APSC Assam Yearbook 2021 : Latest Current Affairs

India has successfully conducted the night trial of Agni-II
  • India has successfully conducted the night trial of Agni-II, its versatile surface-to-surface medium-range nuclear-capable missile from Dr Abdul Kalam Island off Odisha coast.
  • Agni-II, an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), has already been inducted into the armed forces.
  • This was the first time that the sophisticated missile was testfired at night.
  • The entire trajectory of the trial was tracked by a battery of sophisticated radars, telemetry observation stations, electro-optic instruments and two naval ships located near the impact point in the down-range area of Bay of Bengal.
  • The test was carried out by the specially formed Strategic Forces Command (SFC) of the Army with logistic support from the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
  • The two-stage ballistic missile can carry a payload of 1000 kg over a distance of 2000 km. 
India, US tri-services exercise ‘Tiger Triumph’
  • A nine-day tri-services exercise between India and the US on humanitarian assistance and disaster relief will begin with the aim of strengthening the bilateral relationship and defence cooperation.
  • In the exercise, named Tiger Triumph, Indian Naval ships Jalashwa, Airavata and Sandhayak, Indian Army troops from 19 Madras and 7 Guards, and Indian Air Force MI-17 helicopters and Rapid Action Medical Team would be participating.
  • The US would be represented by US Navy Ship Germantown with troops from US third marine division. The exercise is aimed at developing inter-operability for conducting humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.
  • The Harbour Phase is scheduled at Visakhapatnam. The opening ceremony along with a joint flag parade would be held onboard INS Jalashwa.
  • Personnel from both the navies would also participate in training visits, subject matter expert exchanges, sports events and social interactions.
  • On completion of the Harbour Phase, the ships, with troops embarked, would sail for the sea phase and undertake maritime, amphibious and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.
  • On reaching the humanitarian assistance and disaster relief area at Kakinada, the landing of relief forces would be undertaken to the exercise scenario.
 IIT Guwahati researchers develop sensor to assess milk freshness
  • The Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati (IIT-G) said its researchers have developed a paper-based sensor that can make assessment of the freshness of milk by a simple method and instantaneous.
  • Bacteria and other microbes that can grow in milk can not only affect the taste and freshness, but can also result in health issues.
  • Pasteurisation is commonly used to kill the microbes in milk and various tests are used to ensure the effectiveness of pasteurisation.
  • Alkaline Phosphatase (ALP) is a metalloprotein found naturally in raw milk samples and is considered an important biomarker in quality control of milk. It is found in raw milk and is destroyed during pasteurisation.
  • Detection of ALP in milk can thus point to inadequate pasteurisation and perhaps contamination.
  • The researchers have used simple filter paper, chemically modified it, and loaded it with a recognition element anti-ALP, which captures the ALP present in the milk.
  • Upon treatment of the colour forming compound BCIP to the captured complex of ALP forms a blue-green coloured precipitate, that otherwise does not gives any colour in the absence of ALP.
  • The intensity of the colour indicates the amount of ALP present. The team used a smartphone to capture the image of the colour and used the RGB (Red Green Blue) filter in the phone to profile the colour obtained, which could be co-related to the concentration of ALP present in the test sample.
  • The researchers successfully tested milk obtained from villages and commercially available milk samples using their paper-based sensor kit, and found that they could detect down to 0.87 units of ALP per milliliter of milk to about 91-100 per cent accuracy.
  • This detection limit and accuracy make it possible to discriminate raw milk (often contains as high as 191U/mL ALP) from boiled milk which contains ALP in ultra-trace amount.

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