30 Dec - niscair

YELLOW CYAN MAGENTA BLACK

ISSN 0409-7467

VOL 58 NO 24 30 DECEMBER 2008

YELLOW CYAN MAGENTA BLACK

CSIR Director General’s address on completion of one year in office

<

Prof. Samir K. Brahmachari, who took over reins of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) as its

Director General and of the Department of Scientific & Industrial Research (DSIR) as its Secretary on 12 November 2007, has completed one year of successful leadership of CSIR and DSIR.

A world-renowned scientist in the field of Genomics and Computational Analysis, Prof. Brahmachari was Director of the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), Delhi, prior to the present assignment. Under his stewardship the erstwhile CSIR Centre for Biochemical Technology was transformed into a world-class institute of knowledge generation and development, the IGIB, which forged alliances with industrial outfits that are expert in production, marketing and wealth generation in the area. The formation of Genomed in collaboration with Nicholas Piramal India, for study and advancement of Genomics, Pharmacogenomics and Bioinformatics, creation of The Centre for Genomic Application (TCGA) project involving the Chatterjee Group and IGIB/CSIR/DST as a shared resource for all the research centres in the country are examples of such efforts. At the international level he participated in the formulation of the UN-sponsored HUGO project as an elected member of the HUGO Council.

CSIR NEWS378378378378378

R&D HighlightsR&D HighlightsR&D HighlightsR&D HighlightsR&D Highlights

Prof. Brahmachari began bytaking stock of the past one yearsince he had assumed office andthanked the scientists and staff forthe eventful first year. Moreimportantly he described andexhorted the scientists to imbibe thequalities of a leader.

Prof. Brahmachari said, “Ithought I knew CSIR. Actually Ionly knew the rules of CSIR. I didnot know the enormous diversity ofCSIR; the scientific might and thestrength of CSIR; nor did I know themany complex issues that a DG-CSIR has to face. But I believe, andI have believed throughout my lifethat if you have faith in people, ifyou have the courage to face truth,an ability to speak the truth, thecourage to stand on conviction andprinciples, you can meet anychallenge. It is said that a leader iswatched. People may not alwaysbelieve what a leader says. But theywill observe what a leader does.And only when they are convincedwill they follow,” Prof. Brahmachariremarked.

Paying rich tributes to theformer Director Generals of CSIR,Prof. Brahmachari said, “What wehave today is because of all that theillustrious DGs did earlier. They didtheir best what could be done at that

after a legal battle. But this onespark led to a huge light being lit allover India. The Government of Indiahas recently brought in Bayh DoleAct. Around 12 years back, a DG ofCSIR lit the small spark. It is aninnovation path now.”

“In Hindu belief,” Prof.Brahmachari continued, “life is acontinuum. You go around andaround and are only part of acontinuum. It is an interestingphilosophy. In CSIR’s history, eachDG is an incarnation, each scientist,staff member is an incarnation too.They come, perform and go away.The institute is the atma, the spirit.We, the people, are the body.Rabindranath Tagore said, ‘Ateeterkotha kohi bortoman jodi jai, shaykotha o koibo na.’ Roughly translatedit means: If talking about the past,the present passes away, I will nottalk about the past. I willconcentrate on the present and thefuture. I will not make a list of theachievements — that is a waste oftime.”

“To me CSIR stands for Councilof Scientific and InnovativeResearch. Then we will addCorporate Social IndianResponsibility. I urge you to thinkabout the common man. Keep himin mind when you work. This is my

juncture. It sometimes surprises methat how they could do so well andhow they thought so differently,which made CSIR so fantastic. In1953, a DG thought of NRDC— acompany for spin-offs of CSIRtechnology. In 1984, another DGthought to set up DSIR! Look at therecord. In every single term of everyDG — They have done unbelievablethings. I am told that after the GOIand Indian Railways, CSIR owns themost real estate. Think about allthose DGs who took the decision tobuy the sprawling tracts of land —prime property. Just think about thelocation of Anusandhan Bhawan —right next to the Parliament building.What great vision all these leadershad. Before these great visionaries,my achievements, whatever they be,are small by comparison. I feelhumble when I realize that my namewill come on the list along withthem.”

“If you look back you willremember our battle to win backour own traditional knowledge. Ourfight to win back the Haldi patentcame at a time when only a fewknew what patents were. CSIR tookthe initiative. There were no grants.Yet a DG-CSIR took on the world’smightiest of the mighty. Challengedthem, and got the patent revoked

A recipient of several prestigious honours and awards, such as Bhatnagar Prize, FICCI Award, RanbaxyResearch Award and VASVIK Award, Prof. Brahmachari, believes that CSIR not only stands for ‘Council ofScientific & Industrial Research’ but also for ‘Council of Scientific & Innovative Research with corporate, socialIndian responsibility’.

Prof. Brahmachari addressed a large gathering of CSIR scientists who had assembled in the CSIR auditorium;the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Sabhaghar, on 11 November 2008 to felicitate Prof. Brahmachari on his completionof one year in the office.

Welcoming Prof. Brahmachari to the felicitation function, Dr Naresh Kumar, Head, RDPD, said, “We haveassembled here today to listen to the dreams, wishes and expectations of our leader, Prof. Samir K. Brahmachari,Director General, CSIR...”

30 DECEMBER 2008 379379379379379


target. I am confident you will. Thisis my goal this year. We must applythis at CSIR.”

Prof. Brahmachari thenmentioned about a wonderful bookgifted to him by Dr Sivaram,Director, National ChemicalLaboratory, Pune. The book wasMaxwell’s 21 IndispensableQualities of A Leader. He sharedsome of the lessons imparted in thatbook and urged the CSIR personnelto imbibe these qualities and toemerge as leaders. He said that itwas possible to have extraordinaryachievements employing ordinary,good people. But for that one needsthe 21 characteristics orindispensable qualities of a leader.But these qualities cannot beachieved in one day — it takes yearsto make them a part of one’spersona.

The qualities he discussed were:• Character: Talent is a Gift, but

Character is a Choice. StrongCharacter is the foundationon which lasting success is built.A leader cannot rise abovethe limitation of character.Sometimes highly talentedpeople suddenly fall apartwhen they reach a level ofsuccess. To them success hasbecome a burden as well as ablessing. They lack the bedrockcharacter to sustain themthrough the stress that successbrings and they head fordisaster. They suffer from painfulfeeling of aloneness. Arrogance,destructive adventure-seekingand adultery—all destructivethings—creep in. To improveone’s character one should

analyze one’s weak point. Oneshould identify where cornersare being cut; compromisesbeing made and where one haslet down someone. People mustlearn to face their flaws,apologize sincerely and deal withthe consequences of theiractions. They must create a planthat will prevent them frommaking the same mistake again.

• Charisma: The first impressioncan seal the deal. Prof.Brahmachari emphasized theimportance of the firstimpression that one gives toanother. He advised that peopleshould be more concerned aboutmaking others feel good aboutthemselves. This is moreimportant than making themfeel good about oneself.

• Commitment: It separates doersfrom dreamers. He said thatcommitment to the cause makesthe dream come true.

• Communication: Without it youtravel alone. It is important tocommunicate freely, frankly andhonestly with all team members.

• Competence: There is nosubstitute for competence. Theworld will flock to one once it isconvinced of one’s competence.

• Courage: One person withcourage is a majority. Prof.Brahmachari cited the exampleof Mahatma Gandhi in thecontext of the Power of One —One with conviction.

• Focus: The sharper it is; thesharper you are. Focus is anabsolute necessity for dreams tomaterialize.

• Generosity: Your candle loses

nothing when it lights another.Prof. Brahmachari exhorted thescientists of CSIR to think aboutthe common man.

• Initiative: You won’t leave homewithout it. Prof. Brahmacharispoke on the importance oftaking the initiative instead ofbeing a passive bystander.

• Listening: To connect with theirhearts, use your ears. Prof.Brahmachari shared with theaudience his experience as DG-CSIR when in the first fewmonths he visited many CSIRlaboratories. “I listened,” hesaid. And just because peoplerealized that someone waslistening, many of their grudgesor resentments disappeared.

• Positive Attitude: If you believeyou can, you can. Prof.Brahmacahri said that successdepends on attitude and beliefin success often paves the wayfor it.

• Problem Solving: You can’t letyour problems be a problem. Aproblem must be faced; it mustbe resolved. It must not beignored; rather a solution mustbe found.

• Relationships: If you get along,theyw’ll get along. Prof.Brahmachari urged theaudience to make an effort tocultivate better relationships; totake out the helping hand tothose in need.

• Responsibility: If you won’tcarry the ball, you can’t lead theteam. Prof. Brahmachari sent amessage that leadershipinvolves taking responsibilityirrespective of the level.

CSIR NEWS380380380380380


Design and FabricationCapabilities for Very HighPower Microwave Tubes

Research and development in the fieldof microwave tubes has been one of themain thrust areas at the CentralElectronics Engineering ResearchInstitute (CEERI), Pilani, for over lastfour decades. It has successfullydesigned, developed and also batchproduced some of the tubes to meetvarious national strategic requirements.Know-how of some of the tubesdeveloped has been passed on toindustries.

As a part of CSIR Networkprogramme under 10th Plan period,CEERI along with two sisterlaboratories, CGCRI-Kolkata andCMERI-Durgapur, took up projects ondevelopment of some critical gaptechnologies necessary for microwave

• Self-Discipline: Thefirst person you leadis you. Leaders haveself-discipline of ahigh order.

• Teachability: To keepleading, keeplearning. Prof.B r a h m a c h a r iunderlined the factthat one cannot leadif one stopslearning.

• Vision: You can seizeonly what you cansee. There is nosubstitute for vision.

Prof. Brahmachariurged everyone to pickup one point at a time;study it, internalize themessage and try to makeit part of one’s qualities.It would take time andeffort but would beworth the exercisebecause inculcating thequalities of a leader willmake winners out of usall.

Finally, in conclu-sion Prof. Brahmacharisaid, “Before the secondyear commences, I leaveyou with the message —You can make it. It ispossible. It is not mewho can do it: it is YOUwho will do it. My roleis like that of a lens: Isimply focus.”

NPL-SAC MoU for Development ofRb Atomic Clock for Space Applications

The National Physical Laboratory (NPL), New Delhi, has signed a memorandumof understanding with Space Application Centre (SAC), Ahmadabad, on

23 September 2008 for a project on “Development of Rb Atomic Clock for SpaceApplications”. Under this MoU, NPL will develop the physics package of Rb atomicclocks. The total project cost of Rs 1.63 crore will be borne by SAC. The project is of25 months duration and it is being implemented under the leadership of Dr G.M.Saxena, Scientist, NPL. The ultimate goal is to develop Rb atomic clock for theIndian Regional Navigational Satellite System (IRNSS), similar to the GlobalPositioning System (GPS).

R&D at Central Electronics EngineeringResearch Institute (CEERI), Pilani:

New Projects

tubes under development or likely to bedeveloped in near future.

This activity has boosted thetechnical capabilities of microwavetubes community at CEERI, whichresulted in taking up several sponsoredprojects. One of the present thrust areasof CEERI is to work on very high powerMW tubes typically of 250 kW (average)power and subsequently go up to 1.0MW (CW) in future. With this intention,and having built good expertise under10th plan, CEERI has taken up anetwork project under 11th Plan periodon “Design and Fabrication Capabilitiesfor Very High Power Microwave Tubes”.The development of millimeter powermicrowave tubes also requires somespecial materials including ceramicsand its composites in addition to mechan-cal fabrication aspects of precisioncomponents and establishing specializedcharacterization facilities. Some of themare available with the sister laboratorieslike CGCRI, CMERI, CSIO and NPL.

30 DECEMBER 2008 381381381381381


The development of microwavetubes involves combination ofseveral high technology areas likematerial science, mechanicalengineering, vacuum technology,high voltage technology, microwavetechnology, etc. Though the basictechnology is well established atdifferent organizations in thecountry, the proposed design anddevelopment would requiresubstantial enhancement over theavailable technologies, particularlyfor meeting the requirements ofhandling high peak and averagepower level, production and controlof high DC voltages and specialfabrication techniques for very highfrequency devices. It may not bepossible to develop all the necessarytechnologies in-house during theproposed plan period. Accordingly,the objectives have been framedunder this network project keepingin mind the requirement of thesehigh power devices in variousprogrammes of the country like(i) Accelerator Driven Sub-criticalSystems (ADSS), (ii) InternationalThermo-nuclear ExperimentalResearch (ITER), (iii) NationalFusion Programme of DAE, (iv)Linear Accelerator for MedicalApplications, and (v) Conventionalrequirement of these devices.

Deliverables from the Project:a. To design and develop special

technologies including multi-beam related to very highpower (100-250 kWCW)microwave tubes particularlyKlystrons along with developmentand characterization of (a) keycomponents like large geometry(50 mm dia) cathodes and high

power (250 kW CW) RFwindow, (b) sub-assemblies and(c) high voltage power supplies.(CEERI, CMERI, CGCRI,NPL)

b. To design and develop specialtechnologies related to veryhigh power (1.0 MW CW) andhigh frequency (120 GHz)fast wave type devices includingdevelopment of (a) specialmaterials like CVD diamond,aluminum nitride and (ii) sub-assemblies with theircharacterization and relatedhigh voltage power supplies.(CEERI, CMERI, CGCRI)

c. To design and develophigh efficiency (> 60%) andhigh frequency traveling-wavetubes including the specialpower supplies for theircharacterization and testingafter establishing criticaltechnologies and developingnew materials like copperreinforced high density graphiteand special ceramics. Also, todevelop advanced technologiesrelated to vacuum-microelectronicdevices. (CEERI, CMERI,CGCRI, NPL, CSIO).

d. To develop and characterizeplasma cathode gun andplasma switches (CEERI,CMERI).

Target Beneficiaries:Microwave Tubes have lot of

significance for the various strategic,industrial, medical communications,energy and other sectors in thecountry. The conventional tubeswould remain in use in significantquantities for decades to come. Inaddition to above, newer

applications requiring these devicesup to very high power levels (≥1.0MW CW) have emerged. Also,newer type of fast wave deviceswould be required in the powerrange of 1.0 MW (CW) coveringfrequencies up to 170 GHz. Theaccelerator driven sub-criticalsystem (ADSS) programme of DAErequires very high power (≈1.0 MWCW) Klystron. They and others alsoneed Multi-beam Klystrons toreduce the operating voltage andincrease efficiencies. Very recently,India has joined the ITER(International ThermonuclearExperimental Reactor) Programmeas one of the seven participatingmembers, which requires these highpower devices up to very highfrequencies. In addition, theNational Fusion Programme of thecountry also requires these andother high power microwavedevices. ITER, ADSS and FusionProgramme of the country are verylong-term programmes requiringthese devices.

Sanctioned amount for thisnetwork project is Rs 45 crore overa period of five years.

TechnologyDevelopment

for Smart Systems

Today, electronic systems can bedesigned using one or more (in asuitable mix) highly integrated highperformance computing platformssuch as microcontrollers, digitalsignal processors (DSPs),reconfigurable computing platformscombined with field programmable

CSIR NEWS382382382382382


gate arrays (FPGAs) and system-on-chip (SoC) platforms. Theseplatforms can be suitablyprogrammed and configured torun very sophisticated and complexalgorithms rapidly to give a real-timeresponse. A CSIR SupraInstitutional Project has been takenup at CEERI with the followingobjectives:

• Setting up of R&D facilities fordetailed characterization ofsensors and micro-sensors anddevelopment of signalconditioning circuitry forsensors and micro-sensors

• Development of compactruggedized version of sensorsignal conditioning circuitryusing Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramic (LTCC) andHybrid Microcircuit (HMC)technologies

• Exploration of algorithms andtheir real-time embeddedimplementation methods usingthe right mix of microcontrollers,digital signal processors, fieldprogrammable gate arrays(FPGAs), processor cores, andreconfigurable computingplatforms

• Development of wireless sensornetworking techniques

Outcomes of the Project:

• Image processing based smartsystem for sorting and gradingof fruits, plastics and bakeryproducts

• Image processing based smartsystem for human gestureidentification

• Wireless communication andsensor networking techniquesfor smart systems

• Setting up of characterizationfacilities, design anddevelopment of signalconditioning circuitry/platformand development of mixed-signalsub-system blocks for sensorapplications

• Low Temperature Co-fired CeramicTechnology (LTCC) formicrosensor packaging andsensor electronics integration

Sanctioned amount for this five-year project is Rs 12 crore.

Fabrication of LEDDevices and Systems for

Solid State LightingApplications

According to Solid State Lightingroadmap (R&D-2007, USA), theprojected efficacy of commercialwhite LEDs was 68 lm/W in 2006and 135 lm/W in 2012. All the highpower LED designs are multifinger/multicell structures with flip-chipmounting. The challenges for InGaNLEDs are the improvement ofquantum efficiency for higherwavelengths and higher currentdensities and also higher lightextraction efficiency. GaN basedLED structures grown usingMOCVD system at CEERIdemonstrated blue emission atwafer level. MOCVD system withthis capability of 3” x 2” wafers issecond in India, next to TIFR. Atpackaging level, some Indiancompanies were already involved in

GaN based white LED packagingby importing the chips from abroad.CEERI, in collaboration with NPL,has taken up a CSIR Networkproject under which:

• Layout design of multifingerLED structures and maskfabrication will be done atCEERI.

• Blue LED structures will begrown by MOCVD on 2”sapphire substrates foroptimising unit processes atCEERI. Photoluminescencemapping system would be usedfor the characterization ofepitaxial layers. Othercharacterizations like XRD,Hall effect, SIMS, ellipsometry,etc. would be provided by NPLon need basis.

• Patterned layers of p-GaN andInGaN/GaN quantum wells willbe etched by reactive ionetching system.

• Ti/Al/Ni/Au n-type ohmiccontacts on n-GaN layer and Ni/Au p-type ohmic contacts onp-GaN layer will be carried outusing electron beam evaporationsystem and the ohmic contactswill be optimised after annealingthe wafers.

• Very thin Ni/Au layers andindium tin oxide transparentconducting layers will beoptimised as transparentconducting coatings on p-GaNlayers.

• Wafer thinning up to 50-100microns will be carried out bythinning and polishing backsideof sapphire substrates. Dicing of

30 DECEMBER 2008 383383383383383


sapphire substrates will beoptimised by using dicingmachine.

• For chips fabricated at CEERI,packaging would be outsourcedto Indian companies. This willinclude applying phosphor onblue LED chips for obtainingwhite LEDs.

Targeted Specifications:Operating : 460 - 475 nmWavelengthForward Current : 200 - 1000 mAForward Voltage : 3.5 - 4.5 VLuminous Efficacy : 25 - 50 lm/WPower Conversion : 20 - 30 %EfficiencySanctioned amount for this 3-years’duration project is Rs 6.38 crore.

2.6 MW S-band TunablePulse Magnetron

The aim of this DIT-sponsoredproject is to design and develop atunable magnetron with theoperating frequency of 2998 MHzhaving tuning range from 2992 to3002 MHz and minimum peakpower of 2.6 MW. The magnetronwould be required to replace animported magnetron currently beingused in medical LINAC atSAMEER-Mumbai. Therefore,overall physical dimensions,operating voltages, current,magnetic field and operationalspecifications for the magnetronshould be within the range ofthose for imported tube. CEERI willdesign and develop the magnetron.SAMEER will supply the pulsemodulator (up to 48 kV x 100 A),appropriate electromagnet along with

its supply on loan basis to CEERIfor completing the ageing process ofmagnetron tubes prior to theirdelivery. SAMEER will conduct theuser trials of magnetrons and theirperformance evaluation in theirLINAC system in association withCEERI.

Three magnetrons meetingthe specifications will be deliveredto SAMEER. A detailed know-howdocument will be prepared, whichcan be utilized for potentialcommercialization. A detailedproject completion report will alsobe prepared for the funding agency.The magnetron will be used in 4-6MeV LINACs for medicalapplications (radiation therapy) underJai Vigyan Programme. SAMEER isinterested in its production for self-reliance in the medical acceleratortechnology. The requirement of thetube is expected to be 8-10 tubes peryear for the next 10 years.

The sanctioned amount for thisproject is Rs 1.17 crore and theduration of the project is two years.

System LevelReconfigurationTechniques forReconfigurable

Computing System(RCS)

This 3-year duration project also hasbeen sponsored by DIT with asanctioned amount of Rs 90.47 lakh.

The aim of the project isdevelopment of reconfigurationtechniques and algorithms forscheduling and mapping of the

design library with run-timereconfiguration of RCS at systemlevel. The complete system leveldesign techniques forreconfiguration, scheduling andmapping of the design library ontothe reconfigurable hardware will bedevised and demonstrated.

The design of optimal real-timereconfigurable system requiresunderstanding of challengingproblems such as specificationrequirement, design spaceexploration, modelling of system-level architectures, system-levelsynthesis, automatic interfacegeneration and rapid prototyping.

New techniques and algorithmsfor reconfiguration scheduling andmapping of design library at systemlevel will be developed. Thesealgorithms and techniques would beverified with real-time operatingsystem (RTOS) support.

The scope of the projectinvolves optimal techniquesexploration and design of finite statemachine for doing reconfiguration,scheduling and mapping of thedesign library. The developedtechniques are to be integrated withRTOS/OS to use the RCS at higherlevel of abstraction.

Characterization of RFMEMS Switches

Sponsored by Space ApplicationCentre (SAC), the sanctionedamount for this project is Rs 58.74lakh and duration of the project is 3years

Scope of this project is indigenousdevelopment of RF MEMS switches.

CSIR NEWS384384384384384


SAC, Ahmedabad, will providethe RF specifications. CEERI willprovide the design, structuralanalysis and the baseline process forfabrication of devices. Varioustopologies of switches are in thedevelopmental stages. The finalizedtopology for basic switch will befabricated at CEERI. The basicswitch and single pole double throw(SPDT) switch will be fabricated atCEERI. Characterization of thefabricated switches would be doneat SAC with participation ofCEERI. The pilot line requirementwill be undertaken by CEERI aftercompletion of this development.

CartographicGeneralization of Map

Objects

While creating a map usingtraditional manual techniques, anexperienced cartographer aims toachieve a balance between theamount of real-world informationrequired to make the map usefuland avoiding confusion for the user.This is a time-consuming andexpensive process. The mainproblem that needs to be addressedis how to resolve the conflictbetween different map featureswhen they are displayed at smallerscales. As there is not enough spaceto display all of the information inan uncluttered manner, methods totypify the data in an intelligent,consistent and coherent way atsmaller scales need to be developed.And this is the objective of thisDST-sponsored project of 2-yearduration with a sanctioned amountof Rs 16 lakh.

Cloning of genes involved in isoquinolinealkaloid biosynthesis in poppy

Morphine biosynthesis in opium poppy is broadly divided into two parts– pre-reticuline and post-reticuline. Four new genes have been clonedfrom the opium poppy cv ‘Sampada’. These are S-adenosyl-L-methionine: norcoclaurine 6-O-methyltransferase (6omt) and S-adenosyl-L-methionine: 3’-hydroxy-N-methylcoclaurine 4’-O-methyltransferase (4’,omt) in the pre-reticuline pathway andsalutaridinol 7-O-acetyltransferase (salAT) codeinone reductase (cor)in the post-reticuline pathway. With tydc and ncs cloned earlier, nowgenes for six of the total seventeen steps involved in morphinebiosynthetic pathway in poppy are available in cloned form fromgenotype ‘Sampada’.

Novel cytochrome P450 monooxygenase genes (cyp)from Artemisia annua

A bioinformatics-based approach has been used to hunt for novel cypgenes from Artemisia annua, whereby the information from theconserved domains of cytochrome P450 genes has been utilized for cypgene amplification. Using primers based on these conserved domains,partial sequences of 22 novel cyp genes were obtained, of which, two(cyp 73 and cyp83) have been isolated full length using 5’-RACE.

Semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis of seasonal variation intranscript abundance of leaf specific/prominent genes dat andsgd in Catharanthus roseus cv. ‘Dhawal’

Semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis was carried out to measurethe transcript abundance of leaf specific genes dat and sgd in the aerial and underground parts of C. roseus (cv ‘Dhawal’) plant duringsummer (June) and winter (December) seasons. The dat transcriptlevels in the mature leaf of 6 months old field grown plant werefound to be higher in winter (December) than in summer (June) season.The sgd transcript levels in the mature leaf of 6 months old fieldgrown plant did not vary much with the seasonal change but thesewere found to be slightly higher in summer (June) than in winter(December) season.

R&D at Central Institute of Medicinal &Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), Lucknow

30 DECEMBER 2008 385385385385385


Natural infection onperiwinkle (Catharanthusroseus) by cucumber mosaicvirus (CMV)

The natural occurrence of cucumbermosaic virus (CMV) on Catharanthusroseus is not reported in theliterature. Since 2005 during earlysummer (March-May), severalplants of C. roseus have shownappearance of bright chlorotic spotson the upper leaves which graduallybecame green mosaic, leathery anddeformed leaves, irregular growth,dwarfing, yellowing, faded petalsand malformed or suppressed flowerproduction in the experimentalfields of CIMAP, Lucknow.

The virus was efficiently saptransmitted from naturally infectedperiwinkle plants to healthy plantsand to a variety of plant speciesmainly from Chenopodiaceae,Cucurbitaceae and Solanaceae.Local lesions produced on theleaf of C. amaranticolor were usedas a source of single lesionisolates. Single lesion isolatesobtained against CIMAP-CMVisolate of periwinkle from the

C. amaranticolor were furtherpropagated in Nicotianabenthamiana and used for all furtherstudies. Periwinkle plantsinoculated mechanically reactedwith symptoms similar to thoseobserved on naturally infectedplants.

Myzus persicae and Aphisgossypii transmitted the virus ina non-persistent manner tohealthy periwinkle (05/10) andN. benthamiana (7/10), respectively.Symptoms developed after 15-20days of feeding. Soil transmissionexperiments showed negativeresults. Further studies are beingpursued.

Role of efflux pump modulator inaltering the activity of ATPase inMycobacterium smegmatis

The effect of phytomolecules suchas reserpine, limonene and citral onmembrane ATPase activity ofMycobacterium smegmatis MC2155(wild type) and MDR-Q (multi drugresistant mutant) was studied,evaluated and compared withantibiotic ciprofloxacin. ATPases area class of enzymes that catalyze thedecomposition of adenosinetriphosphate (ATP) into adenosinediphosphate (ADP) and a freephosphate ion which help the cellto maintain ‘homeostasis’ condition.

The presence of ciprofloxacinled to a significant decrease inATPase activity of drug-resistantmutant, when compared withcontrol, suggesting effluxing of thedrug in multi drug resistant mutantMDR-Q. However, in presence ofciprofloxacin and plant moleculecitral together, ATPase activity was

found to be increased. Reserpine, aknown efflux pump modulator wasused as control. So citral might bea modulator of efflux pump and itsuse with standard drugs may helpin overcoming the problem of drugresistance of fluoroquinolone inMycobacterium.

Bioconversion of amonoterpene into foodflavouring agent vanillin

The study was undertaken with theobjective of conversion ofabundantly available phytomoleculeeugenol into vanillin, a compound ofindustrial importance, usingmicroorganisms Aspergillus flavus,A. niger and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.The results demonstrated thatthese micro-organisms were able totransform eugenol to vanillin. Thesefindings may provide a novelapproach for the production ofcost-effective vanillin using micro-organisms.

A cytotoxic andhepatroprotective agent fromWithania somnifera andbiological evaluation of itsester derivatives

Detailed chemical investigation ofWithania somnifera roots resulted inthe isolation and identification of acytotoxic and hepatroprotectiveagent, palmitic acid, which wasconverted to eight semi-syntheticester derivatives. t-Butyl palmitateand amyl palmitate were 4-6 timesmore active against adherent andsuspension colon cancer cell lines.Interestingly, palmitic acid and its

Naturally infected C. roseus twig showingmosaic, leaf and flower deformation

CSIR NEWS386386386386386


ester derivatives also showedhepatoprotective activity which hasbeen reported for the first time.

New thiocarbamates fromMoringa oleifera

All parts of this plant are medicinallyimportant and are used infolk medicine for the treatment ofvarious human ailments such asrheumatism, paralysis and epilepsy.From the pods two newthiocarbamates, O-n-butyl 4-[(α-L-rhamnopyranosyloxy) benzyl]thiocarbamate (E) and O-ethyl-4-[ α - L - r h a m n o p y r a n o s y l o x y ) –3hydroxybenzyl] thiocarbamate (E)along with niazirin and 5,5-dimethyloxazlidine-2-thione wereisolated.

Bioactive phytochemical asmosquitocidal agent

Essential oil of blue stem grass,Bothriocola bladhii withsirodecenone and camphene as themajor constituents was shown toexhibit bioactivities againstmosquito Aedes aegypti. Essentialoil was evaluated for ovicidal,larvicidal, growth disruption andadulticidal activities . Out of variousbioactivities evaluated the oil wasfound effective only as larvicidal.

Cytotoxic agents fromTerminalia arjuna

Although a number of chemicalshave been isolated from Terminaliaarjuna, only a few have beenevaluated for their biologicalsignificance. As a part of drugdiscovery programme for cytotoxic

agents from Indian medicinal plants,four novel cytotoxic agents arjunicacid, arjungenin, arjunetin andarjunoglucoside-I were isolatedfrom the bark of T. arjuna. Out ofthe four compounds, arjunic acidwas found to be significantly activeagainst the human oral (KB),ovarian (PA-1) and liver (HepG-2 &WRL-68) cancer cell lines. Further,the most active compound arjunicacid was converted into seven semi-synthetic ester derivatives. 2-O-Palmitoyl arjunic acid showed twotimes more activity, while 2, 3-di-O-acetyl-, 2-O-p-anisoyl-, 2,3-di-O-benzoyl- and 2,3-di-O-p-nitrobenzoylarjunic acid showed 1.7 – 2.3 timesless activity than the cytotoxic drugvinblastine against the liver cancercell lines Hep G-2 and WRL-68respectively.

Cytotoxic activity of Garciniaindica

The methanol extract of the fruitrinds of Garcinia indica showedpotent cytotoxic activity againstthree human cancer cell lines –colon (COLO-320-DM), breast(MCF-7) and liver (WRL-68) asdetermined by the MTT assay.Fractionation of the methanolextract into hexane, chloroformand ethyl acetate soluble fractionsand evaluation of cytotoxic activityof each of the fractions revealedthat the ethyl acetate fractionwas more effective as comparedto two other fractions. Twopolyisoprenylated benzophenones,xanthochymol and isoxanthochymol,were isolated from the ethyl acetatefraction. Both xanthochymol andisoxanthochymol as a single

pure entity did not turn out to beas effective as the ethyl acetateextract from which they have beenisolated.

The concentration ofxanthochymol and isoxanthochymolin four different extracts —methanol, hexane, chloroform andethyl acetate, were determined withthe help of LC-MS/MS. On thebasis of the LC-MS/MS data,combinations of xanthochymol andisoxanthochymol in different ratioswere found to be effective. Theconcentration of xanthochymol andisoxanthochymol in a ratio of1:2 showed the maximumcytotoxicity.

Cancer cell line dependentcytotoxic activity of essential oilas compared to pure compound

Through in-vitro bioassay, 160 plantextracts from CIMAP repositorywere evaluated against humancancer cell lines and mice liver cells(hepatocytes) as non-cancer controlcells. In this evaluation, four plantextracts showed the cell linedependent cytotoxicity in terms ofIC-50 and IC-90 values against allthe human cancer cell line used.These extracts did not exhibitactivity against the mice hepatocytesup to concentration of 100 µg/ml.On the other hand, paclitaxel, asexpected, exhibited activity againstthe mice hepatocytes at much lowerconcentrations of 4.2 µg/ml (IC-50)and 9.6 µg/ml (IC-90). Bioactivityguided purification led toidentification of a pure compoundfrom plant Vetiveria zizinioides.This pure compound did not exhibit

30 DECEMBER 2008 387387387387387


the differential cytotoxicity similarto that of the parent plant extract.Most of the available anticanceragents are having generalcytotoxicity which also affects thegrowth of normal cells.Experimental agents derived fromnatural products are offering a greatopportunity to evaluate not onlytotally new chemical classes ofanticancer agents, but also novelmechanisms of action with holisticapproach. The results indicatetowards using the holistic approachfor developing potent anticancerdrug with novel mechanism of actionfor selectively inhibiting the growthof cancerous cells which could becommercially utilized for thechemotherapy of cancer.

Standardization of cerebralmalaria model in Mus musculususing markers of chemokinepathway

In an effort to bioprospectmedicinal plants for cerebralmalaria, a model was standardizedfor evaluating leads against malariausing Plasmodium bergheii(Chloroquine sensitive) andPlasmodium yoelii nigeriensis(chloroquine resistant) strainswherein as a conventional para-meter, parasitaemia and meansurvival time (MST) are beingmonitored. The expression of themajor cytokines TNF-α and IFN-α,haemoglobin and glucose levels inserum was also studied. Analysis ofthese parameters have indicatedthat therapeutic efficacy can bepredicted in the first week of themonth.

Modulation of inflammatorycytokines by Ocimumgratissimum under in-vitroconditions

Modulation of inflammatorycytokines by aqueous extracts of O.gratissimum leaves on murinespleenocytes (stimulated withconcavalin A) and murine peritonealmacrophages (stimulated withbacterial lipopolysaccharide) underin vitro conditions in a dosedependant manner was studied. O.gratissimum at 1 and 10 mg/ml wasfound to exhibit the anti-inflammatory activity throughinhibition of pro-inflammatorycytokines (IL-1ß and IL-6). Nosignificant change was observed inIL-4 expression.

Toxicity profile of Ocimumsanctum leaf at acute and sub-acute level in rat

The in vivo acute and sub-acutetoxicity study of Ocimum sanctum(aqueous extract) was conducted asper the approved protocol byinstitute’s Animal EthicalCommittee and confirming to

national guidelines on the care anduse of laboratory animals with anintention to study the safety profileof the plant (leaf) which is one of themost commonly used medicinalplants in Ayurvedic system ofmedicine. Aqueous extract of theleaf was prepared as per theAyurvedic pharmacopoeia and waschemically fingerprinted. Theextract was then orally administeredfor a period of 28 days to CharlesFoster Rats (225 ± 25 gms) @ 5,50and 300 mg/kg body weight. Anacute single dose @ 2000 mg/kgwas also evaluated. Parameterslike morbidity and mortality besidesbody weight variation, hema-tological (total RBCs, WBCs) andserum biochemical profile(triglycerides, total cholesterol,HDL cholesterol, glucose, SGPT &SGOT) were quantified so as toassess the safety level of the plantextract.

No significant changes wereevident in morbidity and mortalityand other parameters like gain inbody weight, hematology, glucose,HDL, total cholesterol, SGPT andSGOT up to the dose rate of 300 mg/kg body weight between 0 and 28days in sub-acute experiment. Onlysignificant increase in serumtriglycerides level was observed ingroups of animals treated with theextract @ 300 mg/kg body weight.Acute toxicity experiment revealednon significant changes in all theparameters studied. Thus, it may beconcluded that chemicallycharacterized aqueous extract ofO. sanctum leaf is well tolerated byCharles Foster rat at acute and subacute level.

CSIR NEWS388388388388388

Novel analogues of taxoidsynthesized

Several novel analogues of theanticancer lead taxoid have beensynthesized by coupling brevifolioland 2-monosubstituted-4-phenyl-1,3-oxazolidine carboxylic acid afterremoval of the protecting group withacid treatment. Brevifoliol and itssynthesized analogues were testedfor their cytotoxic activities againstfour different human cancer celllines, oral (KB), breast (MCF-7),colon (CaCO2) and liver (HepG-2)as determined by MTT assay. TheC-13 oxidized brevifoliol retainedsignificant activity. Out of theseveral analogues synthesized, C-13oxidized brevifoliol-5-[N-t-butoxycarbonyl amino-(2’R, 3’S)-3’-phenyl isoserine] analogue wasinteresting as it exhibited selectiveand potent cytotoxicity against livercancer cell line predominantly.

Method for identification andquantification ofpolyisoprenylatedbenzophenones of Garciniacambogia

A sensitive liquid chromatography/

electrospray ionization tandem massspectrometrical (LC/ESI-MS/MS)method was developed forsimultaneous identification andquanitification of two polyiso-prenylated benzophenonesisoxanthochymol and camboginol inthe extracts of the fruit rinds, stembark, seed and leaves of G. indicaand in the fruit rinds of G. cambogia.

Quantitative TLC method fordetermination of sterol (24βββββ-ethylcholesta-5,22E, 25-triene-3 βββββ-ol) in agnimantha(Clerodendrum phlomidis)

A quantitative method using silicagel 60F254 high performance thinlayer chromatography plates,automated bandwise sampleapplication, and automated visiblemode densitometric method hasbeen developed for thedetermination of 24 ß- ethylcolesta-5, 22E,25-triene-3ß-ol (ECTO) inthe aerial part of Clerodendrumphlomidis. ECTO was used as achemical marker for thestandardization of C. phlomidisplant extracts. The method wasvalidated for peak purities, precision,robustness, limit of detection (LOD)

and quantitation (LOQ), etc. as perICH guidelines.

Separation and quantificationof lignans in Phyllanthus speciesby a simple chiraldensitometric method

A sensitive, selective, and robusthigh-performance TLC (HPTLC)method using chiral TLC plates forqualitative and quantitative analysisof phyllanthin, hypophyllanthin,niranthin, and nirtetralin, the activelignans of Phyllanthus species, wasdeveloped and validated. Theeffectiveness and role of variousstationary phases viz. TLC silica gel60F254

HPTLC silica get 60F254, andchiral TLC plates in thequantitation were evaluated. Aprecoated chiral TLC plate wasfound suitable for the simultaneousanalysis of four pharmacologicallyactive lignans. The method wasvalidated according to ICHguidelines and was found to bereproducible when applied for thequantitative analysis of the abovelignans in the leaves of fourPhyllanthus species, i.e. P. amarus,P. maderaspatensis, P. urinaria andP. virgatus.

The National AerospaceLaboratories (NAL), Bangalore,

displayed its indigenous aircraft andthe scaled models at INDIAAVIATION : 2008 held at BegumpetAirport, Hyderabad, during 15 -18October 2008.

Hyderabad India Aviation 2008,the country’s first ever four-day civilaviation exhibition and conferencewas flagged off by Minister of CivilAviation Shri Praful Patel. The event,jointly organized by the Ministry ofCivil Aviation and Federation of

NAL displays four aircrafts at INDIA AVIATION : 2008

Indian Chambers of Commerce andIndustry (FICCI), had more than200 exhibitors representing leadingaviation and allied industries fromaround the world including Airbus,Boeing, EADS, HAL, Rolls Royce,Cessna Aircraft Co., Bell helicopter,


30 DECEMBER 2008 389389389389389

ATR and Bombardier.The composition of static display included 37

international and domestic aircraft from A-380 thelargest to Pushpak the smallest airplane. Also on displaywere Boeing 777, Airbus A-330, Learjet, Global Express,Gulfstream, Beachcrafts, Cessnas and helicopters andalso the NAL’s HANSA.

HANSA flew gracefully as always, on each of thefour days. Wg. Cdr. Sunit Krishna of ASTE and AVM(retd.) A. S. Lamba flew the pretty trainer well andmanaged a pleasing impression before the well gatheredaudience. SARAS’s exhibition also generated a lot ofinterest.

The mock up models of Regional Transport Aircraft(RTA 70) and size to size mock up model of NM5 aircraftwere also displayed at the exhibition in HALL Bnumber 14 of the NAL stall. The 5 seat NM5 aircraft(general aviation aircraft) developed as a private-publicpartnership venture between NAL and MahindraAerospace Technologies attracted a lot of interest amongthe business visitors and the general public. RTA-70is being developed jointly by NAL and HAL.

Besides aircraft, NAL’s Radomes and Compositesparts were also displayed at the NAL stall. Themultimedia presentation about NAL displayed on theplasma screen got remarkable attention. Top dignitarieslike Ashok Baweja, Chairman, HAL; Pradeep Kumar,Defence Secretary, Production; C. G. Krishnadas Nair,former Chairman, HAL; and Krishna Mikkilineni, CEO,Honeywell International India Pvt Ltd visited the NALstall and showed keen interest in the NAL’s projects .

NAL received a good media coverage in VAYUAerospace Review, Aeromag Asia, Indian Aviation andthe official daily – international aerospace magazine.

An exclusive open-house interactive sessionbetween a congregation of more than 35 CEOsrepresenting major aviation companies, the Ministerand senior officials of the Ministry was held on 15October to discuss the future plans and policy issues.Director, NAL, attended this meet and gave valuableinputs.

NAL’s preparation for the air show was plannedmonths in advance and the final result was pleasing.The NAL stall attracted a large number of seriousvisitors, and most of them enjoyed getting into the prettymock-up of NM5 aircraft.

Asian Network of Major Cities 21 (ANMC21) thatcame into existence in the year 2000 is an

initiative of Tokyo Governor Mr Shintaro Ishihara.In all, eleven cities are enrolled as members ofANMC21, representing 11 Asian countries. Delhi isone of them. One of the key objectives of ANMC21is the promotion of development of small to mediumsized jet passenger plane. The member cities havemet on a number of occasions since 2002.

Attending the 2007 meeting at the invitation ofTokyo Metropolitan Government, in Tokyo, Dr A. R.Upadhya, Director, National Aerospace Laboratories(NAL), Bangalore, and Dr Kota Harinarayana, RajaRamanna Fellow, NAL, proposed to host the 2008working level conference on Jet Passenger Plane inBangalore. This conference was held on 20 October2008 at the Eagleton Golf Resort near Bidadi.

The primary objective of this conference was tobring together participants from Asian aircraftmanufacturers, research institutions, governmentorganizations, parts manufacturers, IT industries,airlines, general trading organizations and so on.There were 27 participants from other Asiancountries consisting of members from the TokyoMetropolitan Government, Japan Aerospace

ANMC21 Working LevelConference on Asian Jet

Passenger Plane 2008

Dr A. R. Upadhya, Director, NAL, welcoming the delegates toANMC21 Working Level Conference

Conferences/WorkshopsConferences/WorkshopsConferences/WorkshopsConferences/WorkshopsConferences/Workshops

CSIR NEWS390390390390390

Exploration Agency (JAXA),Malaysian Industry-GovernmentGroup for High Technology(MiGHT), Mitsubishi HeavyIndustries (MHI), MarubeniAerospace Corporation, SojitzCorporation, Kawasaki HeavyIndustries (KHI), All NipponAirways, Sumitomo Corporation,Indonesian Aerospace, Fuji HeavyIndustries (FHI), Tohoku University,Mitsui and Company and AerospaceIndustrial DevelopmentCorporation of Taiwan. About 40participants came from differentIndian organizations that includedHAL, ADE, GTRE, ADA,CEMILAC, IISc, IIT Kanpur,DGCA, Infosys, Infotech,Confederation of Indian Industries,TCS, L&T, Honeywell, Satyam,Mahindra Aerospace, Tata AdvancedMaterials and SIATI.

Dr Upadhya welcomed thegathering. Mr Makoto Takahashi,Senior Director in charge ofInternational Joint Projects, TMG,also spoke on the occasion. Theprogramme consisted of threetechnical sessions. The first sessionwas chaired by Prof. R. Narasimha,JNCASR. Dr Kazuhiro Nakahashi,Professor at Tohoku Universityspoke on the significance of Asian

Collaboration for a Jet PassengerPlane while Dr B. V. R. MohanReddy, Chairman of SouthernRegion of CII, spoke on AerospaceIndustries in Southern Indiahighlighting its history, benefits andfuture growth. Mr Chidananda,Programme Director, Civil AviationProgramme of NAL, spoke on NAL’sInitiatives in Civil Aeronauticscovering the Hansa and Sarasprogrammes. Dr Kota Harinarayanaspoke on the new generationregional aircraft developmentinitiative taken up by CSIR andNAL. Mr Kiyotaka Ichimaru,General Manager of MHI made apresentation on “Flying into theFuture.” He essentially covered theMitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ)programme in this connection. MrS. P. Ray, General Manager(Projects) of HAL, covered theAviation Programmes andCapabilities of HAL.

The second session was chairedby Mr Tatsuro Sakai, formerChairman of Steering Committee ofAsian Community AirplaneProgramme (ACAP) of the Societyof Japanese Aerospace Companies(SJAC). Dr Jiro Nakamichi, Head ofAviation of Programme Group,JAXA, spoke on the Aeronautical

Research at JAXA and Developmentof Japan’s Domestically ProducedRegional Jet. Mr Yuichi Hirakami ofKHI spoke on thecommercialization of C-X/XP-1.

The third session was chaired byDr Chin Hu, former President,Aerospace Industrial Corporation,Taiwan. The first part of this sessionconsisted of six short talks by theEngineering Services Industries inIndia. Infosys, Infotech, L&T,Mahindra Aerospace, Satyam andTCS made presentations on theiraerospace related services. Thiswas followed by the final talk onbuilding partnerships as a major roleof the Society of Indian AerospaceTechnologies & Industries (SIATI).Dr Upadhya and Mr Takahashisummed the programme at the end.

On 21 October, a site visit wasarranged for the delegates fromoutside India. The delegation visitedInfosys, HAL and NAL. The visitorsexpressed their extreme happinessover the meeting and said that theywere very impressed by thecapabilities available in India. Boththe visitors and Indian participantssaid that future collaborations withAsian countries should be enhanced.KTMD played a major role inorganizing the event.

The Aerospace Electronics andSystems Division of the National

Aerospace Laboratories (NAL),Bangalore, in view of the importanceof Adaptive Signal Processing in manyengineering and scientific fields,conducted a National Workshop onthis topic during 3-7 November 2008

as a part of the Golden JubileeCelebrations of NAL.

In practice, any real time signalprocessing will be adaptive and thisalso enables to capture theirinvariably true nature ofnonstationarity. The workshopcovered: Spectral Estimation,

National Workshop on Adaptive Signal ProcessingParametric Spectral Modeling,Method of Steepest DescentAlgorithm, Least Mean SquareAlgorithm and its variants, Latticeand Transform domain adaptivefilters, Frequency domain/ blockLMS algorithm, Subband adaptivealgorithm, IIR adaptive filters,

Conferences/WorkshopsConferences/WorkshopsConferences/WorkshopsConferences/WorkshopsConferences/Workshops

30 DECEMBER 2008 391391391391391

Recursive least square (RLS)algorithm, applications likeactive noise control, Echocancellation, Channel equali-zation, ADPCM, BiomedicalApplications, etc. DSPprocessors and their role inimplementation of thealgorithms. There were manydemonstrations on theimplementation of algorithmson MATLAB, sigNAL, andDSP processors.

There were three guestlectures on Kalman filteringand its applications byDr Girija Goplaratnam(FMCD, NAL, Bangalore), New structures for adaptivefiltering by Dr M.K. Sridharan(Philips India Ltd, Bangalore)and Antennna arrays,concepts and applications byProf. T. Sreenivas (ECE, IISc,Bangalore).

Thirty-five delegates fromLRDE(6), CRL-BEL(4),ADE(2), NAL(8), ADA (1),ISAC(1) (all from Bangalore),NARL, Tirupati (1) GenisisMicrochip India Pvt Ltd.,Bangalore (3), Motorola,Bangalore (2), NPOL, Cochin(2), NSTL, Vishakapatnam (1),SDM College of Engineering,Dharwad (2), PESSE,Bangalore (1), NITT, Trichi(1); attended this workshop.

The delegates expressedtheir high appreciation on :the topics chosen and themanner in which they werecovered by the NAL andguest faculty and also on theorganization of the workshopin totality.

The second SERC School on Micro Machining and Micro Fabricationwas jointly organized by Central Manufacturing Technology Institute

and National Aerospace Laboratories during 24 - 28 November 2008 as partof NAL’s ongoing golden jubilee celebrations. The current theme ofmanufacturing aims at higher performance coupled with miniaturization.Micro machining and Micro fabrication are the emerging technologies forrealization of components and devices of extremely small sizes comprisingtiny but highly sophisticated functional elements. Micro machining ofcomponents is carried out using advanced technological processes whichinclude micro drilling, micro milling, micro wire EDM, micro ECM, lasermicro machining, bulk micro machining, surface micro machining,lithographic techniques, etc.

The inaugural function held on 23 November 2008 was presided overby Dr V. Radhakrishnan, Prof Emeritus, Indian Institute of Space Scienceand Technology (IISST), Thiruvananthapuram. Dr P. Radhakrishnan,Director, PSG Institute of Advanced Studies, Coimbatore was the Chief Guest.Dr A. R. Upadhya, Director, NAL in his welcome address stressed theimportance of micro machining and micro fabrication keeping in view of theadvancement in miniaturization of product for various applications likeMEMS, MAV etc. Mr M. A. Ravindra, Joint Director, CMTI gave a broadoverview of SERC School. He said the need for a purposeful and focusedinteraction between Academia, Industry and R & D Institutions has beenrecognized for undertaking meaningful Research and Development activitiesleading to practical and commercially deployable outcomes. To facilitate suchinteractions and to provide an overview of the latest trends in emergingtechnologies, SERC has embarked on an initiative to organize Schools onspecific topics through renowned organizations active in the field.

The function ended with vote of thanks proposed by Mr P. V. Shashi Kumar,Joint Director, CMTI.

SERC School on Micro Machiningand Micro Fabrication

Dr Samir K. Brahmachari,Director General, CSIR,

delivered the special CECRIDiamond Jubilee Lecture andinaugurated CSIR Annual BusinessMeet (ABM-2008) at the CentralElectrochemical Research Institute(CECRI), Karaikudi, on 29 August2008. Delivering the Diamond Jubilee

Lecture, Prof. Brahmacharirecollected the glorious achievementsof CSIR laboratories. He proudlyrecalled the vital role played by CSIRlaboratories in nation building.Agriculture, health, drinking watermission, space and energy are someimportant areas where CSIR laboratorieshave made vital contributions.

CSIR Director General delivers CECRIDiamond Jubilee Lecture

Workshops/LecturesWorkshops/LecturesWorkshops/LecturesWorkshops/LecturesWorkshops/Lectures

CSIR NEWS392392392392392

In his address,Prof. Brahmacharimentioned that in1960, CSIR developedthe know-how for theindelible marking inkemployed during thepolling process, whicheven today is earning ahuge royalty to CSIR.Similarly in 1970s,during the era ofGreen Revolution inIndia, more than 70%of pesticides used inIndia were based onCSIR know-how.Technology for cleaning coal, designand development of the indigenous“Swaraj” tractor and TSIAelectrodes for chlor-alkaliproduction are a few otherinventions that rolled out of theCSIR laboratories and richlycontributed to the economicprogress of the nation. In recent past,CSIR successfully designed anddeveloped a Small Aircraft, Saras.

He remarked with pride that in2007, CSIR scientists have earned

a place in the citation list of NobelAwardee’s work. CSIR possesses astrong repertoire of trained scientificand technological manpower and itis significantly contributing to thenation’s human resources bytraining thousands of doctoral andpost-doctoral research scholars andproject personnel, he added. Then,he briefly mentioned about the IGIBprogramme on gene mapping of thepeople living in different parts of thenation and its correlation to the

vulnerabilityof thepopulationfor somes p e c i f i c ,w i d e l ypreva len td i s e a s e ssuch asasthma andd i a b e t i cm e l l i t u s .This studyh a sa s s u m e dinternationalimportance

in view of its relevanceto assessment of drugs’efficacy. He alsonarrated how CSIRand its staff readilyoffered theirtechnological servicesto the country when itsuffered gravecalamities likeearthquakes inMaharashtra (Latur)and Gujarat andTsunami in coastalTamil Nadu.

Later, Prof.Brahmachari touched

upon briefly on the models for S&Tmanagement relevant to the nation.In this context, he elaborated thesuccessful model adapted by IGIBby tracing the evolution of thelaboratory in the last one decade.By following different innovativeR&D tools for technologydevelopment and management, hepointed out that, today, IGIB hasbeen transformed from an isolatedlaboratory working in the area ofbiochemical research to a laboratorydedicated to contemporarygenomics research.

He insisted that in tune with thechanging global scenario CSIRshould continuously update itsknowledgebase and fine-tune itselfto face the problems of today andthe challenges for the future. Hecalled upon the scientists, especiallythe younger ones to dream “big” andstrive hard to realize their dreamswhich alone would earn a niche andenviable place for CSIR in thenational level and make our nationan unassailable super power. Healso wished that, in the presentcontext, the acronym, CSIR should

Prof. S. K. Brahmachari, Director General, CSIR,inaugurating the e-library at CECRI

Prof. S. K. Brahmachari, Director General, CSIR,visiting one of the laboratories of CECRI

LecturesLecturesLecturesLecturesLectures

30 DECEMBER 2008 393393393393393

stand for Council of Scientific and Innovative Researchwith Corporate Social Indian Responsibilities.

In conclusion, Prof. Brahmachari quoted, withfervour and dedication the words of Pundit JawaharlalNehru, “It is Science alone that can solve the problemsof poverty of a nation like India.” He stressed thatcompetitive spirit coupled with cooperation among thedifferent CSIR laboratories is the need of the hour toachieve success. Further, he emphasized that‘competition with cooperation’ should be the motto offuture CSIR and the ultimate aim should be to grow thescience for the people to provide comfortable health, puredrinking water, and wealth from waste and sustainableenergy. He underlined that this will be the roadmap ofCSIR.

A large number of scientists from CECRI, CSIRheadquarters and 35 other CSIR laboratories includingDr S. Sivaram (Director, NCL), Dr B. K. Mishra(Director, IMMT), Dr P.G. Rao (Director, NEIST),Shri S. Ghosh (CMD, NRDC) and Dr D. Yogeswara Rao(CSIR HQ) and other invitees attended the lecture.

Later, Prof. Brahmachari inaugurated the CSIRAnnual Business Meet (ABM-2008) that was held atCECRI during 29-31 August 2008. In his inauguraladdress, he briefly described the vital role being playedby CSIR in industrial and economic development of thenation. He stressed that business development in CSIRshould be at par with the global development. Also, herequested Dr Sivaram, Director, NCL, to be the mentorfor the programme to improve and modernize thebusiness strategy for CSIR.

Prof. Brahmachari also inaugurated the e-libraryfacility being established at CECRI. After an address tothe entire S&T staff, he visited the laboratories, witnessedthe fuel cell activity and inspected the recently establishedCentral Instrumentation Facility. He held a briefdiscussion with the scientists working in the batteriesdivision and briefed details of the CSIR programme forthe development of Soleksha (battery-powered cyclerickshaw) and called upon CECRI scientists to contributetheir mite to this socially important R&D programme.Prof. Brahmachari also held a lively interaction sessionwith the students of the B. Tech (Chemical andElectrochemical Engineering) programme conducted byCECRI in affiliation with Anna University.

AWAKEN — AnEnvironmental Awareness

Programme for SchoolChildren at IICT

The MoEF sponsored ENVIS Centre forBioinformatics- Vector Control at the Indian

Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT),Hyderabad, organized an environmentalawareness programme titled ‘AWAKEN’ for theschool children of IICT ZM High School, studyingin IX and X class, on 24 October 2008, at IICT.

Welcoming the participants, Dr J.S.Yadav,Director, IICT, stressed the need for everyone torespect and upkeep the environment for futuregenerations. He also mentioned about thechemical industry’s efforts towards adopting greentechnologies particularly by the ones involved inmanufacturing of drugs, agrochemicals, and othersimilar industries.

Dr U.S.N. Murty, Coordinator of ENVISCentre, spoke on the importance of suchprogrammes to ignite the awareness regardingenvironment in the young minds. The informationgiven in this programme would make the childrenmore responsible to act as effective volunteers insafeguarding the environment, he added.

Ms Gayathri Ramachandran IAS, formerDirector General of EPTRI and former PrincipalSecretary, Government of A.P., who was the ChiefGuest on the occasion, told the school childrenhow her teachers imbibed the importance of havinga strong commitment towards maintainingenvironment. She also narrated a few examples ofenergy conservation programmes she undertookwhen she was heading the energy sector. She saidthat we will be running short of the fossil fuels andwater if we exploit them at such an alarming pace,and advised students to cut short the usage of waterand electricity. She hoped that the seminar wouldbe of great help in motivating the school childrento act as soldiers in upkeep of the environment.She quoted the tamil poetess Avvaiyar — “whatcannot be imbibed at the age of five may not be

Awareness ProgrammeAwareness ProgrammeAwareness ProgrammeAwareness ProgrammeAwareness Programme

CSIR NEWS394394394394394

possible at the age offifty”.

There were fourspeakers for thetechnical sessions. DrN. Prasad, a SeniorScientist from SACONdelivered his talk on‘Conservation of Wetlands in India’. Hestressed the need ofconserving wet landsfor the upkeep of theecology and protectingthe fresh water bodies.He spoke about theirimportance and howthese contribute to therich biodiversity of ourcountry.

Dr P.N. Sarma,Deputy Director andHead, BEEC, IICT,delivered a talk on ‘WaterPollution and WasteWater Management’ inwhich he said that ifproper measures are notadopted there will beacute scarcity of potablewater. He spoke aboutvarious ways in whichwater is polluted andcited a few examples ofarsenic pollution in West Bengaland fluoride pollution in NalgondaDistrict of A.P. which causes majorimpediments to the people whoconsume such contaminated water.Dr Sarma also explained variousmethods employed by industries toabate pollution. He said that as perthe reports available about thestatus of potable water available,our country is in the stress categorywhich is not a healthy sign.

In the afternoon session, MrBaquer of EPTRI, spoke on‘Biodiversity of Eastern Ghats’ inwhich he highlighted the rich floraand fauna available in EasternGhats and the immediate need toprotect it. He also talked about thestatus of the species which wouldbe extinct if proper care andattention was not given formaintenance of the Biodiversity inEastern Ghats.

The last lecture wasdelivered by Dr U. S. N.Murty on ‘Environmentand Diseases’. He spokeabout how theenvironment isdegrading day by dayand how it is escalatingthe state of the vectorborne diseases likemalaria, filariasis,dengue, chickengunya,and Japaneseencephalitis, spread bydifferent mosquitospecies. Owing to rapid

industrialization and poorsanitary conditionsprevailing in most of thedeveloping countries thediseases are resurfacingwith greater potency andsome of the diseases likedengue and chickengunyahave spread their tentaclesin the South East Asiancountries and India owingto manmade breedingspots and unsanitaryconditions created by thehuman dwellings.

Dr Murty also spokeabout the environmentalmanagement aspects, and

the methods used in Biologicalcontrol of mosquito larvae,particularly to control the Anopheleslarvae by introducing Gambusia sp.of fish in their breeding sites.

After the technical session thestudents had a good interaction withthe speakers.

Dr K. Sriram of BiologyDivision, IICT, proposed the vote ofthanks.

Dr J.S. Yadav, Director, IICT, delivering his welcome addressduring AWAKEN and a view of the audience

Awareness ProgrammeAwareness ProgrammeAwareness ProgrammeAwareness ProgrammeAwareness Programme

30 DECEMBER 2008 395395395395395

CSIR Foundation Day Celebrations Foundation Day Celebrations Foundation Day Celebrations Foundation Day Celebrations Foundation Day Celebrations

At CSIO, Dr R.P. Bajpai, ViceChancellor, Kurukshetra University,delivered the Foundation Daylecture on ‘Science and Technologyin Emerging Areas’. He, in hisaddress, traced the 60 years journeyof S&T developments andemphasized that we have tostrengthen our basic sciences likePhysics, Chemistry andMathematics to meet the emergingchallenges of the future effectively.He opined that biological systemsoffer very high speed performanceand techniques need to bedeveloped for integration ofBiological and Physical materialsystems. These systems will need

CSIR Foundation Day Celebrations atCBRI, CSIO, NGRI and NPL

CSIR News has already covered the CSIR Foundation Day celebrations at several labs in the earlierissues (Vol 58 No 22 pp 350-356). Highlighted here are the celebrations at CBRI, CSIO, NGRI and NPL:

Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee

the problem of Global Warming. Heemphasized the need forenvironment friendly constructions.He highlighted the importance ofYOGA in our life with livingexamples.

On this occasion, the retiredpersonnel and the employees whohad served CSIR for 25 years werehonoured. Two meritorious awardsfor obtaining more than 90% marksin science subjects in secondaryexamination (2008) were given toMaster Bharat Agarwal S/o Dr Atul

The CSIR Foundation Dayfunction at CBRI was presided overby the institute’s Director, DrMadhukar Onkarnath Garg. In hisaddress Dr Garg stressed upon theneed of zero energy buildings. Heappealed to the scientists of theinstitute to take up the challengesfor developing cost-effectivetechnologies for such buildings.

Mr Anand Kumar, Director(R&D), Indian Oil Corporation,Faridabad, who was the Chief Gueston the occasion, drew attention to

Kumar Agarwal and Ms. SurabhiSharma D/o Shri Vijay Sharma. Theessay competition for the wards ofthe CBRI employees was alsoorganized and winners were givenprizes.

The whole ceremony wascompered by Chairman FoundationCommittee, Shri Yadvendra Pandey,Scientist, CBRI. The vote of thankswas given by Controller ofAdministration, Shri SubhashChandra Tyagi.

Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIO), Chandigarh

lot of instru-mentation andCSIO can be atrendsetter in thesenew emergingareas for farming ofnew technologiesand new products.

Dr PawanKapur, Director,CSIO, whilewelcoming theChief Guesthighlighted theaims and goals ofCSIR and its contribution to thefield of science and technology. Hetalked about various new schemes

of CSIR for young people. DrKapur also presented an overviewof the on-going projects and future

Dr R. P. Bajpai, Vice Chanceller, Kurukshetra University,delivering his lecture

CSIR NEWS396396396396396

plans of the organization.Earlier, CSIO observed Open

Day when about1000 visitors,i n c l u d i n gstudents fromvarious schools,e n g i n e e r i n gc o l l e g e s ,university andgeneral publicvisited variouslaboratories of theo r g a n i z a t i o n .This providedthem a uniqueopportunity to see

the live demonstration of theinstruments developed at CSIO and

a chance to interact with thescientists.

Later in the evening all thosestaff members of CSIO, who hadcompleted 25 years of regularservice in CSIR and who retiredduring the period from September2007 to August 2008 were honouredby presentation of mementoes andshawls.

The programme concluded withthe prize distribution to the winnersof various competitions held earlieras a part of CSIR Foundation Day.

Shri M.R. Masan, Controller ofAdministration, proposed the vote ofthanks.

At NGRI, Dr A.V. Rama Rao, formerDirector, Indian Institute of ChemicalTechnology (IICT), Hyderabad, andChairman and Managing Director,AVRA Laboratories Private Limited,Hyderabad, delivered the CSIRFoundation Day Lecture on‘Scientists as Managers andEntrepreneurs’. Dr Rama Rao, whoexcelled in many roles as a Scientist,Director, Manager and entrepreneur,dwelt at length on the different

National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), Hyderabad

phases of his journey from scientistto entrepreneur.

After the lecture, Dr Rama Raopresented mementoes to staffmembers retired during the year2007-08 and also to those whocompleted 25 years of service inCSIR. Cash awards to the childrenof NGRI staff were presented tothose who secured 90% or moremarks in three science subjects inIntermediate examination.

Earlier, Dr V.P. Dimri, Director,NGRI, welcomed the gathering andspoke on the role of NGRI in thefields of natural resourceexploration, earthquake hazards andenvironmental issues. In particular,he narrated the various milestonesreached by NGRI during the lasttwo years.

The function ended with a voteof thanks by Dr Y.J. Bhaskar Rao,Scientist ‘G’.

NPL is one of the premierLaboratory for R&D activities withmain objective to strengthen andadvance physics-based research andto establish, maintain and improvethe national standards of physicalquantities. NPL is responsible forrealizing and disseminating the

units of measurement based on theInternational System (SI). BroadlyNPL is actively involved in materialscience, radio & atmosphericscience, metrology and materialscharacterization research. Thisnational laboratory is playing asignificant role by way of assisting

industry, national and other agenciesin their development task by helpingin precision measurements,calibration and testing, developmentof devices, processes and findingsolutions to allied problems relatedto physics.

The laboratory observed the

National Physical Laboratory (NPL), New Delhi

CSIR Foundation Day Celebrations Foundation Day Celebrations Foundation Day Celebrations Foundation Day Celebrations Foundation Day Celebrations

Visitors interacting with one of the scientists of CSIO during Open Day

30 DECEMBER 2008 397397397397397

Honours & AwardsHonours & AwardsHonours & AwardsHonours & AwardsHonours & Awards

occasion as an Open Day and putexhibits pertaining to its R&Dactivities on display. More than 1500students from 22 schools and twocolleges visited the various exhibitson display on 25 September.

The activities on display includedsuperconductivity, solar cells, organicLED, electro chromic devices,carbon composites, carbonnanotubes, light-weight-alloys foraviation industries, National

standards activities like AC highvoltage, force & pressure standardsLIDAR, IONOSONDE,Conducting polymer, Biosensors,Scanning Electron Microscopy,TEM, CMM machine, GlassTechnology Unit, Liquid HeliumPlant, etc.

The other activities associatedwith this occasion were culturalprogrammes, drawing & painting,essay, music & quiz competition.

On this day staff members who wonawards were also honoured.

The Foundation Day lecture wasdelivered by Prof. K. K. Aggrawal,Vice Chancellor of GGSIPUniversity on 26 September.

To organize this programmealmost all NPL staff was involvedunder the chairmanship of DrVikram Kumar, Director, NPL, andcoordination job was entrusted DrR. K. Kotnala.

The Nina Saxena Excellence inTechnology Award - 2008 was

conferred to the following NEERIscientists: Er. Subhash P. Andey, Er.Prakash S. Kelkar and Dr Madan V.Nanoti. This award was launchedby IIT Kharagpur in memory of DrNina Saxena, to encourage andpromote technical innovation witha social development focus in India.

An international jury of experts,chaired by the Director of IITKharagpur, adjudged thenominations on the basis ofinnovativeness, applicability, benefitto the nation, and most importantlythe potential of the application forsocial development with specificreference to backward areas inIndia. The award carries a plaqueand a cash award of Rs 51,000/.

The award has been given to theNEERI scientists for thedevelopment of “NEERI-ZAR” -Portable Instant Water Filter.NEERI-ZAR is a water purificationsystem for rapid treatment and

NEERI Scientists get Nina Saxena Excellence inTechnology Award – 2008

supply of safepotable wateru n d e re m e r g e n c ysituations suchas floods, heavyrainfall orcyclones. It isspecially useful at such villages,which are not approachable, do nothave electric supply and potablewater to drink.

NEERI-ZAR is easy tofabricate and simple to operate andmaintain, involving low capital cost.It facilitates onsite treatment ofavailable flood water under

emergency situations to remove theorganic contamination, suspendedsolids and bacterial load to producesafe potable water within few hours,using the locally available material.It does not require electricity.

The usefulness of NEERI-ZARwater filter was demonstratedduring the floods caused owing to

Er. Prakash S. Kelkar and Er. Subhash P. Andey, NEERI scientistsreceiving the Nina Saxena Excellence in Technology Award - 2008

CSIR NEWS398398398398398

heavy rainfall in the Barmer districtof Rajasthan. NEERI had installed100 units of the NEERI-ZAR in theflood affected remote areas ofBarmer district in October 2006 toconvert the turbid andcontaminated rainwater intopotable water. Performance of theseunits under field conditions wasevaluated and the opinion of thelocal people was recorded. Thepeople using treated water fromthese units were very happy withthe quality of water produced byNEERI-ZAR units. They expressedtheir gratitude for the help provided

by theN E E R Iteam forthe supplyof potablewater.

A f t e rpresentingthe awardto theN E E R Iscientists

on the occasion of IIT KharagpurFoundation Day Programmeorganized on 18 August 2008, theChief Guest, Prof. Lord Sushanta

NEERI-ZAR

Kumar Bhattacharyya, Director ofWarwick Manufacturing Group, UKsaid that the award-winningNEERI – ZAR water purificationsystem not only reduces theexpenditure on providing safedrinking water during emergencysituation but also reduces theexpenditure on medical treatmentof water borne diseases caused dueto contaminated water. By reducingthe epidemic, morbidity andmortality rate, the water purificationsystem leads to an overallimprovement in the quality of life,he added.

The Council of Geological Society of India has awardedDr Gopalakrishnarao Parthasarathy, Scientist, National

Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad, the M.R.Srinivasa Rao Award for Experimental Mineralogy andPetrology in recognition of his valuable contribution to thefield of Mineralogy and Petrology.

A Ph. D. from Indian Institute of Science,Dr Parthasarathy has been working on high-pressurescience since 1980. He is a recipient of National MineralAward by Ministry of Mines (2003); Hari Om PRL awardfrom PRL, Department of Space, Government of India (2003); MRSI-medal fromMaterials Research Society of India (2007) and A.P. Scientist Award in PhysicalSciences from AP Council of Science and Technology (2007). He has authored about155 SCI papers and 140 research papers in conference proceedings and has five USand PCT patents to his credit. Since 2003, he has been working on high-pressurephase stability of titanium- based oxide minerals relevant to Lunar Mineralogy andhelium-3 exploration in Lunar regolith. He is a life fellow of Geological Society ofIndia, Indian Geophysical Union, Mineralogical Society of India, Indian Society ofApplied Geochemists, and Andhra Pradesh Academy of Sciences. He is an EditorialMember of the International Journal of Mining and Processing of Minerals. He is alsoa member of International Lunar Exploration Group, India.

M.R. Srinivasa Rao Award toDr G. Parthasarathy

KrishnanGold Medalto Dr A. R.

Bansal

Dr Abhay RamB a n s a l ,

Scientist, NationalG e o p h y s i c a lResearch Institute(NGRI), Hyderabad,has been awardedKrishnan GoldMedal for the year2008 by the IndianGeophysical Unionin recognition of hiss i g n i f i c a n tcontribution to thefield of earth sciencesand related field. Theaward carries acitation and GoldMedal.


30 DECEMBER 2008 399399399399399

Dr Prabhu Matondkar toLead INDO-US

Networked Centre

Dr Prabhu Matondkar of the NationalInstitute of Oceanography (NIO), Goa,

and Dr Joaquim I. Goes of BigelowLaboratory for Ocean Sciences, USA, will becoordinating the Indo-US Science andTechnology Forum (IUSSTF) supportedIndo-US Networked Center on ‘ClimateChange and its Impact on the Ecosystem ofthe Arabian Sea’ This centre will:

• Strengthen and enhance Indo-UScollaboration and cooperation inoceanographic research and longmonitoring;

• Encourage inter-disciplinary researchand excellence in oceanographic andclimate change science in the ArabianSea;

• Create an environment that willencourage scientific research on oceansand cross-cultural exchange of ideasespecially among students and youngscientists; and

• Insure and develop a new generation ofresearchers to investigate climate changeissues and relevance to the Indian Oceanand human populations around them.


The Ministry of External Affairs,Government of India, has selected a

few eminent scientists and managers tovisit Iceland to develop co-operation forexploitation of geothermal energy inIndia. Dr T. Harinarayana, Head,Magnetotellorics, National GeophysicalResearch Institute (NGRI), Hyderabad,is a member of this group. NGRI hascompleted major projects and investigatedthe deep crust covering different geothermal regions several inthe country, eg Puga (J&K), Tatapani (Chattisgarh),Tapovan–Vishnugad (Uttarrkhand), Badrinath (Uttarakhand),Kullu-Manali (HP), Manikaran (HP), Sutlej-Spiti Valley (HP)and Surajkund (Jharkhand). These projects were executed underthe guidance of Dr Harinarayana.

Recently, NGRI has signed an MoU with NTPC to developgeothermal energy in India.

The visit to Iceland will pave a way to develop powerprojects using geothermal energy, which is a clean and renewableenergy source.

Also, Dr Harinarayana, has been elected Fellow of theAndhra Pradesh Akademi of Sciences. Recently, he also wonthe A.P. Scientist award from Government of Andhra Pradeshfor the newly introduced field of Earth and Planetary Sciences.Dr Harinarayana is a well known in international circles asexecutive member of IAGA (International Association ofGeomagnetism and Aeronomy); member of the RussianAcademy of Natural Sciences (RANS), Moscow; Bureau memberof EMSEV (Electro Magnetic Studies for Earthquakes andVolcanoes), Japan and also executive member of InternationalElectro-magnetic Induction (EMI) working group 1.2. He ispresently the Head of “Magnetotelluric” group, one of the majorprojects at NGRI and has made significant contributions to OilExploration, Geothermal Studies, Deep Crustal andEarthquake Studies. He has more than 60 researchcontributions to his credit and was a senior guest editor forspecial issues of two international journals.

Dr T. Harinarayana selecteda National Delegate to Iceland

and elected Fellow ofAP Akademi of Sciences

CSIR NEWS400400400400400

Printed and Published by Deeksha Bist on behalf of National Institute of Science Communication And Information Resources (NISCAIR), (CSIR),Dr K.S. Krishnan Marg, New Delhi -110 012 and printed at NISCAIR Press, Dr K.S. Krishnan Marg, New Delhi -110 012

Editor: Dr B.C.Kashyap; Associate Editors: Meenakshi; Vineeta Singhal; Editorial Assistant: Neelima HandooDesign: Pradip Banerjee; Sarla Dutta; Production: Kaushal Kishore

Editorial help by Dr Sukanya Datta, Scientist, DG’s Technical Cell, CSIR, is greatly acknowledged.Phone: 25846301; Fax: 25847062; E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; Website:http://www.niscair.res.in

For subscription: The Sales & Distribution Officer, NISCAIR; E-mail: [email protected]; Annual Subscription: Rs 300; Single Copy: Rs 15.00Subscription Complaint No: 25843359

RN 4512/57

Prof S.K. Brahmachari wins Sixth BiospectrumPerson of the Year 2008 Award

Prof Samir Kumar Brahmachari, Director General CSIR, has been awarded the Sixth BioSpectrum Personof the Year award 2008. The award has been given to him for his significant contributions, in particular to

his enormous achievements in the past twelve months including ‘Publication of the Indian Human Genome Map(IGVdb), The Open (Source) Drug Discovery Programme and for bringing the prestigious Human GenomeOrganization (HUGO) meeting to India for the first time ever.’ The award consists of a trophy and a citation.

According to an article in 5 December 2008 issue of Biospectrum, Prof. Brahmachari recognized very earlythe importance of genomics in the world and organized a genome analysis workshop with American moleculargenticist Charles Cantor in 1987 at IISc.

He was one of the earliest members of the Human Genome Organization, which was formed in 1988. Indiawas nowhere on the genomic map then. And today 20 years down the line, when he is at the helm of decisionmaking at CSIR, he has left no stone unturned to place India on the world genomic map. Year 2008 saw, HumanGenome Organization (HUGO) hold its 13th Human Genome Meeting in Hyderabad as it turned 20 years old,thus recognizing the importance of India and its scientific capabilities in genomics. The event saw a galaxy ofscientists from India and abroad deliver lectures, workshops and symposia on various aspects of genomics.

Not only this, CSIR, has also launched the Open Source Drug Discovery Programme in global partnershipto combat the scourge of infectious diseases that afflict the developing world. Tuberculosis (TB) will be the firstdisease target for the project that has been allotted a sum of 500 crore and aims to provide a platform forcollaborative research thus targeting affordable health. Prof. Brahmachari leads the Indian Genome VariationConsortium, which has developed a database of over 1,000 genes related to disease and drug response, exploringhuman genome variation in multi-ethnic, multi-lingual populations of India to develop a national resource: thegenetic profile of the people of India.


Also, Prof. Brahmachari has been selected as one of the Distinguished Alumni of Indian Institute of Science,Bangalore, which is celebrating its Centenary Year (May 2008-May 2009).

As part of the Centenary celebrations, IISc is honouring Alumni who have distinguished themselves invarious fields both within and outside IISc and those who have maintained ‘Strong links with IISc”.

The distinguished Alumni Awardees have been selected on the basis of ‘outstanding intellectualaccomplishment’, their contribution to Science/Technology/Industry and demonstrated contribution to aninstitution building process.

Prof. S.K. Brahmachari to behonoured by IISc, Bangalore

30 Dec - niscair

Documents

Transcript of 30 Dec - niscair