Thursday, July 14, 2011
HARMONY-July-2011(An In-House Bulletin on Service & Related Issues )
Starting from this month , this blog will share our own In-House Bulletin on Service & Related Issues "HARMONY" (A Valuable creation of the Team led by Shri.Ch. Srinivasa Rao). I feel obliged that he gives me permission to host this on my Blog. I am well aware of the kind of authenticity this publication holds in our organization. Feel free to give your suggestions.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Monday, July 4, 2011
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Green Tips
Green your daily routine! Say no to plastic bags when you shop. Use cloth bags instead.
Conserve energy! Turn off the lights to brighten our environment.
Use rainwater for your indoor plants – they love it, and you’ll save water at the same time.
Choose public transport. It reduces your carbon emissions.
Don’t keep the water running while brushing your teeth. You will save as much as 11 litres (3 gallons) every time!
Green your office: print double-sided, turn off monitors, start an office recycling program.
Host a World Environment Day celebration. Clean up your neighbourhood, carpool with friends, have a vegan (no animal products) dinner party! And don’t forget to register your activity on the WED website!
Jog outside and save the energy you would have used on the treadmill!
Mobilise your friends to celebrate World Environment Day! Use Facebook, Twitter, Orkut, SMS, text, email – it doesn’t matter how, just get the word out!
Plant a tree this year! This is the International Year of Forests so why not celebrate by planting a tree with friends or family.
Courtesy :UNEP
Conserve energy! Turn off the lights to brighten our environment.
Use rainwater for your indoor plants – they love it, and you’ll save water at the same time.
Choose public transport. It reduces your carbon emissions.
Don’t keep the water running while brushing your teeth. You will save as much as 11 litres (3 gallons) every time!
Green your office: print double-sided, turn off monitors, start an office recycling program.
Host a World Environment Day celebration. Clean up your neighbourhood, carpool with friends, have a vegan (no animal products) dinner party! And don’t forget to register your activity on the WED website!
Jog outside and save the energy you would have used on the treadmill!
Mobilise your friends to celebrate World Environment Day! Use Facebook, Twitter, Orkut, SMS, text, email – it doesn’t matter how, just get the word out!
Plant a tree this year! This is the International Year of Forests so why not celebrate by planting a tree with friends or family.
Courtesy :UNEP
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Monday, May 16, 2011
Keep your loved ones alive : Donate organs
Life begins from the womb of a mother since eternity . Being a mother is the most wonderful feeling as giving birth to a life is the ultimate sense of creation . Creating a life is motherly and giving life to a person who needs it the most is well equivalent to being a mother . Giving life through organ donation . A mother creates life and technically we can all mother someone as we all have one chance to do so . Through organ donation , one last chance to be a mother, a life giver .
This admission from the father strengthened my view about promoting organ donation . Organ donation per se , is not new as an option to live on , and to support life . The promising options have lead to emergence of new technologies in this field during the last couple of decades . At the same time technology advancement is not enough towards making organ donation a promising option of life saving . A change in the mind set and a better conditioning of our value system can work wonders , towards our readiness to donate our organs . We often think about organ donation as a life saving technology when we ourselves or a loved one is waiting for an organ .Otherwise we simply overlook the fact that God has given us a chance to save life and we should act pro-actively ourselves .
Being a parent who lost a child , my daughter who was an angel to me , I know that it is not easy to think of organ donation at the time when it needs to be done , that is when your are grief struck by the huge unimaginable loss . At the same time something like organ donation is not necessarily a decision made at the spur of the moment like instant coffee . I feel that the pledge to donate our organs should be so inculcated in our value system that it becomes as important as the other last rites we perform after loosing someone. It becomes all the more important because , as a matter of fact , organs of young and healthy deceased are most valuable for transplant and sadly , the deaths of the young and healthy individuals are the most shocking and grief striking for the families . The feeling that we can make our loved ones live on through their organs needs to be understood and needs to be spread as awareness . One young and healthy body can live on through many bodies as different organs can be transplanted to many waiting transplant aspirants . Isn't it satisfying to be able to give life to someone , not necessarily through birthing ?
Societal values also play a big role . As an organised entity , doctors , priests who perform the last rites and the parents of young healthy deceased who have already donated organs of their loved ones , can come together to bring awareness . Soon there will be many friends and family who can work in close coordination to counsel wherever and whenever it is needed . Here I would like to say we may form a formal group of doctors, parents and priests at strategic places i.e. Hospitals, funeral ground, along with suitable speciality (facility to conduct quick donation). This group will be able to give right counselling to decision makers. This is also important because timing of organ donation is very much crucial for any organ transplantation.
We have to understand that by donating organs we are giving another shot of life to deceased person. This is like giving true meaning to life continuum .
So friends come forward and take a pledge for organ donation .
The pledge form will take you to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital Organ Donation Registry site, however you can pledge at any suitable registry.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Public procurement needs an overarching framework to be fair
Public procurement is a multi-step process of established procedures to acquire goods, works and services by a government entity. It involves the full cycle through need assessments, process design and bid-document preparation to the awarding and execution of contracts and the final accounting and auditing of a completed contract.
Since public procurement forms a core part of a government programme, various international bodies - including the United Nations Commission for International Trade Law (Uncitral), World Bank (WB) and World Trade Organization (WTO) - have drafted laws, guidelines and agreements aimed at promoting the integrity of, and public confidence in, the procurement system.
The objective is to create a system founded on transparency, competition and objective criteria in decision-making that is effective in preventing corruption. They clearly spell out that the cornerstone principles of open, transparent and non-discriminatory procurement based on open competitive bidding are the best tools to achieve value for money and quality benefits as it optimises fair and equal competition.
Constituting a core area of public policy programming and implementation, government procurement and contracting in India forms 13% of the national budgets and over 20% of GDP as highlighted in the World Bank India Country Procurement Assessment Report, 2003. The ministry of finance, in 2005, drafted the General Financial Rules (GFR), wherein it formally established yardsticks of fairness, integrity and transparency through competition, efficiency and economy to achieve the best results in public procurement.
However, there is no national law exclusively governing the public procurement of goods. Public procurement is regulated through a series of executive directives, mainly instructive in nature. Instructions issued by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) also supplement the regulations. The practices are administered by government agencies, who may issue more detailed instructions in conformity with the GFR.
Recognising that government procurement constitutes a key area of public policy programming and intervention, the ruling party has flagged the issue of transparency in public procurement and contracts as part of its five-point action plan to tackle corruption.
An overarching framework will provide government agencies with a yardstick to review procurement norms and it would do well to take into consideration the following recommendations.
First, a public procurement law should be promulgated at the Centre and in each state to cover the objectives of government procurement, substantive procedural requirements to achieve them, debriefing of unsuccessful bidders, publication of contract awards, an appeal or challenge mechanism and post-award contract execution such as bid security, performance security, maintenance contract, advance payment, etc.
This should be complemented by a set of national regulations enshrining the five fundamental principles, namely, open tendering through effective advertisement; non-discriminatory tender conditions and technical specifications; public tender opening; bid evaluation based on pre-disclosed criteria and methodology; and selecting the most advantageous bidder without any negotiation on price or any other term.
The existing procedural framework governing procurement should be streamlined and an independent nodal agency or department should be created to deal with the policies, rules, practices and procedures. Also, there should be internal and external control and auditing bodies, the reports of which should be made accessible to the public.
Also, there should be provisions for institutionalising 'integrity pacts' or any other enforceable integrity condition as a legally-binding ethical code of conduct to govern the procurement cycle. This needs to be buttressed by provisions penalising violations of the pact's terms and conditions. The steps of decision-making on public procurement should be available for public scrutiny.
Platforms like public hearings should be provided for discussion of the procurement design, method and bid documents. At the same time, a social audit must be conducted by the procurement authority for large development projects to ensure accountability. Additionally, the procuring authority, as part of the debriefing procedure, should, upon request, communicate to a supplier or contractor the grounds for its rejection.
It is important that information be provided after the award of the contract on matters such as nature and quantity of products or services in the contract, name and address of the winning tender, value of the winning award and the highest and lowest offer taken into account in the awarding of the contract.
Besides, it should be highlighted in law that alternative methods of procurement such as direct contracting, single-source procurement, limited tendering, etc, can be adopted only where justified, fully explained, documented and, thus, available for public review.
If required, the procuring authority should hold negotiations with suppliers provided this is indicated in the initial tender notice or only when it appears from the tender evaluation that no single tender is the most advantageous, subject, of course, to safeguards ensuring that such negotiations do not discriminate between suppliers.
A domestic bid challenge system should be created, giving aggrieved suppliers a right of recourse to an independent quasi-judicial domestic tribunal like a public procurement tribunal, outside government control, to whom bidders can appeal an award decision.
Such an appeal or challenge mechanism must be time-bound and be applicable for contracts above a certain threshold. At the first stage, review may be sought from the procuring entity itself. Further, a review can be conducted by higher administrative organs of the government and, finally, a judicial review of the proceedings by a designated tribunal might be conducted wherein all suppliers or contractors are notified and are allowed to participate.
Lastly, the procuring authority should legalise e-procurement. Since corruption thrives in the absence of transparency, there should be an emphasis on facilitating information accessibility through modern procurement methods.
Government procurement provides a fertile ground for private distribution of largesse and having credible procedures and practices can significantly reduce corruption. Therefore, it is critical that reforms in the procurement regime are fast-tracked to ensure that principles of integrity, transparency, accountability, fairness, economy and efficiency are vigorously applied in all public investments and purchases.
Since public procurement forms a core part of a government programme, various international bodies - including the United Nations Commission for International Trade Law (Uncitral), World Bank (WB) and World Trade Organization (WTO) - have drafted laws, guidelines and agreements aimed at promoting the integrity of, and public confidence in, the procurement system.
The objective is to create a system founded on transparency, competition and objective criteria in decision-making that is effective in preventing corruption. They clearly spell out that the cornerstone principles of open, transparent and non-discriminatory procurement based on open competitive bidding are the best tools to achieve value for money and quality benefits as it optimises fair and equal competition.
Constituting a core area of public policy programming and implementation, government procurement and contracting in India forms 13% of the national budgets and over 20% of GDP as highlighted in the World Bank India Country Procurement Assessment Report, 2003. The ministry of finance, in 2005, drafted the General Financial Rules (GFR), wherein it formally established yardsticks of fairness, integrity and transparency through competition, efficiency and economy to achieve the best results in public procurement.
However, there is no national law exclusively governing the public procurement of goods. Public procurement is regulated through a series of executive directives, mainly instructive in nature. Instructions issued by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) also supplement the regulations. The practices are administered by government agencies, who may issue more detailed instructions in conformity with the GFR.
Recognising that government procurement constitutes a key area of public policy programming and intervention, the ruling party has flagged the issue of transparency in public procurement and contracts as part of its five-point action plan to tackle corruption.
An overarching framework will provide government agencies with a yardstick to review procurement norms and it would do well to take into consideration the following recommendations.
First, a public procurement law should be promulgated at the Centre and in each state to cover the objectives of government procurement, substantive procedural requirements to achieve them, debriefing of unsuccessful bidders, publication of contract awards, an appeal or challenge mechanism and post-award contract execution such as bid security, performance security, maintenance contract, advance payment, etc.
This should be complemented by a set of national regulations enshrining the five fundamental principles, namely, open tendering through effective advertisement; non-discriminatory tender conditions and technical specifications; public tender opening; bid evaluation based on pre-disclosed criteria and methodology; and selecting the most advantageous bidder without any negotiation on price or any other term.
The existing procedural framework governing procurement should be streamlined and an independent nodal agency or department should be created to deal with the policies, rules, practices and procedures. Also, there should be internal and external control and auditing bodies, the reports of which should be made accessible to the public.
Also, there should be provisions for institutionalising 'integrity pacts' or any other enforceable integrity condition as a legally-binding ethical code of conduct to govern the procurement cycle. This needs to be buttressed by provisions penalising violations of the pact's terms and conditions. The steps of decision-making on public procurement should be available for public scrutiny.
Platforms like public hearings should be provided for discussion of the procurement design, method and bid documents. At the same time, a social audit must be conducted by the procurement authority for large development projects to ensure accountability. Additionally, the procuring authority, as part of the debriefing procedure, should, upon request, communicate to a supplier or contractor the grounds for its rejection.
It is important that information be provided after the award of the contract on matters such as nature and quantity of products or services in the contract, name and address of the winning tender, value of the winning award and the highest and lowest offer taken into account in the awarding of the contract.
Besides, it should be highlighted in law that alternative methods of procurement such as direct contracting, single-source procurement, limited tendering, etc, can be adopted only where justified, fully explained, documented and, thus, available for public review.
If required, the procuring authority should hold negotiations with suppliers provided this is indicated in the initial tender notice or only when it appears from the tender evaluation that no single tender is the most advantageous, subject, of course, to safeguards ensuring that such negotiations do not discriminate between suppliers.
A domestic bid challenge system should be created, giving aggrieved suppliers a right of recourse to an independent quasi-judicial domestic tribunal like a public procurement tribunal, outside government control, to whom bidders can appeal an award decision.
Such an appeal or challenge mechanism must be time-bound and be applicable for contracts above a certain threshold. At the first stage, review may be sought from the procuring entity itself. Further, a review can be conducted by higher administrative organs of the government and, finally, a judicial review of the proceedings by a designated tribunal might be conducted wherein all suppliers or contractors are notified and are allowed to participate.
Lastly, the procuring authority should legalise e-procurement. Since corruption thrives in the absence of transparency, there should be an emphasis on facilitating information accessibility through modern procurement methods.
Government procurement provides a fertile ground for private distribution of largesse and having credible procedures and practices can significantly reduce corruption. Therefore, it is critical that reforms in the procurement regime are fast-tracked to ensure that principles of integrity, transparency, accountability, fairness, economy and efficiency are vigorously applied in all public investments and purchases.
(The authors are with Public Interest Foundation)
Courtesy: Economic times
Monday, May 9, 2011
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
Etiquette rules for banks on way
New Delhi, April 17 (PTI): Bank customers may soon expect better services and speedy redressal of their grievances as the Reserve Bank of India is likely to consider a fresh set of rules to improve customer service practices.
Almost a year after the RBI put in motion a process to improve customer service, a panel set up by the apex bank is ready to submit its recommendations later this month.
Sources said the panel was likely to suggest a tighter vigil by the RBI for banks lacking in customer service, monetary and procedural penalties.
Besides, banks may be asked to resolve various grievances within a pre-determined time.
The committee was constituted in June under the chairmanship of former Sebi chief M. Damodaran.
The panel, which comprises representatives from the banking industry, had completed its draft recommendations by January and was expected to submit the report in February. However, the panel decided to redraft the proposals after receiving fresh inputs from various stakeholders and its final recommendations are almost complete.
It will be the first major report on customer services after one in the early 1990s by the M.N. Goiporia committee, headed by the then SBI chairman.
The panel is also said to be in favour of giving more teeth to the banking ombudsman through legal measures. The Banking Ombudsman Scheme was established by the RBI in 1995 to provide speedy solutions to customer grievances.
The RBI will frame its final guidelines after studying the recommendations.
The banks will have to tell the customers beforehand about the expected time they will take to provide the services. The committee may also suggest reviewing the entire system of attending to customers, including the approach, attitude and fair treatment.
Courtesy : The Telegraph
Settling the dues -Bank
The financial difficulties faced by families on account of delayed settlement of life insurance claims are well known. What’s generally not known is the problems that legal heirs run into when it comes to accessing the bank accounts and lockers of deceased depositors
The banking regulator— the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) — is, however, aware of this and has issued detailed instructions to banks on the subject, aimed at reducing the hassles faced by relatives. Yet, all banks don’t follow the regulator’s instructions in letter and spirit, resulting in considerable hardship for the surviving family members.
Firstly, when a customer opens an account or hires a locker, the bank is supposed to advise him or her on the imperative need for nominations. Similarly, term deposits should have nominations and even if the depositor is unaware of its importance or forgets about it, the banks have a responsibility in ensuring that it is done. Banks, however, never take this task seriously.
In fact, the regulator has also advised banks to educate customers on the importance of the “survivorship clause” in case of joint accounts, as otherwise the surviving joint account holder does not automatically get the right to the account.
Similarly, in respect of term deposits, the RBI says that banks should not insist on completion of the term of the deposit and should allow premature termination on the death of the deposit holder. Yet, there are many cases where banks have refused to cut short the term of the deposit and denied the deposit amount to the legal heirs in urgent need of money.
Even where the deceased depositor has not made any nomination, banks should adopt a simple procedure for repayment to the legal heirs, advises the regulator. In fact, on June 9, 2005, the banking regulator issued detailed instructions to banks on how to simplify and expedite claim settlement following the death of a depositor. Even after six years, such simplified procedures elude family members.
In fact, the RBI circular sets a time limit of 15 days for settling the claims in respect of deceased depositors. I wonder how many banks really stick to this time limit?
Well, in order to keep tabs on this, the regulator suggests banks should report to the customer service committee of the bank’s board the details of the number of claims received and the time taken for settlement and if there has been a delay, the reasons for it. It’s time the regulator asked banks to make this information public.
Courtesy : The Telegraph
Sunday, April 17, 2011
CSIR to enter Koraput
| BHUBANESWAR: Aiming to make affordable technologies available to people in backward regions, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is going to open an Outreach Centre at Koraput in the current financial year. “Director General CSIR and Secretary Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Samir K. Brahmachari who was in the State for last two days gave his consent to start the centre,” said B. K. Mishra, director of Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (IMMT), here on Saturday. Mr. Mishra said CSIR would enter into agreement with Central University, Orissa to make the centre functional at Koraput. “IMMT would act as a nodal agency in the technology dissemination programme while Central University would be involved in imparting training to prospective entrepreneurs or beneficiaries who would use the technologies,” he said. Mr. Mishra said, “IMMT on its part would coordinate with CSIR sister laboratories in the country to create technology pool which would be relevant for the backward region like KBK.” Initially, Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore, Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP, Lucknow and North East Institute of Science and Technology, Jorhat would collaborate for the Outreach Centre at Koraput. The project is a part of CSIR-800 programme. “Proposal of budgetary requirement to the tune of Rs. 50 crore was placed for the centre. We intend to start the operation with 18 to 20 temporary employees. District Magistrate of Koraput has already promised to provide temporary shed to begin the centre,” IMMT Director said. |
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
CSIR scientist wins plea on promotion
The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) on Monday directed the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) to reassess the promotion prospects of senior scientist Gauhar Raza and set aside an earlier assessment of Mr. Raza's work done by the CSIR's Peer Committee.
Mr. Raza, an M.Tech. from IIT, Delhi, joined the CSIR in 1982 as Scientist IV(3).
In a petition filed before CAT, he argued that the organisation had deliberately delayed his promotion and held a single sitting for assessing his promotion, overlooking four consecutive chances due to him.
This despite Mr. Raza scoring “outstanding” grades for all the years of assessment. He also said that the CSIR's governing body had arbitrarily changed the rules of “Assessment and Promotions' and falsified his performance indicators.
The tribunal observed that wrong information had been placed before the Peer Committee. Judges V.K. Bali and L.K. Joshi quashed and set aside the proceedings of assessment made by the Peer Committee and directed the CSIR to “reassess the applicant for promotion to Scientist IV(6).”
Courtesy : The Hindu
Monday, March 28, 2011
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.
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.
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.
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