Department of Science and Technology is implementing several initiatives for upliftment and economic development of rural areas in the country.  A number of appropriate technologies have been developed, demonstrated and deployed at several locations in the country.

The Minister of Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Environment, Forest & Climate Change, Dr. Harshvardhan today launched “Pt Deen Dayal Upadhayay Vigyan Gram Sankul Pariyojana” which will experiment and endeavour to formulate and implement appropriate S&T Interventions for Sustainable Development through cluster approach in Uttarakhand.

Addressing the press, the Minister said that this project has been inspired by teachings and ideals of Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhayay whose birth centenary is being celebrated this year.

DST has conceived to adopt a few clusters of villages in Uttarakhand and transform them to become self-sustainable in a time bound manner through the tools of Science and Technology (S&T). The key deliverable in this approach is to utilise local resources and locally available skill sets and convert them in a manner using science and technology, that substantial value addition takes place in their local produce and services which can sustain the rural population locally.  Further, the local communities are not compelled to migrate from their native places in search of jobs and livelihoods. Once this concept is validated in the few selected clusters, it can be replicated across large number of village clusters in the country.

Four clusters at Gaindikhata, Bazeera, Bhigun (in Garhwal) and Kausani (in Kumaon) have been selected for the intervention through a series of dialogues held among officials of DST and Uttarakhand State Council of Science and Technology (UCOST); Gramodaya Network, Surabhi Foundation and Uttarakhand Utthan Parishad; and other experts. Intensive interaction with local population and field visits were carried out to identify the challenges and opportunities that exist in the clusters.

About a lakh of people would benefit directly or indirectly through this project in four identified clusters of 60 villages in Uttarakhand for pilot phase which are located at different altitudes (up to 3000 meters). As the living conditions and resources available at different altitude is relatively different, the adopted strategy would help in creating models that are appropriate for different altitudes and could then be replicated in other hill states as well.

Areas of interventions in these selected clusters would be processing and value addition of milk, honey, mushroom, herbal tea, forest produce, horticulture and local crops, medicinal & aromatic plants and traditional craft and handloom of Uttarakhand.  Post-harvest processing of Kiwi, Strawberry, Cherry, Tulsi, Adrak, Badi Elaichi through solar drying technology, extraction of apricot oil using cold press technology. Stringent product and process control interventions for energy and water conservation would also be ensured through this project.

Novel strategies for sustainable development in this ecologically fragile state are important. Practice of agriculture, agro-based cottage industries and animal husbandry in an eco-friendly manner will be emphasized during the implementation of the project.  

Sustainable employment and livelihood options within the clusters such as eco-tourism, naturopathy and yoga, are also planned to be promoted.

These clusters would act as model production cum training and demonstration centres. There is a possibility of replicating this pilot phase initiative in other hill states of the country once it is established and stabilized. Various scientific institutions would participate collectively in this endeavour to accomplish the dream of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay  towards ‘Swavlamban’.

Department of Science and Technology (DST) has committed Rs 6.3 crore support for a period of three years for this project.

Dr. Mahesh Sharma, former Chairman, KVIC and Director General, Madhya Pradesh Council of Science and Technology and now Chairman, Gramodaya Network and Coordinator Gram Sankul Yojana is steering this unique initiative. Addressing the gathering, he said, ”In my opinion, this is not a routine project.  DST has responded to a call from the grassroots by providing technical and scientific inputs which is critical for any project.”

DBT announces three High-investment, High Outcome Thrusts for the North East Region

Bio-technology in the NER – DBT’s Efforts are bringing a paradigm shift
 

The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) under the Ministry of Science & Technology,  has taken many steps to brings about a paradigm shift in biotechnology in the country’s North-East Region (NER). Eyeing an inclusive growth, DBT has announced a series of new programs and missions to turn this into a reality. DBT has established a dedicated ‘North Eastern Region Biotechnology Programme Management Cell (NER-BPMC)’, with an annual investment of Rs. 180 crores, to evolve, implement and foster biotechnology research in the north east states.

On the occasion of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Birth Centenary, the Minister of S&T, Earth Sciences and Environment, Forests & Climate Change,  Dr. Harshvardhan announced three major new initiatives for the North East. These new initiatives are in congruence to the Pandit Deendayal  Upadhyaya’s philosophy of “Integral Humanism” which is a synthesis of the material and the spiritual, the individual and the collective, which the world is now calling as “One Health” embodying the health of human, animal and environment as one.

The Minister said that DBT has committed to dedicate each year, at least 10% of the budget for the North-East.  This year at least Rs.200 crores is expected to be spent for North-East Programmes.  The Minister informed that as a result of the programmes, North East has become a major hub of biotechnology at the foundational level.  The biotech programmes are of the highest quality, the institutions have state-of-the-art facilities and there has now been an impact on innovation and entrepreneurship because of excellent human resources programmes.

1. Phyto-Pharma Plant Mission: This is a Rs 50 crore Mission aimed at conservation and cultivation of endangered and threatened endemic medicinal plants, and discovery of new botanical drugs for unmet medical needs using the rich traditional ethno-botanical knowledge and biodiversity of these states and at the same time also improve availability of authentic and quality botanical raw material on sustainable basis for a boom in the phyto-pharmaceutical industry. Through this Mission, it is expected to enable farmers from NE states and phyto-pharmaceutical industry to become global leaders in production and export of some quality botanical drugs for unmet medical needs.   For this Mission, DBT will be the nodal coordinating and implementing department and work closely with Ministry of DONER and other identified institutions.

DBT has announced launch of the Phyto-pharmaceutical Mission in NER with three major objectives:

1. Captive cultivation of selected medicinal plants of NER, which have great demand to ensure supply of authentic and quality botanical raw material to the user industries in the country. 
2. Development of technology packages for production of GMP grade medicinal plant extracts for export markets.
3. Production of safe and efficacious phytopharmaceuticals from medicinal plants of NER for unmet medical needs using modern scientific tools and following global standards.

II.        Brahmaputra Biodiversity and Biology Boat (B4) on the Brahmaputra River, a major ecology hotspot, in NER, in collaboration with DONER,  B4 will establish a large barge on the river with a well-equipped laboratory for analysis of all components of the entire ecosystem of the river and surroundings. The B4 will link to all the local research institutions along the river, as well as national and international laboratories.

B4 will have capability to analyse soil, water, environment, plant and animal life, human health and agriculture and  an  equal component that involves local citizens in the experimental process of science in data generation and management. B4 will also have a teaching laboratory for school/college children. It is also proposed to have mobile satellite boat labs which will run along the tributaries of Brahmaputra to feed in data to the main B4.

III.       Frugal microscopy through the Foldscope: a frugal microscope assembled from simple components, including a sheet of paper and a lens, is acting as a tool connecting students and science from the region, with the rest of the country.

A total 525 applications from schools, colleges have been received: 112 from schools, 357 from colleges and 56 from citizen scientists. All applicants will receive a micro grant between Rs 4 lakhs to 8 Lakhs as well as a supply of Foldscopes while being linked with NER.

Dr. Harshvardhan informed that in addition to the three new announcements, DBT has many major ongoing projects in the North-East in the following areas:

 Skilling Human Resources:

Twinning R&D Programme:  DBT has initiated 480 R&D twinning programs that link institutes in NER with those across the country. With an investment of Rs. 90 crores in the last three years, this effort has resulted in 252 research publications and 600 Junior and Senior Research fellowships awarded to the students to pursue biotechnology research.

To create an environment of training and research in medial biotechnology, DBT has supported Medical Diagnostic facilities at 11 medical colleges in NER with an investment of Rs. 40.00 crores. This facility is providing quality diagnostic services as well as carrying out research on various health problems prevalent in the region using modern biotechnology tools and technologies. So far more than 4.70 lakhs tests in different disease have been conducted by these diagnostic facility.

DBT’s ‘Overseas Associateship for North East Region’ has seen 208 scientists from NER being trained overseas with Rs. 5.25 crore invested every year to support this programme.  Through the DBT-NER Visiting Research Professorship (VRP) Scheme, 30 Scientists/Faculty are selected for bringing advancement in the field of biotechnology and life sciences in various institutions by sharing their vast experience and expertise with NER researchers and students.

At school levels, DBT has launched the ‘Biotechnology Labs in Senior Secondary schools (BLiSS) programme’, a first of its kind in India, for schools where biotechnology labs have been set up at 88 Senior Secondary Schools from NER with an investment of Rs. 2.20 crores.

For universities, DBT has set up 30 Bioinformatics Centre at an investment of Rs. 9 crores for conducting research on genomics, proteomics and data analysis. 

Under the ‘Biotech Industrial Training Programme’, deserving students have been provided stipends during their training at biotech/life science industries. DBT is also supporting 15 institutes in NER recognised as ‘Star colleges’ to provide them with enhanced lab infrastructure and mentoring by leading scientists and Fellows of various national academies.

To provide these students with access to world-class journals and publications, the DBT e-Library consortium (DeLCON) has been launched in partnership with 18 institutions of NER, which provides access to more than 900 high impact e-journals. With an investment of Rs. 54. crores in last 3 years, this facility has been extended to more than 150 colleges benefiting about 1500 life science students.

Infrastructure and Resource building

Infrastructural support for biotechnology has been provided under many programs. DBT has established 126 ‘Biotech Hubs’ at various institutions, universities and colleges to promote education, training and research in biological sciences including biotechnology. With over Rs. 22 crores invested in last three years, about 1000 training programmes were conducted by these hubs, with more than 1000 students, researchers and school teachers as beneficiaries.

DBT has also created biotech infrastructural facilities at North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (​NEIGRIHMS), Shillong, at an investment of Rs. 4.50 crores.

The DBT has established many centres of excellence across NER to focus on different applications of biotechnology. The DBT-AAU Centre of Excellence on Agriculture Biotechnology at Assam Agricultural University (AAU), Jorhat, promotes agriculture biotechnology research and is helping farmers by developing elite varieties for local crops and improving their yield. The centre, established with an investment of Rs. 36.70 crores.

The Centre of Excellence on Fisheries & Aquaculture Biotechnology (FAB) in Tripura has adopted 2 villages to provide local fishermen with good quality fish seeds to produce high quality fish products, benefiting 200 farmers.

DBT has also sanctioned an amount of Rs. 45.00 cores for the establishment of a regional level Animal House facility at Regional Medical Research Centre (RMRC), Dibrugarh in Assam, which will be accessible to entire biomedical research community of NER for carrying out critical animal experiments in disease biology, molecular medicine, vaccinology and pharmacology.

Another related initiative is the Advance Animal Disease Diagnostic & Management Consortium (ADMaC) for surveillance and control of trans-boundary, exotic and zoonotic pathogens from NER. This programme will house a first Animal-BSL 3 lab in NER.

To conserve the delicate ecology of the region, DBT has sanctioned Rs. 26 crores for a major network programme on chemical ecology of NER in collaboration with leading institutions in India like IISc, NCBS, and UAS Bangalore.

Recognising the rich biodiversity of the region, DBT is also pushing for the development of ‘NER-Scented Rice’ -- a biotechnology inspired variant of the aromatic rice, and NER-Banana. The aromatic rice of NER, especially Joha and Black rice, are of premium value because of their aroma and high medicinal characteristics. But, these are also poor yielders and are susceptible to pest attacks. DBT is now seeking innovative approaches that use biotechnological intervention to ameliorate the agronomic characteristics of this aromatic rice and other scientific properties, besides yield enhancement. Under the various twinning programmes, projects like these are being implemented with an investment of Rs.16.67 crores. 

Existing programs flagged off by DBT in the region have been enormously successful with almost all the allocated budget being utilised for the proliferation of biotechnology in the North-Eastern states of India. Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Hon’ble Minister for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences has been instrumental in implementing these initiatives in the region and has personally visited each and every state in NER to review on-the-spot progress of these programmes and to interact with students, academia, scientists and local communities. This has resulted in skilled human resources and enhanced research infrastructure and resource building

The Department of Biotechnology (DBT), under the Ministry of Science and Technology, convened the Smart Agriculture Conclave in New Delhi from August 29 – 31 2017, in partnership with the UK’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and Research Councils UK (RCUK) India. The objective of this conclave was to set the stage for “FarmerZone” - a collective open-source data platform for smart agriculture which will use biological research and data to improve the lives of small and marginal farmers. It is envisaged that “FarmerZone” will help cater to all needs of the farmer, from dealing with climate change, weather predictions and soil, water, and seed requirements to providing market intelligence.

FarmerZone has been envisioned by the DBT and aligns with the Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi’s call for effective decision-making in agriculture that integrates science, technology, innovation and the farm ecosystem.

With the agricultural conclave, DBT aims to advance the process of technological intervention to help small and marginal land-holding farmers, who constitute a major component of Indian agriculture.

The conclave identified the challenges faced in each agro-climatic region, and discussed possible solutions through scientific interventions. The FarmerZone platform will connect farmers and scientists, government officials, thought leaders in agriculture, economists and representatives from global companies who work in the big-data and e-commerce space to bring about technology-based localised agri-solutions.

The platform will work on getting relevant quality data related to agriculture into the cloud, develop sentinel sites to help link with farmers and evolve PPP based enterprises for data delivery.

Food security is a global concern and the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of families depend on small-scale agriculture. The conclave worked to address this challenge collectively and showcased the enormous research strength of India and its international partners in a global context, to achieve impact and build strong and sustainable research and innovation partnerships.

Over two days, national and international experts in policy, IT, agritech companies, academics, farmers and representatives, along with research and innovation agencies from India, the UK, the US and other countries, brought ideas, implementable solutions and discussed their potential role in building new partnerships that will help co-design and develop “FarmerZone” - a public good that can be scaled up and applied across a number of different agro-climatic zones across the world.

The conclave was chaired by Secretary DBT Prof VijayRaghavan, who stated: “This conclave has brought together a diverse group of stakeholders ranging from farmers, scientists and businesses from the national and international arena, who share DBT’s vision to use research and technology to deliver “FarmerZone” that will focus on solutions in the farming ecosystem, especially for small and marginal farmers.”

British High Commissioner to India Sir Dominic Asquith KCMG, said the joint initiative at the official as well as the academic level will further strengthen burgeoning relationship between the UK and India, and will go a long way to put to effect the enthusiasm of the Prime Ministers of both the nations to use research, innovation and technology for people’s benefits.

Deputy Executive, International for BBSRC Mr Steve Visscher CBE, said: “The UK Research Councils have a strong, growing partnership with India – a vital research nation. BBSRC and RCUK India are delighted to work with DBT to help make their vision of “FarmerZone” a reality that will benefit India and other areas in the world. This partnership demonstrates the vital role that research and innovation has in delivering prosperity and addressing shared global challenges.”

Starting with the indelible ink, the hallmark of the nation’s fabric, CSIR has left an indelible mark on every sphere of life. With an all-round approach towards R&D, CSIR reflects India in its diversity and heterogeneity. From agriculture to aerospace, bio-sensors to bio-pharmaceuticals, chemicals to climate change, drug development to deep sea explorations, earth sciences to energy, food to fragrance, glass to genomics, housing to health care, instrumentation to informatics, leather to light combat aircraft, microbes to mining to materials, optics to optical fibers, pigments to power electronics, road to robotics, sensors to solar energy, tractors to transport, UAV to under water vehicles, water to weather forecasting, CSIR has registered its presence. Swaraj, the first tractor, baby milk powder and first super computer are some of the most applauded accomplishments of CSIR.

To celebrate the 75 years of service of this proud heritage, capsule exhibitions are being organized across the country. As a part of these celebrations, CSIR-Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee is organizing a three-days CSIR Platinum Jubilee TechnoFest for students, teachers, general public and user agencies at the Institute.

The CSIR Platinum Jubilee TechnoFest was inaugurated by Dr. S.K. Jain, Director, National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee and Dr. N. Gopalakrishnan, Director, CSIR-Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee. The Chief Guest witnessed a huge footfall and most significant and path breaking technologies developed by the 38 laboratories of CSIR.

In his presidential address, Dr. N. Gopalakrishnan said that the Institute is inaugurating these celebratory capsule exhibitions with a three-day CSIR Platinum Jubilee TechnoFest. The objective of the technical festival is to educate the people especially students about the various innovations and technologies developed by CSIR and upgrade their knowledgebase in new and emerging areas of science which may provide an opportunity for interaction and exchange of ideas with the scientific community.

The exhibition displays the research and development works of CSIR laboratories in every field of science including aerospace and strategic sector, agriculture and floriculture, chemicals, petrochemicals and water, ecology and environment, energy, engineering and infrastructure, food and nutrition, healthcare, IP and entrepreneurship, nurturing human resources, leather, materials, minerals and mining etc. and the technologies developed under CSIR 800.

Various technologies including indigenous civil avionics such as “Hansa”, “Saras” and “CNM-5”, critical technologies for LCA-“Tejas”, acoustic tests facility for India’s space programme like “Chandrayan-1” and “Mangalyan”, micro aerial vehicals such as “Suchan”, “Pushpak-450” and “Black Kite-300”, engineering components for space applications, early warning system for landslides, high tech indigenous system for measurement of visibility at airports to aid pilots-“Drishti”, technology for nuclear waste immobilization, sustainable ways to enhance crop yield, promising aromatic plants, pot-plants, cut flowers and medicinal herbs, affordable healthcare, paving tiles from industrial wastes, converting waste plastic to automotive fuel and petrochemicals, eco-friendly pest management, disease resistant rice fighting blight, eco-friendly furnace, post-harvest technologies, treatment and reuse of textile industry effluent, autonomous vertical profiler, indigenous autonomous underwater vehicle-“Maya”, “E-nose” for sniffing out dangerous gases, zero discharge using HRTS, “Phytorid” technology for sewage treatment, hazardous waste management, waste to bio-fuel, carbon based materials, hydrogen fuel technology, building products from Kota stone waste, solar PV-RO systems, wood substitute building materials, infant food from buffalo milk, “Ayush” drugs, phytopharmaceuticals, foot care solutions, alternate raw materials for leather, gold from electronic sap and preserving of heritage structures etc , were explained through technical charts.

Dr. Atul Kumar Agarwal and Mr. S.K. Negi, Senior Principal Scientists of the Institute are coordinating the event.

The visitors also get an opportunity to share their questions, inquisitions and thoughts through discussions with the scientific community. The exhibition saw huge crowds of general public, researchers, user agencies and visit from about 5000 students from different schools and colleges of Roorkee and surrounding areas, including Methodist Girls Inter College, Swan Public School Bhagwanpur, Adarsh ​​Bal Niketan, J.P. International School, Delhi Public School, Phoenics Group of Institutes, KL Polytechnic, Children’s Senior Academy Roorkee and Manglour, Shivalik Public School, Kendriya Vidyalaya 1, Kendriya Vidyalaya 2, Shivalik Ganges Public School, Bal Vidhya Mandir, CBRI Junior High School, KLDAV Inter College, College of Engineering Roorkee etc.