Facial recognition at airports from 2022
Context: After a delay of three years, come March 2022, passengers will be able to use a face scan as their boarding pass at four airports in the country. Relevance: GS-III: Science and Technology, GS-III: Internal Security Challenges Dimensions of the Article: About the implementation of Facial Recognition Introduction to Face Recognition How does it […]
PIB – 1 DECEMBER 2021
CONTENTS: ANAEMIA AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN IN THE COUNTRY PROGRAMME TO UPSKILL STREET FOOD VENDORS NATIONAL JAL JEEVAN MISSION (NJJM) NATIONAL EDIBLE OIL MISSION-OIL PALM (NMEO-OP) LITHIUM ANAEMIA AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN IN THE COUNTRY Focus: GS Paper 2: Health, Government Policies & Interventions, Welfare Schemes, Issues Related to Women Why in news? As per recently released […]
A launch window for India as a space start-up hub
Context: The great space race of the 20th century was kicked off by the Soviet Union’s launch of Sputnik in 1957. It was a competition between the world’s great powers, a test of their ideologies, which proved to be a synecdoche of the entire Cold War between the capitalist United States and the socialist Soviet […]
Boosting green hydrogen
Context: Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently announced that India would aim for net-zero carbon emissions by 2070. Relevance: GS-III: Environment and Ecology (Climate Change, Conservation of the Environment, Pollution control and Management), GS-III: Science and Technology Dimensions of the Article: What is Green Hydrogen? Challenges in using green hydrogen Need for Green Hydrogen About India’s […]
Omicron variant poses very high global risk: WHO
Context: In light of the increasing case numbers of the Omicron coronavirus variant, the World Health Organization (WHO) has come out with its advisory on the new variant. Omicron was first reported from South Africa and has since spread to more than a dozen countries. A few countries have begun imposing travel restrictions in a […]
Citizens manipulated on social media, FB’s selective curbs
Context: Journalist Maria Ressa from the Philippines is one of two journalists to have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2021, along with Russian Editor Dmitry Muratov. Maria Ressa recently spoke about journalism in the age of authoritarianism, big tech and terrorism. Facebook in India has been selective in curbing hate speech, misinformation and […]
Insulin and tissue health, 100 years of insulin discovery
Context: In a study that examined the effect of insulin – researchers have uncovered how insulin amounts shape the flow of information through the signalling network. It showed that abnormalities in insulin signalling impacts health and survival of tissues. 2021 is a year to celebrate, as it marks the centenary of the discovery of insulin […]
Chemistry Nobel for developing tool to build molecules
Context: The Nobel Prize for chemistry has been awarded to German scientist Benjamin List of the Max Planck Institute and Scotland-born scientist David WC MacMillan of Princeton University for their work in developing a new way for building molecules. Relevance: Prelims, GS-III: Science and Technology Dimensions of the Article: About the Chemistry Nobel laureates and […]
Nobel for deciphering the science of Touch and Temperature
Context: Two U.S.-based scientists were awarded the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine on October 4 2021 for their discovery of the receptors that allow humans to feel temperature and touch. Relevance: Prelims, GS-III: Science and Technology (Important developments in science and technology and their application in daily life) Dimensions of the Article: About the […]
Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO) Hanle
Context: The Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO) located at Hanle near Leh in Ladakh is becoming one of the globally promising observatory sites, according to a recent study. Relevance: Prelims, GS-III: Science and Technology Dimensions of the Article: About IAO at Hanle About Global Relay of Observatories Watching Transients Happen (GROWTH) About IAO at Hanle India’s […]