GK Snapshots on 23 December 2021 
 

National Mathematics Day 2021 – December 22

National Mathematics Day is annually celebrated across India on 22nd December to mark the birth anniversary of renowned Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan, who was born on 22nd December 1887 in Erode, Madras Presidency, British India (now Tamil Nadu).

The day is observed to highlight the importance of mathematics in the development of the nation and to honour the works of Srinivasa Ramanujan.

• 22nd December 2021 marks the 134th birth anniversary of Srinivasa Ramanuja.

About Srinivasa Ramanujan:

i.In 1918, at the age of 31, Ramanujan became the youngest Fellow in the history of the Royal Society. He was the 2nd Indian to be elected to the Royal Society after Ardaseer Cursetjee(1841).

ii.He was the first Indian to be elected a Fellow of Trinity College.

Works of Ramanujan:

i.By the age of 32 he had compiled 3900 results which were mostly on identities and equations.

ii.His discoveries have influenced various areas of mathematics and he is well known for his significant contributions to the analytical theory of numbers, elliptic functions, continued fractions, and infinite series.

Hardy-Ramanujan Number:

The Hardy-Ramanujan Number, 1729, is the smallest number that can be expressed as the sum of two different cubes in two different ways.

It is also known as Ramanujan’s Number.

India Successfully Tests ‘Pralay’ missile off the Coast of Odisha

India successfully test fired short-range, surface to surface-guided ballistic missile ‘Pralay’ from APJ Abdul Kalam Island, off the coast of Odisha.
Highlights: Pralay is the solid-fuel, battlefield missile based on Prithvi Defence Vehicle from the Indian ballistic missile programme. Developed by – Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO).
About Pralay:

i.Pralay is a 350-500 km short-range, surface-to-surface missile with a payload capacity of 500-1,000 kg.

ii.The missile is powered with a solid propellant rocket motor with state-of-the-art navigation system and integrated avionics which can be launched from a mobile launcher.

Indian Army gets 1st set of indigenously-built Armoured Engineer Reconnaissance Vehicle

During an event in Pune (Maharashtra), the first batch of indigenously developed next-generation Armoured Engineer Reconnaissance Vehicles (AERV) has been inducted into the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army.

• The induction ceremony was one in the presence of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Manoj Mukund Naravane.

Manufacturers of AERV: It has been designed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and manufactured by Ordnance Factory Medak (OFMK) in Telangana and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Pune.

About AERV: It meets the tactical and combat requirements of Military Engineers for carrying out terrestrial and under-water surveys in plains, desert and riverine terrains.

• The vehicle is capable of carrying out reconnaissance of water obstacles and boggy patches for the execution of engineering tasks

• It also provide real time update to force commanders

Pakistan successfully test-fires enhanced range version Babur Cruise Missile 1B

On December 21, 2021, Pakistan successfully test-fired an enhanced range version of its indigenously-built surface-to-surface Babur cruise missile namely ‘Babur Cruise Missile 1B’ that can strike targets up to 900 kilometres from 450 km of former missile.

• The Babur missile is capable of engaging targets at land and sea with high precision.

• The launch ceremony of Babur Cruise Missile 1B was witnessed by Lt Gen Nadeem Zaki Manj, Director General, Strategic Plans Division; Dr Raza Samar, Chairman National Engineering and Scientific Commission (NESCOM); among others.

Key Points:

i.The missile is named after Mughal King Babur who laid the foundations of the Mughal Empire in the sub continent in 1526.

ii.In February 2021, Pakistan conducted a successful training launch of the earlier version of Babar cruise

iii.In August 2021, it conducted a successful test flight of Fatah-1 which is a guided multi-launch rocket system capable of delivering conventional warheads.

KUFOS to Join Research Project under NASA-ISRO Collaborative Programme

The Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS), Kochi, Kerala, is set to join the research project backed by the Space Application Centre of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) under the (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) NASA–ISRO collaborative programme.

• KUFOS is selected as one of the nodal agencies in South India to implement the project.

• The project will be headed by Girish Gopinath, Associate professor of Remote Sensing and geographic information system (GIS) at KUFOS and U Surendran, senior scientist at Centre for Water Resources Development and Management(CWRDM).

About the project:

i.Under this project, the ground truth data validation is planned prior to NISAR launch through collaboration with other research institutions like CWRDM.

ii.Under this project, KUFOS will establish a long term plots and its inventory in Shimoga (Karnataka) and Nilambur (Kerala) for validation of NISAR Forest biomass products.

iii.The outcome of the partnership with KUFOS is expected to address the critical issues of forest biomass estimation, carbon stock estimation and monitoring and carbon sequestration.

NASA-ISRO collaboration:

i.NASA and ISRO are jointly working on developing a space borne NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR), which is to be launched in January 2023.

ii.NISAR will produce high resolution data for large areas with the capabilities for systematic observation of earth resources.

iii.It will also provide time series data for eco systems applications that will benefit the operational activities related to agriculture, forestry, wetlands and soil moisture estimation.

AIM, NITI Aayog Launched 1st of its kind Vernacular Innovation Programme to Empower Entrepreneurs

Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) under the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI Aayog) has launched the first of its kind Vernacular Innovation Programme(VIP) to empower the entrepreneurs and innovators across India.

• VIP will enable the innovators and entrepreneurs across India to have access to the innovation ecosystem in 22 scheduled languages of India and English.

About Vernacular Innovation Programme(VIP):

i.AIM will identify and train the Vernacular Task Force (VTF) in each of the 22 scheduled languages to build the required capacity of the VIP. ii.Each VTF will have vernacular language teachers, subject experts, technical writers, and the leadership of regional Atal Incubation Centers(AICs).

Benefits: This programme will lower the language barriers in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship and enhance the creative expressions and languages of the transaction. This will strengthen the design and innovation capabilities of our communities, and assist the local entrepreneurs, artisans and innovators to assimilate the knowledge cum technical materials developed by AIM.
 

IAF deploys first S-400 air defence system in Punjab sector

The Indian Air Force (IAF) has deployed the first squadron of the S-400 air defence missile system in the western Punjab sector which will take care of aerial threats from Pakistan and China. It was developed by Russia’s Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau.

• The S-400 air defence system was contracted for by India from Russia in a deal worth around Rs 35,000 crore and five squadrons would be provided to India for tackling air threats from up to 400 km.

Key Points:

i.The first squadron deliveries are expected to be complete by the end of this year.

ii.Indian Air Force officers and personnel have trained in Russia on the system.

iii.The S-400 missile defence system is equipped with four different missiles which can engage enemy aircraft, ballistic missiles, and AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System) planes at 400 km, 250 km, the medium-range 120 km and the short-range 40 km.

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