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February 22, 2021 (N. Delhi)
A total of 12 companies have been selected for the National Technology Awards 2020 for commercialization of successful commercialization of innovative indigenous technologies.
They have been selected under three categories --indigenous technologies, MSME, and startups. Every year, for furtherance of its mandate, TDB seeks applications for prestigious National awards for commercialization of technologies under these three categories. These awards conferred to various industries provides a platform of recognition to Indian industries and their technology provider, who have worked as a team, to bring innovation to the market and contributed to the vision of "Aatma Nirbhar Bharat".
The awards were given by the Technology Development Board (TDB), a statutory body of Government of India functioning under Department of Science of Technology for the year 2019-20. The winners were selected from a total 128 applications after thorough examination by eminent technologists and a stringent two-tier evaluation process.
The Technology Development Board is a statutory body of Government of India functioning under Department of Science of Technology which provides financial assistance to companies working for commercialization of indigenous technologies and adaptation of imported technologies for domestic applications. TDB was established in 1996 with a novel aim of providing financial assistance to Indian companies for commercialization of innovative indigenous technologies.
Since its inception, TDB has funded more than 300 companies for commercialization of technologies. The notable amongst the companies supported by TDB over the years are Bharat Biotech International Limited, Shantha Biotechnics Biocon India Limited, Reva Electric Car Company Tata Motors (for Indica), Zen Technologies VEM Technologies Su Kam Power System Limited, Sahajanand Laser Technology Limited, and many more.
Annexure:-
The details of National Awards for the year 2019-20 under following three categories are as follows: -
Category 1: NATIONAL AWARD FOR SUCCESSFUL COMMERCIALIZATION OF INDIGENOUS TECHNOLOGY
This award is given to an industrial concern which has successfully developed & commercialized an indigenous technology. In case, the technology developer / provider and the company commercializing the technology are two different organizations, each is eligible for award of ₹25 Lakh and a trophy.
This year following two companies have been selected for this award: -
(i) Company: M/s L&T Special Steels and Heavy Forgings Private Limited, Surat
Technology Provider: Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), Mumbai
Nuclear power plants are critical for India's energy security. The Steam Generators, Bleed Condensers and other subsystems of nuclear plants need critical heavy forgings made with extreme precision and outstanding quality. These specialized forgings were mostly imported for nearly last six decades, incurring precious foreign exchequer and denying opportunity to develop indigenous production ecosystem.
The Department of Atomic Energy envisaged a joint venture between Larsen & Toubro, the EPC, Hi-Tech manufacturing and services conglomerate and Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL), the sole nuclear-power producer of India, to indigenously produce such heavy forgings. L&T Special Steels and Heavy Forgings (LTSSHF) has successfully developed critical forgings of 700 MWe after setting up the facility which has a melt capacity of 125 tons and an open die press that can exert force of 9000-10000 tons. NPCIL provided critical guidance for development of this indigenous capability, taking India to the league of the global major forging producers of heavy and complex nuclear forgings.
(ii)Company: M/s Vinati Organics Limited, Mumbai
Technology Provider: CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR-IICT), Hyderabad
Vinati Organics Limited(VOL) was established in 1989 and is a specialty chemical company producing aromatics, monomers, polymers and other specialty products. VOL has been closely associated with CSIR institutes like National Chemical Laboratories (NCL), Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad (IICT), for developing new process for commercially manufacturing specialty chemicals.
The company worked with CSIR-IICT which developed the technology for making p-tert Butyl Toluene-PTBT (alkylation of Toluene using Isobutylene) followed by oxidation of PTBT to p-tert butyl Benzoic Acid (PTBBA) and licensed the same to VOL. The company with help of IICT, its own R&D /QC team and Detail Engineering companies commercialized the technology by erecting the plant in MIDC Lote near Chiplun on Mumbai Goa Highway in Maharashtra
PTBBA is used in manufacturing of its methyl ester (also being made by VOL) which finds use in manufacturing of Avobenzone. PTBBA also has uses in manufacturing of Alkyd resins and PVC Stabilizers. Prior to VOL commenced manufacturing of PTBBA, it was being imported from China. Currently VOL is catering to local demand of PTBBA as well as exporting to various customers in US. Europe. Korea.
Category 2: NATIONAL AWARD FOR MSMES
The Award, of Rs. 15 lakhs each in this category is given to selected MSME's that has successfully commercialized the product based on indigenous technology. This year following four companies have been selected for this award: -
(i) M/s AKS Information Technology Services Private Limited, Noida :-
The company provides services in the domain of Information Security, comprising auditing, consultancy, compliance, Network Security, Application Security, Cyber Forensic, IT Security Training and also develop Cyber Security Products. The company has been at the vanguard in rendering the top grade Cyber security services and products for more than 14 years. The company has developed Integrated Anti DDoS & Web Application Firewall which provides comprehensive security from Network to Application level layer. This product ensures 360-degree protection to organizations. HaltDos uses machine learning to identify real-time threats from HTTP requests that do not match any known attack vector.
(ii) M/s SVP Laser Technologies Private Limited, Chennai: -
The company has indigenously developed mission critical Digital Manufacturing technologies like MultiCNCTM CNC controller, AutoCAM2D CAM software, and various CNC controlled machines for applications like Jewellery manufacturing, PCB, Furniture, Foam fabrication etc. with several patented technologies. The products have been exported to countries like Canada, USA, UK, UAE, Oman, Philippines etc.
(iii) M/s Kan Biosys Private Limited, Pune: -
The company has developed a novel aerobic process for in situ incorporation of rice stubble using Speed KompostTM. The product can be the Indian solution to fight climate change caused by global stubble burning and best method of choice for global carbon sequestration.
(iv) M/s AlgalR NutraPharms Private Limited, Thanjavur:-
AlgalR has developed a Green Technology to produce Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an important omega-3 fatty acid, from microalgae. DHA extracted from microalgae is 100% Vegan and is currently marketed in the name of "AlgalR's DHA". Algal DHA can prevent cardiovascular diseases and brain stroke. It improves brain functions among young children, and it is essential for fetal brain development in pregnant women and reproductive health of adults. AlgalR holds the demand up to 2000 MT Algal DHA per annum from India, the US, Europe, Korea, France, and Brazil. Upon further scaling-up of this product will eventually reduce our import of 500 million USD and increase the revenue generation for about 500 Cr per annum.
Category 3: NATIONAL AWARD FOR TECHNOLOGY START-UPS
This award is given to a technology start-up for promising new technology with potential for commercialization. The award in addition to the trophy includes a cash award of ₹15 Lakh. This year six start-ups have been selected for these awards. These are as follows: -
(i) M/s RAR Engineering Private Limited, Delhi: -
The company is in the field of designing, developing and manufacturing new generation active industrial shock absorbers and recoil buffers which can automatically adjust its damping characteristics as per the payload parameters, give real-time feedback information to weapon controller, its working conditions and generate warning alarms in case of preventive maintenance, failure or abnormal recoil characteristic. Once active recoil dampers is successfully developed and implemented into the weapon system, this technology will be further enhanced to actively isolate the vibrations produced during firing of weapon to improve its target accuracy.
(ii) M/s Fibroheal Wound care Private Limited, Bangalore: -
Fibroheal Wound care worked exclusively on "Silk Proteins" as "Biomaterial for Wound Healing" and utilizes cut cocoons and other by-products of sericulture industry for value addition. The healing products are used for acute/chronic wounds or non/slow healing or difficult to heal wounds.
(iii) M/s Althion Tech Innovations Private Limited., Hyderabad: -
Althion Tech Innovations has developed the ultra-pure water units based on novel RO membrane technology licensed from CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad. Althion's kidney dialysis water units produce pure water and meets AAMI standards. The membrane configuration removes the need for a resin softener, thereby removing the need for salt, and saving water and electricity up to 25%. Althion type-2 and type-1 units are more affordable to purchase and maintenance is very less as compared to imported products.
(iv) M/s KBCols Sciences Private Limited, Pune
KBCols Sciences focuses on microbes; Microbes produce colors as a response and defensive mechanism in order to protectthemselves from the environment. This property of theirs is being explored/exploited by KBCols for over producing pigments in bioreactors using inexpensive waste raw materials. The Company developed customized recipes for using its natural colors (products) in sectors like textiles, home care, foods, cosmetics etc.
(v) M/s Shira MedTech Private Limited, Ahmedabad
Shira MedTech has developed Shira Clamp, which attempts to make blood vessel surgeries easier and potentially prevent 100,000 amputations in India every year. With Shira Clamp, surgeons with less experience can attempt a complex blood vessel surgery with lesser chances of error and reduced need of assistance. Shira Clamp is now being used in surgeries across 10 countries in the world.
(vi) M/s Newndra Innovations Private Limited, Jaipur
Newndra Innovations has developed exoskeleton called JaipurBeltTM. JaipurBeltTM supports by off-loading the spine and waist up to a configured, variable limit without restricting body movements. It has a patented single point and compact toque adjustment mechanism. This allows the user to adjust the load in a remarkably simple and user-friendly way without tensioning the springs. This exoskeleton can avoid surgeries and drudgery and ensure a safer and faster recovery.
February 22, 2021 (N. Delhi)
The India-EU joint steering committee on science and technology has agreed to develop and adopt a long-term strategic perspective for India-EU collaboration in research and innovation at the 13th Joint Steering Committee on Science and Technology Cooperation meeting hosted by the European Commission recently.
The two sides appreciated the achievements under India – EU science, technology Innovation cooperation and decided to create an action-oriented agenda which can be implemented within the agreed timeline at the meeting co-chaired by Director-General for Research and Innovation of the European Commission (EC), Mr. Jean-Eric Paquet, on the EU side and Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, Professor Ashutosh Sharma.
Taking into account the Joint Statement and the 'EU-India Strategic Partnership: A Roadmap to 2025', adopted at the EU-India July Summit, both sides have shown keen interest for possible cooperation on ICT, in particular, cyber-physical-systems (ICPS), including artificial intelligence and robotics, circular economy and resource efficiency (waste-to-energy; plastics; etc.), electric mobility and sustainable agri-food processing and so on.
The important role of Mission Innovation to concentrate efforts on research and innovation to accelerate the clean energy transition, necessary for a carbon-neutral planet, was underlined, cooperation on health beyond Covid-19 pandemic areas through global fora was also reinforced. Both sides also underlined the cooperation on polar sciences and discussed future cooperation under Horizon Europe at the virtual meeting.
The two sides reiterated their commitment to human capital development, including researchers' training and mobility, based on mutual interests and reciprocal promotion of each other's equivalent programmes, aiming at a more balanced flow of researchers between Europe and India.
Indian side presented the key elements of new Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (STIP 2020), which aim to create a fit for purpose, accountable research ecosystem promoting translational as well as foundational research; indigenous development of technology, technology indigenization; facilitating open Science; equity and inclusion.
The Indian side proposed Implementation Arrangement (IA) for co-funding future joint projects under India-EU Science, Technology, and Innovation Cooperation to streamline the process of collaboration and to address certain issues on project evaluation, selection, funding, monitoring, and also IPR sharing/data sharing/materials/equipment transfer mechanism and so on.
During 2014-2020, 42 collaborative projects amounting to a total of EUR ~157 Million funding (EUR 113 from H2020 & EUR 44 from Government of India) have been funded. The majority of these collaborations took place in the form of flagship calls on water, a new generation influenza vaccine, and smart grids cooperation. The mobility of researchers from both sides was significantly increased over the years, and cooperation among scientists and research organisations from India and Europe strengthened.
Secretary of the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India, Dr. Renu Swarup, Mr. Christophe Manet, Chargé d' Affaires a.i., Delegation of the European Union to India and the Debasish Prusty, Deputy Chief of the Mission in Brussels, Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Varshney Head, International Cooperation DST, Ms. Maria Cristina RUSSO, Director International Cooperation (DG R&I- EC) and other officials from different scientific Ministries/Departments (DST, MOES, DBT) also participated in the deliberations.
February 22, 2021 (N. Delhi)
By:-
-Rajeeva L. Karandikar, Chennai Mathematical Institute
-Shekhar C. Mande, CSIR Headquarters
-M. Vidyasagar, IIT Hyderabad
Publicly available data on the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, indicates that the number of infections in India peaked sometime in September 2020, and has been consistently declining ever since. From a maximum of 97,655 daily new cases on September 11, 2020, the daily new case count is 11,924 by first week in February 2021, with half of it from Kerala. According to the projections of the COVID-19 National Supermodel Committee set up by the Department of Science and Technology, the number of active cases will drop to the low tens of thousands by the end of March.
All this connotes only the end of the first phase of our fight against the virus. It is crucial to ensure that the number of cases does not start increasing again, as it has in many countries such as Italy, the UK, and the USA. According to both serological surveys as well as model predictions, a substantial fraction of India's population currently has immunity against the virus, coupled perhaps with some natural form of immunity. Although the current evidence is suggestive of long lasting immune memory, the immunity afforded by the presence of antibodies might be expected to last for only several months and not longer, while T-cell mediated immunity might last longer. The most reliable longer-term protection is, however, provided through vaccination. It has been suggested recently that vaccination offers much stronger immune response than natural infection, and therefore is the key to controlling the spread of the disease. While this issue has not yet been settled decisively, some medical researchers are of the opinion that the presence of antibodies (caused by a previous infection) offers less protection against reinfection from a mutation of the virus, compared to vaccination. Hence, it is imperative that the nationwide vaccination program be completed as early as possible with the approved vaccines. Interestingly, the breadth of antibody response generated by a killed virus vaccine is likely to offer greater protection against mutated viruses, compared to vaccines that generate antibodies against the spike protein.
In the context of the need for nationwide vaccination, we are happy that the regulatory authorities in India have given approval to two vaccines, one of them (Covishield) unconditionally and the other (Covaxin) in the clinical trial mode. Both vaccines have satisfied the expert committees as to safety and immunogenicity requirements. We wait for the Phase III data on Covaxin to become available so that its efficacy can be assessed.
The requirement that any vaccine must have 50% efficacy before it can be approved for emergency approval comes from the WHO. Even at 40% efficacy, a vaccine affords some protection, and even at 80% efficacy, some vaccine recipients would still be left unprotected. Therefore, we trust the regulatory authorities to take an informed decision, and not be bound by this arbitrary guideline. A corollary to the above is that, even if everyone in the target population is vaccinated (basically, everyone over the age of 18), it is imperative for the public to continue observing safety protocols.
While there have been thousands of mutations observed in the SARS-CoV-2 virus to date, the so-called UK variant is the first one to have demonstrated increased transmissibility, and perhaps, greater lethality after infection. The world has thus far been fortunate in this regard. However, the longer the virus is allowed to spread among an unprotected public, the greater the opportunities for the virus to mutate into a more virulent form. This is all the more reason to start vaccinations with all available resources. In this connection, it is heartening that a preprint deposited in Biorxiv suggests that Covaxin is effective against the UK variant. We quote: "A comparable neutralization activity of sera of the vaccinated individuals shown against UK-variant and the heterologous strain with similar efficiency, dispel the uncertainty of possible neutralization escape."
The above line of reasoning suggests that we must stop the virus spreading and mutating and for that it is not enough that everyone in India only are vaccinated. In order to see an end to the pandemic, it is essential for the rest of the world also to be vaccinated as quickly as possible. India is well-poised to meet not just its own vaccine requirements, but also that of the world at large, in this critical area. It also suggests that India's "vaccine diplomacy" of being the supplier of choice for the world's vaccine demands is well-placed and offers hope for the global community.
February 19, 2021 (N. Delhi)
Dignitaries from a range of domains discussed the implications and the road to implementation of the recently released Guidelines for acquiring and producing Geo-Spatial Data and Geo-Spatial Data Services including Maps at stakeholders meet on the issue.
"As the next generation of mapping technologies develop, these guidelines will enable Indian innovators to make advanced maps at the highest resolution, empower small businesses, and make our lives easier," said Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India Professor K VijayRaghavan at the stakeholder’s meet organized on February 19, 2021.
"The new geospatial guidelines have liberated this sector and have implications in several areas, whether it is mapping our biodiversity, our rivers, and mountains, or using such data for health-care delivery, agriculture, or urban planning. This is an opportunity for Indian industries to set up mapping and a transformative one for both industry and science," he added.
Secretary Department of Science and Technology (DST), Prof Ashutosh Sharma, said that the guidelines will stimulate and empower Indian industry and surveying agencies without diluting security concerns. Atmanirbharta in Geospatial products and solutions can bring around one lakh crore business by 2030 and will also have economic impact through development.
"Surveying and mapping is very critical to planning and execution, and the guidelines will lead to liberalization of the process of approval, democratization of geospatial data, and Atmanirbharata in the sector. Our corporations and innovators will not require prior approvals before they collect, generate, prepare, disseminate, store, publish, update digital geospatial data and maps within the territory of India and it will also lead to fair and transparent pricing of related products," he pointed out.
Secretary, Department of Space Dr.K.Sivan pledged support for implementation of the geospatial guidelines. He said that the space-based remote sensing policy that ISRO has now put in the public domain and the geospatial policy is going to do wonders for the country bringing new avenues.
He added that ISRO is committed to seeing all Indians benefit from the good work that has been done at MapmyIndia over the last 25 years and helping accelerate India’s rise as the most advanced country in the world through the full power of our maps and geospatial technologies, all developed indigenously in India, for India, and in future, for the world.
Principal Economic Adviser Shree SanjeevSanyal elaborated on the history of cartography and the relevance of the guidelines in that context. He said that the guidelines are historic at multilevel, and the Indian companies can now use it for the development of society and the country. The announcement will lead to full liberalization of the cartography and geo-spatial mapping sector, for the first time, this sector is open to private innovation.
The meet was attended by representatives from several stakeholders like industry, startups, academia, surveying agencies, and government ministries and departments who participated in a panel discussion organized on the occasion.
The Government has recently announced liberalised guidelines for geo-spatial data. The guidelines drafted by the Department of Science and Technology bring sweeping changes to India’s mapping policy, specifically for Indian companies.
With the advent of publicly available geospatial services, a lot of Geospatial Data that used to be in restricted zone would be freely and commonly available now, and some of the policies/guidelines that used to regulate such information have been rendered obsolete and redundant. The guidelines would ensure what is readily available globally does not need to be regulated. For Indian entities, it would mean complete deregulation with no prior approvals, security clearances, licenses, etc. for acquisition and production of geospatial data and geospatial data services, including maps
High spatial accuracy geospatial data finer than 1m horizontally and 3m vertically can now be acquired and owned only by Indian entities and stored in servers physically located in India Government agencies, and others will collaborate and work towards open-linked geospatial data.
The stakeholders benefitted will include practically every segment of society, from industry to academia to government departments. No security clearances are required for acquisition of Geospatial data for SWAMITVA Project launched by Hon’ble PM to provide ownership titles to villagers for abadi areas, National Hydrology Project, preparation of High-Resolution National Topographic Data Base, Geoid model, etc. by Survey of India, Industry, academia, for researchetc. It would also ensure ease of doing business, promoting innovation and unlocking of potential in the Geospatial sector.
February 19, 2021 (N. Delhi)
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Indiahave signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support the development, conduct and promotion of health research in India. Gates Foundation and CSIRwill worktogether to identify opportunities to initiate scientific and technological collaborations. These will focus on developing and testing new preventions, therapies and interventions that can help to solve major health concerns that affect India and other developing countries.
As per the MoU, areas of research collaboration would include genetic diseases that impact infant and neonatal mortality; new diagnostics and devices for infectious disease and environmental surveillance; development of cost-effective processes for drug, vaccines, biologics, and diagnostics manufacturing; novel microbiome-directed foods; socio-economic impact of science and technological tools; and other areas of health and development.
The MoU was signed by Hari Menon, Director, India Country Office on behalf of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Dr G N Dayananda, Head, Technology Management Directorate – Industry Interface, CSIR.
Talking about the importance of this collaboration, Hari Menon stated, "Under this MOU, we look forward to collaborating with CSIR on many important themes linked to India's health and development priorities. We are excited about the innovation potential of CSIR's wide network and the promise of our partnership to develop innovative tools and solutions for public health challenges in India and globally."
On the occasion of the signing of the MoU,DG-CSIR, DrShekhar C Mande,commented, "The opportunityto work closely with Gates Foundation on broad spectrum of activities in health and development, will accelerate the R&D and implementation of innovations in the coming yearsthat are not only relevant to India but to the world'.
Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) is India's premier S&T organization comprising 37 research laboratories focused on diverse scientific and industrial research areas. CSIR's research covers a wide spectrum of science and technology – from aerospace, oceanography, geophysics, chemicals, drugs, genomics, biotechnology and nanotechnology to mining, aeronautics, instrumentation, environmental engineering and information technology and provides significanttechnological intervention in many areas with
regard to societal efforts which include environment, health, drinking water, food, housing, energy and agricultural sectors.
February 13, 2021 (N. Delhi)
Smt Koila Devi, an elderly marginal farmer of a tiny village in Gorakhpur district of Uttar Pradesh, had given up hopes of earning a decent living from the produce of her agricultural land.
Like many farmer's in northeastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, floods and associated water logging for more than three to four months affected her agricultural produce severely each year. Apart from this, the rising cost of seed, fertilizer, and pesticides reduced her income over the years. She had been scouting for alternative income options when help came in the form of Gorakhpur Environmental Action Group (GEAG), Gorakhpur, UP, a core support group under the TARA Scheme, the Science for Equity, Empowerment, and Development (SEED) Division, Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India.
GEAG provided her with technical support on effective farming planning like gradient-based cropping system, multi-layered farming with time and space management, appropriate crop combination, raised bed low tunnel poly house, and appropriate utilization of weather advisory. Such support at the systemic level has helped and empowered the 64 years old from the village Rakhukhor of Jungle Kaudiya block of Gorakhpur district to cultivate 20 crops in a single year, thereby raising her annual income by 30 percent.
Using her homemade organic compost, biopesticides, and other technical mechanisms, she has harvested 220 kg of wheat in 266 sq m of land (82.52 Quintal/Hectare), the highest yield amongst the farmers who were provided seeds of DBW 187 for demonstration in Uttar Pradesh. These S&T based interventions have helped her to reduce market dependency on agriculture inputs like seed, fertilizer, and pesticides.
Smt Koila Devi is one of the several model farmers of flood-affected areas under the Core support project, TARA scheme of DST, which empowers communities through scalable technologies and transformation at the rural level ensuring forward & backward linkages being facilitated by GEAG, Gorakhpur, UP.
A total of 36 model farmers and more than 2200 other small and marginal farmers have adopted flood resilient techniques of farming developed along with 9 community institutions on cluster level during the last two and half years with facilitation and handholding support under the Core support projet being implemented by GEAG. This has shown a new direction towards flood-resilient livelihoods and also transformed the flood-risks into an opportunity with socio-economic gain. Since the inception of the project in 2018, proper facilitation and handholding support for adopting these resilient farming technique packages compatible with local situations has increased the average income of small and marginal farmers by 37.5 per cent by lowering the input cost (30-35 percent) in the farming system.
GEAG, a Core Support Group, has acted as a bridge between nearby R&D institutions and target beneficiaries and helped build local capacities in effective farming planning in scientific way with customization, demonstration, and adoption of proven technologies at the scale by the farming community.
Such S&T-based interventions like flood resilient farming practices and related technologies are inspiring the farming community to bring about a transformational change at the local level and encouraging the locals like Smt. Koila Devis of the area to uptake additional activities like managing millet processing unit as a group enterprises in the flood-prone area.
February 13, 2021 (N. Delhi)
Four young women fellows of National Science Academies have been awarded for excelling in science and engineering on the International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2021.
The SERB Women Excellence Award that has been conferred on them provides a grant of Rs. 15 lakhs for a period of three years to the awardees to pursue their research ideas.
The award given by the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), a Statutory body of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) supporting basic research in the frontier areas of science and engineering, was launched in the year 2013. It is a one-time award given to women scientists below 40 years of age who have received recognition from any one or more of the National Academies such as Young Scientist Medal, Young Associateship, etc.
The for women scientists selected for the awards include Dr. Shobhna Kapoor, Assistant Professor at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, working in the area of Chemical Biology with expertise in ?Host-Pathogen Interactions and Membrane Biology, Chemical Biology and Biophysics?, Dr. Antara Banerjee, Scientist B National Institute For Research In Reproductive Health, Mumbai, Maharashtra from the Health Sciences area with expertise in Signal Transduction, Biology of Reproduction and Endocrinology, Dr. Sonu Gandhi Scientist D from National Institute Of Animal Biotechnology, Hyderabad from Bionanotechnology area focusing on Nanosensors, Design and Fabrication of Label-free Biosensors and Dr. Ritu Gupta, Assistant Professor at Indian Institute Of Technology Jodhpur, Rajasthan working on Nanotechnology with expertise in Materials Science, Nanodevices and Sensors, Health & Energy.
The call for award is made open every year through www.serbonline.in.
February 12, 2021 (N. Delhi)
Vigyangranth- the PhD Thesis Repositoryhas been launched which is a joint initiative of Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research, India (AcSIR) and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India (CSIR). The portal is aimed to give a holistic view of R&D initiated and carried out by Indian research scholars in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) with respect to their relevance to (i) Broad Heads of Research (targets for societal needs), (ii) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by United Nations, (iii) National Thrust Areas of Research, (iv) Disciplines, in addition to value of the contributions as deep discoveries in science and frontline advancements in technological space.
The portal was launched by the Chief Guest Lt. General (Dr.) Madhuri Kanitkar, Deputy Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (Medical). At the online event organized by CSIR to mark the United Nations International Day of Women and Girls in Science, Dr. Kanitkar pointed out that theses repository is a valuable contribution to make the information and knowledge accessible to the world at large and also called upon the women scientists to follow their passion in science.
Speaking about Vigyangranth, Dr. R S Sangwan, Director, AcSIR said that the portal has been developed on the suggestion of the PM who, while Presiding over the Society Meeting of CSIR in 2020, emphasized the need and significance of a databank of researchers pursuing PhD in the country and of a Portal reflecting research work and topics directly relevant to national problems, needs and demands. He informed that close to 7000 thesis abstracts are available currently which are searchable by key words and discipline.
Earlier, welcoming the audience, Dr. Shekhar C Mande, Director-General, CSIR said that in the recent years CSIR is putting in places processes to have more representation of women in the system.
A webinar on "CSIR Women Researchers at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19" was organized on the occasion. Five women research students belonging to various CSIR laboratories shared their research work related to PPEs, COVID-19 drugs, viral sequencing, disinfection systems and so on which were taken up as a part of CSIRs fight against Covid-19.
February 08, 2021 (N. Delhi)
Scientists may soon develop robust algorithms that can provide more efficient machine learning applications by focusing on concepts that lie at the intersection of algebra and geometry.
Hariharan Narayanan, Assistant Professor, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Mumbai, a recipient of this year's SwarnaJayanti fellowship instituted by the Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India, wishes to create machine learning algorithms that can learn from observations and make improved predictions based on mathematical objects known as manifolds and Lie groups. This can lead to improved modelling of data arising from certain sources, such as visual observations.
Machine learning can be broadly defined as a discipline whose goal is to enable a computer to make inferences from observed data about future observations. There are two directions in which progress is crucial to make progress in machine learning. The first is making inferences from very few observations. The second is dealing with complex data, which has come to prominence through recent applications in vision, imaging like Cryo-electron Microcrope and the World Wide Web.
The use of manifolds and Lie groups can help addressing both of these issues and may lead to algorithms that make better predictions in real-life applications.
