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. 5G Technology 5G networks will have the requisite data speed and capacity to support massive machine-to-machine communications as well as low-latency and high-reliability services, essential for time-critical applications such as self-driving cars. They also come with increased security, stability and reliability challenges. International Mobile Telecommunication 2020 standards (IMT-2020) of the ITU will set the macro level requirements for 5G. The industry driven standardization body 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) has developed technical specifications for mobile technologies since 1998 and it continues to do so for 5G networks based on ITU requirements. 5G network deployment is also going to harness advances in technologies like Millimetric Band, Network Function Virtualization, Network Slicing, MIMO, and Software Defined Networks. The three main technology categories underpinning 5G deployment are: Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB)  can enable high user mobility, esp...

Background: Space junk is an ever-growing problem with more than 7,500 tonnes of redundant hardware now thought to be circling the Earth. Ranging from old rocket bodies and defunct spacecraft through to screws and even flecks of paint – this material poses a collision hazard to operational missions. The rising population of space debris increases the potential danger to all space vehicles, but especially to the International Space Station (ISS), space shuttles, satellites and other spacecraft What is Project NETRA (Network for space object Tracking and Analysis)? Under the project, the ISRO plans to put up many observational facilities: connected radars, telescopes; data processing units and a control centre. They can, among others, spot, track and catalogue objects as small as 10 cm, up to a range of 3,400 km and equal to a space orbit of around 2,000 km. Significance of the project: The project will give India its own capability in space situational awarene...

National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS).  Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) are new class of engineered systems that integrate computation and physical processes in a dynamic environment.  CPS encompasses technology areas of Cybernetics, Mechatronics, Design and Embedded systems, Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and many more.   The CPS systems are intelligent, autonomous and efficient and are expected to drive innovation in sectors as diverse as agriculture, water, energy, transportation, infrastructure, security, health and manufacturing. Thus, it is heralded as the next paradigm shift in technology that can exponentially spur growth and development.  To harness the potential of this new wave of technology and make India a leading player in CPS, the Union Cabinet approved the launch of National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS) to be implemented by the Department of Science & ...

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are amongst the strongest drivers of economic development, innovation and employment. The MSME sector also contributes in a significant way to the growth of the Indian economy with a vast network of about 63.38 million enterprises. The sector contributes about 45% to manufacturing output, more than 40% of exports, over 28% of the GDP while creating employment for about 111 million people, which in terms of volume stands next to agricultural sector.  The MSME sector in India is exceedingly heterogeneous in terms of size of the enterprises and variety of products and services, and levels of technology employed. However, the sector has the potential to grow at a faster pace. To provide impetus to the manufacturing sector, the recent National Manufacturing Policy envisaged raising the share of manufacturing sector in GDP from 16% at present to 25% by the end of 2022.  In order to enable identification and facilitate development of M...

Steel is one of the most important products in the modern world and forms the backbone to any industrial economy. India being one of the fastest growing economies in the world, and steel finding its extensive application right from construction, infrastructure, power, aerospace and industrial machinery to consumer products, the sector is of strategic importance to the country. The Indian steel sector has grown exponentially over the past few years to be the third largest producer of steel globally, contributing to about 2% of the country's GDP and employing about 5 lakh people directly and about 20 lakh people indirectly.   Untapped potential with a strong policy support becomes the ideal platform for growth. Owing to the strategic importance of the sector along with the need to have a robust and restructured policy in present scenario, the new NSP, 2017 became imminent. Though, National Steel Policy 2005 (NSP 2005) sought to indicate ways and means of consolidating the gains flowi...

‘GPS is a satellite-based navigation system that was originally designed to assist soldiers and military vehicles and maintained by the United States.’ Later, it has been offered to the general public as a service to navigate their way.  What is Visual Positioning System?  The VPS will use the phone’s camera along with Google’s extensive back-end data to analyze the route. It will allow the camera to detect current location based on nearby shops, signboards, etc. and then will suggest the navigation path for the journey. VPS is predicted to be far more accurate than the Global Positioning System (GPS) and is designed to overcome the challenge of GPS. This technology is useful in urban areas where GPS is often blocked by skyscrapers. VPS-How It Works? Leveraging the possibilities of GPS system and camera in the mobile phones and embedding the same with augmented reality Google is giving a new definition for navigation system. Let’s have a look on how it works! VPS uses Google’s...

A n economic recession signifies a drop in the gross domestic product (GDP), while a slowdown is merely a decline in the growth rate of the GDP.  It’s the difference between a salary cut and a smaller increment. While one reduces an individual’s actual income, the other is merely a drop in the growth of that income. A slowdown usually precedes recession, but does not necessarily lead to one. RECESSION: The GDP is the total value of all the goods and services produced or created in a country in a year. When this value falls, the country’s economy is said to be in recession. It means that the country is producing and earning less than what it did, say, six months ago. An economic recession is marked by low consumer spending because people lose confidence in the growth of the economy. This decrease in the demand for goods and services, in turn, leads to a decrease in production as companies reduce the output to match the demand. This also leads to lay-offs and a ...

The Generalized System of Preferences is the largest and oldest United States trade preference programme. The U.S. intended it to promote economic development by eliminating duties on some products it imports from the 120 countries designated as beneficiaries. When was it introduced? It was established by the Trade Act of 1974. According to the website of the U.S. Trade Representative, the GSP helps spur sustainable development in beneficiary countries by helping them increase and diversify their trade with the U.S. The U.S. also believes that moving GSP imports from the docks to U.S. consumers, farmers, and manufacturers supports tens of thousands of jobs in the U.S. The other benefit is that “GSP boosts American competitiveness by reducing the costs of imported inputs used by U.S. companies to manufacture goods in the United States.” The Trade Representative says the GSP is important to U.S. small businesses, many of which rely on the programmes’ duty savings to stay competi...

According to the  National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) in 2011-12,  25.7% of rural population is living below the poverty line (BPL) including farm and non-farm rural population. However, separate estimate on the number of farmers living below the poverty line is not available. Keeping in view the challenges before the farming community, Government of India regularly monitors and evaluates Schemes from time to time through independent agencies/institutes and revamps them based on the feedback. The outcome of performance evaluation of some schemes are as follows and many of them have been revamped based on such studies:   Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yoja na- Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied Sector Rejuvenation (RKVY-RAFTAAR): The concurrent evaluation of implementation of the RKVY was done during 2016-17 by Institute of Economic Growth (IEG) Delhi. Based partially on the recommendations, the scheme was revamped as RKVY-RAFTAAR which is curr...

Snow is a vital source of water for drinking, agriculture, and electrical power in the western United States and other locations around the world. What is snowex?   To know how much water will be available the following spring, water resource managers and hydrologists need to know where snow has fallen, how much there is and how is characteristics change as it melts. Measuring snow water equivalent, or SWE, tells them how much water is contained within the snowpack. NASA currently has no global satellite mission to track and study SWE.  SnowEx’s airborne measurements, ground measurements, and computer modeling are paving the way for future development of a global snow satellite mission . Here are some things they will be watching for in the 2020 campaign. In the air … Snow is challenging to measure because its characteristics change depending on what terrain it falls on, how deep it is and whether it is melting.  No one tool or measurement can measure all types of sn...

Role of microfinance in the economy Microfinance, involving extension of small loans and other financial services to low income groups, is a very important economic conduit designed to facilitate financial inclusion and assist the poor to work their way out of poverty. It is argued that microfinance can facilitate the achievement of national policies that target poverty reduction, empowerment of women, assisting vulnerable groups, and improving standards of living. The journey of financial inclusion in the past two decades has been one of intensive efforts and incremental experimentation. However, the quantum jump came when Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) was launched in 2014, which enabled achievement of the objective of providing bank accounts to adult population in almost every household. The reach of mobile phones and e-KYC has ensured these accounts are accessible to those who have been included in the financial services milieu.  The Reserve Bank of India has be...

The country requires an employment and income strategy to guide its industry and trade policies? Examine?  According Mahatma Gandhi’s talisman provides a good test. The government should think of the needs of the poorest citizens first,passing  of years, decades of decades the poor or become poor and rich are becoming rich and richer. What need be done?  Challanges : India’s complex, socio-economic environmental system is under even greater stress. The country must improve on many fronts. Example :Job creation  India ranks very low in international comparisons of human development (education and health), even below its poorer subcontinental neighbours. Example : Human development index indicators  It is the most water-stressed large economy in the world; its cities are the most polluted. Example : because of climate  change more stress water, water is becoming rich.  India’s economic growth is not generating enough jobs for its burgeoning population of...