ISRO inks MoU with Social Alpha to establish SpaceTech Innovation Network (GS Paper 3, Science and Tech)
Why in news?
- Recently, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has signed an MoU with Social Alpha, to launch SpaceTech Innovation Network (SpIN).
Details:
- SpIN is India’s first dedicated platform for innovation, curation, and venture development for the burgeoning space entrepreneurial ecosystem.
- Social Alpha is a multistage innovation curation and venture development platform for science and technology start-ups.
- The tie-up is a one-of-a-kind public-private collaboration for start-ups and SMEs in the space industry.
Focus:
SpIN will primarily focus on facilitating space tech entrepreneurs in three distinct innovation categories:
- Geospatial Technologies and Downstream Applications;
- Enabling Technologies for Space & Mobility; and
- Aerospace Materials, Sensors, and Avionics.
Innovation Challenge:
- In line with the partnership announcement, SpIN has launched its first innovation challenge.
- Early-stage start-ups for developing solutions in areas of maritime and land transportation, urbanisation, mapping, and surveying, disaster management, food security, sustainable agriculture, environmental monitoring, and natural resources management, among others are encouraged to apply.
- The selected start-ups and innovators will be able to access both Social Alpha’s and ISRO’s infrastructure and resources as per the prevailing guidelines.
- They will be provided active hand-holding in critical areas, including access to product design, testing and validation infrastructure, intellectual property management, go-to-market strategy, and access to long-term patient capital, among other technical and business inputs.
Way Forward:
- SPIN platform would create a level playing field for various stakeholders to collaborate and contribute to the space ecosystem in India.
Scientists discover technology to absorb electromagnetic waves in 6G band
(GS Paper 3, Science and Tech)
Why in news?
- The world’s first method to repeatedly produce epsilon iron oxide, which can absorb millimetre waves with a powerful coercive force comparable to that of neodymium (Nd) magnets, was created by a research teamat the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS).
Previous technologies:
- Most magnetic materials that absorb ultra-high frequencies, a potential 6G frequency range, have high coercive epsilon crystal phases, such as iron oxide. It has only ever been generated in nanoparticles that are 50 nanometers or smaller up until this point.
- Japan succeeded to produce pure epsilon iron oxide through a batch-type wet process, but it involves a time-consuming multi-stage process, resulting in a low yield.
New research:
- The research team adopted the aerosol process to solve the low-yield problem and succeeded in producing a composite powder in which epsilon iron oxide nanoparticles are embedded in silica particles by spray-drying precursor solutions in a hot chamber.
- When the precursor material solution is continuously injected and the droplets are instantly dried, the iron precursor is trapped in the silica xerogel particles and limited to growth during heat treatment.
- Epsilon iron oxide nanoparticles could be continuously produced through a micrometre-sized powder manufacturing process, which is significant as it showed the possibility of commercialization of millimetre wave-absorbing materials.
- While conventional metals that absorb electromagnetic waves have reduced absorption capacity in high-frequency bands or have limitations in controlling frequency bands, epsilon iron oxide has high potential as a material for future communication parts due to its absorption capacity in the ultra-high frequency (30-200GHz) band.
Outcome:
- Continuous manufacturing technology of epsilon iron oxide with millimetre wave absorption capability can be used for mm-wave 5G/6G wireless communication, radar sensors for driverless cars, and stealth and low-orbit satellite communication components.
- In addition, as it is a high-coercivity magnetic material, it can be used for electric motor parts for future mobility.
Way Forward:
- Currently, no companies commercially produce products with applied magnetic materials capable of absorbing mm waves. Only two or three companies in the US, Japan, and Germany produce 5G band absorbing and shielding materials.
- The technology developed by researchers at KIMS is expected to be localized and exported to the global market in the future.
Need for an effective tourist police
(GS Paper 2, International Governance)
Context:
- Crimes against tourists and other foreign nationals appear to be on the rise in India.
- In view of the forthcoming G20 Summit, the Delhi police is gearing up its tourist police wing, which was hitherto in a neglected state and so are other States which will see a huge influx of foreigners.
Few instances:
- A few days ago, a Kerala session court sentenced two men to life imprisonment for the rape and murder of a Latvian tourist in 2018.
- A 12-year-old Russian girl was raped in a hotel in Goa in April 2022. The rapist was an employee of the hotel in which the girl was staying with her mother.
- On September 2, a British woman lawyer lodged a complaint of sexual misconduct against a cab driver who was ferrying her from the airport to her hotel in South Delhi. The incident traumatised her to the extent that she left for the U.K. within two days of her arrival.
- These are just a few incidents of foreigners falling victim to crimes in India.
NCRB data:
- Women are more prone to sexual attacks by criminals on the prowl in tourist destinations.
- According to data of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Delhi recorded 27 cases of crime against foreigners last year, a drastic decline from 62 cases reported in 2020 and 123 in 2019.
- Rajasthan has shown a sharp reduction in registration of crimes from 16 in 2019 to just 4 in 2020 and two cases last year, which could be attributed to the sharp decline in tourist arrivals due to COVID-19.
- As many as 29 foreigners were murdered in the last three years. While 14 foreigners fell victim to rape last year, 16 were raped in 2020 and 12 in 2019.
Tourism industry:
- Crime against foreigners not only dents our image globally but could also adversely affect the inflow of foreign tourists, which is a vital source of income for India.
- While India’s earnings through tourism was $30.06 billion in 2019, it declined to $6.958 billion in 2020 due to COVID-19 and the resultant restrictions in foreign tourists entering the country. A marginal increase of $8.797 billion was recorded last year.
- With optimistic predictions of about 13.34 million foreign tourists arriving by 2024, there is a pressing need to upgrade security systems specially to provide a flawless security blanket cover to foreign tourists. Safety assumes utmost importance to draw tourists in hordes.
Sensitization:
- In order to provide a safe environment for tourists, the Ministry of Tourism, in collaboration with the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD), organised a conference in New Delhi on October 19, 2022.
- It was organised with a view to “sensitise the specific requirements of the tourists for effective implementation of Uniform Tourist Police Scheme at pan-India level”.
- Though the concept of ‘tourist police’ has been in vogue for the past few years, it has not been given the kind of attention it deserves. The States that have tourist police are Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Goa, Rajasthan and Kerala.
The tourist police scheme:
- The BPRD has brought out a booklet on the tourist police scheme detailing the mode of setting up of tourist police stations and control rooms, outposts, uniforms, recruitment, qualifications, training and logistics requirements for tourist police stations.
- As many as 25 popular tourist spots have been identified in the country where the tourist police necessarily need to be deployed to help foreigners.
- As an incentive, 30% deputation allowance has been recommended for the police personnel who joins the tourist police on deputation.
Fast track courts:
- While the setting up of tourist police stations is a commendable step to provide safety to foreigners, much needs to be done to instil a sense of security in them even before they leave their countries for India.
- With theft being the most common crime committed against foreigners, all criminals in and around tourist spots need to be identified and kept under constant surveillance.
- Since foreigners come for short durations, the cases cannot be allowed to linger on in courts for long. Fast track courts should be set up immediately to try cases of crime against foreigners and the culprits punished speedily.
- It may be recalled that a rape convict, Bitihotra Mohanty, was tried for raping a German national in Alwar (Rajasthan) on March 21, 2006 and he was sentenced to seven years imprisonment on April 12, that is, within 22 days.
- Such speedy disposal of cases of crime against foreigners can be replicated if we have the will.
