3-4 September
Army Design Bureau formed to reduce dependence on imports
Indian Army on 30 August 2016 announced establishment of the Army Design Bureau (ADB) to indigenise procurements and reduce import dependence.
The ADDB will facilitate the weapons and technology building efforts between the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), industry and the army.
Establishment of ADB was announced by Army Chief General Dalbir Singh at an Army seminar on Make in India. At the seminar, the Army Chief also launched the ‘Make in India Army Website’ that will serve as a one stop platform for information to vendors.
Army Design Bureau
• It was developed with an idea to bring together academic institutions and the industry to develop indigenous knowhow and for this the Army is open to sharing parts of its long-term plans.
• The ADB will integrate various stake holders in its long-term requirements and will be a single point contact for them.
• It will help in tracking the procurement process and will also help in modernisation.
• It would also facilitate and promote indigenous research, design and development of defence equipment for meeting the requirement for weapons and equipment domestically, rather than depending upon foreign imports.
Besides, for being manufactured by domestic defence industry, the Army has identified ten projects under Make in India category. The identified projects include
• 125 mm smooth bore barrel guns
• Improved ammunition for T-72 and T-90 tanks
• 1000 HP engines for T-72 tanks
• Environment control unit and auxiliary power units for T-90 tanks
• Advanced pilotless target aircrafts
• Manoeuvrable expendable aerial targets and others
New species of Pterosaur from early Jurassic Era discovered in Patagonia
A group of scientists has discovered a new species of pterosaur from the early Jurassic period in the Patagonia region of South America.
The discovery was disclosed in a study that was published in the last week of August 2016 in the journal PeerJ.
The study also provides new information on the origin, tempo and mode of evolution in pterosaurs.
Key highlights of the discovery
•The new species has been named Allkauren koifrom the native Tehuelche word ‘all’ for ‘brain’, and ‘karuen’ for ‘ancient’.
•The fossil of Allkaruen koi was found in northern central Chubut Province in Argentina. The remains included a well preserved and uncrushed braincase.
•The cranial remains were in an excellent state of preservation.
•Allkaruen, from the middle lower Jurassic limit, shows an intermediate state in the brain evolution of pterosaurs and their adaptations to the aerial environment.
•In order to study the neurocranial anatomy, the researchers used computed tomography to observe, in three dimensions, the cranial endocast and the inner ear.
•Subsequently, a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of the group was performed, including these cranial data and other anatomical features.
What are Pterosaurs?
•Pterosaurs are flying reptiles of the extinct order Pterosauria.
•They existed from the late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous Period (228 to 66 million years ago).
•They are the earliest vertebrates known to have evolved powered flight.
•Their wings were formed by a membrane of skin, muscle, and other tissues stretching from the ankles to a dramatically lengthened fourth finger.
•Early species had long, fully toothed jaws and long tails, while later forms had a highly reduced tail, and some lacked teeth.
•They spanned a wide range of adult sizes, from the very small Anurognathids to the largest known flying creatures of all time, including Quetzalcoatlus and Hatzegopteryx.
3.7 Billion Years Old fossils discovered on Earth in Greenland rocks
A team of scientists have discovered the world’s oldest stromatolite fossils about 3.7 billion years old in the world’s oldest sedimentary rocks in the Isua Greenstone Belt along the edge of Greenland’s icecap. The findings were published in journal Nature on 31 August 2016
Led by the Australian University of Wollongong’s (UOW) Professor Allen Nutman, the team's discovery pushes back the previous record by 220 million years and captures the earliest history of the planet.
The discovery of the Isua stromatolite fossils provides a greater understanding of early diversity of life on Earth which could have implications for the understanding of life on Mars.
The Study
• A team of Australian geologists made the discovery in July 2012 while carrying out field research in Isua, a remote place in Greenland.
• One day while working at the field, they came across some outcroppings never seen before.
• Upon further assessment, the researchers were able to know they were conical structures, one to four centimeters high.
• The outcroppings looked like microbial mats known as stromatolites. The researchers carried out laboratory analysis and found its formations to be 3.7 billion years old.
• Using radiometric dating, the scientists were able to find out the age of the rocks.
Stromatolites
• The fossils are called stromatolites, which are layers of ancient microorganisms that grew in shallow water.
• Stromatolites are built layer-by-layer by a mat of photosynthesising bacteria in shallow water.
• Over time, they create structures of varying size and shape, from tall domed towers to small, pointed cones.
• Oddly enough, stromatolites are older than the world’s oldest rocks, since scientists think that the rocks they co-existed with have been crushed and destroyed by plate tectonic and erosion.
4 September
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw appointed Knight of the National Order of the French Legion of Honour
Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Chairperson and Managing Director of Biocon Limited, was on 1 September 2016 appointed Chevalier de l'Ordre National de la Légion d'Honneur (Knight of the National Order of the French Legion of Honour).
Shaw was honoured for her contribution to biosciences and research.
The award will be conferred on behalf of the President of the French Republic at a ceremony later in 2016.
Chevalier l'Ordre National de la Légion d'Honneur is the highest civilian award of the French Republic for outstanding contribution in diverse fields.
About Kiran Mazumdar Shaw
•Kiran Mazumdar Shaw is an Indian entrepreneur.
•She is the Chairman and Managing Director of Biocon Limited, a biotechnology company based in Bengaluru, India.
•She is also the current chairperson of IIM-Bangalore.
•In 2014, she was awarded the Othmer Gold Medal, for outstanding contributions to the progress of science and chemistry.
•She is on the Financial Times’ top 50 women in business list.
•As of 2015, she was listed as the 85th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes.
•In 2016, she was again listed as the most powerful woman in the world at 77th position by Forbes.
Mukund Choudhari assumes charge as CMD of MOIL
Mukund Chaudhari on 1 September 2016 took over as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of MOIL Ltd, a miniratna company.
Prior to taking over as CMD, Chaudhari served as the Director (Finance) of MOIL.
Who is Mukund Chaudhari?
•Mukund Chaudhari is a chartered accountant by profession.
•He holds a long experience of over two and half decades in private and public sectors undertakings.
•He had also worked in the private sector.
•After joining MOIL in 1997, he held various positions in the company.
•He was inducted in the Board of Directors of MOIL in August 2012 as Director (Finance).
•He has varied experience in corporate financial management and he is instrumental for introduction of ERP system in MOIL recently.
About MOIL
•MOIL Limited is a miniratna state-owned manganese-ore mining company headquartered in Nagpur, India.
•It was formerly known as Manganese Ore India Limited.
•With a market share of 50%, it was the largest producer of manganese ore in India in the fiscal year 2008.
•MOIL Limited has been ranked #486 among the 500 top companies in India and 9th in the Mines and Metals Sector of the Fortune India 500 list for 2011.
•MOIL operates 10 mines, six located in Nagpur and Bhandara districts of Maharashtra and four in the Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh.
•Its Balaghat mine is the deepest underground manganese mine in Asia.