Hyderabad-based pvt sector firm Grene Robotics unveils Indrajaal (GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
Why in news?
- Hyderabad-based private sector firm, Grene Robotics, has demonstrated a weapons platform named Indrajaal, which it calls the world’s only autonomous wide area, counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS).
- Claimed to be the world’s only anti-drone system capable of protecting against micro, mini, small, large and extra-large drones, this marks a breakthrough in Indian defence technology.
Why it matters for national security?
- Over the past decade, and especially since the wars in Azerbaijan-Armenia and Ukraine-Russia, the world has encountered a significant surge in hostile UAS activity.
- India’s defence forces have detected and foiled several attempts to drop weapons, money and narcotics into the country.
- Intelligence reports have indicated that Pakistan’s spy agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is actively planning to employ drones for smuggling weapons and narcotics into India’s Jammu and Punjab regions.
- Pakistan’s drone missions appear to have three primary objectives: Surveillance of Indian security forces, narcotics smuggling, and distributing weapons within Indian territory. There has been a steady increase in drone-based weapon deliveries, with 76 cases reported in 2020, 109 in 2021, 266 in 2022, and approximately 200 cases in 2023 alone.
Indrajaal:
- Indrajaal’s design principle leverages a combination of 12 unique layers of technology powered by artificial intelligence for the first time in the world. Using this, the system has the ability to detect, identify, classify, track, and swiftly neutralise threats in real time.
- Providing 360-degree protection, Indrajaal can defend areas of up to 4000 square kilometres against all classifications and levels of unmanned autonomous threats.
- Indrajaal is currently demonstrating the ability to provide protection against all categories of ariel threats, including low radar cross section (RCS) threats, medium altitude long endurance (MALE) and high-altitude long endurance (HALE) UAVs, loitering munitions, smart bombs, rocket showers, nano and micro drones, swarm drones and other contemporary threats.
Limitations to current counter-drone deployments:
- Airspace in the future will have more friendly drones than threats.
- Current stand-alone systems are not scalable and not even practical. Engaging the current systems through jammers can only delay, but not stop, an attack.
- Laser weapons are effective only against large, non-moving targets; while there are no effective countermeasures against swarm attacks.
- Existing “point defence-based” anti-UAV systems are inadequate against drone threats as they rely on physical sighting. They cannot protect large defence bases or vast areas like the National Capital Region which contains several critically important buildings.
- Indrajaal mitigates these limitations by combining 12 proprietary technologies for the first time into a wide-area networked system.
Way Forward:
- Indrajaal would reshape the security landscape for defence, public and private infrastructure.
African nations endorse regional strategy to accelerate action against antimicrobial resistance
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
Why in news?
- African nations have endorsed a regional strategy to accelerate action against antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
- The strategy was adopted at the 73rd session of the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Committee for Africa in Botswana’s capital Gaborone.
Global Action Plan on AMR:
- WHO member states had adopted the Global Action Plan on AMR in 2015, and had committed to develop, implement, and monitor antimicrobial resistance national action plans (AMR NAPs).
- The strategy endorsed in Gaborone aims to accelerate the implementation of AMR NAPs.
Why focus on AMR?
- Addressing AMR is integral to achieving the United Nations-mandated Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. For example, AMR increases treatment costs. This means attaining universal health coverage will become more challenging.
- Reducing child and infant mortality under SDG 3 calls for effective antibiotics, but antibiotic resistance is now one of the major threats to newborn health globally.
- Some 4.95 million people worldwide died of AMR-related diseases in 2019. Of these, 1.27 million were directly attributable to bacterial resistance in sub-Saharan Africa.
- AMR could kill 4.1 million people across Africa by 2050 unless serious actions to address the threat are taken.
- The continent’s economic growth would also be impacted since African countries could lose up to five per cent of their gross domestic product as a result of AMR.
Gaps in implementation:
- According to WHO Africa, 45 of the 47 member countries have AMR action plans. Of these, 33 plans have been endorsed by national authorities. But the implementation of the action plans has been poor.
- Less than half of WHO Africa member nations have adopted the WHO Access, Watch, Reserve (AWaRe) classification of antibiotics in their national essential medicines lists (EML). This is vital for ensuring access and reducing AMR.
- Lack of political commitment, inadequate antimicrobial surveillance including insufficient laboratory capacity and limited capacity for the implementation of antimicrobial stewardship interventions are among the key factors behind poor implementation.
- Limited access to resources and erratic use of antimicrobials have magnified AMR infections in Africa.
One Health approach:
- The regional antimicrobial resistance strategy prescribes key interventions to enhance implementation in line with the “One Health” approach.
- AMR has been recognised as a One Health issue owing to its significant linkages with the health of humans, animals and environment.
- The strategy aims to strengthen coordination and governance of action against AMR, improve awareness and understanding, step up surveillance of AMR and antimicrobial use, and reinforce applicable national regulations and laws.
- By endorsing the strategy, WHO member states have committed to work towards a target by 2030 to have functional “One Health AMR governance mechanisms”. This includes defined roles and responsibilities across sectors and established accountability arrangements, thus achieving priority AMR interventions.
Way Forward:
- As priority, member states are now expected to ensure effective regional and national multi-sectoral coordination and partnership on AMR by engaging stakeholders from the human, animal and environmental sectors.
- Member states will also work towards ensuring effective enforcement of antimicrobial regulations and laws by 2030.
- These include those related to quality control, use and distribution of antimicrobial medicines. This is essential to address the emergence of substandard and falsified antimicrobials and inappropriate use of antimicrobials in the WHO Africa Region.
