Science and Tech GS Paper III by Rajvardhan

Model Answer

Question #1. What are neglected Tropical Diseases? Can India lead in development of Neglected tropical diseases technology innovation?
Approach:

• Briefly introduce with neglected Tropical Diseases ( 40 words)
• Analyse if India can lead in NTD technology innovation ( 90 words)
• Challenges for India in this regard ( 80 words)
• Conclusion ( 40 words)

Hints:

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a diverse group of tropical infections which are common in low-income populations in developing regions of Africa, Asia, and the Americas. They are caused by a variety of pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, protozoa and parasitic worms (helminths). These diseases are contrasted with the big three infectious diseases (HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria), which generally receive greater treatment and research funding.

Types of NTDs

Can India lead in NTD technology innovation?

India is one of the top global funders of research and development (R&D) into neglected diseases. With a promising scientific base built on the foundation of an expanding science and technology workforce, the country is well placed to make a substantial contribution to innovation in neglected tropical diseases.

1. Drug Development in India- A third of new drugs, and two thirds of new vaccines for neglected diseases registered since 2000 have had Indian involvement. Nearly 12% of drug, diagnostic, and vaccine candidates for neglected diseases in the R&D pipeline are from India. The world’s first leprosy vaccine was developed in India and is expected to accelerate eradication efforts.
2. India’s past record-India has successfully eliminated certain infectious diseases—such as guinea worm, trachoma, and yaws.
3. WHO data-WHO estimates that in 2015, approximately three-quarters of the more than 200 million Indian children that require deworming for their intestinal helminth infections received mass treatment. This could be achieved due to large scale manufacturing of medical aid, equipment and vaccines.
4. Technology Incubation-policies and schemes have been made to start biotechnology and other related fields to establish incubators in the field of medicine. Bio-NEST was launched by BIRAC with a vision that focused on fostering the biotech innovation ecosystem in the country. Similarly, incubators under ASPIRE, Atal Innovation Mission have been launched in tie up with IITs and other Institutions.
5. Biotechnology infrastructure-India hosts a sophisticated and extensive network of biotechnology organizations and private companies capable of developing next-generation vaccines, drugs, and diagnostics. Example a dengue vaccine partnership between the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) and Sun Pharma has worked brilliantly in controlling the vector borne diseases.

Challenges for India

• Policy environment-The National Health Policy (2017) sets an ambition to stimulate innovation to meet health needs and ensure that new drugs are affordable for those who need them most, but it does not specifically tackle neglected diseases.
• Technology & Innovation- The innovation incubators and institutions like BIRAC, in medicine are abysmally low for a country with 1.3 billion population. The Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy (2013) does not mention research on neglected diseases.
• IPR for creators-The National Intellectual Property Rights Policy (2016) states that it will encourage publicly funded R&D institutes and industry to develop affordable drugs for neglected diseases but does not spell out how it will do so. There has been no activity reported in this area.
• Regulatory Bottlenecks-There is a need to streamline regulatory clearances. Ex- Schedule Y of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules in India does not permit phase I clinical trials of drugs or vaccines that have been developed outside India. This can act as a disincentive to invest in neglected diseases prevailing in, or exclusive to, India.
• Lack of Institutional mechanism-No institutional mechanism exists at a national level to identify gaps in neglected diseases research, set priorities, liaise with research institutions, or monitor research output. There is often no coordination between the various funding and research bodies to prioritise the research agenda and minimise duplication.

Conclusion:

Thus, India has the potential to emerge as a technology innovation centre for Neglected tropical diseases provided sufficient focus is given to funding incubators, private partnership, policy clarity and institutional mechanisms.

Question #2. 5G technology has wide ranging applications, but it’s nationwide deployment still faces various bottlenecks. Analyze. (250 Words)

Approach:

• Introduce by giving a brief overview about 5G technology (40 Words)
• Enumerate the applications and benefits of 5G technology (70 Words)
• Enumerate the bottlenecks faced in its deployment (80 Words)
• Way Forward and Conclusion (40 + 20 Words)

Hints:

5G is the fifth generation cellular technology that will increase the downloading and uploading speeds over the mobile network.

Potential Application of 5G include - tele-medicine, tele-education, augmented/virtual reality, drone-based agricultural monitoring

Benefits of 5G Technology

• High-speed and Low Latency:
  • In the high-band spectrum of 5G, internet speeds have been tested to be as high as 20 Gbps (gigabits per second) as compared to the maximum internet data speed in 4G recorded at 1 Gbps.
  • 5G will also reduce the latency i.e. the time taken by a network to respond.

• Machine-to-Machine Interaction: 5G will be the first technology to facilitate machine-to-machine communication, the foundation of Internet of Things (IoT).
  • Combined with IoT, cloud, big data, AI, and edge computing, 5G could be a critical enabler of the fourth industrial revolution.
• Boost to the Economy: 5G is expected to create a cumulative economic impact of USD1 trillion in India by 2035, according to a report by a government-appointed panel (2018).
  • It will give a huge amount of economic boost to India by increased connectivity between machines and various sectors which will in turn increase efficiency.
• Collaborative Network Deployment: 5G will lead to, for the first time, the business verticals and technical verticals come together for network deployment.
  • Earlier, the telecommunications used to discuss internally and deploy networks but now, the businesses, technology companies and cyber experts will be coming together for deploying networks.
• Focus on Capacity: In 5G, the focus has been exerted upon the capacity rather than the range of the network.
  • However, in the rural areas, the range of the network is required more than bandwidth as the areas are not as densely populated and industrialised as the urban areas.
  • The range will be compensated by deploying more small cells in the required areas.

Issues Associated

• India as a Late Adopter: Countries in the Asia-Pacific region, including India, Bangladesh and Indonesia are late in adopting 5G technologies, hence, will get insignificant revenue from the service.
  • For the late adopters, the 5G mobile service revenues are not expected over the next 12-18 months.
• Lesser Government Subsidies: A low likelihood of government subsidies is expected, given the history of high reserve prices set by the governments for spectrum auctions amid ongoing fiscal deficits.
• Digital Divide: 5G will not bridge the digital divide among the rural and urban areas in the short term, rather increase it as the business case of 5G even in urban areas does not have maximum accessibility.
• A Niche Service: 5G will be a niche service unlike 3g and 4g which were pervasive services. It will intensify over a comparatively longer period of time.
  • The rollout of 5G technology will be different from the one seen in 4g; it will be introduced in specific sectors and areas.
• Inadequate Accessibility of Previous Technology: The consumers are still grappling with basic network issues like call drops and interrupted data services.
  • There are still areas where 4G networks have not stabilised causing frequent disruptions in internet services.
  • It is important to meet the quality of service parameters of existing 4G networks before embarking on a new 5G platform.
• Enabling Critical Infrastructures: 5G will require a fundamental change to the core architecture of the communication system. The major flaw of data transfer using 5G is that it can't carry data over longer distances. Hence, even 5G technology needs to be augmented to enable infrastructure.
• Financial Liability on Consumers: For transition from 4G to 5G technology, one has to upgrade to the latest cellular technology, thereby creating financial liability on consumers.

Way Forward

• Bridging the Rural-urban Gap: 5G can be deployed at different band spectrums and at the low band spectrum, the range is much longer which is helpful for the rural areas.
• Government’s Assistance: The government has complete control over the inputs. One of the key inputs of 5G is the band spectrum.
  • By managing the design of the spectrums, the government can control the price to be paid by the people.
• Enabling the Manufacturing Sector in India: As 5G starts taking shape in India, it is important to strengthen its domestic telecommunication manufacturing market so that it is not only the users of 5G in India, but also the manufacturers and providers of these technologies who will be able to make a mark in the global arena
• Viable Technology from Consumers’ Perspective: For widespread 5G deployment, it needs to become financially viable otherwise rural integration will remain a pipe dream.
  • Also, the 5G technology has to be viable to the telecom operators too.

Conclusion

5G Technology is expected to usher a new era in the technology sector. As far as the nationwide deployment of the technology is concerned, India still has a long way to go.

Bringing down the spectrum prices and bridging the rural-urban gap by increasing the accessibility of networks to hinterlands are a few key areas of focus. The ultimate goal is to shift to a technology that facilitates the requirements of both the rural and urban users and the telecom sector.