Science & Technology - 4 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

Uniform Safety Standards for EVs

Why in News

• India will commence its first-ever testing of Electric Vehicles (EVs) from April 1, 2023.
• The aim is to establish uniform safety standards for EVs.
• This initiative comes in response to concerns over multiple instances of fires in electric two-wheelers and four-wheelers in recent months.

EV Testing in India: Key Points to Know

Current Scenario:

• There are no centralised testing facilities for EVs in India.
• Manufacturers have their own benchmarks.
• In June 2022, Bureau of Indian Standards issued performance norms for lithium-ion battery packs and traction systems, in line with broader ISO norms.

Latest Update

• Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) will procure infrastructure for testing battery-powered vehicles.
• Ministry of Heavy Industries has allocated Rs 44 crore to ARAI for setting up requisite infrastructure.
• Infrastructure will be used for testing, certification, and development of electric and hybrid vehicles.

Significance:

• Push for EV testing compliments government’s focus on electric vehicles and alternative fuels.
• Government aims to go all-electric in terms of new car sales by 2030.
• Adherence to uniform standards would enhance reliability, performance, and safety of EVs.
• Entry barrier will become tougher for non-serious players ensuring that only serious players get into production.

What are Electric Vehicles?

Overview:

• Electric vehicles (EVs) run on an electric motor and battery, making them environmentally friendly and cost-effective.

Current Scenario of EVs in India:

• India has over 1.3 million EVs, mostly three-wheelers and two-wheelers.
• Global climate agendas drive the push for EVs to reduce carbon emissions.
• The cost of fuel for an EV in India is approximately 80 paisa per kilometer.

Initiatives to Support EVs:

• The Indian government promotes EVs through schemes such as FAME-II, PLI schemes for manufacturers, tax exemptions, subsidies, interest subvention schemes, and revised guidelines for charging infrastructure.
• In April 2022, the NITI Aayog released the draft battery swapping policy for EVs in India.

Recent Issues Related to EVs:

• Instances of EVs catching fire due to manufacturing defects, external damage, faults in the deployment of the battery management system, and faulty charging have affected the industry.
• The Covid-19 pandemic and the US-China trade war have disrupted supply chains, making critical EV components expensive.
• Indian manufacturers are struggling to source lithium-ion batteries.
• The semiconductor shortage is hindering the growth of the EV industry.

India’s Initiatives for EV Testing:

• India allocated Rs 44 crore to ARAI to establish centralized testing facilities for EVs, starting on April 1, 2023.
• Adherence to uniform safety standards will enhance product reliability, performance, and safety, and make the entry barrier tougher for non-serious players.

Way Forward:

• Implement uniform guidelines and inspection systems for the entire EV ecosystem, from conceptualization to production and end-of-life of the battery.
• Implement conformity of production (CoP) to ensure the same quality throughout EV battery manufacturing.
• Maintain self-regulation by battery manufacturers until CoP is implemented.
• Check each imported cell individually and use only if it fulfills the norms and quality standards for battery pack manufacturing.

One Health Concept

Why in News:

• The Quadripartite, comprising the FAO, UNEP, WHO, and WOAH, has launched a new One Health Joint Plan of Action.
• A pilot project has been launched in the state of Uttarakhand to implement the One Health Framework.
• The project is being carried out by the One Health Support Unit.
• The initiative aims to address health challenges related to human, animal, and environmental factors by adopting a holistic approach.

The One Health Joint Plan of Action

About the Plan:

• The One Health Joint Plan of Action is a collaborative effort developed by four international organizations, including the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). 
• The plan was developed through a participatory process and aims to strengthen collaboration, communication, capacity building, and coordination across all sectors responsible for addressing health concerns at the human-animal-plant-environment interface.

Validity and Scope:

• The One Health Joint Plan of Action is valid from 2022 to 2026 and is aimed at mitigating the health challenges at global, regional, and country levels. The plan covers a wide range of issues related to health, including zoonotic epidemics, endemic zoonotic diseases, neglected tropical and vector-borne diseases, antimicrobial resistance and the environment, and food safety risks.

Focus Areas of the Plan

The One Health Joint Plan of Action has identified several key focus areas to address the health challenges mentioned above. These focus areas include:

• One Health capacity for health systems
• Emerging and re-emerging zoonotic epidemics
• Endemic zoonotic diseases
• Neglected tropical and vector-borne diseases
• Antimicrobial resistance and the environment
• Food safety risks

Overall, the One Health Joint Plan of Action aims to provide a comprehensive approach to address the health challenges at the human-animal-plant-environment interface by strengthening collaboration and coordination across all sectors.

What is the One Health Concept?

• Definition: Approach recognizing the interconnectedness of human, animal, and environmental health
• Tripartite-plus alliance: FAO, OIE, and WHO collaboration
• Purpose: Encourage collaborations in research and sharing of knowledge across various disciplines to improve, protect, and defend the health of all species

Why has the One Health Concept become more important?

• Human expansion: Growing populations and close contact with animals provide more opportunities for disease transmission
• Environmental disruptions: Changes in environmental conditions and habitats can provide new opportunities for diseases to pass to animals
• International travel & trade: Movement of people and animals increases the spread of diseases across borders
• Viruses in wildlife: Many zoonotic viruses are circulating in wildlife, with the potential for future pandemics

Way Forward

• Covid-19 showed relevance of One Health principles
• Scale up One Health model across India
• Develop best-practice guidelines for informal markets and slaughterhouses
• Create mechanisms to operationalize One Health at every stage, including the village level
• Increase awareness and investment towards meeting One Health targets.

Nuclear Fusion Energy

• Scientists in the UK have achieved a new milestone in nuclear fusion energy production.
• Nuclear fusion energy is a long-standing goal for mankind, as it offers a low-carbon, safer, and more efficient alternative to current nuclear energy production.
• Fusion fuel has a much higher energy density than traditional fossil fuels; one kilogram of fusion fuel contains about 10 million times more energy than a kilogram of coal, oil, or gas.
• Advantages of nuclear fusion energy:
  • Low-carbon
  • Safer than traditional nuclear energy
  • Higher efficiency than traditional fossil fuels
  • Higher energy density in fusion fuel.

Location of Experiment: JET Facility

• The JET facility in the UK is the largest operational site for nuclear fusion experimentation in the world.
• The experiment was conducted in a tokamak, a doughnut-shaped machine that confines plasma using magnetic fields.
• The plasma was created by heating deuterium and tritium, isotopes of hydrogen, to temperatures 10 times hotter than the center of the sun.
• Superconductor electromagnets held the plasma in place as it spun around, fused, and released tremendous energy as heat.
• The record and scientific data from these experiments are a major boost for ITER, a larger and more advanced version of the JET.

What is Nuclear Fusion?

• Nuclear fusion is a process where several small nuclei combine into one large nucleus, releasing huge amounts of energy in the process.
• It is the opposite reaction of fission, where heavy isotopes are split apart.
• Harnessing fusion could provide a limitless, clean energy source, as it is the process that powers the Sun.
• Fusion reactions take place in a state of matter called plasma, which is a hot, charged gas made of positive ions and free-moving electrons.
• Plasma has unique properties distinct from solids, liquids, and gases and is also known as the fourth state of matter.
• In the Sun, extreme pressure produced by its immense gravity creates the conditions for fusion to happen.

Advantages of Nuclear Fusion

• Abundant energy: Controlled fusion releases almost four million times more energy than burning coal, oil, or gas, and four times more than nuclear fission reactions (at equal mass).
• Sustainability: Fusion fuels are widely available and almost inexhaustible. Deuterium can be distilled from all forms of water, while tritium is produced during the fusion reaction as fusion neutrons interact with lithium.
• No CO₂: Fusion doesn't emit harmful toxins like carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Its major by-product is helium: an inert, non-toxic gas.
• No long-lived radioactive waste: Nuclear fusion reactors produce no high-activity, long-lived nuclear waste.
• Limited risk of proliferation: Fusion doesn't use fissile materials like uranium and plutonium (radioactive tritium is neither a fissile nor a fissionable material).
• No risk of meltdown: Fusion requires precise conditions, and if any disturbance occurs, the plasma cools within seconds, and the reaction stops.

Other International Initiatives on Nuclear Fusion Energy

• International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) Assembly: Aims to build the world's largest tokamak to prove the feasibility of fusion as a large-scale and carbon-free source of energy. The ITER members include China, the European Union, India, Japan, South Korea, Russia, and the United States.
• China's Artificial Sun: The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) device designed by China replicates the nuclear fusion process carried out by the sun.

Difference between Nuclear Fusion & Nuclear Fission:

National Geospatial Policy 2022

• The Ministry of Science and Technology has issued the National Geospatial Policy 2022.
• This is a 13-year directive that seeks to advance India's geospatial data industry.
• The policy's objective is to create a national structure for leveraging geospatial data to improve services for citizens.
• It includes plans to establish geospatial data infrastructure and enhance its accessibility.
• The policy proposes the creation of a National Geospatial Data Centre and guidelines for data sharing among various organizations.
• It also recommends the development of a skilled workforce in geospatial technology and increased public awareness of its applications.

Key Highlights and Significance

Aim:

• Develop geospatial infrastructures, skills and knowledge, standards, and businesses.
• 14 National Fundamental Sectoral Geospatial Data Themes:
• Used to address various sectors that support the development of commercial geospatial applications.

Geospatial Knowledge Infrastructure (GKI)

• Integrated Data and Information Framework to establish by 2030.
• GKI to be developed under the framework.

National Digital Twi

• Develop high-resolution topographical survey and mapping by 2035.
• Develop a high-accuracy Digital Elevation Model for the entire country.
• Digital twin is a virtual replica of a physical asset, process or service.

Institutional Framework

• Geospatial Data Promotion and Development Committee (GDPDC) to be constituted.
• Apex body for formulating and implementing appropriate guidelines, strategies, and programs for the promotion of activities related to the Geospatial sector.

Functions of GDPDC

• Foster innovation and provide leadership and coordination among stakeholders.
• Promote standards necessary to strengthen Geospatial information management.
• Find sustainable solutions to emerging development and security challenges faced by the nation.

Rules and Procedure

• GDPDC can frame rules and procedures for its business.
• Secretary, Department of Science & Technology to preside over the Committee meetings in the absence of the Chairperson.
• The Committee will meet at least once every year as arranged by the Chairperson.

Vision and Goals

• Make India a world leader in the global geospatial space with the best-in-class ecosystem for innovation.
• Develop a coherent national framework and leverage it to move towards a digital economy and improve services to citizens.
• Enable easy availability of valuable geospatial data collected utilising public funds to businesses and the public.
• Have a thriving Geospatial industry in the country involving private enterprise.

Major Challenges

• Lack of commercial business.
• Absence of a framework.
• Negligible contribution to the nation’s GDP.
• Lack of skilled manpower.
• Unavailability of foundation data at high-resolution.
• Lack of clarity on data sharing and collaboration.
• No ready-to-use solutions built to solve the problems of India.

Significance of the Policy:

• Multi-Domain Applications.
• Citizen-centric policy to support national development, economic prosperity, and a thriving information economy.
• Focus on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
• Recognize the importance of locally available and locally relevant Maps and Geospatial Data.
• Enable and support innovation, creation and incubation of ideas and start-up initiatives in the Geospatial sector.

Way Forward

• Deregulation.
• Removal of lengthy approvals.
• Development of made-in-India solutions.
• Ease of doing business.

Related Initiatives in Geospatial Technology in India

Geospatial technology is being utilized in a variety of initiatives in India. Here are some of the most significant ones:

SWAMITVA:

• The Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas (SWAMITVA) scheme uses drones to map properties in rural areas. This provides people with clear evidence of ownership.

The South Asia Satellites:

• India's South Asia Satellites are facilitating connection and communication in India's neighboring countries.

Drone Sector:

• India has given a significant boost to its drone sector by opening its space sector to private entities and 5G technology.

Real-time Digital Payments:

• India is the world's number one country in terms of real-time digital payments. Even the smallest vendors accept and prefer digital payments.

PM Gati Shakti Masterplan:

• The PM Gati Shakti Masterplan is building multimodal infrastructure that is powered by geospatial technology.

Digital Ocean Platform:

• The Digital Ocean platform is using geospatial technology for the management of India's oceans. This is crucial for the environment and marine ecosystem.

Near-Earth Asteroid Ryugu

Why in News:

• The Japanese space agency's asteroid sample-return mission, Hayabusa 2, brought a sample of a space rock called Ryugu to Earth in 2020.
• This sample may hold answers to the origin of the Earth.
• It is the first time that several grams of asteroid samples have been brought back to Earth.

Introduction to Asteroid Ryugu

• Description of Ryugu as a diamond-shaped space rock
• Meaning of Ryugu in Japanese folktale
• Discovery of Ryugu by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) project in 1999
• Size of the asteroid: approximately 2,952 feet (900 meters) in diameter
• Classification of Ryugu as a "potentially hazardous" space rock due to its occasional crossing of Earth's orbit

Key Highlights of Asteroid Ryugu

• The potential origin of Earth's building blocks from near-Earth asteroid Ryugu
• Ryugu's samples being the first solids to be formed in the solar system, indicating they could be the building blocks of Earth
• Ryugu's copper and zinc isotope ratios being similar to those of the most primitive meteorites, indicating they likely formed in the outer solar system where volatile elements are preserved
• The significance of Ryugu-like objects in depositing volatile elements to terrestrial planets, including Earth and Mars

Significance:

• The asteroid samples returned from Ryugu by the Hayabusa 2 mission may hold the key to understanding the origin of Earth and Mars
• Volatile elements, such as hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen, played a crucial role in forging complex organic molecules, essential for habitable worlds like Earth
• The asteroid samples can help evaluate the role of Ryugu-like objects in depositing volatile elements to terrestrial planets, including Earth and Mars.

Introduction to Asteroids

Asteroids are minor planets that are remnants of the early formation of the solar system. They are rocky and most of them are irregularly shaped, although some are nearly spherical. Additionally, many asteroids have a small companion moon and there are binary and triple asteroid systems.

Classification of Asteroids:

There are three main categories of asteroids:

(i) Main Asteroid Belt: The majority of asteroids orbit within the asteroid belt located between Mars and Jupiter.
(ii) Trojans: These asteroids share an orbit with a larger planet, but they do not collide with it because they gather around two special places in the orbit called the L4 and L5 Lagrangian points. These points can be used by spacecraft to reduce fuel consumption needed to remain in position.
(iii) Near-Earth Asteroids: These asteroids have orbits that pass close by Earth, and those that cross Earth's orbital path are called Earth-crossers.

ChatGPT Chatbot

Why in news:

• OpenAI has released a new chatbot named ChatGPT.
• ChatGPT is a type of artificial intelligence that is designed to hold "conversational" interactions with humans.
• This chatbot is capable of answering queries in a manner similar to a human being.

A Conversational AI Chatbot

About ChatGPT:

• ChatGPT is a conversational AI chatbot introduced by OpenAI that can answer follow-up questions and admit its mistakes, challenge incorrect premises, and reject inappropriate requests.
• It is based on OpenAI's GPT 3.5 series of language learning models (LLM), which rely on deep learning techniques to produce human-like text based on inputs.
• The chatbot was trained using Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF), which enables it to learn from its mistakes and improve its responses over time.
• ChatGPT can respond to a wide range of questions while imitating human speaking styles and is suitable for various real-world applications such as digital marketing, online content creation, and customer service.

Usage of ChatGPT:

• ChatGPT is being seen as a replacement for basic emails, party planning lists, CVs, college essays, and homework, and can even help debug code.
• The chatbot has shown to be effective in responding to a large range of questions, imitating human-like conversational styles, and providing grammatically correct answers.
• ChatGPT can also be used to write code, as demonstrated by some examples.

Limitations of ChatGPT:

• The chatbot displays clear racial and sexist biases, which is a problem with most AI models and remains a significant challenge to address.
• Some have pointed out that ChatGPT's responses lack context and substance, and occasionally produce inaccurate information.
• ChatGPT's knowledge is restricted to global events that occurred before 2021.

What is a Chatbot?

About Chatbots:

• Chatbots, also called chatterbots, are a form of artificial intelligence (AI) used in messaging apps, designed to interact with customers like a human would.
• Chatbots can operate via set guidelines or through machine learning, with machine learning chatbots becoming more popular due to advancements in AI technology.
• Examples of chatbots are those used by businesses in Facebook Messenger or as virtual assistants, such as Amazon's Alexa.

Types of Chatbots:

• Chatbots with set guidelines can only respond to a limited number of requests and vocabulary, and are only as intelligent as their programming code.
• Machine learning chatbots have an artificial neural network that can self-learn as it is introduced to new dialogues and words.
• Facebook's machine learning chatbot creates a platform for companies to interact with their consumers through the Messenger application.

Advantages of Chatbots:

• Chatbots are convenient for providing customer service and support 24/7, freeing up phone lines and being less expensive than hiring people for support.
• AI and natural language processing enable chatbots to better understand what customers want and provide the help they need.
• Companies can collect data about customer queries, response times, satisfaction, and other metrics through chatbots.

Disadvantages of Chatbots:

• Chatbots may not fully comprehend a customer's input and may provide incoherent answers, despite advancements in natural language processing.
• Chatbots may be limited in the scope of queries they can respond to, depending on their programming.
• Chatbots can be expensive to implement and maintain, especially if they require customization and frequent updates.
• Unethical AI perpetuating historical bias and echoing hate speech are the real dangers to watch for, despite challenges of AI metamorphosing into sentient beings still being far in the future.