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Biotech
will take India to New Heights'
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India
is a key player in development and
application of biotechnology. The
progress being made on this front
will, in a few years, place it among
the top powers in the world, the Chief
Controller (Research and Development)
of the Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO), A. Sivathanu
Pillai, said here recently. Inaugurating
a two-day symposium on "Frontiers
in Biotechnology" organised by the
Bharathiar University, Mr. Pillai
said India had understood the need
for biotechnology-driven development.
The focus now was on its application
in areas such as agriculture and healthcare.
Asserting that biotechnology was the
"cutting-edge technology of the future"
he said: "India needs to have an integrated
mission-oriented approach covering
industry, academia and social institutions
to derive full benefits from biotechnology
and to become a top nation in this
field." Towards this end, he said,
biotechnology, nanotechnology and
information technology should be combined
to focus on areas such as genomics,
medical biotechnology, plant tissue
culture, agriculture, animal biotechnology
and bioinformatics. The industry grew
at the rate of 25 per cent and by
the year2010, India was expected to
earn $ 5 billions from biotechnology.
It had also been predicted that this
sector would create a million jobs
over the next five years. With regard
to healthcare, top-level firms were
engaged in active research in developing
technology for manufacture of human
insulin and Hepatitis B vaccine. They
were also involved in stem cell research.
With a rich biodiversity, India could
use modern tools of biotechnology
to prove specific bio-activity of
medicinal plants and develop value-added
pharmaceutical products. Biosensors
could also be extensively used to
monitor environmental hazards.
Courtesy:
The Hindu, October 31, 2004
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Engineering
a Software Success Story
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A
few months ago, BBC reported that
Indian software companies were the
only ones on the world map to depict
a continuous increase in market capitalisation.
The product segment has crossed the
hurdle race and domestic revenues
of a lot of companies have seen a
sharp increase this fiscal. With the
support of the infotech and business
process outsourcing (BPO) revolution,
India today boasts of an excellent
talent pool for IT services and products
fuelled by a friendly eco-system and
lowered development costs. Companies
are now more willing to talk about
products and consider them as a viable
revenue stream for the future. There
has been a recognisable increase in
domestic and international demand
for high quality and low-cost products
and this is expected to grow steadily
in the next 18-24 months as global
economies witness further mobilisation.
The Indian Software Products Engineering
Industry has experienced a phenomenal
increase in revenues. In fiscal 2002-03,
Dataquest estimated total revenues
of product companies from India at
close to Rs 10 billion. In 2003-04
that total indicates Rs 14 billion,
a growth of 40%. The Top 5 and Top
10, respectively, account for 80%
and 94% of total sector revenues.
Several software products engineering
companies are dedicated to bringing
to the market the best technology
solutions possible. Owing to this
dedication towards proven methodology,
unparallelled quality and a commitment
to complete customer satisfaction,
the US and Europe have opened up to
outsourcing their R&D, services and
operations functions to India.
Courtesy:
www.financialexpress.com, October
30, 2004
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US
NRIs to Provide Medical Aid in Kerala
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US-based
NRI community hailing from Kerala
will provide free medical treatment
worth Rs 250 million to selected patients
through some private hospitals in
the state. This is the second year
in succession that the community is
providing medical assistance to patients
in the state, said Jiji Thompson,
secretary in the department assisting
the state's NRIs, here on Thursday.
"Seven hundred patients have registered
for free plastic surgery for ailments
to lips and corrective face surgery.
Another 400 have registered for urological
surgery," said Thompson. The assistance
programme to be inaugurated by Chief
Minister Oommen Chandy will be provided
through several private hospitals
in southern Kerala from November 6
to 12. The programme would be extended
to hospitals in northern Kerala next
year. Last year, 116 plastic surgeries
were done under the programme. A 12-year-old
girl was also taken to Houston, US,
and treated with a limp replacement
surgery under the programme. Thompson
said that apart from medicines, several
pieces of brand new equipment would
be provided to the hospitals under
the programme.
Courtesy:
The Times of India, October 30, 2004
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India
on Wednesday test fired the indigenously
developed medium range missile Prithvi-III
from the Integrated Test Range at
Chandipur, about 15 km from here.
The missile tested was the naval version
of Prithvi which has a range of 250
to 300 km, Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO) sources said.
It was test-fired from a simulated
launch pad from launch complex III
of the ITR at about 11.29 AM. DRDO
chief M Natarajan and scientists who
designed the missile, witnessed the
test launch. The missile and its sub-system,
being developed under the project
name K-15, had to undergo a rigorous
check up before the actual trial took
place, DRDO sources said. This is
for the first time that the missile,
which has the capability to be launched
underwater, was put to trial from
an artificially made water base with
the help of a specially designed canister,
they said. The surface-to-surface
single stage ballistic missile could
be launched from either a ship or
submarine and was capable of destroying
land targets. The missile, about 8.5
metres high and one metre in diameter
with latest on-board computer and
internal navigation system, could
use both solid as well as liquid propellant.
The entire trajectory of the missile,
which took off vertically, was tracked
through an integrated system of sophisticated
radar, electro-optical tracking instruments,
a chain of telemetry stations and
a naval vessel stationed close to
the impact point inside the Bay of
Bengal.
Courtesy:
The Times of India, October 27, 2004
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Ranbaxy
to Launch its Generic Medicine for
Asthma
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Ranbaxy,
India's largest pharmaceutical company,
plans to launch its first branded
"generic" medicine for asthma sufferers
in the UK., plans to launch its first
branded "generic" medicine for asthma
sufferers in the UK. For the first
time, a branded "generic" from Ranbaxy
will be competing head-to-head with
asthma products from GlaxoSmithKline
and AstraZeneca in their home market.
In addition, Ranbaxy's "Easy-haler"
device - a dry powder inhaler - will
be 50 per cent cheaper than similar
inhalers. While traditional pharmaceutical
companies spend an average of $800
million to develop innovative "new
chemical entities", or patented drugs,
Ranbaxy has built its business on
manufacturing "generics" - a copycat
versions of proven medicines - at
a fraction of the cost. Ranbaxy has
grown from a small family-run generics
business into an international company
with annual sales of more than $1
billion, of which half are outside
India. Ranbaxy launched 20 new products
in the US last year, and another 32
in its domestic market. Earlier this
month it announced record third quarter
sales of $292 million, up by 19 per
cent.
Courtesy:
The Economic Times, October 25, 2004
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Ex-IITians
Chip in for India
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Forget
the chip on the shoulder. Former IITians
are chipping in with chips of another
kind to give back to India as good
as they got. In another instance of
brain drain becoming brain gain, IITians
who went to top-notch universities
like MIT, Berkley, Cornell and Stanford,
are now coming back to India with
cutting-edge technology such as radio
frequency identification (RFID) chips.
This has numerous uses in retail,
defence, aerospace and pharmaceuticals.
Is it any wonder that Infosys chairman
N R Narayana Murthy recently said,
"Given India's global acceptance in
software services, it is only natural
that the next step would be for innovative,
high-end software products. I see
exciting times ahead in the product
landscape." It all started in the
US in 2001 when three IITians got
together to start an RFID company
in Massachusetts. It had as its chief
technology officer, Dr Sanjay Sarma,
who led MIT's Auto-ID centre, where
retail majors such as Wal-Mart, Hewlett-Packard,
Gillette, pharmaceutical companies
and the US Department of Defence used
microchips to their advantage. "Almost
25 per cent of our India office is
made up of IITians. It's time India
goes from being just a services hub
and also became a location for world-class
software product development. Our
intellectual property is our strength.
Courtesy:
The Times of India, October 24, 2004
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India
no to Cloning, Nod to Stem Cell
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India
has strongly opposed reproductive
human cloning, asserting that it is
unethical, morally unacceptable and
contrary to respect for human beings,
but supported research on stem cells
saying that the new technology could
be used to fight certain diseases.
It is unethical and morally unacceptable,
delegate and MP Mr Kalraj Mishra told
the UN legal committee during a debate
on human cloning yesterday, adding
"it cannot be justified." The committee
started deliberations with hope of
drafting an international treaty to
address the issue. Though all member
nations of the world body oppose reproductive
human cloning, many support "therapeutic
cloning" for research into debilitating
diseases and spinal cord injuries.
But so far as research on stem cells
is concerned, Mr Mishra said, researchers
must have all option and science must
decide the relative efficacy of different
kinds of stem cells.
Courtesy:
The Statesman, October 23, 2004
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Amphibian
Bounty in the Western Ghats
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The
Western Ghats could be home to an
amazing variety of amphibians that
have eluded discovery for centuries.
Recent research involving scientists
from India and the United Kingdom
has revealed the amphibian diversity
in the region. The results of the
study, which appeared in a recent
issue of the journal Current Science,
indicates that the number of species
of caecilian (limbless) amphibians
in the thickly forested Western Ghats
is growing rapidly. The team, which
included Oommen V. Oommen from the
Department of Zoology, University
of Kerala, recorded a 57 per cent
increase in caecilian amphibian diversity
over the last six years. According
to Dr. Oommen, the discovery of new
species even after more than 200 years
of research points to the inadequate
nature of such studies, both in the
field and in the laboratory. "At least
half of the eight new amphibian species
discovered after 1998 are known to
inhabit gardens or plantations; yet
they had gone unnoticed by scientists."
The intrinsic biology of caecilians
makes their study challenging. The
Indian caecilian amphibian burrows
the soil and special digging effort
is needed to bring it out. "Wading
in muddy fields to fish out slimy
creatures will put off all but the
most dedicated researcher," says Dr.
Oommen. For scientists in India, the
challenge of discovering new species
is compounded by lack of arrangements
for international loans and exposure
to Western collections and scientists.
The study recommends the application
of modern techniques such as molecular
analysis to aid the search for new
amphibian species. The study was taken
up under a four-year partnership project
between the University of Kerala and
the Natural History Museum, London.
The Bombay Natural History Society,
the Zoological Survey of India and
Bhandarkar's College, Kundapura, Karnataka,
were partners. As many as 20 research
papers have been published under the
project, which will run until the
end of this year.
Courtesy:
The Hindu, October 22, 2004
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New
Techniques to Detect Virus in Banana
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THE
National Research Centre for Banana
(NRCB) at Podhavur near Tiruchi has
developed three techniques for early
detection of viruses in banana crops.
According to the Director of the Centre,
Dr S. Sathiamoorthy, cultivators of
various verities of banana have for
long been concerned with the incidence
of virus attack such as the bract
mosaic, the banana bunchy top and
the banana streak virus, as they reduced
not only the yield but destroyed also
the plantations as a whole. The virus
spreads through the mother plants
and the tissue culture plants. A survey
by NRCB revealed that the tissue culture
plants are mainly responsible for
the spread of the virus to newer areas.
To counter the menace, NRCB has developed
three techniques of detection of viruses
in the crop such as Enzyme Ltd Immunosorbent
Assay (ELISA), Polymerase Chain Reaction
(PCR) and the Dot Blot technique.
The presence of a virus would be ascertained
through a test on mother plants used
for propagation, he said. For plants
developed through tissue culture,
the test is hampered by the absence
of infrastructure or trained personnel
at the tissue culture industries,
the sources said.
Courtesy:
www.thehindubusinessline.com, October
21, 2004
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Palm-leaf
Manuscripts to be Digitised
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The
world's largest collection of palm-leaf
manuscripts at the Central Archives
here is set to go digital. The Department
of Culture today unveiled an ambitious
project to create a digital library
of ancient records dating back to
the 18th century. The five-year project,
estimated to cost over Rs.10 crores,
will generate a digitised version
of over one crore manuscripts. The
documents will also be preserved in
their original form. Addressing reporters
after a visit to the archives building
in the Fort area, the Minister for
Culture, A.P. Anil Kumar, said the
digital library would provide an insight
into the rich history of the erstwhile
State of Travancore and its administration.
The agency for the work would be selected
soon, he said. Over 500 original documents
dating back to the 18th century are
displayed in showcases. These include
the treaty for merger of the Travancore
and Kochi States, the pact between
Travancore and the Dutch and the accord
with the East India Company made in
1805. Some of the notable exhibits
in this section include a notification
regarding the eligibility for Government
jobs issued in 1823, an 1818 order
permitting Backward Classes to wear
gold ornaments and a proclamation
on the use of salt tax for education.
Courtesy:
The Hindu, October 20, 2004
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India
'Can become Leader in Supply of Traditional
Medicines'
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India
with its abundant and well-diversified
herbal resources can emerge as a world
leader in the supply of traditional
medicines by focussing on research
and development, quality control and
standardisation of the manufacturing
process. This was highlighted by speakers
at a seminar here today on the "Prospects
and recent trends in quality cultivation,
standardisation, industrialisation,
marketing and export of medicinal
plants/herbals." Inaugurating the
meet, organised by the All-India Herbal
Farmers, Traders, Exporters and Research
Society, S. Mohan, former Supreme
Court judge, said the country was
host to 1,000 herbal species used
in Ayurveda, 1,700 in Siddha, 750
in Unani and 300 in homeopathy. But,
India's export of herbs and herbal
products was negligible at Rs. 5.50
billion in the context of the world
market of $ 62 billion. The situation,
however, could change if the stakeholders
promoted good agricultural practices
among those growing herbs and take
steps to get the herbal medicines
scientifically validated, which in
turn called for emphasis on research
and setting up of laboratories. Underlining
the need for those seeking medical
care to shed their fascination for
allopathic medicines, Mr. Mohan said
Indian systems of traditional medicine
were safe to use and did not have
any after effects.
Courtesy:
The Hindu, October 18, 2004
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'India's
a Great Place to Expand'
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They
might strike you as the typical Silicon
Valley brats in their jeans and sneakers.
But for techies-turned-billionaires,
Sergey Brin and Larry Page, life has
changed little after the August listing
of Google, the search engine company
they co-founded six years back, that
resulted in a personal net worth of
roughly $4bn each. The duo thinks
that India will be a great place to
expand as it has great potential,
particularly Hyderabad which is Google's
second office in the country after
Bangalore. "I'm very impressed by
the autos here," said Mr Brin, after
the auto ride in Hyderabad on Tuesday,
when the duo stopped by to visit the
Google office and inspect the upcoming
space in the RMZ Complex at Madhapur.
"They are so versatile and easy to
manoeuvre that I was actually thinking
of getting one for the office," he
quipped in a lighter vein. But more
impressive were the CNG-powered buses
and autos in New Delhi. "It is a shame
we don't have them in California,
considering the huge potential these
vehicles have," he added, commenting
on their one-day trip to the city
on Monday, where they met President
Abdul Kalam.
Courtesy:
The Economic Times, October 13, 2004
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India
can Develop Basic Molecules: ICAR
Chief
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The
Director-General of the Indian Council
of Agricultural Research (ICAR), Mangala
Rai, on Tuesday said that the course
had been charted for evolving `molecules'
indigenously for making insecticides
and pesticides in the country. Dr.Rai,
who was visiting the Central Tobacco
Research Institute (CTRI) here, told
reporters that the objective was to
break the tradition of adopting the
molecules developed by "some multinational
companies" and paying them royalty
for manufacturing insecticides/pesticides.
Pointing out that India could develop
the basic molecules, he said a breakthrough
in this area would not only make economic
sense in the intellectual property
rights regime, but provide multiple
options in fighting the new plant
diseases that are likely to break
out.
Courtesy:
The Hindu, October 13, 2004
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Best
Telecom Brand Award for Airtel
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Bharti
Tele-Venture's Airtel has bagged the
award for the world's best communications
brand of the year, at the World Communication
Awards 2004, set up by London-based
Emap Communications Group. The world's
leading brands, including Orange,
British Telecom, Starhub and M1, were
among the nominees for the award.
The awards, in the sixth year of their
inception, recognise outstanding performance
by telecom companies and brands and
are known as the `Oscars' of the communication
sector. More than 50 of the world's
leading telecom companies submitted
a total of 123 entries for the awards.
Airtel was also a nominee for the
Best Mobile Operator category. The
judges included the likes of Mr Sean
Collins, Chairman - ICE, KPMG, UK;
Mr Roger Wilson, Director, European
Competitive Telecommunications Association;
Mr David Molony, Editor-in-Chief,
Total Telecom, Ms Christine Winter,
Head (Global Telecom Sourcing), Reuters
Ltd.
Courtesy:
www.thehindubusinessline.com, October
13, 2004
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India's
Most Cited Scientists
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Indian
scientific research, the papers born
of it and the citations due to researchers
are on the growth path. And these
will continue to grow. It is important
therefore for India to continue to
promote scientific endeavour and discovery
to make sure of the same," said Jeffrey
Clovis, Director, Thomson Scientific
USA. He was speaking on Research Day
conducted on Sunday and organised
jointly by Thomson Scientific and
Informatics India to honour some of
the most cited among Indian scientists
across various fields. All of these
scientists were presented with Citation
Laureates Awards. While mentioning
that the number of scientific papers
from India had gone up, from 66,000
in 81-85 to 90,000 in the last five
years, Clovis said that growth rates
had been similar in the rest of the
world, which meant that India still
ranks on the lower range, especially
in the area of number of cites. According
to a study conducted by Thomson Scientific
called ISI highly cited among 149
countries, while India ranks 21in
the number of papers published and
13 in the number of citations given
out, it ranked as low as 119 in 'impact'
or number of cites per paper.
Courtesy:
www. business-standard.com, October
13, 2004
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I-Flex
Bags Global Entrepolis @ Singapore
Award
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IT
solutions provider I-Flex Solutions
has won the '2004 Global Entrepolis
@ Singapore Award' for its financial
software product Flexcube. The company
was chosen from a total of 84 entries
from various industry segments received
from across Asia, an I-Flex Solutions
release said on Tuesday. I-Flex Solutions
Chairman and Managing Director Rajesh
Hukku received the award from Singapore
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at
function late on Monday night. "The
award honours Asia's emerging technopreneur
for an invention that best applies
technology to a strong business model
and commercial potential," it said.
Courtesy:
Hindustan Times, October 13, 2004
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'China
will Test Indian IT Hard'
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China,
already the workshop of the world,
will give Indian IT firms a run for
their money before long in the market
for outsourced services, an executive
of India's largest software services
firm said on Monday. Girija Pande,
Asia-Pacific director of TCS, said
China's information technology firms
were still small and were no match
yet for Indian companies when measured
against international quality benchmarks.
TCS employs 200 people in Shanghai,
and Pande said the quality of the
staff was as high as in any of the
company's other locations. TCS, which
launched India's largest-ever initial
public offering in August worth $1.2
billion, employs 35,000 worldwide.
The Indian IT industry reported revenues
of $15.9 billion in the year to March
2004, up from $12.4 billion a year
earlier, led by a 30.5 per cent jump
in software and service exports to
$12.5 billion, according to Nasscom,
the industry's trade group.
Courtesy:
The Economic Times, October 12, 2004
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India
Wins Patent Case on Jute
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India
has won its first a major patent battle
before the European Patent Office
(EPO) over hessian (a variety of jute
cloth used for packaging and as land
cover), giving a much needed reprieve
to the jute sector. Making this announcement
Arun Bal, the Secretary of the Jute
Manufactures Development Council (JMDC),
a Union Textile Ministry body, said
that the victory had been the outcome
of an over five year-long battle which
finally ended in August. Sources at
the patent attorney firm which had
assisted JMDC in its fight said that
documentation of the victory was received
in August and the announcement was
being made today after the lapse of
the appeal period.
Courtesy:
The Hindu, October 12, 2004
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IGNOU
to Reach Remote Areas Through Dedicated
Satellite
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Indira
Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU)
today said it will expand educational
facilities to remote areas of the
country through EDUSAT, the first
exclusive satellite dedicated to the
education sector. The satellite, specially
configured to meet the growing demand
for an interactive satellite-based
distance education system, will have
multiple regional beams covering different
parts of India. EDUSAT would primarily
provide connectivity to schools, colleges
and higher education institutions
and also support non-formal education,
including developmental communication.
"The scope of the EDUSAT programme
is planned to be realised in three
phases. In the first phase of pilot
projects, a Ku-band transponder on
board INSAT-3B, which is already in
orbit, is being used. "In the second
phase, EDUSAT spacecraft once commissioned
in orbit, will be used in a semi-operational
mode with at least one uplink in each
of the five spot beams. About 100-200
classrooms will be connected in each
beam. In addition to Karnataka, Maharashtra
and Madhya Pradesh included under
the first phase, coverage will be
extended to two more states and one
national institution," IGNOU said
in a statement here.
Courtesy:
The Economic Times, October 11, 2004
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Meta
group, IT reseach and advisory services
outfit, has ranked Tata Consultancy
Services Ltd as a global market leader
in the offshore outsourcing space.
Meta has recognised TCS's vision in
developing management consulting capabilities
to augment its deep vertical domain
expertise, a company release said
here today. TCS has demonstrated capability
to segment and penetrate the Business
Process Outsourcing domain, which
is currently ill-defined, the release
said.
Courtesy:
The Economic Times, October 11, 2004
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'India
Making Strides in Satellite Development'
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V.R.
Katti, Programme Director, GEOSAT,
Indian Space Research Organisation
(ISRO) Satellite Centre, Bangalore,
has said that India has drawn the
attention of the other countries in
the world, which are involved in space
research technologies, through its
strides in the development of communication
satellites. Delivering his lecture
on "India's strides in the development
of communication satellites" in "World
Space Week-2004," organised by the
Master Control Facility (MCF), ISRO,
here on Thursday, he said that the
competition between the erstwhile
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
and United States of America in 1960
was the reason behind the development
of space technology across the world.
The Government was gaining an annual
income of Rs. 700 crores to Rs. 800
crores from ISRO's 135 satellites,
which were functioning in the geo
orbit, Mr. Katti said. The country
had the capacity to compete with developed
countries, he added. The Director,
Space Application Centre, Ahmedabad,
K.N. Shankar, spoke on the "Application
of Indian satellites for national
development." He said that the country
had achieved success in launching
communication satellites and nearly
18,000 technicians worked very hard
to accomplish that. Speaking on the
occasion, the Director of MCF, M.Y.S.
Prasad, said that the MCF had been
organising "World Space Week" every
year to inform the people about ISRO's
activities. Former MP, H.K. Javare
Gowda, also participated in the programme.
Courtesy:
The Hindu, October 10, 2004
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India
Next Global Hub for Software
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Confident
about India's ability to build world-class
software products after its emergence
as a global player in the booming
software services sector, Infosys
chairman N R Narayan Murthy has said
he saw "exciting times" ahead for
the country in the "product landscape".
"Given India's global acceptance in
software services, it is only natural
that the next step would be for innovative,
high-end software products", Murthy,
who is the chief mentor of Bangalore-headquartered
Infosys, said. Noting that Indian
companies were making their mark,
he said that the core banking solution
of i-Flex "Flexcube" and Infosys'
"Finacle" were consistently in the
top 10 software products in the global
banking market. "A local accounting
product, Tally, has nearly 100 installations
and is used in 88 countries around
the world. Companies like Ramco have
been pursuing a product route in global
enterprises for many years now," he
said. Further, Murthy said, Indian
companies were now stepping up initiatives
to tap the embedded software market
and already provided embedded solutions
to over 60 per cent of global independent
software vendors. Answering a query
on what India should do to catch up
with China and South-East Asian countries
in the hardware sector, he said that
efficiency in the supply chain had
to be improved, which meant better
efficiency in government in ports,
banks, customs and excise. Asked what
the IT industry should do to face
taxation after the current taxation
period came to an end in 2010 or should
it continue beyond that period also,
he said, "I have held the view that
every industry should pay its share
of tax and any concession should be
for a particular purpose to gain size
and stability only".
Courtesy:
The Times of India, October 10, 2004
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India
Wants to be Sheikh of Biodiversity
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India
is taking the lead in evolving an
international treaty to regulate access
to genetic resources while ensuring
that benefits arising from them are
shared equitably. Chaired by the environment
and forests minister, Mr A Raja, at
an international ministerial meeting
here in January, it will work on a
global regime on the marketing of
natural produce while taking care
of conserving resources and indigenous
knowledge, a senior environment ministry
official told The Statesman. India
is one of the 18 countries, which
together possess 60 to 70 per cent
of the world's biological diversity.
Of this, India alone is home to eight
per cent. With no international law
at present to prevent exploitation
by multi-national companies and individuals,
most of the bio-diverse rich but otherwise
poor countries have no choice but
to rely on domestic laws. Also the
natural endowment is a rich resource
that could be a viable source of livelihood
for locals, possessing traditional
knowledge. In 2002 that India's Biological
Diversity Act came into being. Detailed
rules under the Act were notified
on 15 April, 2004. The National Biodiversity
Authority was set up at Chennai on
1 October, 2003. India is the current
president of 18 Likeminded Megadiverse
Countries (LMMC), set up on 19 February
2004 during the seventh conference
of parties (COP-7) meeting of the
UN Convention on Biological Diversity
(CBD), at Kuala Lumpur. The other
countries are China, Brazil, Colombia,
Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela,
Costa Rica, Bolivia, Kenya, Zaire,
South Africa, Democratic Republic
of Congo, Madagascar, Indonesia, Malaysia
and the Philippines.
Courtesy:
The Statesman, October 10, 2004
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Qutub
Iron Pillar Could Inspire N-Storage
Technology: Scientists
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Metallurgists
believe the metallurgy behind a 1,600-year-old
iron pillar in New Delhi that has
never corroded could be used to develop
containers for storing nuclear materials.
According to the Current Science journal,
experts at the Indian Institute of
Technology in Kanpur have found that
a thin layer of "misawite" -- a compound
of iron, oxygen and hydrogen -- protected
the cast iron pillar near the historic
Qutub Minar from rust for centuries.
The metallurgy could be used to develop
a model for containers used to store
nuclear materials, they said. "The
protective film had formed due to
the presence of high amounts of phosphorous
in the iron - as much as one percent,
against less than 0.05 percent in
today's iron," said R Balasubramaniam,
a professor at the Indian Institute
of Technology. The high phosphorous
content was a result of the unique
iron-making process practiced by ancient
Indians, he said.
Courtesy:
Hindustan Times, October 09, 2004
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