• First Biosphere Reserve
• Surface-to-Air Missile Akash Testfired
• 'India's Moon Orbiter Mission to have New Facet'
• Army gets Patent for Windy 505
• ISRO, French Space Agency Sign MoU
• Bharti to go the Infosys Way
• Supersonic Cruise Missile BrahMos Ready to Join Navy
• India's First Multi-Lingual Search Engine Unveiled
• Anti-Lightning System Launched in Kerala

• Indian Immunologicals Launches Nimesulide Injection for Animals
• UK Looks to India for More Dentists
• Nine Nuclear Power Plants on the Anvil
• Vedanta Explains Scientific Nature of Hinduism
• Prasar Bharti Launches DTH Operations
• Now, Cheap Blood Sugar Monitors Hit Markets
• India Test Fires Dhanush Missile
• Reliance to Foray into Medicinal Farming

The first biosphere reserve in India is being developed as a World Peace Park in Tawang district of Arunachal Pradesh. Formally inaugurated recently, the reserve is named after the sixth Dalai Lama, Tsanyang Gyatso, who was born here. The project has been commissioned by the Arunachal Pradesh Government and is being developed by Future Generations, a U.S.-based community development organisation. The project is unique as it does not involve displacement of population and the conservation efforts would be through the participation of the local community. It will integrate the conservation and socio-economic development in a single, holistic master plan. Unlike the national parks, a biosphere reserve has a core zone, which is the actual protected area, a buffer zone where limited human activity takes place and a development zone where there is human habitation.

Courtesy: The Hindu, November 27, 2004

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Indian Immunologicals Ltd (IIL), the wholly owned subsidiary of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB), announced the launch of the world's first Nimesulide injection for animals on Friday. Speaking to newspersons, Dr T. Sreevardhana, General Manager (Exports and Animal Health), said that the product, branded `Nimovet', has been launched after successful in-house research and clinical trials in leading veterinary colleges in the country. The product is available in 1 ml and 15 ml vials. "Nimovet's action is multifaceted and it has been proven to be a safe, fast acting and powerful non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). It does not cause hyperacidity and gastritis associated with other conventional NSAIDs." According to him, while Nimesulide is available in oral form in human medicare, the company has developed the molecule as an injectible for the first time in the country for veterinary healthcare.

Courtesy: www.thehindubusinessline.com, November 27, 2004

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Akash, the indigenously developed surface-to-air missile, was test fired from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur-On-Sea, about 14 km from here on Friday, DRDO sources said. The sophisticated multi-target missile was test fired from a mobile launcher at about 12.30 pm. Earlier, Lakshya, the Pilotless Target Aircraft, was test flown from the ITR at 12.10 pm and Akash was fired at an object attached to the PTA as its target. The missile has a range of 27 km with an effective ceiling of 15 km, the sources said. It uses an Integral Ramjet Rocket Propulsion System and has a low reaction time. The sleek missile, with a 700 kg launch weight, could carry a warhead of 60 kg. Akash operates in conjunction with Rajendra Surveillance and Engagement Radar being developed by Electronic Research and Development Establishment. The radar is capable of tracking 64 targets and guide up to 12 missiles simultaneously. The missile, part of India's Guided Missile Development Programme, is being developed by the DRDO and had undergone a number of trials. The current thrust of the test was on its guidance system, the sources said, adding that the development was also aimed at increasing its speed, maximum altitude and extend the range up to 60 km. Six more rounds of similar trials of the missile could take place shortly, they said.

Courtesy: The Times of India, November 27, 2004

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The Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), G. Madhavan Nair, said here that a new facet would be included to the Indian moon orbiter mission, Chandrayan-1. Besides the 55-kg payload (in a total in-lunar orbit mass of 523 kg) of on-board instruments, the spacecraft will carry an impactor weighing about 25 kg as an add-on module. The payload at present includes four Indian instruments weighing 45 kg and (possibly) five international instruments weighing 10 kg. The actual nature, configuration and objective of the impactor are being studied, according to Mr. Nair who spoke to mediapersons after his address yesterday at the inauguration of the five-day Sixth International Conference on the Exploration and Utilization Moon (ICEUM-6) being held here since November 22. Basically, the impactor will be dropped in free-fall from the spacecraft's 100 km x 100 km orbit on the moon surface. Roughly, such an impactor will impact the surface at a velocity of about few km per second. The instruments will make measurements during its fall under gravity as well as after impact. The impactor will be destroyed after crashing on the surface. "The idea is to demonstrate certain technologies that could be useful for future missions," Mr. Nair said. "It may even carry an instrument like a mass spectrometer to measure material ejected from impact."

Courtesy: The Hindu, November 25, 2004

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Army chief Gen NC Vij today handed over to the army a patent-the first for any of its innovations-for its high mobility attack vehicle. The patent for Windy 505, designed and developed by the Corps of Electronic and Mechanical Engineers (EME), with high all-terrain mobility, was released on the occasion of the eighth corps reunion held at IEME Centre, Secunderabad, near here. Windy 505 has a power-to-weight ratio 40:1 by far the highest in India. "Nowhere in the world is a vehicle with such width and length available," an official press statement said.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, November 24, 2004

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Britain is trying to meet a shortage of dentists by arranging for foreign qualified ones, including those from India, to be 'fast-tracked' into the National Health Service. India is being targeted with the approval of the authorities and about 1,200 have expressed interest. But because they are from outside the European Union, they face costly extra examinations as well as English tests, which can take months. So, to speed up the process, department of health officials are considering allowing them to take the theoretical parts of the exams in India. England has a shortfall of 1,850 dentists and health secretary John Reid has pledged to bring an extra 1,000 into the NHS by October 2005. Dentists from other countries are also to be fast-tracked into the NHS. Extra sittings of exams are being held to clear a backlog of those from non-EU countries who want to work in Britain. Mr Raman Bedi, Britain's chief dental officer, said: "We are desperate to clear the backlog. A lot of them are on income support and doing part-time jobs, yet are very good dentists."

Courtesy: The Asian Age, November 24, 2004

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Nine thorium-based nuclear power plants are set to come up in the country to utilise extensive resources of thorium. India is the only country where nine nuclear reactors will be built simultaneously. Atomic Energy Commission chairman Mr Anil Kakodkar announced this today at the 21st Department of Atomic Energy Safety and Occupational Health Professionals' Meet, held at the Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre in Salt Lake. Mr Kakodkar said the commission was finalising plans to set up the plants in the next decade to utilise over 350,000 tonnes of thorium resources capable of generating 10,000 mw of energy. "There is ample scope for at least nine 700 mw thorium-based plants in the country. The plan, in terms of feasibility, has been finalised but sites are yet to be finalised," he said. A Rs 3,400-crore worth 500 MW prototype of a fast breeder reactor at Kalpakkam will be used as a demonstration project, and the plant is expected to be ready for commissioning by 2010.

Courtesy: The Statesman, November 23, 2004

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The Chief Election Commissioner, T.S. Krishnamurthy, today stressed the need for realising the importance of Hindu religion, at a time when ``we are going through difficult moments.'' Presiding over a function here to mark the 87th Jayanthi Mahotsavam of Jagadguru Sri Abhinava Vidyatheertha Mahaswamigal, 35th Sankaracharya of Sri Sharada Peetam, Sringeri, he said there had been myths and misconceptions about the religion, which had a rich heritage. "There is still an impression that it is a religion of many Gods and that it has many superstitions and stories, which are unrealistic.'' This only betrayed the "very poor understanding" of the religion. However, if one studied the Vedanta, the scientific nature of Hinduism could be understood, he said. Mr. Krishnamurthy said Hinduism "is the only religion which has no human author. Unlike other religions, it has evolved over a period of time as a result of some splendid experiences of great spiritual exponents. Unlike other religions, it has neither a beginning nor an end."

Courtesy: The Hindu, November 22, 2004

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The public broadcaster, Prasar Bharati, kicked off its Rs. 500 crore direct-to-home (DTH) venture, roping in around two-lakh subscribers to begin with. "We signed agreements with private channels on Thursday and are beaming to about two-lakh subscribers," the Prasar Bharati CEO, K.S. Sarma, said here. The public broadcaster becomes the second DTH operator in the country after the Zee-promoted ASC Enterprises' Dish TV, which has managed to corner around 1.5-lakh subscribers in about one year of operations. Mr. Sarma said Doordarshan's DTH would telecast only free-to-air channels, also airing All-India Radio channels as an add-on. "So far, we have 17 DD channels on the platform and 12 private channels, which include BBC World, Aaj Tak, Headlines Today, Zee Cinema, Zee Music, Splash TV, Aakash Bangla, SUN TV, Kairali," he said. The platform, which entails an initial cost of Rs. 2,500 to Rs. 3,500 for the dish and the set-top box, will also offer about 10 radio channels, which AIR plans to increase it to 19 in the coming months. These would include regional radio channels.

Courtesy: The Hindu, November 15, 2004

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The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the French Space Centre (CNES) on Friday signed a memorandum of understanding for the development and implementation of the joint atmosphere satellite mission, Megha-Tropiques. Mr G. Madhavan Nair, Chairman of ISRO, and Mr Yannick d'Escatha, President, CNES, signed the MoU, which outlines the arrangements for the development of the satellite, its launch, operations in orbit and utilisation of the scientific data obtained from the satellite. The satellite will carry out a Multi-frequency Microwave Scanning Radiometer (MADRAS) to be developed jointly by the two space organisations for providing information on rain above the oceans, integrated water vapour content in the atmosphere, liquid water in clouds, convective rain over land and sea, a multi channel Microwave Instrument (SAPHIR) to be developed by CNES for providing vertical humidity profile in the atmosphere and a multi-channel instrument (SCARAB), also to be developed by CNES, for providing data on earth's radiation in the atmosphere budget. ISRO will build the Megha-Tropiques spacecraft, which will be similar to the Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites. It will also launch the satellite using its Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. The satellite will be placed 867 km high orbit at an inclination of 20 degrees to be able to collect scientific data covering the tropical regions. ISRO will control the satellite in orbit and also receive, process and distribute the scientific data from the satellite.

Courtesy: www.thehindubusinessline.com, November 13, 2004

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First, it was insulin. Now it's blood glucose monitors that have become easier on the pocket. A spate of price cuts and the entry of more economical products, across both home diagnostics and therapeutic ranges, have made life a little easier for diabetics. Roche Diagnostics has recently reduced the price of its blood glucose monitors - Accu-chek Active - to Rs 2,400. A few years ago, when Accu-chek was launched in the market, the product retailed at almost Rs 6,000. Johnson & Johnson launched an indigenously developed self-testing kit through its division LifeScan. Priced at Rs 1,500, the monitor was developed by LifeScan, in collaboration with some leading diabetologists across the country. Nicholas Piramal has just launched its own blood glucose monitor, called Hypoguard Advance. Ajay Piramal, chairman of Nicholas Piramal told ET that the company had tied up with the British healthcare company, Hypoguard, to develop the blood glucose monitor product. Though the product is priced at over Rs 3,000, it is currently available at about Rs 2,000, as part of a launch scheme.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, November 11, 2004

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'Dhanush', the indigenously developed short-range ballistic missile, was test fired from the bay of Bengal off the Orissa coast on Sunday, Defence sources said. Mounted on a stabilized launcher, the missile was fired from naval ship 'INS Subhadra', anchored about 30 km from Chandipur-on-sea at around 1220 hrs, IST. Dhanush is the naval version of the surface-to-surface missile system Prithvi-II, the sources said. With a payload of 500 kg, the 8.56 metre-long sleek missile has a striking range of 250 km. The missile has a launch weight of 4,600 kg and can be used with both conventional as well as nuclear warheads. It uses a single stage liquid propellant engine. Sunday's test is the 'ship-launched version' of the missile and considered to be a major milestone for scientists at the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO). The 'submarine version' of a similar type missile was successfully tested from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur on October 27 last. This is the third trial of Dhanush. The first experiment was aborted on April 11, 2000 as a technical snag was detected in the software system during its blast-off phase while the second trial was conducted successfully on September 21, 2001, the sources said.

Courtesy: The Indian Express, November 08, 2004

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If the market pundits are to be believed, Reliance Life Sciences (RLS) may well emerge as one half of the blockbuster, double bill opening at the IPO box office some time next fiscal along with Reliance Infocomm. And laying the foundation to this foray could see it train its guns on the Indian farmers who are expected to become the backbone of the company's entry into the business of medicinal and aromatic plant extracts. "Our endeavour in medicinal and aromatic plants, under the auspices of Reliance Life Sciences, is an attempt to create a new paradigm in farming for economic gains," Mr Mukesh Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Industries Ltd, told Business Line. The chosen ones are about a dozen farmers whose land holdings happen to lie adjoining the Reliance Jamnagar refinery. One cannot call it contract farming, but effectively, the corporate house has assured the farmers a buy-back of their agricultural produce, provided they maintain the required quality. It is merely a pilot initiative involving farming in a 100-odd acres but the scope for scaling up is immense. Thus, RLS has put under the microscope, the entire gamut of plant biotechnology, ranging from agronomy and tissue culture on the one side to metabolic engineering and extractions on the other. Already in talks with potential buyers in Europe, RLS is also betting big on aloe vera spray dried powder whose current market price is Rs 7,000 per kg. The company now has 60 acres of its land under aloe vera cultivation while the farmers have added another 100 acres. Little wonder that the company has just put up a 6 tpa extraction plant in Jamnagar.

Courtesy: www.thehindubusinessline.com, November 06, 2004

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With a "100 per cent successful" flight of the BrahMos today from an operational ship of the Indian Navy, the anti-ship supersonic cruise missile is ready to be inducted into the Navy. This is the eighth consecutively successful flight of the BrahMos, the missile jointly developed by India and Russia. Today, the BrahMos was launched from an Indian Naval ship in the Bay of Bengal off the coast of Orissa. It accurately hit its target: a decommissioned ship of the Navy, which was moving in the waters. This is the third time that the BrahMos is being launched from a ship. It has been launched five times from ground from the Interim-Test-Range at Chandipur, near Balasore, Orissa. BrahMos flies at a speed 2.8 times that of sound, and it can take out targets 290 km away. It is eight-metres long, weighs three tonnes and carries only a conventional warhead. The missile launched today had advanced fire-control systems. Its manoeuvrability towards the target was verified. It has a fire-and-forget capability. That is, when it is launched from a ship, it will locate the area where the target is available and home in on the target. Whatever may be the movement of the target in the sea, the missile will zero in on it.

Courtesy: The Hindu, November 04, 2004

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Mr Sunil Bharti Mittal has hinted at a major change in the management structure in the organisation. Sources said that the Bharti group chairman is following the path adopted by Infosys's chairman and chief mentor N.R. Narayana Murthy. "Now, most of my time is spent on creating a second line of leadership and institutional mechanisms. In two to three years, Bharti TeleVentures will become more and more of a board managed company," said Mr Mittal. Recently, Bharti rejigged its operational units like mobility and infotel.They now have a separate board to handle the operational issues. The mobility division in Bharti looks after all the mobile service issues while infotel looks after fixed line, long distance and other services. Two years back, Mr Murthy had taken a revolutionary step in Infosys by promoting Mr Nandan Nilekani as the managing director of the company. Bharti is also planning on the same lines. While grooming the second line of leadership the country's largest private telecom operator Bharti is eyeing 2.5 crores subscribers in the next two years and expects to close the fiscal with 1.2 crores lakh customers.

Courtesy: The Asian Age, November 03, 2004

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A multi-lingual Internet search engine, claimed to be India's first in regional languages, has been developed by Anna University-KB Chandrasekar (AU-KBC) Research Centre here. Tentatively named `Kazhugu' (Tamil for eagle), the search engine is ready for use in Tamil websites (one can do both site specific and web searches), said S Bhaskar, a member of the research task team at AC-KBCRC. The Research Centre will soon come out with similar Internet search engines for Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada languages, he said. The search engine will be placed for testing on the Internet portal of Sify, he said. "Beta testing, whereby the search engine will be hosted on a website, will begin soon," he said, adding this was India's first multi-lingual Internet search engine. Kazhugu will be marketed commercially by KBC Research Foundation Pvt Ltd, Bhaskar said. The 10-member research staff in the Language Technologies Group of AU-KBC Research Centre began the work on the search engine in August 2000. The search engine is capable of searching all the Tamil websites, irrespective of the different fonts, he said.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, November 03, 2004

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The New Delhi-based Current Indo Group has introduced modified heavy duty lightning terminating system - Current Y2K - in the Kerala market. The system has various models with coverage of 10-metre to 50-metre radius of protection for the structures and lives. The device is based on German technology, designed to suit the climatic and geographic conditions in the country, a company note said.

Courtesy: www.thehindubusinessline.com, November 02, 2004

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