Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India has invited proposals for supporting infrastructure facilities for post-graduate and higher research, such as the renovation of existing laboratory space and cold room, modernization of laboratories involved in PG and higher research, acquisition of essential equipment Departments, Centres, Schools and Colleges to pursue research activities more effectively and efficiently.

The support under the scheme “Fund for Improvement of S&T Infrastructure (FIST)” for the year 2020 could include up-gradation of existing facilities, networking & computational facilities, including software & databases, scientific & technical books, maintenance & refurbishing of existing and new facilities, etc. It is considered as complementary support for enabling Departments/ Centres/ Schools/ Colleges to pursue research activities more effectively and efficiently.

All Science and Engineering Departments having strong PG research programs which have existed for at least 3 years or more in universities and other higher educational institutions recognized or regulated by UGC,  AICTE, and MHRD/ State Education Department based, seeking support for the 1st time are invited to apply. Departments, Centres, or Schools already supported under the FIST Program subject to completion of ongoing projects are also invited.

The duration of support for each FIST Project will be for a period of 5 years, and the last date for the receipt of nominations is May 05, 2020. The scheme will be providing four-level support based on the type of University or Academic Institution, and the selection will be through a peer review mechanism and visit to the laboratories, if necessary.

The facilities provided under the Program are intended to support the efforts of the Department as a whole or a number of faculty members in the Department with synergy and focus of research, preferably aligned to National Missions and priorities. For further details, interested applicants can visit www.fist-dst.org.

A new ‘In vivo Evaluation facility’ has been established at  Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), Trivandrum, an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology, to test medical devices on animals.

Dr. V.K. Saraswath, President, SCTIMST, inaugurated the facility on March 12th, 2020. The establishment of this new ‘In vivo Evaluation facility’ will augment the exiting efforts for indigenous development of medical devices in our country through supporting in-house development of such devices as well as by providing additional capacity to the Indian medical device industry and academia for their medical device development process.

The In vivo Evaluation Facility under the Division of In vivo Models & Testing is a state-of-the-art facility for housing large experimental animals having a capacity to house 40 adult pigs and 70 adult sheep in compliance with the recommendations and requirements of the regulatory agency. There is also space for minor medical procedures and acute pre and post-operative management of experimental animals.

 All the animal enclosures have automatic stainless steel drinkers for animals, and the sheep facility is installed with durable and impact-resistant polypropylene slatted floor. The building is designed to ensure the safe housing of animals, their management and movement, species segregation, and paddocks for grazing and exercise of sheep. The entire facility is pest and rodent-proof and also has an efficient system for managing the animal waste and effluent treatment facility to ensure least impact on the environment.

SCTIMST is a forefront runner National Institution in the field of medical device development using indigenous technology since the inception of laboratories in the Biomedical Technology (BMT) Wing in 1978 at the Satelmond Palace campus, Poojappura.

Animal evaluation of medical devices is an integral part of medical device development to establish functional safety prior to its clinical use in patients. The division of In vivo models and Testing in the BMT wing accomplishes this important task. Numerous high-risk medical devices such as the mechanical heart valve, oxygenator, vascular graft, hydrocephalus shunt, bone substitutes, dental materials, etc. have undergone animal studies in this facility to prove its safety and performance before it reached patients.

Currently, there is a resurgence of medical device development activities at SCTIMST under the Technical Research center (TRC), a programme funded by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. SCTIMST has recently launched nearly 40 research projects for the development of indigenous biomedical devices and biomaterials under TRC as part of the efforts by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) to fast-track work on indigenous medical devices development. In this program, dedicated teams are working on mission mode to develop technologies ready to be transferred to industry partners. The development of these medical devices requires animal studies to establish preclinical safety/performance.

Apart from its own activities, SCTIMST helps the domestic medical device industry in the development of indigenous medical devices by undertaking preclinical animal evaluations for their products since 2000. More than 15 Good Laboratory Practice (GLP)-compliant studies were performed for several Indian medical device companies. As SCTIMST is a significant center in India for doing such studies, there is a pressing demand for pre-clinical animal testing from Indian medical device manufacturers.

This new facility will enable SCTIMST to go for GLP certification by the Government of India, thereby enhancing the global acceptance of animal study data generated here.

Scientists from the International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials (ARCI), Hyderabad, an autonomous institution under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), have developed a cost-effective solar receiver tube technology for industrial process heat applications. 

The receiver tube technology developed by the ARCI team efficiently absorbs solar radiation and converts it into heat for the targeted applications, specially in industries. It exhibits high corrosion resistance suitable for Indian weather conditions.

Industries are one of the biggest consumers of energy. Recently, Indian industries have shown interest to exploit renewable energies, especially solar energy, due to their inherent advantages (economic and environmental-friendly aspects). In this regard, Concentrating Solar Thermal (CST) technologies provide a viable solution to meet the demands on industrial process heat (≤ 250 °C) of a majority of industrial processes.

The solar receiver tube is one of the key components in the CST technology. Currently, Indian CST plant developers are importing the high-end evacuated CSP receivers for CST applications. This has become a choking point for the commercialization of CST technology. 

In this regard, scientists from ARCI have developed a cost-effective wet chemical process to prepare absorber coating on stainless steel tubes suitable for industrial process heat applications.  The receiver tube achieved around 93 % absorptance (effectiveness in absorbing radiant energy, It is the ratio of the absorbed to the incident radiant power) and around 14 % emittance (amount of light, emitted by an area of the surface of a radiating body) along with good thermal stability and high corrosion resistance. The absorber coating has been successfully validated for heat gain and heat loss studies in a testing facility established at ARCI. 

Two patent applications have been filed for this technology, and an MoU has been signed with M/s. Greenera Energy India Private Limited for technology transfer, which plans to mass-produce the solar receiver tube for wider market absorption.

A few years ago, Dr Gaganpreet was a Post-Doctoral fellow and worked as Scientist at INST Mohali for some time with limited scope for independent research. But working on a global environmental concern has always remained a passion for her. She had been passionate about it since her early days and always wanted to do research work in this field. However, opportunities were just not coming her way.

As her family was settled in Chandigarh, their responsibilities limited her movement to explore opportunities in science in other cities. She was confused and indecisive about her future. Moreover, she faced challenges in her scientific life due to family responsibilities and the indecisiveness, coupled with family responsibilities, did not let her focus on her research goals.

The Women Scientists Scheme by the Department of Science & Technology (DST) came to her rescue. She came to know about this programme, and it brought her hope and scientific life aspirations back. After becoming part of this programme, she concentrated on her research undeterred. She got a chance to pursue her research in the premier research Institute like Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali (IISER, Mohali).

The fellowship prepared her for upcoming faculty positions, and she is currently working with Post Graduate Government College for Girls, Chandigarh as Assistant Professor.

“I feel the biggest challenge in women’s scientific life is balancing career and family responsibilities. Combining career and family is not easy, and often compromises have to be made. When I was also caught in such a dilemma, DST’s Women Scientist Scheme provided me with the opportunity to accomplish my research goals,” she says.

“I consider myself fortunate that I am working on toxic gas sensing and water purification techniques. Since sensing toxic gases is crucial in monitoring and controlling environmental pollution as well as in medical and agricultural applications, I believe contribution in these areas will provide the novel methods for the detection of toxic gas molecules with ultrasensitive detection efficiency”, she says.

Dr Gaganpreet strongly believes that this fellowship made her more and confident, and the knowledge gained during this period has empowered her to continue the research.“Because of this programme, I am able to continue my research in the field of gas sensing and water desalination applications. This scheme not only enhanced my employability but also helped me look at things from a different perspective,” she added.

My association with IISER Mohali has provided the resource and healthy environment to do research and my Project Mentor, Dr P. Balanarayan, has been a great help with his insightful discussions, guidance and suggestions. He has been extremely supportive and has given me the freedom to explore different areas,” she added.

“The outcomes of my DST research project will expand enormously the fundamental knowledge of phosphorus-based materials and will open the way to novel applications in sensing areas, Dr Gaganpreet mentioned.

Coming to this point has been a challenge, and she pointed out that she has been able to achieve it by being efficient, selective and flexible.

“Women should believe in themselves and be convinced that all they do matter a lot for science and society. They should be open, realistic and accept all the challenges coming their way. They should appreciate the exemplary courage of eminent women scientists who had overcome several hurdles to contribute to science. If some have done it, then we can do it too. Ultimately, this is your life, and only you can make the difference,” she pointed out.