Annual Report 2006-2007

Overview

The Department of Science and Technology, Government of India has assumed an important role in building a strong base for Research, Development and Demonstration in the country. During the year 2006- 07, serious concerns have been expressed about the declining competitiveness of India in basic research as evident from the global share of India in publications in journals included in Science Citation Index. The global concern regarding the challenges of attracting talent to study and careers with science have been shared also by thoughtful leaders of Indian science.

Support to a Strong Base for Research and Development in India

Mobilizing Support for Research and Development: A Eleventh Plan Priority: The Department of Science and Technology, as the national agency for strengthening the base of Science and Technology in the country has made sincere attempt to address the national concerns of declining competitiveness of India in basic research. The department has developed some carefully planned interventions to be implemented during the next five years. The planned interventions are a) attraction of talents to study and careers with science, b) attraction of larger outlay for science c) programmes for rejuvenation of research in Indian universities and expansion of base for research and development , d) increasing the efficiencies of delivery of research funds, e) development of measurement and parameters for accountability. One of the major outputs of DST during the year 2006-07 has been the development of a vision-led plan for the period 2007-12. DST has developed its plan and programmes of eleventh plan with a focus on long term impacts and on strengthening of the foundation of Science and Technology base of India.

The steering committee constituted by the planning commission for the development of eleventh plan for the S&T sector has recommended an outlay of Rs 30,400 crores for DST which amounts to 690% increase in outlay in comparison to the actual sanction of Rs 4399 crores for the tenth plan period.

Extra Mural Funding Support to Scientific Research: The Department of Science and Technology has emerged as the major funding agency for Extra Mural Research (EMR) in the country with a share of about 44% of public funded research in the country. The combined share of universities and colleges in EMR funding through DST is about 41%. DST has made some special efforts to strengthen research infrastructure for science and technology in universities by changing the parameters of funding levels during the year 2006-07.

The limits for Fund for Infrastructure strengthening of Science and Technology (FIST) have been raised significantly. The waiting period between applications has been reduced from five to three years. Further empowerment of Programme Advisory Committees for speedy delivery of EMR funding has been made. Special drive undertaken during 2006-07 for speeding up the decision process for delivery of EMR funds has started affording results. There has been a sharp increase by about 100% in the number of research proposals received by DST for funding through Science and Engineering Research Council mechanism. During the period between April- December 2006, total of 331 project with an outlay of Rs 6861.5 lakhs have been sanctioned. All efforts have been made to enhance functional efficiencies of EMR funding during 2006-07

Creation of New Mechanisms for EMR Funding Support: The formation of a new Science and Engineering Research Board during the year 2007 has been facilitated by DST. With increasing outlay for the Department of Science and Technology during the eleventh plan period, such new empowered bodies with functional autonomy would be expected to play an important role during the next ten years.

Outputs from Nano Science and Technology Initiative: One of the major highlights emanating from the nationally coordinated effort of DST pertains to the outputs of Nano Science and Technology Initiatives (NSTI). At the national review meeting held on 21-22 February 2007 at Hyderabad, major results emanating from NSTI were presented. The potentials for emergence of a critical mass in research and development in nano science and technology have become evident. Total of 150 students and young researchers participated in the meeting. During the years 2005-07, total of about 250 publications in SCI journals and about 20 patents have emerged from NSTI. Total of 11 units of excellence have been commissioned. In computational material science, globally competitive strength seems to be emerging. Nano mission is expected to be launched during the year 2006-07.

Support to Young Scientists: During the current year, sanctions have been issued for 208 new fast track projects for young scientists under the age of 35 with an outlay of Rs.2220.0 lakhs. Support has been extended also to 298 ongoing fast track projects in various disciplines based on the decisions in previous years. Several interesting and significant results have been reported from the ongoing projects from young scientists.

Science-Student Interface Programmes: Awareness programmes on Geo informatics and PROBE have been conducted in various locations among school students and teachers. Total of 1800 students and 13 teachers have been enrolled into the sub programmes on Geo Informatics. DST extended also support to an international visit of four school children to the United States of America to participate in a programme on Geo Informatics under a Private-Public Partnership model. Seven DST advanced Training Courses / programme have been organized and about 210 candidates (Students, Research Scholars, Scientists and Teachers ,etc ) in the different fields of Earth System Sciences from all over India ( including outside of India ) have participated.

A special programme for motivation of youth in science has been conducted by DST by arranging a special meet of about 400 doctoral research scholars and 600 school students with Nobel Prize winners and some science leaders of India as a part of India-EU Ministerial Conference on Science.

Partial Travel Assistance for Scientific Exchanges: DST provides partial financial support for travel to attend scientific conferences in various locations. Total of 759 candidates have been supported from among the total number of 1595 applications received for support during the year. Out of the 759 grants made to participate in International Conferences/Workshops, Training Programmes etc, 265 belong to young category of scientists. In case of some young scientists, full travel grants have also been extended.

Recognitions to Scientists: During the period April 2006 to February 2007, total of 14 Swarnajayanthi, 69 JC Bose, 9 Ramanujan, 24 Raja Ramanna and 75 BOYSCAST fellowships have been awarded after due processes. Professor Dipankar Chakravorty and Professor Ajay Sood have received Nano Science and Technology Initiaitive Awards for the year 2006-07.

Technology Development and National Outreach Programmes

Joint Technology Projects with Socio Economic Ministries: The eleventh plan initiative has embarked upon a mixed model of both bottom-up and top down approaches to the selection and implementation of joint research, development and dissemination of technology oriented programmes. The need for Pan India initiatives on select nationally important programmes with assured funding has been recognized. The working group constituted under the chairmanship of Dr R A Mashelkar has recommended that socio economic ministries which promote the use of technologies may allocate at least 2.5% of their budget outlay for research and development. A proposal has been mooted that the PAN-INDIA programs might be introduced for integration of S&T with socio-economic growth agenda of the country with specific programs being taken up through participation of STACs in Techno-economic and socio-economic Ministries.

Joint Actions with State Science and Technology Councils: A national consultation meeting of all state councils and secretaries of Science and Technology of state Governments was organized at New Delhi in September 2006. At this meeting, four areas of common interest to Science and Technology agenda of all state agencies represented at the meeting have been identified. They are technologies a) for safe drinking water, b) for decentralized power generation, c) for decentralized solid waste management, d) for remunerative utilization of regional and local natural resources. A strong plea for raising their budget allocations has been made by various State Governments and S&T Councils. A provision of Rs.5000.00 crore has been sought. States would be expected to make a competitive bidding for planned S&T interventions.

Technology Systems programmes: Technology Systems Programme of the Department aims at Development of Technology Systems in certain identified areas of importance. Under the programme, proposals having "Proof of Concepts" are supported and the programme has carved out a clearly identified niche role in technology development chain. During 2006-07, development of technology for removal of arsenic using microbial cum-adsorbent route has been completed and five plants are under field trials in the State of Chhattisgarh.. Two stage sea water desalination units based on indigenous reverse osmosis (RO) technologies has been successfully commissioned. In order to derive synergy of technologies developed in various institutions, a hybrid river water treatment plant involving integration of ceramic membrane based pre-treatment followed by reverse osmosis membrane based desalination is currently under development. A community model for deflouridation of ground water by membrane technology has been successfully developed and plant would be installed at an appropriate location during the year.

The possibility of application of advanced surface engineering technology to improve traditional crafts and modernized traditional techniques tools and skills has been explored. A prototype plasma system has been fabricated which modified the Angora Rabbit Fibre in such a way that it improved its longevity and surface finish. A project on micro-wave based tea dryer has been initiated with an objective of removing the residual moisture after traditional drying processes. Development of indigenous gyrotron for research application has also taken of during 2006-07. A new initiative has been launched to develop platform technologies for various applications including optical sensors to utilize existing infrastructure created for different intended application for the purpose of developing sensing devices.

Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Research Programme: The programme aimed at enhancing capabilities of institutions and the Indian Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Industry towards development of New Drugs in all systems of medicine has been actively promoted during 2006-07. Out of 28 proposals considered for financial support during the year, 15 have been recommended for funding. These included 4 Industry-Institutional collaborative research proposals, 8 for provision of Loan from Industries and 3 for setting up of National Facilities.

Total of twenty two agreements have been signed so far under Drugs research programme during 2006-07. These agreements involved DST as collaborating public partner in Public-Pritave Partnership. In one of the collaborative projects between CCMB, Hyderabad/ IICT, Hyderabad and Dabur Research Foundation (DRF) , Ghaziabad development of anti cancer drug by synthesis and bioactivity determination of antagonist analogues and mimics of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) has been carried out. It has been reported that the peptides and compositions made using the peptides find pharmacological applications specially in the treatment and prevention of cancer tumours and a patent on " Novel peptides comprising furanoid sugar amino acids for the treatment of cancer has been filed. Similarly from a project carried out undewr a collaboration among DRF, Ghaziabad, IICB, Kolkatta, IICT, Hyderabad, NCL, Pune and University of Hyderabad , Hyderabad, two patents have been filed.

NATIONAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM

The National Science & Technology Management Information System (NSTMIS) division of the department continued its efforts of generating and making available information on resources both manpower as well as financial devoted to scientific and technological (S&T) activities by conducting national surveys through in-house as well as sponsored studies.

Two national survey reports bearing research and development statistics corresponding to previous years were brought out during the financial year. In the report, the scope and the coverage of the R&D activities has been enlarged substantially by including the expenditure incurred on R&D in (i) Higher Education Sector (ii) Small Scale Industry (SSI) Sector; and (iii) Industries other than those recognized by the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR). The national survey for the year 2005-06 has been launched in September, 2006. For online submission of the data, E-questionnaires have been designed and the scope and coverage of the R&D activities enlarged by adding about 200 multinational companies performing R&D activities in India relative to previous years.

Directories for R&D projects executed during the years 2002-03 and 2003-04 have been brought out during 2006-07. A list of 2749 R&D projects carried out with a support of 570.5 crores from public funds has been brought out.

INTERNATIONAL S&T COOPERATION OF INDIA

The Department of Science and Technology has been the coordinating agency of the Government of India in all international S&T cooperation related activities. The Department has developed a strategic plan for stepping up the S&T cooperation activities of the country with other nations during 2006-07. Technology diplomacy, technology synergy and technology acquisition have formed the basis of international S&T cooperation related programmes of the Department. There has been an annual growth rated of ~25% in various programmes being organized by the Department under International cooperation in the form of workshops, number of exchange visits, projects and thematic events.

High point of the International S&T Cooperation related programmes of the Department during 2006-07 are a) Indo Asian Ministerial Meet on Science, b) Indo-EU Ministerial Conference on Science, c) Indo-UK Science and Innovation Council, d) Indo-Russia Research Centre) Indo-German bilateral cooperation and Indian partnership in the establishment of Facility for Anti-proton Ion Research (FAIR) f) Indo-Japan agreements for S&T cooperation; and g) Joint projects in India involving Scientists, Technologists of Indian Origin living in foreign countries.

New mechanisms for supporting joint research under Indo-UK Science and Innovation Council and Indo-EU Science and Technology Steering Committee have been developed. Initiatives have been made for stepping up the S&T cooperation activities of India with countries where technology synergy is desired. The year 2006-07 has been eventful for India in international S&T cooperation.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY PROGRAMMES FOR SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The department has been playing a pivotal role in promotion of Science and Technology for socioeconomic development. Flagship programmes under the societal initiative are Science and Society programmes, Special scheme for Tribal populations and Scheduled castes, Technology and Entrepreneurship Development, Science communication and popularization and state S&T programme. A major focus of these programmes has been referencing of technologies to the social contexts in which these technologies need to perform, replication of technologies in states through synergy with state S&T councils, active promotion of entrepreneurship based on technology and attracting and nurturing young talent to science and nurturing a scientific temper among citizens of our country.

Core support a unique programme for providing support to Science and Technology based Field Groups has been continued to address problems in rural environment though the science and technology. A core group based in Trivandrum, Kerala has been able to develop devices which reduce drudgery in work. A costeffective rotary sand sieve as well as a prototype of motor added pedal for Jacquard Loom has been developed. A patent for a cost effective rubber sheet dryer ideal for rural areas has been filed in collaboration with RRL, Trivandrum.

Under an agro climatic zone specific initiative (Technology Intervention in Mountain Ecosystem (TIME) Programme) projects have been supported in different mountain regions to improve livelihoods of the community by value addition to local resources through technology. The emphasis on improved productivity and value addition through technology include projects a) a model water shed in Rajgarh Area of Himachal Pradesh, b) eco-restorative farming in the hilly district Wayanad, Kerala, c) base Flow Water Harvesting from Shivaliks in Jammu, J&K, d) higher biomass production in relevance to hilly region of Garhwal Himalaya, e) Vermicomposting as a socio-biological study in Papumpare district of Arunachal Pradesh. And f) commercial cultivation of Lavender (Lavandula officinalis) at Zimthung, Dirang valley, West Kameng, Arunachal Pradesh.These projects may bring visible change at respective project locations to benefit and empower local communities.

The Coordinated Programme on Biological Integration of Farming Activities & Resource Management (BIOFARM) for resource poor small farmers is being implemented at 18 locations in different agro-ecological regions of the country. At one of the location in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, 15 farmers have adopted multi-cropping system, Azolla culture, bio-composting linked with bio-gas system and backyard gardening as a integrated approach of farming and resource management.

During 2006-07, thirty two action oriented multi-sectoral projects have been supported covering the technology areas of horticulture, biodiversity, medicinal plant cultivation, aquaculture, fisheries, animal husbandry, sustainable agriculture, rural engineering and health and sanitation.An intervention programme on exploring the efficacy of water filters based on membrane filtration technology, developed by NCL with financial support from DST,after a pilot phase involving 150 water filter units in different regions of the country to provide safe drinking water, additional 520 units of this filter have been installed in Kohima/ Mokokchung district (Nagaland), Ruskin Division (East Siang District) & Dirang Block of Arunachal Pradesh. The objective is to assess the impact of the newly developed technology on the health, through reduction in water born diseases in the two States.

All the ongoing projects under the science and society programmes were monitored involving expert groups in three separate Group Monitoring cum Sensitization workshop organized at Shillong, Trivandrum, and Bhopal.

Under the beneficiary specific schemes ie SCSP(Scheduled caste component plan) and TSP(Tribal sub plan) projects have been initiated in technology areas such as Some representative projects which have made visible impact on the well being of the weaker segments of population on account of skill building interventions include a) a comprehensive training package for 120 women of the SC community in TN have been trained in quality fibre extraction techniques of banana o revive the art of banana fibre extraction and utilization, b) skill up-gradation in improved techniques to increase the Mulberry leaf production through evolving new high yielding elite varieties, c) skill development training programme for SC youth in testing and analyzing of exhaust emission from vehicles, actual valve timing, concept of ignition timing, importance of emission testing and d) integrated training package for 128 Scheduled Caste women from 10 villages of Uttaranchal in off-season vegetable cultivation using poly-house technique

National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board

Policy Issues and Support : Based on the initiatives of the DST, Union Budget announcement 2006 has extended fiscal benefits to incubates with an annual turn over less than Rs 50 lakhs. This is a major fiscal support intiative for incubation processes.

Support in Global Bench marking of Best Practices: The Department has initiated programmes jointly with International organizations like UNDP on vocational training. This has broadened the scope and content of entrepreneurship development activities and brought in the international expertise for socio-economic upliftment. Under a Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative, DST partnered with Intel for organizing a Business Plan Competition. Although the innovative ideas were recognized and awarded, the ownership of the ideas remained with the individuals. India is the only country from which two teams reached the finals. A study on Business potential on European Union (EU)-India Business Incubation Partnerships was undertaken during 2006-07. Nearly 100 business incubation managers from India have participated in the specially designed training interaction modules. This has resulted in preparing the ground for promoting cross cultural ventures through EU India Business Incubation networks. The study has particularly focused on sectoral preference and the potential of university technologies for promotion of cross cultural ventures.

Technology Business Incubator: Two new TBIs have been established in reputed institutions during 2006-07.

Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development (STED) : STED Project aims to bring socioeconomic development in a region by promoting the entrepreneurial temper and motivating the unemployed youth for establishing micro enterprise based on innovative skills and technology. With the support to 39 STED Projects in the current financial year 2006-07, it is expected to establish more than 2200 microenterprises / units all over the country. Seven new projects were established in Amritsar (Punjab), Bogaigaon (Assam), Karim Nagar (Andhra Pradesh), Kolhapur (Maharashtra), Sultanpur (Uttar Pradesh), Tiruchirappalli (Tamil Nadu) and Vadodara (Gujarat).

Entrepreneurship Awareness Camps (EAC): Entrepreneurship Awareness Camp (EAC) is conducted in the premises of an academic institution to create awareness amongst students of the college about various facets of entrepreneurship and the merits of pursuing it as a career option. During the year, over 300 EACs have been organized, thereby exposing about 25,000 students to the concept of entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP): The Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) is an important strategy for developing human resources for promoting economic progress in India as well as in other under-developed countries. An EDP brings about a sound combination of techniques of behavioral psychology, tools of management science and available information on technology with a view to identify entrepreneurs, particularly 'first generation' entrepreneurs, strengthen their achievement motivation and train them in enterprise management so that they can confidently start and successfully run their own business ventures. During 2006-2007, 38 EDPs were organized with the support of DST.

Skill Development Training through Science and Technology (STST): Skill Development Training through S&T (STST) scheme aims at demonstrating the effectiveness of short term market oriented technical skill training in empowering unemployed youth to earn a sustainable livelihood. More than 8000 persons were trained during the year under report in various skill areas at different locations in the country by over 80 institutions

National Council Of Science & Technology Communication (Rashtriya Vigyan Evam Prodyogiki Sanchar Parishad)

The Rashtriya Vigyan Evam Prodyogiki Sanchar Parishad (National Council for Science & Technology Communication) of the Department of Science and Technology has been at the forefront of devising and developing ways and means for taking science to the masses. A variety of well-orchestrated and innovative programmes and activities on different aspects of science and technology communication were accomplished over the period.

Appreciating Physics in Everyday Life: A nationwide campaign titled "Appreciating Physics in Everyday Life" was launched. Over 300 colleges had been selected as resource centers for conducting these activities and undergraduate students were oriented to become resource persons for secondary school students. A 80 feet long poster on Turning Points in Physics' has been designed and made.

During the year, in collaboration with AIR, Delhi, DST produced a radio serial in Hindi titled 'Rahi Ye Matwale' in docu-drama format on the work of many Indian Physicists. The total number of episodes in the serial was 33-26 scripted and 7 interactive, based on feedback from listeners. It was an interactive serial in which about 10,000 listeners, generally college/higher secondary schools and members of science or eco-clubs were registered.

Lights and Shades of Science - Science Jamboree: Both amateur and professionals were motivated to look at science & scientific phenomena from an artistic perspective. A Science Jamboree" was organized during 19-28 November 2006 at AIFACS, New Delhi. The Jamboree created a synergy between science and art of photography and provided a means to popularize science through photography.

Field based Science learning Projects: Some low-cost and easy-to-handle science kits have are promoted by DST. A science kit on micro-organisms has been jointly by ASTEC, Guwahati and Botanical Hobby Centre, Cotton College, Guwahati... The Module comprises a small microscope, some other tools and materials, a few posters and an audio visual CD along with this Activity Manual. All these are meant for carrying out some open ended experiments described in the Manual and also available in CD format.

Teachers' Workshop in Innovative Pedagogy: Multifarious activities are being going on across the nation for liberating the teaching processes from its old traditional lecture method using chalk and talk only in teaching Science and allied subjects to meaningful pedagogy. An advance level teachers' workshop was organized during 13-16 May 2006 at Nitika Seva Kendra, Kolkata. About 140 teachers from different schools of the State participated in the workshop. Several experts conducted the workshop. The workshop was followed by holding vacation camps during summer vacation. All the districts will organize such camps with 70-75 children from 3-4 schools (classes VIII and IX) and in future these schools will form a cluster to implement the processes as envisaged.

Science Exhibition: In order to communicate science and technology achievements among the public urban and rural population, DST conducted a series science exhibitions in different parts of country. The overall response was tremendous at Kausani and Tarikhet, Uttaranchal during April-May 2006, Amethi, Uttar Pradesh in September 2006, Deoghar, Jharkhand in October, 2006, Erode, Tamil Nadu, in December, 2006. In addition, a thematic science exhibition on 'Planet Earth' was displayed at Indian Science Congress in January 2007 and o the occasion of Ardh Kumbh Mela held at Allahabad during January-February 2007 an attractive science exhibition was displayed in order to demonstrate S&T for common man being used in daily life. Further, on the occasion of celebrating anniversaries of two great historical events namely 150th anniversary of the Sepoy Mutiny and 250th anniversary of the battle of Plassey, DST has also participated with its activities as an exhibition "Bharat Kranti Utsav" at Ravindra Sarovar stadium, Kolkata in January, 2007. A state level science awareness fair was put up in North Lakhimpur, Assam, where 250 participants from different district of Assam participated.

National Children's Science Congress: The 14th National Children's Science Congress (NCSC) was organized in all 35 states and UTs of the country. The national event 2006 of the year long activity was held at Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology, Majitar, Sikkim. The local host was Sikkim State Council Science & Technology. It was organized during 27- 31 December 2006. NCSC is a thematic programme. The focal theme of year 2006 congress was "Biodiversity - Nurture Nature for our Future". Around 542 team leaders of 10 - 17 years age group screened through districts and state level congresses made their presentation at national event. Around 80 best projects selected at state level also participated in 94th annual session of Indian Science Congress held during 3-7 January, 2007 at Annamalai University, Anna Nagar, Tamil Nadu. In addition to the child scientists from National Children's Science Congress stream, children from Jawahar Lal Nehru National Science Exhibition conducted by NCERT, Lead India 2020 and children drawn from many districts of Tamil Nadu also participated.

Initiative for Research and Innovation in Science (IRIS): In order to promote and nurture the invention and innovation among youths and students of this country this department has joined hands with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Intel India and launched this activity. The national fair was held at Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi during 7-9 December, 2006. The International exhibition for Young Inventors (IEYI) was held during 13-16 February, 2007 at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. Around 300 participant from 39 countries and equal no form India participated. Around 179 projects comprising of over 250 participants from different parts of the country participated in the event. After intense rounds of evaluation and interviews, 6 projects (4 individuals and 2 team) were selected to represent India at the Intel ISEF 2007 at Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA. Ten projects were also selected as subject category winners and were awarded summer internships at prestigious science institutes in India. Five participants were selected for the special category award in recognition of participants efforts in research and development.

Motivational Programmes for Talented Students : These programmes aim to encourage bright students to select careers in science; the programme has been developed for class XI science students. The selected students closely interact with the scientists teachers in a national S&T laboratory/university science departments in their region in a batch of 25-30 for 5-7 days. On the concluding day, competitions are organized on report presentation, debate/speech/essay writing, with recognition to the winners.People's Association of Hill Area Launchers (PAHAL), Almora, Uttaranchal also organized a programme during 17-23 September 2006 at Kumaun University, Almora Campus, which benefited 26 brilliant science students of different districts of Kumaun Division.

National Science Day Celebration: National awards for best science communication efforts were also presented.

National Science Teachers' Workshop on Low-cost, No-cost Teaching Aids: A national level workshop for science teachers and communicators was successfully held at Nagpur from 24th to 28th Oct. 2006.. 41 Participants from 12 states and 20 from Nagpur and surrounding districts participated in the workshop. The participants also demonstrated experiments which they themselves had developed. Later on, about 35 school children (Classes 7th to 9th) were invited for one session.

"Science in Daily Life": Content Finalization Workshop:A workshop was organized on 4th August 2006 at Indian Social Institute, New Delhi. The aim of the workshop was to discuss and decide a specific and comprehensive format for the script writers. The workshop was attended by experienced scriptwriters, experts from the field of science, teachers and activists working with the visually impaired students and some visually challenged professionals.

Popularization of Astronomy using Mobile Planetarium: A project was supported to PAHAL, a science based voluntary organization for acquiring mobile planetarium to popularize astronomy and its related activities in rural schools of Uttaranchal.

Women & Child - Health & Nutrition Programme: DST is coordinating a countrywide campaign tilted 'Women & Child-Health & Nutrition Programme". This is a women specific programme targeted to women of different age groups (child, adolescent girl child, pregnant women, lactating mothers and old ladies). To avoid duplication of the programmes and softwares available with Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and Ministry of Women & Child, a repository in the form of data base is being made consisting of all the available educational material/literature in the form of posters, pamphlets, books, booklets, leaflets, training manual, guidelines, audio-video cassettes/CDs etc. produced by various government and nongovernment
organizations.

Science for Women- Sakthi Arivaayadi: In a Community Radio Initiative in Participatory Science Communication, catalyzed and supported by DST, a series of 365 episode radio magazine programme was produced and broadcast regularly from India's first campus based community radio, Anna FM @ 90.4 MHz, situated at the Educational Multimedia Research Centre, Anna University, Chennai. The project aimed at disseminating scientific awareness needed for everyday living amongst a participatory group of 600 women from two urban slums in the FM coverage zone, namely Kannigapuram and Kotturpuram through the broadcast of a radio science serial titled "Sakthi Arivaayadi" in a magazine format was to sustain the momentum generated and draw strength from the new found resources in the community to facilitate total participation.

Natural Resources Data Management System (NRDMS)

Natural Resources Data Management System (NRDMS) Programme of the Department, makes efforts to develop methods and tools to make those data / information sets available and accessible to the potential users and agencies. During the year 2006 the Government of India adopted a resolution to constitute the National Spatial data Infrastructure (NSDI).

During 2006-07, activities were pursued to prototype and test various standards made available by Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) / International Standardization Organization (ISO), demonstrate their utility in improving data sharing/ access mechanism, popularize geo-spatial data amongst different stakeholder communities, and work towards developing domain-oriented web-enabled data nodes at different levels of the planning hierarchy. Some of these domains include bio-diversity, hydrology, land administration, and disaster management (tsunami & landslides).

District GIS Centers: Training programmes were conducted to train officials and staff from the line Departments on the use of analytical tools and expose them to possible uses of GIS databases. On the initiative of the Chief Election Officer, Uttaranchal, a one-day Training on Election-GIS was conducted on 28 December 2006 at the GIS Centre in Almora (Uttaranchal). During 2006-07, GIS centres have been set up at districts like Jammu (Jammu & Kashmir) and Theni, cuddlore, and Nagapattinam (Tamilnadu) with active participation of the concerned State Governments.

Interoperability and spatial data sharing: Geo-spatial data and process standards prescribed by Open Geo-spatial Consortium (OGC) and International Standardization Organization (ISO) have been tested for spatial data/ information sharing. In particular, OGC's standard specifications like Geography Markup language (GML) Simple Feature, Web Feature Service (WFS), and Web Map Service (WMS) have been prototyped and tested. A Geography Markup Language (GML) Relay was organized at NSDI (SOI), New Delhi to test a sample GML data created from sample DVD data from Survey of India for interoperability. Leading vendors like ESRI India, Oracle India, and Rolta India participated in the event and demonstrated the use of their Interoperability Extension Tools in importing and exporting the test GML data.

Ontology Tool - Sangam: Spatial data sets are produced by various organizations using different data models and standards. In order to resolve differences, ontologies ('explicit specification of a shared conceptualization') of features are required to be created by a user from the available metadata or application schemas for establishing a knowledge-based mapping between them. An Ontology Tool, named SemANtic Geographic Data Access Methodology (SANGAM), has thus been developed to help resolve differences among GIS data. Capable of registering ontologies and storage metadata usable by different resources, the Tool compares descriptions of data across several organizations and establishes possible similarities with different levels of probability.

Disaster management (Tsunami and landslides) : Following the South Asian Tsunami in December, 2004, a set of multi-disciplinary studies were initiated with the objectives of preparing damage assessment maps on natural and physical resources on 1:8,000 scale, determining soil salinity and land use/ land cover changes including coastal erosion and deposition, assessing the contamination in portable ground water resources so as to prepare sustainable plans, and preparing risk maps for devising future planning strategies. Four sites in Tamil Nadu, one in Andhra Pradesh and one in Andaman & Nicobar Islands have been identified for the studies. With the help of satellite data and aerial photography, large scale maps have been prepared for developing GIS databases.

Detailed geological and geotechnical studies have been undertaken in 10 areas for developing model for calculation of factor of safety and slope stability. These models will help in improving preventive measures for landslides. A book on 'Landslides: Perception and Initiatives of DST" was compiled with the help of Indian Society of Engineering Geology, Lucknow. It can serve as a reference book for the scientific community engaged in landslides research and the field engineers in controlling the problem of landslide. A Landslide Hazard Zonation Atlas has been prepared with the technical collaboration of Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC), Pune. The Atlas will provide vital inputs on slope stability to planners in the hill areas while undertaking planning construction activities. Under the Mission Project on "Landslide for Uttaranchal", 8 sites have been selected (4 with the help of Border Roads Organization and 4 with PWD Uttaranchal) for detailed studies. Six R&D projects have been launched to undertake detailed geological/ topographical mapping and geotechnical investigations to understand the mechanism of slope failure.

Land Administration: Land administration is an important item of activity for the Nagarpalikas or Municipalities. Studies were launched for the Indore Municipality (Madhya Pradesh) and Chandni Chawk (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) to demonstrate the utility of geo-spatial data and technologies in improving tax administration and monitoring encroachments. Officials from the user agencies have been trained on the use of the tools developed under these studies. In order to demonstrate the capability of 3D visualization techniques and establish real time systems for monitoring building construction using high resolution satellite imagery, vehicle borne and static laser systems have been deployed on an experimental basis. A 20 sq.km area in Chandni Chowk, Delhi has been taken up for detailed studies. A 3D GIS database has been developed for use by a real time monitoring control room set up by the MCD on a pilot basis.A Tax Collection System has been developed for Chandni Chowk using cadastral maps to support the officials from the MCD in assessing land revenue based on the size of the cadastres and their land use type.

Science and Technology for Women - Empowering rural women through S&T

"S&T for Women": The Scheme is a pioneering gender initiative of the department The broad objectives of this scheme are to promote development and adaptation of appropriate technologies, transfer of proven technologies and demonstration of live technology models to benefit women. During the year under the scheme, 44 projects have been sponsored in technology areas such as natural resource management, bio attractants for honey bee, production and fabrication techniques of optical components for scientific/ optical instruments, paper recycling technology, root mat production and other modern agricultural practices, nursery techniques for aromatic and medicinal plants cultivation, rural dairy, watershed based soil and water conservation, preservation, processing and post harvest technology of off seasonal vegetables, tissue culture technology.

Technology Development and Transfer: During the course of the year technologies developed were transferred to user groups one such cost effective technology for production of sanitary napkins was based on waste rayon has been developed at Shriram Institute of Industrial Research, New Delhi. Fifteen groups have been trained in the technology on a pilot scale production plant. The technology package is now ready for field trials after location specific adaptation. Total of five villages namely Bon, Malla, Tukhar and Mukhva of Uttarkashi district and Ambiwala village of Dehradun district of Uttaranchal have been developed as pulse villages. About 120 women (25 from each village) have been trained in cultivation practices, grading and packaging and value added products from pulses. Twelve Enterprise Incubators for Rural Women or "Udyamita Suvidha Kendra have been established with a view to providing opportunities for women for enhanced livelihood.

Women's Participation: A well articulated development strategy evolved has ensured the total involvement of women in design and development, implementation and post project sustainability of the programmes. In order to sustain activities started in the Women Technology Park set up at Dehradun, women have been encouraged to set up a cooperative under Women's Initiative for Self Employment 'WISE'. WISE has a membership of more than 2500 women in Uttrakhand who are involved in S&T based livelihood generation in both farm and non farm activities and micro credit.

Rural Women's Technology Park: Rural Women Technology Parks are set up for special terrains such as coastal, hill and arid zone. Eighteen Women Technology parks have been facilitated in the States viz. Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharahtra, Pondicherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal..

Fodder and Animal feed: A need based programme to ensure availability of fodder round the year to rural women engaged in animal husbandry is being implemented in 12 different agroclimatic regions of the country. 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. The technology for preservation of fodder has now been standardized. Ten women at each site have been trained in profitable usage of this technology. As an outcome of this project: (i) a simple low cost chara cutting device has been developed women (ii) training has been conducted for all project partners at BAIF, Pune to impart modern techniques of preservation and management of fodder.

Programme on women's health: 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.

National Award for Women's Development through Application of Science & Technology : This award was instituted in the year 2000 with an aim to recognize the contribution of individuals/organizations who have worked at the grass root level for women's development through application of science and technology. The award carries a cash award of Rs.1.00 lakh along with a citation. Awards for the year 2005 have been presented and selection made for the year 2006.

Fellowship Scheme for Women Scientists: The 'Women Scientists Scheme (WOS) of the Department of Science and Technology is aimed at providing opportunities to women scientists and technologists for pursuing research in frontier areas of science and engineering. Out of the total of 390 new proposals received during 2006-07, fifty six (56) projects were approved for financial support under WOS-A scheme.47candidates were selected for awarding the scholarship for the year under WOS-B scheme.

Autonomous Institutions

The Department of Science and Technology supports total of 19 institutions and five professional associations. Among them total of 14 are engaged directly in research and development. The institutions engaged in research and development could be broadly grouped among four categories based on their research focus. The four categories are a) Outer space Observations, b) Global history and health, c) molecules to materials and d) science applications for well being. Apart from these 14, Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council, (TIFAC), Vigyan Prasar, National Accreditation Board for Laboratories and Technology Development Board are four institutions that support science and technology related advance functions.

Distant observations

Indian Institute Astrophysics (IIA), Raman Research Institute (RRI) and ARIES are engaged in research relating to astronomy and astrophysics. These institutions are engaged in discovery of natural processes and phenomena in interstellar systems. Major outputs emanating from this group of laboratories are in the nature of publications in highly peer values Science Citation Indexed journals. These laboratories maintain an outputs of about 5 to 5.5 publications per scientist per year with an average Impact Factor aggregate of 3.3 per paper. Efforts to build one of the most powerful astronomical telescope facilities in Asia have been
initiated during 2006-07.

Global History and Health

Birbal Sahni Institute for Paleobotany (BSIP), Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology(WIGH) and Indian Institute of Geo magnetism (IIG) are three institutions engaged in observations leading to the better understanding of global history and dynamical processes of earth. These institutions are engaged in recreating historical events on earth and relate to predictions of natural and gigantic events. Major outputs of these institutions are in the nature of new global observations, which form publications in peer valued journals. Total of four publications have appeared in globally high impact journals like Science from these laboratories during the last two years. Modernization of research facilities in these laboratories formed the major thrust during 2006-07.

Molecules and materials

A set of laboratories with high research productivity formed this group. They are a) Jawahar Lal Nehru Center for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Indian Association for Cultivation of Sciences (IACS), Bose Institute, SN Bose Centre, Center for Liquid Crystal Research (CLCR). Research outputs as measured by publications in SCI journals of high impact have been in the range of 6+2 per scientist per year with an average Impact Factor per paper of over 2.5. Outputs of institutions like JNCASR in terms of publication in SCI journals compared favorably with the global bench marks for such research agencies. Some important land mark contributions in basic research have been made in the area of nano and material sciences.

Science applications for Well being

A set of institutions supported by the Department of Science and Technology focused science applications for well being of people. They are Advanced Research Center International (ARCI), Sree Chitra Thirunal Institute for Medical science and Technology (STIMST) and Agarkar Research Institute (ARI). SCTIMST has made balanced contributions in the form outputs to basic research, development and commercialization of technologies and capacity building. SCTIMST figured among the second highest academic centres of the country in generation of patents second only to the group of seven Indian Institutes of Technology in a recently conducted survey. ARCI has been successful in commercialization of several technologies including the one for nano coating of water filters for low cost house hold applications for safe drinking water. ARI has been successful in developing an industrial enzyme formulation which render enzymatic depilation of skins and hides in leather processing a global reality. This represents a technological breakthrough.

Advanced Science and Technology Functions

A set of four institutions play the role of science and advanced technology service functions. They are
a) National Accreditation Board for Laboratories (NABL), b): Technology Development Board (TDB),
c) Technology Information, Assessment and Forecasting Council (TIFAC) and Vigyan Prasar (VP). In addition,
DST is engaged in providing Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) Certification.

NABL is the National agency for accreditation of laboratories with a net work of more than 850 laboratories has gained brand equity among laboratory service providers. This entity is economically self sustaining and plans to expand its network in a planned manner. During 2006-07, the NABL accredited laboratory network expanded to include 126 new laboratories. TDB has completed ten years of its establishment. An internal review of TDB has been undertaken. New mechanisms for scouting and supporting technology innovations have been undertaken. During the year 2006-07, total of 14 projects have been supported. Four projects supported during earlier years have gained considerable commercial successes and national visibility. They included ventures like Human Health care products as well as electronic engineering advanced technology products. TIFAC has been engaged in the implementation of technology missions relating to sugar, fly ash, and bamboo. Significant advancements in spreading of technologies in the areas of sugar, fly ash and bamboo have been reported. Capacity Building in new areas of science and engineering through TIFAC -Core has been undertaken. Some institutions supported by TIFAC are now diversifying into research in advanced areas in association with industrial users. Advanced composites and CAR projects added new dimensions during 2006-07. TIFAC mounted a new security technology initiative for promoting coordinated research and development of new tools and techniques for Home land Security during 2006-07. VP is engaged in number of activities relating to reach of science through various media. The content preparation for such outreach has been the main strength of VP. During the year 2006-07, several science serials in different Indian languages and English were produced and broadcast through All India Radio. The popular science serial designed and developed by VP "Aisa Hi Hota Hai" has been dubbed in to eleven Indian languages and telecasted through regional channels of Doordarshan Kendras (DDK). Around 50 innovative experiments on magnetism, light, mechanics, electricity etc. have been demonstrated at several places. VP has developed for itself a new vision this year. Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) certification has been successful in certifying total of one laboratory for GLP during the year 2006-07.

Survey of India and National Atlas and Thematic Mapping Organization

The Department of oversees the programmes and activities of the Sub departments namely Survey of India and National Atlas and Thematic Mapping Organization. Survey Of India has assumed a leadership role by providing user- focused, cost-effective, reliable and quality geospatial data products to meet the needs of national security, consumer demands for such information products. SOI participates in the national development by partnering with state and public agencies. Restructuring of SOI to meet the challenging and emerging needs of the country for value added Geo spatial data products of required resolution and data intensity matched with flexibility of operation for meeting challenges of dynamic market competition has been undertaken. Plans for creation, development and maintaining of National Topographic Data Base of entire country on 1:10,000 scale and generation of 1:2,000 scale Maps for 400 Cities/Major Towns have been developed. Proposal for the establishment of Survey Board has been made. Modernization plans for SOI have been finalized. Following mapping policy statements, demand for map products for urban development has increased manifold. More than 3900 maps with the 1:50000 resolution have been already cleared for wide use in public domain.

NATMO has been able to develop compete city map for Kolkata for Web applications during the year 2006-07. This is one of the most important highlights of Geo products from the Department through NATMO.

Way forward

The Department of Science and Technology has embarked upon a grand plan to strengthen the science and technology base of India during the eleventh plan period. Founded in the year 1971, DST, in the past, has played the role of a catalyst and assumed reactive functions. During the year 2006-07, DST has formulated its own vision for the year 2015 and announced its intention to play the proactive and participative function in preparing the S&T agenda for the country during the XIth and XIIth plan periods. DST plans to partner with other socio-economic ministries and link its activities to the technology led growth agenda of India. During 2006-07 many new initiatives have been made. The best is yet to come. The Department commits to deliver the best for the science and technology of the country.