.

Team SIF Kuwait wish our readers a very Happy, Prosperous and

Memorable New Year

January, 2017

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2 Third Edition of Sastra Prathibha Contest conducted successfully

On the auspicious occasion of the birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekanada, 12th January 2017, celebrated as

the National Youth Day, SIF-Kuwait successfully conducted the third edition of Sastra Prathibha Science

Exam .The biggest and the most prestigious science exam in Kuwait, involving 1000’s of students was

carried out at 18 major Indian schools in Kuwait with the help of teachers and 40 plus SIF-Kuwait volunteers

who carried out the mission successfully with precision. The one hour objective type exam followed the pat-

tern as 40% from the given syllabus, 40% from the existing academic curriculum, 10% analytical and logical

and 10% general knowledge questions.

SIF Kuwait team takes this opportunity to thank each one who made it happen Thank You!!!

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3

Winning KCSC team participated at 24th National Children’s Science Congress 2016

The winning KCSC team successfully participated at the 24th National Children’s Science Congress 2016 held

at VIIT Maharashtra adds to the enthusiasm among the students for yet another scientific venture. The six

member NCSC delegation from Kuwait was led by

Mrs. Sindhu Ashok, (Faculty, Bhavans Kuwait) and

Mrs. Mary Gomez (Faculty, Bhavans Kuwait). The

participating teams were given guidance by the senior

Indian scientists from Kuwait Institute for Scientific

Research (KISR).

The program was organized by the Department of

Science and technology, Government of India. Nearly

700 child scientists participated in the five day long NCSC

held at Vidyapratisthan’s Institute of Information

Technology (VIIT), Baramati, Maharashtra in December.

Children from all over the country and student delegations

from Middle East took part in the congress.

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4

IIT Gandhinagar scientists develop irrigation maps of India

For the first time, high-resolution maps of irrigated areas of India from 2000-2015 have been prepared using

remote sensing data. The maps were validated with ground-based survey data. High-resolution irrigated water

maps are essential for estimation of irrigation water demand and consumption on a spatial scale, crop

productivity assessments and hydrologic modelling. The maps were developed by a team led by Dr. Vimal

Mishra from the Civil Engineering Department, Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The

results were published in Scientific Data, a journal from the Nature group.

While the irrigation maps developed by the Food

and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) are of low

resolution, the high-resolution maps of International

Water Management Institute (IWMI) are available for

just one year and do not cover the entire country. “So we

developed annual irrigated area maps at a resolution of

250 metres for the period 2000-2015 covering all the

agroecological zones of India,” says Dr. Mishra. “We

used the remote sensed vegetation index data from

MODIS [Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer] and high resolution (56 metre) land use/land cover

data from the National Remote Sensing Center (NRSC) to prepare the maps.”

In the case of some States the maps tend to overestimate the irrigated areas while in others it

underestimates. “Generally, humid areas lead to overestimation of the irrigated areas because of less variation

in peak vegetation index, which is used as a threshold to identify irrigated and non-irrigated areas. Also, the

resolution of remotely sensed vegetation index data may not be able to fully capture irrigated areas of small

land holdings in India. And, a 250 metre pixel is considered fully irrigated even if there is partial irrigation in a

small field within a pixel,” he says. However, the maps have better accuracy in the case of arid and semi-arid

regions as vegetation is restricted to areas that are irrigated and therefore the vegetation index truly reflects the

vegetation health. “For most States we found our estimates of irrigated area are better in accuracy than the

maps developed by IWMI,” he says.

“Since a majority of agroecological zones of India fall in water-limited conditions, we assume that our

method is effective for India,” they write. The developed dataset showed better accuracy against the

ground-based survey than previously available datasets. The estimation of irrigated area can be further

improved if vegetation index data is available at higher spatial (to resolve small land holdings) and temporal

resolution (to accurately capture crop growth cycle, which is essential to differentiate crops that are irrigated

and not irrigated).

“We have plans to update the repository every year. By February 2017 we will upload the irrigated

area data [in the form of maps] for 2016,” Dr. Mishra assures. The irrigation maps from 2000 to 2015 for the

entire country are available in a Geotiff format in a repository and can be be freely accessed by researchers and

others. To highlight the trend and response of irrigation to rainfall variations, the authors chose the

Indo-Gangetic Plain, which had witnessed severe drought in 2002 and 2015. To understand how unusual

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5

CSIR lab develops advanced reading machine for visually chal-

lenged

Good news for visually challenged persons this New Year - tens of

thousands of them can get the most advanced reading machine, at an

affordable cost. The machine would bring to an end dependence on

others to read and learn. Chandigarh-based Central Scientific

Instruments Organisation (CSIO), under the Council of Scientific and

Industrial Research (CSIR) has developed a reading machine for

visually challenged, the most advanced so far. The sleek scanner

named "Divya Nayan" scans any script and read it aloud for visually

challenged to understand.

The portable device is based on the principle of contact

scanning of a printed document and converting it into speech. "The

device is standalone, portable, completely wireless and uses open

source hardware and software. The device can analyse a multi

column document and provide seamless reading," Principal

Scientist at CSIO Dr. Ashish Gaurav was quoted by the Indian

Science Journal.

"It is capable of page, text and word level navigation while

reading," he added. Currently it supports Hindi and English

languages. Progressively it will be programmed for other Indian and

foreign languages. "It is one of the fast track projects to be translated

into a product. We could achieve this within a year. The device has

been enabled for other vernacular languages besides Hindi. We can

also program the speed of reading the text as desired by the readers,"

said Dr RK Sinha, Director of CSIO. 'Divya Nayan' has an internal

storage of 32 GB with run time of upto 3 hours and weighs 410

grams. The device is equipped with WiFi and Bluetooth interface that

helps to connect with Internet. It also can be connected to a monitor

and use as a mini computer with screen reader utility.

The device's trial was run at the Institute for the Blind, a

voluntary body in Chandigarh. "We have taken the feedback from the

visually challenged and factored it according to their needs," said Dr.

Ashish Gaurav. India has a population of 15 million visually

challenged, of the 39 million across the world, who have long been

unable to access printed documents like books, newspaper,

magazines, etc. Braille is the primary source of reading for such

people. But converting text into Braille is time consuming, and thus

limits their access. Divya Nayan would bridge the gap of available

technology for visually challenged.

courtesy: www.deccanchronicle.com

Cont’d

2015 drought was, the authors

looked at the magnitude of deficit in

2015 monsoon rainfall and also

looked at the long-time data from

IMD.

“When we analysed the data, two

regions—Indo-Gangetic Plain and

Marathwada regions - were very

distinct. These two regions faced

very severe monsoon rainfall deficit

in 2015,” he says. “We hypothesised

that single monsoon deficit alone

cannot result in a severe water

shortage in these regions that was

witnessed in the post-monsoon

season of 2015 and summer of

2016.”

The GRACE satellite data

showed an alarming depletion of

groundwater in the post monsoon

season of 2015. Combined depletion

of surface and groundwater

resources was caused by the two

consecutive droughts over the

Indo-Gangetic Plain region.

“The deficit for 2 consecutive

years 2014 and 2015 was 51 per

cent. The drought in the

Indo-Gangetic plain based on two

consecutive monsoon rainfall

deficits was ranked one during the

period of 1906-2015. Statistical

analysis showed that the two-year

drought was unprecedented and had

a return period of more than 500

years. It means low probability of

two consecutive years being drought

years,” Dr. Mishra explains.

Courtesy: www.thehindu.com

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6

India has emerged as the most preferred destination for innovation

India has emerged as the most preferred destination for innovation in third largest internationally and

Asia, with 'Silicon Valley' of East Bengaluru leading the charge, says research by global consulting important

Capgemini. "India continues to be ranked as the No. 1 invention destination in Asia and No. 2 in the world for

innovation centres," the report said. Nine innovation centres were started in the nation throughout the time,

taking a total variety of innovation centres to 25. The list 1ith 146 centres, followed by Britain with 29 is led

by the US, and India is at third palce with 24 centres. The report said there is noticeable activity in tier-II

cities when it comes to innovation, and added that apart from Pune, which already existed to the global map,

Jaipur has also entered the list with two new centres.

The research, done by the Digital Transformation Institute of Capgemini Consulting in collaboration

with Fahrenheit 212 and partnership with Brian Solis of Altimeter, said attempts taken by the authorities are

the prime transferring factor for the emergence of the nation in the list. Pune, Jaipur and Hyderabad each

welcomed two new centres involving partnerships with the government during the March- October period, it

said. The number of active incubators in the country is grown 40 per cent to 140, using a volume 66 per cent

of them in tier-II and tier-III centres.

International names, including General Electric 3M, Qualcomm Technologies, Cisco and London -

based Internet of things consortium Hypercat have existence in the country today, the report said. The

footprint in smaller cities was credited to the IoT policy for 2016 -2020 along with the startup India initiative

of the government established early in 2013.

courtesy: www.typicalindian.com

Two girls from Kerala won awards at Science Congress

It was a proud moment for the state of Kerala as two girl students won outstanding project awards at

the National Children's Science Congress (NCSC) that concluded at Baramati in Maharashtra. Nayana Reji, a

plus one student at the SMV Higher Secondary School (HSS) at Poonjar in Kottayam won the award for the

project titled `Influence of moon phases on cultivation and harvesting' and Malavika C S, plus one student

from DVM NNM HSS at Maranalloor in Thiruvananthapuram won the award for her project on `Energy

conservation in tea shops for sustainable development: A study in Maranalloor panchayat'. Kerala state coun-

cil for science, technology and environment (KSCSTE) is the state nodal agency for NCSC, a five-day event

that began on December 27. Altogether 16 students, representing various schools in Kerala, participated in

the Congress, said KSCSTE member secretary and director S Pradeep Kumar. The project on moon effect on

plants by Nayana Reji was chosen as one among the 15 best projects and the one on energy conservation in

tea shops by Malavika C S was adjudged best among 30 selected projects.

Courtesy: www.timesofindia.com

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7

India Can Top In Science by 2030, Key Is Collaboration: PM Modi In Tirupati

India can be among the top three countries in the world when it comes to science and technology by

2030, but it can only happen if there's collaboration, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told 11,000 scientists at

the 104th session of the Indian Science Congress at Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh. For this to happen, scientists

need to get out of their "deep-rooted silos", the Prime Minister said. And it was necessary that ministries,

scientists, research institutions, industries, start-ups, universities and IITs, all "work together seamlessly". "In

particular, our infrastructure and socio-economic ministries must make appropriate use of science and tech-

nology," he added.

Taking a dig at the entrenched bureaucracy that runs in the Indian scientific scene, the Prime Minister

added, "If we want science to deliver, we must not constrain it".

The SCOPUS database -- the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature --

indicates that India ranks sixth in the world in sci-

entific publications, growing at a rate of about 14%

against the world average of about 4%, the Prime

Minister pointed out. It is possible, he said, that by

2030 India will also be among the most attractive

destinations for the best talent in the world. "The

wheels we set in motion today will achieve this

goal," he said.

In his 25-minute speech, PM Modi said

there was huge opportunity by research, training and skilling in robotics, artificial intelligence, digital

manufacturing, big data analysis, deep learning, quantum communication and internet-of-things.

He said it was necessary to have the National Laboratories to connect with schools and colleges to

develop appropriate training programmes. "Laboratories, research institutions and universities in each major

city region, should be interlinked to function on a hub and spoke model. The hubs will share major

infrastructure,drive our national science missions and be the engines that link discovery to application," he

said. Possibly with an eye on the cashless society that he champions, PM Modi said, "We need to develop an

Inter-Ministerial National Mission in the Cyber-Physical Systems to secure our future by creation of basic

R&D infrastructure, manpower and skills."

Scientists, the Prime Minister added, need to keep an eye on the rise of disruptive technologies and be

prepared to leverage them for growth.

Courtesy: www.ndtv.com

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8

Celebrated Scientist CNR Rao's Autobiography released

Eminent Scientist and Bharata Ratna awardeeProf C N R Rao's Autobiography 'A Life in Science' that

givesvaluable insights into the Scientific research in India and abouthis journey into the scientific world was

released. Former Supreme Court judge Shivaraj Patil and former ISROChairman K Kasturirangan released the

51st book written by Prof Rao. Speaking at the function, Prof Rao said he was dedicating the work to young

scientists. As a human being and as a teacher he had put down in black and white what is like 'Life as a

Science'. ''What makes me happy is young people come in large numbers by publishing papers in science and

help country improve its stature in research,'' he

said.

In the book, the 83-year-old Prof Rao

provides a rare glimpse into the life of one of the

most eminent, dedicated and widely respected

scientists of post-independence India. The former

scientific advisor to Prime Minister also talks

about prominent scientists of the past and present,

whom he was inspired by. He also presents a

detailed account of the kind of commitment that is required to achieve success in the field. He offers valuable

advice to young people who desire a life in science and suggests ways to deal with the inevitable roadblocks

that crop up in the pursuit of excellence. Prof Rao regretted that not enough investment was being made in

science research in the country and China during the last three years was stealing a march over India with

heavy investments in science research. We need to do much more both in quality and quantity of science

research''.

He expressed apprehensions over 'junk' journals being published in science sphere in India and

wondered who was doing it. People publish stale work and claim it as original. This type of thing is more

dangerous. Plagiarism, Chinese also do but it should not be tolerated, he said. The book is published by

Penguin-Random House. We believe the book will be a motivator for both young and mature readers who

respect and value science. Such books can play a major role in disseminating scientific temper in the society

and to let citizens know how the mind of a scientist works as they

follow my life-time journey in Science, he added.

Dr Kasturirangan said research had to be relevant and problem

stacked should be contemporary. The ambitions Prof Rao displayed

to promote science when he was the scientific advisor were

commendable. The book was an unusual work by an extraordinary

mind, he said.

courtesy: www.indanexpress.com

Hello Kiddies, Here is your Answers!!!

1. The skin

2. Bone marrow

3. False (there are 206)

4. 2

5. Larynx

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9

"An equation for me has no mean-

ing, unless it represents a thought

of God."

Srinivasa Ramanujan

Discover

VOLUME 03

ISSUE 09 JAN, 2017

Compiled & Edited By

Prasanth Nair

Reshmy Krishnakumar

Science International Forum, Kuwait

facebook.com/sifkuwait

For subscription mail to

discoveremagazine@gmail.com

Do You Know!!!

1. Leonardo da Vinci was born in what country ?

2. In terms of land area, is the largest country in the world ?

3. Which country was known as Ceylon until 1972 ?

4. Where can you find the cities Ankara and Istanbul ?

5. Mount Fuji is the highest mountain in what country ?

You have time till next edition