Annual Report 2005-2006

Science & Technology for Women

S&T Programme for Empowerment of Women

The scheme aims at development and adaptation of appropriate technology, transfer of proven technologies and demonstration of live technology models to empower women with inputs of science and technology. The programme has made a distinct impact due to its unconventional approach; gender sensitivity and involvement of S&T based voluntary organizations having strong linkages at the grass roots.

New projects were sanctioned in various technology sectors such as value added products from the medicinal and aromatic plants, women's health and nutrition, NRM intensified micro enterprise activities, sustainable utilization of natural resources of Kerala, small scale fish culture, mugaculture, fodder and fodder seed production, appropriate techniques for waste land development, plant based attractants for honey bees, value added products of Rockbee honey and wax and integrated farming system development.

Projects have been successfully completed in areas such as technology upgradation in application of natural dyes among traditional weavers in Sikkim, integrated farming systems and organic farming, documentation and conservation practices of medicinal plants in Uttaranchal and Tamil Nadu.

Achievements in ongoing projects

• Standardization of micropropogation for high yielding elite varieties of Garcinia cambogia and technology transfer to rural women. In the project 23,340 trees of Garcinia cambogia distributed over 900 Km of the coastal belt were studied for desired characteristics to include early bearing, yield, consistency and disease resistance. Material from 18 selected trees was taken for tissue culture and for grafting. Women are being trained to graft the elite material and develop nurseries of these elite plants.
• Protocol for sustainable harvest, identification, hygienic handling segregation drying, agar production and raft culture of seaweeds Gracilaria and Gelidiella was adapted for fisher women in the Gulf of Mannar area of the Tuticorin coast. Women are being trained in this new technology of seaweed culture and value addition, which would empower them to generate additional incomes.
• In a project on improving socio economic status of women farmers through capacity building on disease resistant hybrid seed production of Okra- Women in Tamil Nadu are being trained in hybridization and crossing to produce hybrid seeds of disease resistant Okra with an aim to facilitate women to venture into hybrid seed production of Okra for additional income.
• In a project on study and alternative treatment strategy for cancer cervix among women in backward tribal women a detailed social and economic assessment of women with carcinoma cervix is being undertaken in the tribal belt of Bilaspur District with an aim to develop a model for early detection and prevention of the disease.

Coordinated Programme on Fodder and Animal Feed

This programme is being implemented in 12 different agroclimatic regions of the country. The salient feature of this programme is the tie up between technology development agencies and S&T based voluntary organizations, field visits by experts for technology back up, midcourse suggestions and constant monitoring. Technology areas include (a) year round fodder production technology- cultivation of cereals and legumes in rotational manner (b) up gradation of poor quality roughages (c) silage preparation (d) preparation of silo pits (e) silvipasture development (f) fodder production bunds (g) cultivation of perennial grasses.

Coordinated Programme on Women's Health

Women of postmenopausal age group suffer from multiple problems such as-poor nutrition, cardiovascular disorders, osteoporosis, malignancies, and depression. Many of these are related to old age exacerbated by decline in the hormonal levels due to menopause. A multicentric study on Development of prevention and intervention strategies for nutrition related non-communicable disorders among post reproductive period women has been launched at 8 locations of the country involving medical doctors and nutritionist. The programme is being coordinated by AIIMS, New Delhi.

Rural Women's Technology Park (WTP)

During the year, six rural women technology parks have been facilitated in Pondicherry, Kerala, Maharastra, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. These rural women technology parks will showcase technology options, provide training and provide backward & forward linkages to rural women for income generation activities based on local resources. Technology areas, which will be addressed in these WTP's, are post harvest processing, soil fertility management, medicinal plant cultivation and semi processing, nursery techniques, aquaculture, energy. Showcasing drudgery reduction devises and women's health will also be a major focus of these centres.

Other Initiatives

Task Force for Women in Science

A Task Force for Women in Science has been set up in the Ministry to ensure that the interests of women practitioners in science are protected, and that appropriate measures required to promote women to take up the scientific profession are indeed taken by the government and other organizations. The Task Force will help the Government to give constant attention to the problems related to women in science. Dr. Mehtab Bamji, Retd Director Grade Scientist, NIN, Hyderabad, will chair the Task force.

An International Conference on "Impact of Women's Research in Science and Technology in the New Millennium" and "General Assembly of Third World Organization for Women in Science (TWOWS)", facilitated by DST and organized by JNCASR was held at Bangalore on November 21-25, 2005. His Excellency the President of India, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, inaugurated the conference. Hon'ble Minister of State for S&T, Shri Kapil Sibal gave the Keynote address. The conference covered a critical range of socially relevant scientific topics of interest such as environment, health, water and education. His Excellency the President of India released a Compendium of Articles by scientists from S&T institutions and developmental agencies. An exhibition showcasing technologies developed under DST's programme exclusively for women was concurrently organized, in which 40 organizations from all over the country participated (Figure 8.1).

Figure 8.1: An exhibition showcasing technologies developed under DST's programme exclusively for women during International Conference on "Impact of Women's Research in Science and Technology in the New Millennium" and "General Assembly of Third World Organi-zation for Women in Science (TWOWS)

The conference was held with the following objectives:

• Explore and identify new dimensions for women's research in science and technology, education and training.
• Identify ways of promoting the involvement of women in harnessing science and technology for sustainable development.
• Explore opportunities and develop strategies for the participation of women in the development and utilization of new technologies.
• Draw the attention of the international scientific community to the contributions of women to areas of critical importance to science-based and environmentally sustainable development.

Three hundred and fifty women scientists from 32 developing countries including India presented their research work, stressing policy issues pertaining to the participation of women in science and technology in their countries. This was followed by workshops and discussions on the scientific contribution of women to these critical areas. Fellowship Scheme for Women Scientists

Fellowship Scheme for S&T as a Career

The "Women Scientists Scheme - A (WOS-A)" of the Department of Science & Technology is aimed to provide opportunities to women scientists who had to suffer break in their career and who desire to work as bench-level scientists. This scheme is to help them re-enter into mainstream science and provide a launch pad for them for further forays into the field of Science and Technology.

The Department sanctioned projects to 81 such women scientists this year. The subject-wise distribution of the sanctioned projects was: Life Sciences - 41; Chemical Sciences - 17, Physical and Mathematical Sciences - 5; Earth and Atmospheric Sciences - 7; and, Engineering Sciences - 11. The age-wise distribution of selected candidates indicated that maximum number of selected candidates were in the age-group of 35-45 years which seemed to justify the aim of the Scheme.

The Department also received a total of 379 new proposals (Life Sciences - 235, Chemical Sciences - 55, Physical and Mathematical Sciences - 39, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences - 19, and Engineering Sciences - 31) for consideration of possible funding this year.

The fellowship scheme (WOS-B) has been instituted to fulfill various objectives in a challenging inter disciplinary field for the development of the society.

In the year 2005, thirty-five women scientists have been selected for the award of the fellowship. The scientists have chosen challenging areas of R&D along with taking up the task of technology transfer from lab to land.

Achievements under ongoing projects under the fellowship scheme

• Four strains HPAU-I, II, III and IV, two each of Pleurotus ostreatus and P. Flablletus Mushrooms were identified for strain improvement through intraspecific hybridization.
• Demonstrations and trainings on improved cultivation technology of oyster mushroom have encouraged women to adopt dhingri cultivation as an entrepreneurship in Himachal Pradesh.
• In a project on orchid cultivation in Assam, three species of commercially important local orchids namely Cymbidium aloifolium, Vanda terrace and Rhyncostylis retusa were selected for in vitro propagation and multiplication and women self help groups were trained for orchid plantation, production and maintenance.
• In a project aiming at year round supply of nutritious green fodder silvipastoral system were selected with the combination of Leucaena leucocephala and Sesbania sesban as a tree species, Stylosanthes hamata as a perennial herbaceous legume and Panicum maximum as a grass species.
• For providing some cost effective and efficient solution for fluoride removal, a low energy RO membrane at low pressures, is being tested at IIT Delhi, which can provide fluoride free drinking water.
• In a project being implemented in HP integration of aquaculture with livestock and vegetable production to increase the efficiency of resource utilization, to reduce risk by diversifying crops and livestock for additional food, income, security and options for rural folk, primarily women and children has been focused.
• Large scale production and popularization of mealy bug predators- Cryptolaemus montrouizeri and Scymnus coccivora and release in the mulberry gardens by womens groups and production of N. thymus and popularization in combination with uzicide, uzitrap against Exorista bombycis, pest of the silkworm Bombyx mori is being successfully implemented In Karnataka.

Other technology areas in which women scientists are implementing projects are:

Formulation of artificial diet for silk worms and ornamental fishes, value addition in bamboo, melissopalynological and biochemical analysis of honey, solid waste management, introduction of S&T in silk mat weaving, leather processing technology, development of advanced technique for effective monitoring of spatial and temporal variation in marine pollution through foraminifera, biofuels for sustainable energy management, electricity generation from wind, biological remediation for shrimp aquaculture, eco-friendly wood preservative from neem leaves and seeds, extraction and purification of sweetener from Stevia rebaudiana leaves, in vitro cultures of water moulds for biological control of mosquito population, sea weed cultivation, extraction of algal pigment for therapeutical uses, cost effective defluoridation techniques, micro propagation of high-value low volume medicinal plants etc.

Fellowship Scheme for Creating Self-Employment Opportunities in IPR

Women Scientist Scheme (WOS-C) was launched by DST, which aims at creating new self employment opportunities for women, qualified in science and technology by training them in the area of intellectual property rights. Under this scheme PFC had trained 15 women scientists from all over the country. These scientists were placed at 8 different places including attorney firms, ICMR, URDIPCSIR, Pune and PFC for hands on training in patent related matters.

Six women candidates have cleared the patent agent exam conducted by the Patent Office in Indiaand eight candidates have cleared the DL101 online course on IPR conducted by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). The scholarship period for most of these women has been completed and they have found placement in reputed attorneys firms and IPR Sections of other organizations.

Going by the success of the scheme during the first batch, the scheme is being launched again in the year 2005. Based on examination and interviews for 30 women scientists have been selected for the second batch. The one-year training for the new batch is to be started from January 2006.

This award for the year under reference was given away by Dr. Mohini Giri, Former Chairperson of National Commission for Women, on 11th March 2005 at a function organized at the Raman Auditorium, Technology Bhawan, New Delhi. The recipients were Dr. Mira Shiva, Voluntary Health Association of India, New Delhi for her outstanding contribution in critical issues related to women's health and Dr. Seetalaxmi, Kerala Forest Research Institute, Kerala for pioneering work in utilizing Bamboo Technology as a means of S&T based women's empowerment.