• India ready to export nuclear reactors'
• Basic science is the mother of all technology'
• India launches Israeli satellite
• Govt to bear 80% cost of generating solar power

• 12 Indians among top tech dealmakers
• Scientists in the making!
• Science is tool for development and peace

The country is prepared to export commercially viable civilian nuclear reactors to other developing nations across the globe if it is allowed to do so by the Indian government and also by the Nuclear Suppliers Group, Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy, Anil Kakodkar has said. Speaking to reporters at Koodankulam on Wednesday after witnessing the movement of gigantic caissons (seawater intake pipes made of concrete) into the sea for about 1.20 km at the Koodankulam Nuclear Power Project site, Dr. Kakodkar said the Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), which had mastered the design, fabrication and erection of a range of commercially viable nuclear reactors, could share its expertise with others if it was allowed. S.K. Jain, Chairman and Managing Director of NPCIL, declared: "We are ready [for exporting nuclear reactors]." Answering a query on the possibilities of setting up 8 X 1,000 MWe reactors at the KKNPP site, Dr. Kakodkar said the government in principle had allowed the construction of six 1,000 MWe light water nuclear reactors at Koodankulam and hinted that the number could be raised to eight to make this site a 'Nuclear Park,' if the distance between two reactors was narrowed down. Asked whether the DAE would allow private players to enter the field of nuclear power generation, Dr. Kakodkar said there were no plans to allow the private sector companies in the construction and operation of nuclear reactors as of now since the field, unlike other business ventures, required highest safety standards and superior organisational culture. Dr. Kakodkar said the Nuclear Power Corporation, which was comfortably placed on the financial front to invest in future projects on its own as of now, might allow private partners to join hands with them while retaining the major stake.

Courtesy: www.hindu.com, January 31, 2008

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People of Indian origin seem to have developed a habit of making it to the Forbes magazine --this time it is for making investments in start-up companies and then selling off their stakes with handsome gains. As many as 12 Indian-origin persons have made it to a list of 100 dealmakers with 'Midas-touch' prepared by the renowned business magazine, based on the value of the companies these people have taken public or sold in the past five years as well as the capital and involvement it took to get there. Ram Shriram, a founding board member of internet search giant Google, has been named at the third position in the renowned US-based business magazine's Midas 100 List. The list has been topped by L John Doerr of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, whom Forbes has described as the "mentor and money man to founders of Google, Amazon, Intuit and Sun Microsystems." Shriram, who currently runs venture capital firm Sherpalo and made a fortune by making early investment in Google, has moved up one position from his fourth rank last year. He has also invested in travel portal Cleartrip and internet-based photo service provider Xoom.in, in addition to online money management firm Mint.com. Shriram is accompanied by 11 other persons of Indian origin on the list, including Navin Chaddha (10th) - an IIT graduate who heads India investments of Mayfield Fund, and well-known venture capitalist Vinod Khosla (70th). Chaddha, ranked 58th in the previous year's list, has successfully managed deals like IL&FS Investsmart and India Infoline in financial services space and Provogue in fashion.

Courtesy: www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com, January 29, 2008

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Bangalore: "Interest in science, as we see it, is going down, with most people going for engineering and technology-related fields. They fail to realise that basic science is the mother of all such technology," said K.N. Shankara, Director, ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore, speaking at a workshop on "Indian Odyssey in Space." The two-day workshop was co-organised by St. Joseph's and ISRO and was held at St. Joseph's PG College. The programme, which aims at enriching the knowledge of students and updating them about the latest in the field of space technology, had as many as 170 students from colleges all over Karnataka. Mr. Shankara spoke about the various types of satellites and its applications. From agricultural applications which help farmers monitor their crop with the use of remote sensing satellites to telemedicine and educational satellites, Mr. Shankara took the students on a journey through the latest in space technology applications. P. Sreekumar, head of Scientific and Instrumentation Division, ISRO, intrigued students with his talk about the Chandrayaan, the moon mission. From imaging on the far side of moon to detecting the existence of the ground water and studying radioactive properties of moon rocks, the possibilities in this field of research are limitless, he said. The workshop also hosts a model display where ISRO has displayed models of the satellites and launch vehicles. The exhibition uses charts and models to explain the scientific models. ISRO will also be conducting a quiz competition on space and astronomy will be conducted on Tuesday by ISRO.

Courtesy: www.hindu.com, January 29, 2008

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T Bhoomaiah Chary, B Nagesh and Narasimha Chary, all aged above 25 years, hail from Nizamabad district. The trio shared the same space with reputed scientists from organisations like ISRO, DRDO, NGRI, NTPC and Visakhapatnam Steel Plant in the recently concluded 95th Indian Science Congress at Andhra University. One might wonder what is so special about them, unless you are told that two of the three are school dropouts and the other completed SSC. Yet, came up with innovative ideas that had left the scientists at the Science Congress speechless. Thanks to the initiative of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, their work would soon be patented. "We never thought our hobbies and efforts were, in deed, innovations. We came up a simple equipment that would help men in their daily chores," said Bhoomaiah Chary, a goldsmith who studied till Class III. He developed a prototype windmill, which has blades rotating horizontal to the ground unlike the original one with blades rotating vertically. "Each blade is fixed with iron grill and plastic sheets, which in turn facilitate the blades move faster, even for a slightest breeze, to produce high energy," he explained. His friend Nagesh, a Class VII pass-out and an electrician from Ilapoor, invented a single-wheeled pesticide sprayer, which automatically sprays pesticides when pushed forward. "As I hail from a village, I know how difficult it is to carry a 15 kg box to spray pesticide. My invention would help farmers who cultivate commercial crops," he quipped. Another goldsmith, Narasimha Chary is a technical lab worker and studied till Class X. His concept was to glow the used tube lights. "We usually through tube lights once they are used. But I can make them glow again and energy consumed for these lights would be 50 percent less than the original ones," said Chary. Several such innovators are encouraged by the Union Ministry of Science and Technology through its Techno-entrepreneurial Promotion Programme (TePP) to invent tools and equipment. Any person who has an original idea can approach the Department of Science and Technology for further research. "The Union government grants Rs 75,000 for further research and up to Rs 15 lakh if it is convinced of the viability of the product," said TePP coordinator Durga Prasad.

Courtesy: www.newindpress.com, January 22, 2008

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India's space agency launched an advanced Israeli reconnaissance satellite on Monday capable of taking images through cloud cover or at night, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said. The Tecsar satellite, also known as Polaris, was the second commercial launch by the Indian space agency. The first was in April last year when an Italian satellite was put into orbit, the ISRO said in a statement. Tecsar will help Israel monitor its enemies such as Iran, defence experts say. "This launch significantly improves Israel's intelligence coverage," said Alon Ben-David, Israel analyst for Jane's Defence Weekly. "Israel already has three satellites, but this one can see in all weather, as well as at night. True, it's relatively small and experimental, but at a time when Israel feels it is facing Iran alone, the ability to bolster the independent satellite network is seen as important." India, which has developed closer ties with Israel over the last few years, was chosen to launch the satellite mainly because of commercial reasons -- it is cheaper than many alternatives -- rather than any geopolitical issues, according to analysts. The satellite is due to start providing images about 14 days after its launch.

Courtesy: http://in.reuters.com, January 21, 2008

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Communication of science and its progress is an extremely important field and can be used as a tool for development, global peace and environment," asserted the Principal Scientific Advisor to Government of India, R. Chidambaram, in his keynote address at the start of the Rashtriya Vigyan Sancharak Sammelan at the 95th Indian Science Congress at Andhra University on Friday. Quoting Newton he said, 'science grows with communication'. Technology today is knowledge intensive and technological development is accelerated by cooperation and collaboration. He, however, pointed out that exchange of information is being hindered by IPR (international patent rights) and regimes that control technology, because countries and companies want to dominate with the help of technology. Dr. Chidambaram said that there were three players in science communication: media, public and scientists. He also cautioned that public should not be treated as empty containers to be filled with information. "The information should be authentic and full. Partial and technically flawed communication is dangerous and neither should the players bring in their own prejudices in the communication. Truth and objectivity should prevail over irrationally scary scenarios."

Courtesy: www.andhracafe.com, January 05, 2008

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In a bid to boost solar power generation, the government has announced it will bear up to 80 per cent of the generation cost of solar power units. Solar power is expensive. The cost of generating one unit of solar power is Rs 15 while it costs just Rs 1.19 per unit from coal (at Sasan ultra mega power plant). The Centre, in partnership with state governments, will give incentives worth up to Rs 12 per unit for generating power from solar energy. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is targeting generation of 50 Mw of solar power by the end of the 11th Five-Year Plan (2007- 2012), from the present 2 Mw. "Some states such as Punjab and West Bengal have already shown interest. Each state can easily generate up to 10 Mw power. Together with state governments, we want to incentivise this source," said Minister of New and Renewable Energy Vilas Muttemwar. The incentive for generating 50 Mw would cost the government close to Rs 90 crore. The incentive is being given "in view of the present high initial capital cost of setting up solar power plants and the cost of electricity from such plants," the minister said. The cost of setting up a solar power generating unit is around Rs 20 crore per megawatt while the cost of setting up a thermal power plant is around Rs 4 crore per megawatt. The cost of setting up a hydro power station is Rs 6 crore per megawatt. "But the gestation period of a solar power unit is much shorter than for a thermal or a hydro power plant," Muttemwar said. Muttemwar said the government was focusing on setting up solar power generating units in west and central India, "which receive the maximum sunlight". He added the main states would be Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. "The 50-Mw capacity could come up as early as in the next year-and-a-half," he said. Power generated from these unit would be fed into the grid. "The incentives will be given only for the electricity that is fed into the grid," Muttemwar said.

Courtesy: www.business-standard.com, January 03, 2008

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