Year End Review-2018-Department of Science & Technology

Question: Recently which scheme was developed by Department of Science & Technology for a period of five years?
(a) NM-ICPS (National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems)
(b) TARE (Teacher Associate ship for Research Excellence)
(c) OVDF (Overseas Visiting Doctoral Fellowship)
(d) DIA (SERB Distinguished Investigator Award)
Answer: (a)
Related facts:

  • On 17 December 2018, Department of Science & Technology (DST) under the Ministry of Science & Technology has released its Year End Review featuring its year-long achievements in 2018.
  • Among one of the biggest developments, on 6th December 2018, Department of Science and Technology has projected a new programme “Interdisciplinary Cyber Physical Systems (ICPS)” to cater and stimulate the field of research & development.
  • National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS):
  • A Cyber-Physical System (CPS) is a mechanism that is controlled or monitored by computer-based algorithms, tightly integrated with the Internet and its users. In cyber-physical systems, physical and software components are deeply intertwined, each operating on different spatial and temporal scales, exhibiting multiple and distinct behavioral modalities.
  • The objective of NM-ICPS Mission is to established total 25 technology hubs in the country in which 15 are Technology Innovation Hubs, six are Application Innovation Hubs and remaining four will be Technology translation Research Hubs.
  • Plaaning and Projects:
  • The Global Cooling Prize launched in November this year is an innovation challenge that aims to spur development of a residential cooling solution that has at least five times (5x) less climate impact than today’s standard products.
  • This technology could prevent up to 100 gigatons (GT) of CO2-equivalent emissions by 2050. Over US$3 million will be awarded in prize money after the 2-year competition.
  • A major partnership Indo-Korean Center for Research and Innovation (IKCRI) was launched in India, which will act as the hub for systematic operation and management of all cooperative programmes in research and innovation between the two countries including innovation & entrepreneurship and technology transfer.
  • In early 2018 three Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB)’s Schemes was launched by Union Science & Technology Minister viz. TARE (Teacher Associate ship for Research Excellence); OVDF (Overseas Visiting Doctoral Fellowship) and DIA (SERB Distinguished Investigator Award).
  • Other initiatives by Ministry of Science and Technology:
  • AWSAR – Augmenting writing skills for articulating research.
  • SRIMAN- Scientific research infrastructure and maintenance Networks.
  • Festival of innovation and entrepreneurship (FINE)
  • India’s first supercritical Brayton Cycle CO2 test facility at IISC Bangalore.

Links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyber-physical_syste
http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=186493
https://pmil.in/central-government-scheme/nm-icps-mission/