♦ The Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), in collaboration with the Data Security Council of India (DSCI), has launched the second edition of the Cyber Security Grand Challenge (CSGC 2.0) on 15 January 2025.
♦ The initiative, unveiled by S. Krishnan, Secretary, MeitY, aims to enhance the country’s cybersecurity ecosystem.
♦ The challenge has seen a significant increase in prize money from Rs.3.2 crore in its first edition to Rs.6.85 crore.
♦ The program invites innovators, startups, and entrepreneurs to develop solutions addressing key cybersecurity issues.
♦ The competition focuses on six problem areas: API Security, Data Security, Wearable Device Security and Privacy, Clone and Fake App Mitigation, AI for Threat Detection and Incident Response, and Securing Next-Generation Biometric Systems.
♦ The structure of CSGC 2.0 has been expanded with four stages, including the Idea Stage, Minimum Viable Product (MVP) Stage, Final Product Stage, and the new Go-to-Market Stage.
♦ A total of 36 startups will be selected in the early Idea Stage, each receiving Rs.5 lakh. From this pool, 18 startups will proceed to the MVP Stage and receive ₹10 lakh each.
Posted Date: January 15, 2025Science & Technology
♦ ISRO celebrated a historic milestone on 29 January 2025 with the launch of its 100th mission. A Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) lifted off from the Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh carrying the NVS-02 navigation satellite into orbit.
♦ The GSLV-F15 flight is the 17th mission of the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) and the 11th successful mission using an indigenous cryogenic stage.
♦ This flight also marks the 8th operational flight of GSLV featuring the indigenous cryogenic stage.
♦ The NVS-02 satellite is the second generation of NavIC satellites, featuring a standard I-2K bus platform. It will have a lift-off mass of 2,250 kg, power handling capability of around 3 kW, navigation payload in L1, L5, and S bands, ranging payload in C-band and will be positioned at 111.75 degrees E, replacing IRNSS-1E. It is a regional navigation satellite system designed to provide precise Position, Velocity, and Timing (PVT) services to users in India and regions up to 1,500 km beyond its borders.
♦ This launch updates India’s Regional Navigation Satellite System from four to five satellites, enhancing service reliability and performance.
Posted Date: January 29, 2025♦ Defence Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL), a Hyderabad-based laboratory of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has taken the initiative in developing a long-duration Supersonic Combustion Ramjet or Scramjet powered Hypersonic technology.
♦ DRDL recently developed these technologies and demonstrated a cutting-edge Active Cooled Scramjet Combustor ground test for 120 seconds for the first time in India on 21 January 2025. The successful ground test marks a crucial milestone in developing next-generation hypersonic missiles.
♦ Hypersonic missiles are a class of advanced weaponry that travel at speeds greater than Mach 5 i.e., five times the speed of sound or more than 5,400 km/hr. These advanced weapons have the potential to bypass existing Air Defence Systems and deliver rapid and high-impact strikes. Several nations including USA, Russia, India and China are actively pursuing Hypersonic technology.
♦ The key to hypersonic vehicles is Scramjets, which are air breathing engines capable of sustaining combustion at supersonic speeds without using any moving parts.
Posted Date: January 21, 2025♦ ISRO successfully carried out the demonstration of restarting its Vikas liquid engine at its engine test facility at ISRO Propulsion Complex, Mahendragiri.
♦ Vikas engine is the workhorse engine that powers the liquid stages of ISRO’s launch vehicles. This test marks a milestone in the development of technologies for recovery of stages, leading to reusability in future launch vehicles.
♦ In this test, the engine was fired for 60 seconds after which it was shut-off for a period of 120 seconds followed by restart and firing for 7 seconds duration. All engine parameters during the test were normal and as expected.
Posted Date: January 18, 2025♦ China successfully launched a Pakistani satellite into space from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center on 17 January 2025. The satellite, named PRSC-EO1, was launched by a Long March-2D carrier rocket and entered its planned orbit successfully.
♦ The rocket also carried two other satellites - Tianlu-1 and Lantan-1. This launch marked the 556th flight mission involving the Long March carrier rocket series.
♦ In 2024, China launched a multi-mission communication satellite for Pakistan. In 2018, China sent two Pakistan satellites into orbit. The PRSS-1, Pakistan's first optical remote sensing satellite, and the PakTES-1A, a smaller observation craft.
Posted Date: January 17, 2025♦ The Defence Ministry signed a contract with Bharat Dynamics Limited for the supply of Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missiles (MRSAM) for the Indian Navy at a cost of Rs.2,960 crore.
♦ The MRSAM system is a standard fit, onboard multiple Indian Naval Ships and is planned to be fitted on the majority of the future platforms planned for acquisition.
Posted Date: January 17, 2025♦ The Union Cabinet approved the establishment of a Third Launch Pad (TLP) at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh on 16 January 2025.
♦ The TLP project is projected to take four years to complete, with a total cost of Rs. 3984.86 crore, which includes the establishment of the launch pad and related infrastructure.
♦ The new launch pad aims to support the next generation of Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) launch vehicles and enhance the country’s capacity for human spaceflight missions.
♦ The TLP will be designed to support ISRO’s upcoming Next Generation Launch Vehicles (NGLV) and serve as a backup for the existing Second Launch Pad (SLP) at Sriharikota.
♦ This new infrastructure will play a critical role in improving India’s launch capabilities, paving the way for future space exploration, including the country’s ambitious human spaceflight programs.
♦ Currently, ISRO relies on two existing launch pads: the First Launch Pad (FLP), operational for 30 years, and the Second Launch Pad (SLP), which has been in use for nearly 20 years.
♦ These pads have supported significant missions, including Chandrayaan-3 and commercial launches.
Posted Date: January 16, 2025♦ The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced on 16 January 2025 that India has successfully achieved space docking.
♦ With this latest achievement, India joins the ranks of only three other countries - Russia, the United States, and China - that have successfully conducted space docking. The docking was part of the SpaDeX mission, a significant milestone for India’s space exploration program.
♦ Post-docking, ISRO reported that control of the two satellites as a single object was successfully established. The organization also noted that undocking and power transfer checks would follow in the coming days.
♦ The SpaDeX mission also aimed to showcase the transfer of electric power between the docked spacecraft, a technology that will be vital for in-space robotics, spacecraft control, and payload operations following undocking.
♦ On December 30, ISRO had launched the PSLV-C60 rocket carrying SpaDeX along with other innovative payloads.
Posted Date: January 16, 2025♦ India has successfully tested its first domestically developed micro-missile system, Bhargavastra, engineered to counter swarm drone threats.
♦ The testing included two successful firings at the Gopalpur Seaward Firing Ranges.
♦ The new micro-missile system, being developed for the Indian Army, successfully engaged virtual targets beyond 2.5 km, demonstrating an economical solution against large-scale drone attacks that pose a continuous security challenge.
Posted Date: January 14, 2025♦ The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully field evaluation trials of the Nag Mark 2 on 13 January 2025.
♦ This is an indigenously developed third-generation fire-and-forget anti-tank guided missile.
♦ The trials were conducted at the Pokhran field range in Rajasthan, where the missile showcased exceptional precision and reliability, destroying all designated targets at both maximum and minimum range limits.
♦ Its fire-and-forget technology enables operators to lock onto targets before launch, ensuring precision strikes even in complex battlefield scenarios.
♦ The achievement underscored India's growing capabilities in anti-tank warfare and strengthened the readiness of its defence forces.
Posted Date: January 13, 2025♦ 2024 has officially been recorded as the hottest year in history, with a global average temperature of 15.10 degree C, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S). This surpasses the previous record set in 2023 by 0.12 degree C.
♦ 2024 also marked a significant milestone, with global temperatures reaching 1.60 degree C above pre-industrial levels, exceeding the critical 1.5 degree C limit for the first time in a calendar year.
♦ The average global temperature for 2023-2024 stood at 1.54 degree C above pre-industrial levels, according to the C3S report accessed by India.
♦ The India Meteorological Department (IMD) informed that 2024 was the warmest year on record in the country since 1901. It also noted that the last three months of the 2024 (October-December) together were the warmest on record whereas October 2024, individually, was the warmest month in 123 years.
♦ With an annual mean temperature of 25.75 degrees Celsius, 2024 was 0.65 degree Celsius above the long-term average (1991-2020 period).
♦ The previous warmest year, 2016, had an anomaly of 0.54 degree Celsius. As annual averages go, the difference of 0.11 degree Celsius between the mean temperature in 2016 and 2024 is quite huge.
