Category: Science & Technology

Indian Air Force inducts first indigenous Light Combat Helicopter Unit ‘Dhanush’

The Indian Air Force inducts its first Unit of the indigenous Light Combat Helicopters (LCH) at Jodhpur, Rajasthan on Monday.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh congratulated the Air Force saying the role of the IAF will be more effective after this induction. “Since long the requirements of indigenous attack helicopters was felt.” He said.

Rajnath Singh said, “The LCH is capable of dodging the enemy, carrying a variety of ammunition, and delivering it to the site quickly. This LCH perfectly meets the needs of our armed forces in various terrains. In such a situation, LCH is an ideal platform for both our Army and Airforce.”

The recent Ukrainian Conflict, or the many conflicts that preceded it, teaches us that heavy weapon systems and platforms, which are unable to move rapidly in the battlefield, have low capability, and sometimes they are capable of attacking enemies. become easy targets for, Defense Minister pointed.

The Unit which will comprise of 10 Make-in-India multi-role attack helicopters based at the Jodhpur Air Force Station have been named the 143 Helicopter Unit (Dhanush). The Helicopters have been christened as Prachand. The ceremony was presided over by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in the presence of the Air Chief.

IAF Chief VR Chaudhari said the IAF’s tryst with helicopters began in 1954 when sikorsky helicopter was inducted. 

And it being the first Unit of the indigenous LCH,  “The personnel of the unit have been specially selected based on their professional competence,” said ACM Chaudhari.

The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) in March this year approved the procurement of 15 Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) Limited Series Production at the cost of Rs. 3,887 crores along with Infrastructure sanctions worth Rs. 377 crores. Of these 5 LCH are to be inducted into the Indian Army.

Light Combat Helicopter Limited Series Production (LSP) is an indigenously designed, developed and manufactured state-of-the-art modern combat helicopter containing approx. 45% indigenous content by value which will progressively increase to more than 55% for SP Version, says the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

The Helicopter is powered by a twin Shakti Engine and has a range of 500 km and a maximum speed of 268 kmph. It is compatible for high-altitude deployment with the capability to take off and land at about 5000 metre (16,400 feet).

The weapons onboard includes Air to Air Missile Mistral 2, Anti Tank Guided Missile Dhruvastra, and 70 MM Rockets.

Speaking on the occasion HAL CMD (additional charge) CB Anantkrishnan said that the machine has been tested thoroughly in various climatic conditions including the high altitude and cold climate of the Siachen and in the process the machine clocked 2034 flights and 1500 hrs of flying.

“145 number of LCH is expected from Indian users and also international opportunities are expected.” Anantkrishnan said.

It should be noted that the IAF is yet in the process of finalising the number of LCHs to be procured. These choppers may replace the ageing Russian Mi-25 and Mi-35 attack choppers.

In June this year, the Indian Army inducted the first LCH squadron in Bengaluru. It was on 29 September the first  helicopter was formally received by Director General Army Aviation Corps , Lt Gen A. K. Suri from  the manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Bangalore. It will be moved to Eastern Command along the Line of Actual Control (LCH) next year. It has planned to induct 95 LCHs.

As per the MoD, “This helicopter is equipped with requisite agility, manoeuvrability, extended range, high altitude performance and around-the-clock, all-weather combat capability to perform roles of Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR), Destruction of Enemy Air Defence (DEAD), Counter Insurgency (CI) operations, against slow-moving aircraft and Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPAs), high altitude bunker busting operations, Counter Insurgency operations in jungle and urban environments and support to ground forces and would be a potent platform to meet the operational requirements of Indian Air Force & Indian Army.”

State-of-the-art technologies and systems compatible with stealth features such as reduced Visual, Aural, Radar and IR signatures and crashworthiness features for better survivability have been integrated in LCH. Several key aviation technologies like Glass Cockpit and composite airframe structures have been indigenised.

The future Series Production version will consist of further modern & indigenous systems.

Production of LCH will reduce import dependence for Combat helicopters in the country. Light Combat Helicopters are already in the import embargo list.

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PM Modi launches 5G services at 6th India Mobile Congress

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched the 5G telephony services that promise to provide ultra high-speed internet on mobile phones, saying it marks the beginning of a new era and presents a sea of opportunities.

The Prime Minister launched 5G services in select cities at the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2022 conference. The services will progressively cover the entire country over the next couple of years.

“5G marks the dawn of a new era and presents a sea of opportunities,” he said. While the nation was dependent on foreign countries for technology for 2G, 3G and 4G telecom services, India has created history with 5G, he said.

The Prime Minister said his government’s vision for ‘Digital India’ was founded on four pillars — the cost of devices, digital connectivity, data cost and digital-first approach. This approach has led to mobile manufacturing units in India increasing from just two in 2014 to over 200 now, bringing down the cost of handsets.

Stating that India now has the world’s lowest data charges, he said from Rs 300 per 1 GB of data in 2014, tariffs have come down to Rs 10 per GB. Going by the average consumption of 14 GB of data per month, the data cost has come down from Rs 4,200 to Rs 125-150, he said.

From zero exports, the country is now shipping phones worth crores of rupees. Also, digital payments have increased, he pointed out. Technology has truly now become democratised, he said.

Taking a dig at the previous Congress-led UPA government, he said this was possible because of the right intentions of his government.

“2G ki niyat and 5G ki niyat mein yehi farak hai (this is the difference between the intentions during 2G era and 5G era now),” he said in reference to the alleged 2G spectrum allocation scam.

Capable of supporting ultra-high-speed internet, the fifth generation or 5G service is expected to unleash new economic opportunities and societal benefits, serving as a transformational force for Indian society.

After the launch, all three major telecom operators demonstrated one use case to show the potential of 5G technology in India.

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio connected a teacher from a school in Mumbai with students in three different locations in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Odisha. This demonstrated how 5G will facilitate education by bringing teachers closer to students, obliviating the physical distance between them.

It also demonstrated the power of Augmented Reality (AR) on screen and how that is being used to teach children across the country, remotely, without the need of an AR device.

Modi interacted with school children in the demo case, asking them about their favourite subject and how the use of technology has helped in learning.

The Vodafone Idea test case demonstrated the safety of workers in an under-construction tunnel of Delhi Metro through the creation of a ‘digital twin’ of the tunnel on the dias. The digital twin will help give safety alerts to workers in real-time from a remote location. Modi interacted with Lt Governor of Delhi V K Saxena as well as the workers in the tunnel.

In the Airtel demo, a girl from Uttar Pradesh witnessed a lively and immersive education experience to learn about the solar system with the help of virtual reality and augmented reality. The girl shared her experience of learning with the Prime Minister by appearing on the dias through a hologram.

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Bharti Airtel launches 5G in eight cities, to cover entire country by March 2024 

 Bharti Airtel Chairman Sunil Mittal on Saturday said Airtel will launch its 5G services in eight cities from today. These cities include Mumbai, Varanasi, Bangalore and Mumbai. 

Sunil Bharti Mittal said, Airtel will cover most parts by March 2023 and the entire country by March 2024.

While speaking at the launch of 5G technology in the county at the India Mobile Congress, Mittal said that Airtel would roll out 5G services in most cities by March 2023 and the entire county by March 2023.

“Airtel will deploy 5G services across most cities by March 2023 and across the country by March 2024,” said Mittal.

Mittal further said Airtel started 4G in India, but Mukesh’s (Jio) gave tremendous speed to countrywide 4G proliferation and forced us to run fast to catch up.

Weeks back, in a letter to the customer, CEO of Airtel  Gopal Vittal said the telco is expected to cover all of urban India by 2023. “We expect to launch our 5G services within a month.

By December, we should have coverage in the key metros. After that, we will expand rapidly to cover the entire country. We expect to cover all of urban India by the end of 2023,” said Vittal in a letter.

India’s second-largest telco, Airtel spent Rs. 43,040 crores in a 5G spectrum auction to acquire a 19867.8 MHz spectrum in 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, 2100MHz, 3300 MHz and 26 GHz frequency bands.

Unlike its competitor Reliance Jio, Airtel gave a miss to the coveted 700 MHz airwaves, which can provide 6-10 kilometres of signal range with one tower, and forms a good base for 5G. 

The country’s largest telco, Reliance Jio will roll out its 5G services in India by Diwali. The company pledged to invest 2 Lakh crore for 5G services. The debt-laden Vodafone Idea Limited is yet to spell its 5G plans.

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Natural remedy for fatty liver disease found, claims CMFRI 

Continuing its research on developing natural remedies from marine organisms against lifestyle diseases, the Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) on Tuesday claimed it had developed a nutraceutical product from select seaweeds to treat non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).  

Named Cadalmin TM LivCure extract, the product is a blend of 100% natural bioactive ingredients extracted from seaweed with an eco-friendly green technology to improve liver health, according to a press release from the CMFRI. 

This is the ninth such product from marine organisms developed by the CMFRI which had previously brought out nutraceuticals to combat a series of lifestyle diseases, such as Type-2 diabetes, arthritis, cholesterol, hypertension, hypothyroidism, and osteoporosis, and to improve immunity. Out of these nutraceuticals, eight products are from seaweed and one from green mussel, the release said.

Dr. Kajal Chakraborty, Principal Scientist at the Marine Biotechnology, Fish Nutrition and Health Division of the CMFRI, led the research works to develop the product. He said bioactive pharmacophore leads from seaweeds were used to develop the nutraceutical product. 

“Pre-clinical trials showed that LivCure extract proved to have the potential to inhibit different enzymes and various target receptors associated with dyslipidemia and pathophysiology leading to NAFLD. This helps improve liver health, reduce the disposition of fatty substances, and maintain other liver/lipid parameters within the clinically acceptable limits,” he added. 

The nutraceutical does not have any side effects as established by detailed preclinical trials. “It has proved that long-term oral administration of this product will not lead to general organ or systemic toxicity,” Dr. Chakraborty added. The technology will be out-licensed soon to those in the pharmaceutical industry for commercial production of the nutraceutical. 

For the past few years, the CMFRI has intensively focused on research on seaweed mainly for developing natural products beneficial to improving human health, said Dr. A. Gopalakrishnan, Director, CMFRI.  

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Researchers develop algorithm that can help decode brain scans to identify type of epilepsy

Epilepsy is a neurological disease where the brain emits sudden bursts of electrical signals in a short amount of time.

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), in collaboration with All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Rishikesh, have developed an algorithm that they said can help decode brain scans to identify the occurrence and type of epilepsy.

Currently, a patent has been filed for the work and the algorithm is being tested for its reliability by physicians at AIIMS Rishikesh, Bengaluru-based IISc said.

Epilepsy is a neurological disease where the brain emits sudden bursts of electrical signals in a short amount of time, resulting in seizures, fits, and in extreme cases, death.

Based on the point of origin of the brain’s erratic signals, epilepsy is classified as either focal or generalised epilepsy.

Focal epilepsy occurs when the erratic signals are confined to a specific region in the brain. If the signals are at random locations, then it is termed as generalised epilepsy.

To identify whether a patient is epileptic, neurophysiologists need to manually inspect EEGs (electroencephalograms), which can capture such erratic signals, an IISc statement noted on Wednesday.

Visual inspection of EEG can become tiring after prolonged periods, and may occasionally lead to errors, says Hardik J Pandya, Assistant Professor at the Department of Electronic Systems Engineering (DESE) and the corresponding author of the study published in ‘Biomedical Signal Processing and Control’.

“The research aims to differentiate EEG of normal subjects from epileptic EEGs. Additionally, the developed algorithm attempts to identify the types of seizures. Our work is to help the neurologists make an efficient and quick automated screening and diagnosis,” he adds.

In their study, the team reports a novel algorithm that can sift through EEG data and identify signatures of epilepsy from the electrical signal patterns, according to the statement.

After initial training, the algorithm was able to detect whether a human subject could have epilepsy or not – based on these patterns in their respective analyses – with a high degree of accuracy, the researchers say.

To develop and train the algorithm, the researchers first examined EEG data from 88 human subjects acquired at AIIMS Rishikesh. Each subject underwent a 45-minute EEG test, divided into two parts: an initial 10-minute test when the subject was awake, which included photic stimulation and hyperventilation, followed by a 35-minute sleep period when the subject was asked to sleep.

Next, the team analysed this data and classified different wave patterns into sharp signals, spikes, and slow waves.

An epileptic subject shows a different set of patterns compared to a healthy individual.

The team ran their algorithm on a new set of EEG data from subjects for whom the classification (whether they had epilepsy, and if so, what type of epilepsy they had) was already known to the doctors. This blind validation study successfully classified the subjects accurately in nearly 91 per cent of the cases, the statement said.

“We hope to refine this further by testing on more data to consider more variabilities of human EEGs until we reach the point where this becomes completely translational and robust,” says Rathin K Joshi, a PhD student in DESE and first author of the study

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Army Aviation inducts 1st indigenous Light Combat Helicopter

Army will receive second LCH in October, says defence official

The Indian Army formally inducted the indigenous Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) on Thursday. The first LCH was formally received by Director General Army Aviation Lt Gen A. K. Suri from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Bengaluru.

“Army Aviation received one LCH today. It will receive the second LCH in October,” a defence official said.

The Army raised its first LCH Unit on June 01, 2022, in Bengaluru to prepare for the induction. As reported by The Hindu earlier, the Unit will move to the Eastern Command along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on completion next year.

The Army plans to acquire 95 LCH of which seven units, each having 10 helicopters, are to be deployed for combat role in mountains.

In a related development, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is set to formally induct 10 LCH in Jodhpur next week ahead of Air Force Day.

In March 2022, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) approved the procurement of 15 Limited Series Production (LSP) variants of the LCH at a cost of ₹3,887 crore along with infrastructure sanctions worth ₹377 crore. Of the 15 helicopters, 10 are for the IAF and five for the Army. The LCH is designed and developed by HAL.

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Rs 10 crores and gleaming: First made in India diesel-fired steam engine flagged off in TN

 A diesel-fired steam engine manufactured in the Golden Rock railway workshop in Ponmalai for the Nilgiri Mountain Railway (NMR) was flagged off by Southern Railway general manager BG Mallya on Tuesday. Railway sources said this is the first diesel-fired steam engine manufactured in the country.

Mallya appreciated the efforts by the team in manufacturing the vintage steam engine. “This is a workshop that has a history of almost 100 years. The steam loco will be given to the NMR in the coming days and it is a totally indigenous effort,” said Mallya.

Last year, the workshop manufactured a coal-fired steam engine for NMR.

In the past, the workshop had done several vintage projects like overhauling the popular steam loco Fern Queen and repairing a century-old clock tower in Tiruchy district court building.

Officials said the Golden Rock is one of the few workshops in the world that still manufactures vintage steam engines. The manufacturing of this vintage loco started last August and sources said railways spent about Rs 10 crore on it.

“We have experience of manufacturing and conducting overhauling works on steam engines. But, it is for the first time that we are manufacturing a diesel-fired steam engine. Most of the steam engines are either oil-fired or coal-fired. So, this is a unique loco and it might be the only diesel-fired steam engine in the world,” a senior official said.

The diesel-fired loco was rolled out through a dedicated track in the workshop.

“We are glad that everything went on well. In the coming days, this loco will offer a historic voyage to hundreds of tourists visiting the Nilgiris,” a worker said.

In addition to this steam engine, Mallya also flagged off the 606th Public Sector Undertaking loco and modified high-speed goods coaches at the workshop. He inaugurated new projects, including Bheema Bamboo Garden, a renovated canteen and other facilities at the workshop.

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IIT-Guwahati develops chemo strategy for cancer patients that ‘reduces side effects’

Researchers at IIT-Guwahati have developed a new strategy to deliver chemotherapeutic drugs directly to the infected cells of a cancer patient, thereby significantly reducing side effects.

Explaining it, professor Debasis Manna of the Department of Chemistry said the researchers had two needs in the development of chemotherapy drugs — it must be targeted at the cancer cells and must be released by an external trigger whenever it is required.

“The problem with existing chemotherapeutic drugs is that they kill healthy cells of the body in addition to cancerous cells, leading to numerous undesirable side effects,” IIT-Guwahati said in a statement on Monday.

In fact, it is believed that cancer deaths are as much due to the side effects of chemotherapy as the disease itself, it added.

“There is worldwide research to overcome the drawbacks of secondary toxicity of chemotherapeutic drugs. Some strategies that are being explored include target-specific delivery of the drugs and on-demand delivery of appropriate drug doses to cancerous cells and tissues,” it said.

The molecules developed by the IIT-Guwahati researchers self-assemble as capsules to hold the drug, which then attaches only to cancer cells, the statement said.

“When infrared light is shone on it, the shell breaks and releases the encapsulated drug into the cancerous cell. The IIT-G scientists rightly believe that their approach would allow the development of drug carriers for chemotherapy with enhanced efficacy and negligible side effects,” it added.

The research papers have been co-authored by Manna, along with his research scholars Subhasis Dey, Anjali Patel, and Biswa Mohan Prusty among others.

Anti-cancer activities were carried out in collaboration with professors Siddhartha Sankar Ghosh and Plaboni Sen of IIT-Guwahati, and professors Arindam Bhattacharyya and Soumya Chatterjee of Calcutta University.

“The path-breaking results of this research have been published in prestigious journals of The Royal Society of Chemistry, including ‘Chemical Communications’ and ‘Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry’,” the statement said.

The premier technical institute said that the societal impacts of this work cannot be overstated given the number of cancer patients in India anticipated to be 30 million by 2025.

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HAL’s integrated cryogenic engine facility to be inaugurated by Murmu in Bengaluru

The President of India, Droupadi Murmu will inaugurate Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s (HAL’s) state-of-the-art Integrated Cryogenic Engine Manufacturing Facility (ICMF) in Bengaluru on Tuesday which will boost self-reliance in manufacturing of High-thrust Rocket engines.

As per the HAL the facility will cater to the entire Rocket Engine Manufacturing under one roof for Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). HAL in its statement said, “The Aerospace Division entering into manufacture of Cryogenic Engines is a major step in technology up-gradation cum modernization. Indigenous cryogenic technology is important as it will assist India to further develop its rocket programme for launching heavy satellites.

The facility is set up over an area of 4500 sq mts housing over 70 hi-tech equipment and testing facilities for manufacturing Cryogenic (CE20) and Semi-cryogenic (SE2000) Engines of Indian Space Launch Vehicles. The commissioning of all the critical equipment for the manufacturing and assembly requirement is completed. The pre-production activities which involve preparation of the process plans, drawings, quality plan etc. has also commenced. HAL will start realising the modules by March 2023.

HAL said, “HAL Aerospace Division manufactures liquid propellant tanks and launch vehicle structures of PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle), Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) MK-II, GSLV Mk-III and also stage integration for GSLV Mk-II.”

In 2013, an MOU was signed with ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) for establishing the facility for manufacturing of Cryogenic Engine modules at HAL, Aerospace Division. The MOU for the Cryogenic Engine facility was subsequently amended in the year 2016 for setting up of Integrated Cryogenic Engine Manufacturing Facility (ICMF) with an investment of R208 crores.

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Torrent Pharmaceuticals to acquire Curatio Healthcare for ₹2,000 crore

Torrent Pharmaceuticals has entered into definitive agreements to acquire 100% of Curatio Healthcare for ₹2,000 crore, the company said in a regulatory filing

Torrent Pharmaceuticals on September 27 said it will acquire Curatio Healthcare for ₹2,000 crore to strengthen its presence in the dermatology segment.

The company has entered into definitive agreements to acquire 100% of Curatio Healthcare for ₹2,000 crore, Torrent Pharmaceuticals said in a regulatory filing.

“The consideration includes ₹115 crore [on the date of signing] of cash and cash equivalents in the acquired business indicating an enterprise value of ₹1,885 crore,” it added.

The acquisition offers Torrent the opportunity to enhance its presence in dermatology with a differentiated portfolio and is a strong strategic fit, Torrent Pharmaceuticals Director Aman Mehta said.

“Curatio has built a commendable set of high market share brands in cosmetic and pediatric dermatology that we look forward to adding to our product offerings,” he added.

Chennai-headquartered Curatio has a portfolio of over 50 brands, including Tedibar, Atogla, Spoo, B4 Nappi and Permite, in the cosmetic dermatology segment in India. Its top ten brands account for around 75% of total revenue.

It clocked a revenue of ₹224 crore in FY22 and dermatology accounts for 82% of Curatio’s revenue, the filing said.

The acquisition will catapult Torrent Pharma into the league of top 10 players in the dermatology segment and make it a leader in the cosmetic dermatology space, the company said.

“With this acquisition, Torrent Pharma will add a field force of 600 medical representatives and a distribution network of 900 stockists,” the filing added.

Besides the promoters of Curatio, Sequoia and ChrysCapital will be exiting from the company through the transaction.

The transaction is subject to conditions precedent and is expected to close within one month, Torrent Pharma said.

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