Science & Technology Current Affairs MCQs

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Waaree Energies will set up India’s largest lithium-ion battery gigafactory at Rambilli, Anakapalli district, Andhra Pradesh. Total investment is ₹8,175 crore for a greenfield project. The plant will have 16 Gigawatt-hour (GWh) capacity. It will cover full battery value chain: cell manufacturing, battery packs and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). It received in-principle approval from State Investment Promotion Board. The project supports clean-energy goals of Andhra Pradesh.

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Zimbabwe has started rolling out Lenacapavir for HIV prevention. It is the first twice-yearly injectable pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). PrEP is a medicine taken by HIV-negative individuals to reduce the risk of HIV infection. Clinical studies show it prevents about 99.9 percent of HIV transmission. It is developed by Gilead Sciences and marketed as Yeztugo. Lenacapavir is a capsid inhibitor that blocks the virus’s protein shell needed for replication.

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An indigenously developed 30 kiloWatt Wide Band Gap based Integrated Drive System for Electric Vehicles was launched by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in Chennai. It was developed by Centre for Development of Advanced Computing Thiruvananthapuram with Indian Institute of Technology Madras and Lucas TVS under National Mission on Power Electronics Technology. It was launched by the Secretary of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology at IIT Madras. The 30 kiloWatt system suits electric passenger vehicles like compact cars and fleet mobility. It reduces import dependence on semiconductor-based Electric Vehicle powertrain systems.

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Under Swachh Bharat Mission–Urban 2.0, Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation deployed the AI-powered G-SPIDER robot for safe, human-free canal cleaning in high-risk areas. The robot was commissioned at the Amayizhanchan Canal near Thampanoor Railway Station, a stretch with restricted vertical clearance, continuous water flow, and unsafe human entry points. G-SPIDER is developed by Genrobotic Innovations, based on Cable-Driven Parallel Robotics (CDPR) architecture with AI-enabled vision and sensor intelligence. It autonomously detects, assesses, and removes mixed and hazardous waste using a five-degrees-of-freedom robotic mechanism with a biomimetic claw-type grabber.

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Entomologists discovered two new species of fruit flies named Acidoxantha paratotoflava and Hemilea suneriae in the Himalayan foothills of Solan district in Himachal Pradesh. Acidoxantha paratotoflava is a medium-sized greenish-yellow fly with four black stripes on its thorax and large black spots on its abdomen. The species also has distinct hook-like structures in the male anatomy, which help in identification. Hemilea suneriae is a reddish-brown fruit fly with prominent black dots on its body. It has a unique wing pattern with a single clear “window” (hyaline indentation) in a dark wing area, unlike related species that usually have two. The discovery adds to India’s insect biodiversity and improves scientific knowledge of fruit fly taxonomy.

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Researchers found that Deinococcus radiodurans can survive extremely high pressures of 14,000–24,000 Earth atmospheres, similar to pressures during planetary impacts. It is a bacterium famous for its extreme resistance to ionizing radiation, earning the nickname “Conan the Bacterium.” The organism is gram-positive, non-motile, and reddish in colour. It was first discovered in 1956 in radiation-treated canned meat. It can survive radiation doses thousands of times higher than those fatal to humans, making it one of the most radiation-resistant organisms on Earth.

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The Minor Planet Centre (MPC) recently announced discovery of 15 new moons, 4 around Jupiter and 11 around Saturn. It is the global centre for collecting and storing data on small solar system bodies. It operates under the International Astronomical Union (IAU) at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Astronomers send new findings to MPC, where data is verified and orbits are calculated. It assigns official names or designations to newly discovered objects. It tracks asteroids, comets, and outer planet moons.

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A Kerala start-up has delivered the Akasha300 3D printer to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), boosting India’s self-reliance in advanced manufacturing. It is a high-temperature, multi-material extrusion 3D printer designed for industrial and research use. It is supported by the Space Technology Innovation and Incubation Centre at Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) and Kerala Startup Mission. It uses dual-extrusion technology and can operate up to 350°C, with future upgrades to 500°C. It has a modular design allowing multiple extrusion systems and hybrid manufacturing.

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U.S. drugmaker Pfizer and France’s Valneva reported that their experimental Lyme disease vaccine showed over 70% efficacy in a late-stage trial. Lyme disease, or Lyme borreliosis, is caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi. It affects the skin, nervous system, heart, and joints. The disease is named after Lyme, Connecticut, United States, where it was first identified in children in 1976. Lyme disease is common in North America, Europe, and parts of Asia. It is transmitted to humans through deer ticks (black-legged ticks) found in grassy, wooded, or bushy areas. Not all tick bites cause Lyme disease, and it cannot spread between humans or from pets.

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The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved Qdenga for individuals aged 4–60 years, making it India’s first dengue vaccine. Qdenga is a live-attenuated, tetravalent vaccine developed by Takeda Pharmaceutical, Japan. It targets all four dengue virus serotypes (DENV-1 to DENV-4), with strongest efficacy against DENV-2 and relatively lower against DENV-3 and DENV-4. It does not require pre-vaccination screening and is administered in two doses, spaced three months apart. The vaccine provides strong protection against severe dengue and reduces hospitalisation rates.