Prof. Swaminathan was a transformative leader who has inspired many scientists: Vice President

Prof. Swaminathan was a transformative leader who has inspired many scientists: Vice President

Confers 'Yeraringan' Award to Prof. M.S. Swaminathan
I have known Prof. M.S. Swaminathan for a long time. He is a man with deep commitment to our country’s development. He is a transformative leader who has inspired many scientists to focus on the problem of Indian agriculture. It is not surprising that he did what he did and excelled in everything he did.

His commitment to serve our motherland is not surprising as he comes from a patriotic family that had placed India first. He was deeply influenced by his father who was a surgeon and social reformer. His father M.K. Sambasivam, a follower of Mahatma Gandhi, took the lead in Kumbakonam in “burning his foreign clothes”, a symbolic act in support of the Swadeshi movement: which emphasized the use of Indian rather than foreign-made clothes, use of handloom cloth instead of mill-made cloth. The political purpose of the Swadeshi movement was to free India from dependence on foreign imports and to protect our village industry and craftsmen. His father took the lead in opening the temples to low class people as a part of the temple entry movement of the Indian independence movement in Tamil Nadu, and in eradicating filariasis in Kumbakonam, an area long infected with the disease. The sense of service to one’s fellow beings was thus ingrained in Dr. Swaminathan’s heart very early.

The switch to agriculture came at a turning point in his life when he witnessed the Great Bengal famine of 1943. He decided to devote his life to address this challenge, and influenced by Mahatma Gandhi, he took the decision to pursue agriculture in Madras Agricultural College, Coimbatore, now the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University.

In 1947, the year of Indian independence he moved to the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI, Pusa) in New Delhi as a post-graduate student in genetics and plant breeding. Meanwhile, he qualified for the Indian Police Service but chose a different career path. Instead of taking leadership positions in the public safety and security domain, he charted out a new path leading to food security for the country. With a fellowship from UNESCO, he continued his research in Netherlands and earned a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in 1952 from Cambridge University. Later, he was made an Honorary Fellow at Cambridge in 2014.

Dr. M.S. Swaminathan then accepted a post-doctoral research associateship at the University of Wisconsin, Department of Genetics to help set up a United States Department of Agriculture’s potato research station. Despite his strong personal and professional satisfaction with the research work in Wisconsin, he declined the offer of a full-time faculty position, returning to India in early 1954. This proves his love for his home nation. He wanted to use the techniques and skills he learnt abroad for the welfare of his own people.

This he did in ample measure and ushered in the green revolution in the early 1960s.

India registered significant increase in agricultural production in 1960s consequent upon the adoption of new agricultural strategy and use of high yielding variety seeds and chemical fertilizers. The key pillars of this revolution were high yielding variety (HYV) seeds, chemical fertilizers, pesticides and promoted irrigation facilities. The programme was a major breakthrough and a turning point in the history of agriculture development in India. Dr. M.S. Swaminathan was at that moment the adviser to the Minister of Agriculture and he had invited Dr. Norman Borlaug to India and worked with him in developing high yielding varieties of wheat.

Dr. Swaminathan is a great institution builder. He established National Bureau of Plant, Animal and Fish Genetic Resources of India and International Plant Genetic Resources Institute. He has also played a pivotal role in establishing the Agricultural Research Service of the ICAR.

His vision, foresight, intellectual rigour, and the abilities to connect the research findings with farmers’ concerns have earned him numerous awards. He has received several honours, outstanding awards and prizes and international recognitions. He is a Fellow of many of the leading scientific academies of India and the world, including the Royal Society of London and the US National Academy of Sciences. He has received 70 honorary doctorate degrees from universities around the world. He was a Member of the Parliament of India (Rajya Sabha) during 2007-13. He also chairs the Task Force set up by the Ministry of External Affairs to oversee the projects undertaken in Afghanistan and Myanmar in the field of agriculture and was elected the “Living Legend of International Union of Nutrition Sciences” at the 20th International Congress of Nutrition held at Granada, Spain.

Personally, I have had the privilege of knowing and working with Thiru Swaminathan avargal for a long time. I have been associated with him especially while he was chairing the Farmers’ Commission and other committees as well as when he was a Member of Parliament. I have always appreciated his love for the farming community, as well as his vision of reducing hunger and poverty. He blends in himself the visionary, innovative approach of a great scientist and the missionary zeal of a social activist eager to use his knowledge and insights for the welfare of Indian farmers. He is truly cast in the mould of our ancient Rishis who believed that ‘Jnana’ and ‘Vignana’ is for ‘Sarvajanahitaaya, SarvajanaSukhaaya’.

History of the Submarine Arm

History of the Submarine Arm

The history of the Indian Navy’s Submarine Arm can be traced to the dedicated efforts of over a decade that commenced soon after India attained her independence. A modest beginning was made when a team of officers were trained at HMS Dolphin, UK in 1962. The Submarine Arm came into being on 08 Dec 1967 when the Tricolour was hoisted on the first INS Kalvari. Thereon the Foxtrots, with their cheerful and determined crews, set the Arm’s proud traditions. Two of these boats participated in the 1971 Indo-Pak war.
The induction of the 877 EKM (Sindhughosh class) and Type 209 (Shishumar class) brought advancements in technology and fire power. The commissioning of the first Indian built (by MDL) submarine INS Shalki on 07 Feb 1992 heralded the country’s indigenous submarine construction capability. Commissioning of the nuclear powered Chakra–I in 1988 and Chakra–II in 2012 leapfrogged the IN into a select group of nuclear submarine operating navies.

Indeed, from modest beginnings the goal of continually strengthening the Submarine Arm has been diligently pursued. This journey of 50 years has been a saga of passion, grit, determination and commitment. Since inception, the Dolphins have established a strong tradition of willingly accepting the challenges of operating in the unforgiving environment that lies beneath providing both the sword and the shield to the nation.

The insignia of the Submarine Arm is the National Emblem flanked by two dolphins. Dolphins, attendants to Poseidon, the Greek God of the sea and patron deity to sailors, are considered as the sailor’s friends. They were also chosen to represent the Submarine Arm because of the characteristic way in which they dive and surface.

The erstwhile INS Kalvari, the first Indian submarine, was commissioned on 08 Dec 1967, under the command of Commander K.S.Subra-Manian at the Soviet seaport of Riga. Since then the day is aptly celebrated as “Submarine Day” by the Indian Navy. Kalvari embarked on her maiden passage from Riga on 18 Apr 1968 and arrived at Vishakhapatnam on 16 Jul 1968 covering a total of 19,000 nautical miles enroute. After almost three decades of service, the sentinel of the deep was decommissioned on 31 May 1996. After decommissioning Kalvari’s fin has been displayed at Beach Road, Visakhapatnam as part of the city’s Maritime Museum. Kalvari’s original bell as well as the Officers’ Commissioning Plaque was gifted to the Commanding Officer of the new Kalvari in 2015 by the then Commander-in- Chief, Eastern Naval Command, Vice Admiral Satish Soni.

.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,.,India Signs Loan Agreement with World Bank for US$ 250 Million for “Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion” (SANKALP) Project

A Financing Agreement for IBRD loan of USD 250 million (equivalent) for the “Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion (SANKALP) Project” was today signed with the World Bank. The Financing Agreement was signed in New Delhi by Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs Shri Sameer Kumar Khare on behalf of Government of India and Mr. Junaid Kamal Ahmad, Country Director, World Bank (India) on behalf of the World Bank.

The Objective of the project is to enhance institutional mechanisms for skills development and increase access to quality and market-relevant training for the work force.

The Key result areas for the project include Institutional Strengthening at the National and State Levels for Planning, Delivering, and Monitoring High-Quality Market-Relevant Training; Improved Quality and Market Relevance of Skills Development Programs; Improved access to and completion of skills training for female trainees and other disadvantaged groups; and Expanding skills training through private-public partnerships (PPPs).

For a safe cyberspace

For a safe cyberspace
Cybersecurity needs to be integrated in every aspect of policy and planning
India is one of the key players in the digital and knowledge-based economy, holding more than a 50% share of the world’s outsourcing market. Pioneering and technology-inspired programmes such as Aadhaar, MyGov, Government e-Market, DigiLocker, Bharat Net, Startup India, Skill India and Smart Cities are propelling India towards technological competence and transformation. India is already the third largest hub for technology-driven startups in the world and its Information and Communications Technology sector is estimated to reach the $225 billion landmark by 2020.

However, these achievements come with a problem: innovation in technology, enhanced connectivity, and increasing integration in commerce and governance also make India the fifth most vulnerable country in the world in terms of cybersecurity breaches, according to the Internal Security Threat Report of 2017 by Symantec. Till June 2017, 27,482 cybersecurity threats had been reported in the country, according to the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team’s report. As this is a 23% increase from 2014 figures, it coincides with rapid growth and innovation in the ICT sector.

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The cyberthreat is very real

The good news, though, is that India recognises this. The second Global Cybersecurity Index, released by the International Telecommunication Union in July, which measured the commitment of nations to cybersecurity, found that India ranked 23 out of 165 nations.

Types of attacks
Of the cybersecurity attacks, Ransomware attacks have been the most common in the last few years (Ransomware is a type of software that threatens to publish a person’s data or block it unless a ransom is paid). Apart from WannaCry and Petya, other Ransomware attacks that made news globally were Locky, Cerber, Bucbi, SharkRaaS, CryptXXX and SamSam. The success of each of these inspired new attacks. The ransom demands also increased — the average mean ransom demand rose from $294 in 2015 to $1077 in 2016, according to Symantec.

In India, in May 2017, a data breach at the food delivery App, Zomato, led to personal information of about 17 million users being stolen and put for sale on the Darknet. The company had to negotiate with the hacker in order to get it taken down. Similarly, hackers stole data from 57 million Uber riders and drivers. Uber paid the hackers $100,000 to keep the data breach a secret.

While Windows operating systems were the most vulnerable to cyberattacks, a number of Android threats have been reported in the last couple of years, including potent crypto-ransomware attacks on Android devices. The attacks aren’t limited to mobile phones and e-Pads. All devices, including televisions that use Android, are also potentially vulnerable. In 2016, the first known Ransomware, named KeRanger, targeting Mac users was also reported. The Mirai botnet malware affected 2.5 million home router users and other Internet of Things devices. A number of viruses, malware and cryptoworms are also being developed in the JavaScript, which gives the attackers cross-platform options.

Taking action
Given the huge number of online users and continued efforts on affordable access, cybersecurity needs to be integrated in every aspect of policy and planning. At the 15th Asia Pacific Computer Emergency Response Team conference in Delhi, Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad highlighted the need for robust cybersecurity policies and frameworks. The government is keen to fund cybersecurity research. It announced that it will award a grant worth ₹5 crore to startups working on innovations in the field of cybersecurity.

India needs to quickly frame an appropriate and updated cybersecurity policy, create adequate infrastructure, and foster closer collaboration between all those involved to ensure a safe cyberspace. Minister of Communications Manoj Sinha said at the Global Conference on Cyberspace 2017 that there must be enhanced cooperation among nations and reaffirmed a global call to action for all United Nations member nations to not attack the core of the Internet even when in a state of war. This also clearly emphasises the fact that more than ever before, there is a need for a Geneva-like Convention to agree on some high-level recommendations among nations to keep the Internet safe, open, universal and interoperable.

Hidden figures of Indian science

Hidden figures of Indian science
It’s strange how India ignores some of its best intellectuals
Many of the greatest scientists that independent India has produced are little known, like hidden figures in their own homeland. Amal Kumar Raychaudhuri in cosmology, G.N. Ramachandran in protein crystal structures, and C.K. Majumdar and Dipan Ghosh who extended the quantum Heisenberg spin model. These are household names in the international scientific field, but are little promoted by the Indian scientific establishment, even neglected in graduate teaching.

Why the oversight?
This oversight reflects a serious problem for the sciences in India. India has numerous well-funded institutions designed to produce high-quality scientific research, but the resulting research is mostly mediocre. What is worse is that many Indian scientists agree that the relatively small amount of world-class research they produce emerges despite the national scientific establishment, and not because of it.

The physicist Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, until recently director of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, is critical about the flaws that he sees: “Our research institutes, despite having far greater resources, were full of clever people who were risk-averse and eased into safe, albeit good, research, but not the ground-breaking work of the earlier, colonial times. Local rewards not subject to global competition were low-hanging fruit — [these were] temptations too hard to ignore.” An Indian citizen who achieved his reputation in the U.S., Professor Bhattacharya was recruited to run TIFR because, as C.N.R. Rao, who until recently was head of the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, said at the time, “There is really a crisis of leadership in the country… There is a need to get in some fresh blood.” However, the resistance to a U.S.-returned scientist who was from outside the corridors of power ensured that the system remained largely unchanged.

The system is run by scientists-turned-bureaucrats, who have absorbed the culture of government. Independent India’s project of building a national science establishment led to internal standards of judgment: the scientists in power certify each other’s work. Dependent on political patronage for continued funding, these leaders groom loyalists and yes-men rather than cutting-edge researchers (and women are scarce). In a culture where people tend to get perceived as “smart” or not, labels can stick for life: hard work yields no rewards unless one is already defined as smart. This has led to an insider culture, reproducing privileges rather than promoting excellence. It is the little-recognised lone rangers who usually produce the best work in such a system, and not the research groups that get the major share of resources.

In the Hollywood film Hidden Figures, we learn the true story of some mathematicians who made crucial contributions to NASA’s space satellite programme, but were ignored because they were female and black. That was in 1960s America, far more patriarchal and racially biased than today. On the other hand, the Indian scientists in question were usually upper-caste Hindu men who experienced no discrimination on account of their identity. But they were not insiders close to political power.

India’s scientific institutions have been a blind spot in the state’s modernisation project. They symbolise reason and are immune to criticism. Owing to a conscious decision at the time of independence, research institutions, which house a tiny elite, get most of the funding but universities get very little, says Shobhit Mahajan, a Delhi University physicist. Research and teaching are segregated, the result being that both suffer.

Roadblocks to innovation
For Indian scientists, success has meant becoming a bureaucrat, rather than advancing research. Somendra Bhattacharjee, a senior physicist at Bhubaneswar’s Institute of Physics, lists some of the consequences of this system. First, all the significant work produced in India is theoretical work. “At least in the theoretical sciences, money is not that much of a requirement,” he says. “If you have some contacts and can do things at the international level, nobody is going to go after you. That’s how many isolated works are getting done.”

Second, experimental science “is very poor in India”. To succeed, experiments require at least two conditions: guarantees of long-term funding and scientists’ collaboration with each other. Funding varies with the political climate: there will be money to buy equipment but no certainty that resources will flow for all the years needed to ensure significant results. And collaboration is a social process, not an intellectual one. It involves, among other things, physical labour together with others. But, Mr. Bhattacharjee says, “Working with hands is not encouraged among scientists. The words used in Indian labs are: one needs hands to do experiments, not brains.” Lab assistants are the hands, while scientists avoid what they regard as mere manual labour.

Third, far from creating a positive influence on society, Indian scientific institutions reflect the existing social make-up and even reinforce it. Bureaucrats no longer active in cutting-edge research regard themselves as capable of judging working scientists, dispensing with principles of peer review. And instead of creating a scientific esprit de corps and contributing to social debates, Indian scientists tend to shun public commentary, unless it is to serve as government spokespersons.

Thus claims recycling popular myths can be made by the Prime Minister or by participants at the Indian Science Congress — while leaders of the scientific establishment keep mum. Not long ago, a news release announced a high-level scientific panel headed by the Science and Technology Minister to study the therapeutic benefits of cow urine and cow dung, which ancient Indian science has long venerated. The members of the panel include a former director-general of the Council on Scientific and Industrial Research, R.A. Mashelkar, and an IIT-New Delhi director, V. Ramgopal Rao.

The existence of well-funded institutions that foster group-think, marginalise talent and generate little real innovation might not be news. But with globalisation, it is easier to notice the growing contrast between the fame diaspora scientists achieve in the West, and the challenges their counterparts face in their own countries. India’s problem is hardly unique. Durable institutions and cultures of innovation are not widespread in the Global South. But India is the most successful of all the nations in the Global South, with a more affluent diaspora than virtually any other country. Bringing to light the “hidden figures” in Indian science — without the help of a major motion picture this time — should lead to a wider discussion about the strange career of Indian science. Acknowledging internationally celebrated scientific accomplishments, and asking why they were ignored for so long, can start a useful discussion.

first solar mission, Aditya-L1.,..ISRO and NASA Collaboration,what is Sendai Framework

first solar mission, Aditya-L1.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is planning to launch the first solar mission, Aditya-L1.

Aditya-L1 mission is aimed at studying the Sun from an orbit around the Sun-Earth Lagrangian point 1 (L1) which is about 1.5 million kilometres from the Earth. It would carry seven payloads to observe the photosphere, chromosphere and the outermost layers of the Sun, the corona in different wavebands.

Aditya-L1 is a fully indigenous effort with the participation of national institutions. Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bengaluru is the lead institute for the development of Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) and Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune is developing the Solar Ultraviolet Imager (SUIT) payload for Aditya-L1 mission.

Aditya-L1 can provide observations on the corona and in addition can provide observations on the solar Chromosphere using the UV payload and on the flares using the X-ray payloads. The particle detectors and the magnetometer payload can provide information on charged particles and the magnetic field reaching the halo orbit around L1.

...........ISRO and NASA Collaboration

ISRO and Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)/ NASA are jointly working on the development of Dual Frequency (L&S band) Synthetic Aperture Radar Imaging Satellite named as NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR). The L-band SAR is being developed by JPL/NASA, while ISRO is developing S-band SAR. The L & S band microwave data obtained from this satellite will be useful for variety of application, which include natural resources mapping & monitoring; estimating agricultural biomass over full duration of crop cycle; assessing soil moisture; monitoring of floods and oil slicks; coastal erosion, coastline changes & variation of winds in coastal waters; assessment of mangroves; surface deformation studies, ice sheet collapses & dynamics etc.

The data obtained from NISAR mission is not meant for building climate resilience. However, the data acquired from this mission will be useful in developing certain applications, which include - (i) identifying crevasses in the glaciers hidden by fresh snow, where human movement takes place, (ii) identifying the snowpack parameters as an input in Avalanche forecasts, (iii) studying Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF) hazards, and (iv) identifying inundated area due to floods/ cyclones. These applications could help in taking measures to minimise loss of human lives.

As per the information received, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) under Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has been working in tandem with National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, USA) for development of high resolution seasonal and long-term climate forecasts through Monsoon Mission and Centre for Climate Change Research (CCCR) Programmes. During 2010 to 2015, IITM and NOAA together developed high resolution models for seasonal predictions of Indian Summer Monsoon and long term climate forecasts under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This MoU, concerning the study of “Dynamical Short range, Extended Range and seasonal Prediction of Indian Summer Monsoon Rainfall”, has been extended till 2020, within the framework of the MoES-NOAA Partnership.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,what is Sendai Framework

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR), 2015-2030, is the first major agreement of the post-2015 development agenda and identifies targets and priority actions towards reducing disaster risks and implementing development that is both resilient and sustainable. India, being a signatory to the SFDRR, is committed to work towards achieving the targets enshrined in the Framework.

.......................In June 2016, India became one of the first countries to align its National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP) with the SFDRR, which clearly identifies regional, national and local targets along with short, medium and long-term timelines. Various activities are being undertaken across the country to achieve the targets identified in the SFDRR. It is important to monitor and assess the progress towards implementation of these activities.

This training programme will build the capacity of the participants to utilise defined indicators to monitor the progress of the Sendai targets. Training modules at the programme will also enable them to lead consultations and train others on the monitoring of the Sendai Framework Targets.

During the programme, various case studies on the implementation of Sendai priorities will be discussed to give a practical understanding of the issues to the trainees.
........................Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Shri Kiren Rijiju will inaugurate here tomorrow the first national-level Training of Trainers programme to sensitise various Central Ministries and Departments on utilisation of Sendai Monitor for developing action plans for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR).

The three-day programme is being organised by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction-Global Education and Training Institute (UNISDR-GETI) from December 18-20, 2017.

A new LIGO gravitational wave detector to be built in India by 2025

A new LIGO gravitational wave detector to be built in India by 2025
This will be the world's third LIGO detector.
A new gravitational wave detector to measure ripples in the fabric of space and time is set to be built in India by 2025, in collaboration with universities from across the globe.

The new Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) detector will add to the two already operational in the US. The LIGO detectors discovered the first gravitational waves produced by two giant merging blackholes last year. The research won a Nobel Prize in Physics this year.

The location for the new detector in India has been selected, and the acquisition has started, said Somak Raychaudhury, Director of the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) Pune. However, the site has not been revealed yet.

“When the detector building is completed in 2025, IUCAA will run it,” Raychaudhury told PTI. The LIGO India partnership is funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) through its Newton-Bhabha project on LIGO. The Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology in Indore and Institute for Plasma Research in Ahmedabad are in charge of building various parts of the system, said Raychaudhury. The mirrors and detectors required to build the system will be sent from the LIGO collaborators in the US.

A third LIGO detector will help pinpoint the origin of the gravitational waves that are detected in future. The existence of these waves were first predicted by Albert Einstein 100 years ago in his general theory of relativity.

Massive accelerating objects - such as neutron stars or black holes orbiting each other - would disrupt space-time in such a way that ‘waves’ of distorted space would radiate from the source. These ripples travel at the speed of light through the universe, carrying with them information about their origins, as well as invaluable clues to the nature of gravity itself.

An agreement was officially signed at the British Council offices in New Delhi between a consortium of universities in India, led by the IUCAA and a consortium of UK universities, led by the University of Glasgow. This collaborative programme will enable Indian scientists to work with UK institutes for extended periods of time, with reciprocal visits to the India labs to develop infrastructure and provide onsite training, essential to build the capability to deliver a LIGO-India detector.

“We need hundreds of young people who will not only be involved in building the detector, but also running it after 2025,” said Raychaudhury.

IndIGO, the Indian Initiative in Gravitational-wave Observations, is an initiative to set up advanced experimental facilities, for a multi-institutional Indian national project in gravitational-wave astronomy. The IndIGO Consortium includes Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER) and Delhi University, among others. Since 2009, the IndIGO Consortium has been involved in constructing the Indian road-map for Gravitational Wave Astronomy and a strategy towards Indian participation in realising the crucial gravitational-wave observatory in the Asia-Pacific region.

China’s domestically developed AG600, the world’s largest amphibious aircraft,

China’s domestically developed AG600, the world’s largest amphibious aircraft, performed its maiden flight on Sunday from an airport on the shores of the South China Sea, the latest step in a military modernisation programme.

State television showed live images of the AG600 lifting off from Zhuhai airport in the southern province of Guangdong, which sits on the South China Sea coast.

It returned about an hour later and taxied to its stand accompanied by martial music and greeted by crowds waving Chinese flags.

Xinhua news agency said the aircraft was the “protector spirit of the sea, islands and reefs.”
Specifications

Capacity: 50 passengers
Length: 36.9 m (121’1”)
Wingspan: 38.8 m (127’4”)
Height: 12.1 m (39’8”)
Max. takeoff weight: 53,500 kg (117,947 lb)

It had previously been scheduled to make its first flight earlier this year but it is unclear why it was delayed after ground tests took place in April.

State-owned Aviation Industry Corp of China (AVIC) has spent almost eight years developing the aircraft, which is roughly the size of a Boeing Co 737 and is designed to carry out marine rescues and battle forest fires.

However, state media has also noted its potential use in the South China Sea, where China, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Brunei all have overlapping claims.

The AG600’s chief designer, Huang Lingcai, was quoted in the official China Daily earlier this month as saying it can make round trips without refuelling from the southern island province of Hainan to James Shoal, claimed by China but which is located close to Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo.
Performance

Maximum speed: 570 km/h (354 mph; 308 kn)
Range: 5,500 km (3,418 mi; 2,970 nmi)
Service ceiling: 10,500 m (34,400 ft)

Powered by four turboprop engines, the AG600 can carry 50 people during maritime search-and-rescue missions, and can scoop up 12 metric tons of water within 20 seconds for fire fighting trips, according to state media.

The aircraft has received 17 orders so far from Chinese government departments and Chinese companies. It has a maximum flight range of 4,500 km (2,800 miles) and a maximum take-off weight of 53.5 tonnes.

It can use conventional airports and also land and take-off from the sea.

China is in the midst of a massive military modernisation programme, ranging from testing anti-satellite missiles to building stealth fighters and the country's first indigenous aircraft carrier, to add to an existing one bought from Ukraine.

What is LIDAR?

What is LIDAR?

LIDAR, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, is a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure ranges (variable distances) to the Earth. These light pulses—combined with other data recorded by the airborne system— generate precise, three-dimensional information about the shape of the Earth and its surface characteristics.

Types: Two types of LIDAR are topographic and bathymetric. Topographic LIDAR typically uses a near-infrared laser to map the land, while bathymetric lidar uses water-penetrating green light to also measure seafloor and riverbed elevations.

Applications: LIDAR systems allow scientists and mapping professionals to examine both natural and manmade environments with accuracy, precision, and flexibility. Scientists are using LIDAR also to produce more accurate shoreline maps, make digital elevation models for use in geographic information systems, to assist in emergency response operations, and in many other applications.

...............Bharatiya Nirdeshak Dravya (BND-4201):

What is it? It is India’s first home-grown high purity gold reference standard. It was launched recently. It is the reference material for gold of ‘9999’ fineness (gold that is 99.99% pure). It will be beneficial to the consumers and public at large to ensure purity of gold.

Benefits of the new standard: Once the BND’s of other purity gold are made available in the market, jewellers will move towards more instrumental methods rather than the conventional fire assay methods for testing, which are not only time consuming but also not environment friendly as poisonous gases are released. Gold reference standard is indispensable in gold and jewellery hall marking. This will also be useful for Collection and Purity Testing Centres to certify the purity of gold deposits under the gold monetisation scheme.

...........

About e- HRMS:

What is it? It is an online platform for central government employees to apply for leave and access their service-related information.

Benefits for employees: With launch of e-HRMS, employees will be able to not only see all their details with respect to service book, leave, GPF, salary, etc. but also apply for different kind of claims/reimbursements, loan/advances, leave, leave encashment, LTC advances, tour etc. on a single platform. They will also be able to track status and match details instantly.

Benefits for the government: Availability of centralized data will enable Government for policy research and planning as such educational qualifications and other competencies and deficiencies may be easily obtained. It will enable Government to take transfer and posting decisions more pragmatically based on reliable first hand data.
,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,What is Anti-smog gun?

Anti-smog gun is a device that sprays atomised water into the atmosphere to reduce air pollution. Connected to a water tank and mounted on a vehicle, the device could be taken across the city to spray water to settle dust and other suspended particles.

How it operates?

The fog cannon, also dubbed as the ‘anti-smog cannon’, comprises a cylindrical drum with a tank to store water and a high-velocity exhaust fan. The water is pumped from the tank to the exhaust fan which blows out water in the form of micro droplets. The theory is that the sprayed water will cling on to the pollutants — particularly particulate matter PM2.5 and PM10 — and wash it down creating the effect of rain. The current trials will be used to find if the theory holds true.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,India’s first design university ‘World University of Design’ opens campus:

India’s first and only Design University – World University of Deisgn has opened it’s campus at Sonipat, Haryana. The University has International Collaborations with foreign Universities like UWS University of West Scotland, VFS the Vancouver Film School, and IAAD the Italian University of Design

...............................

Samveg ias academy

December 26, 2017 at 12:55pm · 

Country’s first AC suburban local train in Mumbai:

The Indian Railways has flagged off the country’s first air-conditioned suburban local train for Mumbai commuters, 150 years after the first suburban local was hauled by a steam engine in 1867. Manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, the fully air-conditioned air-suspension coaches have a capacity of carrying nearly 6,000 commuters per rake, automatic door opening-closing system, LED lights, Emergency Talk Back System between commuters and guard besides a public address system and advanced GPS-based passenger information systems.

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About National Company Law Tribunal:

What is it? National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) is a quasi-judicial body that will govern the companies in India. It was established under the Companies Act, 2013 and is a successor body of the Company Law Board.

Powers: NCLT will have the same powers as assigned to the erstwhile Company Law Board (which are mostly related to dealing with oppression and mismanagement), Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR)(revival of sick companies) and powers related to winding up of companies (which was available only with the High Courts).

Background: The setting up of NCLT as a specialized institution for corporate justice is based on the recommendations of the Justice Eradi Committee on Law Relating to Insolvency and Winding up of Companies.

India in aerospace: Vision 2020

India in aerospace: Vision 2020
Strong collaboration between the government and the private sector can help close the gap between Indian and Western manufacturers faster
Telangana is home to the country’s first public aerospace and precision engineering SEZ
Over the last two decades, several areas of the economy have been deemed sunrise sectors. This billing meant broad recognition of the sector’s potential to generate vast amounts of jobs and revenue. Policymakers put in place measures such as tax breaks to encourage these sectors. In the past, information technology (IT) and biotechnology (BT) were the two most prominent holders of the sunrise-sector tag. Today, if there is a sector that truly merits that billing, it is aerospace and defence manufacturing. At upwards of $50 billion, India has one of the largest defence budgets in the world. By 2018, it is expected to be in the vicinity of $56 billion. In the commercial aviation sector, India remains one of the highest traffic growth markets. It is estimated to become the third-largest aviation market in the world by 2025, and will likely need nearly 1,500 new commercial aircraft by 2030.

The government is well aware that timely execution of the modernization plan hinges on creating a large base of domestic manufacturing. It has introduced the long-awaited strategic partnership model that will allow partnerships with overseas companies to manufacture everything from submarines to fighter jets in India. It also opens the doors for Indian companies to form joint ventures with multinational original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs) for defence production. This model has the potential to create a high-tech defence manufacturing ecosystem. That, in turn, will help in the emergence of cutting-edge mid-sized ancillary companies, along the lines of German mittelstand firms that are relatively small but best-in-class. Indian manufacturers that offer high-quality and innovative solutions at a low cost could become the preferred suppliers for global firms. A handful of midsized Indian companies are already doing that.

Manufacturing for the aerospace sector is a complex exercise for a number of reasons. It is capital-intensive, has high technological requirements and a prolonged gestation period. Apart from these, there are also the systemic challenges manufacturers face in terms of the supply chain itself. While the industry has come a long way, it is still evolving to overcome the challenges it has traditionally faced: costly raw materials, skilled labour, technological requirements, and the procurement of parts from multiple manufacturers.

Manufacturers in Europe and North America have multiple decades of head start over the Indian aerospace industry. India cannot close that gap overnight. But strong collaboration between the government, which would be the biggest customer, and the private sector, can help close the gap faster.

A drive towards globalization of the aerospace supply chain has been fuelled by the lowering of trade barriers, decreasing communication and transport costs, the emergence of global service firms and shortage of skilled labour in home markets. This is good news for private companies.

There are three key challenges companies face in the aerospace and defence (A&D) sector: access to technology and talent, building scale in a business that is extremely capital-intensive, and the enabling infrastructure and policy environment which can be clubbed together as what is known as the ease-of-doing-business basket.

Infrastructure plays a critical role in building an A&D manufacturing base. It requires all stakeholders to think in terms of creating the right ecosystem. The automobile manufacturing sector benefited from having ancillary hubs around large car plants located in Gurugram, Chennai and Pune. The government would do well to encourage the creation of A&D hubs too. Creating clusters helps micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that supply components and sub-assemblies to large manufacturers. The long gestation period and capital intensity often create entry barriers for SMEs in this sector. Vibrant clusters would make it easy for companies to have access to talent and create synergies on logistics.

There is already some visible success on this front. Telangana is home to the country’s first public aerospace and precision engineering special economic zone (SEZ). Karnataka too is setting up similar facilities. Boeing continues to expand its footprint in the country in the form of the Boeing India Engineering and Technology Center (BIETC) which is the Indian counterpart to its research and technology organization in the US.

What is required in an ideal ecosystem is the setting up of facilities which cater to multiple stages of the supply chain, all in one location. Such manufacturing hubs should ideally allow companies to carry out fabrication, machining, forging, warehousing and a whole lot more in one place. The target is to create an integrated aerospace ecosystem which enables customers to source all their requirements from one place to hasten the time-to-market.

Additionally, since the industry needs a skilled talent pool for this highly specialized industry, the creation of educational institutions and universities by the government that are tailor-made for the A&D sector, will go a long way in making India a preferred manufacturing destination. While there has been a sea change in the government’s attitude towards private companies in the A&D sector, the defence public sector undertakings, which hitherto held a monopoly, view the private sector as competition. If seen as partners and collaborators instead, the benefits for the nation could be transformative.

The Hindu's most read science stories in 2017

The Hindu's most read science stories in 2017
10) Pollution at Himalayas

Scientists reported high concentrations of sulphur on the Manali-Leh highway. It was caused by exhaust smoke from the trucks that provide supplies to the Indian army and the ones that carry tourists.

9) Launch of GSLV-MARK III

India launched a heavy rocket capable of carrying up to 4 tonnes. On June 5, it carried the GSAT-19 satellite and put it in orbit.

8) Seawater to drinking water

Scientists used graphene oxide membrane to filter the salts in seawater to make it potable.

7) Loss of India's black hole scientist

Indian scientist Prof. C.V.Vishveshwara who contributed to the theory of black holes passed away on January 16.

6) Reach red planet

Over one lakh Indians send their names to Mars. The names written on a microchip will be carried on the InSight Mars mission spacecraft next year.

5) Launch of PSLV-C38

On June 23, ISRO launched 31 satellites into space, of which 29 were from other countries.

4) 'Saraswati' galaxy

Indian astronomers spotted a new cluster of galaxies 4 billion light years away and named it 'Saraswati'.

3) 104 in one

ISRO's PSLV-C37 created history by carrying 104 satellites and placing them in their respective orbits.

2) Jamun solar cells

Scientists from IIT Roorkee used the natural pigment in jamun fruit as a photosensitiser to absorb light for use in the solar cells.

1) Genetics settles migration debate

DNA study revealed that the Aryans were migrants from Central Asia who moved to Indiaaround 2000 to 1500 BC.

NASA’s flying telescope

NASA’s flying telescope
NASA’s flying observatory Sofia is preparing for its 2018 campaign, which will include, among others, observations of celestial magnetic fields, star-forming regions, comets and Saturn’s giant moon Titan.
Sofia is a Boeing 747SP jetliner modified to carry a 100-inch diameter telescope. It is a joint project of NASA and the German Aerospace Centre, DLR. SOFIA is designed to observe the infrared universe.

SOFIA studies many different kinds of astronomical objects and phenomena, but some of the most interesting are:

Star birth and death.
Formation of new solar systems.
Identification of complex molecules in space.
Planets, comets and asteroids in our solar system.
Nebulae and dust in galaxies (or, Ecosystems of galaxies).
Black holes at the center of galaxies.

...................................China has constructed the country’s first solar highway, in which solar panels are placed underneath transparent concrete.

About the solar highway:

The solar highway is a 2 km (1.2 mile) stretch of road located on the Jinan City Expressway, and it’s divided into three layers. The see-through concrete shields an array of solar panels of two sizes. Beneath the solar panels is a layer that will keep them isolated from the damp ground.

The expressway can handle 10 times more pressure than the normal asphalt variety and in a year generate 1 million kWH of electricity, which will be used to power street lights and a snow-melting system on the road. It’s also designed to supply power to charging stations for electric vehicles, should those be added in the future.

..............................What is Bio- CNG?

Bio-CNG is a purified form of biogas with over 95% pure methane gas. It is similar to natural gas in its composition (97% methane) and energy potential. While natural gas is a fossil fuel, bio-CNG is a renewable form of energy produced from agricultural and food waste. Bio-CNG is being looked at as an environment-friendly alternative to diesel.

How is CNG generated from agricultural waste?

The process of generating CNG from agricultural waste involves treating the waste matter with a special bacterial solution, and then the gas which is generated is cleaned and compressed so that it can be used in vehicles.

Benefits of Bio- CNG:

The cost of production of 1kg of bio-CNG could be Rs15-20, cheaper than CNG, petrol and diesel. Besides, it will help in reducing the country’s import of diesel up to 50%. It is also pollution free.

Background:

India currently imports one-third of its energy requirement. The world’s third-largest crude oil importer is targeting halving its energy import bill by 2030. The government aims to increase the contribution of gas in India’s energy mix to 15% from the current 6.5%.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,The Ujh project is a step towards India’s utilisation of waters of the Indus and its tributaries in keeping with its rights under the treaty. The project, which is to come up in Kathua district, will store around 0.65 million acre feet (MAF) of water from Ujh (a tributary of Ravi) to irrigate 30,000 hectares and produce over 200 MW of power.

About the Indus water treaty:

Signed in 1960 by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and then Pakistan President Ayub Khan, the treaty allocates 80% of water from the six-river Indus water system to Pakistan. Under the treaty, control over six north Indian rivers were divided between the two countries. India got control over the rivers Beas, Ravi and Sutlej whereas Pakistan got control over Indus, Chenab and Jhelum.

Satyendra Nath Bose’s 125th birth anniversary

Satyendra Nath Bose’s 125th birth anniversary

a scientist known to whole world but less in india. i love so much about #bosons, my favorite topic in physics.

When his meticulously researched paper sent for publication was returned by the Philosophical Magazine from London with not-so-flattering remarks, Satyendranath Bose did not lose heart. He was so sure of his finding. This was in 1924.

Born on January 1, 1894, Bose studied in Calcutta and was brilliant in his studies. His classmate was the other great (also forgotten) Meghnad Saha, and the legendary Jagdish Chandra Bose was his teacher.

At 22, Bose was appointed lecturer in Calcutta University, along with Saha. In 1921, he joined the then newly created Dacca University as Reader in Physics. He had a couple of papers published by the same journal earlier, co-authored with Saha. It was here while teaching that he wrote this paper for deriving the Planck's Law. His paper was titled ‘Planck's Law and Light Quantum Hypothesis.'

Golden period
The early decades of 1900 were a golden period in the growth of science. It was teeming with great scientists in the western world competing with one another creditably. This was the period when classical sciences such as physics, chemistry, astronomy and medicine were outpacing one another, despite little and inefficient communication. The Moore's law of today would pale into insignificance if we apply it to that period.

In 1900, Max Planck explained in the theory of black body radiation that light is emitted in discrete amounts (quanta) rather than as a continuous wave. But his derivation of this formula was not satisfactory to other scientists, in fact even to himself. However, his formula held true to everyone's surprise.

Albert Einstein's Nobel Prize-winning paper explained the photoelectric effect based on Planck's quanta as photons in 1905. (Einstein was awarded the Nobel Prize for this paper, not for his papers on Relativity!) But many of his colleagues were not fully convinced of his yet-to-be-developed photon theory. The world was waiting for a new theory on fundamental particles to fill the gaps.

Under these circumstances, Bose re-sent the paper to Albert Einstein in June 1924, with a fervent appeal for his perusal and opinion. “Though a complete stranger to you, I do not feel any hesitation in making such a request,” he wrote. (He was being modest; he had earlier translated Einstein's Relativity papers into English with Einstein's permission). Little could he have foreseen the impact this was going to have.

Einstein immediately recognised the significance of this paper. This paper was going to substantiate and revolutionise his theory of photoelectric effect. Einstein himself translated Bose's paper into German and sent it to Zeitschrift für Physik with his endorsement for publication. With his demigod status, Einstein's words carried much weight. It was promptly published, and immediately Bose shot into prominence.

Seminal phenomenon
Einstein personally invited Bose to work with him, and their efforts culminated in the Bose-Einstein statistics, an important and seminal phenomenon in quantum physics.

His work was wholeheartedly supported and appreciated by the leading lights in quantum theory, such as Louise de Broglie, Erwin Schroedinger, Paul Dirac and Heisenburg.

In honour of Bose' (and every Indian), Paul Dirac coined the word ‘Boson' for those particles which obey Bose's statistics. In atomic theory, only Fermions (named after Enrico Fermi) and Bosons were named after physicists. What a wonderful distinction conferred on our great scientist.

He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 1954 — and forgotten afterwards.

This is not intended to be a scientific article, but a grim reminder of our apathy to our eminent scientists who had toiled with great shortcomings, yet came out with flying colours. J.C. Bose, P.C. Ray, M. Saha, C.V. Raman and countless other yesteryear scientists, who had achieved so much, were acclaimed internationally, yet ignored and were in oblivion at home.

Is it not a shame that Bose is known more to westerners (even now) than to Indians? How many of us are aware of his communication to Einstein and the subsequent events. It is perplexing why this little incident of Bose sending his paper to Einstein has not found a place in our schoolbooks!

We overlook scientists and their achievements. Yet we don't fail to adulate and elevate Tendulkars, A.R. Rahmans, Kamal Hasans and Khans for their achievements on the screen/ in entertainment. No complaints. Just why don't we extend this courtesy to our real achievers?

We, Indians, are blessed with many festivals to celebrate. Quite a few are new years! Apart from January 1, we have many new years, Assamese, Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, etc. Of these, we chose unanimously to celebrate the astronomically insignificant date of January 1 as our own, and bash up our streets with unrestrained celebration with booze, dance and gaiety.

Why cannot January 1, birthday of Satyendranath Bose, be celebrated also as a National Scientist Day? Our National Science Day falls on February 28 in remembrance of the Raman Effect.
...........................The word must surely have some European genealogy? In fact, “boson” is derived from Satyendra Nath Bose, an Indian physicist from Kolkata who, in 1924, realised that the statistical method used to analyse most 19th-century work on the thermal behaviour of gases was inadequate. He first sent off a paper on quantum statistics to a British journal, which turned it down. He then sent it to Albert Einstein, who immediately grasped its immense importance, and published it in a German journal. Bose’s innovation came to be known as the Bose-Einstein statistics, and became a basis of quantum mechanics. Einstein saw that it had profound implications for physics; that it had opened the way for this subatomic particle, which he named, after his Indian collaborator, “boson.”

Still, science and the West are largely synonymous and coeval: they are words that have the same far-reaching meaning. Just as Van Gogh and Toulouse-Lautrec’s paintings digest the Japanese prints they were responding to so we don’t need to be aware of Japanese prints when viewing the post-impressionists, western science is pristine, and bears no mark of what’s outside itself.

Other Indian contributions

The last Indian scientific discovery that is universally acknowledged is the zero. Indians are very strong at maths, and the only modern Indian who’s remotely part of the western mythology of science is Srinivasa Ramanujan, equally well known for his Hindu idiosyncrasies and his agonised stay in Cambridge as he is for his mathematical genius.

Indians can be excellent geeks, as demonstrated by the tongue-tied astrophysicist Raj Koothrappalli in the U.S. sitcom Big Bang Theory; but the Nobel prize can only be aspired to by Sheldon Cooper, the super-geek and genius in the series, for whom Raj’s country of origin is a diverting enigma, and miles away from the popular myth of science on which Big Bang Theory is dependent. Bose didn’t get the Nobel Prize; nor did his contemporary and namesake, J.C. Bose, whose contribution to the fashioning of the wireless predates Marconi’s. The only Indian scientist to get a Nobel Prize is the physicist C.V. Raman, for his work on light at Kolkata University. Other Indians have had to become Americans to get the award.

Conditions have always been inimical to science in India, from colonial times to the present day; and despite that, its contributions have occasionally been huge. Yet non-western science (an ugly label engendered by the exclusive nature of western popular imagination) is yet to find its Rosalind Franklin, its symbol of paradoxical success. Unlike Franklin, however, these scientists were never in a race that they lost; they simply came from another planet.

Four ‘hot Jupiter’ exoplanets discovered

Four ‘hot Jupiter’ exoplanets discovered
Using telescopes of Hungarian-made Automated Telescope Network-South (HATSouth) Exoplanet Survey, scientists observe four G-type dwarf stars known as HATS-50, HATS-51, HATS-52 and HATS-53
Scientists have discovered four new ‘hot Jupiter’ extrasolar planets orbiting dwarf stars. Using telescopes of the Hungarian-made Automated Telescope Network-South (HATSouth) Exoplanet Survey, the team observed four G-type dwarf stars known as HATS-50, HATS-51, HATS-52 and HATS-53.

“We report the discovery of four close-in transiting exoplanets (HATS-50b through HATS-53b), discovered using the HATSouth three-continent network of homogeneous and automated telescopes,” researchers led by Thomas Henning of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy in Germany wrote in the journal arXiv.org.

All the four planets belong to the class of exoplanets known as ‘hot Jupiters.’ Objects of this type are similar in characteristics to Jupiter, with orbital periods of less than 10 days, ‘Phys.org’ reported. They have high surface temperatures, as they orbit their parent stars very closely.

HATS-50b is the smallest and least massive alien world of all of the newly discovered exoplanets. It has a radius of about 1.13 Jupiter radii and a mass of about 0.39 Jupiter radii.

The system is located some 2,300 light years away from the Earth. With a radius of about 1.41 Jupiter radii, HATS-51b is the largest exoworld among the four newly found extrasolar worlds. It has an orbital period of 3.35 days, and is located about 1,560 light years away.

First ‘Blue Moon’ total eclipse in 150 years to occur soon

First ‘Blue Moon’ total eclipse in 150 years to occur soon
It may be difficult to witness the rare phenomenon in India
A rare total lunar eclipse that involves the second full moon of the month — popularly referred to as a Blue Moon — is set to take place on January 31 for the first time in over 150 years.

This will be the first eclipse of 2018. For some parts of Asia, including India, the eclipse will already be under way as the moon rises.

Central and eastern Asia, Indonesia, New Zealand and most of Australia will get a fine view of the Blue Moon.

Alaska, Hawaii and northwestern Canada will see the eclipse from start to finish. Moonset will intervene for the rest of North and Central America.

The duration of the total phase is 77 minutes, with the moon tracking through the southern part of the Earth’s shadow.

After this year, the next time that a Blue Moon passes through Earth’s umbra will be on December 31, 2028, and, after that, on January 31, 2037. Both of these eclipses will be total. There was a partial eclipse of a Blue Moon on December 31, 2009, but the last total eclipse of a Blue Moon is dated March 31, 1866.

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,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,What are asteroids and how are they grouped?

Any of the near-Earth asteroids can become potentially hazardous ones if their distance from the Earth is below 7.5 million km.
On January 3, at around 6 a.m. IST, an asteroid darted past Earth. It travelled at a distance of 1.8 million km and was placed under the ‘Potentially Hazardous Asteroids’ category.

Continue reading to know more about asteroids and how they are classified.

What are asteroids?
Asteroids are rocky bodies in space, and they mostly originate between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. This region is also known as the asteroid belt.

The following are also called as asteroids, though NASA prefers to call these “minor planets”

Trojans: these are rocky bodies that have the same orbit as a planet. There are Jupiter, Mars and Neptune trojans. In 2011, Nature published the discovery of the first Earth trojan, 2010 TK7.
Centaurs: these are rocky bodies between Jupiter and Neptune.
Trans-Neptunian objects: those ones beyond Neptune's orbit.
What are asteroids composed of?
They could be composed of anything from clay and silicate rocks to metals. In fact, NASA classifies asteroids based on their composition. Here is the classification:

C-type (chondrite): such asteroids are made up of clay and silicate rocks
S-types (stony): these are composed of silicate materials and nickel-iron
M-types: such asteroids have a metallic composition
Why was today’s asteroid classified as ‘Potentially Hazardous’?
Any object that has its orbit near that of Earth is called as near-Earth asteroid.

The Near-Earth asteroids are further classified as:

Atiras: these are objects whose orbits are smaller than the Earth's orbit, and they are within the Earth’s orbit as well.
Atens and Apollos: these are Earth-crossers (they cross the Earth’s orbit) with orbits near the Earth's orbit.
Amors: these are asteroids with orbits outside the Earth’s but inside that of Mars’.
Potentially Hazardous Asteroids: Any of the near-Earth asteroids can become potentially hazardous ones if their distance from the Earth is below 0.5 astronomical units or 7.5 million km. 1 astronomical unit is equal to 150 million km-the distance between Earth and the sun.

“There are thousands of Potentially Hazardous Asteroids. There is no need to panic as there is only an extremely small chance that they can be influenced by the Earth's gravitation and we don't see any collision with earth taking place anywhere in the near-future,” says Dr. Debiprosad Duari, Director, M. P. Birla Planetarium, Kolkata.

If there are thousands of hazardous ones, when is the next one going to pass by?
On January 7, Sunday, at around 7.30 am IST, 2017 YJ7, an Aten asteroid, will pass by Earth at a distance of 4.8 million km.