India Needs Scientific Temper: Dr. Jayant Narlikar

“We have not been able to develop a scientific temper despite 70 years of us achieving independence and we still get to see superstitions and irrational behavior around us,”said Dr. Jayant Naralikar, Padma Vibhushan, Emeritus Professor, Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) while receiving the Vigyan Tantragyaan Shreshtha Award by Bharat Asmita National Awards Foundation for his contribution to the field of Science and Astrophysics. 

Other awardees felicitated at the Bharat Asmita National Awards along with Dr. Naralaikar were Smt. Rama Bijapurkar, Management Consultant and Educator in the category of Acharya Shrestha Award, Rajeev Satav, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha & Former National President, Indian Youth Congress in the category of Jana Pratinidhi Shrestha, Manoj Joshi, Padmashri, Well Known Actor, Pt. Rajan & Sajan Mishra, Padma Bhushan Renowned Khayal Style Singers all in the category of Jana Jagran Shreshta.

The Award Ceremony was held on 3rd February 2018 at the Swami Vivekanada Mandap, MIT World Peace University Campus and jointly organised by MIT School of Government, MIT World Peace University and Bharat Asmita Foundation.

Also present at the ceremony were Dr. Vijay Bhatkar, Well Known Computer Scientist, Dr. Vishwanth Karad, Nanik Rupani, Eminent Industrialist, Rahul Karad, Executive President, MIT World Peace University and Sharad Chandra Darade Patil. The Award Selection Committee comprises of stalwarts like Dr. Raghunath Mashelkar, Dr. Vijay Bhatkar, Dr. Vishwanath Kard, Shri. Shyam Benegal, Ritu Chhabria, Ritu Nanda, Nadir Godrej and Rahul V. Karad.

Dr. Jayant Naralikar further said, “Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru had envisioned an India which would imbibe scientific attitude or temper but sadly it has not happened. I, on my part, will keep trying to campaign towards restoring a scientific temper among people till my last breath”.

Rama Bijapurkar said, “Often in this world, when one is ready, a teacher will find him and develop him accordingly. The best Gurudakshina one can give to his or her teacher is by going beyond the guru. The most important thing in today’s world is to teach one how to learn.”

Rajeev Satav said, “When I was fighting the 2014 General Elections, I was advised that there is a ‘Modi Wave’ and I should not run for elections this year. But I fought and won against all odds. If you have that ignition in heart, nothing can stop you. I would appeal to today’s youth to join whichever party you like, but contribute to the field of politics in some or the other way.”

Manoj Joshi said, “My father was a teacher of Sanskrit and we led a very simple life. And that is why I feel that despite being in the entertainment industry for years, I have never been fascinated by the glamour world. Acharya Chanakya had said that there is nothing above nation, for us, Rashtraneeti has to be supreme.”

Pt. Rajan & Sajan Mishra said, “Despite achieving tons of knowledge and contributing tremendously to the society, the one who feels that whatever he has done is still little and strives to do more, that person is the real gem of the society. If competition from the education system is removed, then talent will blossom on its own.”

Dr. Vijay Bhatkar said, “The nation that stands for universalization of knowledge has a key role to play in the global society. We have a lot to learn from the awardees who are felicitated tonight. Their life journey holds the vital message of sheer hard work and passion for the field of their liking.”

Rahul Karad explained the background of the awards in his introductory speech. Prof. Gautam Bapat compeered the ceremony and Dr. Saylee Gankar gave away the vote of thanks.

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Second National Teachers Congress to be held in Pune

After attaining stupendous success in its first National Teacher’s Congress (NTC) in 2016, the MIT School of Government is all bolstered to launch its second edition to be held between January 10 to 12, 2018 at the Prof Dr Vishwanath Karad MIT WPU Campus at Kothrud in Pune.

The 2nd NTC is organized under the aegis of Dr Vishwanath Karad MIT WPU and MIT School Of Government, Pune with the active support of the Government of Maharashtra. Several institutions of importance like the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Association of Indian Universities (AIU) and UNESCO Chair for Democracy, Peace, Human rights and Tolerance, Pune have also rendered their support and association in this thoughtful mission.

Speaking about the second edition of the NTC, Shri Rahul Karad, Founder and Convenor, said, “We at MIT WPU are elated to announce the 2^nd edition of National Teachers Congress to be held at our MIT WPU campus tomorrow. It is a matter of pride for me to say that the teaching community in our country has found the NTC to be a ‘must attend’ event and have been looking forward to it. Over 8000 higher education teachers from across the country including 500 from abroad have confirmed their participation.”

Shri Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra would be the Chief Guest even as H H Dalai Lama, Nobel Peace Laurete & Leader of Tibetan Buddhism and Shri Vinod Tawde, Minister of Higher & Technical Education, Govt of Maharashtra would be inaugurating the 2^nd National Teachers Congress on January 10, 2018 at 10 am.

The theme for the inaugural session is “Higher Education of India, Prospects & Retrospects.” The Day 1 will also see special felicitations in which noted educationists would be conferred the Jeevan Gaurav Puraskar for facilitating the creation of generations of enlightened and knowledge driven students and the beneficiaries are

1.      Padma Shri Prof Kasturi Lal Gupta, Founder Coordinator & Advisor Thin Film Laboratory, Indian Institute of Technology.

2.      Dr Arun Nigavekar, Senior Advisor, Trustee, Science & Technology Park, University of Pune & Ex Chairman of UGC.

3.      Prof S C Sahasrabuddhe, Former Deputy Director, IIT Bombay and Former Director, Dhirubhai Ambani Institute of Communication Technology, Gujarat.

4.      Padma Shri Dr Sanjay G. Dhande, Eminent Educationist & Former Director, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur.

Eminent speakers at the function include Prof Dr Vishwanath D. Karad, Founder President, MIT World Peace University and Founder Executive President, MAEER’s MIT Group of Institutions, Smt Mukta Tilak, Mayor of Pune city, Dr Anil D. Sahasrabuddhe, Chairman, All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Dr Anil Kakodkar, Padma Vibhushan & Eminent Scientist (Atomic Energy) and Dr Lobsang Sangay, President, Central Tibetan Administration, Tibet.

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NCL and IGIB Sign Licensing Agreement with Ahammune Biosciences for Vitiligo Drug Development

CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (CSIR-NCL), Pune and CSIR- Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (CSIR-IGIB), New Delhi together signed a Patent Licensing agreement with Ahammune Biosciences Pvt. Ltd., Pune for Vitiligo drug development on March 2, 2017. Ahammune is a resident incubatee company of Venture Center, NCL’s technology business incubator.

Ahammune Biosciences is an innovation-led drug discovery start-up company with the vision to find a new drug for the debilitating skin disorder, Vitiligo. It is the most common depigmenting disease with over 80 million people affected by it. In Vitiligo, color-producing cells are lost from areas of skin leaving behind white spots. The spread of depigmentation is unpredictable, ranging from days to years. Due to its effect on physical appearance, it is a cause of immense psychological torment, with patients feeling isolated and depressed. This disease is of major concern in India, where it is considered as a social stigma due to its confusion with leprosy. The current treatment strategies provide only temporary relief and are mostly ineffective. Ahammune is striving to fulfil this unmet medical need in the vitiligo therapeutic area.

Ahammune Biosciences would like to conduct further work towards potential vitiligo drug development through this Licensing agreement. CSIR labs will receive milestone payments based on the progress.

The patent was the outcome of the collaborative research work in chemistry and biology between these two labs. Dr. D. Srinivasa Reddy (CSIR-NCL), Dr. Rajesh S. Gokhale (CSIR-IGIB, on deputation from NII) and T. N. Vivek (CSIR-IGIB) are the lead inventors of the patent.

Prof. Ashwini Kumar Nangia, Director, CSIR-NCL and Dr. (Miss.) Parul Ganju, Director, Ahammune Biosciences Pvt. Ltd. signed the agreement in presence of respective teams from both parties.

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Bio-Diversity Map Of India Ready : Kasturirangan

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Department of Bio-technology (DBT) has prepared a biodiversity map of the country on the landscape level. It has also prepared digitized inventories of important bio-resources which includes medicinal plants, other economically important plants, animal, marine and microbial resources. This map will be instrumental for strategic planning, said Dr. K. Kasturiranga, member of the planning commission and former chairman of ISRO.

Dr. Kasturirangan was speaking after inaugurating the National Conference on BiodiversityAssessment, Conservation and Utilization which was organised by Abasaheb Garware College along with BAIF Development Research Foundation. He praised Madhav Gadgil, senior scientist and chairman of Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel, who was present on the dais. He said, “You are lucky to have Prof Madhav Gadgil , who is the world recognized expert on ecology and for his work on the Western Ghat as your patron. His work evokes pride in all of us. Prof Gadgil had kindly consented to be the chairman of Steering Committee on Environment & Forests which was constituted for the 12th plan preparation.”

He outlined the key course of action taken by planning commission based on recommendations made by the Prof. Gadgil's working group as greening 5 million hectares under Green India Mission including 0.75 million ha. of degraded lands and afforestation and eco-restoration of 2.0 million ha of ecologically sensitive areas, Reclaim wetlands/inland lakes /ponds of 0.1 million Ha by 2017, Improve forest production and maintain biodiversity, Prepare and implement recovery plan for identified 16 wildlife species and assess ,Coastal Biodiversity resource, use and sustainability.

He said that the Planning Commission is developing a Environmental Performance Index (EPI) that combines ecological performance with economic delivery for purposes of fiscal planning and social delivery.

Prof. Gadgil reminded that Western Ghats is one of the two biodiversity hotspots in the country other two being Eastern Himalaya. Eminent scientist Dr. Vasant Gowarikar, principal secretary of revenue and forest, Maharashtra, Pravinsingh Pardeshi were also present on the occasion.

The Biodiversity Facts

• India has over 91,000 species of animals and 45,500 species of plants in its ten bio-geographic regions have been documented so far.
• Nearly 6,500 native plants are used in indigenous healthcare systems.
• Thousands of locally-adapted crop varieties are grown traditionally since ancient times, and nearly 140 native breeds of farm livestock, continue to thrive in its diversified farming systems.
• The country is recognized as one of the eight Vavilovian Centres of Origin and Diversity of Crop Plants, having more than 300 wild ancestors and close relatives of cultivated plants still growing and evolving under natural conditions.
• It is estimated that about 4,00,000 more species may exist in India which need to be recorded and described.
• In addition over 3 lakh samples of cultivars , which have gone out of cultivation are under long term storage in the National Gene Bank.
• An estimated 41 percent of the country’s forest cover has been degraded to some degree.
• As much as 78 percent of forest area is subject to heavy grazing and about 50 percent of the forest area is prone to forest fires.

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Diamond Jubilee of NCL

National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) is celebrating Dimaond Jubilee of the institute begining from January 9. Even though built about three years before, NCL which is a constituent laboratory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), New Delhi was formally declared open on January 3, 1950. The then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru was in Pune for the Science Congress at the time. Coinciding with that occasion, NCL was inuagurated.

The Director of the institute Dr S. Sivaram told reporters that NCL will spend about Rs. 50 to 75 crore in the next five years on a mega research project on Solar Energy in which a next generation Non Silicon Solar Energy material will be developed using institutional facilities at the campus. NCL is also working on making a prototype for assembly of 1000 fuel cells for which it is talking to private sector companies for partnerships. About 4 to 5 crores funding received for it will be spent on the fuel cell assembly project in the next one to two years.

NCL has also established a partnership with Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) Kalpakkam to use its expertise on programmes critical to development of Fast Breeder Reactor Technology. He said, "Chemistry and Biology are fast becoming one and hence NCL is trying to build a Chemistry-Biology Interface so that chemists can work on biology. Under this a Utility Lab will be set up by NCL. About 100 acres of land has been made available by NCL to Indian Institute of Science Education & Research (IISER), Pune to set up a new campus on Western site with an investment of Rs.500 crores. The campus will have housing, teaching and research facilities to accommodate 3000 students, 200 faculty and 500 Ph.D students."

The NCL Director said the institution is attracting the best talent and currently it has 380 Ph.D students which is to be increased to 500 by end 2009. A new hostel for 135 students and laboratory building of 65000 sq.ft. space are being set up after development of which NCL will be one of the largest compuses for chemical science in the country.

Dr. Sivaram said a Centre Of Excellence in Micro Reaction Engineering for Pharmaceutical Intermediate process improvement has been set up and private sector companies such as Ranbaxy, Lupin, Gharda Chemicals and others are partners in the Consortium who meet regularly to come up with generic solutions to process problems and take these to the market. He said the Centre has state of art machineries which are not available with the R & D set ups of private sector in the country. The intellelctual property of generic know how is retained by NCL while these companies have the right of first refusal for the technology development. Dr. Sivaram said this is a good example of public-private partnership in research in chemical and pharmaceutical field.

A curtain raiser function is being held on 9th January 2009 to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee Year of NCL's existence. The Director General of CSIR Prof. Sameer Bhattacharya would be Chief Guest on the occasion. The Diamond Jubilee is being celebrated by organizing a number of events including nine symposium/workshops on organic chemistry, catalysis, microreactor engineering, solvent media and microbiology throughout the year. A Venture Centre is being set up at NCL Innovation Park and a Polymer Research Laboratory will also be set up among the new facilities to be created at NCL. A book is being launched on the history of NCL written by former Director Prof. L. K. Doraiswamy. The last phase of the NCL Innovation Park will be inaugurated in May 2009.

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