Science & Technology: Defense

Military Exercises and IT Telecom

Military Exercises and IT Telecom - Science & Technology

Military Exercises and IT Telecom: Joint Exercises conducted by Army:

S. No.	Country	Exercise
1.	Australia	Ex AUSTRA HIND
2.	Bangladesh	Ex SAMPRITI
3.	China	Ex HAND IN HAND
4.	France	Ex SHAKTI
5.	Indonesia	Ex GARUDA SHAKTI
6.	Kazakhstan	Ex PRABAL DOSTYK
7.	Kyrgyzstan	Ex KHANJAR
8.	Maldives	Ex EKUVERIN
9.	Mongolia	Ex NOMADIC ELEPHANT
10.	Myanmar	IMBEX
11.	Nepal	Ex SURYA KIRAN
12.	Oman	AL NAGAH
13.	Russia	Ex INDRA
14.	Seychelles	Ex LAMITIYE
15.	Sri Lanka	Ex MITRA SHAKTI
16.	Thailand	Ex MAITREE
17.	UK	Ex AJEYA WARRIOR
18.	USA	Ex YUDHABHAYAS
		Ex VAJRA PRAHAR
19.	Vietnam	VINBAX
20.	Multinational (ADMM Plus)	Ex FORCE 18

Joint Exercises conducted by Navy:

S. No.	Country	Exercise
1.	Australia	AUSINDEX
2.	Bangladesh	IN-BN CORPAT
3.	Brazil & South Africa	IBSAMAR
4.	France	VARUNA
5.	Indonesia	IND-INDO CORPAT
		IND-INDO BILAT
6.	Malaysia	IN-MN Table Top Ex
7.	Myanmar	IMCOR
		IN-MN BILAT
8.	Oman	Naseem-al-Bahr
9.	Russia	INDRA NAVY
10.	Sri Lanka	SLINEX
11	Singapore	SIMBEX
12.	Thailand	INDO-THAI CORPAT
13	UAE	In-UAE BILAT
14	UK	KONKAN
15.	USA	MALABAR
		RIMPAC (Multilateral)
16	Multilateral Exercise by Brunei	ADMM+ Exercise
17	Multilateral Exercise by Indonesia	Ex KOMODO
18	Multilateral Exercise by India	MILAN

Joint Exercises conducted by Air Force:

S. No.	Country	Exercise
1.	Bangladesh	Table Top Ex
2.	Israel	Ex Blue Flag-17
3.	Oman	Ex EASTERN BRIDGE-IV
4.	Russia	Ex INDRA-17
5.	Singapore	JOINT MILITARY TRAINING
6.	Thailand	Ex SIAM BHARAT
7.	UAE	DESERT EAGLE-II
8.	UK	INDRADHANUSH-IV
9.	USA	RED FLAG 16-1
10.	Multinational Air Exercise	Ex Samvedna with Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, UAE

Military Exercises and IT Telecom: India's Ballistic Missile Defence system

• The Indian Ballistic Missile Defence Programme, an initiative to develop and deploy a multi-layered ballistic missile defence system, is a two-tiered system consisting of two interceptor missiles, namely Prithvi Air Defence (PAD) missile for high altitude interception, and the Advanced Air Defence (AAD) Missile for lower altitude interception. The two-tiered shield will be able to intercept any incoming missile launched 5,000 km away.
• The Ballistic Missile Defence programme aims to provide an effective missile shield against incoming enemy ballistic and nuclear missiles.
• A hostile missile needs to be intercepted at boost (launch) point, mid-course (flight through space), or terminal phase (during atmospheric descent).

Components

• Prithvi Defence Vehicle: It is capable of killing an incoming missile with a strike range of around 2,000 km outside the earth’s atmosphere. It will replace the existing Prithvi Air Defense (PAD) which has a maximum interception altitude of 80 kilometres.
  The advantage of intercepting an incoming missile at such a high altitude is that the debris would not fall on the ground and there would be no collateral damage.
• Advanced Air Defence: The endo-atmospheric missile, capable of intercepting incoming targets at an altitude of 15 to 25 km successfully destroyed the incoming missile.

Military Exercises and IT Telecom: Anti-Satellite Test (ASAT)- Mission Shakti

• On March 27, 2019, India conducted Mission Shakti, an anti-satellite missile test, from the Dr A P J Abdul Kalam Island launch complex. This was a technological mission carried out by DRDO. The satellite used in the mission was one of India’s existing satellites operating in a lower orbit. The test was fully successful and achieved all parameters and it required an extremely high degree of precision and technical capability.
• The significance of the test is that India has tested and successfully demonstrated its capability to interdict and intercept a satellite in outer space-based on complete indigenous technology. With this test, the country joins an exclusive group of space-faring nations consisting of USA, Russia, and China.
• The government has stated that it has no intention of entering into an arms race in outer space. The country has always maintained that space must be used only for peaceful purposes. The government has also stated that India is against the weaponization of Outer Space and support international efforts to reinforce the safety and security of space-based assets.
• India is also a party to all the major international treaties relating to Outer Space. India already implements several Transparency and Confidence Building Measures (TCBMs) – including registering space objects with the UN register, prelaunch notifications, measures in harmony with the UN Space Mitigation Guidelines, participation in Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination (IADC) activities about space debris management, undertaking SOPA (Space Object Proximity Awareness and COLA (Collision Avoidance) Analysis and numerous international cooperation activities, including hosting the UN-affiliated Centre for Space and Science Technology Education in Asia and Pacific. India has been participating in all sessions of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space.
• India also supported UNGA resolution 69/32 on No First Placement of Weapons on Outer Space. Equally, India supports the substantive consideration of the issue of Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS) in the Conference on Disarmament where it has been on the agenda since 1982.

Military Exercises and IT Telecom: Important Indian Defence Missions

The Indian Armed Forces are the overall unified military of the Republic of India encompassing the Indian Army, the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy. The President of India serves as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces. With an estimated total active force of 1,325,000 personnel, India maintains the world’s third-largest armed forces after China and the United States.     

Army Operations	Year	Purpose
First Kashmir War	1947	In retaliation to Pakistan's attack on Kashmir on the request of King Hari Singh of Kashmir.
Operation Polo	1948	Ended the rule of Nizam of Hyderabad with its inclusion in Indian Union.
Operation Vijay	1961	Capture of Goa, Daman and Diu and Anjidiv Islands from the Portuguese colonial holding.
Operation Steeplechase	1961	A colossal combined army and police counter insurgency operation Launched by Indira Gandhi during President's Rule against Naxalites.
Operation Blue Star	1984	To confine the Harmandir Sahib Complex.
Operation Meghdoot	1984	Indian Military's capture of the majority of Siachen Glacier.
Operation Rajiv	1987	Indian military's capture of Quaid Post/Bana Post.
Operation Pavan	1987	To take control of Jaffna from the LTTE to enforce the disarmament of the LTTE as a part of the INDO-SRILANKA Accord.
Operation Virat	1988	Indian Military's capture of the majority of Siachen Glacier.
Operation Trishul	1988	Indian military's capture of Quaid Post/Bana Post.
Operation Checkmate	1988	To take control of Jaffna from the LTTE to enforce the disarmament of the LTTE as a part of the INDO-SRILANKA Accord.
Operation Cactus	1988	Para-commandos of Indian Army and MARCOS of Indian Navy against Tamil Nationalist Mercenaries of PLOTE who instigated a coup in Male in the Maldives.
Operation Vijay	1999	To push back the Infiltrators from the Karel Sector of Jammu and Kashmir.
Operation Black Tornado and Operation Cyclone	2008	To counter and kill the terrorists of Mumbai Attack 2008.
Operation Surya Hope	2013	For saving people trapped in the 2013 North India floods.
Operation All Out	2015	For flintring out Bodo Militants in Assam.
Operation Maitri	2015	India led rescue and relief mission in quake hit Nepal.
Surgical Strike in Myanmar	2015	A Cross Border Counter Insurgency raid in Myanmar.
Indian Surgical Strike 2016	29th Sep 2016	Indian Para-Commandos carried out a surgical strike 2-3 km inside Pakistan Administered Kacinnit crossing the Line of Control destroying 5-8 terror launch pads.
Operation Sahyog	2018	Indian Army launched Operation Sahyog to rescue people in flood-hit Kerala. Indian Army has deployed its men and machinery into disaster relief and rescue operations at Kannur, Kozhikode, Wayanad and Idukki after incessant rain
Navy Operations	Year	Purpose
Operation Vijay	1961	Annexation of Goa
Operation Trident	1971	Operation Trident and the follow-up Operation Python were offensive operations launched by the Indian Navy on Pakistan's port city of Karachi during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
Operation Python	1971	A follow up to operation Trident launched by the Indian Navy on Pakistan's port city of Karachi during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
Operation Cactus	1988	The 1988 Maldives coup d'etat was the attempt by a group of Maldivians led by Abdullah Luthufi and assisted by armed mercenaries of a Tamil secessionist organisation from Sri Lanka, the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), to overthrow the government in the island republic of Maldives. The coup d'etat failed due to the intervention of the Indian Army
Operation Restore Hope	1992-2003	The Unified Task Force (UNITAF) was a US-led, United Nations-sanctioned multinational force, which operated in Somalia to create a protected environment for conducting humanitarian operations in the southern half of the country.
Mission Sahayata & Operation Megh Rahat	2014	For search, rescue, relief, relocation and humanitarian assistance to worst flood hit Jammu and Kashmir.
Operation Madad	2015	A joint effort by Army, Navy and Air Force along with national disaster management force personnel helped in evacuating thousands stranded in the floods in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
Operation Sea Waves	2004	Operation Sea Waves was a disaster relief operation undertaken by the Indian Armed Forces in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Sea Waves was focused on rescue and relief efforts on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Operation Rainbow		Carried by Indian Armed Forces in Sri Lanka for rescue in the aftermath of Tsunami.
Operation Gambhir		An overseas relief operation launched by India following the December 26 tsunami disaster that has left thougarvis dead along the South and South-East Asian shores.
Operation Sukoon	2006	To evacuate Indian, Sri Lankan and Nepalese nationals as well as Lebanese Nationals with Indian Spouses form the conflict zone during the Lebanon War.
Operation Search Light		To find the missing Boieng 777 M H 17 Malaysian Flight.
Operation Raahat	2015	To evacuate Indian citizens and other foreign nationals from Yemen during 2015 military intervention by Saudi Arabia and its allies during Yemeni Crisis.
Air Operation	Year	Purpose
Bangladesh Liberation War	1971	The war began with preemptive aerial strikes on 11 Indian air stations that led to the commencement of hostilities with Pakistan and Indian entry into the war of independence in East Pakistan on the side of Bengali nationalist forces.
Meghna Hell Bridge	1971	It took place when the Indian Air Force airlifted the Mukti Bahini and the DI Corps of the Indian Army from Btahmanbaria to Raipura in Narsingdi over the River Meghna, bypassing the destroyed Meghna Bride and Pakistani defences in Ashuganj.
Tangail Airdrop Operation	1971	The main objective was to capture the Poongli Bridge on the Jamuna River which would cut off the Pakistani 93m Brigade which was retreating from the north to defend Dhaka and its approaches and to link up with advancing Maratha Light Infantry.
Operation Meghdoot	1984	To capture the Siachen Glacier in the Jammu and Kachntit.
Operation Poomalai or Eagle Mission 4	1987	To air-drop supplies over the besieged town of Jaffna in Sri Lanka on 4 June 1987 in support of Tamil Tigers during the Sri Lankan Civil War.
Operation Cactus	1988	The 1988 Maldives coup d'etat was the attempt by a group of Maldivians led by Abdullah Luthufi and assisted by armed mercenaries of a Tamil secessionist organisation from Sri Lanka, the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE), to overthrow the government in the island republic of Maldives. The coup d'etat failed due to the intervention of the Indian Army.
Bangladesh Liberation War	1971	The war began with preemptive aerial strikes on 11 Indian air stations that led to the commencement of hostilities with Pakistan and Indian entry into the war of independence in East Pakistan on the side of Bengali nationalist forces.
Operation Safed Sagar	1999	To support Ground Troops during Kargil War aimed to flush out regular and irregular troops of the Pakistani Army along the Line of Control.
Atlantique Incident	1999	An event in which a Breguet Atlantic patrol plane of the Pakistan Navy's Naval Air Arm, with 16 people on board, was shot down by the Indian Air Force for violating Indian airspace. The episode took place in the Rain of Kutch on 10 August 1999, just a month after the Kargil War, aggravating already tense relations between India and Pakistan.
Operation Rahat	2013	Biggest IAF operation to evacuate the stranded people affected by the 2013 North Indian Flash Floods in the state of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
Operation Maitri	2015	A rescue and relief operation in Nepal by Indian Armed Forces in the aftermath of April 2015 Nepal Earthquake.
Operation Sankat Mochan	2016	An operation of the Indian Air Force in view of 2016 Juba Clashes to evacuate Indian citizens and other foreign nationals from South Sudan during the South Sudanese Civil War.
Balakot Air Strike	2016	To destroy terrorist base camps and launch pads in PoK, who are responsible for Pulwama attack.

Military Exercises and IT Telecom: Defence Communication Network

• India’s first integrated Defense Communication Network (DCN) has been launched by the Ministry of Defence.
• It is built by HCL under a nearly Rs. 600 crore project.
• The Defence Communication Network (DCN), a strategic, highly secure and scalable system, has a pan-India reach - from Ladakh to the North East to island territories, enabling the army, air force, navy and the Special Forces Command to share situational awareness for a faster decision-making process.
• Implementation of DCN is proof of the strength of the Indian industry and has reaffirmed the emphasis of the Government on Make in India, program.
• The DCN is a major step towards ensuring Network Centricity across the three Services, Integrated Defence Staff and Strategic Forces Command.
• The network provides converged voice, data and video services to the three Services based on a secured system with adequate redundancy.
• This network is a step towards joint manship that the government is pushing for in the armed forces.
• It is capable of working on terrestrial as well as satellite mode of communication and has also been fixed onboard different military vehicles.
• DCN will ensure Network Centricity across the three services, Integrated Defence Staff (IDS) and Strategic Forces Command (SFC). It was developed as a part of the armed forces pursuit of modernising military communications system. 
• Significance:
  • It will help the armed forces and the Special Forces Command to share situational awareness for a faster decision-making process. Hence, it will help in improving the prompt response time due to integrated technology.
  • It will help in bolstering the prowess of the defence forces during critical operations and rescue missions.
  • It acts as proof of the strength of the Indian industry. Initially, it was planned to import the system.
  • With the indigenous development, it has reaffirmed the capability of the Indian industries and acts as a boost to the Make in India Programme.

Military Exercises and IT Telecom: Missiles of India

Air-to-air missiles	Name of the Missile	Type of Missile	Operational Range	Speed
	MICA	Air-to-Air Missiles	500 m to 80 km	Mach 4
	Astra Missile	Air-to-Air Missiles	80-110 km	Mach 4.5 +
	Novator K-100	Medium Range air-to-air missile	300–400 km	Mach 3.3
Surface-To-Air Missiles	Trishul	Short-Range surface to air missile	9 km
	Akash Missile	Medium-range surface-to-air missile	30-35 km	Mach 2.5 to 3.5
	Barak 8	Long-Range Surface to Air Missile	100 km	Mach 2
Surface-to-surface Missiles	Agni-I	Medium-range ballistic missile	700-1250 km	Mach 7.5
	Agni-II	Intermediate-range ballistic missile	2,000–3,000 km	Mach 12
	Agni-III	Intermediate-range ballistic missile	3,500 km – 5,000 km	5–6 km/s
	Agni-IV	Intermediate-range ballistic missile	3,000 – 4,000 km	Mach 7
	Agni-V	Intercontinental ballistic missile	5000 – 8000 Km	Mach 24
	Prithvi I	Short-Range Ballistic Missile	150 km	–
	Prithvi II	Short-Range Ballistic Missile	350 km	–
	Dhanush	Short-Range Ballistic Missile	350 – 600 km	–
	Shaurya	Medium-Range Ballistic Missile	750 to 1,900 km	–
	Prahaar	Short-Range Ballistic Missile	150 km	–
Cruise Missiles	BrahMos	Supersonic cruise missile	290 km	Mach 2.8 to 3 Mach
	BrahMos II	Hypersonic cruise missile	300 km	Mach 7
	Nirbhay	Subsonic cruise missile	1,000 -1500 km	Mach 0.8
Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles	Ashwin	Ballistic Missile	150-200 km	Mach 4.5
	Sagarika	Ballistic Missile	700 – 1900 Km
	K-4	Ballistic Missile	3,500–5,000 km
	K-5	Ballistic Missile	6,000 km
Anti-Tank Missile	Amogha	Anti-Tank Guided Missile	2.8 km
	Nag	Anti-Tank Guided Missile	4 km	230 m/s
	Helina	Anti-Tank Guided Missile	7-8 km

Military Exercises and IT Telecom: Nuclear Triad

• A nuclear triad is a three-pronged military force structure that consists of land-launched nuclear missiles, nuclear-missile-armed submarines and strategic aircraft with nuclear bombs and missiles.
• Specifically, these components are land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs), and strategic bombers.
• The purpose of having this three-branched nuclear capability is to significantly reduce the possibility that an enemy could destroy all of a nation's nuclear forces in a first-strike attack. This, in turn, ensures a credible threat of a second strike, and thus increases a nation's nuclear deterrence.
• It includes the following components:
  • Bomber aircraft: Aircraft carrying nuclear bombs, or nuclear-armed cruise missiles, for use against ground or sea targets.
  • Land-based missiles (MRBMs or ICBMs): Delivery vehicles powered by a liquid or solid-fueled rocket that primarily travel in a ballistic (free-fall) trajectory.
  • Ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs): Nuclear missiles launched from ships or submarines. They are classified under an umbrella of vessels and submarines that are capable of launching a ballistic missile.
• India’s Nuclear Triad
  • India's nuclear weapons policy is that of "no first use" and "minimum credible deterrence," which means that the country will not use nuclear weapons unless they are attacked first, but the country does have the capability to induce the second strike.
  • India completed its nuclear triad with the commissioning of INS Arihant in August 2016, which was India's first submarine built indigenously.
  • INS Arihant is a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine armed with 12 K-15 missiles with a range of 750 km, which will later be upgraded K-4 missiles with an extended range of 3500 km.
  • In November 2017, it tested the BrahMos missile from the Sukhoi-30 MKI platform. The INS Arihant was the first SSBN to be completed under India's program.
  • The INS Arighat is currently under construction and close to completion. This would be the second SSBN of the three underway to be finished.
  • After the INS Arihant was completed, India now contained air-launched nuclear missiles, nuclear-missile-armed submarines and strategic aircraft with nuclear bombs and missiles. This allows the country to join the nuclear triad.

Military Exercises and IT Telecom: Telecommunication Technology: IT and Computer

• The telecom services have been recognized the world-over as an important tool for socio-economic development for a nation.
• It is one of the prime support services needed for rapid growth and modernization of various sectors of the economy.

The two telecom technologies are:

GSM

• GSM (Global System for Mobile communication) is a digital mobile telephony system that is widely used in Europe and other parts of the world.
• GSM uses a variation of time division multiple access (TDMA) and frequency division multiple access (FDMA).
• GSM digitizes and compresses data, then sends it down a channel with two other streams of user data, each in its own time slot.
• It operates at either the 900 MHz or 1800 MHz frequency band.
• The key advantage of GSM systems to consumers has been higher digital voice quality and low cost alternatives to making calls, such as the Short message service (SMS, also called “text messaging”)

CDMA

• Code-Division Multiple Access is a digital cellular technology that uses spread-spectrum techniques.
• Individual conversations are encoded with a pseudo-random digital sequence. CDMA employs analog-to-digital conversion (ADC) in combination with spread spectrum technology. Audio input is first digitized into binary elements.
• The frequency of the transmitted signal is then made to vary according to a defined pattern (code), so it can be intercepted only by a receiver whose frequency response is programmed with the same code.
• CDMA consistently provides better capacity for voice and data communications than other commercial mobile technologies, allowing more subscribers to connect at any given time.
• The technology is used in ultra-high-frequency (UHF) cellular telephone systems in the 800-MHz and 1.9-GHz bands.

Military Exercises and IT Telecom: Different Telecom Technologies

1. VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)

• • VOIP is IP enabled voice calling technology over internet. Example: Skype, Yahoo messenger, MSN messenger.
  • It requires broadband connectivity to make a call along with IP enables devices like Computers, Smartphone etc.
  • The voice is converted into digital packets and transmitted to destination over packet switched network.

2. IPTV

• • IPTV is new generation TV that communicates over Internet protocol in the form of packets rather than signals in normal TV’s.
  • It has 3 components: IPTV where content is encoded and decoded; Delivery Network over which information in the form of packets is transmitted; Setup Box which is communication link between operator’s broadband modem and customer’s TV. Also packets delivered are reassembled here.
  • IPTV enables two-way interactivity, in contrast to traditional one way cable or satellite broadcast network. The two-way IPTV network means viewers have more options to personalize interact and control their viewing experience.
  • Because IPTV is based on internet protocol, it is sensitive to packet loss and delays if the IPTV connection is not fast enough.

3. Near Field Communication (NFC)

• • It’s a new standard of wireless communication.
  • It enables users to transmit radio frequency wave over a very short distance just about few centimeters.
  • Since it’s a very short range communication, power consumption is very negligible or no power consumption.
  • It can transfer low amount of data between devices enabled with NFC.
  • No need of pairing the devices, its ready to use at just a click or swipe.
  • NFC-based wallet, Mobo Money launched- Tech Mahindra, the Tech & Software development arm of Mahindra Group, announced launch of Mobo-Money, a NFC based, contactless digital payment ecosystem.
  • Mobo Money will be the first commercial roll-out of NFC (Near Field Communication) for an ecosystem. The company aims to get about one million merchants including local kirana shop owners on board.

4. Li-Fi

• • Li-Fi means light fidelity.
  • Li-Fi is a wireless communication, high speed and bidirectional.
  • It’s similar to WiFi but not a radio frequency wave communication.
  • It’s a visual light communication where visible light has the capacity to transmit the data.
  • A dedicated LED light so developed emits a visible range light. The reach of light is the range of Li-Fi communication.
  • Internet connectivity would become more simple and high bandwidth of Li-Fi can render cost effective and efficient data communication.
  • Most importantly Li-Fi is high security benefits. Light communication can’t be intercepted unlike electromagnetic waves. Hence its secure mode of communication.
  • Since light can’t pass through obstacles like walls and barriers, Li- Fi can’t work beyond it. It limited to visible range of light.
  • It provides one point solution to signal solution. In offices a merely LED bulb can work as network generator.

5.Bluetooth technology

• • Bluetooth is a proprietary open wireless technology standard for exchanging data over short distances (using short wavelength radio transmissions in the ISM band from 2400-2480 MHz) from fixed and mobile devices, creating Personal Area Networks (PANs) with high levels of security.

List of applications

– Wireless control of and communication between a mobile phone and a hands free headset
– Wireless Bluetooth headset and Intercom.
– Wireless networking between PCs in a confined space and where little bandwidth is required.
– Wireless communication with PC input and output devices, the most common being the mouse, keyboard and printer.
– Transfer of files, contact details, calendar appointments, and reminders between devices with OBEX.

6. Wi-Fi technology

• • Wi-Fi is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices.
  • A device such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, when enabled with WiFi, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point.
  • Wi-Fi works with no physical wired connection.
  • It uses radio frequency (RF) technology, RF being a frequency within the electromagnetic spectrum associated with radio wave propagation.
  • Wi-Fi is supported by many applications and devices including video game consoles, home networks, PDAs, mobile phones, major operating systems, and other types of consumer electronics.
  • Wi-Fi allows cheaper deployment of local Area Networks (LANs). Products designated as “Wi-Fi Certified” by the Wi-Fi Alliance are backward compatible. Unlike mobile phones, any standard Wi-Fi device will work anywhere in the world.

7. WiMax technology

• • WiMax (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) is a wireless broadband technology, which supports point to multi-point (PMP) broadband wireless access.
  • WiMax can provide Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) up to 30 miles (50 km) for fixed stations, and 3 – 10 miles (5 – 15 km) for mobile stations.

Uses of WiMax technology are:

• • Providing portable mobile broadband connectivity across cities and countries through a variety of devices.
  • Providing a wireless alternative to cable and DSL for “last mile” broadband access.
  • Providing data, telecommunications (VoIP) and IPTV services (triple play).
  • Providing a source of Internet connectivity as part of a business continuity plan.

8. AMOLED Display

• • AMOLED (active-matrix organic light-emitting diode) is a display technology for use in mobile devices and televisions.
  • OLED describes a specific type of thin-film-display technology in which organic compounds form the electroluminescent material, and active matrix refers to the technology behind the addressing of pixels.
  • AMOLED technology is used in mobile phones, media players and digital cameras, and continues to make progress toward low-power, low-cost and large-size (for example, 40-inch) applications.
  • The greatest advantage of AMOLED display is fast pixel switching response time that makes the display fit and efficient for animation.

9. 4G LTE Vs 4G WiMAX

• • LTE stands for Long Term Evolution. It’s a first generation 4G technology termed as “true 4G”.
  • WiMAX stands for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access.
  • They differ in their bandwidth; LTE has higher bandwidth than WiMAX.
  • LTE is compatible with existing network but for WiMAX we need altogether new network.
  • The cost of installation of LTE is more than WiMAX.
  • Overall LTE is gaining popularity and hopes to existing 4G technology in coming years.

10. LTE – Long Term Evolution

• • LTE (Long Term Evolution) is a wireless broadband technology designed to support roaming Internet access via cell phones and handheld devices.
  • With its architecture based on Internet Protocol (IP) unlike many other cellular Internet protocols, Long Term Evolution supports browsing Web sites, VoIP and other IP-based services well.
  • LTE can theoretically support downloads at 300 Megabits per second (Mbps) or more based on experimental trials.

11. WiBro

• • WiBro (Wireless Broadband) is a wireless broadband Internet technology developed by the South Korean telecoms industry.
  • WiBro (Wireless Broadband)communication technique uses radio waves (frequency of 2.3 GHz) and allows a maximum theoretical speed of 30 megabits per second over a range between 1 and 5 kilometers.
  • WiBro is a wireless point to point communication technique, tailored to serve low-cost sparsely populated areas where the fiber is not an option.

12. GPRS

• • General Packet Radio Services (GPRS) is a packet-based wireless communication service that promises data rates from 56 up to 114 Kbps and continuous connection to the Internet for mobile phone and computer users.
  • GPRS facilitates instant connections whereby information can be sent or received immediately as the need arises, subject to radio coverage. No dial-up modem connection is necessary. This is why GPRS users are sometimes referred to be as being “always connected”.
  • GPRS packet-based services cost users less than circuit-switched services since communication channels are being used on a shared-use, as-packets-are-needed basis rather than dedicated to only one user at a time.
  • Packet switching means that GPRS radio resources are used only when users are actually sending or receiving data. Rather than dedicating a radio channel to a mobile data user for a fixed period of time, the available radio resource can be concurrently shared between several users.
  • This efficient use of scarce radio resources means that large numbers of GPRS users can potentially share the same bandwidth and be served from a single cell.

13. WAP

• • Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is a secure specification that allows users to access information instantly via handheld wireless devices such as mobile phones, pagers, two-way radios, smartphones and communicators.
  • WAP is supported by all operating systems WAPs that use displays and access the Internet are called micro-browsers i.e. browsers with small file sizes that can accommodate the low memory constraints of handheld devices and the low-bandwidth constraints of a wireless-handheld network.
  • Although WAP supports HTML and XML, the WML language (Wireless Markup Language) is specifically devised for small screens and one-hand navigation without a keyboard.

“Rare Diseases Day”

Rare Diseases Day:  Science & Technology 

Context

World Rare Disease Day is observed every year on the last day of February. This year, February 29, the rarest of days, is marked as the International Rare Disease Day.

About

• Rare Disease Day takes place on the last day of February each year. The main objective of Rare Disease Day is to raise awarenessamongst the general public and decision-makers about rare diseases and their impact on patients' lives.
• The first Rare Disease Day was celebrated in 2008 on 29 February, a ‘rare’ date that happens only once every four years.
• Ever since then, Rare Disease Day has taken place on the last day of February, a month is known for having a ‘rare’ number of days.

What is Rare Disease?

• A rare disease also referred to as an orphan disease, is any disease that affects a small percentage of the population.
• Over 300 million people are living with one or more of over 6,000 identified rare diseases around the world.
• Over 6000 rare diseases are characterised by a broad diversity of disorders and symptoms that vary not only from disease to disease but also from patient to patient suffering from the same disease.
• Relatively common symptoms can hide underlying rare diseases leading to misdiagnosis and delaying treatment.
• Quintessentially disabling, the patients quality of life is affected by the lack or loss of autonomy due to the chronic, progressive, degenerative, and frequently life-threatening aspects of the disease.
• Each rare disease may only affect a handful of people, scattered around the world, but taken together with the number of people directly affected is equivalent to the population of the world’s third-largest country.

Items for Box: Rare diseases currently affect 3.5% - 5.9% of the worldwide population. In India, one in one lakh people suffer from some rare disease.  72% of rare diseases are genetic whilst others are the result of infections (bacterial or viral), allergies and environmental causes, or are degenerative and proliferative. 70% of those genetic rare diseases start in childhood.

What causes rare diseases?

• There are many different causes of rare diseases. The majority are thought to be genetic, directly caused by changes in genes or chromosomes.
• In some cases, genetic changes that cause disease are passed from one generation to the next.
• In other cases, they occur randomly in a person who is the first in a family to be diagnosed.
• Many rare diseases, including infections, some rare cancers, and some autoimmune diseases, are not inherited.
• The most common rare diseases identified in India are Haemophilia, Thalassemia, Sickle-cell Anaemia, Primary Immuno Deficiency, Lysosomal Storage Disorders such as Gaucher Disease, Fabry Disease, Hunter Syndrome and Pompe’s Disease. 

Challenges:

• Lack of knowledge:The lack of scientific knowledge and quality informationon the disease often results in a delay in diagnosis.
• Misdiagnosis:As mentioned, due to the broad diversity of disorders and relatively common symptoms which can hide underlying rare diseases, initial misdiagnosis is common. In addition, symptoms differ not only from disease to disease but also from patient to patient suffering from the same disease.
• Social and financial burden:Also the need for appropriate quality health care engenders inequalities and difficulties in access to treatment and care.This often results in heavy social and financial burdens on patients.

Building awareness of rare diseases is so important because 1 in 20 people will live with a rare disease at some point in their life. Rare Disease Day improves knowledge amongst the general public of rare diseases while encouraging researchers and decision-makers to address the needs of those living with rare diseases.

“Scientists discover animal that doesn’t breathe oxygen”

Day 63: Science & Technology - Current Affairs

Science & Technology: Scientists discover animal that doesn’t breathe oxygen of Current Affairs

Context

Scientists at Tel Aviv University have discovered a jellyfish-like parasite that doesn’t need oxygen because it doesn’t breathe. Its life is entirely free of dependency on oxygen.

About

• The discovery was made by accident as the team was sequencing the genome of a common salmon parasite called Henneguyasalminicola.
• When they searched for a mitochondrial genome, they didn’t find anything.
• The discovery has enormous ramifications for not just one’s understanding of life on Earth, but also for astrobiology and one’s search for non-oxygen dependent life forms on other astronomical objects, possibly within the solar system. 

What is Mitochondria?

• Mitochondria are organelles that trap oxygen and help to break it down to provide energy for the cell.
• Mitochondria are membrane-bound cell organelles (mitochondrion, singular) that generate metabolic energy in eukaryotic cellsneeded to power the cell's biochemical reactions.
• Chemical energy produced by the mitochondria is stored in a small molecule called adenosine triphosphate (ATP).
• Mitochondria contain their small chromosomes. Generally, mitochondria, and therefore mitochondrial DNA, are inherited only from the mother.

What if, mitochondria are not present?

• The presence of mitochondria helps in harnessing oxygen and breaking it down for energy. Then, life took a dramatic turn and erupted.
• Unlike bacteria, all eukaryotic cells have mitochondria.
• Every cell in every plant or animal contains mitochondria, which generates fuel for the cell to burn and obtain energy.
• The lack of mitochondria implies that the animal does not use oxygen to function, as no other organelle or process in a cell is capable of breaking it down.
• It is not entirely known how the creature (parasite) obtains energy. It may be possible that it does so by absorbing molecules from the salmon that already produces energy.
• There are known organisms who have adapted to thrive in a low oxygen environment but until this study, whether there have been animals that don’t use oxygen has been a question that hadn’t been answered. 

Aerobic respiration: Aerobic respiration is a chemical reaction that transfers energy to cells. Plants and animals transport glucose and oxygen to tiny structures in their cells, called mitochondria. Here, glucose and oxygen take part in a chemical reaction. The reaction is called aerobic respiration, and it produces energy which transfers to the cells. The waste products of aerobic respiration are carbon dioxide and water.

The parasite

• Henneguyasalminicola is a myxozoan cnidarian — a type of animal-related to jellyfish and coral.
• It consists of less than 10 cells in its being. It lives inside salmon’s muscles and leeches energy off its host. But it is not a harmful parasite, it can live the fish’s entire life inside it.
• The environment inside its host is almost entirely free of oxygen. This meant that it didn’t need the mitochondria anymore once it found another way to adapt. So it dropped its mitochondrial genome entirely, so as to save energy and not copy genes for multiplication. It gave up breathing. 

Mars Insight Mission

Day 63: Science & Technology - Current Affairs

Science & Technology: Mars Insight Mission of Current Affairs

Context

NASA’s Mars Lander InSight has recorded its first ‘Marsquake.’ It has recorded a quake of 2 or 2.5 magnitude which is hard to predict on Earth’s surface.

About

• InSight is part of NASA’s Discovery Program, managed by the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
• It will be the first mission to peer deep beneath the Martian surface, studying the planet’s interior by measuring its heat output and listening for marsquakes, which are seismic events similar to earthquakes on Earth.
• It will use the seismic waves generated by marsquakes to develop a map of the planet’s deep interior.

 Significance of the mission:

• The findings of Mars’ formation will help better understand how other rocky planets, including Earth, were and are created. But InSight is more than a Mars mission – it is a terrestrial planet explorer that would address one of the most fundamental issues of planetary and solar system science – understanding the processes that shaped the rocky planets of the inner solar system (including Earth) more than four billion years ago.
• InSight would delve deep beneath the surface of Mars, detecting the fingerprints of the processes of terrestrial planet formation, as well as measuring the planet’s “vital signs”: Its “pulse” (seismology), “temperature” (heat flow probe), and “reflexes” (precision tracking).
• InSight seeks to answer one of science’s most fundamental questions: How did the terrestrial planets form?
• Previous missions to Mars have investigated the surface history of the Red Planet by examining features like canyons, volcanoes, rocks and soil. However, signatures of the planet’s formation can only be found by sensing and studying its “vital signs” far below the surface.
• In comparison to the other terrestrial planets, Mars is neither too big nor too small. This means that it preserves the record of its formation and can give us insight into how the terrestrial planets formed. It is the perfect laboratory from which to study the formation and evolution of rocky planets. Scientists know that Mars has low levels of geological activity. But a lander like InSight can also reveal just how active Mars really is.

KandangiSaree-of-TamilNadu-got-GI-tag

American-Pocket-Shark

Chrysomallon-Squamiferum

Dracaena-Cambodiana

Proahaetulla-Antiqua