5G Spectrum Auction Concludes
Context: India’s biggest ever spectrum auction ended with bids upwards of Rs 1.5 lakh crore coming in after seven days of bidding spread over 40 rounds. Reliance Jio emerged as the largest spender in the 5G spectrum auction, acquiring almost half of all the airwaves sold for more than Rs 88,000 crore, and was also […]
Hellfire R9X Missile – Killing of Al Qaeda Chief
Context: The US military used its ‘secret weapon’ — the Hellfire R9X missile – to kill Al Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri on the balcony of a safehouse in Kabul on July 31. Al-Zawahiri, an Egyptian surgeon who had a $25 million bounty on his head, had helped coordinate the September 11, 2001, attacks that had […]
African Swine Fever
Context: Barely a week after about 500 pigs were culled in Kerala’s Wayanad district to prevent the spread of African swine fever detected there, new cases of the disease have been reported from there and Kannur. Relevance: Focus: GS-III Science and Technology Dimensions of this Article: What is African Swine Fever? What are the symptoms […]
What Is AlphaFold?
Context: DeepMind, a company based in London and owned by Google, announced this week that it had predicted the three-dimensional structures of more than 200 million proteins using AlphaFold. Relevance: GS III- Science and Technology Dimensions of the Article: What is AlphaFold? How does AlphaFold work? What are the implications of this development? Is AlphaFold […]
Space Junk And Its Uncontrolled Descent
Context The debris from a large Chinese rocket, the Long March 5B, crashed to earth over the Pacific and Indian oceans, capping off a week of global anxiety and concern. There were fears that the rocket’s 22-tonne core stage would collide with a populated area as it hurtled back to earth. Despite widespread criticism for […]
E-Waste Management
Context: A proposed framework by the Centre for regulating e-waste in India has upset a key link of India’s electronic waste collection system and threatens the livelihood of thousands of people. Relevance: GS III- Science and Technology Dimensions of the Article: About Draft Notification for Electronic Waste Management What is the controversy now? What is […]
What is Cryptojacking?
Context: ‘Cryptojacking’ attacks on computer systems have gone up by 30% to 66.7 million in the first half of 2022 compared to the first half of last year, according to a report by SonicWall, a US-based cybersecurity firm. Relevance: GS III: Science and Technology Dimensions of the Article: What is cryptojacking? Why is cryptojacking done? […]
International Space Station And Russia
Context: Russia will pull out of the International Space Station after 2024 and focus on building its own orbiting outpost, the country’s new space chief said amid high tensions between Moscow and the West over the fighting in Ukraine. Relevance: GS-III Science and Technology: (Space Technology, Developments in Space technology) Dimension of the Article: What […]
Genetically Modified (GM) Crops
Focus: GS-3 Science and Technology Why in News? Clearance of Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) is mandatory for the environmental release of Genetically Modified (GM) crops. Key Points: The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) is the statutory committee constituted under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. As per the ‘’Rules 1989’’, State/UT Biotechnology Coordination Committees and […]
What is Synthetic Biology?
Context: As per study by USA, due to climate change one-third of all animal and plant species on the planet could face extinction by 2070. Environmentalists consider synthetic biology or ‘synbio’ as a potential tool to preserve biodiversity and restore the natural ecosystem. Relevance: GS III- Science and Technology Dimensions of the Article: What is Synthetic Biology? […]