May 11: National Technology Day

National Technology Day is being observed across India on May 11 to glorify the importance of science in day-to-day life and motivate students to adopt science as a career option. 

• The theme of the year 2016 is ‘Technology enablers of Startup India’. 
• The day is being commemorated to celebrate the anniversary of first of the five tests of Operation Shakti (Pokhran-II) nuclear test, held on 11 May 1998 in Pokhran, Rajasthan. 
• India also conducted successful test firing of the Trishul missile on the same day.

Scientist develops World’s first holographic flexible phone

Scientists from the Queen’s University (Canada) have developed the world’s first holographic flexible smartphone named HoloFlex. 

• The HoloFlex smartphone lets users to interact with 3D (Three dimensional) videos and images without using any headgear or glasses.
•  HoloFlex features is a high-definition Flexible Organic Light Emitting Diode (FOLED) touch-screen display.

Atomic oxygen detected in Martian atmosphere

Scientists have detected atomic oxygen in the atmosphere of Mars for the first time since the last observation 40 years ago. 

• It was detected using an instrument on-board the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). 
• The detected atomic oxygen was found in the upper layers of the Martian atmosphere known as the mesosphere.
•  It was detected by using the German Receiver for Astronomy at Terahertz Frequencies (GREAT), an advanced detector on one of the observatory’s instruments. 

China Bug Declared World’s Longest Insect

A bug over half a meter (1.6 feet) long discovered in southern China has been declared the world’s longest insect.

•  A stick insect measuring 62.4 centimeters (24.6 inches) found two years ago in the southern province of Guangxi has broken the record for length among the world’s 807,625 known insects. 
• The previous record-holder was a Malaysian 56.7-centimeter-long (22.3 inches) stick insect discovered in 2008 and now on display in London’s Natural History Museum.

Scientists win $3 million for detecting Einstein’s waves

Researchers who helped detect gravitational waves for the first time, confirming part of Albert Einstein’s theory in a landmark moment in scientific history, will share a $3 million Special Breakthrough Prize, according to the prize’s selection committee.

•  The Breakthrough Prizes for scientific achievements were created by Russian billionaire Yuri Milner along with several technology pioneers, including Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and Google co-founder Sergey Brin. 

CBEC launches mobile application for baggage rules information

The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has launched mobile app “Indian Customs- Guide to Travellers” for dissemination of information about Customs Baggage Rules, 2016. 

• The application has been launched to inform traders, exporters and importers about Customs Baggage Rules, 2016. 

About the Rule :

•  It has been developed by Bengaluru Customs and is available on Android Play store, Apple Store and Windows Store. 
• The app serves as a useful tool for quick and effective dissemination of information about baggage rules and entitlements. 
• It is user friendly and serves to clarify doubts and concern of International passengers and also ensure better compliance. 
• The CBEC is the nodal national agency under the aegis of Union Finance Ministry responsible for administering customs, central excise, service tax and narcotics in India.

 Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) :

• The Central Board of Excise and Custom is the nodal national agency responsible for administering Customs, Central Excise, Service Tax & Narcotics in India.

Maharashtra has launched Adi Praman app for caste validity certificate

Maharashtra Government has launched Adi Praman, a web-based application for state’s tribal population to get the caste validity certificates online.

• It was launched along with portal named etribalvalidity.mahaonline@gov.in by Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao. 
• The application is first of its kind for any state in India. 

About Adi Praman  :

• The tribal people from the state can obtain caste validity certificates online using this application.
•  The validity certificate will be bar-coded with a unique identification number and enable authorities to directly verify the status of validity certificate using the unique barcode number.
•  The web portal will show the real-time status of the applications through email and text messages. 
• The applicants will also be informed on the status of their application through SMS alert and Email. 
• The app will make the entire process of securing caste validity certificate easy, fast and transparent and would effectively curb the menace of bogus certificates.
•  It will also help the state government to achieve the goal of inclusion as envisioned under the Digital India programme.

EC launches mobile app e-voter for Kerala assembly polls

 The Election Commission of India (ECI) has launched an innovative mobile application titled e-voter with comprehensive details about the forthcoming 2016 Assembly polls in Kerala. 

• The app is envisaged for voters’ facilitation for search in electoral roll, information regarding candidates, location of polling station, affidavit filed by them, filing of complaint and so on.

About e- voter app :

•  The e-voter app was developed by the state IT Mission.
•  It aims at ensuring great transparency and conduct of free and fair elections.
•  The app has ‘know your candidate’ option that would provide constituency wise details of candidates. 
• It has ‘constituency list’ option that would give segment wise details of voters (total number of voters, number of male voters and female voters) and total polling stations. 
• The app will also provide information about previous elections results and names of Chief Ministers.
•  The e-voter app can be downloaded from the Google Play store and can be installed on any android phone

Experian India launches new fraud solution for banking and insurance

 Experian, the global information services company, launched the ‘Hunter Fraud Score’, a new scoring mechanism that measures the probability of fraud in a credit application across banking and insurance industries.

•  The new score will help retail finance providers and insurance companies in India significantly increase their efficiency in fraud detection.
•  Businesses will be able to identify applications that should be screened for potential fraud, and prioritise those that have a high probability of being fraudulent. 
• This will enable them to potentially lower their fraud losses and focus on approving applications from genuine customers.
• Hunter prevents application fraud by matching credit application data against multiple data sources, including the shared fraud data. It comprises several rules that work towards identifying inconsistencies in credit applications.
• The suspicious applications are moved into the investigation tool for further analysis and action.

China successfully launches Kunpeng-1B sounding rocket

China has successfully launched the Kunpeng-1B sounding rocket from a launch pad in Danzhou City in the southern Chinese Hainan Province.

• The research rocket, which is due to take measurements in the upper atmosphere and help with high-speed flight and space tourism research, was launched  by China's National Space Science Center (NSSC) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
• The rocket reached a maximum height of 316 kilometers , with the total flight time coming to 10 minutes.

Sounding rocket :

Sounding rockets are low-cost launch vehicles designed to carry scientific instruments that take measurements during the rocket's sub-orbital flight. 

A sounding rocket, sometimes called a research rocket.

• China first launched a Kunpeng-1 rocket in April 2013.

All new mobiles to have panic button from 2017

Starting next year, all mobile phones sold in India will come with a dedicated ‘panic button’ that can be used to send out a signal in case of distress.

The Panic button and Global Positioning System facility in all mobile phone handsets Rules, 2016, notified by the Department of Telecommunications on April 22, are aimed at improving the safety of women and ensuring a quick response from security agencies.

The notification says that no handset shall be sold in India from January 1, 2017, without a panic button and all handsets must also have GPS from January 1, 2018.

Once the panic button is pressed, a signal/call will be made to the nearest security agency. 

panic button :

A panic alarm is an electronic device designed to assist in alerting somebody in emergency situations where a threat to persons or property exists.

Huge coral reef discovered at Amazon river mouth

  

  A huge 3,600 sq mile (9,300 sq km) coral reef system has been found below the muddy waters off the mouth of the river Amazon, astonishing scientists, governments and oil companies who have started to explore on top of it.

The existence of the 600-mile long reef, which ranges from about 30-120m deep and stretches from French Guiana to Brazil’s Maranhão state, was not suspected because many of the world’s great rivers produce major gaps in reef systems where no corals grow.

Coral reef :

• Coral reefs are diverse underwater ecosystems held together by calcium carbonate structures secreted by corals.
•  Coral reefs are built by colonies of tiny animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. 
• Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups. 

Primate species new to India discovered in Arunachal Pradesh

A new primate species in India has been discovered by a team of biologists and wildlife photographers during their bird watching trip to Arunachal Pradesh’s Anjaw district.

• The White Cheeked Macaque, hitherto unknown in India, was actually spotted by the team last year, but it took almost a year to confirm by the scientific community before the announcement.
• With this, White Cheeked Macaque has become a new primate species in India.

White-cheeked macaque

Scientific classification

• Kingdom: Animalia
• Phylum: Chordata
• Class: Mammalia
• Order: Primates
• Family: Cercopithecidae
• Genus: Macaca
• Species: M. leucogenys