UPI123Pay- RBI’s new payments service for feature phones Subject: Science & Tech Section: IT related Context- The unified payments interface (UPI) service, which was limited to smartphones to date, will be now available for feature phones without internet, courtesy the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) UPI123Pay. Concept- How does one use UPI123Pay: UPI123Pay […]
Xeno transplantation Subject: Science & Tech Section: Biotechnology Context- A patient whose failing heart had been replaced with the heart of a genetically altered pig in a landmark surgery at the University of Maryland Medical Centre in Baltimore, United States, died on Tuesday (March 8), two months after the operation. Concept- Cross-species transplant: […]
NORTH KOREA SATELLITE LAUNCH TOPIC: Science & Tech Context- North Korea appears preparing to launch a reconnaissance satellite. North Korea conducted a record number of missile launches in January, and has suggested it could resume testing of nuclear weapons or its longest-range intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) for the first time since 2017. Concept- […]
NET NEURALITY TOPIC: Science & Tech. Section: Computer Related Context- The net neutrality debate has resurfaced with telecom operators, including Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea, backing a proposal to regulate content delivery networks (CDNs). Concept- About Content Delivery Networks: A CDN refers to a geographically distributed group of servers that work together. The […]
SEMICONDUCTOR CHIPS TOPIC: Science & Tech Context- The Russian invasion is making the global chip shortage situation worse. Concept- Why is the Russian invasion impacting chip shortage? According to a report by Moody’s Analytics, Ukraine supplies rare gases used to produce semiconductor fab lasers, and Russia exports rare metals like palladium to make […]
VIRUS EVOLUTION TOPIC: Science & Tech Context- Variants do not always evolve to become less virulent: WHO With the omicron variant disease severity has been far less compared to Delta. However virus don’t inevitably evolve towards being less virulent and it is not true that virants are becoming milder. Concept- What does it […]
KAVACH TOPIC: Science & Tech Context- Kavach, the Indian technology that can prevent two trains from colliding. Concept- What is Kavach? It is India’s very own automatic protection system in development since 2012, under the name Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS). The technology uses micro processors, global positioning system and radio communication. It […]
ICANN TOPIC: Science & Tech Context- ICANN rejects Ukraine request to shut Russian websites. Concept- About ICANN: Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. ICANN is a non-profit body that administers domain names and Internet protocol addresses (IPs) globally. It was formed in 1988 by the US Department of Commerce. It has become […]
ANTI MICROBIAL RESISTANCE TOPIC: Science & Tech Context- In the past few years, alarmingly high resistance rates in pathogens of public health importance have been reported from Indian hospitals. Concept- The “Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance in 204 countries and territories in 2019 (GRAM)” report, released last month by Lancet, provides the […]
Russian space agency’s threat on International Space Station amid Ukraine crisis TOPIC: Science & Tech Context- Russia’s invasion of Ukraine could have consequences for the International Space Station (ISS), a permanent laboratory in space where the United States, Russia and some other countries work as partners. Concept- About International Space Station: The ISS […]