INSPIRE Awards-MANAK (Million Minds Augmenting National Aspiration and Knowledge)

• Aim - It aims to foster a culture of innovation and creative thinking amongst school students to address the societal need through Science and Technology.
• Target Group - 10-15 years or Standard VI to X
• Salient features – It help towards building a critical human resource pool for strengthening and expanding the science and technology system and increase the research and development base.
• Target - Targeting one million original technological ideas/ innovations rooted in science and societal applications that solve daily life problems.
• INSPIRE Award – MANAK aligns with the action plan for “Start-up India” initiative launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India.
• The shortlisted projects are also displayed at the National Level Exhibition and Project Competition (NLEPC).

Background

• INSPIRE Scheme was launched in 2008 and has been implemented by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) since 2009-10.
• Scheme covers students in the age group of 10-32 years in five different components.
• In the context of the Start-up India initiative, INSPIRE Awards scheme has been revamped into INSPIRE Awards-MANAK.

• A carbon dating analysis of rice with soil, found in a burial urn at Sivakalai in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu, by the Miami-based Beta Analytic Testing Laboratory has yielded the date of 1155 BC, indicating that the Thamirabarani River (or) Porunai Civilisation dates back to 3,200 years.
• Archaeological excavations are being done at Kodumanal, Keeladi, Korkai, Mayiladumparai, Sivakalai, Adichchanallur and Gangaikonda Cholapuram in Tamil Nadu.

Porunai River

• The only major perennial river in Tamil Nadu, Thamirabarani has been mentioned as Porunai, Than Porunai, Porunal and Poruntham in Tamil literature — right from the Sangam era to Nayakar era (6th century BCE to 17th century CE).

• Research says that warm-blooded animals maintain constant internal body temperature to prevent their bodies from overheating.
• Elephants do it with their ear flaps, while birds regulate heat through their bills.
• A recent study suggests that some have found another to cool down more quickly as a response to climate change: Shapeshifting.
• A recent research by Deakins University examined the ways animal were changing the size of their ears, tails, beaks and other parts to deal with climate change and temperature rise.
• The university identified multiple examples of shapeshifter animals.
• The pattern is widespread, and suggests climate warming may result in fundamental changes to animal form.
• Studies showed the beak size of gang-gang cockatoos and red-rumped parrots increased by 4% and 10% since 1871.
• While some animals are adapting to climate change, many will not.

Allen’s Rule

• This refers to an eco-geographical rule which states that significant differences exist in the size of limbs and other external organs of animals, even within the same species, depending on the geographical region in which they live.
• Animals living in colder regions of the world, for instance, have shorter limbs than those living in warmer regions as an adaptation to control the dissipation of heat.
• A smaller body surface area helps animals in colder regions stay warm by slowing down the loss of body heat.
• It is named after American biologist Joel Asaph Allen who proposed it in his 1877 paper “The influence of physical conditions in the genesis of species”.
• Biological patterns such as Allen’s Rule can help make predictions about how animals will evolve as the climate warms.

Bergmann’s Rule

• It is an eco-geographical rule that states that within a broadly distributed taxonomic clade, populations and species of larger size are found in colder environments, while populations and species of smaller size are found in warmer regions.
• In other words, as it gets colder, animals get bigger.

• Ministry of Coal has recently constituted 2 Committees to Prepare Road Map for Coal based Hydrogen Production.
• This is aimed for contributing to Indian PM’s agenda of a hydrogen-based economy in a clean manner.

Hydrogen

• Coal is one of the important sources of hydrogen making (Brown Hydrogen).
• However, Coal has not been encouraged elsewhere because of the fear that while extracting hydrogen via coal (from the moisture embedded in coal) there may be carbon emission.
• Almost 100% of Hydrogen produced in India is through Natural Gas.
• Globally, 73 MT Hydrogen is used for refining, ammonia making and other pure use and about 42 MT is used for Methanol, steel making and other mixed uses. 
• Cost of Hydrogen produced from coal can be cheaper and less sensitive to imports when compared with hydrogen production through electrolysis and Natural Gas respectively.