Electric Vehicle & Clean Energy: An Initiative to Minimize usage of Fossil Fuel

Electric vehicle involves at least one electric motor for propulsion. It very well may be controlled by a gatherer framework, with power from external sources, or it tends to be controlled independently by a battery (charged by sun-powered chargers, or by changing fuel over completely to power utilizing energy units or a generator).
Electric vehicles previously appeared during the nineteenth hundred years, when power was among the favored strategies for vehicle drive, giving a degree of solace and simplicity of activity that couldn’t be accomplished by the gas vehicles of the time. Gas-powered motors were the predominant drive strategy for vehicles and trucks for around 100 years, yet electric power stayed typical in other vehicle types, like trains and more modest vehicles, everything being equal.

Types of Electric Vehicle

  1. Battery Electric Vehicle (BEVs)
  2. Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEVs)
  3. Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEVs)
  4. Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEVs)

1. Battery Electric Vehicle: Battery electric vehicle (BEVs) is also known as all-electric vehicle. BEV for propulsion purely depends on the battery without any source of energy (eg. Hydrogen fuel cell, IC Engine). Battery charged by an external source of electricity. Instead of IC Engine BEVs uses an electric motor to propel the wheels. An electric motor may be Alternating Current (AC) or Direct Motor (DC). The type and size of the motor purely depend on the working load and conditions. A hybrid vehicle whose batteries can be charged externally is known as a plug-in hybrid vehicle. The idea of battery electric vehicles is to involve charged batteries on board vehicles for inputs. Battery electric vehicles are turning out to be increasingly more alluring with the higher oil costs and the headway of new battery innovation (lithium-particle) that have higher power and energy thickness compared to more established battery types like lead-corrosive batteries.

2. Hybrid Electric Vehicle: Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) use more than one power source for propulsion. Hybrid electric vehicles run on fossil energy or Electric energy or a combination of both fossil and electric energy. Due to combinations of both energies HEVs cannot be considered pure and all-electric vehicles. The presence of an electric powertrain is intended to achieve better fuel economy.

2.1 Series HEV
In a series hybrid, only the electric motor drives the drivetrain and a small IC engine (also called range extender) works as a generator to power the electric motor or to recharge the batteries. They also usually have a large battery pack than the parallel hybrid, making it more costly. Once the battery is low the small IC engine is used to recharge the batteries. As indicated by Hybrid Center, the structure of equal half breeds makes them more productive for thruway driving at higher, more consistent velocities. On the other hand, series half breeds are more productive for driving in the city because their drivetrain structure decreases the burden on the motor in unpredictable driving circumstances.

 2.2 Parallel HEV

In a parallel hybrid, the IC engine and the electric motor both are connected to the mechanical transmission and can simultaneously transmit power to drive the wheels. In most Parallel HEV electric motors and gearbox are connected through automatic clutches. Parallel HEV can be propelled as a pure electric tractor. For pure electric mode, the clutch between the power drive and wheels is disengaged. To prople vehicle as a parallel hybrid in high mode clutch will be engaged.

2.3 Power split HEV

Power split hybrid has both the characteristics of Series hybrid and Parallel hybrid. In split HEV power will be transferred in both manner series as well as parallel. Initial cost of a power-split HEV is more than that compared to series and parallel HEV. Working efficiency of the power-split hybrid is better than series and parallel hybrid in rural areas.  Ex. – 2007 model of Lexus.

3.Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle: FCEVs are also called Zero-Emission Vehicles. They utilize ‘energy unit innovation’ to create the power expected to run the vehicle. The substance energy of the fuel is changed into electric energy. Power devices in vehicles produce power for the most part utilizing oxygen from the air and packed hydrogen. Most power device vehicles are delegated zero-discharges vehicles that produce just water and intensity. As contrasted and inner ignition vehicles, hydrogen vehicles incorporate toxins at the site of the hydrogen creation, where hydrogen is normally gotten from changed flammable gas. Moving and putting away hydrogen may likewise make contaminations.

4.Plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs): A module cross breed electric vehicle (PHEVs) is a half and half electric vehicle whose battery pack can be re-energized by stopping a charging link into an outside electric power source, notwithstanding inside by its ready gas-powered motor fueled generator. Most PHEVs are travelers vehicles, however, there are additionally PHEVs adaptations of business vehicles and vans, utility trucks, transports, trains, bikes, mopeds, and, surprisingly, military vehicles. Like every single electric vehicle (BEVs), PHEVs dislodge ozone-depleting substance discharges from the vehicle tailpipe exhaust to the power station generators fuelling the power matrix. These brought-together generators might be of sustainable power (for example sunlight-based, wind, or hydroelectric) and to a great extent outflow free, or have a generally lower emanation force than individual gas-powered motors. Contrasted with traditional mixture electric vehicles (HEVs), PHEVs have a bigger battery pack that can be charged from the power lattice, which is likewise more proficient and can cost not as much as utilizing just the on-board generator, and further more frequently have an all the more remarkable electric result able to do longer and more continuous EVs mode driving, assisting with lessening working expenses. A PHEV’s battery pack is more modest than all-electric vehicles for similar vehicle weight, yet has the helper choice of changing back to utilizing its gas/diesel motor like a customary HEVs on the off chance that the battery runs short, mitigating range uneasiness, particularly for places that need the adequate charging framework.

Advantages of Electric Vehicle over Fossil fuel vehicle

  • Cleaner environment.
  • No congestion charges.
  • Lower running costs.
  • Renewable electricity tariffs.
  • Better driving experience.
  • Government funding.
  • Reduced noise pollution.
  • Environmentally friendly as they do not emit pollutants.
  • Lower maintenance due to an efficient electric motor.
  • Better Performance.

Electric vehicles (EVs) offer a chance to supplant non-renewable energy sources in the vehicle area. Electrification of the transport sector can also bring benefits in terms of increased energy efficiency and reduced local pollution. In a recent survey, we found that electric vehicles could displace oil demand of 2 million barrels a day as early as 2023. That would create a glut of oil equivalent to what triggered the 2014 oil crisis. Compound annual growth rates as high as 60 percent can’t hold up for long, so it’s a very aggressive forecast.

By Rohit Malik  |  July 10, 2022

B.Tech (Mechanical Engineering)

Alumni of Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala, Punjab, India.

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Cellular Agriculture: An Answer to Growing Food Demand?

Cellular Agriculture: It’s Time To Farm Cells, Not Animals

To fulfill the demand for products like dairy, leather, and meat, animal farming is being practiced globally for over decades. Being the most positive and nutritional for society, they are now proving to be more destructive because of increasing allergic responses to the consumers. Earlier people were dependent on animals for their need for agricultural products but now humanity has experimented with a lot of means to replace this necessity with a novel approach called “cellular agriculture”.

The Key Concept behind Cellular Agriculture

Cellular Agriculture is defined as a concept of farming that produces animal-based products without the need of rearing and raising animals on the farm. This is not only beneficial for human health but also addresses the issues of environment and animal rights. Therefore, it now has the potential to revolutionize the world which was earlier dependent on animal farming. This technique of creating animal-based products is poised to fulfill the growing demands of precision nutrition with the least impact on the environment.

How Does It Work?

The cellular agriculture technique makes use of individual cells from animals, plants, or unicellular organisms to make agricultural products. These products include meat, dairy, seafood as well as other protein-rich foods required for human use. Tissue Engineering is the method employed to make animal identical products from cell cultures. To produce these cell-based products such as meat & seafood stems cells(either natural or genetically modified) are taken from a live animal and then grown in nutrient-rich conditions that promote growth. Tissue engineering is an emerging pursuit in Agri products with a previous focus on clinical applications such as organs for patients requiring organ transplantation or growing skin cells for burn victims.

Approaches Behind cellular agriculture

Two different approaches comprise cellular agriculture;

  • Cellular cultivation
  • Precision fermentation

Cellular cultivation is a method to produce meat & seafood by initially taking stem cells from animals through painless biopsy and then feeding them with nutrients in bioreactors where they multiply & differentiate. As they multiply and grow, they become the main component of meat called muscle tissue. Precision fermentation, another approach to cellular agriculture makes use of microbes instead of cell cultures to produce dairy products such as egg-white, soy-heme, enzymes, milk & proteins. The process of producing these products is simple as practiced before by the food industry. In this approach, DNA is taken from the source and inserted into yeast with the help of genetic engineering. Following fermentation, the product made can be used as an alternative.

Cellular Agriculture is here to replace animal farming with these advantages

 Cell-based agriculture products have the potential to provide nutrient-rich food to the growing population without even worrying about owning land & natural resources. The benefits of cellular agriculture are wide-ranging as the whole process is performed is carried out in controlled environmental conditions and largely dependent on smart technologies. Compared to conventional counterparts, cellular agriculture:

  • Have the least environmental impacts
  • Is Reliable for consistent supply
  • Provides purer & safer product

And the list of advantages is not exhausted yet! Here is another aspect of cellular agriculture that is more exciting than the above advantages. Cellular Agriculture provides you the ability to tune & design whatever you are making. For Example, If you are making meat you can make it with less saturated fats & more unsaturated fats. Another example of the advantage of this biotechnological method is that you can also design leather of different levels of thickness which was not possible earlier. With this method, you can also make milk without lactose which is an added advantage for the population that is lactose intolerant.

By Shivani Meena | June 8, 2022

BSc. (Hons) Microbiology

Alumni of Lovely Professional University, Punjab, India.

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Role of Innovative Technologies to Improve Indian Healthcare system

Hey! Can you tell me what is that thing that has modified the whole narrative of people’s lives in the 21st century? If you are really thinking about technology then you are absolutely right. Technological advancements play a significant role in every aspect of life. It has no doubt that technology does not make our work easier. With the help of technological advancements all the sectors in India improving day by day. Nowadays lives without technology are not possible in other words it’s very difficult to believe life without technologies. This article discussed the role of technological advancements in the Indian healthcare system. Now let’s take a look at how innovative technologies completely changed the face of the Indian healthcare system.

As we know that India is listed as the 2nd most populated country in the world due to which the nation possesses a distinctive healthcare challenge. In previous Indian healthcare system face several challenges due to lack of use of technologies but after the use of technological advancements, the healthcare system of India grew rapidly day by day. Technology introduces numerous opportunities for developing and alternating healthcare systems. The use of technology reduces human errors, develop practice efficiencies, reduces time consumption, improves clinical outcomes and enables care coordination. When there is just one doctor for every 1,000 people, technology can be transformative in healthcare delivery. Rural India is severely disadvantaged by a significant disparity in which metropolitan areas have four times the number of medical providers as rural areas. Now with the use of technological advancements biggest and most critical operations get easily done even in less time.

  • Health Information Technology:

A technology designed to store, distribute, and analyze the data gathered in any medical facility is known as health information technology (HIT). The usage of healthcare technology can assist in the improvement of patient care. There are several types of healthcare information systems that deal with administrative issues as well as patient clinical records, among many other things. The significance of health IT now originates from a mix of improving technology and altering government regulations that affect the quality of patient care. Health information technology (health IT) involves the processing, storage and interchange of health data. The widespread use of health IT in the healthcare sector will enhance the quality of care, reduce health care costs, increase operational effectiveness, eliminate documentation, as well as increase access to affordable healthcare. Electronic health information is stored and exchanged electronically and protecting its security and privacy.

  • Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) in Healthcare system:

The usage of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technology is now becoming more prevalent in the healthcare system of India. The elderly population and rising rates of non-communicable diseases have created a requirement for technologies that might assist people to forecast diagnoses as well as future health difficulties. Algorithms for finding patterns in vast volumes of data are included in Machine learning and artificial intelligence (ML). AI in the health care system has the potential to help clinicians understand which risk factors lead to disease. In India, heart disease and cardiovascular disorders have become the main cause of mortality, and clinicians intend to employ artificial intelligence to analyze information and learn more about the factors contributing to this growth.

Thanks to these characteristics of medical technologies help to promote the Indian healthcare system. Hospitals in India may combine data and patient transfers as well as referrals which are becoming more controlled only because of medical technologies. These databases may also help doctors to make better diagnosis and treatments by allowing them to quickly access prior cases which help them to make judgments about new patients. Among the most significant advantages that technology brings to the healthcare industry is the better and faster availability of information both for patients and healthcare providers.

By Bipul Kumar Burman | May 10, 2022

Electrical & Electronics Engineering,

Govt. Polytechnic Jagannathpur, Chaibasa, Jharkhand, India.

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Effective Electricity Generation from Moon Light Solar Panels

Solar panels effectively convert sunlight into energy using the sun as the primary source. But why can’t solar panels create power cheerfully at night? Yeah alright! Solar panel design and technology have been created to operate with the sun. Moonlight can be utilized to power PV cells, according to a few specialists. Given that moonlight is just sunlight reflected off the moon, you’ll be relieved to learn that yes, solar panels can operate with moonlight. Your solar panels will, however, create very little power at night, even if the moon is shining directly on them with no clouds in the sky. You should only anticipate 0.3 percent of the energy generation that you would get from direct sunlight on a clear night with a full moon. That implies that if your solar panels normally produce 300 watts during the day, they will only produce around one watt under full moonlight. That’s not even close to the amount of energy necessary to power an ultra-efficient LED light bulb – in fact, operating one lamp with an LED bulb would take nearly 18 times more electricity and that’s with the moon full! Your solar panels will generate even less electricity from moonlight for the remainder of each moon cycle.
What happens at night? Because heat is easier to store than electricity, solar panels with solar thermophotovoltaic (STPV) cells may create electricity at night if the heat they received during the day is retained. STPV increases the amount of solar energy available for conversion by adjusting the energy to fit the preferred wavelength of the PV cell. The PV cell is getting more solar energy at the appropriate wavelength, enabling it to generate more electricity while using the same amount of total solar energy. The researchers aren’t quite sure how the heat will be kept. I’m wondering whether the emitter material can have a significant thermal mass, allowing it to heat up slowly and hold its heat after the sunshine has faded away. Instead of a surge of energy when the sun shines and then nothing after sunset, you’d have a more consistent energy output day and night. Modified solar panels that function at night create enough electricity to charge a cell phone or power an LED light, eliminating the need for off-grid places to store energy in batteries. Solar power is created when the sun’s energy is directed towards a comparatively cool solar panel. Solar cells are layers of a semi-conducting substance, commonly silicon, that make up the panel. A flow of electricity is generated when light shines on this substance.

Source: Saur Energy International

At night, however, since heat goes in the direction of lower temperatures, solar panels transmit heat to outer space, which has a temperature of roughly 3 kelvin (-270.15°C). As a result, the solar panel is colder than the night air, creating a temperature differential that may be used to generate power. A customized solar cell with a power output of 50 milliwatts/square meter was produced when directed towards a clear night sky during testing. This is just 0.04 percent of the power output of a standard solar cell when used during the day. Low-power gadgets, such as a phone charger or a low-wattage LED light, would be able to work with 50 milliwatts per square meter of radiation, though.
At night, the solar panel may really achieve a temperature below that of the surrounding air, which is an exceptional possibility for power collecting. “The good thing about this strategy is that at night, you basically have a direct power supply that doesn’t need any battery storage”.

By Jagvijay Singh | April 7, 2022
B.Tech Electrical Engineering,
Alumnus, St. Andrews Institute of Technology and Management, Gurgaon, Haryana

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Provisional Accreditation for Colleges (PAC) by NAAC–A New Initiative

The National Assessment & Accreditation Council (NAAC) has issued a new policy that allows new colleges and universities to apply for provisional accreditation after completing one academic year. Previously, only institutes with at least six years of experience or at least two batches of graduated students could apply for NAAC accreditation. The Provisional Accreditation of Colleges (PAC) provision would be able to chart a course for providing quality education.

According to Anil Joseph Pinto, Registrar at Christ University in Bangalore, “PAC is a progressive step taken by NAAC that will allow newly established institutes to prepare a roadmap for delivering quality education in the early stages.” It will improve institutes in Tier II and III cities that require assistance. This will set the tone for the country’s current undergrad college system to be upgraded to higher standards. Because approximately 70% of HEIs are private, this provision would instill competitive zeal among colleges.” There are over 40,000 HEIs in India, and NAAC has only accredited about 4000 – 5000 of them in the last 25 years.” Several government institutes avoid applying for accreditation because they lack teachers and have unappealing infrastructure. Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka, on the other hand, have made efforts to improve teacher ratios and infrastructure. Furthermore, because accreditation is not required for issuing degrees, government institutes are not motivated to apply for accreditation,” Pinto adds.

“According to the NEP 2020, all institutes must become degree awarding institutes within the next 10 – 15 years, and their degrees will be invalid if they do not have accreditation.” The problem with NAAC’s current system is that it lacks the bandwidth to accredit a large number of institutes; thus, provision accreditation is a simple way to accredit because it would facilitate the entry of newly established institutes into the accreditation process,” says Pinto. Institutes that apply for PAC must obtain a minimum of 15 points out of a possible 40 by answering 10 quantitative and qualitative questions.

“As per NEP 2020, every HEI should receive NAAC accreditation,” says Davinder Narang, director of Jaipuria Institute of Management in Ghaziabad. “As of now, it has accreditation only for 14,200 colleges.” The current NAAC system is exhaustive, as colleges must submit a self-assessment report based on seven NAAC-defined parameters.” It takes about a year for any college to work after fulfilling these seven parameters because it is a time-consuming process. “The PAC will ease the process of new institutes by evaluating them on fewer parameters and facilitating the entry of newly established HEIs into accreditation; every HEI is required to submit an Annual Quality Assurance Report (AQAR) yearly.” 

Courtesy: The Times of India

By Aayush Gupta | March 10, 2022

Mechanical Engineering (Gold Medallist), 

Jagran Lakecity University, Bhopal

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Sexual Harassment at the Workplace: A Relook at the POSH Act on Its Eighth Anniversary

On December 9, 2013, the Sexual Harassment of Women at Work (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH Act) came into effect. Despite the fact that it was approved after 16 years of Supreme Court’s Vishaka decision, it was a massive progress in enshrining women’s basic workplace rights.

The act which is celebrating its eighth anniversary in existence in December 2021, and this would be good occasion to look at its journey of the legislation, and take a look at some of the most glaring flaws.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM VISHAKA CASE:

  • The writ petition was filed for the enforcement of the fundamental rights of the working women under Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Constitution of India in view with the prevailing climate in which violation of these rights was not Uncommon.
  • With increased knowledge and attention on gender justice, there is a greater attempt to prevent such violations, as well as an increase in resentment of sexual harassment instances.
  • Sexual harassment need not involve physical contact. Any act that creates a hostile work environment, by cracking lewd jokes, verbal abuse, circulating rumors etc. can be considered as sexual harassment.

GUIDELINES SET FORTH:

1.Employers should take preventive measures like an express preclusion of harassment and provide healthy work conditions in the matters of hygiene, comfort and health.

2.If there is an event of the infringement of administration rules in the workplace, suitable disciplinary action should be made.

3.If the offences submitted fall under the domain of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, the employer must report to the authorities.

4.To counter harassment, an organization should create a redressal committee. This should be done regardless of whether the protest constitutes a crime under the Indian Penal Code, 1860.Women must make up more than half of the members of such a committee, and the chairperson must also be a woman, as well as a counselling facility.

5.The business should take proper measures to spread awareness on the said issue.

The lawmakers took the safe route and just followed the Supreme Court’s decision from 1997. One evident consequence of this was the rise in popularity of two untested entities: the Internal Committee (IC) and the Local Committee (LC). The government was given authority under Section 30 of the Act to eliminate any obstacles to the implementation of the Act’s provisions. In November 2015, the Ministry of Women and Child Development released a guidebook on the POSH Act along with the manual, it would have been extremely beneficial to the new ICs and LCs if the government had released some explanations on IC appointment, conducting inquiries, and so on. The judicial review of the POSH Act by several High Courts and the Supreme Court has clarified some of the Act’s terms. The judiciary has resolutely refused to compromise some of the provisions of this statute on the basis of hyper-technicality or procedural infirmities, continuing to carry the torch for women’s rights (LS Sibu vs. Air India Limited and Others).

The following are the main areas that need to be revisited:

1.There were two major periods in the history of women’s protection against sexual harassment. The more obvious one was quid pro quo, but it took the State and the courts a long time to recognise the more subtle one: a hostile work environment. These two broad categories are subsumed under the POSH Act’s definition of “sexual harassment,” which is included in Section 2(n) and Section 3(2). For Example:-If the victim does not come forward to file a complaint, a respondent intimidating or physically harassing a complainant’s coworker while not directly interacting with the complainant would undoubtedly be traumatic for the complainant, and thus may need to be addressed through a hostile work environment.

2.The definition of “workplace” needs a relook. The discussion currently revolves around the judicial expansion that has occurred in relation to “workplace” under the Employees Compensation Act, 1923 (ECA). For example: A woman is interviewed at a company, and thereafter the male interviewer keeps proposing to her. In this case, the incidents of proposing may have been done by the respondent from his home, and when the complainant was also at her home when she received the messages/chats/calls. As a result, ICs around the country are wrestling with how to interpret the definitions of “workplace” and “during the course of work” in order to address such issues. Currently, there do not appear to be any constitutional court judgements addressing this issue.

3.Many procedural parts of the POSH Act may need to be reconsidered in light of the past eight years’ experiences. To begin, the time limit for making a complaint by a victim should be expanded, as the present model of 3+3 months is insufficient. It ignores the fact that many Indian women are still unaware of their rights and must overcome social shame in order to file a complaint. Second, the IC can only conduct an investigation if the complainant presents a formal complaint. While permitting third parties to file complaints presents a number of issues, it may be worth considering whether the IC can at least conduct a preliminary investigation without a written complaint.

4.The IC is now made up of personnel who are inexperienced in managing investigations and have no legal understanding. In this circumstance, how may an IC use Section 11(3) to exercise civil court power? Another argument is that these inputs would come from an external member present in the IC. Strangely, Rule 7(7) only requires “a minimum of three Members of the Complaints Committee, including the Presiding Officer or the Chairperson, as the case may be, to be present in conducting the inquiry.” The external member is not required to be present. It’s past time for this to change. One can look at how the system of independent directors has been systematized over the past few decades through introduction of Director Identification Number (DIN), training for directors, a registry for directors, etc. Something akin to this for IC members may go a long way in creating a more informed IC.

By Abhishek George | February 1, 2022

Law Scholar, BBA LLB (Hons),

Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi.

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Impact of SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic and Vaccination Drive

A new SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern (VoC), omicron, was revealed on November 25, 2021, roughly 2 years after the first recorded case of COVID-19 and after an estimated 260 million infections and 52 million fatalities worldwide.  Omicron was born into a COVID-19-weary world, replete with rage and resentment at the pandemic’s extensive detrimental social, emotional, and economic consequences. Although earlier VoCs appeared in a world where natural immunity to COVID-19 infections was frequent, this fifth VoC appears at a time when global vaccination immunity is developing. The advent of the alpha, beta, and delta SARS-CoV- VoCs was linked to additional waves of illnesses, which spread throughout the globe at times.  

Because of its capacity to evade natural immunity, the delta VoC’s greater transmissibility was linked with, among other things, a larger viral load, longer duration of infectiousness, and high rates of reinfection, resulting in the delta VoC fast becoming the worldwide prevalent variety. The appearance of the alpha, beta, and delta SARS-CoV-2 VoCs was linked to fresh waves of illnesses, which spread throughout the globe at times. Because of its capacity to evade natural immunity,6 the delta VoC’s greater transmissibility was linked with, among other things, a larger viral load,4 longer duration of infectiousness, and high rates of reinfection, resulting in the delta VoC becoming the worldwide prevalent variety quickly. Vaccination drives have been ramped up across the country and now, there are more vaccines available for use. With the latest approval being granted to Moderna Inc’s, novel mRNA vaccine, India now has four vaccines in its ambit. The four vaccines which have received emergency use authorization (EUA) in India are all made using different platforms. If you are yet to get vaccinated, here’s a comparison of the different vaccines we have today!

ParametersCovishieldCovaxinSputnik VModerna
Number of Doses2222
Second Dose12 weeks apart.4 to 6 weeks3 weeks4 weeks
Third DoseWhen a person's immune response likely hasn't responded fully (For 18+ only)
Approved for ages15+ Years18+ Years18+ Years18+ Years
Effectiveness against death1
WHO Recommendation2021-02-15 00:00:002021-11-03 00:00:00Not Yet2021-04-30 00:00:00
Available in India?Yes
Type of VaccineViral vectorInactive viral strainWeakened strain of the common cold virusmRNA
Efficacy Rateefficacy rate of 70%, which can be scaled up to 91%78%, additionally providing 100% protectionan efficacy rate of 78.6% to 83.7%an efficacy rate of over 91%
PriceNA1200950-1200SOON (higher)
Common Side effectsReactogenic and resolve in a matter of 2-3 daysFewer side-effectsFewer side-effectsReactogenic and resolve in a matter of 2-3 days
Effective against Delta Variant65% with the Delta variantCovaxin (61%)insignificant97.5% (92.7% to 99.2%) prior to infection
Effective against Omicron Variant (as said by makers)Third Booster Dose RequiredThird Booster dose (90%)10-15 % decline in efficacyThird Booster Dose Required Significant increase in efficacy

Equitable access to safe and effective vaccines is critical to ending the COVID-19 pandemic, so it is hugely encouraging to see so many vaccines proving and going into development. WHO is working tirelessly with partners to develop, manufacture and deploy safe and effective vaccines. Safe and effective vaccines are a game-changing tool: but for the foreseeable future we must continue wearing masks, cleaning our hands, ensuring good ventilation indoors, physically distancing and avoiding crowds. Being vaccinated does not mean that we can throw caution to the wind and put ourselves and others at risk, particularly because research is still ongoing into how much vaccines protect not only against disease but also against infection and transmission.

Author: Er. Bhanu Pratap Chauhan | Jan’ 2022

M.Tech, Biotechnology, Jaypee Institute of Information Technology, Noida, INDIA.

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Impact of Artificial Intelligence on the World

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is very demanded technology in the present world. AI is a component off computer science, which deals with the human intelligence. Through AI we can make such intelligent devices which can mimic by learning such as recognizing objects, understanding and responded to any languages, making the right decisions and solving the complex questions. Through AI we can make our work simpler. AI algorithm is designed to make the decisions, often using real-time data. The AI system has the ability to learn and adapt the skills which has been taught. AI can also improve the efficiency of the work area.

AI is very important technology for the betterment of the world. AI technology example is Alexa “the voice based search machine”, as is recognize the voice commands to perform the tasks given. It has 24/7 availability to support the user. As the live chats named “Chabot” are available in so many websites so to solve the user’s problem. So it saves a lot of time, cost. It has a very high speed. Speed is one of the major reason to exploit the artificial intelligence technology for example Microsoft Excel. To sum up the huge amount of numbers, we have to calculate one by one but in Microsoft excel the function named auto sum gives you the result in a bit. So for the speed computation artificial intelligence is one of the highlighted technology with reduced error.

Technologies like Siri, Alexa, Google assistant are the excellent example of AI. These AI Chabot’s are more advance and then from the normal Chabot’s, as they are programmed in such a way that they can answer the questions which has been asked by the user. If someone asks for a particular search etc., then these devices give the appropriate results. Machine Learning (ML) is the integral part of the technologies like Siri, Alexa, Google Assistant. Machine learning is an application of the Artificial Intelligence which focuses on the training the system to improve the ability of the machines. By feeding the data to computer system these devices become intelligent and became usable for the human.

PurposePrimary intentApplicationExample
CommunicativeTo informOnline salesApple Siri
Customer serviceAmazon Alexa
TransactionalTo sellOnline salesTwyla
Customer servicesCognicor
Education To learnTeaching assistantsIBM’s Jill Watson
Personalized educationWoogie the Alien
Scientific learningMuse
Special educationDoc.ai
Parenting
Play To entertainToys Genesis Toys
GamingThe OpenAI
DiagnosticTo identifyHealth monitoringGyant
Medication usejubiAI
Medical symptomsada
Alert systems e.g., debtTroo.ai
Social To connectMusic discovery Twitter
Social networkingFacebook AI Research
Identity authorizationApple FaceID
Soundhound
AdministrativeTo manageFinanceAbe
Digital integrationCleo
Mosaic
Behavioural To changeExerciseWeobot
Healthy eatingHealth Hero
Mental healthTroo.ai
Wellbeing

To conclude, AI has tremendous possibilities to enhance the life experiences. In general, AI systems function by consuming huge volumes of labelled training dataset, evaluating the information for connections and similarities, and then utilizing these shapes to forecast future outcomes. By examining millions of instances, a chatbot given examples of text conversations may learn to make realistic dialogues with humans, and a face recognition programmer can learn to recognize and characterize items in photographs.

By Aradhya | December 15, 2021

B.Tech (Computer Science & Engineering),

B.K. Birla Institute of Engineering and Technology, Pilani, India.

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Decoding the termCryptocurrency

Cryptocurrency, often known as crypto-currency or crypto, is any type of digital or virtual currency that uses encryption to safeguard transactions. Cryptocurrencies operate without a central issuing or regulating authority, instead relying on a decentralized system to track transactions and create new units. Cryptocurrency is a digital payment mechanism that does not rely on banks for transaction verification. It’s a peer-to-peer system that allows anyone to make and receive payments from anywhere. Cryptocurrency payments exist solely as digital entries to an online database identifying specific transactions, rather than as tangible money carried around and exchanged in the real world. The transactions that you make with cryptocurrency funds are recorded in a public ledger. Digital wallets are used to store cryptocurrency.

The moniker “cryptocurrency” comes from the fact that it uses encryption to verify transactions. This means that storing and sending cryptocurrency data between wallets and to public ledgers requires complex coding. Encryption’s goal is to ensure security and safety. Bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency, was created in 2009 and is still the most well-known today. Much of the fascination with cryptocurrencies stems from the desire to trade for profit, with speculators driving prices high at times.

Cryptocurrencies are based on the Blockchain–a distributed public ledger/database that keeps track of all transactions and is updated by currency holders. Cryptocurrency units are formed through a process known as mining, which entails employing computer processing power to solve complex mathematical problems in order to earn coins. Users can also purchase the currencies from brokers, which they can then store and spend using encrypted wallets. You don’t possess anything concrete if you own cryptocurrency. What you possess is a key that enables you to transfer a record or a unit of measurement from one person to another without the involvement of a trustworthy third party. Although Bitcoin has been present since 2009, cryptocurrencies and blockchain technologies are still in their infancy in terms of financial applications, with more to come in the future. Bonds, stocks, and other financial assets might all be traded via the technology in the future.

In the present time everybody must have heard of the terms Blockchain, Bitcoin, Cryptocurrency, and other similar technologies, and how they’ve had a huge impact on the digital world. These technologies are extremely well integrated and so work in concert. Let’s look at the fundamentals of cryptocurrency to gain a better knowledge of it. First, let’s define what a cryptocurrency isn’t. A cryptocurrency is not a form of money that can be utilized in everyday life. It can only be used to conduct transactions in the digital realm. To buy or sell with a cryptocurrency, it must first be translated from a digital form to a real-world currency. Dollars, rupees, and so forth. Let’s have a look at the image below to see what it’s all about.

Cryptocurrency’s Benefits

Inflation protection: Inflation has caused the value of several currencies to depreciate over time. Almost every cryptocurrency is introduced with a predetermined amount at the moment of its inception. The amount of any coin is specified in the source code; for example, there are only 21 million Bitcoins available in the globe. If a result, as demand rises, its value rises as well, keeping pace with the market and, in the long term, preventing inflation.

Self-managed and governed:

Any currency’s governance and upkeep are critical to its growth. Developers/miners are rewarded for storing cryptocurrency transactions on their hardware by receiving the transaction fee. Because the miners are compensated for their work, they keep transaction records accurate and up-to-date, ensuring the cryptocurrency’s integrity and decentralizing the records.

Protected and private: Cryptocurrencies’ privacy and security have always been a key worry. The Blockchain ledger is made up of a series of difficult-to-solve mathematical riddles. As a result, bitcoin transactions are more secure than regular electronic transactions. Cryptocurrencies employ pseudonyms that are unrelated to any user, account, or recorded data that may be linked to a profile for improved security and privacy.

Currency exchanges are simple: Cryptocurrency can be purchased with a variety of currencies, including the US dollar, the European euro, the British pound, the Indian rupee, and the Japanese yen. One currency can be converted into another via trading in cryptocurrencies, across different wallets, and with minimum transaction fees, using various cryptocurrency wallets and exchanges.

Decentralized: One of the main advantages of cryptocurrencies is that it is largely decentralized. Many cryptocurrencies are controlled by the developers who use them and those who own a considerable amount of the coin, or by a company that develops them before they are launched into the market. Unlike fiat currencies, which are controlled by the government, decentralization helps keep the currency monopoly free and in check so that no single organization can dictate the flow and value of the coin. This, in turn, keeps it stable and secure.

Mode of transaction that is cost-effective:

Sending money across borders is one of the most common uses of cryptocurrencies. The transaction fees paid by a user are decreased to a negligible or nil amount with the help of bitcoin. It does it by removing the requirement for third-party verification, such as VISA or PayPal. This eliminates the need for any further transaction costs.

A quick method of transferring payments:

Cryptocurrencies have always maintained their position as the best option for transactions. Cryptocurrency transactions, whether international or domestic, are lightning fast. This is due to the fact that the verification takes extremely little time to complete because there are so few barriers to overcome.

Drawback of Cryptocurrency

Can be used for illicit transactions: Due to the great secrecy and security of cryptocurrency transactions, it’s difficult for the authorities to track down or monitor any user by their wallet address. Bitcoin has already been used as a means of exchanging money in a variety of criminal transactions, including the purchase of drugs on the dark web. Some people utilize cryptocurrency to mask the origins of their illegally obtained money by converting it through a trustworthy intermediary.

Financial losses can result from data loss: The designers aimed to make source code that was essentially untraceable, powerful hacking defences, and impenetrable authentication mechanisms. Putting money in cryptocurrency, rather than actual cash or bank vaults, would be safer. However, if a user loses their wallet’s private key, there is no way to recover it. The wallet, as well as the number of coins within, will be kept secure. The user will suffer a financial loss as a result of this.

Decentralized yet still controlled by a third party: Cryptocurrencies are known for their decentralized nature. However, the founders and some organizations still control the flow and amount of various currencies on the market. These investors have the ability to manipulate the coin’s price in order to achieve big price swings. Even heavily traded coins, such as Bitcoin, which rose in value three times in 2017, are vulnerable to similar tricks.

Non-availability in other fiat currencies: Some cryptocurrencies can only be exchanged in one or a few fiat currencies, therefore they aren’t available in other fiat currencies. This forces the user to first convert these currencies into one of the major currencies, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, and then into their desired currency via other exchanges. Only a few cryptocurrencies are affected. This adds extra transaction costs to the process, costing you money you don’t need.

Adverse Environmental impact of mining cryptocurrencies: Mining cryptocurrencies requires a lot of processing power and electricity, making it a very energy-intensive process. Bitcoin is the main perpetrator in this. Bitcoin mining necessitates powerful machines and a lot of energy. It’s impossible to do with a regular PC. Bitcoin miners are concentrated in nations where coal is used to generate electricity, such as China. China’s carbon footprint has risen dramatically as a result of this.

Susceptible to hacks: Exchanges are vulnerable to hacks, despite the fact that cryptocurrencies are quite safe. Most exchanges save user wallet info in order to correctly operate their user ID. Hackers could steal this information, giving them access to a large number of accounts. These hackers can quickly move funds from those accounts once they have gained access. Some exchanges, like as Bitfinex and Mt Gox, have been hacked in recent years, and Bitcoin worth hundreds to millions of dollars has been stolen. Although most exchanges are now quite secure, another hack is always a possibility.

No refund or cancellation policy: The currency cannot be retrieved by the sender if there is a dispute between the parties involved, or if someone sends funds to the wrong wallet address by mistake. Many people can utilize this to defraud others of their money. Because there are no refunds, one can simply be formed for a transaction for which they never received the product or services.

By Dr. R. N. Baral | November 30, 2021

Academician & Researcher,

PhD in Electronics Engg., Ghaziabad, India.

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Reputed Indexing: Scopus vs Web of Science

Journal indexing advantage is for reputation and reaches, providing greater impact potential for journals and the scholars publishing in them. The scientific community has published an enormous amount of research articles in different research areas. Efficient and authentic databases are needed to get access to these research articles. The most common platforms used by the researchers are Scopus and Web of Science. These are the largest citation-based databases. They can be used for searching and analyzing various scientific publications, literature reviews, conference proceedings, books and book chapters. Apart from helping in regular literature surveys, Scopus and WoS databases also provide a source for the ranking of journals. The journal ranking is based on the total citations received in a particular year which leads to an impact factor of the journal. In terms of comparison, Scopus offers a more extensive list of modern sources with a more user-friendly interface. Web of Science, on the other hand, provides the in-depth citation by source and provides a large amount of scientific literature that has been published in the past.

Elsevier launched Scopus in 2004 as an overview and reference database. Scopus includes 34,346 participant publications in top-level topic categories such as biological sciences, social sciences, physical sciences, and health sciences, with over 36,377 titles (22,794 active titles and 13,583 inactive titles) from 11,678 publishers. There are three types of periodicals: book series, journals, and trade journals. Each year, the h-Index, Cite Score, SJR (SCImago Journal Rank), and SNIP (SCImago Journal Impact Factor) are used to evaluate all journals in the Scopus database for acceptable high quality (Source Normalized Impact per Paper). Searches of patent databases are also included in Scopus searches.

Web of Science is a unified academic platform that enables customers to access, assess, and publish database content fast. Because of the establishment of an ontology, or shared language, for a wide variety of search phrases and data, this is achievable. Furthermore, search words produce information that is cross-category. If information is appropriate for Web of Science, it must pass an inspection and selection method based on the following criteria: impact, influence, timeliness, peer review, and geographic representation. There are a variety of search and analysis tools available on Web of Science. The first step is to employ citation indexing, which is made easier by the ability to search across disciplines for results. An idea’s influence, effect, history, and technique may all be traced back to the first occurrence, observation, or recommendation.

DetailsWeb of ScienceScopus
Managed ByClarivate AnalyticsElsevier Publishing
Year of launching19602004
SubscriptionYesYes
Covered ItemsPeer-reviewed sources, conference proceedings, book seriesPeer-reviewed sources, patents, conference proceedings, book series, articles in the press
Coverage timespan 1900-present (Science)1966-present (for some journals)
1956-present (Social Science)1996-present (for most journals)
1975, present (Art and Humanities)
Citation tracking 1900-present1996-present
Citation per articleRetrieves fewer citations than Scopus or Google ScholarRetrieves more citations than WoS, particularly from non-English sources
Number of indexed peer-reviewed journals13,000 (Approx.)36,000 (Approx.)
Journal impact indicatorAvailableAvailable
Individual performance indicators ( the h index)AvailableAvailable
Main feature/mottoSelective coverage of Journals based on the scientific quality and impactComprehensive coverage of journals

Both Scopus and Web of Science complement each other. Scopus interface is considered more user-friendly as there is an advantage of the implementation of a sourcing system by individuals. It has a list of all the modern sources. On the other hand, Web of Science provides in-depth search results. It also serves as a platform for scientific publications from the past.

By Sachin Rana | October 19, 2021

Master’s in Commerce Studies,

Aligarh Muslim University.

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