theIASHub | 15 Apr, 2025 | 5
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1. Silicon photonics vs. Traditional semiconductor chips: Scientists from the US and Europe have fabricated the first miniaturised lasers directly on silicon wafers.
o Applications: Data centres, sensors, and quantum computing.
o Photon advantages: Faster data transfer, higher capacity, and lower energy loss.
o Photonic Chip Components: Source (electrons/photons) → Waveguides (photon paths) → Modulators (encode/decode data) → Photodetectors (light to electricity).
o Laser principle: Based on stimulated emission, creating a coherent light beam.
o Silicon drawback: Has an indirect bandgap, poor for light emission.
o Common materials: Gallium arsenide (direct bandgap) enables efficient light emission.
o Semiconductors are materials that exhibit a conductivity level between conductors and insulators. They can be pure elements such as silicon or compounds like gallium arsenide.
Significance: Semiconductor chips serve as the fundamental building blocks and the "heart and brain" of modern electronics and information and communication technology (ICT) products2. International Crop Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT): As per the findings by the ICRISAT, Land-holding farmers who engage in non-farming activity tend to improve labour efficiency on their farms.
o Objective: To tackle hunger, malnutrition, poverty, and environmental degradation for 2.1 billion people in drylands of Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and beyond.
o Establishment: Set up under a Memorandum of Agreement between the Government of India and CGIAR on 28 March 1972.
o Legal Status: Recognized as an “International Organisation” under Section 3 of the United Nations (Privileges and Immunities) Act, 1947 through Gazette Notification on 28 October 1972.
o Innovations: Mapped genome of cultivated groundnut (world first) → Released first commercial pigeonpea hybrid in India → Introduced Africa’s first biofortified pearl millet.
o Headquarters: Located in India, with offices in Eastern & Southern Africa, West & Central Africa.
o Research Programs: Accelerated Crop Improvement, Resilient Farm and Food Systems, and Enabling Systems Transformation.
o Focus Crops: Chickpea, pigeonpea, groundnut, sorghum, pearl millet, finger millet, small millet, oilseeds.
o Migration benefits: Farmers migrating within/outside their State gain knowledge of new farm practices which they use upon return.
o Labour support: Families or hired labour manage farms in the farmer’s absence.
o Policy Recommendation: Promote structured non-farm employment to maximise positive spillovers on farming.
3. Dual Criminality: Mehul Choksi, a key accused in the ₹13,500 crore Punjab National Bank (PNB) loan fraud case, was arrested in Belgium recently, on the basis of “dual criminality”.
o The treaty prohibits extradition for offences of political nature or in cases where the individual in question can prove she is being prosecuted in the requesting country for political reasons.
o It also states that the fugitive arrested shall be released if the requesting country fails to present evidence of culpability within two months.
o The treaty allows extradition on the basis of “dual criminality”, including for financial crimes.
o In 2020, India and Belgium signed the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty for better cooperation on fugitives.
4. ISRO’s Crew Escape System: NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore returned safely after a nine-month ISS mission, highlighting the importance of safety protocols in human spaceflight.
o Crew Escape System: It is a tower-like structure atop the human-rated LVM3 rocket to pull the crew module away in case of a malfunction.
o Emergency exit device is activated after ignition to protect crew, unlike satellite-launching LVM3 which lacks such a system.
o Tractor-type system in ISRO’s Crew Escape design uses solid fuel engines to quickly lift the crew module.
o Crew module is attached to the escape tower and disengages from the rocket during emergencies.
o Pad abort scenarios activate both HEM and LEM motors to ensure rapid escape and splashdown in sea.
o Crew Escape System becomes dead weight in normal flights; hence, the LEM is jettisoned at a set altitude to reduce mass.
o Soyuz T-10 (1983) & Blue Origin NS-23 (2022), demonstrated successful use of escape systems.
o LEM generates enough thrust at initial launch phase to separate crew module from launch vehicle.
o HEM activates at higher altitudes to quickly pull the crew module away to safety.
o Both LEM and HEM are triggered during pad aborts, ensuring rapid ascent and safe distance from the vehicle.
5. QShield: Recently, QShield launched on World Quantum Day to enable seamless cryptography management across cloud, on-premises, or hybrid environments.
o Solution built with QNu’s patented Quantum Key Distribution (Armos), Quantum Random Number Generator (Tropos), Quantum Hardware Security Module (QHSM), and NIST-compliant Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC).
o Platform provides end-to-end security for sensitive data in transit and at rest.
o QShield enables services like Qosmos (key generation), QConnect (secured connectivity), QVerse (secured collaboration), QSFS (secure file storage and sharing), and QVault (key management).
o Platform empowers enterprises to quantum-safe their critical and diverse infrastructures.
o QShield supports unified management, flexible deployment, and easy integration with third-party services.
o Platform ensures protection of critical data today, preparing enterprises for a quantum-secured future.
o Startup incubated at IIT Madras Research Park in 2016.
o QNu Labs contributes to cybersecurity with quantum-safe solutions, positioning India as a global leader in quantum cryptography.
6. International Technology Engagement Strategy (ITES): Office of Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to GoI released the first edition of International Technology Engagement Strategy (ITES) for Quantum on World Quantum Day 2025 (April 14).
o Mission covers the complete life cycle of quantum technology – from R&D to product development and market scale-up.
o Hub-and-spoke model implemented at the national scale involves 152 researchers from 43 institutions across 17 states and 2 UTs.
o Report covers analysis of investments, talent development, institutional strengths, research publications, intellectual property, startups, supply chains, and industrial activity.
o Report aims to facilitate impactful partnerships and strengthen bilateral and multilateral engagements for QSTI via Indian missions abroad.
7.Underwater Acoustic Test Facility (ATF): Recently, GOI hailed the global recognition and international certification of the Underwater Acoustic Test Facility (ATF) at NIOT Chennai.
o ATF is India’s only NABL-accredited facility for hydrophone calibration, maintaining accreditation since 2005.
o Facility enables testing and calibration of hydrophones, transducers, and acoustic modems, vital for strategic and civilian applications.
o ATF strengthens ocean observation capabilities, supports tsunami detection systems, and reinforces national security.
o ATF caters to major users such as naval labs, IITs, universities, and companies like BEL, L&T, and Tata Power.
o ATF participated alongside labs from US, UK, Russia, and other countries.
o Calibration results matched international standards, proving parity with top global labs.
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