TKDL-Livelihood of Large Population in World India Equipped to Protect More than Two lakh Formulations Under TKDL: Bansal

TKDL crossed many hurdles and impediments and have been successfully negotiated and benchmarks created and set in place. TKDL team with its organized and objective activity has brought TKDL to this stage of international acceptability. More than 150 experts in the area of traditional medicine, Information Technology, IPRs and Scientists spent almost ten years for this task.Speaking at the inaugural session of the International Conference on Utilization of the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) as a model for the protection of Traditional Knowledge here today, Union Minister of Science and Technology, Earth Sciences and Vice President, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, said, “Today, India is well equipped to protect 2lakh,26 thousand formulations within a time range of ‘days and weeks’ and without any cost, whereas in the cases of ‘Neem’ and ‘Turmeric’ the country had to incur huge cost and it took more than 10 years to get the ‘Neem’ patent revoked at EPO. TKDL has been embraced by the World Intellectual Property Organization and by the EPO and US-PTO as well as other patent offices worldwide who have found in it a powerful weapon to fight biopiracy.”

The Minister explained that Traditional Knowledge is also the basis of the livelihood of a very large population in the world, in particular, in developing countries. He added, “ The issue of Traditional knowledge protection is quite a sensitive one, since traditional knowledge is the information that people in a given community, have developed over generations, on the basis of their experience and which is adapted to local culture and environment. Many countries are struggling to protect their traditional knowledge, against wrongful exploitation, primarily in the pharmaceutical sector. This knowledge is used to sustain the community and its culture, as well as biological resources necessary for the continued survival of the community. As per World Health Organization reports, it is estimated that more than 70% of the population is dependent on traditional medicines for their primary health care needs.”

For the last several years efforts are being made by different International organizations like World Trade Organization, World Intellectual Property Organization and Convention on Biological Diversity, to evolve an implementable solution for protection of Traditional Knowledge, though it is very difficult to bring about a consensus due to diversity of interests at multilateral fora.

Shri Bansal informed, “To ensure that that no wrong patent is granted on India’s traditional knowledge, the access of TKDL database – which breaks the language barriers and converts India’s traditional knowledge of Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha & Yoga, originally written in Sanskrit, Arebic, Persian and Tamil, into five international languages makes information understandable to the International Patent Examiners. Access to TKDL has been given to several international Patent Offices under a non-disclosure agreement.” Expressing deep concern about earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on 12.3.2011, Shri Bansal said, “We were to sign the TKDL Access Agreement with Japan Patent Office on March 25, 2011, in New Delhi. People of Japan are passing through a difficult and trying times. We express solidarity with the brave and resilient people of Japan.”

TKDL has made waves around the world, particularly in traditional knowledge rich countries by demonstrating the advantages of proactive action and the power of strong deterrence. The idea is not to restrict the use of traditional knowledge, but to ensure that wrong patents are not granted due to lack of access to the prior art for Patent examiners. India developed this much needed tool for protection of Traditional Knowledge. This process began in the year 2000, when wrong patents granted on the wound healing properties of turmeric by US Patent Office and another on the antifungal property of Neem by the European Patent Office, came to notice and were later fought and got revoked.

CSIR to Provide Affordable Healthcare with Global Partnership

March 24 is the World TB Day. India has the world’s largest TB epidemic in terms of incidence and mortality and the disease remains the largest killer of Indians between the ages of 15 and 45. In order to find new drugs for TB, CSIR had initiated the Open Source Drug Discovery (OSDD) project which was launched on 15th September, 2008.

In the past two years OSDD has gathered momentum as an internationally recognised open innovation model. Today, OSDD has more than 4500 registered users from over 130 countries. The offshoot of OSDD is a new model of imparting higher education to young aspirant scientists in remote areas of India and of nations less endowed with scientific opportunities.

New initiatives taken by CSIR

1. Setting up of an OSDD Chemistry laboratory at CSIR-IICT Hyderabad, exclusively dedicated to synthesis of potential anti TB compounds.

2. Large scale screening of molecules against TB to find novel molecules which may end up as new TB drugs. For this, CSIR laboratories will open up its small molecule libraries, from synthetic as well as natural sources

3. Sequencing Mtb strains in large numbers to study variation in Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). This is an Open Screening Facility where all researchers who are having interesting TB strains are welcome to contribute them to OSDD. These strains will be synthesised and results will be available on OSDD open portal.

4. A collaboration with ICMR to bring clinicians and researchers together for improving TB drug research.

5. OSDD will extend to other neglected diseases like Malaria.

Open Source Drug Discovery Initiative for Malaria

The early success of the Mtb OSDD programme has presented a model for the way drug discovery research for infectious diseases may move in the future. As the next step, CSIR proposes to initiate a pan-India open source program for malaria with global participation.

In extension of the OSDD paradigm, the malaria initiative proposes to expand on wet lab approaches while retaining and building upon the computational approaches that have yielded important results in the area of tuberculosis.

Researchers in malaria as well as interested students and individuals from other fields are invited to participate.

Initiatives of DBT

The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) funds about 120 tuberculosis researchers for development of diagnostics, novel vaccines, booster to the existing vaccine BCG, Drug Development and creating appropriate infrastructure. The research includes clinical trials for increasing the efficiency/cure-rate of existing Anti Tuberculosis (ATT) Drugs. DBT has been supporting immuno-modulation clinical research using some known immuno-modulators i.e. Mycobacterium indicus pranii (Commercially available as IMMUVAC) for increasing the cure rate of ATT in Category II TB patients who are most difficult to treat. Initial results show apriori defined improvement in cure-rate. Other well-known immuno-modulators that work at the cellular level such as Vitamin D & Zinc are being clinically tested to shorten the ATT regimen in Category I patients with encouraging early results. Scientists at University of Delhi South Campus (UDSC) have identified several proteins produced and secreted specifically by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) during growth. They have developed high affinity monoclonal antibody pairs to detect several of these Mtb-specific proteins called MTCAg. These antibodies have been used to develop a test to detect the presence of two MTCAgs in the cultures of specimens from suspected TB patients. The presence of both or any one of the MTC specific antigen in the sample confirms the presence of Mtb. The test is specifically designed as a rapid immunochromatographic format that allows easy and rapid screening of specimens for confirmation of growth of Mtb. It can be performed with minimal training and provides results in less than 20 minutes. This visual test for detection of tubercle bacilli in culture has been developed and is available with trade name ‘Crystal TB confirm’.

A team of scientists at ICGEB led by Dr. Kanury V.S. Rao have made an important breakthrough in TB research. About 20 Mtb-derived antigens presented in the early stages of the infection have been identified and are now under evaluation as potential vaccines for TB. The rationale is to supplement immune memory of the host to improve protective efficacy. Understanding the biology and immunology of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections, ICGEB, New Delhi, the team is aiming to use the knowledge generated for the development of new therapeutic strategies for tuberculosis. The scientists are collaborating with a pharmaceutical company to translate these leads into candidate drugs that can be tested in the field.

Protection of Traditional Knowledge by Utilization of TKDL

A three-day international conference on ‘Utilization of the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) as a Model for the Protection of Traditional Knowledge’ will begin here tomorrow. Encouraged by the ongoing support of Indian Government for internationalizing India's pioneering Traditional Knowledge Digital Library as a template for the benefit of developing countries seeking to protect their traditional knowledge, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), a specialized agency of United nations, has collaborated with Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). Dr Francis Gurry, DG, WIPO, considers this development as a concrete and potentially beneficial form of South-South Cooperation in which India's pioneering role would be recognized.

Misappropriation of traditional knowledge and bio-piracy of genetic resources are the issues of great concern for all the developing countries. These issues are being pursued at several multilateral forums, such as Convention on Biological Diversity, TRIPs Council, World Trade Organisation and World Intellectual Property Organisation. However, so far a ‘global framework’ for traditional knowledge protection system has not been established. It is mainly for this reason that Mexico had to fight a legal battle for 10 years to get the patent on Enola bean at the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) cancelled in July 2009. Similarly, the cancellation of Monsanto Soybean patent in July 2007 at the European Patent Office (EPO) took 13 years of legal battle.

India is the only country in the world to have set up an institutional mechanism – TKDL, to protect its traditional knowledge and to prevent grant of wrong patents. A collaborative project between CSIR and Department of AYUSH, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, TKDL is a maiden Indian effort to help prevent misappropriation of traditional knowledge belonging to India at International Patent Offices. It enables cancellation/withdrawal of wrong patent applications concerning India’s traditional knowledge at zero cost and in few weeks time. In sharp contrast, in the absence of TKDL, it took 10 years (1995-2005) to get Neem patent invalidated for antifungal properties at EPO.

The genesis of TKDL dates back to the Indian effort on revocation of patent on wound healing properties of Turmeric at the USPTO and anti-fungal properties of Neem at EPO. In 2000, the TKDL expert group estimated that about 2000 wrong patents concerning Indian systems of medicine were being granted every year at international level, mainly due to the fact that India’s traditional medical knowledge existing in languages, such as Sanskrit, Hindi, Arabic, Urdu, Tamil etc. was neither accessible nor comprehensible for the patent examiners at the international patent offices.

The TKDL technology integrates diverse disciplines (Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha), languages (Sanskrit, Arabic, Urdu, Persian and Tamil), modern science and modern medicine. It has created a unique mechanism for overcoming the language and format barriers by scientifically converting and structuring the available information contents of 34 million A4 size pages of the ancient texts into five international languages, namely, English, Japanese, French, German and Spanish. Through TKDL, a Sanskrit verse can now be read in international languages by an examiner at any International Patent Office on his computer screen enabled by two important features of TKDL: Relevant information technology tools and a novel classification system - Traditional Knowledge Resource Classification (TKRC). Today, through TKDL, India is capable of protecting about 0.226 million medicinal formulations similar to those of Neem and Turmeric. On an average, it takes five to seven years for opposing a granted patent at international level which may cost 0.2-0.6 million US$. One could only imagine the cost of protecting 0.226 million medicinal formulations in the absence of TKDL!

India has already signed TKDL Access Agreement with (i) European Patent Office (Feb 2009), (ii) United State Patent & Trademark Office (Nov 2009), (iii) Canadian Intellectual Property Office (Sep 2010), (iv) German Patent Office (Oct 2009), (v) United Kingdom Patent & Trademark Office (Feb 2010) and (vi) Intellectual Property, Australia (Jan 2011). In-principle Agreement has been reached with the Japan Patent Office while negotiations are under way to conclude the Access Agreement with the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand.

These unique international Access Agreements are expected to have long-term implications on the protection of both traditional knowledge and global intellectual property systems in view of the fact that in the past, patents have been granted at various patent offices on the use of over 200 medicinal plants due to the lack of access to the documented knowledge in public domain. Also, 40-50 patent applications based on Indian traditional knowledge are awaiting grant of patent at any point of time.

Significant impact has already been realized at EPO during the last one year after the signing of the Access Agreement. Beginning July 2009, TKDL team has so far identified about 230 patent applications at EPO which concern Indian systems of medicine and filed third party TKDL evidences at EPO. In two such cases, EPO has already set aside its earlier intention to grant patents after it received TKDL evidence. In one case, the applicant modified its earlier claims. In other thirty three cases, the applicants themselves decided to withdraw their four-to-five year old applications on being confronted with TKDL evidence which is a tacit admission of bio-piracy by applicants themselves. It is expected that in the balance 200 plus cases, either EPO would reject these applications or applicants themselves would withdraw their wrong claims/patent applications in coming months. In addition, TKDL evidences against misappropriation in 400 more cases have been submitted at other International Patent offices. Similar outcomes are also expected at the other International Patent Offices.

More then 40 countries from different regions of the world would participate in this international event, including 35 developing countries (17 from Asia Pacific region, 4 African, 4 Latin American, 3 Arabian, 4 from Division for certain countries in Europe and Asia such as Bulgaria and Russian federation and 3 Least Developed Countries- Mali, Uganda and Zambia) and 7 developed countries who are signatories of TKDL Access Agreement, viz., European Union, United States of America, Germany, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and Japan. 

Courtesy: PIB

Innovation awards highlight spirit of corporate & academic enterprise

Innovation awards highlight spirit of corporate & academic enterprise
Nikhila Gill
Posted online: 2010-11-13 00:43:32+05:30

New DelhiBharat Heavy Electricals (Bhel), Ranbaxy Laboratories, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the National Institute of Immunology (NII) have won the Thomson Reuters India Innovation 2010 Awards, which recognise the spirit of innovation and enterprise in the country. The awards, instituted in partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), were given away at a function at The Park in New Delhi on Friday.

While the Hi-tech Corporate award went to BHEL, CSIR won the the Hi-tech Academic award.

Accepting the award in the Pharma Academic category, Avadhesha Surolia, director, NII, said: “The results of this (focus on research to drive innovation) have been striking, with a number of patents, technology transfers, PPPs and consultancies for NII.”

Ramesh Adige, president, Ranbaxy Laboratories, winner of the Pharma Corporate award, said: “It is a recognition of the innovation capabilities of our over 1,200 scientists, who continue to apply themselves to research to bring affordable, high-quality medicines to mankind.” Ranbaxy has patents in active pharmaceutical ingredients, dosage forms, novel drug delivery systems and new drug development research, among others.

Pointing at the two-fold increase in the number of patents in the past five years, Wong Woei Fuh, MD, Thomson Reuters (south and south-east Asia), said: “India is one of Asia’s fastest emerging economies in the global research, life sciences and technology arena.”

Sam Pitroda, Prime Minister’s advisor on public information, infrastructure and innovation was guest of honour at the ceremony attended by several members from the pharmaceutical and technology industries.

Chandrajit Banerjee, director general, CII, announced a flagship initiative in partnership with Thomson Reuters. “We have initiated the ‘Industrial Innovation Index’ exercise to measure in-company innovation ecosystem. An innovation benchmark will enable the industry to understand where they stand and what they need to do,” he said.

A thorough methodology via a database of companies headquartered in India, ranked on the basis of the number of patents filed, was created. After this preliminary ranking, the companies were judged on the efficiency and effectiveness of research, the impact of innovation measured by patent citations and their international competitiveness.

The awards, in addition to showcasing the important contributions made by corporates and academia, brings to the forefront the fact that the focus of top Indian companies is becoming global. Companies are beginning to export their technologies, with several top companies filing patents in many different countries. “For example, Ranbaxy has filed in 27 different countries and CSIR has filed in 32 different countries,” said Bob Stembridge of Thomson Reuters.
Courtesy : The Financial Express

CSIR, a jewel in India's crown: FICCI

New Delhi, Nov 12 (IANS) Describing the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) as a 'jewel in India's crown', FICCI secretary general Amit Mitra Friday said its role is 'fundamental in shaping Indian technical research and innovation'.
'CSIR has done the greatest good for India by tapping its best resource, its massive human capital. Its approach has always been that of direct intervention by exposing the country's young to the best technological advances,' Mitra said at a conference to announce CSIR's participation in the India International Trade Fair (IITF) beginning here Sunday.

He said the need of the hour was to expose the country and its people to the breakthrough solutions that CSIR has produced in the past 60 years.

'This should be done to spread knowledge to the masses and to inspire India's youth to take up scientific research more seriously,' Mitra of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) said.

The CSIR Friday announced its exhibition 'CSIR Technofest 2010' for the IITF, to be held at Pragati Maidan Nov 14-27.

'It will be an opportunity for us to showcase the work being done by about 4,000 scientists at CSIR laboratories,' CSIR director general Samir K. Brahmachari said.

The themes on which the CSIR will focus are aerospace and the strategic sector; minerals and materials; chemicals, petrochemicals and energy; ecology and environment; healthcare and food; agriculture and floriculture; engineering infrastructure and mining.
Courtesy: Sify

Kalam commissions India's first carbon fibre factory

Vadodara, May 9 (PTI) India's first carbon fibre manufacturing facility to produce light weight material for use in sectors as diverse as aerospace to infrastructure was commissioned here today.

Former President A P J Abdul Kalam inaugurated the carbon fibre plant set up by Kemrock Industries at their sprawling premises on the outskirts of this bustling industrial township.

The Rs 250 crore facility begins manufacture of carbon fibre under technology transfer from the National Aerospace Laboratory (NAL) that had developed the ultra-light material for the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).

The NAL, a constituent of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), will get upto five per cent of the turnover of this facility as royalty for the next seven years.

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NIO sets up paleomagnetic lab

Panaji, Mar 22 (PTI) In a bid to analysis data pertaining to environmental magnetism and magnetic stratigraphy (study of rock strata), the National Institute of Oceanography has set up a laboratory inside its premises here.

"The paleomagnetic (study of remanent magnetisation in rocks) laboratory facility, now available within the institute, is expected to be used frequently for detailed magnetic measurements of the sediment cores," according to NIO website.

The laboratory can help researchers in deducing meaningful geological interpretation, it states.

NIO is one of the 38 constituent laboratories of Council for Science and Industrial research (CSIR).

PM to launch NCL diamond jubilee on April one

New Delhi, Mar 22 (PTI) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to launch the diamond jubilee celebrations of the National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) in Pune on April one.

Singh is likely to address over 500 scientists pursuing research at NCL, a constituent of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). The NCL was established in 1950.

Over the years, NCL has emerged as a key interdisciplinary research centre with interests in polymer science, organic chemistry, materials chemistry, chemical engineering, biochemical sciences and process development.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, Science and Technology Minister Prithviraj Chavan will also be present on the occasion.

Singh is also expected to lay the foundation stone of the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) building in Pune, official sources said.

Technology Development by CSIR

LOK SABHA

CSIR has formulated and operationalized 92 projects for the XIth Five Year Plan. These have been categorized into supra-institutional projects (32), network projects (44), inter-agency projects (6) and facility creation projects (10).

The Mid Term Appraisal recognized that CSIR has emerged as a model organization leading in cutting edge science on one hand and providing end to end technological solutions for economical and societal goods on the other. CSIR has refocused and reprioritized its R&D activities of XIth Plan responding to policy changes. Eight areas have been identified for focused R&D, deriving synergy. These are: Affordable healthcare; Sustainable energy; Chemistry & Environment; Smart & Functional Materials; Engineering structures/design and electronics; Earth System science; Information Technology and CSIR – 800 (S&T interventions for the masses.)

Koraput to have CSIR centre

BHUBANESWAR: Koraput will soon be connected to the nationwide network of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) laboratories as it is chosen as an extension centre to have a pool of master trainers to train grassroots-level people in applied technologies in various fields.The extension centre would be presently promoted by the State Government with an initial investment or Rs 30-40 lakh on a 25-acre land. However, it would soon have a full-fledged CSIR centre of Rs 40-50 crore investment with master trainers in agriculture, food and rural technologies, environment, biodiversity and food processing and for this a detailed proposal had already been submitted to the central authorities.It would have active support from Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (IMMT), Bhubaneswar, Central Foodcraft Technology Research Institute, Mysore, Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow, North East Institute of Science and Technology, Jorhat, and Central Salt and Marine Research Institute, Bhavnagar.According to IMMT Director Prof. Barada Kanta Mishra, the centre, to be built under `CSIR-800 Programme’ would also help in creating employment opportunity for the backward region in the southern part of Orissa which has seen a series of extremist activities recently.It would also work as an interface to transfer laboratory-based knowledge to the rural people.Mishra was speaking to mediapersons on the sidelines of `CSIR technology show for micro, small and medium enterprises’ here on IMMT campus during the sixth Entrepreneurs Week celebration.On the occasion, Science and Technology Minister Ramesh Chandra Majhi said though things are at a primary level, the proposed project would be ready within a year and would mainly help in promoting rural technologies for economic growth of the region famous for its rich biodiversity.Industries Secretary Sourabh Garg said our scientists must try to develop patented technologies for economic self-reliance so that we would not go to the West paying hefty sum in getting their R&D knowledge. He also said that the CSIR Director- General had assured all help for the Koraput centre.Regarding patents, the IMMT Director said till date the city-based institute has acquired 100 patents while another 100 are in the processing stage adding in a year scientists are applying for at least 15 patents on a regular basis.A day-long workshop and an exhibition on various technologies were also organised. Scientist (G) and Head, Rural Technology Department of IMMT, S.Khuntia, spoke.

Courtesy:Express News

AUV's trial to be conducted again in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 25 (PTI) After the successful preliminary trial of the indigenously developed Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) in a Kerala reservoir, the Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute is expected to carry out another round of experiment in the same lake this year.

A senior scientist in-charge of the project said the trial conducted in the Idukki Dam reservoir, one of the largest in the country, was a success.

"Another round of trials will be held in the same lake before trying it in the sea," the scientist told PTI from CMERI at Durgapur, a Research and Development Institute under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

"We chose Idukki reservoir in Kerala since it offers the required parameters for conducting the test", the scientist said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

India to step up R&D expenditure

HYDERABAD: Despite the global meltdown, India was all set to increase the expenditure on research and development from one per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to two per cent in the coming five years, Minister for Science and Technology Prithviraj Chavan told reporters here today. The minister was in town to inaugurate a new Structural Biology facility comprising X-ray crystallography at the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) funded by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).Addressing a gathering of reporters, Chavan, who is also vice-president of CSI R, said: ``Some of the crucial areas that CSIR is all set to focus on are climate change, affordable health care, non-fossil energy, water security, national security and inclusive development with appropriate technology.’’ The minister also said that under a new scheme, INSPIRE (Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research), bright young minds would be handpicked and nurtured so that they pursue research in science and technology. He also pointed out that the growth rate of scientific output of the country determined by publications was 12 per cent as compared to the global growth rate of four per cent.``We have broken into the top ten and by next year could well move up to ninth place,’’ the minister remarked.Speaking on the occasion, CCMB director Dr Mohan Rao said the new facility would help the institute immensely.``Earlier, this facility was available only in select institutes across the globe. Now, with this state of the art facility, we will be able to pursue research in molecular biology without a hitch,’’ he said.Responding to a query, the CCMB director said they would do their best to take forward the nearly Rs 1000-crore Translational Research project but as of now were still in the process of procuring land for the project.

Courtesy: Express

CSIR Celebrates its Foundation Day

The challenge before science today is to make significant improvement in the life of “Aam Aadmi”. Shri Prithviraj Chavan, Union Science and Technology minister, speaking on the occasion of CSIR Foundation Day said today here at Vigyan Bhawan. He congratulated CSIR for the important achievements made in the field of Science and Technology and Research and Development. The minister also greeted various awards winners in different discipline in the field of Science and Technology. He stressed the need to convert our Research and Development units into innovation creating institutes. Recalling Pandit Nehru’s commitment to scientific development, he said that Pandit Nehru believed that “It is science alone that can solve the problems of hunger and poverty....”. The same approach was continued during Mrs. Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi’s regime. Shri Chavan lauded the support extended by present Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh to scientific development in the country. Shri Chavan added that because of our robust and appropriate economic policy being followed since 1991, we could withstand the pressure of global melt down and sustain our growth rate. Shri Chavan applauded the efforts of CSIR in the field of scientific research and development in general and encouraging innovative programme of giving scholarship to students of 10^th and 12^th standard and further funding their research work till the age of 32 years in particular. He called upon CSIR to help developing Scientific Temper among our citizens.

            Shri Nandan Nilekani, Chairman of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) delivered CSIR Foundation Day lecture. He enlightened the audience about the importance of Unique Identification Number to be given to each Indian, the mammoth task he is presently handling. Under this UID Number, there will be basis demographic and biometric information about an individual. There will be no duplication as it will be a centralised database on biometric basis. The most unique feature of this number will be online authentication of Identity of an individual on cell phone network. Though this UID will not confer any right on a citizen still it would enhance power of Identity, access to services, direct benefit to poor. With the introduction of UID the implementation of flagship scheme would be fool proof and chances of fraud would be reduced to minimum. Shri Nilekani further inform that new UID would combine data basis of multiple agencies of food and supply departments, panchayat, gas agencies, education institutions, LIC, passport office etc. Enrolment under UID would be valid for lifetime identification. He also threw light on various challenges to be faced by UID project which included technological challenges, architecture challenges, network infrastructure related and demographic challenges. He expressed hope that CSIR would help UIDAI building a basic framework for this project by giving the benefits of various technological advancement and innovations in research and development work.

            On this occasion names of eleven scientists selected for 2009 Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award for Science and Technology were also announced. Shri Prithviraj Chavan gave away CSIR Young Scientist Award 2009, CSIR Technology Awards 2009 and CSIR Diamond Jubilee Invention Award for School Children 2008. Under the category of CSIR Young Scientist Award for the year 2009 six young scientists were awarded in five disciplines namely Dr Fayaz Ahmad Malik, Department of Pharmacology, Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu in Biological Sciences, Dr. Srihari Pabbaraja, Organic Division I, Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad in Chemical Sciences, Dr. Balaraman Madhan, Centre for Human & Organizational Resources Development, Central Leather Research Institute, Chennai in Engineering Sciences, Dr K V Ramesh, CSIR Centre for Mathematical Modelling and Computer Simulation (C-MMACS) Bangalore and Dr. Nimisha Vedanti, Fractals in Geophysics Group, National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad in Earth, Atmosphere, Ocean & Planetary Sciences, Dr. Debi Prasad Das, Process Engineering and Instrumentation Cell, Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology, Bhubaneswar, in Physical Sciences.

 CSIR Technology Award 2009 in the category of Physical Sciences including Engineering was given to Team IIP at Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun and CSIR Technology Award 2009 for Innovation to Team CDRI at Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow. Each Award carries a cash prize of Rs.2 lakh, a plaque and a citation.

Under the category of CSIR Diamond Jubilee Invention Award for School Children 2008, Second prize (Rs.25000/-) to Miss Neha Lalit Sharma, Class 11^th (Mumbai), Third prize (Rs.15000/-) to Master Harjas Singh Sodhi, Class 8^th (New Delhi) and Fifth prize (Rs.5000/- each) to Master Shikhar Bhandari, Class 12^th (New Delhi), Master Vishakh Hegde, Class 11^th (Bangalore), Master V Pranav, Class 9^th (Mysore) were given. No first prize was given this year.

India Innovation Pioneers Challenge 2009-Dr. Sudipta Saha, Indian Institute of Chemical Biology

Department of Science and Technology (DST), Indo-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) and Intel have partnered on building technology entrepreneurship programs in India. The objectives of the program are to create an entrepreneurial ecosystem in India, boost entrepreneurial spirit in Indian academia and scientific enterprises through business plan competitions, and to build a curriculum on technology entrepreneurship for Indian academia.

India Innovation Pioneers Challenge 2009 is an innovative technology business plan competition that provides an unparalleled avenue of opportunities for emerging entrepreneurs to explore and share ideas and gain insight for commercializing their venture through the mentoring and networking support that are integral to the competition.

India Innovation Pioneers Challenge 2009 has taken the definition of a "Business Plan Competition" to a level higher than ever before as it offers an unlimited opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs to plan for commercialization of their venture.

It provides young innovators with:

A platform to showcase technology

Smart commercialization strategies

Guidance from experts and mentors

Excellent funding opportunities

Global business opportunities

International experience of a lifetime

Winners of Scholar Sparks 2009

The winners of India Innovation Pioneers Challenge 2009 were announced by Mr. Prithviraj Chavan, Hon’ble Minister of State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Science and Technology & Earth Sciences, Govt. of India, at a ceremony held at Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi on the 28th of August 2009 in the presence of Dr. T. Ramasami, Secretary Department of Science and Technology, Government of India and Dr. Praveen Vishakantaiah, President, Intel Technology, India.

The top three teams under Scholar Sparks category received cash award of Rs Three lakhs (First prize), Rs. One lakh (Second prize) and Rs. Fifty thousand (Third prize) respectively. Besides this, two teams recognized as “Honorable Mentions” from the jury received a cash award of Rs. Twenty five thousand each
Also the top two teams from the Scholar Sparks category will be representing India at the Intel-University of California, Berkeley Technology Entrepreneurship Challenge 2009.

Awardees Details:

First Prize:Rs 3 lakhs cash award
Also an opportunity to participate at the Intel-University of California, Berkeley
Technology Entrepreneurship Challenge 2009
Team Name: Intraosseous Device
Team Members & Institute:Jayant Sitaram Karve & Srinivas Kiran Jaggu; Stanford
India Biodesign Centre, (AIIMS) New Delhi

Business Plan Description:
IntraOz is a novel medical device start up which aims to provide an alternative to difficult intravenous (IV) access in medical emergencies. This technology comprises of applying progressive vacuum at needle tip as it progresses inside the marrow and gives visual indication. Fluids and medications infused via IO lines reach the central circulation in equivalent speed of intravenous infusion. The market potential for IntraOz will be an estimated 1.3 million patients (including pediatrics & adults) annually.

Second Prize:Rs. 1 lakh cash award
Also an opportunity to participate at the Intel-University of California Berkeley
Technology Entrepreneurship Challenge 2009
Team Name: µSpore
Team Members & Institute:Prabhakar Kulkarni, Agharkar Research Institute, Pune

Business Plan Description:
µSpore is a novel patented technology for long term storage and transportation of DNA samples using microcapsules isolated from spores and pollen grains, which are in the form of micronic or sub-micronic capsules. The application areas for the technology cover forensic science, health care, pharmaceuticals, medicine, military and basic research. The technology is cheaper, eco-friendly & easy-to-handle and will be accessible and affordable to users even from economically underprivileged nations.

Third Prize: Rs. Fifty Thousand cash award
Team Name: Indigenous Dental Implants
Team Members & Institute: Dr. Manjeet Mapara & S.M. Abdul Khader; Manipal College of Dental Sciences, Manipal Institute of Technology

Business Plan Description:
Indigenous Dental Implants is a project that attempts to make a new biotechnology accessible to the general Indian population and also to enhance the surgical skills of Indian dentists in the field of Implantology. The technology involves a special laser treated bioactive surface for the dental implant which is superior & cheaper compared to all the contemporary implants in the market. The product aims at attracting a huge market comprising of upper middle class & middle class population in India with the cost advantage.

Honorable Mentions:
Team Name: Innovation Challenger Kolkata
Team Members & Institute:Dr. Sudipta Saha, Indian Institute of Chemical Biology,
Prize:Rs. 25000 cash award

Business Plan Description:
This project deals with a unique computer-based spectrophotometric system to determine "vertical velocity" of the spermatozoa. It has been developed using the turbidimetric method of sperm motility analysis. This technology will be extremely helpful for treatment of human infertility and planning of animal breeding programmes. The potential market will comprise of various human infertility clinics, sperm banks, animal breeding centers, research laboratories and centers for conservation of endangered species, etc

Team Name: The Mavericks
Team Members & Institute:Nakul Khanna & Abhinav Bansal, G.D. Goenka Public School, Delhi
Prize:Rs. 25000 cash award

Business Plan Description:
This team has developed a Massaging Shoe. The idea is to provide solutions for people suffering from daily stress by incorporating massaging devices in their shoes. These devices are small enough to fit into an ordinary shoe and are powered by rechargeable batteries so that they can be used on the go and doesn’t require one to carry around bulky massaging devices. Along with its massaging effect it also has a therapeutic effect; hence it will be a boon to those suffering from lifestyle disease such as diabetic feet, etc.

Kashmiri scientist named for CSIR award

Srinagar: A young scientist from central Kashmir district of Budgam has been nominated for CSIR Young Scientists award 2009.

Working with Indian Institute of Integrated Medicine Jammu, Dr. Fayaz Ahmad Malik of Soibugh Budgam is the first Kashmiri to get the award in the field of Biological cancer Research. There were 39 scientists from different states in the fray. The prime minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, will give the award to Dr. Malik at a function to be held in New Delhi on September 26. Dr. Malik received the communication to this effect from Prof. Samir-K-Brahmachari Director General CSIR.

Courtesy: Kashmir watch.com

India Heads High on Neem Patent Saga - Patent Analytics Report

A new study by Dolcera has confirmed that India has indeed lived up to the competitive neem research and development efforts from the West.
A new study by Dolcera has confirmed that India has indeed lived up to the competitive neem research and development efforts from the West. Neem is considered India’s heritage and an integral part of India’s culture. Neem has traditionally been used as an ingredient in Indian cuisine, as a medicinal treatment for several allergies and diseases, and in religious ceremoniesacross the country. Time and again, there has been a hue and cry to prevent other countries from patenting the age-old Indian knowledge of neem.

Dolcera’s study has answers to key questions, including:
• Are Indians holding a legal upper hand on neem usage?
• What are the neem patenting trends in India and the US?

The study also reveals that the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), India, played a key role in India as well as in the US to remain one of the top patent owners in terms of number of patent filings on applications of neem. However, the complete picture is a little more complicated. Though CSIR is the top patent owner, individuals (41.84%) and private sector (31.63%) hold the majority of neem patents in India. Government institutes (which include CSIR, the Defense Research and Development Organization, and others) hold 26.53% of patents on India’s traditional asset.

While Indians have used neem for medicinal purposes in wound healing, diabetes, HIV/AIDS and skin care, US companies appear more interested in the areas of biodiesel production, fertilizers, dental formulations, food packaging, pharmaceutical compositions, etc.
Courtesy : LIVE-PR

Scientist develop solar powered rickshaw

Kolkata (PTI): Weary rickshaw pullers will no longer have to toil to pedal the vehicle as scientists of CSIR's Central Mechanical and Engineering Research Institute (CMERI) have developed a solar electric rickshaw.

Named Soleckshaw, the solar electric rickshaw is a pollution-free, safe and economical solution to the woes of around 50 lakh rickshaw pullers in the country.

"The goal was to develop an optimally-designed, pedal-operated and motor-assisted, zero-carbon emission, urban transport vehicle," Tech Review quotes Samir K Brahmachari, Director General of CSIR as saying.

The new pedicab with a seating capacity for two to three passengers and a payload of 150-200 kgs, excluding the driver, will run at a speed of 15 km per hour. It can be driven for as much as 40 kms.

The new rickshaw is motor-assisted and therefore is likely to be driven easily both in the plains and the hills.

"One of the main aims of Soleckshaw is to reduce the effort required to pull a rickshaw. The 36V motor has been used to 'assist' the driver in pedaling. Even though it may not relieve him of pedaling, it will definitely make the task almost effortless for him," says Project Advisor Gopal Sinha.

While the driver's seat is adjustable and a suspension system ensures smooth ride, all the three wheels have brakes.

The new pedicab comes with features such as a head light, a tail lamp, and indicators. A lower foot board provides easy access for children, senior citizens and the disabled.
Courtesy: The Hindu

Streptokinase, A Life Saving Drug, Developed in collaboration with CSIR launched for Indian Market

Shri Prithviraj Chavan, Minister of State for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences (IC), PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions and Parliamentary Affairs, today announced the launch of Streptokinase, a life saver, for marketing in India. Streptokinase is an effective and inexpensive clot dissolving drug used in the treatment of myocardial infarction and pulmonary embolism and belongs to the category of fibrinolytics/clot busters which work by activating plasminogen to produce plasmin which in turn helps in dissolving the clot.

The technology for this life-saver drug was developed at the Chandigarh based Institute of Microbial Technology, a constituent laboratory of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR). Chennai based Pharma major Shasun Chemicals and Drugs is making a foray into Biotherapeutics by launching Streptokinase in the Indian Market.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Prithviraj Chavan termed the launch as classic example of what public funded R&D can do. Lauding the efforts of the scientists he said that laboratories and markets must work in an environment of mutual respect to benefit the society. The Minister also expressed hope that CSIR will rededicate itself to make a difference to the life of common man.

Prof. Samir. K. Brahmachari, Director General, CSIR and Mr N. Govindarajan, CEO & MD, Shasun Chemicals & Drugs Ltd. were among those present during the launch.

The technology for the synthesis of this therapeutic protein was developed at Institute of Microbial technology (IMTech) by Dr. Girish Sahni, Director IMTech and his team, including Drs. Deb Sahoo and Kanak Dikshit. IMTech is a premier institute working on the frontiers of Science and Technology under the auspices of the Council of Scientific and Industrial research (CSIR), Government of India. Once developed, the technology was licensed to Shasun Chemicals and Drugs (Shasun) in the year 2002 and Shasun had undertaken enormous amounts of work to effect the transition of this technology from the labs in IMTech to the commercial market place. IMTech, through their guidance on the nuances of the technology, played a pivotal role in the commercialization of this technology. This development represents and endorses the importance of Public-Private-Partnerships to produce affordable medicines.

Over the last decade, treatment mechanism for patients with AMI (Acute Myocardial Infarction) has been by intravenous thrombolysis using Streptokinase. This mode of treatment makes it highly critical for the medicine to be of absolutely best purity. The Streptokinase developed being a recombinant protein does not have any traces of Streptolysin or Streptodornase (which are usually harmful) associated with natural streptokinase. Further studies in the lab have also demonstrated that Shasun’s Streptokinase has one of the best fibrinolytic activities amongst the products currently available in the market.

This medicine will provide immense benefit to the Indian population by reducing mortality among patients, increasing lifespan among the younger generation (young patients with fewer clots can be treated and they are safe for ~ 10 years) and in case of early thrombolytic treatment will avoid surgery and the huge expenses involved in surgical intervention. The medicine is highly affordable and eliminates the need for tPA which is highly expensive.

IMTech, it may be recalled, had also licensed an improved, new clot-specific thrombolytic to Nostrum Inc., USA and Symmetrix Biotech, India recently. This drug is undergoing regulatory testing and is expected to be commercialized in the year 2011.

NEIST (RRL Jorhat) selected

Imphal, July 03 2009:
The North East Institute of Science and Technology (NEIST), Lamphelpat substation has been selected as a centre for joint research programme between CSIR, New Delhi and the Third World Academy of Sciences.

Under this exchange programme, Godfrey Ngupula of Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute would do research programme on Lake Victoria, the largest lake of Africa under the supervision of Dr Huidrom Birkumar Singh, Scientist in-charge of NEIST substation, Lamphelpat, conveyed a press release.
Source: The Sangai Express

CSIR reveals non-destructive method of mango testing

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has revealed a non-destructive technique for sorting mangoes in Chennai. The launch kicked off at a two-day awareness workshop conducted by the Central Electronics and Engineering Research Institute (CEERI), an arm of the CSIR. The awareness workshop is a CSIR initiative to reach out to industry representatives and to use its research to develop real world applications thus benefiting society.

The technique employs soft X-ray imaging and similar to airport security scan systems. Export quality Alphonso mangoes are afflicted with two types of physiological conditions called spongy tissue and seed weevil. Certain countries had banned Indian mangoes primarily due to this.

"The X-ray imaging technology helps segregate the mangoes with deformities by processing the internal density of the fruit and thus will provide a fillip to the export industry," said R Govindaraj, the project head, CEERI.

India is the largest producer of mangoes in the world. The current Indian export market is 50,000 tonnes a year and the estimated worth is Rs 125 crore. "America and Japan had banned imports of Indian mangoes citing quality control. The ban has recently been lifted. There is huge potential for expanding the export market. The technology can be used even in the local market and will benefit the consumers a lot," said Vijay Mehta, vice-chancellor of Dr Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth.

Professionals from diverse fields such as horticulture, electronics and instrumentation, and marketing experts together attended the workshop. "Till around1990, Indian research institutions existed in isolation and there used to be no end-user participation. In foreign countries, industries have their own R&D wing and hence can scale up technology and increase productivity. But in India that is not the case. So central research institutions have to find a way to showcase their work and interact with industry," said Chandra Shekhar, director of CEERI. Industry representatives were encouraged to approach CSIR with their problems during the workshop.

A collaborative model where industry shares a part of the research cost has been evolved. "Industry should also take the cue. Tomorrow this opportunity might go to someone else," said Nagesh Iyer, co-ordinating director of CSIR. Each mango sorting unit costs around Rs 30 lakh and the estimated cost of processing each mango is 12 paise. But efforts are being made to bring the per unit cost to below 5 paise.

"The business model is based on the fact that increased processing cost would be offset by access to a wider market and better pricing because of adherence to quality," said Dr Chandra Shekhar.
Courtesy: Food & Beverage News