and greater numbers of trees on farms. Trees grow in all but

the most extreme conditions (e.g., deserts and arctic). Their physiology enables them to

tolerate intra-annual climatic fluctuations of greater magnitude and duration than annual

species, thus allowing them to mitigate risks to which annual crops are most vulnerable



a win-win situation through removing carbon from the atmosphere and providing new

sources of income for farmers worldwide.

Q-What is Salvage therapy? Why it was in news recently? (200 words)

Salvage therapy or rescue therapy is a treatment given to an ailment after it does not

respond to the standard treatment. The most common diseases that require salvage therapy

include HIV and various tumours. But the drugs administered during salvage therapy have

more side effects compared to the ones given during normal therapy.

Government of India, under the NACP-IV has launched salvage therapy for treatment of

HIV- Aids. In this case it is also known as third line therapy and is prescribed for people

who have limited drug options left and the first two drug regimens have failed to have any

effect on the infection.

Although this treatment is expensive, it is being given free of cost by the government. This

treatment therapy would enhance the longevity and improve the quality of life of patients.

Q-Analyze the features of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Acquired

Immune Deficiency Syndrome (Prevention and Control) Bill, 2014. (200

words)

ndia is estimated to have 2.39 million people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV), the third

highest after South Africa and Nigeria. The epidemic is more prevalent in high-risk groups

such as female sex workers, men-who-have-sex-with-men and injecting drug users.

This bill aims to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and protect the human rights of people

living with it. it also aims to reduce the discrimination of persons suffering from the disease

and make sure that even they can enjoy the same rights and facilities that common people

do.

The bill also focuses on women and children by making it obligatory for establishments to

provide for safe working environment, safeguard the rights of people infected with

HIV/AIDS, particularly women and children, and establish formal mechanisms for

redressing grievances and inquiring into complaints.

It seeks to end discrimination of people on the basis of sexual orientation and makes access

to services such as treatment of sexually transmitted infections, HIV testing, condoms, clean

needles and syringes to prevent transmission of HIV to the general population equal to all.

It also focuses on issues arising between HIV infected person and his family members that in

case of both the parents and the guardian being infected with HIV/AIDS and are

incapacitated, the eldest child will act as a guardian to all other siblings with regard to their

admission in educational institutions, care and protection, treatment, managing property

and operating bank accounts.

It also encompasses within itself an element of secrecy and anonymity for the infected

person so that he can keep his status confidential. It also empowers such person by declining

for a test without his consent.



Q-“The launch of NACP-IV shows the inefficiency of government to taper

AIDS from the society”. In the light of the statement comment on the status

and success of NACP. (200 words) NACP was first launched way back in 1986-87 soon after the first case of AIDS was detected

in India. It was implemented over a period of 7 years from 1992-1999. The second and third

phases lasted from 1999-2006 and 2006-2012. Even the fourth phase of the same program has

been started in 2012 and will last till 2017.

Inspite of all these efforts India still has the third largest number of AIDS patients in the

world, after South Africa and Nigeria.

The national response still faces institutional constraints, both structural and managerial, to

continue to scale up at the national and state levels. State level performance varies

significantly an important factor is high turnover of state level project directors, resulting in

limited continuity and variability in performance across states. The capacity to mount a

strong program is weakest in some of the poorest and most populated states with significant

vulnerability to the epidemic.

Prostitution is another menace which leads to the spread disease. This illegal business is

thriving under the nose of the administration, in active connivance with it and has grown

considerably over the years at an alarming rate. More and more number of girls from poorer

backgrounds are sold to brothels in cities and get easily infected with this deadly disease. It

can be clearly said that the government has failed to act in curbing prostitution and similar

trades such as human and child trafficking and molestation.

Also taking into consideration the general fall of morality and ethics in the Indian society

and an increasing number of youngster resorting to unprotected sex, sex with multiple

partners and so on, it can be said that the efforts to create awareness among the young

regarding this deadly disease have been inadequate.

“The Sonar technology expertise is a step ahead in indigenization by

DRDO”. Comment on the significance of its export to Myanmar. (200

words) The condition of Indian military with respect to modernization, personnel management,

financial management and scams has invited severe criticism from all quarters of the society.

In order to curb the increasing amount of imports and develop its indigenous weapon-

manufacturing capabilities, India has resorted to designing and development of indigenous

sonar and radar system. Rajendra is a radar system developed by DRDO.

Similarly, Air-independent Propulsion (AIP) system is India‘s indigenous developed sonar

system. Once integrated with the submarines, they need not come to the surface to recharge

their batteries, a process when they become most vulnerable to attacks.

India has sought to sell its Scorpene submarines with AIP system to Myanmar. This is

mainly to increase India‘s defence weapon exports which have been lagging behind in

recent times. Also China is increasing its undue influence on Myanmar by involving itself in

its local issues such as environmental pollution and so on. Therefore, India which aims to

become a regional power seeks to contain China‘s increasing influence in the region, which

is more capitalist and exploitative rather than supportive.

Moreover, Myanmar occupies a nodal position in its Look East Policy and both countries

cooperate with each other closely in the Mekong Ganga Cooperation (MGC).



Therefore, this initiative of India to sell its weaponry would help build closer ties with the

newly formed democratic government of Myanmar.

Q-“Reform in EIA is critical for the balance between growth and

development, environment and biodiversity”. In the light of the statement

analyze the Supreme Court idea of having a national regulator for

environmental impact assessment. (200 words)

(EIA) is crucial to balance development with environmental protection, important for

sustainable development. However, the EIA process in India is riddled with problems in all

its stages causing delays and stalling of projects.

The EIA studies are often funded by project proponents and so there is hardly any rigorous

environmental review carried on. Several members of expert appraisal committees (EAC)

have links to the industry creating conflicts of interest. There are long delays in giving of

final approval by the MoEF. Further, there is almost no post-clearance monitoring as

pollution control boards face lot of corruption and are understaffed.

A new environment regulator needs to be functionally and financially autonomous and

accountable to address these issues. It should not lead to a duplication of roles of MoEF or

EAC. It should promote more rigorous and scientific environment review. In this context,

role of Gram Sabhas also needs to be clarified.

A new regulator can improve the EIA process by hiring more experts and independent

members on the EACs. Its role vis-a-vis MoEF needs clarification. Without this, the new

regulator will be another ineffective attachment of the MoEF.

Q-“Indian society is a blend of scientific and non-scientific discourse”. In the

light of the statement assess the development of scientific temper as

enshrined in our constitution. (400 words)

India, as one of the oldest civilisations of the world, has contributed significantly to the field

of science, and her people have imbibed scientific values since ancient times. Still, non-

scientific discourse has also been a part of Indian society, as seen from numerous

superstitions, belief in Godmen, black magic and so on. Though with progress of time and

enshrining of development of scientific temper as every Indian's fundamental duty in our

Constitution, the proportion of non-scientific discourse ought to have reduced yet this is

clearly not the case.

In today's Indian society, mainly three classes of people are seen- firstly, those who are

completely disconnected from rationality; secondly those who believe that superstition or

deep religion can harmoniously co-exist with scientific/rational thought and thirdly, the

media and corporate houses who vacillate between the two to serve their own interests. The



last category demonstrate how information and disinformation are two sides of the same

coin and push their products with a medical body or doctor's endorsements even if it maybe

lies or impracticable (e.g. become fair in seven days, be dandruff-free in a month etc.)

In such a situation, it becomes imperative that every citizen who is also a consumer of

products and services, develops scientific temper and questions the validity of claims and

then endorses them if found right scientifically.

Moreover, even Indian movies, which are a reflection of Indian society, tend to show science

in its destructive form (e.g. villains using chemical formulations to kill, search for nuclear

bombs etc.) As a result, movie-watchers are unable to dissociate from this stereotype of

science, to overcome 'bad science' with 'good science' and instead, subvert science itself.

While development of technology is a great thing, without scientific temper, its use becomes

non-beneficial or limited to the people. For example, almost 70% people have cellphones in

India, yet it is not used widely for a host of beneficial services like education, health etc.

which needs a scientific temper and drive both on part of government and people

themselves.

Hence, while our constitution-makers gave us both the 'right to practise our religion' (Article

25) and the duty to develop scientific temper (Part IVA), it seems as though largely religion

cum superstition pervade people's lives while rationality and its preachers (like Dabholkar)

are still put down and silenced. Such a situation must reverse, if India has to be socio-

economically developed.

Q-Write a short note on MUFA,PUFA and Omega-3. What is the significance

and issues related with them. (200 words)

MUFA, PUFA and Omega-3 are essentially the types of healthy fats which a human body

requires in suitable quantity for its healthy growth.

Monounsaturated Fatty Acids (MUFA) is considered a form of healthy fat generally found in

vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, olives etc. MUFA are liquid at room temperature.

Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids (PUFA) are also other variance of health fats found in vegetable

oils, fish and sea foods etc. Omega-3 on the other hand is type of PUFA and considered an

essential to have fat. It can‘t be metabolized by the body and necessarily obtained from the

food.

The significance of healthy fats is in their ability to keep the body healthy by their multiple

useful functions. They provide anti-oxidants such as Vitamin-E. Also, the fatty acids help the

body absorbing vital nutrients from the food. MUFA in appropriate quantities can also help

prevent and treat diabetes, heart problems, cancer, obesity etc. Omega-3 is helpful in proper

brain growth and prevention of many diseases.

The primary issues related to the healthy fatty acids are their availability and their intake in

sufficient quantities in the body. The over intake has also been found unhealthy by reacting

with proteins and sugar to produce toxic substances.



The healthy fats though are required for healthy growth, their overuse might not be

desirable for the same purpose.

Q-What are STAP cells? Why it was in news recently? (200 words)

The Stimulus Triggered Acquisition of Pluripotency (STAP) Cells are newly discovered type

of stem cells which reportedly offer a simple method for making flexible, embryonic like

stem cells which are capable of developing into every type of cell in the body.

The STAP cells additionally claims that the tissues grown using STAP cells will be

genetically matched to the patients thus, prevent the risk of rejection by the immune system

of the body.

The stem cells have remarkable potential to develop into many different cell types in the

body and in a way serve as internal repair system. Stem cells can regularly divide to repair

or replace damaged tissues. Considering their regenerative abilities, they are used in treating

diseases such as diabetes and heart problems.

The discovery of STAP cells though are considered a remarkable piece of research, they have

been in news because of some suspicion on the rate of its success and is considered to be

published without sufficient laboratory verifications and approvals from the competent

authorities.

Research on stem cells are on the most fascinating aspects of modern biology which may be

extremely beneficial to the mankind. The STAP cells research is an effort to connect the dots

in the relevant research. However, more cautions needs to be taken in order to come up with

universally accepted and verified results.

Q-“Mangrove Forests has been one of the potent indicators of climate

change and its affects”. Considering its importance, mention its functions

and various threats in their survival? Answer) stored carbon in the plants is known as ―Blue Carbons‖. Species of mangroves--the Byne species, "protector of shore-line" Functions of Mangroves

1. Act as carbon sink 2. Play an invaluable role as nature's shield against cyclones, ecological disasters and as

protector of shorelines.



3. Rich in biodiversity 4. Water purification 5. Helps in stabilizing ecological balance in coastal areas 6. Checks coastal erosion. 7. act as a catalyst in reclaiming land from sea 8. Have direct economic repercussions through loss of fishing industry. 9. In many coastal areas including Gulf of Kutch, mangroves are a substitute for fodder.

Thus mangroves reduce pressures from the scarce pasturelands. 10. Good source of timber, fuel and fodder. 11. Potential source for recreation and tourism

Threats

1. Rising acidification of sea water= increase in salinity 2. Deforestation 3. Pollution 4. Shrimp farming 5. Rising brick kiln industries 6. Heavy silt deposition by fresh water rivers

Q-What is Geographical Information System? Mention its various

applications. A geographic information system (GIS) is a computer system designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present all types of spatial or geographical data. Application

1. Mapping of area for planning of the city 2. Mapping of natural resources of the region 3. Web-GIS Tool for estimating rooftop solar power potential for Indian solar cities. 4. mapping of trees that have economical and environmental importance == data would

be of immense benefit to industries such as paper, furniture, toys, dolls, plywood and pencil manufacturers that are dependent on trees. === could also be used to increase the forest cover in the country.

5. Can be developed a web-based geographic information system (GIS) covering booths in the election time to provide information to voters

6. Geographical Information System (GIS)-aided map of the pipelines in the city‘s distribution system = The GIS map will aid the measurement of overall production and distribution through the transmission mains and also help in co-relating it with the revenue collection to ascertain the actual non-revenue water in the city.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographic_data



Q-“The critical issue in India, where the penta-valent vaccine is being rolled

out, is raising the coverage levels of immunization”. Comment on the basis

of recent controversies and issues involved.

Immunisation is a basic human right that insures the vitality of our children. Yet, it has been

mired with controversies and faces challenges on multiple counts.

CONTROVERSIES

(a) Infant death: infant deaths after the administration of pentavalent vaccine has divided

doctors opinion creating an anti vaccine wave among masses.

(b) Human trails: Unconsented human trails like that in the case of Human papiloma virus

raises doubts about the ethicality and veracity of data.

(c) Rumour market: especially among minorities that vaccine are a ploy to make their child

sterile is a great hindrance in vaccination.

CHALLENGES

(a) Coverage divide: With national average of vaccination standing at 60%, the north-south

divide is astonishing, with north having dismal coverage figures of 30% compared to south

of 80%.

(b) Regular vaccination: It requires to bring people to the vaccination table rather than door

to door vaccination of polio. Motivating people on long term basis is always a big challenge.

(c) Porous borders: with huge illegal migrants the threat of spread of even eradicated wild

polio virus is too real to neglect.

(d) Vaccine stability: most of the vaccine still need proper handling and are temperature

senstive. With poor electricity supply and remote locations their efficacy often deteriorates.

(e) Migrant population: its extremly difficult to continue and complete vaccination among

migrants.

It therefore requires innovation to develop a single vaccine to address multiple diseases,

which has a wide ranging stability in diverse climatic conditions of India. Simultaneously

IEC activities should be carried out to check rumours and myths about vaccines.

Q-Comment on the steps taken by government to deal with Leprosy. Do you

think government has failed to deal with leprosy? If Yes, Why Leprosy is a bacterial disease that effects the nervous system. It is a major cause of disability among people. Indian government has a dedicated programme called, ―National Leprosy Eradication Programme‖ since 1955. It follows a two pronged strategy that includes:

(a) Early detection through increased awareness among massrs.

(b) Treatment of patient using a multi drug therapy.



A multiple stakeholder approach including government, NGO, voluntary organisation and

Lepra is adopted to fight this disease. Government also declared certain states as endemic

for special inyervention.

Despite a dedicated programme running for the last 60 years India still holds the distinction

of contributing 58% leprosy cases in the world. This alone proves the futility of efforts.

Government failure can be assessed on multiple areas like:

(a) Still there is low level of awareness among masses.

(b) Early detection rate, as a result of low awareness is poor.

The major reasons for the failure of government are:

(a) There is no vaccine for the leprosy.

(b) Removal of leprosy from the list of major public health problem since 2005 has shifted

focus from it.

(c) Rumours about the disease and the social stigma acts as deterrent to early detection and

treatment.

(d) Symptomatic treatment using MDT has not achieved a foolproof level.

IEC activities should form the core of leprosy eradication programme together with

development of vaccine through global collaboration if this blot is to be removed.

Q-What are Micro-grids? Enumerate its advantages and disadvantages.

Micro Grids are decentralised grids with minimum power source mostly from renewable

sources like solar, wind, biogas etc.

These grids are separate from the main grid. Serve only a village or a cluster of them.

Advantages

1) Centralised distribution to far flung areas has high transaction and distribution losses.

2) Would incentivise to use locally available renewable or other energy sources.

3) Suitable for areas with restricted access like hilly, forested areas. Where connecting to

main grid may be expensive.

4) Grid independence. Companies and industries can tap renewable energy and achieve

energy security independently.

disadvantages are

1) Need technological expertise. Cannot be set up by villages independently.

2) Expensive. Need financial support.

3) Storage of excess electricity is an issue.



However, micro grids hold immense potential. Need private and government research and

support to tap the huge opportunities available to transform India‘s rural land urban

landscape.

Q-What are QR Codes? Mention its applications

QR (Quick Response) Code is a two dimensional optical label which contains information

about the item to which it is attached. It consists of black modules arranged in a square grid

on a white background which can be read by an imaging device such as a camera.

The applications of QR Code are:

In advertising: This is the most well known use of QR code. Usually, a smartphone is used

as a QR scanning device, displaying the code and converting it to some other form such as a

URL for a website.

Code payments: QR codes can be used to store bank account information or credit card

information or they can be designed to work with particular payment provider applications.

Security: QR codes may be used, in future, in public use vehicles like taxis and auto

rickshaws, so that scanning the code and sending it to a friend or other person will give

them the details about the vehicle, and keep them informed of the travelling person‘s

location and safety.

Website login: They may be used for logging in to websites.

Funerary use: Some tombstones in Japan contain QR codes.

However, QR codes have certain limitations. There needs to be good lighting and clarity for

the code to be properly scanned. It does have a lot of potential applications.

Q-Discuss the contribution of Prof.Shatish Dhawan towards scientific

developments in India ?

He was an Indian aerospace engineer, widely regarded as the father of experimental fluid dynamics research in India. He was an Indian rocket scientist

He is considered by the Indian scientific community to be the father of experimental fluid dynamics research in India and one of the most eminent researchers in the field of turbulence and boundary layers,leading the successful and ingenious development of the Indian space programme.

He succeeded Vikram Sarabhai, the founder of the Indian space programme, as Chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in 1972.

Dhawan carried out pioneering experiments in rural education, remote sensing and satellite communications. His efforts led to operational systems like INSAT, a telecommunications satellite; IRS, the Indian Remote Sensing satellite; and the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle(PSLV), that placed India in the league of space faring nations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aerospace_engineer

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluid_dynamics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluid_dynamics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikram_Sarabhai

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Space_Research_Organisation

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remote_sensing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remote_sensing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_National_Satellite_System

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Remote_Sensing_satellite

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_Satellite_Launch_Vehicle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_Satellite_Launch_Vehicle



He was the director of IISc or many years and IISc saw many progress under him.He set up

the first Supersonic wind tunnel in India at IISc. He transformed the institute into modern,

democratic departmental system. Apart for this, he also studied and contributed a lot

towards the boundary layer flows and the birds of Pulicat Lake and wrote the monograph

"Bird Flight"

Q-What is ‘Brain-flight’ Project? Explain its significance. Answer) It is a European Union-funded project called ―Brainflight‖, scientists of the Technische Universitat Munchen (TUM) and the Technische Universitat Berlin (TUB) demonstrated the feasibility of flying with amazing precision using brain control alone (and no hands) Pilots of the future may be able to control their aircraft by merely thinking commands. With brain control, flying, in itself, could become easier. This would reduce the workload of pilots and thereby increase safety. In addition, pilots would have more freedom of movement to manage other manual tasks in the cockpit. Brain waves of the pilots are measured using electroencephalography (EEG) electrodes connected to a cap. An algorithm developed by scientists from the TUB allows a program to decipher electrical potentials and convert them into appropriate commands. The brain-computer interface only recognises the very clearly defined electrical brain impulses required for control. This is pure signal processing.

Q-Explain the significance of ‘Indian Neutrino Observatory’. What are the

potential‗Geological, Radiological and Biological’impact of INO? Answer) One of the country‘s biggest research projects in basic sciences is the India-based Neutrino Observatory or INO. Proposed to be set up in a cavern under a 1,300 metre tall peak in the Bodi West Hills in Theni district of Tamil Nadu. What are neutrinos?

According to scientists neutrinos are elementary particles, like electrons, but not part of

atoms. They are available in abundance in the universe. The human body also emits

neutrinos. These particles were created in large numbers during the Big Bang that led to the

creation of the universe. They also continue to get created when the cosmic rays interact

with the atmosphere. Scores of neutrinos pass through the human body without causing any



harm because they hardly interact with matter. Sun is the major source of neutrinos on

earth. Every second more than 6 million solar neutrinos pass through every square

centimeter area of our body.

Their non-interacting nature makes them difficult to detect especially on the earth‘s surface,

which is overwhelmed with cosmic ray events. Therefore, it had been decided to establish

the observatory under a peak to shield it from cosmic ray particles.

Significance of INO—primary goal of laboratory is study of naturally occurring neutrinos in

atmosphere . but many environmentalist are questioning its geological radiological and

biological effect on environment.

Geological impact—as we know a hair line crack in walls of laboratory can topple the

detector so no such incident take place we have to ban geological exploration or activity in

nearly one km cirle of project that is any well, irrigation tunnel or mining activity can‘t be

done. These nutriono will also effect dams in idukki region and cause mass destructuion due

to induced seismicity in this area.

Radiological impact- official studies in USA and Europe tells us that cosmic rays and

neutrino have huge impact on health of living being.

Biological impact- due to radiation contamination gene defect may occur and it can trigger

huge biological damage in terms of loss of farm product and tourism industry.

Though much of Geological, Biological and Radiological Impacts of Neutrinos are unknown

and need to be studied in deep. Neutrinos were produced during big bang and they keep

producing during interaction of cosmic rays with earth's atmosphere.

These particles are so small that they hardly interact with matter and they just pass through

human body without having any biological effect. But, deep research still needs to be done

to find their exact impact.



Q-’ Malnutrition is a blot on country’s face in 21st century’. What are the

challenges that exert resistance in dealing with Malnutrition? What can be

done to abridge the problem?

India is the fourth largest economy of the world and yet has one of the highest prevalence of

malnutrition deaths faring no better than African nations. Child malnutrition is still high.

The main challenges in dealing with malnutrition are:

1. Inadequate recognition of human and economic costs of malnutrition.

2. Nutrition security as a human right in policy discourse in missing.

3. Existing programmes have poor monitoring and feedback mechanisms to make tangible

improvements.

4. Care of pregnant mothers and infants. Anaemia is a severe problem among women and

girl child.

5. Myths prevalent in tribal societies coupled with lack of access to healthcare to the tribal

people.

Following can be done to fight malnutrition:

1. Raise awareness about the health and economic implications of malnutrition at the

household level. When this can be done for family planning ("Hum Do Hamare Do"

campaign), it can very well be achieved for malnutrition.

2. Ensure good health of mothers and children through quality access to primary healthcare.

Women's groups and Anganwadis can be incentivised for this end.

3. Political will and participation of local government bodies necessary to address nutrition

security.

4. Strengthen monitoring of existing programmes like Integrated Child Development

Services, the National Rural Health Mission, Total Sanitation Campaign.

5. Leverage IT and GIS for effective management of healthcare services.

Q-Explain the significance of Biobots?

Biobots is a research project taken by University of Illinios, they have combined the muscle

cell with robotic technology to create a robot with biological muscle. Initially they used the

heart muscle which moves continuously and then muscle cells mixed with gel made with

the help of 3 D printer along with electric impulses to move the robotic prototype. It will be

very helpful in environment monitoring and protecting. It will also help the medical science

in treating the patients affected by toxins and injuries, the robot can move in the desired

direction and heal the required area.

Q-What is MOCLIC? How it can be effective in combating climate change?

It is a new software that gives anyone the opportunity to know weather activity for the day

and months ahead.



Researchers from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM),USA have

designed the software Monitoring Climate Change (Moclic) through which it is possible to

organize, store and operate geo-referenced data from climate elements.

It can be a very effective tool in combating climate change as:

1. It can calculate bio and agroclimatic indicators, such as humidity, aridity, rain erosion and

rainfall concentration.

2. It allows agronomist to obtain rainfall records and relate them to the crops production

figures for explanation of a possible event.

3. It can help in taking measures prior to a possible flood.

4. MoCliC with local data is of great importance because global models don't include land

relief nor closeness to sea data.

5. It is possible to identify desiccation processes in a region, which comes useful when

considering the use of improved seeds that can resist droughts, or the optimization of

rainwater catching techniques, storage or types of irrigation.

Hence, MoCliC has a great significance in adapting to climate change.

Q-What is Ballistic Missile Defence? Comment on India’s BMD

system.

Ballistic missile defense is the system to protect from attack from Ballistic missile. Ballistic

missiles are missiles which powered only during initial projection but are later mostly

governed by laws of mechanics.

In India the programme was initially conceived in 1999 following nuclear threat from

Pakistan .India also faces threat from China and non state actors are also in the fray.

BMD has two components :

High Altitude interception - Prithvi Air Defence( Nov. 2006) ,Prithvi Defense vehicle( April

2014)

Low Altitude interception - Advanced air defence

The BMD in India is being developed by DRDO. In the present Phase 1 missiles of range

upto 2000 km can be destroyed. it is planning to increase its capacity to 5000 km by 2016.It

can protect major cities like New Delhi and Mumbai and thus augment nuclear detterence

by securing fatal retaliation in case of use of nuclear weapons

There are concerns regarding inciting arms race,fear of agression after effective defense

system developement. Whether this system will be effective against high speed missiles and

those with multiple independently targetable re entry vehicles is also questionable.

Q-What is Polar Vertex? Explain its implications.



The polar vortex actually is a seasonal atmospheric phenomenon, a system of strong, high-

level winds -- called the jet stream -- surrounding an extremely cold pocket of Arctic air

Polar vortex refers to a system of cold icy air pockets over the poles surrounded by high

speed winds (polar jet streams) in the form of a cyclone. It stretches from stratosphere to

mesosphere.

There actually are two polar vortices on Earth -- one in the Southern Hemisphere over

Antarctica, and one in the Northern Hemisphere over the Arctic

Implications:

a) If its boundary is stable due to strong winds then it remains limited to the poles and has

beneficial effect as it prevents cold icy air to reach further south(in Northern Hemisphere).

b) If its boundary becomes unstable due to weak winds, then distortion of vortex leads to

extension of the freezing winds right upto south, like occurred in USA in January this year.

c) Such distortion of polar vortex has adverse affects such as frostbites, stalling of traffic,

disruption of power lines, freezing of roads and waterways etc.

d) Also, climate change may make distortion of polar vortex more common, as Arctic Sea ice

melts, sea becomes warm and radiates heat to polar atmosphere in winter. The heat lowers

speed of winds and distorts the vortex.

Therefore, polar vortex is a phenomenon which is actually advantageous but becomes a

menace when it gets distorted.

Q-What is Rosetta Mission? Explain its importance

Answer)

Rosetta Mission is a unique mission in which spaceprobe Rosetta will approach close to an

asteroid called 67P/C-G and attempt to land a small rover with 10 instruments on it to study

various features of asteroid surface (landscape, isotopes, composition of soil etc.).

Rosetta is already in space between Mars and Jupiter and was in hibernation mode. It was

awakened in January this year for the mission.

Importance:

a) To lend credence to argument that possibly amino acids or even organisms which

triggered life on earth, could have come from asteroids. The lander by analysing the soil,

rocks etc. and beaming information to Rosetta, which in turn can be analysed by scientists

on earth will provide insight into such possible origin of life.

b) Future probes will be based on learnings from Rosetta mission.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/drilling-oil-arctic.htm

http://science.howstuffworks.com/nature/climate-weather/atmospheric/question165.htm



Therefore, immense potential learnings are expected from Rosetta Mission's successful

accomplishment

Q-What do you understand by Ocean Acidification? Why it is one of the

major causes of concern among environmentalists?

Ocean acidification is a global environmental issue caused by the man-made release of

carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Ocean acidification is often called the "evil twin" to

climate change, because both issues are rooted in carbon dioxide emissions.

The world's leading marine scientists are warning us that our current rates of carbon

emissions are making our oceans more acidic. This is happening so fast that it poses a

serious threat to biodiversity and marine life.

Major causes of concern,

a) The huge amounts of atmospheric CO2 being absorbed by the world‘s oceans is making

them more acidic than they have ever been.

b) Ocean acidification can lead to disappearance of Coral reefs which provide habitat for

most of the marine species and these will face extinction if reefs disappear. Also people who

depend on coral reefs for their daily food and income will suffer.

c) Coral reef tourism for example, The Great Barrier Reef which provides huge tourist

revenue and employment will be at stake.

d) Moreover, within decades, Ocean Acidification will also start to have major impacts on

temperate and polar water ecosystems. In fact, colder water absorbs higher levels of CO2

than warmer water. Our polar seas are already so acidic that they are starting to dissolve

some shells.

e) decline in commercial fishing and effect on Indigenous People as in Artic Ocean

Left unchecked, Ocean Acidification could destroy all our coral reefs by as early as 2050. It

also has the potential to disrupt other ocean ecosystems, fisheries, habitats, and even entire

oceanic food chains. So there is an urgent need to limit the carbon dioxide emissions



Q-“Nano-science is one of the significant areas of interest among

researchers and has potential to groom science as a whole”. What are the

ways through which Indian government is promoting Nano-Science? How

important it is for India’s scientific progress? The Government is pursuing the Nano Technology and seeing it as the potential area to

solve many problems, hence it has included it in the 12th Plan under the National Mission

on Nano Science and Technology and have allocated funds along with keeping the option

for PPP open. The Mission had the following agenda

1) Basic Research Promotion: Supporting scientist and scientist community to pursue study

and research in this area

2) Infrastructure development: Nano Technology and its research areas requires lots of

expensive equipments like Optical Tweezer, Nano Indentor, Atomic Force Microscope etc.

3) Nano Applications and Technology Development Programs: To catalyse the research

programs to develop products and devices

4) Human resource Development: Effective training of individuals interested in the area,

planned to lauch M.Sc., M.Tech programs

5) International Collaboration: exchange and joint research programs

The Nano Technology have special significance for the India's Scientific Progress, as Nano

Technology have application in many fields like Agriculture for pest control and irrigation,

solar panels innovation, medicine to do targeted treatment, it can also help reduce the

pollution level.

India’s Nano mission

Q-Explain the significance of National Mission for Sustainable the

Himalayan Ecosystem? What are the possible causes of changes in

Himalayan Eco-system? National Mission for Sustainable Himalayan Ecosystem was launched under the National

Action Plan for Climate Change during the 12th FYP.

Its primary objective is to develop a sustainable national capacity in a time-bound manner to



continuously assess the health status of the Himalayan ecosystem and enable policy

formulation to assist Himalayan states to implement sustainable development programmes.

The Himalayan region on the Indian side has recently been target of various natural

calamities such as the Uttarakhand Cloudburst and J&K floods. The significance of this

programme lies in the fact that it would attempt to address various burning issues of the

day with regards to the Himalayan ecosystem. These include,

1. Prediction and management of natural hazards

2. Studying the himalayan glaciers and associated hydrological consequences.

3. It would assist in the rehabilitation and resettlement of Uttarakhand which was

devastated by floods last year.

4. It would also focus on biodiversity conservation and protection of wildlife and traditional

knowledge of societies and their livelihoods.

The anthropogenic causes of changes in Himalayan ecosystem include:

1. Unplanned urbanization especially near the watershed of rivers such as Ganga.

2. Unrestricted building of dams across the environmentally fragile topography of the

region.

3. CO2 emissions by thermal power plants.

Natural causes include global warming and greenhouse effect which has led to extreme

weather events such as cloudbursts, very heavy rains, flash floods and so on.

Q-Do you think India’s effort to combat climate change through various

programs and policies well placed? Evaluate the performance of India’s

climate change policies Humanity was never posed with such a wide scale existential threat as due to its own

activities that triggered a climate change. Termed as holocene extinction, climate change has

gained global attention and India is not oblivious to these concerns. As a result we adopted

NAPCC that involves a motley set of 8 dedicated mission to adapt and enhace our resilience

towards cilmate change.

These missions address various vulnerable areas with an oversight climate council headed

by PM to monitor their working. These missions are well placed and reflects India's

concerns towards climate change despite economic imperatives and infancy of knowledge

and technology in climate change. We are making rapid stride to open new solar power



plants without compromising environmemtal concern eg scrapping of sambhar lake solar

plant. Energy and water use efficiency has increased with suitable rating certifications in

place. RAY, IAY and NBRO are working to evolve suitable low energy buildings. Indira

paryavaran bhavan is a step in right direction. Food production have increased

simultaneously with forest covers. Our understanding about fragile ecosystem has also

increased substantially. Thus on a whole we are treading towards right direction.

To enhace and synergise the built up momentum we need to pay attention over

multidisciplinary nature of climate change. It thus requires an overarching body to

collaborate and enhace coordinarion on continuous basis. A national think tank TERI can

play a pivotal role in evolving a climate change strategy.

Climate change needs a pragmatic and proactive approach. Hence, we should prepare

ourself before hand as being an agricultural economy our losses will be much higher than

developed emitters of temperate regions

Q-Discuss the contributions of C.V. Raman in scientific development of

India. Chandrashekra venkata raman (c v raman) rightly described as GRAND OLD MAN OF

SCIENCE IN INDIA, strode like the colossus if Indian science, during the pre independence

era. He was the first noble prize winner in physics from across the Asian Continent.

HIS MAJOR CONTRIBUTIONS

1- RAMAN EFFECT: raman after intensive study at his laboratory in bangalore concluded

that when a light beam travels through a medium the beam is deflected by the molecules.

But more important he observed that a small part of the emerging light beam after deflection

by the molecules had a different wavelength from the original beam. This change in

wavelength of the light is known as the raman effect.

2 THE COLOUR OF THE SEA: before raman Introduced his theory, it was believed that the

sea gets blue colour from the sky or due to suspended matter in the water. But raman denied

this theory and figured out that the blue colour obtained from the molecular diffraction.

Later, sir c.v.raman became the fellow of the royal society of the London in 1924. A year

later, he set up raman research Instituted near bangalore, where he continued the scientific

research until his death. His science advice to aspire scientists was that scientific research

needs INDEPENDENT THINKING AND HARD WORK NOT EQUIPMENT.



Extra

1930 Nobel Prize for Physics. He discovered that, when light traverses a transparent

material, some of the deflected light changes in wavelength. This phenomenon is now

called Raman scattering and is the result of the Raman effect.

He hadbeen knighted only the year before and worked extensively on acoustics and light.

He was also deeply interested in the physiology of the human eye.

A traditionally-dressed man,institute that is today named after him: the Raman Research

Institute, Bangalore.

In 1954, he was honoured with the highest civilian award in India, the Bharat Ratna.

National Science Day on 28 February of every year to commemorate the discovery of the

Raman effect in 1928

Q-Write a note on Ethanol Blending Program of India. What are the

advantages and disadvantages of EBP?

India's Ethanol Blending Program began with the announcement of National Policy on

Biofuels in 2008. According to it, the govt would undertake a phased implementation of

blending of 5% ethanol with petrol. The deadline for nation-wide implementation of the

plan was December 2012 which was later postponed to June 2013. The ethanol would be

produced from sugarcane.

The govt is currently thinking of increasing this 5% limit to 10%.

Following are the advantages of blending ethanol with petrol:

1. It would help India save a huge amount of foreign exchange due to reduction in crude oil

imports which would be offset by the usage of ethanol. It would thus help in reducing

India's CAD.

2. Implementation of this program is simpler as there needs no modification of the engine

upto a limit of 10% ethanol.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Prize_for_Physics

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wavelength

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raman_scattering

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raman_effect

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bharat_Ratna

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Science_Day



3. Reduces CO emissions by 30%

4. It is cheaper as compared to petrol as it is easier to manufacture.

5. Ethanol production would lead to larger and remunerative production of sugarcane in

India which would lead to rural prosperity.

6. Ethanol blended petrol cleans the car engine over time by dissolving harmful deposits and

dirt from pipes and chambers.

7. Reduction in pollution would lead to a reduction in respiratory diseases, which would in

turn reduce mortalities related to them. This would improve the overall health profile of the

population.

Disadvantages include:

1. As ethanol is derived from plants such as sugarcane, corn etc a rise in its demand would

lead to a rise in the demand for seeds, fertilisers, insecticides etc required for growing these

crops which in turn would endanger the food security.

2. A life-cycle analysis of the crop shows that the amount of CO2 emitted in activities such as

ploughing, sowing, applying fertilizers is greater than the amount absorbed by the plants for

respiration. Therefore, on a whole the plants prove to be net CO2 emitters

Q-What are the possible environmental and health impact of biomedical

wastes? Mention the steps taken by government to deal with the problem of

accumulating biomedical waste. Biomedical Wastes are the used and discarded medical wastes like syringes, bandage,

Human organs and tissues, unused blood etc. It can pose serious problem for both health

and environment if not handled properly

Health Impact

1) Rag Pickers and Municipal workers are at the risk of diseases like Hepatitis B and D and

injuries

2) if not properly segregated from normal garbage it can cause injury and spread disease

among hospital staffs

3) There is a possibility of illicit use if the waste in not segregated and disposed, posing a

potential threat to public

Environmental Risk

1) The medical waste contain higher percentage of PVC, which when incinerated releases



dioxin which has high carcinogen effect

2) It produces high level of particulates and acidic gases

3) It can causes toxicity in the nearby water sources and spread of diseases

4) it affects the birds and animals in the area who consume it

Steps taken by Government

1) Bio Medical waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998 guides on its disposal and

State pollution control board have been given the responsibility to ensure implementation

2) the rule also provisions for educating the people handling it

3) Defines the punishment in case of non-compliance

4) It Bio Medical Waste Management plan categories, colour codes, labels, segregate and

defines the disposal method for each category

Q-‘The recent outbreak of ‘Ebola Virus’ has wider implications for national

security of a country’. One of the questions that need to be addressed is the

preparedness of a country for such epidemic. Do you think India is

prepared for such outbreaks? "Ebola Virus" which has broken out as a epidemic in the past and present has severely

affected several Sub Sahara nations (Ghana, Sierra Leone etc.,). The reason which people

attribute to this is the rural nature of their economies and the tropical climate prevalent at

these locations.

Ebola virus is highly contagious and is transmitted by bodily fluids of one individual to

another. This is the main reason why specialists are even reluctant to even treat persons

suffering with Ebola with high mortality of 70 to 90%.

Given the location of Indian subcontinent and its climatology, India has a high probability of

such epidemics breaking out. Mitigation and prevention of epidemics in India is currently

very grim. At rural levels (grass root levels) PHC‘s have inadequately trained staff, with

poor or no medicine supplies. There has been no fully fledged R&D about epidemics,

including the ICMR. There is no concise data base available of all the epidemics in India so

far. Further there is no specific agency in India with regard to mitigation of Biological,

radiological and Nuclear disasters.

Though recent outbreaks have been dealt with advertisements, symptoms of the disease,

banning visits to such places by citizens all these seem to be a short term solution only.



It is high time that governments realizes a long term solution to this and take up policies &

create institutions, work closely with NGO‘s in educating people to prevent and mitigate

epidemics.

Q-Comment on the India’s performance in achieving ‘Millennium

Development Goals’. (For detail, please refer Economic survey, it has

covered well)

Millennium declaration of 8 goals, 12 out of 18 targets and 35 indicators relating to these

targets constitute India's statistical tracking instrument for the MDGs.

Goal 1: India is worst in terms of eradicating extreme poor in South Asia. India accounts for

1/3rd of the world's extremely poor.

Goal 2: Even though the chance of a girl from scheduled tribe area completing 12th is less

than 1%, India has almost touched the universal school enrollment.

Goal 3: Gender equality and women empowerment still lagging behind by a huge margin as

can be seen from the share of women employment in private sector and Parliament.

Goal 4: India accounts for the highest number around 1.4 million children deaths. However,

Tamil Nadu and West Bengal performed significantly better in reducing child mortality

rates.

Goal 5: India accounts for a quarter of the world maternal deaths, which is mainly due to a

low percentage of births attended by skilled personnel, under-nutrition, poor birth

sanitation, poor education.

Goal 6: Prevalence of HIV/AIDS among pregnant women aged 15-24 years and spread of

Malaria and TB are in the declining trend.

Goal 7: In terms of environmental sustainability, forest areas are reducing, open defecating

still prevalent. However, access to drinking water has been in the increasing trend.

Goal 8: Tele-density, Internet subscribers with cooperation of private sector, and making

availability of all the benefits of new technologies are in the positive track.



Q-“Antibiotic resistance is a serious threat to public health”. Explain. What

are the steps taken by global institutions and governments to curb this

menace.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an emerging global health hazard. It is caused by the

overuse and misuse of those antibiotics that once emerged as panacea for threatned

microbial diseases.

CAUSES OF AMR

(a) Non prescribed usage.

(b) Unregulated over the counter sale.

(c) Poor education and awareness among doctor that routinely prescribe antibiotics.

(d) Lack of regulation to monitor its usage.

As a result the pathogen develops into a superbug threatning the life of patient due to

otherwise curable diseases. It is also pushing humanity towards post antibiotic age where

even minute illness and scars will become deadly.

To check the advent of post antbiotic age, awareness campaign started some 20 years before

now. It includes:

GLOBAL EFFORTS

(a) Symposiums and conferences are organised to create awareness among doctors.

(b) IEC activities to generate awareness among public.

(c) Demand to setup an intergovernmental panel on antimicrobial resistance (IPAMR) as a

global deliberation platform.

(d) Efforts are being made to set up a surveillance body.

Oflate India too realised the threats posed by antibiotic resistance. It has taken following

measure to combat AMR:

(a) Chennai declaration to combat AMR. It demamded regulation of antibiotic sales and

prescription.

(b) Ban by government on over the counter sale of 24 antibiotic drugs.

(c) MCI is frequently issuing guide lines on use of antibiotics to doctors.

(d) MCI guideline regarding hygiene practices in hospital to prevent development of

superbugs like NDM.



(e) IEC activities to create awareness among masses to deter self prescription and

interrupted usage.

AMR is an emerging battle that demand not only monitoring and awareness, but also

require R&D efforts to continuously evolve new drugs. This efforts are vital for the future

health status of society.

Q-What are the threats to Migratory Birds in India? What steps you would

take if assigned with the task of tackling this problem?

Some of the threats to Migratory Birds in India are as follows:

1) Bad weather and predation

2) Hunting, trapping, habitat loss, collision with buildings, windows and other man made

structure

3) Wind farms and power lines can cause mortality

4) Rapid change in climate affecting their migration period

5) Pollution, habitat loss, use of chemicals like Diclofenac causing mortality and endangering

the birds

Steps need to be taken to tackle this problem

1) Provide bird friendly landscape on the migration route

2) Keep bird feeders and source of clean water on the way

3) Conserve and clean their natural habitat

4) Use windows which don't reflect in the locality

5) In nighttime migration season switch off the lights of the buildings in the night

Q-What is the significance of ‘Rare Earth’ minerals? Explain its advantages

and disadvantages. The rare metals are used in the Smart mobile Phones, Computer devices, Renewable energy

technology, Neodymium, Terbium, Dysprosium are used in the magnets of the wind

turbines and electric and hybrid cars contains 10 to 15 pounds more rare metals than

standard cars

Advantage

1) It has taken the technology to next level

2) It is helping the renewable energy generation and hybrid cars



Disadvantage

1) Mining for rare metal can lead to landslide, erosion, disasters, pollution emergencies and

major accidents

2) Exposure to radioactive material while mining causes health risk

3) can cause land acidification, reduced food crop output

What is ‘Digital Radiotherapy Simulator’ being developed by BARC? Explain

its significance. Radiotherapy is one of the established method of cancer treatment. Digital Radiotherapy

Simulator helps to ascertain the extent of cancerous tumour with respect to the surrounding

tissues for proper selection of size and orientation of radiotherapy beams. Therefore, this

device is useful to enhance the quality of radiotheraphy for the treatment of cancer patients

and also can be used to verify the treatment plan.

It consists of various sub units such as gantry, collimator, x-ray tube, imaging unit, patient

support system and remote control console.

Few exclusive features of this device include:

a. User friendliness: the operator can interact with the device using mouse and keyboard

located at the control console.

b. Advanced tools for image processing, annotations, contouring, displaying etc. to assist

accurate planning.

c. Dedicated collision avoidance system to reduce the risk of patient injury.

d. Digital technology for fast and filmless operation.

e. l the motions in the main unit and the treatment table are motorized. This ensures faster

patient positioning, and no unnecessary burden on the operator.

f. It is a computer-controlled system. All motions of the main unit and the patient couch are

monitored continuously. A database for the patient and simulation is maintained.

Q-What are Aerogels? Mention their applications. Aerogels are the lightest material available in the world. The graphite aerogels were the

lightest but China have developed carbon aerogel which is even lighter. It has got

complicated cross linked internal structure which makes it highly useful in many industries

some of them are as follows:



1) Desalination: Due to its unique pours structure along with high surface area, it is used in

the Capacitive desalination of water. Its surface acts as capacitors and attracts the sodium

and chlorine ions.

2) It is used in silicon manufacturing, homebuilding materials, space crafts, wetsuits, fire

fighters suit, skylights, windows, paints, rockets, nuclear weapons

It helps in reducing the carbon footprint as well.

Various applications of aerogels include:

a. Silica aerogels are used in building, construction and industrial insulations. This can help

reduce carbon footprint.

b. Used as catalyst or catalyst carrier

c. Chemical adsorber for cleaning up spills

d. Thickening agents in paints and cosmetics

e. NASA used an aerogel to trap space dust particles aboard the Stardust spacecraft.

f. Carbon aerogels are used in capacitive desalination

Q-‘Regenerative Medicines’ provide better prospects for biomedical

research’. Explain

Regenerative medicine is a branch of translational research in Tissue Engineering and

Molecular Biology which deals with the process of replacing, engineering or regenerating

human cells, tissues or organs to restore or establish normal function.

Reprogramming of adult cells, say skin cells, to become embryonic-like stem cells capable of

becoming any of the specialized cells like liver cells or heart cells has tremendous

therapeutic benefits.

It has recently been found that such reprogramming of adult cells can be achieved inside the

body.

The ability of a cell to divide and produce all of the differentiated cells in an organism is

termed as totipotency. Eg; spores, zygote etc. Aside from having the potential to become any

of the specialised cells, totipotent cells can also differentiate into extraembryonic cells of the

placenta.



Q-What is ‘Precision Farming’? Explain its significance for Indian

agriculture. Precision Farming also known as Satellite Farming or Site Specific Crop Management is a

farming management concept based on observing, measuring or responding to inter, intra

field variability of crops.

GPS/GNSS helped the scientists and farmers a lot in create map of variability like crop

yield, terrain features, organic matter content, moisture level etc.

Significance in Indian Farming

1) Enhance the quality of farm products

2) Information on enhancing marketing of farm products

3) boost competitiveness through more efficient practices

4) Helps in environmental protection by reducing carbon footprint

5) Helps in optimising returns while preserving resources through Decision Support System

(DSS)

Q-What is ‘generation-IV nuclear reactor? Mention its advantages and

disadvantages.

Generation-IV nuclear reactors are theoretical reactor designs currently under research.

They have been classified into two main heads: Thermal reactors and Fast Reactors.

A thermal reactor is a nuclear reactor that uses slow neutrons, by using neutron moderators,

whereas fast reactors directly use the fast neutrons emitted by fission without moderation.

The main advantages of the fourth generation rectors are expected to be:

Reduced radioactive life of nuclear wastes, from millenia to a few centuries

100-300 times more energy yield for the same amount of fuel

Ability to consume existing nuclear waste in the production of electricity.

Improved operational safety.

The major disadvantage, however, is expected to be the lack of expertise and knowledge

with respect to Generation IV reactors, leading to more safety risks in initial stages and

making planning for accidents very difficult due to lack of knowledge of possible avenues of

mishap.



Thus, it is important to undertake detailed research regarding the safety and risk concerns of

generation IV reactors before bringing them into commercial use

Q-Write a note on contribution of C.N.R Rao towards scientific development

in India. He is better regarded as a pioneer of ‘nano-science’ in India.

Comment

CN Rao is an eminent Scientist in India with more than 1400 research paper and 45 books

published. He is also holding the position of head of the scientific advisory council to the

Prime minister of India. He has won many national (including most prestigious "Bharat

Ratna") and international awards for his work.

His Contribution towards Scientific development

1) Some of the major areas of his research are transition metal oxide systems, (new synthesis

and novel structures, metal-insulator transitions, CMR materials, superconductivity,

multiferroics etc), hybrid materials and nanomaterials including nanotubes and graphene.

2) He set up the laboratory Solid State and Structural Chemistry and the materials research

laboratory at IISc

3) he has founded the Jawaharlal Nehru centre for Advanced Scientific research

He is also regarded as pioneer of nano-science in India for the below reasons

1) He wants to develop the nano science into practical purposes specially in the area of

health care

2) Some of his contribution in Nano materials include that on chemical synthesis and

various properties and phenomenon on grapheme, as well as carbon nano tubes, inorganic

nanotubes, nanowires and naocrystals

3) His efforts have made India among the top three countries researching on nano science

4) JNCASR along with IISc have pulled the largest group of scientists working on nano

technology

5) the institute is working on a host of critical areas such as Cancer, Malaria, Epilepsy, and

HIV.

Q-What is the recent controversy regarding National Board of

Wildlife(NBWL)? What are the implications of such issue?

The Wild Life Protection Act mandates to have 5 NGOs and 10 expert members in the

National Board of Wild Life. But, the Government recently pursued restructuring the board

with just two experts and 1 NGO left. It is also blamed that the one NGO is a quasi-

Government organisation and not an NGO.

Implications

1) The NBWL is a supposed to scrutinize development projects in national parks and



sanctuaries- including dams, mines, highways or power lines. With lack of civil bodies and

experts in the new body, these projects won't pass through the required level of scrutiny

2) It will create threat to the environment, especially with shrunk forest area and many wild

life threatened it won't be a good step

3) Man Wild animal conflict may see a rise in coming days

4) Even though it will move the projects faster but sustainability will be a challenge in the

coming days.

Q-Discuss the possible health and environmental impacts of

nanotechnology.

Nanotechnology relates to the manipulation of matter at an atomic or molecular level.

Several products such as sunscreens, anti-bacterial surfaces, automobile tyres and anti-

cancer drugs use nanoparticles.

However, there are concerns regarding the safety of nanoparticles and its impact on human

health and on the environment. The following are the implications of use of nanoparticles:

Health hazards:

Respiratory diseases: Studies suggest that inhalation of nanofibers, which are used in aircraft

wings, tennis racquets and various other products, could cause pulmonary diseases such as

fibrosis.

Genetical modification: Tests on rats have shown that consumption of nano-titanium

dioxide caused DNA and chromosome damage.

Toxic products: Despite being inert safe as bulk matter, nanoparticles of gild and silver have

been found to be seriously toxic.

Environmental hazards:

Nanopollution: Nanoparticles may have the potential to cause bioaccumulation in plants

and microorganisms.

Biodegradability: It is not clear how biodegradable nanoparticles are.

Thus, despite having a huge potential in various fields of scientific research and

development, the safety of nanoparticles raises huge concerns. It is therefore necessary to

conduct detailed studies regarding their safety before nanotechnology is put to use more

liberally.

Q- What is Cloud Computing? How government and other institutions can

be benefited? List out the challenges in utilizing its full potential.



Cloud computing refers to the use of virtual servers on the internet to store data, instead of

storing it on a personal computer or hardware. It is a service which can be accessed by

making payments, instead of buying and installing software or hardware.

Cloud computing can help in e-governance and improving efficiency of public services. The

major benefits of cloud computing are:

Cost-savings: Cloud computing is like paying for a service which is already available. As a

result, it does not involve capital costs of buying equipment ad installing them. It offers

services on a ―pay-per-use‖ basis

Improved technological upgradation: With technology developing at a rapid pace, it is only

a matter of time before the software or hardware used by government agencies become

outdated. In cloud computing services, the burden of keeping the technology up-to-date

rests on the service provider, thus making it easier for the agencies to have the latest

technology available to them.

Improved public participation: The cloud can help connect the citizens to the government

more easily, thereby giving them a direct platform for redressal of complaints and

grievances and a new avenue for sharing ideas and suggestions for better delivery of public

services.

However, the absorption of cloud computing services in India is very low, at around two

percent. The main challenges facing it in India are:

Privacy concerns: The security of the data stored on the cloud has been a major cause for

concern. The trust-worthiness of the service provider as been questioned several times.

Urban- rural divide: The lack of internet penetration in rural areas can cause implementation

problems in projects using the cloud services.

The Aadhar project is the first large scale initiative of the Government which is utilising the

services of the cloud. It should serve as an example for future projects which can utilise the

large potential of this service effectively.

Q-What are the challenges being faced in tackling ‘Sickle Cell Anaemia’?

Mention the steps taken by government to deal with it.

Sickle cell anemia is a genetic disorder where the red blood cell takes the form of sickle

instead of normal round shape, the sickling affects the flexibility of RBC and results in

variety of life threatening diseases.

The challenges faced in tackling 'SCA' are as follows:

1) Tough to identify the tribals who are suffering from SCA, as the field officer need to

connect with them to convince them to get screened

2) the second and major problem is there is no sure for the disorder

Under these circumstances early identification and prevention is the only left option along

with research to find possible cure in future



1) The Government is trying hard to get the tribals identified, once identified they are given

color cards to prevent marriages between people suffering into stop spread to next

generation

2) The Government is spending on research to find the possible cure, recently Prime

Minister have spoken to researchers in Japan to help India in finding a solution

3) Gujarat has taken a step forward by starting the Sickle Cell Anemia Control program,

other states can follow the precedence

Q-“Accumulation of e-waste is one of the gravest problem as well as one of

the most neglected”. Comment

With the growing dependence of people on electrical appliances and electronic gadgets, the

e-waste generation has been incessantly increasing.It is one of the gravest problems

considering the side-effects of the e-waste.

Side-Effects , Problem and cause of neglect:

1.The e-waste have considerable amount of mercury, palladium, arsenic,lead , gold , silver

and other rare elements extracted from earth with complex technologies. These wastes are

not handled well and end up turning into land-fills.This vitiates the ground water, releases

toxins, furans and PVC in environment due to incineration and enter the food chain through

edible plant items.

2.The e-wastes causes many deadly diseases like irritation, allergy, respiratory problem, skin

diseases, cancer , hypertensions sometimes leading to death.

3.Our country has not evolved a national policy on disposal of waste.

4.Awareness about the toxicity of e-wastes are poor among the people.

5.Most of the e-wastes handled by informal recyclers.

6.India is signatory to basel convention and has also enacted EPA, 1986 but still strong

monitoring of e-wastes is lacking.

7. 4Rs –Reycle, Reduce, Reuse and Recover has been observed in the Indian youth as they

very often discard their gadgets to embrace new advanced ones.

8.Indian NGOs accept readily the electronics from waste in form of donation but fail to

understand the pretext behind it i.e. disposal of wastes.

9.Lack of fund, technologies and standards of procedure to handle e-waste is another

stumbling block.



Q-What are your views on recent ban on animal tested cosmetics? Suggest

alternatives for this. How government will ensure its non-violation?

India has become the first south Asian country to ban test of cosmetics on animals. This is a

very heartening news for all Indians, particularly those who have long stood for the ethical

treatment of animals.

It will also uphold the constitution which in the fundamental rights calls for the duty of

every Indian to have compassion for every living creature.

Alternatives to Animal tests:

1.The thorough research on the problem is required on the first hand which will be

foundational step to design computation and simulation system to carry out tests in artificial

environment.

2.Genetic modification or Stem cells could another possible alternative in regenerative

medicine. Technological advancement has enabled us to extract and preserve genes or stem

cells from bone marrow to carry out tests.

To ensure adherence to ban on animal testing in cosmetics:

1.Government has to maintain a hawk-like vigilante to ensure that the rules are not violated.

The drug and cosmetic trials must abide rules framed by BIS.DGCO enuire the

methodologies used by corporate on cosmetic testing and in event of violation must punish

the violating company according to laws.

2.Empower , fund and provide necessary resources to the drug testing laboratories.

3.Citizens must be involved in reporting any suspicion over movement of animals in illegal

way and feel free to report the matter to the concerned government bodies.

Q-Write a short note on 3G, 4G and 5G Technology? (200 Words)

3G can be used for wireless voice telephony, mobile internet access, ficed wireless internet

access, video calls and mobile TV. 3G networks support services that provide an information

transfer rate of at least 200 kilobits/second.

A 4G system, in addition to 3G services, can provide mobile ultra-broadband internet access

to laptops with USB wireless modems, to smartphones and oter mobile devices. It can also

be used for IP telephony, gaming sevices, high definition mobile TV, video-conferencing, 3-

D television and cloud computing. It is used through two systems: Mobile WiMAX and

Long Term Evolution (LTE).



5G is the next major phase of telecom technology. It is expected to be hundred times faster

than 4G. It does not refer to any specific standard of technologylike LTE for 4G. It is

expected to reach areas where current networks cannot. It is expected to support thousand

fold gains in capacity.

Thus, every new generation of mobile telecommunications technology is adding to internet

penetration and speed to all mobile users all over the world.

Q-Write short notes on the following (150 Words)

Designer babies:

Designer babies refers to the use of genetic engineering to select desired qualities of a child.

This can be done by modifying the genes of human gametes, zygotes or embryos. Parents

can choose to screen embryos for sex or diseases, known as pre-implantation genetic

diagnosis. This can have potential benefits in eliminating genetic diseases in the embryo

leading to a healthy life for the child-to-be. However, the idea of designer babies raises a lot

of ethical questions. It could help parents choose the traits that they want in their children,

in future. This includes the sex of the child, which could add to the persistent sexual

discrimination continuing in most societies in the world. With parents choosing their

children's traits, they would have even higher expectations from the children leading to

added pressure on them. This might have major negative impacts.

Rover Mission

The Mars Exploration Rover Mission is NASA's robotic space mission consisting of two

rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. It began in 2003, with a motive of exploring Martian surface

and geology. Spirit is now a stationary research platform stuck in soft sand, while

Opportunity is continues its journey of Mars making it the vehicle to have driven the

farthest distance on a world other than Earth. The two rovers have helped scientists

understand Martian geology better.

Electrical Conducting Polymers

These are organic polymers that conduct electricity, and offer high electrical conductivity.

They have potential uses in organic solar cells, printing electronic circuits, organic LEDs,

actuators, supercapacitors , biosensors, antistatic coating for electronic packaging, use as

conductive paints. Its large scale uses are limited due to manufacturing costs, material

inconsistencies, toxicity, poor solubility in solvents. These polymers are still a subject of

much research and hold a lot of promise for future uses.



Metro Dot

Metro Dot is a product designed to help the visually impaired using public transportation. It

is bracelet type transportation card in Braille which relays information about the number of

stations left for the destination and intimates the user of the arrival at the destination by

transmission of vibrations.The interface uses electroactive polymer. The electronic signals

are sent to the surface raising the constant magnet to make a Braille pattern on the silicon

rubber surface.

Biosimilars

These are subsequent versions of innovative biopharmaceuticals made by a different

sponsor following patent expiry on the innovator product. Their active drug substance is

made by a living organism or derived from a living organism by means of recombinant

DNA or controlled gene expression methods. These are different from chemical generics in

the sense that they are usually not identical to the original product, though it is highly

similar.

Q-What is ‘BARC I-125 Ocu-Prosta seed’ technology? Mention its

significance.

BARC I-125 Ocu-Prosta seed technology is a method of treating certain types of eye cancers

using radiation treatment, developed by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre.

It is a significant development for nuclear science in the field of medicine. This technology

uses the radioactive isotope of Iodine, I-125, to irradiate the tissues needed. I-125 emits low

energy gamma rays which helps to spare the healthy tissue, thus reducing the side-effects of

the treatment.

With the help of Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI),

specialists identify the tumorous tissues in the eye and arrive at the ideal dose distribution

of I-125 seeds to be used for treatment.

Unlike conventional treatment which involves the removal of the eye consisting of the

tumour to save the patient, this technology helps to save the vision of the patient. I-125 seeds

are now being used to treat prostrate cancer as well. This is thus an important development

in the field of nuclear medicine in India.

Q-What is the importance of Ku and C-bands in space technology?

Satellite technology and its application is rapidly developing. With the increase use of

satellite frequency, different name, number and uses has been designated to various bands



so that it can be addressed and related easily. Out of which, C-bands and Ku-bands are few

of them.

Below are the importance of same:-

1) Ku-band :-

• Electromagnetic spectrum in the range of microwave radio frequency of 12 to 40GHZ used

for high speed data transmission on shuttle flights. Band is further split into multiple

segment as per geographical region determined by Inter Telecommunication Union.

• Primarily used for satellite communication.

• Particularly for editing & broadcasting services, eg, NASA tracking data relay satellite.

• Also used for radio astronomy services, space research services, audio services.

• Its high power translates & points out generalisation, thereby collecting and focussing on

actual wavelength.

2) C-band:-

• Electromagnetic spectrum in the range of microwave radio frequency of 4 to 8 GHZ used

for spacecraft communication.

• Performs better under adverse weather condition. Less susceptible to rain fade and snow

fade.

• The original Telestar was operating in this band.

• Also used for Wi-fi services, cordless telephone services, weather radar systems.For India,

both these bands are of immense importance as it intends to augment its satellites capacity

to meet the growing demands of communication services and fulfil the dream of Digital

India by delivering Information Technology and Communication services in every

household.

Q-“Robotics is future of the world and has potential to transform the

science beyond human capability”. Comment

Robotics deals with the design, construction, operation, and application of robots -

automated machines that can take the place of humans in dangerous environments or

manufacturing processes. Robotics has powerful applications as follows:

1. General-purpose autonomous robots typically can navigate independently, handle their

own re-charging needs, interface with sensors and perform other basic tasks.

2. Manufacturing - robotics can help increase the efficiency and effectiveness in

manufacturing process, e.g. placing chassis in car production, packaging in food industry or

printed circuit boards in electronics industry.

3. Military - programmed machines can not only increase the precision of military weapons

but also replace humans in dangerous environments such as in bomb detection.

4. Mining - robotics can help save lives by placing robots in deep underground hazardous

mines in place of humans.

5. Space research - robots are used in deep space probes, e.g Mars orbiter, as humans have

not ventured beyond moon.



6. Healthcare - robotic arm can perform high precision surgeries.

7. Edutainment - education and entertainment for the young minds.

However, there are concerns in its relationship to unemployment and ethics governing its

behaviour. While we should embrace this powerful technology, we must never let ourselves

to be governed by robots and lose the essence of humanity.

Q-What is Bio-fortification? Mention its advantages

Billions of people in developing countries suffer from a dangerous form of hunger known as

micronutrient malnutrition which may damage cognitive development, lower disease

resistance in children, and reduce the likelihood that mothers survive childbirth. The costs of

these deficiencies in terms of lives lost and poor quality of life are staggering.

Biofortification is a good way to win this situation. Biofortification is the process of

producing staple foods with denser bioavailable minerals and vitamins. These

biofortification crop varieties naturally reduce anemia, cognitive impairment, and other

nutritionally related health problems in hundreds of millions of people.

Advantages of biofortification crop varieties:

a) These crops have the potential to reduce Zinc, iron and Vitamin A deficiencies directly.

b) This approach have advantages over other health interventions such as providing foods

fortified after processing, or providing supplements.

c) Moreover, these crops are cost effective with one time investment.

d) Biofortification crops have good disease resistance and stress tolerance.

e) These crops can grow deeper roots in mineral deficient soils and are better at tapping

subsoil water and minerals.

f) This reduces the need for fertilizers and irrigation. Also plants with deeper root systems

are more drought resistant.

Hence, biofortification could be an effective strategy to help reduce micronutrient

malnutrition.

Q- What is ‘LukoSkin’? Mention its significance.

Vitiligo or Leucoderma is depigmention of skin. Patients with vitiligo develop white spots in

the skin with varying size and location. These spots occur when pigment cells are destroyed

or are no longer able to produce melanin. These patients undergo untold psychological

trauma due to the allied social stigma.

To overcome this disorder, DRDO has synthesized an ayurvedic formulation utilizing

medicinal plants of high altitude areas of the Himalayan region. This medicine comprises of

an ointment and an oral liquid, which is marketed in the name ‗LukoSkin‘ after

comprehensive clinical trial.

Significance of ―LukoSkin‖

Activates Melanin synthesis- Helps the pigment cells to synthesize melanin and there by



re-pigmentation of skin.

Exerts Photosensitization- Initiate Photosensitization on the spots of Vitiligo on exposure

to UV light or sunlight and starts pigmentation process.

Enhances blister healing- Reduces irritation & the formation of blisters, also checks hyper

pigmentation in the skin.

Reduces stress- Exerts relaxing effect on CNS, thus helps improve psychological and

emotional trauma in such patients.

LukoSkin popularization programmes will also help erase social stigma over this skin

disorder and make the people understand that Leucoderma is not a disease, it is neither

contagious nor hereditary.

Q-What are the recent findings in ‘Cosmic Inflation Theory’? Explain its

significance.

Cosmic inflation is the exponential expansion of space in the early universe. The inflationary

epoch lasted from 10−36 seconds after Big Bang to sometime between 10−33 and 10−32

seconds. Following the inflationary period, the universe still continues to expand, but at a

less accelerated rate. This theory was hypothesized by Alan Guth. This cosmic inflation

explains,

a) Origin of large scale structures of cosmos

b) Why the Universe appears to be the same in all directions,

c) Why the cosmic microwave background radiation is distributed evenly,

d) Why the universe is flat,

e) Why no magnetic monopoles have been observed.

Recently in March 2014, scientists from the Harvard-Smithsonian Centre for Astrophysics

published the first pieces of evidence to this popular untested theory.

These evidences highlight a deep connection between the theories of relativity and quantum

mechanics which has been a century-old quest in physics.

Gravitational waves are a feature of theories of relativity, and cosmic inflation is a feature of

quantum mechanics. Thus, the recent results show that the two previously exclusive theories

can be combined at a fundamental level. This throws open the door for physicists to explore

a unified theory of nature in new light.



Q-“Ice streams are one of the significant causes of rising sea levels”. Discuss

the factors and implications of ice streams on rising sea levels.

An ice stream is a long river of ice that drains ice from the interior of the ice sheet. It is a

region of an ice sheet that moves significantly faster than the surrounding ice.

Regions of Antarctica and Greenland have seen melting of ice caps and glaciers at a faster

rate over the past few years owing to global warming. Similarly, ice streams have also been

retreating for the past decade.

In particular, an ice stream from north-eastern Greenland, earlier considered to be a stable

region, is said to have retreated at an alarming rate of 20 kilometres in one decade. Earlier,

this ice stream was blocked by buildup of ice debris choking its mouth. But due to

exceptionally high temperatures over the past three years, this blockage has been released.

Greenland is said to contribute 0.5 millimetres of the total of 3.2 millimetres of sea level rise

each year. If the melting of ice continues at this rate, it will lead to a considerable rise in sea

levels.

It is now too late to stop the melting of ice at Greenland or Antarctica. It is therefore

necessary to continuously study the developments at these regions and make plans to adapt

to the changes occuring.

Q-What are ‘Flash Floods’? Mention the causes and consequences of flash

floods.

Flash floods are sudden flooding of a region. It is characterized by a rapid stream rise with

depths of water that can reach well above the banks.

The main causes of flash floods are:

1. Heavy rains or thunderstorms

2. Cloudburst

3. Snowmelt

4. Levee Failure

5. Dam break

6. Tropical storm

7. Human activities such as unplanned construction, but aggravated by the poor storm

drainage system in urban areas.

It's consequences are

1) Heavy inundation of low lying areas.

2) Loss of people and infrastructure.

3) Huge loss to farmers as it leads to crop failure.

4) disrupts and destroys communication systems.

5) Drowning of animals.

Flash floods can cause widespread damage to person and property. The maximum impact is

in areas close to the stream. Heavy rains falling on steep terrain can weaken soil and cause



mudslides damaging roads and and property. Following the flood, the amount of run-off

also increases, thus increasing the load of the river. The most recent examples of flash floods

are the 2013 Uttarakhand flood and the 2014 Jammu and Kashmir flood.

Human activities such as mining and dam construction tend to interfere with the fragile

ecosystem in several parts of the world. In the case of both the Uttarakhand floods and the

Jammu-Kashmir floods, it has been seen that the rush to build tourist resorts and other

facilities as well as several dams has made the Himalayan region highly vulnerable to large-

scale natural disasters. Therefore, development must be planned in accordance with the

needs of the ecosystem

The only way to prevent flash floods is by accurate and quick prediction followed by

evacuation and a coordinated rescue operations. In the long term, measures like

constructing embankments, preserving wetlands would help prevent flash floods.

Q-Write short notes on

Nano Mission

Nano Mission is the Government of India's Mission on Nano Science and Technology. The

nodal agency for the mission is the Department of Science and Technology. The focus of the

mission will be on research on fundamental aspects of nano science and training of

manpower, to develop India as a global knowledge-hub in the field. It will strive for

development of products and processes for safe drinking water, materials development,

sensors development, drug delivery etc.

Aditya Mission

The Aditya Mission is India's spacecraft to study the sun. It has been designed and will be

launched by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) between 2017 and 2020. Its

main objectives are to study the Coronal Mass Ejection and to study the crucial physical

parameters for space weather such as the coronal magnetic field structures, evolution of the

coronal magnetic field etc. It is a low-earth orbit mission with an altitude of 800 kilometres.

It will provide sharp images of the solar corona.

Kaveri Engine

The Kaveri is an aircraft engine designed in India, which was intended to be used in the

Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas. However, due to certain tecnical inadequacies, it was

delinked from the Tejas programme. The Kaveri is being tested with other aircrafts and

might be developed to be used in the Advanced Medium Combat Aircrafts. The Indian

Railways has also expressed interest in utilizing Kaveri to power locomotives. Kaveri can

also be used in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).

Quantum Cryptography

The foundation of quantum cryptography lies in the Heisenberg uncertainty principle,

which states that certain pairs of physical properties are related in such a way that



measuring one property prevents the observer from simultaneously knowing the value of

the other. It uses the property of polarization of photons to encrypt and decrypt

communications. The most well known application of quantum cryptography is quantum

key distribution which describes the process of using quantum communication to establish a

shared key between two parties without a third party (Eve) learning anything about that

key.

Digital signature Its core target is to ensure authentication. It relies on certain types of encryption to confirm

that an electronic document created by some person is not altered in any way since the day

of creation.

Long Term Evolution (LTE) A wireless broadband technology designed to handle roaming internet services. It‘s

currently available in limited geographical areas. Its architecture is based on Internet

Protocol.

Q-―Climate change negotiations can be seen as drifting towards bipolarity and there are

infinite reasons for its failure than success in near future‖. Comment

Ever since the beginning of international climate change negotiations, there are two major

blocks of countries with two biometrically opposite views on how to handle climate change.

While the developing and least developed countries (LDC) argue that the rich and

industrialised nations, which have been the major pollutants for the past several years,

should bear most of the burden, the developed countries look at future emissions and argue

that fast growing countries like China and India must play a more active role in battling

climate change.

Countries such as India, China, Egypt, Malaysia etc have come together to form a group of

Like Minded Developing Countries (LMDC) for climate change negotiations. This group

believes in Common but Differentiated Responsibilities (CBDR), that is, though climate

change is the common responsibilty of all countries the level of economic development must

also have a bearing upon it.

The other issue of concern is the finance required to combat climate change. Again, the

LMDC believe that as the developed countries are the main cause for the increased levels of

carbon dioxide in the atmosphere today, they must provide the funds required to mitigate

the effects of it.

These two major issues have become insurmountable barriers in the climate change

negotiations, resulting in bipolarity and doubts over its ability to succeed.



Q-―Energy security has become synonymous with national security‖. Critically Analyze.

Energy needs for every country whether it‘s a developed, developing or under developed

with varying degree of needs. Many wars have been fought and many regimes have been

upturned in the war for energy. It has become so important that is has become synonymous

with national security.

With boom in the shale gas in USA, we might see USA playing lesser role in the energy rich

areas and China and Russia taking more aggressive approach. To ensure the security of

these areas and the maritime routes, USA shouldn't withdraw it completely from these areas

immediately.

Similarly for India, energy is very vital and has become a security issue due to its

dependence on middle east for crude and gas, coal from the Maoist insurgency hit areas and

pipelines for gas passing through Afghanistan and Pakistan. India is also competing with

China over oil exploration overseas and it has created tensions between already boundary

dispute hit nations.

However, India can ensure easing down these security concerns by bilateral pacts,

importing shale gas from USA, developing its own fields, extracting potential Coal Bad

Methane and developing the Maoist hit areas.

Q- Write short notes on

Super Ball Bot Project

Net Neutrality

Currently when anyone uses net, irrespective of which site, which browser and which

service provider is being used, one gets the same speed. This is called as net neutrality,

but the internet governing bodies are planning to change this order and those who can

pay premium will get the normal speed while other will get slower speed, some might

even get such speeds that their sites and content won't even appear while browsing. It

will cause serious repercussions on the way we are using internet. Some companies and

service provider will have monopoly over the internet and they would be able to dictate

their terms while others will might even vanish. It will be a serious threat to freedom of

speech and freedom that internet enjoyed and knowledge that it disseminated over the

years.



BioBOT

are machines that combine synthetic 3D-printed frameworks with biological muscle

tissue. When the muscle fibers are jolted with electricity, they contract. Those muscles

are attached to 3D-printed "bones," which are flexible enough to bend under the strain,

and the result is forward motion. Scientists can control the speed of each bot by varying

the frequency of electric pulses.

Cyber-espionage

Cyber espionage is the new spying technique where one country or person can spy on

other country or individual through methods like hacking personal computers, through

internet and malicious software like Trojan Horse. They can monitor and download

vital information's like business activities, secret documents, military information and

are serious threats to national security. They can hack into some one's social networking

profile and e mail account as well. This has been seen recently in case of China being

alleged of doing cyber espionage on USA.

Dhruv-3

It's an indigenously built high performance computing system, it will help in solving

the critical defence research and development applications done by DRDO. It will help

in designing aero-frame structures, stress analysis of materials and simulation of

complex system. It will be especially helpful in designing the advanced aircrafts like

Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft.

Q-What are the reasons of ever increasing Man and Wild conflict? Mention

the steps you would take as an administrator assigned to tackle the issue?

Man-Wildlife conflicts occur when wildlife requirements overlap with those of human

population, which is caused by following reasons:

1. Shrinking habitats for wildlife due to encreasing population, agricultural expansion,

industrial activities etc.

2. Degredation of habitats and depletion of natural prey base due to encreased human

activities in wildlife areas and forests.

3. Changing crop pattern and suitability of human modified habitats to wild animals. For

example crops like sugercane and tea estates are repoted to provide excellent cover to wild

animals.

4. Rearing of pet annimals and pressence of stray dogs and cattle in forest fringe areas

because they act as attractants for wild animals.



Steps to tackle the issue:

1. Habitat restoration and improvement to augument food and water availability by

avoiding deforestation and planting new trees.

2. Creation of network of Protected Areas and wildlife corridors for conservation of wildlife.

3. Creating awareness among villagers about Dos and Don'ts like avoid rearing of pet

animals.

4. Training program for forest staff and police personnel for proper handling of man animal

conflicts.

5. Creation of boundary walls, trenches, barbed wire fences etc. around sensitive areas to

avoid wild animal attacks.

6. Elicit cooperation of local community in management of Protected Areas.

7. Immobilisatin of problematic animals through tranquilisation and their translocation to

rescue centres or back to natural habitats.

8. Involving research and academic institutions and other volutary organisations having

expertise in management of man-wildlife conflicts.

Q- “A comprehensive and partial climate change negotiation at

international level can provide a golden opportunity for not only Indian

business and industries to flourish but also to decentralized approach

towards climate change mitigation efforts”. Comment

First, access to international climate finance is the most critical element. Indian corporates

have demonstrated their pro-active approach to mitigation. However, direct investment in

climate mitigation on a large economy wide-level is not going to happen easily unless the

cost of mitigation is internalised.

It needs to be front loaded with climate finance which will help meet the incremental

economic costs of mitigation, enable mainstreaming of climate mitigation and adaptation

among the small and medium enterprises, and fund collaborative research and development

in low-carbon technology.

Second, new market mechanisms would have to be devised for the whole business of

climate mitigation to be market-driven.

Third, imposing a carbon tax or price on carbon emission might convey a negative message

to the business community. However, providing a price reduction for carbon emissions can

be very encouraging.

Fourth, a mechanism for technology availability and viability needs to be brought in by the

UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Fifth, it is critical that trade flows should not be impacted by any measure in the garb of

climate change action that is unilateral in nature.

There are a number of projects which directly or indirectly mitigate climate change. There

are a number of schemes implemented by the government such as national solar mission,



urban renewal mission and so on.

But an agreement at the international level coupled with a proper mechanism for mitigation

of carbon emission with adequate checks and balances can work a long way in encouraging

domestic and international businesses.

Q-Write shorts on

MeghRaj Initiative

In order to utilize and harness the benefits of Cloud Computing, Government of India has

embarked upon a very ambitious and important initiative – ―GI Cloud‖ which has been

coined as ‗Meghraj‘.

The National Cloud will help the departments to procure ICT services on demand in the

OPEX model rather than investing upfront on the CAPEX. Some of the features of the

National Cloud include self service portal, multiple Cloud solutions, secured VPN access

and multi location Cloud. NIC is providing Cloud services under the umbrella of ‗MeghRaj‘.

RoboEarth

It is a World Wide Web for robots: a giant network and database repository where robots

can share information and learn from each other about their behavior and their

environment.

RoboEarth allows sharing and reuse of knowledge between different types of robots. The

goal of RoboEarth is to allow robotic systems to benefit from the experience of other robots,

paving the way for rapid advances in machine cognition and behavior, and ultimately, for

more subtle and sophisticated human-machine interaction.

ASACUSA Experiment

The Atomic Spectroscopy and Collisions Using Slow Anti-protons (ASACUSA) experiment

studies the fundamental symmetries between matter and antimatter by precision

spectroscopy of atoms containing an anti-proton.

It also measures atomic and nuclear cross sections of anti-protons on various targets at

extremely low energies.



Heliborne Geophysical Survey System

It is an advanced technical system mounted on the helicopter or aircrafts and used for the

geographical survey. India recently deployed HGSS on the Garuda Vasudha, which is an

advanced Light Helicopter of Geological Survey of India.

Heliborne survey operation has certain added benefits over the aero-geophysical survey

using aircraft. These are:

a) low ground clearance, tight line flying in any terrain;

b) can replace or minimize ground follow-up;

c) slower flying rates (higher data density);

d) able to operate in remote areas and rugged terrain (no runway required);

e) able to keep the sensors very close to the ground with under slung, and

f) able to produce high-resolution data.

Cyber stalking

It is a crime in which the attacker harasses a victim using electronic communication, such as

e-mail or instant messaging (IM), or messages posted to a Web site or a discussion group. It

may include false accusations, defamation, slander and libel.

Cyber Stalking may also include monitoring, identity theft, threats, vandalism, solicitation

for sex, or gathering information that may be used to threaten or harass. A cyber stalker

relies upon the anonymity afforded by the Internet to allow them to stalk their victim

without being detected.

Cyber stalking messages differ from ordinary spam in that a cyber stalker targets a specific

victim with often threatening messages, while the spammer targets a multitude of recipients

with simply annoying messages.

Q-“India is facing a serious and growing drug abuse problem, including the

abuse of pharmaceutical preparations containing narcotic drugs and

psychotropic substances”. Examine. Also mention the steps taken by Indian

government to tackle the issue. (200 Words)

Illicit trafficking of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances is snowballing into a huge

menace in India. Not only substances such as heroin and cannabis are being smuggled, but

also prescriptions drugs are being diverted from India's pharma industry to various corners

of South Asia. This is mainly because:

1. Illegal cultivation of such substances.

2. Porous border with Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal and Bangladesh.

3. Loose monitoring of illicit drugs market.



Following steps have been taken by the Government of India to control this menace:

1. Strengthen border mechanisms with neighbouring countries to curb illicit trafficking.

2. Narcotics Control Bureau under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act

for prohibition, control and regulation of such substances.

3. Investments in prevention and treatment of drug abuse.

Any strategy to deal effectively with drugs abuse has to be multi-pronged. So, apart from

the above steps by GoI, we must sensitize youth, who are most vulnerable to drugs abuse,

against such substances. Controlling this menace will not only help us economically, savings

in healthcare and crime-related costs, but also in building a healthier and mindful society.

Q-“Despite having immense hydrocarbon reserves India’s growth has been

stunted leading to country being marginalized in geopolitics of hydrocarbons”.

Critically analyze. (200 Words)

India is sometimes referred to as oil and gas guzzler owing to its ever increasing demand

and dependence on hydrocarbon imports. And more often than not such a reality has made

the country vulnerable to geo-political maneouvers.

Despite being blessed with immense resource , we have not been able to realize its potential.

Some of the reasons include,

Limited expertise and technical know how to explore undulating terrains and ocean

basins.The instances of shale gas exploration is an example

The licensing done through NELP is plagued with legal hassles as being witnessed in KG

basin oil exploration.

With the pursuit to maximise revenues , there is a shift from production sharing to revenue

sharing contract process. The latter would not encourage risky investmentments as would

have done by the former.

4.The recent spate of scams dealing with natural resources has dented investor confidence in

India as can be seen in very few foreign and domestic investors interested in exploration

business

It is suggested that the government must help realistically assess the hydrocarbon resources.

Increased dependence on imports would not bode well to the future. This must be

supported by providing geological information, and by improving the risk-reward ratio for

investors. Further a better regulation coupled with removal of unnecessary controls is the

way forward



Q-Write short notes on (150 Words)

Nantenna

Nantenna is an emerging technology, to be employed in for optimum tapping of freely

available solar power. It is a nonoscopic rectifying antenna ie. a rectenna (combination of

antenna and rectifier In simpler sense an electromagnetic conductor designed to absorb

specific wavelengths of solar energy. First proposed by Robert .L.Bailey in 1972, it converts

solar energy into electricity. They absorb upto 85% of solar radiation and are seen as an

alternative to photovaltic cells. The pros of Nantenna are: (a) High theoretical efficiency as

compared to single panel solar cells. (b) Unlike semiconductor photovaltic, they can be

designed to absorb any frequency of light. The high cost of production of nantennas by e-

beam method is the major limitation

E-textile

In a broader sense E-textiles refer to the concept of wearable technology. These are the

materials with electronic functionality and at the same time textile characteristic. They

contain conductive yarn, which enables computing, digital components and electronics to be

embedded in them. Also referred to as "Smart or Intelligent Clothing", that allow

incorporation of built-in technological elements in everyday textile and clothing. Their

advantages include, flexibility, cheap manufacturing, invisibility to others, no wires to snag

environment and larger surface area.

E-textiles find application in various fields. In the area of physical therapy and medical

science, these are used to manufacture clothing, which is designed to sensor heart rate and

other body movements. The Georgia Tech Wearable Motherboard, is used to detect bullet

wounds and monitor vital body signals during combat conditions. In the field of IT, they are

used in smart home technologies to detect movements, manufacture of textile switches and

keyboards, among many others.

Semantic web

Semantic Web is being viewed as huge engineering solution for efficiently representing data

on World Wide Web (WWW) and a globally linked data base. It is an extension of the

current web, that provides an easier way to find, share, reuse and combine information.

Semantic web aims at converting the current web dominated by unstructured and semi-

structured documents into a web of data. Based on a machine readable information, it builds

on XML (Extensible Mark up Language).



Semantic web provides a common format for interchange of data, while on web there is

interchange of documents. It presents to us a common language for recording , how data

relates to real world objects, allowing a person or machine to start at one database and then

move through an unending set of databases, which are not connected by wires, but by being

about the same thing. It enables people to share content beyond the borders of applications

or websites. Therefore a natural paradigm shift from the daily use of web.

Q-What is the difference between New Exploration and Licensing Policy andOpen

Acreage Licensing Policy? Explain how the new policy would be benefited to

hydrocarbon sector? (200 Words)

The New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP) was launched by the Government for

accelerating the pace of hydrocarbon exploration in the country. It was introduced to boost

the production of oil and natural gas and providing level playing field for both public and

private players.

Unlike NELP, where government invites bids for a bunch of identified oil and gas blocks,

companies can approach the government anytime expressing interest in bidding for one or

more blocks under Open Exploration Licensing Policy (OALP). The government would then

invite competitive bids from others interested in the same blocks and allocate them based on

the outcome of the bids. This would provide ‗flexibility and frequent opportunity‘ for

investors to participate in exploration and production.

India is moving gradually but inexorably towards the OALP from the current NELP. The

Open Acreage Licensing Policy has been adopted by countries like France, Thailand,

Malaysia, UK and Pakistan.

The OALP system offers opportunity to investors to evaluate acreages round the year and

carve out their own areas with perceived work program commitments. It allows in depth

study of data including the regional data. It provides possibility of collaborative ventures in

data gathering, R &D with Government Agencies/Private companies.

Although DGH /MoPNG have embarked on OALP as far back as in 2004, it has not taken

off as expected. Oft repeated announcements in different forums with no take off dates may

not be conducive. The most important pre-requisite for its implementation is the

establishment of robust National Data Repository (NDR) followed by adoptable policy

initiatives and attendant incentives to the investors.

For better and detail explaination please refer important article ----

http://insightsonindia.com/2014/10/23/indias-energy-security-oil-and-gas-sector/

http://insightsonindia.com/2014/10/23/indias-energy-security-oil-and-gas-sector/



Q-“India has underperformed in health related issues as per recent reports

of WHO and other related organizations”. In the light of this statement

explain what ailing India’s health sector and mention the steps taken by

the government in this regard? (200 Words)

Indian health sector is a big cause of worry today as it is in an ailing state. Health sector is an

important area in any country which is a determinant of human development.

Following are some reasons that Indian health sector is in such a bad state:

1. Financial resource allocation is lesser that what it should be. due to financial crunch,

primary health centers do not have adequate machinery and technology upgradation.

2. Though number of PHCs have increased post NRHM, still the medical infrastructure is

not sound enough to cater to such a large population.

3. Highest number of leprosy cases are in India. Lack of awareness about symptoms is a

reason. Thus, as mass campaign in Polio succeeded, India has potential to achieve the same

in other diseases as well. Also, tuberculosis is a huge burden. Lack of compliance and large

scale awareness is the culprit here.

Steps taken by Government:

1. National Rural Health Mission which has improved health statistics in rural India. For

instance, Maternal mortality has come down owing to several programs under NRHM like

Janani Suraksha Yojana.

2. DOTS program to deal with Tuberculosis. TB has been declared a notified disease.

3. Strategy to deal with Kala azar has been modified. this has also been declared a notified

disease.

4. In the recent budget, funds have been allocated for AIIMS like institutions in other cities

as well.

5. Government has been focusing to deal with the menace of open defecation. Companies

have been spending towards this end as part of their CSR.

Though Government has been taking steps, but they have not been sufficient enough to put

brakes on the worsening condition of some diseases. Human development should be a

priority in which health sector is a dominant force.

Write short notes (150 Words)

Cryonics

It is the practice of freezing clinically dead people in liquid nitrogen with the hope of future

reanimation. Cryopreservation of people or large animals is not reversible with current

technology. The stated rationale for cryonics is that people who are considered dead by

current legal or medical definitions may not necessarily be dead according to the more

stringent information-theoretic definition of death. It is proposed that cryopreserved people



might someday be recovered by using highly advanced technology.

Cryonics procedures ideally begin within minutes of cardiac arrest, and use cryoprotectants

to prevent ice formation during cryopreservation. However, the idea of cryonics also

includes preservation of people long after legal death because of the possibility that brain

structures that encode memory and personality may still persist and be inferable in the

future. Whether sufficient brain information still exists for cryonics to successfully preserve

may be intrinsically unprovable by present knowledge. Therefore, most proponents of

cryonics see it as an intervention with prospects for success that vary widely depending on

circumstances.

Holography

Holography is a technique which enables three-dimensional images (holograms) to be made.

It involves the use of a laser, interference,diffraction, light intensity recording and suitable

illumination of the recording. The image changes as the position and orientation of the

viewing system changes in exactly the same way as if the object were still present, thus

making the image appear three-dimensional.

Quantum dots

A quantum dot is a nanocrystal made of semiconductor materials that are small enough to

exhibit quantum mechanical properties. Specifically, its excitons are confined in all

three spatial dimensions. The electronic properties of these materials are intermediate

between those of bulk semiconductors and of discretemolecules. They are used in

computing, in cellular imaging, for delivering a gene silencing tool , they have potential to

increase the efficiency of photovoltaic cell.

Ferro Liquid Display

Ferro Liquid Display, or Ferro-electric Liquid Display (FLD) or Ferro Fluid Display (FFD), is

a display technology based on the ferroelectric properties of certain liquids. Not all such

fluids are crystal but they are generically referred to as Ferro Liquid Crystal Displays

(FLCD).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-dimensional

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interference_(wave_propagation)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffraction

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intensity_(physics)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-dimensional_space

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanocrystal

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiconductor

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exciton

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potential_well

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spatial_dimensions

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecules

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferroelectricity

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystals



Q-“There is a growing concern over Atmospheric Brown Cloud and its

impact on South Asia”. What are the causes and consequences of

Atmospheric Brown Cloud?

Atmospheric brown cloud is a layer of air pollution containing aerosols such as soot or dust

that absorb as well as scatter incoming solar radiation. This leads to regional and global

climatic effects and poses risks to human health and food security. This layer extends from

Earth‘s surface to an altitude of roughly 3 km.

Causes-

The ABC is created by a range of airborne particles and pollutants from combustion (e.g.,

wood-fires, cars, and factories), biomass burning and industrial processes with incomplete

burning. The cloud is associated with the winter monsoon during which there is no rain to

wash pollutants from the air.

Impacts-

Dimming- ABCs can reduce sunlight hitting the Earth's surface. Particles such as Sulphates

reflect and scatter rays back into space. Black carbon in soot absorbs sunlight before it

reaches the ground.

Climate change- Particles and aerosols in the ABCs may act to inhibit the formation of rain

drops and rainfall. The net effect will be an extension of cloud life-times.

Weather change- the large heating and cooling effects of ABCs respectively in the

atmosphere and at the surface, combined with the impacts of greenhouse gases, may be also

triggering sharp shifts in weather patterns.

Glaciers retreating- Glaciers in India such as the Siachen, Gangotri and Chhota Shigiri

glaciers are retreating at rates of between 10 and 25 metres a year. It will be accelerated by

the ABCs.

Food security threats- damage to crops will be as a result of increased ground level ozone.

Other effects may include damage linked with the various acidic and toxic particles from

brown clouds depositing on plants from the atmosphere. Reduced levels of photosynthesis

and thus crop production due to 'dimming'.

Health impacts- Brown clouds contain a variety of toxic aerosols, carcinogens and particles

including particulate matter (PM). These have been linked with a variety of health effects

from respiratory disease and cardio-vascular problems.

Further, simply tackling the pollution linked with brown cloud formation without

simultaneously delivering big cuts in greenhouse gases could have a potentially disastrous

effect in increasing the Global warming.



Q-What do you understand by ‘Nuclear Umbrella’? How relevant it is in

contemporary world geopolitics? Substantiate.

Nuclear Umbrella as the name suggest it‘s an assurance from a nuclear state to non-nuclear

state against any nuclear attack from any third country. China have recently in theory

supported to give Nuclear Umbrella protection to Ukraine from any country. Even though

in the past China was always against US providing this security to Japan and South Korea,

but it seems they have changed their stand and extending this against their own long

pledged ideology.

This has relevance in the current Geo Political scenario where Ukraine crisis have deepened

after the Russia annexation of Crimea. China have huge economic interests in Ukraine while

Russia and NATO have their own economic as well as Political interests. This Umbrella have

definitely have the potential to tilt the equation in favor of NATO while safeguarding

Chinese interests.

However, it will be interesting to see how Asian allies of USA reacts without any Umbrella

protection while Chinese not only extending deterrence but also investing in Pakistan to

help them build their nuclear capabilities.

Q-Write short notes on

OLED display

OLED are Organic Light Emitting Diode, it is basically a made of thin films of organic

material which produces light when electricity is passed through. It has the potential to

make the dream of having transparent and flexible phone and other electronic devices

possible. The technology have certain advantages over the current LCD and Plasma

displays, apart from being lighter, clear display, easy to fabricate, higher efficiency the

devices would also cost less in future. However, it would need more innovation and time to

make it cheaper by producing at large scale and making it water proof.

Spintronics

A Spintronics is an attempt to bring the quantum physics into real world by using the spin

of an electron to build quantum device. Currently, the electrons is used for current flow and

carrying information in just two states of 0 or 1. But, with Spintronics the spin of the electron

can also be exploited by manipulating the up and down magnetic movements of the

electron. So, a single electron would be able to store much more information that just 0 or 1,

which lead to faster information processing and much more data storage in less space.



Wireless Energy Transfer

A wireless Energy Transfer can be used to charge electronic devices without using the wires

by using the principle of direct induction coupled with resonant magnetic induction. One

induction coil is connected to the electric point while the other induction is kept in proximity

with the same resonant frequency as the connected induction coil produces same amount of

electric current in the unconnected coil. It will help in avoiding any electric shocks and

charge multiple devices using just one charging plug.

Q-What do you understand by “Nuclear Doctrine of India”? Do you think

India needs to revisit its nuclear doctrine? Give reasons to substantiate

your views. (200 Words)

The Nuclear Doctrine of India is the guidelines behind the Nuclear Arm Usage policy. After

the 1998 Nuclear test there was a major retaliation and sanctions on India, in 2003 after an

enunciated meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), the doctrine has been

drafted with the principal focus on "No First Use" policy and communicate to the world that

we are not running a nuclear weapon race but creating our deterrence mechanism against

the hostility prevailing in the region specially.

There is a growing voice over revisiting the nuclear doctrine and make it contemporary by

removing the NFU policy. As, many are worried that India promise of Massive Retaliation

against any first strike or usage or chemical weapon might not be very promising. The

concern also hovers around the possibility of tactical usage of nuclear weapon by Pakistan

against India and it would have to face the first strike before retaliation.

However strong these demands are but India need to take a rational decision, by revisiting

the Nuclear Doctrine India might lose the confidence it enjoys in the world and may face

sanctions against availability of nuclear material, which may thwart the energy security

efforts. Additionally, it will have set up the new commandment lines and incur the cost

involved.

Q- What is the difference between Malware, Adware and Spyware? (200

Words)

Spyware is software that gathers information about user, user‘s browsing and Internet usage

habits, as well as other data.

Adware is software that displays advertising banners, re-directs user to websites, and

otherwise conducts advertising on user‘s computer (not to be confused with popup ads,

which come from the websites that user visits).



Malware is malicious software that is intended to do harm to user‘s computer or software.

Malware includes viruses, Trojans, and worms.

Threats-

Spyware and adware can gather information about user. Cookies set by websites can allow

these applications to track which websites user visit; this is especially dangerous as some

cookies can contain user login and password information for the website which created it.

In addition spyware and adware can slow the system down, hog system resources, and use

network bandwidth. Some spyware and adware can even be malware and open the system

to attack or cause system problems.

Q- Write short notes on:(150 Words)

Augmented Reality

Augmented Reality is a type of virtual reality that aims to duplicate the world's

environment in a computer. An augmented reality system generates a composite view for

the user that is the combination of the real scene viewed by the user and a virtual scene

generated by the computer that augments the scene with additional information. The virtual

scene generated by the computer is designed to enhance the user's sensory perception of the

virtual world they are seeing or interacting with. The goal of Augmented Reality is to create

a system in which the user cannot tell the difference between the real world and the virtual

augmentation of it. Today Augmented Reality is used in entertainment, military training,

engineering design, robotics, manufacturing and other industries.

Exascale Computing

Exascale computing refers to computing systems capable of at least one exaFLOPS. Such

capacity represents a thousandfold increase over the first petascale computer that came into

operation in 2008. (One exaflops is a thousand petaflops or a quintillion, 1018, floating point

operations per second.) Today, the world's fastest computer is China's Tianhe-1A, which

performs 2.5 petaflops. At a supercomputing conference in 2009, Computerworld projected

exascale implementation by 2018. Exascale computing would be considered as a significant

achievement in computer engineering, for it is believed to be the order of processing power

of the human brain at neural level (functional might be lower). It is for instance the target

power of the Human Brain Project. An exascale computing system will help in solving



questions that have remained beyond our reach, like understanding regional climate change

and designing safe nuclear reactors.

Virtual Reality

Virtual reality (VR), sometimes referred to as immersive multimedia, is a computer-

simulated environment that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world or

imagined worlds. Virtual reality can recreate sensory experiences, including virtual taste,

sight, smell, sound, touch, etc.

Bio-printing

bio-printing is a process whereby the key structural and compositional elements of a target

issue is identified and a design is created so that it can be utilized by a bio-printer to

generate the tissue which is mainly used in the laboratory. When the design is made ,it

primarily involves developing bio-fuel protocol which is used to generate the bio-ink. Then

the bio-ink blocks are then dispensed from the bio-printer. Scientists recently used this

bioprinting transplanting the infected organs and tissues of human beings and plants.

Q- “Inland Waterways will create more issues than solving some problems

for India”. Comment

Inland Waterways have often been considered by the Central Government as an important

means of transport for high volume freight. It is the cheapest available option for

transportation and can help in boosting economic trade.

However, there are major environmental concerns regarding inland waterways. It will result

in the creation of multiple barrages which will convert the river into interlinked ponds and

lakes. As a result, the movement of fishes will be restricted, and some of them might even be

eliminated.

In the absence of fish, aquatic birds will lose their food and migh go elsewhere. The effect on

the biodiversity of the river might be worrisome. For example, the Ganga River Dolphin,

which is already a threatened species may become extinct.

Development of waterways will make way for easy movement of medium sized and big

ships. But the movement of the smaller boats such as those of the fishermen will be greatly

affected. This will impact the livelihood of all the people dependent on fishing.

Further, increased sedimentation due to multiple barrages will also affect the rivers. It will

stop the flow of nutrients in the river thereby affecting aquatic life. Similarly, the land



building activity at estuaries will also be affected. Sedimentation will require periodic

dredging which will cause further complications with respect to disposal of the dredged

material. Pollution due to leaked fuel , lubricants, wastes from the ships are also prospective

problems.

Promotion of inland waterways is indeed a necessity to improve freight transport. However,

it should be restricted to the natural flow of the river and should not convert the river into

an exclusive waterway without concern for its natural functions.

Q-What is the significance of ‘String Theory’? Mention the contribution

of Dr Ashok Sen towards scientific development of India.

The Standard Model of Particle physics deals with the fundamental building blocks of

matter as well as the forces through which these blocks interact.

As per the String Theory, all the different particles of the Standard Model are really just

manifestations of one basic object.

String theory tries to give a unified description of all particles and forces operating between

them.

One of the main successes of string theory is that it has been able to unify the general theory

of relativity, which describes gravity, and quantum mechanics.

Ashoke Sen, String Theory expert from Harish Chandra Research Institute, Allahabad, is one

of the three recipients of the Dirac Medal awarded by International Centre for Theoretical

Physics (ICTP) this year. Professor Sen, received this prize for his work on black holes and

symmetries of string theory. ICTP which has played a significant role in the development of

science in the developing countries.

Sen‘s work on symmetries of string theory is on what is known as strong-weak coupling

duality or S-duality. A symmetry refers to a transformation under which an object looks the

same. For example a square has 90 degrees rotational symmetry; if we rotate it by 90 degrees

about its centre, it looks the same.

Sen‘s work on black holes was on the connection between black holes and elementary

particles.

Normally elementary particles are thought to be as tiny objects. On the other hand, black

holes can come in all sizes but normally they are considered as big objects from which even

light cannot escape. Sen‘s work indicated that if we consider smaller and smaller black

holes, at some stage the properties of black holes become indistinguishable from those of

elementary particles. Thus elementary particles may be thought of as small black holes and

vice versa.

Q-Write short notes on(150 Words)

Artificial Photosynthesis

Plants make their food and energy by photosynthesis process that converts sunlight, water,

and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates and oxygen. Based on the same principles, Scientists



has been evolving chemical processes for capturing and storing the energy from sunlight in

the chemical bonds of a fuel (a solar fuel).

The advantages of this technology are that the solar energy can be immediately converted

and stored. The by-products of these chemical reactions are environmentally friendly.

Artificially photosynthesized fuel would be a carbon-neutral source of energy, which could

be used for transportation or homes.

But as it is new field of research, materials used for artificial photosynthesis often corrode in

water, so they may be less stable over long periods of time. Also the overall cost is not yet

advantageous enough to compete with fossil fuels as a commercially viable source of

energy.

Energy harvesting

Fossil fuels are finite and environmentally costly. Recovering even a fraction of wasted

energy would have a significant economic and environmental impact. Energy harvesting

(EH) helps in this purpose.

Energy harvesting, or energy scavenging, is a process that captures small amounts of energy

that would otherwise be lost as heat, light, sound, vibration or movement. It uses this

captured energy to improve efficiency. For example, computing costs would be cut

significantly if waste heat were harvested and used to help power the computer.

It also helps in enabling new technology like wireless sensor networks, underwater sensors

or black boxes in aero planes etc. where bigger batteries can‘t be installed. EH also has the

potential to replace batteries for small, low power electronic devices. This has several

benefits like no need to replace batteries which is also environmentally friendly.

Ambient Intelligence

It refers to electronic environments that are sensitive and responsive to the presence of

people.

Ambient intelligence is closely related to the long term vision of an intelligent service system

in which technologies are able to provide contextual, personalized, adaptive and

participative services.

It has the vision of people living easily in digital environments in which the electronics are

sensitive to people's needs, personalized to their requirements, anticipatory of their behavior

and responsive to their presence.



Artificial Brain

Artificial brains are man-made machines that are just as intelligent, creative, and self-aware

as humans. No such machine has yet been built, but the term is used for the on going

research to develop software and hardware with cognitive abilities similar to those of the

animal or human brain.

Currently the focus of research is placed on two approaches:

1) Large-scale, biologically-realistic, human brain simulations within currently available

supercomputers; and

2) The building of neuro-morphic computing devices that are closely modelled on neural

tissue.

Given current trends in neuroscience, computing, and nanotechnology, scientists estimate

that artificial general intelligence will emerge sometime in the 21st century, maybe even by

the year 2050.