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CSIR NEWS114

R&D Highlights

The State Government of Nagaland has longwanted to ensure supply of good quality potablewater to its population in view of the poorer qual-ity of the groundwater available in this state.

The problem is mainly owing to higher ironcontent in the water. The installation of two ironremoval plants under the DST sponsored projectwill be of great help in this regard. The NagalandScience & Technology Council has been asso-ciated with CGCRI for the installation.Recently at the Walford colony of Dimapur, afunction was organized for the inauguration oftwo iron removal plants. Shri Imkong M.Imchen, Honourable Minister of Science &Technology, Nagaland, graced the occasion. DrH.S. Maiti, Director, CGCRI, Kolkata, was theGuest of Honour.

Shri Imchen in his inaugural address ex-pressed his gratitude to CGCRI for bringingsuch an advanced technology in the State ofNagaland with a quotation ‘Health for One,Health for All’. Setting up of the two iron re-moval plants was a positive move towardsensuring quality products for better health andeconomy for the people of the state, he added.He also informed that the Nagaland Science &Technology Council was contemplating to makeprovisions to supply potable water to all citi-zens of the state.

In his keynote address, Dr Maiti highlightedthe features of the technology which is capableof supplying potable drinking water as per thequality standard stipulated by the World HealthOrganization and the Bureau of Indian Stan-dards. He explained how the principle ofseparation worked, stressing on the efficiencyof the membrane based separation technique forsolid-liquid separation in cross flow mode. Inmany respects, the technique is superior to theother techniques which are available for suchapplications.

Dr S.C. Deorani, Principal Secretary, Sci-ence & Technology Department and Dr ZaveriHiese, Member Secretary, Nagaland Science &Technology Council, were also present duringthe inaugural ceremony.

Vacuum-sealed AbsolutePressure Sensor

THE Central Electronics Engineering ResearchInstitute (CEERI), Pilani, has recently developeda vacuum-sealed cavity micro-sensor based on

polysilicon piezoresistive MEMS technology for absolutepressure applications. The technology integrates surfaceand micromachining techniques, making best use of thetwo technologies in respect of compatibility withmicroelectronics. Two batches were processed with sealedcavities and polysilicon resistors on the diaphragm in halfwheatstone bridge configuration. The chip size of the sensoris 1 mm × 1 mm and the diaphragm size is 0.1 mm × 0.1mm.

New Project taken upby CEERI

CEERI has recently taken up a project on Wave-guidesand Prototype Photo Masks Fabrication. The project hasbeen sponsored by IRDE with a sanctioned amount of Rs9.95 lakh for a duration of 18 months. A brief description ofthe project is given below.

The Photonics Group at Instruments Research andDevelopment Establishment (IRDE), Dehra Dun, isworking on the DRDO-sponsored project on integratedoptics where substrates such as lithium niobate and BK-7glass are used for the fabrication of optical wave-guide anddevices. IRDE approached the Opto-Electronic DevicesGroup at CEERI, which already has the required expertiseand infrastructure, to undertake this work as a collaborativeR&D programme. Under this project, the Opto-electronicsDevices Group will fabricate the optical wave-guides anddevices for IRDE.

R&D at CEERI

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R&D Highlights

Technology developed

• Electroplating of cadmium onmarging steel using acidcadmium electrolyte

Technology licensed

• Zinc methyl silicate primer –M/s Krishna Conchem ProductsLtd, Mumbai – [LumpsumPremium Rs 50,000; RecurringRoyalty: 2.5%; Nature ofLicense: Non-exclusive; Periodof Licence: 5 years]

• Modified UV & light stable epoxysystem – M/s Krishna ConchemProducts Ltd, Mumbai [LP: Rs50,000; RR: 2.5%; NL:NE; PL:5 years]

• Self passivating primer — M/sKrishna Conchem ProductsLtd, Mumbai, [LP: Rs 1,00,000;RR: 2.5%; NL: NE; PL: 5 Years]

• Production of diamond powderincorporated nickel matrixcomposite coating on steel discfor gem final polishing – M/sControl System & ServiceEngineers, Jaipur [LP: Rs88,160; RR: 2.5%; NL: NE; PL:5 years]

• Low-cost anticorrosive coatingfor marine and industrialstructures – M/s Ultra

Chemicals, Karaikudi [LP: Rs66,120; RR: 2.5%; NL: NE: PL:5 years]

• Lead acid battery for normaltemperature operation – SriPechi Batteries, R.P. Pudur,Namakkal Dt. [LP: Rs 50,000(+15,000 as demo charges); RR:1% on ex-factory sale; PL:14years; NL: NE]

• Cement polymer compositecoating system for corrosionprotection of reinforcing andprestressing steels (Renewal oflicence) – M/s Narendra CoatingIndia Pvt. Ltd, Mumbai [LP: Rs11,20,000; RR: 2.5%: PL: 7 years;NL: NE]

Sponsored Projects

• Development of corrosioninhibitors for carbon steel indecontamination process –DAE, BARC, Mumbai (Rs17,56,400)

• Modeling of non-liner reaction –diffusion process at modifiedelectrodes – DST, New Delhi(Rs 6,42,000)

• Development of electrolessnickel plating on marging steelfor LCA slat tracks and LCANavy arrester hook component– Aeronautical Development

Agency, Bangalore (Rs 9,00,000)• Evaluation of 12V/65AH VRLA

batteries as per JIS 8702-1:1998– Orchid Electronics, NewDelhi (Rs 71,079)

• Polymer light emitting device(LED) synthesis of molecularlydesigned polymers, design anddevelopment of LED – DST,New Delhi (Rs 22,59,750)

• Development of DC magnetronsputtered tin coating with brushplated Ni interlayer on steel formultiple applications – DST,New Delhi (Rs 7,56,000)

• Evaluation of HBL NIFE VRLAcells as per/RS-S-93/96Aspecification for the followingcell: 2V 80Ah – HBL Nife PowerSystems Ltd, Chennai (Rs43,088)

• Protective coating to pre-stressing steel for use in concretestructures – Krishna ConchemProducts Pvt Ltd, Mumbai (Rs4,95,900)

• Evolution of engineeringmaterials for marine conditionswith special reference tocorrosion and biotouling – DAE,BRNS, Mumbai (Rs 11,83,300)

• Selective electrocatalysis formixed reactants direct methanolfuel cell – DST, New Delhi (Rs17,22,000)

Technology developed/licenced, Sponsored/Consultancy Projectstaken up and Technical Services rendered by CECRI

THE technology developed/licensed, sponsored/consultancy projects taken up and technicalservices rendered, in the recent past by the Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CECRI),Karaikudi, include:

CSIR NEWS116

• Direct conversion of solarradiation into electricity throughdye-sensitized solar cells –Department of Science &Technology, New Delhi (Rs10,32,000)

• Design and development ofarsenic monitor – Departmentof Science & Technology, NewDelhi (Rs 13,65,000)

• Corrosion failure analysis ofhydrogen cooler – NuclearPower Corporation of India Ltd,Karnataka (Rs 3,50,000)

• Evaluation of “Hi Power” lowmaintenance batteries forSouthern Batteries as per IRSS88/2004 for 2 types of batteries– Southern Batteries Pvt Ltd,Bommasandra (Rs 4,84,888)

• Corrosion and force monitoringof prestressing strands in KaigaAtomic Power Project Units 3 &4 – Nuclear Power Corporationof India Ltd, Mumbai (Rs75,88,000)

• Feasibility study of brushelectropolishing of 316 LNstainless steel – IGCAR,Kalpakkam (Rs 1,24,775)

• Solar light for Self Help Groupof Women – AranmanaipattiPanchayat, Attangudi (Rs 55,100)

• Evaluation of Exide batteries ofthe following types for 3 hourcapacity followed by shortcircuit and internal resistancetest as per IEC 60896-21 and 22(EPST & MS) types and IEC60896-11 (YAP types) – one 12 Vbattery in each type – ExideIndustries Ltd, Mumbai (Rs2,08,036)

Consultancy Projects

• To advice on the preparation ofelectroplated diamond tools –Control system & ServiceEngineers, Jaipur (Rs 37,800)

• To study the condition of theexisting coatings on the conveyorstructure – TNEB, Chennai(Rs 23,660)

• To synthesize cobalt TMPP andstudy the electrocatalyticreduction of alkyl halides insolution phase by cyclicvoltammetry – High EnergyBatteries India Ltd, Mathura(Rs 43, 928)

• Corrosion investigation ofreinforced concrete structures –Hindustan Newsprint Ltd,Newsprint Nagar, KottayamDist. (Rs 2,65,570)

• Cathodic protection for CPCLDockline – Indian Oil Corp.Ltd, Chennai (Rs 5,20,089)

• Preparation and characterization ofsemi-conducting thin film –KarunyaInstitute of Technology andSciences, Coimbatore (Rs 19,836)

Technical Services

• Microscopic analysis of Exidecured plates – Exide IndustriesPvt. Ltd, Chicurakanpalli(Rs 13,224)

• Testing of anticorrosive treatedrods supplied by the firm –Prasad & Co., Pondicherry(Rs 13,224)

• Evaluation of Bindal and Bindal12V, 40Ah tubular battery and12V, 75Ah tubular battery asper IS 13369:1992 – Bindal &Bindal Batteries Pvt Limited,New Delhi (Rs 52,896)

• Treating of anticorrosive treatedreinforcement rods supplied byNational Highways, SubdivisionIII, P.W.D., Pondicherry – P.K.Mookanambalam & Co.,Madurai (Rs 27,400)

• Analyais of sewage watercollected from sewage treatmentplant – Trichirapalli CityCorporation, Trichy (Rs 11,020)

• Testing of anticorrosive treatedrods as per ASTM standardssupplied by AEE, TWAD Board,Urban Sub Division, Chennai –Asst Exe Engineer, Chennai(Rs 13,300)

• Testing of anticorrosive treatedreinforcement rods – P.K.Mookanambalam & Co.,Madurai (Rs 28,000)

• To conduct thermal runaway,sensitivity test – Amara RajaBatteries Ltd, Tirupati(Rs 16,530)

• Evaluation of CPCC samplesfrom pro construction of majorbridges No.307, 329 and 452between Karaikudi andManamadurai as per CECRIcode of practice – SouthernRailway, Manamadurai(Rs 27,625)

• Testing of Eagle-Pitcher lithium-thionyl chloride (3.5V/750 Ah),batteries–NELCO Ltd, Mumbai(Rs 26,989)

• Testing of organo phosphonate –NLC, Neyveli (Rs 38,570)

• Evaluation of 6V/230 Ah batteryfor life (at elevated temperature)as per MIL specification –Orchid Electronics, New Delhi(Rs 17,632)

• Thermal and corrosion resistantpaint–VSSC, Thiruvanantha-puram (Rs 73,195)

R&D Highlights

30 APRIL 2006 117

S.S.Bhatnagar Prize-winner’s Work

DR Probal Chaudhuri of theIndian Statistical Institute,Kolkata, has been awarded,

along with Dr Kapil Hari Paranjapeof the Institute of MathematicalSciences Chennai, the ShantiSwarup Bhatnagar Prize inMathematical Sciences for the year2005 for the research contributionshe has made to diverse areas oftheoretical and applied statistics. Hiswork ranges from statisticalsmoothing in non-parametricestimation and a multi-scaleapproach in statistical patternrecognition to the exploratoryanalysis of large DNA sequences.[CSIR News, 55 (2006) 342]

Dr Probal Chaudhuri and hiscollaborators have developed a novelscale space approach innonparametric statistical smoothing.This approach uses a family ofstatistical smoothers to makestatistical inference about a functionparameter. This leads to newtechniques for identifyingstatistically significant geometricfeatures in an unknown curve orsurface based on noisy observations.Mathematical theory underlying thismethodology has some deepconnections with totally positivekernels and heat diffusion equations.The work was published partly inJournal of The American StatisticalAssociation in 1999 and partly in TheAnnals of Statistics in 2000. Withina very short period, this scale space

technique for nonparametricfunction estimation has become verypopular among scientists in differentdisciplines, and has been widelyused in natural and engineeringsciences as evident from the citationrecords in recent literature. Thevisual device called SiZer Mapintroduced in these papers are nowwidely recognized as a fundamentaland extremely useful discovery in thearea of statistical smoothing.

A major impact of the work wasin developing new tools for statisticalpattern recognition and imageanalysis. In a recent paperpublished in IEEE Transactions onImageProcessing in 2004, ProbalChaudhuri and his collaboratorspresented a new edge detectionalgorithm for digital images based ona statistical principle of thresholdingthat was developed using the scalespace type statistical inference toolsapplicable to kernel smoothers. Animpressive feature of this new edgedetector is that it produces excellentedge maps for a variety of complex

images with a very stable choice ofinput parameters. It is now knownthat for a wide range benchmarkimages, unlike many popular edgedetectors including the famousCanny’s edge detector whoseperformance may dramaticallydeteriorate due to smallperturbations in the inputparameters and for which a goodchoice of input parameters may varya lot from one image to another, thenew edge detector workssatisfactorily with a common choiceof input parameters. Further, thevisual quality of the edge mapsobtained using this new edgedetector from a large number ofbenchmark images are generallycomparable to the best possibleoutput obtained using those edgedetectors.

Together with his students andcolleagues, Probal Chaudhurideveloped some multiscale versionsfor kernel and nearest neighbourclassifiers. These multiscaleclassifiers are again based on scalespace principles of statisticalsmoothing. The work has beenpublished recently in IEEETransactions on Pattern Analysisand Machine Intelligence in 2005and Technometrics in 2006. Thesepapers demonstrate the superiorperformance of multiscale classifiersover single scale classifiers whenapplied to a large number ofbenchmark data sets. An appealing

Development of A Novel Scale Space Approachin Nonparametric Statistical Smoothing

Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize-winnerDr Probal Chaudhuri’s work

CSIR NEWS118

High Impact Publications

feature of these multiscale classifiersis a novel visual representation of theclassification results from the familyof classifiers indexed by thebandwidth parameters in the case ofkernel discriminant analysis and bythe neighbourhood parameters in thecase of nearest neighbour classifiers.Besides, there is a clearly formulatedscheme for aggregation of theclassification results from a family ofclassifiers.

Probal Chaudhuri was born in1963 in Kolkata. He received hisprimary education from PaikparaRaja Manindra Memorial PrimarySchool and his secondary and highersecondary education from HareSchool in Kolkata. He obtainedB.Stat (Hons.) and M.Stat degreesfrom Indian Statistical Institute inthe years 1983 and 1985, respectively.Subsequently he moved to theUnited States and received his Ph.D.degree in statistics from Universityof California at Berkeley. Beforereturning to India, he worked as afaculty member at the University ofWisconsin, Madison. He returned toIndia and joined the faculty ofTheoretical Statistics andMathematics Unit of IndianStatistical Institute, Kolkata, inDecember 1990, and since then hehas been working there. He waselected a fellow of Indian Academyof Sciences, Bangalore in 2003 and afellow of the Institute ofMathematical Statistics (USA) in2005. He was awarded B. M. BirlaScience Prize in Mathematics by B.M. Birla Science Center, Hyderabadfor the year 2001, and the NationalAward in Statistics in Honour ofC. R. Rao by the Ministry ofStatistics & Program Implementation,Government of India for the year 2005.

A series of manganese-ceriumoxide composites with Mnconcentrations in the range

of 1-20 mol % in ceria was preparedby the solution combustiontechnique using urea as fuel. Thenature, type, and oxidation state ofMn species in ceria wereinvestigated by X-ray diffraction(XRD), diffuse reflectance UV-visible spectroscopy, electronparamagnetic resonance (EPR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, andtemperature- programmedreduction techniques. The studycarried out by B. Murugan and A.

Nature of Manganese Species inCe1-xMnxO2-‰ Solid Solutions

Synthesized by the SolutionCombustion Route

V. Ramaswamy Department ofChemistry, University of Pune,Pune; D. Srinivas, C. S. Gopinath,and V. Ramaswamy of CatalysisDivision, National ChemicalLaboratory, Pune, reveals that themethod of preparation significantlyinfluences the type of manganesespecies in ceria. Wet-impregnation,coprecipitation, and solid-statesynthesis techniques lead toclustered MnOx-like species in theceria matrix, while the presentmethod of preparation (solutioncombustion route) yields a highlydispersed form of Mn species. In

EPR spectra of the Cea 95 Mac6O2- solid solution prepared by various methods showingthe reversible redox behaviour of the Mn species in ceria (a) fresh sample evacuated at 773 K;

(b) reduced at 773 K and reoxidized at 573 K. The sample is reduced at 773 Kin the flow of hydrogen, and oxidation is done at 573 K in the flow of air and recorded at 298 K

30 APRIL 2006 119

In the Media

the reported series ofsamples, Mn is presentmainly in +2 and +3oxidation states and thereis no evidence for thepresence of Mn4+ species.Powder X-ray diffractionstudies at variabletemperatures (298-1323 K)indicate the formation ofCe1-xMnxO 2-‰ solidsolutions. No separateMnOx- type phase wasdetected even at 1323 K.EPR studies reveal thatthe isolated Mn2+ andMn3+ species are presentin at least three differentstructural locations:species A, Mn ions inceria-lattice defect sites;species B, Mn ions inframework Ce4+ locations;and species C, Mn ions ininterstitial locations and atthe surface of ceria. TheMn3+ ions in ceria exhibita facile reduction andreoxidation behaviourwhen exposed to dryhydrogen andsubsequently to air atelevated temperatures. Ahighly dispersed state ofMn3+ and Mn2+ inceria, facile redoxbehaviour, and asynergistic Mn-ceriainteraction are some of theunique properties of thismaterial prepared by thesolution combustionprocedure. The work hasbeen published inChemistry of Materials,17 (2006) Iss16 3983-3993.

“INDIA will emergas a hub for pharmaR&D andmanufacturing,” saysDr R.A. MashelkarFRS, DirectorGeneral, CSIR, in aninterview with ManasR. Bastia, published inthe column ‘LeadersSpeak’ of the February-March issue ofModern Pharma-ceuticals. Expressinghis happiness over the way Indianpharma sector has been responding tothe challenges of the new productpatent regime, Dr Mashelkar in thisinterview discusses the key strengthsand tremendous opportunities and alsospells out his vision for the Indianpharma industry:

“The Indian pharma sector hasresponded very well to the challengesof new product patent regime,” saysDr Mashelkar. “Major pharma compa-nies have already shifted their focusfrom imitative to innovative research,including new drug discovery.Ranbaxy, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories,Wockhardt, Nicholas Piramal, Cipla,Lupin, etc, have created state-of-theart R&D facilities so as to take on theglobal challenges.”

“The Indian pharmaceutical com-panies have several advantages thatinclude: abundance of trained man-power (especially in chemistry andprocess engineering), cost-competitiveclinical research, low-cost manufactur-

ing and large marketsfor modern and lifestyledrugs. They also havethe advantage of avail-ing government supportfor niche R&D in thearea of new drug devel-opment. The pharmaindustry can cash uponour rich biodiversity,

large pool of S&T manpower, state-of-the-art R&D infrastructure,cost-effective clinical trials for variousdiseases, large drug-naïve patientpopulation, low operational costs, USFDA standard manufacturing facilitiesand globally aligned IP laws.”

“In Europe and the US, a numberof drugs will be going off patent during2005-2009. This offers a huge opportu-nity to Indian companies in the domainof generic drugs.”

“Further, Indian companies havetremendous potential of becomingmanufacturing partners globally asthey provide the best cost advantage.The MNCs and TNCs are rethinkingof ways in which new ideas could begenerated and brought to the marketin product form. Also, they are underimmense pressure to cut costs for prod-uct-based R&D and thereafter productmanufacturing. They are thus increas-ingly exploring India for contractresearch (CR) and contract manufac-turing (CM). Many alliances thatgained entry into India either for CRor CM are operating successfully. The

Emergence of India as a Hub forPharma R&D and Manufacturing

— Dr R.A. Mashelkar, FRS,Director General, CSIR

CSIR NEWS120

focus of such alliances has not onlybeen domestic market but interna-tional markets as well. Success ofsome of these alliances has led to set-ting up of specialized researchcentres by the MNCs. I see thistrend to grow further. India willemerge as a hub for pharma R&Dand manufacturing,” opines DrMashelkar.“The future belongs to bio-pharma-ceuticals. Presently, the Indianbiotech industry contributes mod-estly to global markets. The size ofthe industry is just $ 1 billion. Butit is growing at around 35-40 per centover the past three years. It shallbecome another success story for us.The National Biotechnology Devel-opment Strategy would play anenabling role. We need venture capi-tal funding to propelentrepreneurship in this segment ofindustry. We need to replicate suc-cesses like that of Biocon.”

“We already have these (venturecapital) funds – but the problem isthat ‘venture’ capital has to assumethe role of ‘adventure’ capital!! Weneed to be more daring rather thanhaving the mindset of a conventionalbanker.”

“On the regulatory front, theMashelkar Committee (2005) hasdrawn up a new procedural frame-work for biopharmaceuticals, whichhas streamlined the process for thefirst time in the country. But it needsto be implemented fast. I feel Indiacan take global leadership in vaccinesand recombinant products. We al-ready have some success stories. Wemust build on these. I will like to seethe next generationbiopharmaceuticals with improvedtherapeutic characteristics on one

hand and reduced costs on the other.The focus should be on debilitatingand life-threatening diseases.”

Explaining the various efforts topool the resources through private-public partnerships, Dr Mashelkarsays, “Various schemes have beenlaunched to foster collaborationamong various players of NationalInnovation System (NIS). Theseinclude: Programme Aimed at Tech-nological Self Reliance(PATSR-DSIR); Home Grown Tech-nology (HGT-TIFAC); Drugs &Pharmaceuticals ResearchProgramme (DPRP-DST); Technol-ogy Development Board(TDB-DST); New Millennium In-dian Technology LeadershipInitiative (NMITLI-CSIR); andSmall Business Innovation ResearchInitiative (SBIRI-DBT).”

“DPRP is primarily focused onsynergizing the strengths of publiclyfunded R&D institutions and the In-dian pharmaceuticals industry so asto enhance the nation’s self-reliancein drugs and pharmaceuticalsespecially in areas critical to nationalhealth requirements.”

“NMITLI was launched with anobjective to secure a leadershipposition for India in niche areas,based on technology through TeamIndia effort in PPP mode. Thescheme has been operationalisedand by now there are 41 massivelynetworked projects in diverse S&Tareas including drugs and pharma-ceuticals. NMITLI has been atremendous success and variousnovel products could be launchedthrough the well-focused project ef-forts. In the domain of drugs andpharmaceuticals, the discovery of anew drug molecule for tuberculosis

for the first time in the last 40 years,and development of a unique herbalformulation for psoriasis throughNMITLI could be achieved in ashort period of two years. We needto put in place more schemes likeNMITLI to help our industry de-velop world-class products.”

Regarding the R&D expendi-ture, Dr Mashelkar says, “India’sannual S&T budget is $6 billion. Thisis less than that of Pfizer’s annualR&D budget! Yet we have so manyachievements to our credit. That isbecause a dollar goes very far in In-dia. I am not worried by the size,but by how we lay our baits, howwe leverage our strengths and howcleverly we exploit the public-privatepartnerships.”

Regarding the measures thatIndia needs to take to strengthen theregulatory framework with respectto drug approval and patents, DrMashelkar explains, “Government ofIndia had constituted an ExpertCommittee under my chairmanshipto undertake a comprehensive ex-amination of drug regulatory issuesincluding the problem of spuriousdrugs. The Committee examined indetail the existing drug regulatoryscenario in the country as well as theprevailing systems in a number ofother countries and performed a gapanalysis vis-à-vis the envisioned situ-ation. The Committeerecommended revamping of the ex-isting drug regulatory structure andpractices to achieve a world-classsystem.”

“Restructuring of CDA andmodification of the Drugs & Cos-metics Act were also suggested. Toensure safety of Indian study sub-jects in clinical research, sharing of

In the Media

30 APRIL 2006 121

responsibility by all the stake-holders, viz. investigators,sponsors, was recommended.Creation of a single windowclearance mechanism forapproval of various applica-tions concerning drugresearch and approval, includ-ing research materials, etc,within CDA was sought.”

“Also, rationalization ofpolicies and procedures pres-ently applicable in thecountry for animal experi-ments was recommended toavoid undue delay. Effort wasthus to further improve thedrug regulatory environmentin the country and fully alignthe guidelines and setupswith the global scenario.Again, this report needs to beimplemented quickly.”

Finally, spelling his vision,Dr Mashelkar says, “I envi-sion an Indian pharmaindustry, which will showthree qualities: innovation,compassion and passion. Itshould do innovation of thehighest order, not embark onbeaten paths but traverseuntrodden paths. I will likeit to have compassion – espe-cially compassion for the poor– by creating therapeutics forthe poor that are available, af-fordable and accessible. I willlike them to have a passion –to be the best in the world –in terms of quality of theirproducts, the highest ethi-cal standards and providingvalue for money to the Indianand global customers.”

Athree-member Japanese delegation comprising AssociateProfessor, Hiroshi Kato, National Graduate Institute for PolicyStudies, Tokyo; Mr Hirokazu Nakano, Deputy Director, Japanese

Patent Office, Tokyo; and Mr Hitoshi Amano, Director, Intellectual PropertyDepartment, Japan External Trade Organization, Bangkok, visited theNational Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources(NISCAIR), New Delhi, on 6 March 2006 to discuss regarding TraditionalKnowledge Digital Library and Intellectual Property. The delegation ex-pressed the keenness of Japanese Patent Office to have access to the TKDLdatabase for the purpose of Search and Examination. A formal request foraccessing the TKDL database would be submitted shortly by JPO.

Japanese Delegationvisits NISCAIR

Mr Hirokazu Nakano, Deputy Director, Japanese Patent Office (extreme left);Shri V. K. Gupta, Director NISCAIR; Mr Hiroshi Kato, Associate Professor,

National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Tokyo; and Mr Hitoshi Amano, Director,Intellectual Property Department, Japan External Trade Organization (extreme right)

in discussion on Traditional Knowledge Digital Library and Intellectual Property

A delegation from the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA),UK, comprising their Science, Technology, Entrepreneurship ManagementTeam and Academia from the Universities in the South of England, visitedthe Structural Engineering Research Centre (SERC), Chennai, in therecent past with the aim to work out a strategy to collaborate with India.

SEEDA, UK, Delegation visits SERC

Visits

CSIR NEWS122

Seminars

A seminar on ‘Bitumenemulsions and cold mixtechnologies for

maintenance of roads’ was organizedat the Central Road ResearchInstitute (CRRI), New Delhi, in therecent past. The Institute of Generaland Inorganic Chemistry (NationalAcademy of Sciences of Belarus)(IGIC-NAS), Republic of Belarus,and CRRI-CSIR are currentlyworking on various aspects ofhighway engineering materials suchas bitumen emulsions, cold mixes,microsurfacings, modified bitumensand high performance stone matrixasphalt. The seminar was sponsoredby Department of Science andTechnology and IGIC-NAS. As apart of the seminar, a half-dayworkshop on ‘High PerformanceBituminous Materials’ was also heldat CRRI.

The IGIC-NAS is playing aleading role in development of highquality bitumen emulsions forconstruction and maintenance of

Indo-Belarus Seminar onBitumen Emulsions and Cold Mix Technologies

During the Indo-Belarus Seminar on Bitumen Emulsions and Cold Mix Technologies,seated on dais (from left) are: Dr V.K. Sood, Scientist G; Dr P.K. Nanda, Director, CRRI;

Shri S.K. Varshney, International Collaboration, DST; Prof. V.S. Ramamurthy, Secretary, DST;Dr R. A. Mashelkar, Director-General, CSIR, Mr H.E. Olegphptenok, Ambassador,

Republic of Belarus to India; Prof. N.P. Krutsko, Director, IGIC-NAS, Belarus;Dr T.S. Reddy, Area Advisor, TTP and Dr P.K. Jain, Scientist F

roads in Republic of Belarus. Anagreement of intent was executed inMarch 2003 between CRRI andIGIC-NAS to undertake jointcollaborative research projects. Thescope of agreement includeddevelopment of (i) high quality

b i t u m e nemulsions, (ii)m o d i f i e db i t u m e nemulsions, (iii)stone matrixasphalt, (iv)ready to usecold mixmaterials forr o a dm a i n t e n a n c eand (v)specifications

A view of audience during the Indo-Belarus Seminar

for high performance cold mixes. Asix member delegation under theleadership of Prof. N.P. Krutsko,Director, IGIC-NAS, visited Indiarecently.

Dr R. A. Mashelkar, Director-General, CSIR, inaugurated theseminar and it was presided over byProf. V.S. Ramamurthy, Secretary,Department of Science andTechnology. While appreciating theefforts of CRRI and IGIC-NAS inorganizing this international event,Dr Mashelkar emphasized the needfor a Center of Excellence at CRRI,where scientists from IGIC-NASmay stay for a longer period andwork jointly with scientists of CRRIand other laboratories closely fordevelopment and adoption ofenvironment-friendly cold mix

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Workshops

technologies. During the inaugural session, MrH.E. Olegphptenok, Ambassador, Republic ofBelarus, also addressed the participants.

The seminar was attended by about 250delegates from India and different countrieslike France, Singapore, Germany, Denmarkand Spain. There were two technical sessionson themes of ‘Bitumen emulsions’ and ‘Coldmix technologies’ chaired by eminent scientistsand professionals like Prof. C.E.J. Justo, Prof.Emeritus, Indian Institute of Science,Bangalore, and Shri R. Subramaniam,Engineer-in-Chief, Delhi, PWD. Issues ofemulsion technology, aggregate-emulsionmixture chemistry and applications for roadmaintenance were discussed. The session onpanel discussion was chaired by Shri S.C.Sharma, former DGRD, MoS & RTH andAdditional Secretary. In the panel discussion,role of industry in development of betteremulsion technology was discussed. Thevaledictory address was given by Prof. C.G.Swaminathan, former Director, CRRI.

Prof. V.S. Raju, Chairman, ResearchCouncil, CRRI and former Director, IIT Delhi,inaugurated the workshop. The technicalsession was chaired by Dr M.P. Dhir, formerDirector, CRRI. During the workshop,presentations were made by Dr P.K. Jain,Scientist, CRRI; Dr U.C. Gupta, Scientist, IIP;Shri C. Kamraj, TO, CRRI; Dr L. Auseyenka,and Mr Stefan Schultc, IGIC-NAS of Belarus.Earlier, Dr P. K. Nanda, Director, CRRI,welcomed the participants and delegation fromBelarus. About 150 delegates from academicand research institutions, consultants, plannersand user agencies attended the workshop. ShriR.S. Sharma, Secretary-General, Indian RoadsCongress, presented a summary of the sessionproceeding in the concluding session.

Fifteen industries from India and abroadparticipated in the technical exhibitionorganized on this occasion. Key participantswere from AKZO-Nobel, France and ENHEngineering, Denmark.

Aworkshop on Road Safety Audit was organized at theCentral Road Research Institute (CRRI), New Delhi,in the recent past. The workshop was moderated by

Shri D. P. Gupta, former Director-General (RoadDevelopment), Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport andHighways. Dr P. K. Nanda, Director, CRRI, gave welcomeaddress and spoke on the genesis of Road Safety Auditactivities being pursued at the institute. In an effort tominimize the growth of accidents on Indian roads, RoadSafety Audit (RSA) is being pursued in a big way on theexisting as well as for the proposed new roads. As a part ofthis effort National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) hascommenced road safety audit project of National HighwaysDevelopment Projects (NHDP) covering a length of around3000 km. Since the road safety audit is an important aspectof highway traffic operations and management it wasconsidered necessary to share the knowledge relating toRoad Safety Audit process and prospects through discussionsof case studies. Discussions were held on basic concepts andprocess of conducting road safety audit with the help of casestudies relating to National Highway-8 and Mumbai-Pune

Workshop onRoad Safety Audit

Dr P. K. Nanda, Director, CRRI, delivering the inaugural address.Seated (from left) are: Dr T. S. Reddy, Head, TESD, CRRI, Prof. B. P. Chandrasekhar,

Director (Technical), NRRDA; Shri D. P. Gupta, former Director-General,Road Development, MRTH; Mr David Williamson and Mr Maurice Burley,

VICROADS International, Australia.

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Workshops

Workshop onENVIS Bioinformatics — Vector Control

THE Indian Institute of ChemicalTechnology (IICT), Hyderabad,organized a two-day workshop on

‘ENVIS bioinformatics – vector control’in the recent past, jointly with theDirectorate of Medical and HealthServices, Government of Andhra Pradeshfor the District Malaria Offocers of theDirectorate of Health and MedicalServices. The main aim of the workshopwas to impart the knowledge ofinformation technology in controlling thedreaded vector borne diseases and forinformation dissemination to actefficiently in controlling the mortality andmorbidity.

Welcoming the gathering of DistrictMalaria Officers and other health officials(28 officers) drawn from various districtsof Andhra Pradesh, Dr J. S. Yadav,Director, IICT, gave a brief overview ofIICT and its achievements inbioinformatics vector control. Dr Yadavalso spoke about the societal work being

done by the Biology Division under theleadership of Dr U.S.N. Murty, HeadBiology, in the area of vector bornediseases. He said that the research wouldbe fruitful only when it reaches thecommon man. He also stressed thatInformation Technology can play a veryvital role and hopped that the assembledmedical officers would get benefited bythis two-day workshop.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr U.S.N.Murty, ENVIS Coordinator, spoke aboutthe concept of ENVIS and the role it playsin control of vector borne disease andinformation dissemination system. TheIICT-ENVIS, which started as a Node,has now been upgraded as a ‘ENVISCentre’. Dr Murty spoke how importantthe workshop was as it would help thedistrict health officers retrieve theinformation quickly and take necessarysteps to control the outbreak.

Dr Murty also told that the ENVISCentre is catering to the needs of the

Expressway. MrDavid Williamsonand Mr MauriceBurley, VICROADSI n t e r n a t i o n a l ,Australia, Prof. B. P.Chandrasekhar ,D i r e c t o r( T e c h n i c a l ) ,National RuralRoad DevelopmentAgency (NRRDA)and Dr T.S. Reddy,Head, TrafficEngineering &Safety Division(TESD), CRRI,made presen-tationswhich includeddescription of RoadSafety Audit processand finer aspects ofsafety auditing andresults of the RoadSafety Auditconducted onJaipur-KishangarhE x p r e s s w a y ,M u m b a i - P u n eExpressway and theRoad Safety Auditissues of rural roadsin India. Fortyscientists andpracticing engineersfrom Ministry ofShipping, RoadTransport andHighways andCentral PublicWorks Departmentparticipated in theworkshop. Dr T. S.Reddy, Head,TESD, proposedVote of Thanks.

Dr U.S.N Murty, Coordinator, ENVIS Centre, addressing the invitees and District MalariaOfficers Dr J.S. Yadav, Director, IICT, is seated (second from left)

30 APRIL 2006 125

Annual Day Celebrations

researchers working in the area ofvector control and also explainedabout the application of data miningtools for prioritization of endemiczones for the vector diseases likemalaria, Japanese encephalitis andfilariasis.

In his special address DrPrabhakar Reddy, AdditionalDirector, DM&HS, spoke about theimportance of the two-dayworkshop and how helpful it wouldbe for the District Malaria Officersin controlling the vector bornediseases.

The Chief Guest Dr SomasekharReddy, Director, DM & HS,Government of A.P., deliberated theimportance of such workshops forthe medical officers and stressedthat theses would go a l ong wayin controlling the vector bornediseases and thanked IICT forinitiating such programmes, whichhave great importance for a bettersociety. He also spoke about theoutbreak of chicken gunya virus,which was reported recently.

The participants were givenlecture cum demonstration on theusage of various software on vectorborne diseases, developed at IICTunder the ‘ENVIS’ programme.Theparticipants had hands-on sessionin the state-of-the-art ‘ENVIS’ Labof Biology Division, IICT,Hyderabad. The participants weregiven study material, user manualand the compact disc whichcontain various vector bornediseases databases and completeinformation about the ENVISwebsite.

The programme concluded withthe vote of thanks proposed by DrM. Mahboob, Technical OfficerBiology Division, IICT.

THE National BotanicalResearch Institute (NBRI),Lucknow, recently cel-

ebrated its 51st Annual Day. Notedenvironmentalist and Director ofCentre for Science and EnvironmentDr Sunita Narain was the ChiefGuest on this occasion. DrNityanand, former Director, CentralDrug Research Institute, Lucknow,delivered the presidential address.

In her lecture entitled ‘BetweenWants and Wastes: EnvironmentalChallenges in India’, Dr SunitaNarain said that in this countrymany believe that pollution was thesign of development but theimportant question that should beanswered was how sustainable wasour progress. Lucknow should befreed from vehicular pollution, whichis gripping the city day by day, shesaid. “It is wrong to compareourselves with developed countrieslike USA, as we are ill equipped bothin infrastructure and financialresources to take environmentalissues, especially in developingequipment to monitor pollution andstrategies to mitigate it,” she said.Finally, she said that solutions forthese problems lied in the mindsetof people and not on developinginfrastructure and evolvingmethodologies. If people startthinking differently then these canbe solved, she said. She called uponthe scientists and the masses to workin tandem for countering thepollution. She lauded the efforts inreviving traditional wisdom anddeveloping environment-friendly

NBRI celebrates Annual Day

products for the sake of mankind.

Dr Nityanand in his presidentialaddress threw light on the origin oflife. He said that various phases oflife are interrelated to each other andthere always remains equilibriumboth in the living and non-livingsegments. He further said that it hasbeen proved by various experimentsthat there are similarities in somegene clusters of most complicatedand most simple living organisms. Hewas concerned that environmentalproblems are on rise owing toenhanced imbalances between livingand non- living beings.

Earlier, Dr Pushpangadan, thethen Director, NBRI, welcomed DrSunita Narain, Dr Nityanand, dis-tinguished guests and otherdignitaries and presented theprogress report of the institute, high-lighting the work carried out during2004-2005. He revealed that this yearthe institute has come out with anumber of natural products. Theknow-how of the Bacillus based mi-crobial technology has beentransferred to M/s Biotech. Interna-tional Ltd, New Delhi. Anothermicrobial technology, i.e. Tricho-derma based microbial technologyhas been transferred to M/s GujaratAgri Processing Co. Ltd, Vadodara,Gujarat. The Nutra-Diab technologydeveloped earlier by the institute hasbeen transferred to another clientM/s National Energy Consultant,Gurgaon. The institute forged aheadwith development and transfer ofnatural product based technologies,

CSIR NEWS126

giving utmost attention to IPR. Thescientists of NBRI published a totalof 155 research papers in variousnational and international journals.

The Plant Biodiversity & Con-servatories Biology continued itsimpressive work on both basic andapplied projects related to taxo-nomic revision, biodiversityassessment, ethnobotany, conserva-tion biology, molecular taxonomy,seed biology and palynology studies,Dr Pushpangadan informed. Floris-tic surveys and plant diversityassessment were carried out in vari-ous regions of the country. Geneticdiversity in lesser known (under-uti-lized) wild edible plant resources ofGangetic Plain was assessesd fortheir ex-situ conservation. The iden-tification of lichens collected during22nd Indian Antarctic Expeditionfrom Schirmacher Oasis andneighbouring Nunataks was com-pleted, which revealed theoccurrence of 35 species of lichensbelonging to 20 genera and 11 fami-lies. Out of the total 35 species, 13are endemic to Antarctica, 10 are bi-polar while 11 species arecosmopolitan in distribution.

Describing the work of phy-tochemistry group, he said that thetechnology of Herbal Gulals for thepreparation of dry colour powdersusing natural dyes and natural in-gredients developed by this grouphad been transferred for three natu-ral colours namely Lac, Indigo andTurmeric dyes to D. M. Herbal, adivision of D. Manoharlal (Shellac)Pvt. Ltd, Sakti, Chattisgarh.

Summarizing the progressreport of Biomass Biology group,Dr Pushpangadan said that theBiomass Biology Group have done

studies on eco-friendly and sustain-able model for bioremediation ofcontaminated water bodies. Amission programme on Jatrophacurcas has been initiated. The grouphas developed a drought-resistantvariety. Besides, protocols for rais-ing seedlings in winter months havebeen developed so that nurseriescan be raised throughout the year.Surveys were undertaken in differ-ent degraded land sites for soilcharacteristics, plant biodiversityand microbial screening. Thebiosorption of the chromium, fre-quently found in polluted tannerywastes, by Pseudomonas and Bacil-lus spp. was studied. Out of hundredtwenty morphological distinctchromate–resistant strains screenedfor their tolerance limit to Cr andother toxic metals, four strains werefound to show maximum toleranceand bioaccumulation potential.

Narrating the achievements ofNBRI in the area of Molecular Biol-ogy & Genetic Engineering, DrPushpangadan told that consider-able progress was made both inbasic and cutting edge areas of plantmolecular biology and geneticengineering for applying thedeveloped techniques andknowledge of molecular genetics toaddress the questions in basic andapplied areas of plant sciences.

The plant molecular biologyresearch group carried out studieson transgenic plants for insect pestresistance and viral diseases resis-tance with encouraging results.State Seed Corporations and otheragribiotech industries have beenapproaching CSIR/NBRI to enterinto suitable agreements for furtherdevelopment and utilization of the

Bt-cotton technology developed atNBRI. Transgenic δ -endotoxincry1EC expressing stable lines ofcotton Coker 312 were selected andbackcrossed for the development ofagronomically useful cultivars. A se-lected high expressing line wasbackcrossed with an agronomicallyelite cotton cultivar Khandwa-2, heinformed.

Commenting on the efforts ofplant microbiology scientists, he said‘Rabies’ was a dreaded disease,fatal in 100% cases if no treatmentis administered. A plant-basedvaccine will lead to the developmentof a safer and economically competi-tive technology than the currentlyused technologies based on animalsystems. The efforts towards devel-opment of plant-based vaccinecontinued using rabies as a repre-sentative system. A synthetic genecoding for the surface protein(G-protein) of rabies virus wasstrategically designed to achieve highlevel expression in transgenic plants.Suitable laboratory protocol to pre-pare G-protein enriched fractionwas developed. Recombinant DNAtechnology programme was carriedout in fruits, vegetable and flowersto develop transgenic varieties,which show desired post harvestbehaviour and have higher shelf andvase life. The crops selected arebanana, tomato, rose and gladiolus.Several genes from rose were iden-tified, which are specific toabscission of petals under naturaland ethylene regulated conditions.Tomato plants were engineered forthe production of isoflavones fromtomato fruits, a therapeutically ac-tive secondary metabolite. Thereported health benefits include re-

Annual Day Celebrations

30 APRIL 2006 127

lief in menopausal symptoms, reduc-tion in osteoporosis, improvement inblood cholesterol levels and lowerrisk of certain hormone related can-cers and coronary heart diseases.An ultra-sensitive system wasdeveloped, for the first time in theworld, to detect phytoplasma induc-ing Witches’ broom disease ofWithania somnifera, Sandal spike dis-ease and little leaf of periwinkle inIndia.

In the field of Genetics, PlantBreeding and Agriculture goodprogress was made towards the de-velopment of high opiummorphine, yielding hybrids of Pa-paver somniferum. Germplasm lineBR 226 was found to be maximumopium yielder (298 mg/plant) fol-lowed by BR 228 (270 mg/plant) andBR 239 (216 mg/plant). For the firsttime Peronospora farinosa f. sp.chenopodii causing downy mildewdisease on Chenopodium quinoa hasbeen reported from India. A talcbased formulation of two effectivestrains of Trichoderma harzianum(NBRI IV and IX) and a consortiumthereof has been developed forapplication in sunflower and mus-tard.

A new hybrid of Hippeastrum,namely ‘Agni’ has been developed.Two new plant species namelyChlorophytum bichetii (Karrer)Backer, a native to Gabon, tropi-cal West Africa and Lepidozamiaperoffskyana Regel, endemic toEastern Australia have been in-troduced in the institute’s garden. Agarden of lesser known edible fruittrees was developed with a view toeducating visitors, especially schoolchildren, regarding centre of origin,

distribution and sites oflarge-scale cultivation ofthese plants.

Some new enzymes withunique properties were alsoproduced which are involvedin scavenging activities.These enzymes can find ap-plications in a number ofproducts of use to mankind.A number of such productshave been developed. Theprocess of in vitro cloning ofmature trees of Azadirachtaindica (neem) and improvingby inducing ex vitro root-ing in isolated shoots,obtained from cultures of pro-liferating shoots wassimplified successfully.

A range of safe herbalhair dyes with shining ebonyblack to brown and pinkishred has been developed. Thehair dye is non-irritant, non-itching, non-toxic,non-allergenic, antifungaland non-sticky to skin, DrPushpangadan informed.The dye enhances, the tex-ture and luster of hair.Moreover, the dye has pow-erful antioxidant activity andtherefore, it is hoped that itmay even be a hair tonic.An Indian Botanic GardensNetwork Website – http://www.ibgn.org was estab-lished and NBRI has beendeclared as the NationalNode of GBIF.

At the end, Dr RakeshTuli, the then Scientist-G,proposed the vote of thanks.

Two scientists of National PhysicalLaboratory(NPL), New Delhi, havebeen awarded the Department of

Science and Technology (DST)’s,BOYSCAST Fellowship 2005-2006.

Dr Divi Haranath, of the ElectronicMaterials Division has been selectedunder Physical Sciences category withsub-area of nano-phase Materials, and ShriShiv Kumar Jaiswal, of the JosephsonVoltage Standard and DC StandardsDivision, has been selected forEngineering Sciences category with sub-area of electrical metrology/nanometrology.

BOYSCAST is the abbreviated form ofbetter opportunities for young scientists inchosen areas of science and technology. Itprovides opportunities to the young Indianscientists/technologists who hold regularpositions in recognized science &technology institutes in India, for visitinginternational institutions to enable them tointeract with scientists/technologistsabroad, get exposure to latest techniques,participate and contribute to the latestdevelopments in specially chosen areasof science & technology.

Dr Divi Haranath is working withLuminescent Materials and DevicesGroup of NPL and is involved in thecore activities of the group as well asdevelopment of various industriallyimportant nanophosphors and theirdevices. He will be visiting NanocrystalsTechnology (NCT), New York, USA, for one

Dr Divi Haranath, andShri Shiv Kumar Jaiswal,

awarded DST’sBOYSCAST

Fellowship 2005-2006

Honours & Awards

CSIR NEWS128

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Honours & Awards

year for advanced research andtraining in the field of III-Vcompound nanophosphors useful forthe conversion of blue light fromGaN LEDs into efficient white light.

Nanotechnology involves thecontrol and manipulation of atomsand molecules, which exhibitmodified physical properties as aQuantum Confined Atoms (QCA).Advanced training is essential towork at this infinitesimally smallorder of magnitude and realizepractical device fabrication asspeculated by Richard Feynmanmany years ago. NCT, USA is theworld’s first ‘atomic’ nanotechnologybased laboratory. The expertiseacquired at NCT, USA in theproposed area of work will helpunderstand and develop novelnanophosphors that have bothscientific and commercialimportance. And NPL’s primary goalis to develop devices based uponQCA for various applications thatessentially involve lighting. In orderto have efficient lamps, NPL isplanning to develop novelnanophosphors that will generateefficient white light under UVexcitation. The nanophosphors insize range 2 to 5 nm, when properlyincorporated in a clear polymerprovide efficient, transparent andhigh-index nano-compositematerials which can easily down-convert UV-light emitting diodes towhite solid state lamps. The

engineering of an atom (ion) in thenano-regime will allow NPL tosignificantly change the paradigm ofdesigning new phosphors and lensesfor all lamps. The control ofrefractive index with use of QCAbased nanophosphors is alsoexpected to impact all optical,transparent materials where highrefractive index is desirable, such asoptometry, specialty glass etc.

Shri Shiv Kumar Jaiswal, isinvolved in establishment,maintenance, updating,dissemination and R&D activities ofStandards of DC voltage, DCcurrent and DC resistance. He willbe visiting National Institute ofStandards & Technology, USA(i.e.National Measurement Instituteof USA) for one year for advancedresearch and training in the field ofvoltage maintenance anddissemination using NIST Josephsonvoltage standard systems (includingvoltage transfer, array comparisonsand uncertainty evaluation),improvement in uncertainty for

Josephson array to arraydirect comparison andupgradation ofP r o g r a m m a b l eJosephson VoltageStandards.

The expertiseacquired at NIST, USAin the proposed area ofwork will help NPL toautomate its Josephson

Voltage Standard and reduceuncertainty in measurement andprovide better and comparableresults. The expertise in array-to-array comparison and voltagedissemination will help NPL to haveinternational intercomparison inJSAVS and establish degree ofequivalence. This will also enablethe laboratory to design, integrateand establish ProgrammableJosephson Voltage Standard, whichwill help in disseminating theunit of volt in India in simple andstraightforward way. Thus theIndian R&D laboratories,calibration laboratories and industrywill be benefited by bettercalibration facilities. Since thereduction in uncertainty inmeasurement and automationrequires skills in low-levelmeasurement (nano- metrology),Shri Jaiswal’s learning will be alsoutilized to establish facilities for lowvoltage (nV), low current (pA) andelectric charge measurement &calibration.