Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla

♦ Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla is set to travel to the International Space Station (ISS) next month (May) as part of the Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on 18 April 2025.

♦ The mission will make Shukla the first Indian to stay aboard the ISS and work in microgravity conditions. His flight comes nearly 40 years after Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian in space in 1984. 

♦ The Indian astronaut will launch to the Space Station with Axiom Space on a 14-day-long mission to live and work in zero gravity. Shubhanshu will be conducting several experiments during his stay and one of the most important among them is the Voyager Tardigrades experiment.

♦ Tardigrades, also known as water bears or moss piglets, are tiny, water-dwelling micro-animals famous for their incredible survival abilities.

♦ They were first discovered in 1773 by German zoologist Johann August Ephraim Goeze. The name "Tardigrada" means "slow stepper" in Latin, referring to their sluggish, bear-like movement.

♦ These creatures are usually between 0.3 mm to 0.5 mm long, so a microscope is needed to see them.

♦ Tardigrades can be found almost everywhere on Earth, including mosses, lichens, soil, leaf litter, freshwater, marine environments, high mountains, deep seas, hot springs, and even polar ice.

♦ The experiment will examine the revival of dormant tardigrades, count the number of eggs laid and hatched during a mission, and compare the gene expression patterns of space flown v/s ground control populations.

NASAs James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)

♦ Scientists have detected potential signs of life in the atmosphere of a distant exoplanet, K2-18b, located more than 120 light-years from Earth.

♦ The discovery was made by a team led by Indian-origin astrophysicist Dr. Nikku Madhusudhan, a professor at the University of Cambridge.

♦ Using NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), the team found compelling evidence of carbon-bearing molecules — including methane and carbon dioxide — in the planet’s atmosphere.

♦ The two gases – dimethyl sulfide, or DMS, and dimethyl disulfide, or DMDS – involved in Webb’s observations of the planet named K2-18 b are generated on Earth by living organisms, primarily microbial life such as marine phytoplankton – algae.

♦ K2-18 b is 8.6 times as massive as Earth and has a diameter about 2.6 times as large as our planet.

♦ It orbits in the “habitable zone” – a distance where liquid water, a key ingredient for life, can exist on a planetary surface – around a red dwarf star smaller and less luminous than our sun, located about 124 light-years from Earth in the constellation Leo.

♦ A light-year is the distance light travels in a year, 5.9 trillion miles (9.5 trillion km). One other planet also has been identified orbiting this star.

National Open Air Range (NOAR) in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh

♦ India has successfully conducted its first trial of a high-powered laser weapon, MK-II(A), using directed energy to neutralise an aerial target.

♦ The test was conducted at the National Open Air Range (NOAR) in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, on 13 April 2025.

♦ India has joined the list of selected countries, including the US, China, and Russia, that have shown such a capability. 

♦ DRDO's Centre for High Energy Systems and Sciences (CHESS), Hyderabad, developed the system along with several academic institutions and Indian industries.

♦ During the field test, the Mk-II(A) laser system engaged long-range fixed-wing drones, disrupted coordinated drone attacks, and disabled enemy surveillance devices such as sensors and antennae.

♦ The laser weapon’s ability to deliver precision, speed, and lethality in seconds makes it one of the most effective counter-drone systems developed so far.

Long Range Glide Bomb (LRGB)

♦ The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully conducted the Release Trials of the Long Range Glide Bomb (LRGB) 'Gaurav' from the SU-30 MKI aircraft, the Defence Ministry said on 11 April 2025.

♦ ‘Gaurav’ is a 1,000 kg class glide bomb, designed and developed indigenously by Research Centre Imarat, Armament Research and Development Establishment and Integrated Test Range, Chandipur. 

Ocean Ship SAGAR

♦ Defence Minister Rajnath Singh flagged off INS Sunayna as the Indian Ocean ship SAGAR in Karwar Naval Base in Karnataka on 5 April 2025.

♦ He Singh also inaugurated modern operational, repair and logistic facilities constructed under Project Seabird worth over Rs.2,000 crore. 

♦ SAGAR is the acronym for ‘Security and Growth for All in the Region’, an initiative that extends cooperation with the Indian Ocean Region nations.

♦ The flag-off coincides with the 10th anniversary of the SAGAR initiative and the National Maritime Day.

UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

♦ The UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) released the 2025 Technology and Innovation Report recently.

♦ According to this, India was ranked 10th in the world with significant private investments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) in 2023.

♦ India and China are the only developing countries in the world with significant private investments in Artificial Intelligence (AI) in 2023, It said.

Highlights:

♦ It stated that India ranked 36th in 2024 on the 'Readiness for Frontier Technologies' index, improving its position from 48th in 2022. 

♦ India ranks 36th out of 170 nations on a global index measuring a country's readiness for frontier technologies, improving its ranking from last year, according to the report.

♦ India ranks 99th for ICT, 113th for skills, 3rd for R&D, 10th for industrial capacity, and 70th for finance.

♦ Bhutan, India, Morocco, the Republic of Moldova, and Timor-Leste improved their positions in human capital due to more years of schooling and a greater share of high-skill employment in their working populations, the report said.

♦ The report also notes that China, Germany, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States show scientific strength in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

♦ The US leads the world in terms of private investment in AI, at USD 67 billion in 2023, or 70 percent of global AI private investment.

♦ The only developing countries with significant investments were China in second position, with USD 7.8 billion, and India in tenth position, with USD 1.4 billion, according to the report.

♦ The report noted that AI is expected to reach USD 4.8 trillion in market value by 2033, becoming a prominent force in digital transformation.

Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)

♦ The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Army conducted four successful flight tests of the Army version of the Medium-Range Surface-to-Air Missile (MRSAM) on 4 April 2025.

♦ The test was held from Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha.

♦ The flight tests were carried out with the weapon system in operational condition.

♦ The MRSAM has been developed by DRDO and Israel Aerospace Industries for the Indian Army.

♦ The MRSAM Army weapon system comprises multi-function radar, command post, mobile launcher system and other vehicles.