• New Tech Can Sense Gravity Before Calamity
• Indian Origin Doctor Moots World Down Syndrome Day
• NGRI Scientist Bags Award
• GE Prize For IIT Chuck Detector
• America Losing Scientific Edge to India
• Agni Missile to Travel Light From Next Yr
• India Test Fires Surface-To-Air Missile

• Us Eyes Indian Leather Market
• Indian Scientist Wins World Food Prize
• India's First Marketing Project on CDM List
• A Genie in The Bottle to Whisk Away Those Mental Demons
• India's Clinical Research Market Grows Highest in Asia
• Bose Unveils Wireless Audio Solutions

The Hyderabad-based National Remote Sensing Agency has built a laser-based system that can predict the gravity of floods and sea surges about six hours before they occur anywhere in the country. The system, called Light Detection and Ranging (Lidar), forecasts the places or locations which are most likely to get inundated. The system was indigenously built by scientists at NRSA and those from the Council for Industrial Scientific Research. The system can be used in a variety of situations, including planning urban drainage systems and locating telephone and electricity poles, land-mapping and examining changes in forest cover. Lidar works like a radar that tracks, for example, aircraft. The Lidar system beams pulses of laser light through the atmosphere and catches light reflected by dust and other particles in the air, called aerosols. The time between beaming the laser ray and collecting the reflection helps the scientists determine the distance of the aerosols. The shift in colour of the light determines the velocity of particles. An airborne version of lidar generates 3-D electronic representations of different terrain. This allows repeated, precise measurements of terrain where changes caused by geologic, hydrologic, or human processes can be spotted. When combined with ground surveys, the airborne lidar can rapidly collect topographic data and measure it to predict likely changes. "Information about the areas which would be flooded can be known beforehand because Lidar can accurately ascertain the terrain of the ground. The system has multiple uses," said a senior official from NRSA's aerial service and digital mapping division. Director for BM Birla Science Centre, Hyderabad, B.G Sidharth said, "Lidar data can be used during terrestrial and coastal floods. It aso provides data for management of urban problems like drainage, sewerage, location of telephone and electricity lines." He said that use of the technology is widespread in Europe and the US. "Scientists and land surveyors use this technology a lot," Mr Sidharth said. Mr Anil Kumar, senior scientist with the airborne light terrain mapping laboratory at NRSA, said, "It can be used to analyse the forest terrain and timber volume. It is useful in pipeline and electric powerline surveys." He said that the NRSA had released a set of graphics on the earthquake that hit Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir on October 8.

Courtesy: The Asian Age, October 25, 2005

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With India emerging as a priority market for the consumer goods sectors, the US is eyeing the Indian leather industry to bolster its trade needs. Consequently, a 13-member delegation of the American Apparel and Footwear Association visited India with the primary objective of trying to source products from the country to increase the volume of Indo-US footwear trade. "We are looking for alternate sources of business. We can't afford to have everything in China and Vietnam. India is close to becoming a a resource base for us," Mr Killick Datta, head of footwear division AAFA and CEO of Global brand marketing, a US footwear company said on Saturday. He said India had great potential in terms of manpower and stiching capabilities.

Courtesy: The Asian Age, October 23, 2005

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An Indian-origin Singaporean doctor says the UN should be urged to support a call for a World Down Syndrome Day March 21, with the inaugural one on the child disease mooted for next year. Balbir Singh, president of Down Syndrome International (DSI), told the second Southern African Conference on Down Syndrome and Intellectual Disability here that his organisation had officially earmarked March 21 as World Down Syndrome Day (WDSD). Down Syndrome is the most common cause of mental retardation and malformation that affects some newborns. The objective of WDSD is to commemorate, create and accomplish a level of awareness and understanding of Down Syndrome through highlighting the potential and ability of people with the syndrome to be an integral part of an inclusive community, he said. "The date was chosen to signify the uniqueness of the syndrome as the Trisomy 21 chromosome is used synonymously with Down Syndrome," said Singh. Down Syndrome Association (DSI) Singapore, founded by Singh some 25 years ago, will host a series of events and activities to launch the inaugural WDSD. "DSI members and related organisations worldwide will be encouraged to observe the WDSD together with the community in an appropriate manner", Singh said. He invited participants of the conference to send delegates to Singapore for the inaugural celebrations. Speaking to IANS, Singh conceded that even if the UN acceded to the request for an international day like the one proposed it may take some years because of the processes that have to be followed. Singh also said that while India had a lot of state and non-governmental institutions looking after the needs of intellectually challenged people, very little was done specifically for people with Down Syndrome. "As in all communities, the Indian community also tends to keep children and adults with Down Syndrome away from the public eye. There is unfortunately still a stigma attached to this although people with Down Syndrome can be useful members of society with support and acceptance." Singh, who got involved in the Down Syndrome fraternity after the birth of his daughter Jaspreet 25 years ago, is proof of this.

Courtesy: Hindustan Times, October 22, 2005

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Agricultural scientist Modadugu V Gupta has become the sixth Indian to win the prestigious World Food Prize, regarded as the equivalent of the Nobel in the field of food and agriculture. The award for the year 2005 was presented to Gupta for his work in improving nutrition, substantially raising the income and empowering women in over one million poor rural families in Bangladesh, Laos, Vietnam and some African countries by dramatically increasing freshwater fish production. This annual award was created by Nobel Laureate Norman Borlaug in 1986 to recognise achievements in food and agriculture aimed at reducing hunger, malnutrition and rural poverty. The first World Food Prize was awarded in 1986 to India's MS Swaminathan, after which four other Indian scientists bagged the award.

Courtesy: Hindustan Times, October 20, 2005

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Dr Shyam Sundar Rai, Scientist, National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), here has been selected for the National Mineral Award for 2004 in the field of Earth Sciences by the Ministry of Mines. Dr Rai is the project leader of the Seismic Tomography Programme at NGRI. He will receive the award at a ceremony in New Delhi later in the year, according to an NGRI press release.

Courtesy: www.thehindubusinessline.com, October 18, 2005

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India's first marketing clean development mechanism (CDM) project to join the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) validation list, will involve International Development Enterprises, India, marketing 20,000 low-cost irrigation devices, called treadle pumps, in rural areas. IDE will use its existing supply chain, involving manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. "The treadle pump is a foot-operated device that uses a bamboo, a PVC or flexible pipe for suction of water from shallow aquifers, and does not use any fossil fuel. We have already entered into forward contracts with Ricoh Company, Ltd in Japan and would be trading each CER for $5. This project will reduce 95,607 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions over a ten-year period. For most farmers, in spite of the recurring costs involved in diesel pumps rental, the only real choice they have is to either go in for highly risky, rain-dependant farming or use diesel pumpsets that are mostly hired," said Mr Suresh Subramanian, senior executive, operations, IDE, a non-profit development organisation, with a mission to improve social, economic and environmental conditions of the poorest farmer communities. Each CER stands for one tonne of carbon dioxide reduction and when registered by the or UNFCCC, can be traded globally. This is a major development in the carbon credit sector as the UNFCCC verification and registration of IDE's marketing project could potentially open up an untapped source of carbon credits involving companies in the marketing of sustainable development products, say CDM experts. "Projects of this nature are difficult and expensive to verify. Should the project fail to receive registration by the UNFCCC, we would apply for verified emission reductions from the CarbonNeutral Protocol, which is an independent audit process for projects that do not have to go through the UNFCCC protocol," added Mr Subramanian.

Courtesy: The Asian Age, October 18, 2005

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Two aerospace students at IIT Madras have devised an "automatic chuck detector" that might soon land in the umpire's arsenal of machines in international cricket for detecting chucking or flex action of bowlers. Fourth-year student A.V. Varun and his junior Arun Manohar have named their software as "Xiva", which if on-field trials clear can give sleepless nights to the cricketing greats like Muthiah Muralidharan, Shoaib Aktar (Pakistan) and Brett Lee, who were hauled up for suspect bowling action at different stages of their spectacular career. At "Shaastra", the IIT's annual tech fest with "industry-defined problems" held last week, General Electric had thrown up eight problems for solving before 125 college teams and one of them was called "Bend it like Murali", to evolve an answer to the chucking problem in cricket. Varun and Arun took just two days to come up with their solution, "Xiva", which freezes the elbow-flexing frame by means of an algorithm. The two budding scientists made their presentation before the judges, showing their formula using software and images taken on Arun's mobile phone, which showed him doing the flex action. The judges rated the project on innovation and asked the two students to back it with theoretical components on image processing. The two have won a cash prize and an internship with GE. "We designed an image-based flex detection system that alerts an umpire when a bowler bends his bowling elbow at an angle greater than 15 degrees, termed chucking," said Varun. The two students read up extensively about the various cases of bowlers being caught in "chucking" controversies and then set about devising an algorithm to capture the exact image from the bowling visuals obtained on the mobile phone. "We have been using algorithms in aerospace. So we used one such algorithm to measure the angle of the elbow while bowling in every frame", Varun explained. While applying the mechanism to actual cricket, a camera would be placed in line with the bowler's crease to capture his bowling action. The frame capturing the release of the ball would be picked up by the Xiva software. Since the elbow angle is the criteria, it would measure the rate of change of angle of the elbow in every frame, particularly at the point of release of the ball.

Courtesy: The Asian Age, October 18, 2005

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It is a genie in the bottle, open it and pop unleashes a stream of 'energised waves' that wrap themselves gently around your body, claiming to cleanse it of all 'impurities' and restoring a healthy 'energy equilibrium' to ensure you were 'emotionally fit and trim'. Welcome to the world of alternative healing therapies, that not only promises to cure you of physical ailments but also get rid of all your 'emotional sickness'. The therapies ranging from reiki, pranic healing, aroma therapy, crystal healing to accupressure have now begun attracting a large number of the stressed urban professionals who seek sylvan retreat of spas, dabbing fragranced oils or taking lessons in pranic healing to rid themselves of stress, angst, fear and anger. Renuka Chawla, a practioner of alternative healing say, "though most of us pop a multi-vitamin pill to get our physical side going, we choose to ignore our emotional sickness which often builds up, seriously impacting our body and mind". She claims a troubled mind could be treated with Prana - a fragranced flower blend, which "captures the essence of flowers, oils and the energy of the cosmos, the sun, crystals all inside a tiny bottle". "It is like a genie in the bottle", says Renuka, whose product, Prana, available in attractive bottles, promises to restore the emotional equlibrium of a person through physical application of the `energised oils'.

Courtesy: Hindustan Times, October 18, 2005

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US' leading science advisory group, the National Academics, has warned the country against erosion of its competitive edge in science. According to a report in The New York Times, a 20-member advisory panel called for a "decisive action", without which US "could lose its privileged position". Citing India and China as the emerging scientific and industrial powers of the world, the panel's chairman, Norman R. Augustine said, "The building blocks of our economic leadership are wearing away. The challenges that America faces are immense". Stating several examples, the panel said the growing knowledge and easy availability of low-cost labour across the world has become a huge threat to the US: The cost of employing one chemist or engineer in the United States is equal to about 11 engineers in India.

oLast year more than 600,000 engineers graduated from institutions of higher education in China. In India, the figure was 350,000. In America, it was about 70,000.

oA class 12th student in the US performed below the international average for 21 countries on a test of general knowledge in mathematics and science.

oIn 1999 only 41 per cent of class 8th student had a math teacher, who had majored in mathematics at the undergraduate or graduate level or studied the subject for teacher certification - a figure that was considerably lower than the international average of 71 per cent.

A brief overview of the four recommendations follows, with a sample of proposed actions to implement them.

oIncrease America's talent pool by vastly improving K-12 mathematics and science education.

oSustain and strengthen the nation's commitment to long-term basic research.

oDevelop, recruit, and retain top students, scientists, and engineers from both the United States and abroad.

oEnsure that the United States is the premier place in the world for innovation.

Courtesy: The Indian Express, October 14, 2005

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India, with its US$ 75 million clinical research market, is witnessing the highest CAGR for contract research among Asian countries at more than 25 per cent, but has to still grapple with logistical hurdles due to improper infrastructure, lack of adherence to ICH GCP standards and inadequate intellectual property regulations. According to a recent estimate by Frost & Sullivan, the contract research market in India is growing faster than that of China, Australia, and even Japan, which has the largest share of in Asia at US$ 450 million. Japan has a CAGR of just above 15 per cent. However, hurdles prevail. Says Dr Swati Piramal, director of Nicholas Piramal India, "There are several contract research organisations (CROs) in India, but only a handful of them have accreditation. This will reflect on the quality of work they do." Dr Piramal also commented on the lack of trained clinical associates in the country and said the curriculum must change to reflect the new needs of the society. On the other hand, India's advantages lie in its large and growing heterogeneous patient population, growing pharmaceutical R&D expenditure ($109 million in 2004 compared to $81 million in 2000), availability of skilled labour force, and conducting of clinical trials at one-tenth the cost in western countries, says Frost & Sullivan. While Asia has advantages like large patient pools, growing R&D expenditures by pharma companies, data approval by international regulatory authorities, integration of sophisticated database management technologies and a large and fast growing pharmaceutical market, the key restraints are regulatory hurdles and red tapism, low entry barriers resulting in mushrooming of small CROs who engage in price war, and lack of uniform clinical practice protocols. According to Dr Arun Bhatt, president, ClinInvent Research, a Mumbai-based CRO, "Getting regulatory approvals in time is a challenge. Also, there is a dearth of trained investigators, and lack of proper infrastructure including good storage facilities." Dr Bhatt added that trials in India are restricted to the major cities, and parts like Eastern India is yet to see much activity.

Courtesy: The Financial Express : October 13, 2005

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Defence scientists will test fire next year India's most sophisticated ballistic missile, Agni, with a power plant made of composite materials that would considerably reduce the weight of this IRBM class missile. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has received engine prototypes developed by two leading domestic private industries and the scientists are integrating the engine with the missile, Agni Project Director Avinash Chander told PTI here. "We have started integration of this composite rocket motor. The development was outsourced to two leading private players, and that happened for the first time. Within a year, we will be able to launch Agni with this composite power plant," he said. Once completed, India will join an elite group of countries having advanced technology, he added. Presently, the US and Russia are the only two countries to possess such sophisticated technology. Agni is an intermediate range ballistic missile (IRBM) with two solid fuel stages and a Post Boost Vehicle (PBV) integrated into the missile's Re-entry Vehicle (RV), which is made of a light-weight carbon-carbon composite material able to sustain high thermal stresses.

Courtesy: The Times of India, October 13, 2005

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Bose Corporation has introduced the AL8 home-wide wireless audio link, an easy-to-set-up, room-to-room wireless solution for quality whole-home sound. The AL8 is a simple, wired connectivity for audio throughout the home. It eliminated running wires from room-to-room, while still maintaining the audio quality of a fully-wired system. It has also launched two new expansion options compatible with the wireless audio link the 'Lifestyle RoomMate powered speaker system' and 'GS Series II DVD home entertainment system'. All Bose link enabled speaker systems are compatible with the AL8 wireless audio link. It has launched 'Personal Music Centre II remote' to control and access systems from main room system to other rooms. This new wireless audio link works with any DVD-based Lifestyle home entertainment system and consists of transmitter (AL8) and a receiver (AR1). The AL8 system can be set-up within minutes, and operates wirelessly by radio frequency. The AL8 system can be used to expand a single Lifestyle system wirelessly into eight different rooms. No additional software or computer-based operation is required.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, October 06, 2005

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Akash, India's surface-to-air missile, was test fired twice at the integrated test range at Chandipur-on-sea, 15 km from here, today. The multi-target missile with a striking range of 25 km was directed at an object attached to a Pilotless Target Aircraft (PTA) on both occasions, Defence sources said. The sleek 5.6 metre long missile, with a launch weight of 700 kg and capability to carry a warhead of 60 kg, blasted off from a mobile launcher at 12.50 pm. It was fired at the target for the second time at around 1 o'clock, the sources said. The test was conducted to prove its consistency during the entire flight, the sources said. The Army and the Indian Air Force, who would be using the missile, had wanted it to demonstrate consistency during the entire flight. The sophisticated missile, which uses an integral ramjet rocket propulsion system and has low reaction time, operates in conjunction with the indigenously built Rajendra surveillance and engagement radar being developed by the Hyderabad-based Electronic Research and Development Establishment (ERDE). The radar was capable of tracking 64 targets and guide up to 12 missiles simultaneously. The missile is part of India's Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) and developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Compared to the US-made 'Patriot', the sources said 'Akash' had better features. It was totally mobile and could be launched from a battle tank and had thrust during its entire flight and the propulsion worked till it hit the target.

Courtesy: The Indian Express, October 03, 2005

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