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C OVER S TORY

75 years of Scientifi c &

75 years of

Societal Im pact Societal Im

Council of Scientifi c & Industrial Research Council of Scientifi c &

IN April 1940, the Board of Scientifi c and Industrial Research was set up to advise the government on research, and help institutions to study the problems of industry and trade. The Board had such illustrious members as Dr. J.C. Bose, Dr. Nazir Ahmed, Dr. Meghnad Saha, Dr. S.S. Bhatnagar, Sir H.P. Mody, Sir Syed Sultan Ahmed, Mr Kasturbhai Lalbhai, Lala Shri Ram, M r P. F. G . Wa r r e n a n d D r. N . N . L a w.

Dr. S.S. Bhatnagar was the Director of the Board and the centre of activities was the Government Test House, Alipore, Kolkata.

Sir A. Ramaswamy Mudaliar, who was the moving spirit behind the setting up of the Board, suggested the creation of an

Industrial Research Fund with an annual grant of Rs. 10 lakh for a period of fi ve years.

The Central Assembly adopted this resolution on 14 November 1941. And to administer the Fund, the Council of Scientifi c and Industrial Research was constituted in September 1942 as an autonomous body registered under the Registration of Societies Act XXI of 1860.

Dr. Bhatnagar believed that to meet the immediate requirements of the country, there was a need to set up at least eleven laboratories in the fi rst phase, in what came to be known as the Bhatnagar Eleven:

physical, chemical, metallurgical, glass, fuel, building, road, leather, electrochemical, drug and food technology laboratories.

• CSIR’s National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) designed and developed Hansa, India’s first all- composite two-seater trainer aircraft for training, sports and hobby ying. It is capable of ying upto 10,000 ft altitude and has an endurance of 4 hours.

CSIR @75

Aerospace & Aviation

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75 years of Scientifi c & Scientifi c &

Societal Im pact pact

Council of Scientifi c & Industrial Research Industrial Research

After India gained Independence, the CSIR governing body was reconstituted, the Prime Minister became its President. And the Bhatnagar Eleven moved closer to becoming a reality. At the fi rst instance, foundation stones for six national laboratories were laid: National Chemical Laboratory, National Physical Laboratory, National Metallurgical Laboratory, Central Fuel Research Institute, Central Glass & Ceramic Research Institute and Central Food Technological Research Institute.

Over the years, the CSIR has continued to expand, adding institutes in keeping with the changing requirements of the country.

The CSIR today is a close-knit network of

38 laboratories with activities ranging from biological sciences to physical sciences, medicinal plants to mechanical engineering, mathematical modelling to metrology, chemicals to coal, environmental protection to potable drinking water, oceanography to aerospace, petroleum processing to leather processing, drugs and pharmaceuticals to mining and metallurgy, and so on.

Although CSIR has given to the nation and its people innumerable technologies and processes, here is a glimpse into some of the most signifi cant products and processes that have rolled out of its laboratories over the years.

• NAL played a major role in the design and development of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas. The LCA fi n and rudder were designed and developed by NAL. The fi rst set of fully tested LCA composite wings were also built by NAL.

It pioneered the development and fabrication of composite structures for the Tejas using innovative and cost-effective technologies.

Left: Composite parts developed for Tejas

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• NAL also developed SARAS, the 14-seater twin-engine turboprop aircraft with a maximum speed of over 600 km/hour, which made its maiden ight in April 2007. SARAS has state-of-the-art avionics, electrical and

environmental control systems.

• CSIR-NAL and Mahindra Aerospace announced the successful maiden ight of their jointly developed fi ve-seater general aviation aircraft C-NM5 on 14 September 2011. This is a signifi cant milestone in the collaborative aircraft development

programme, which is India’s fi rst public-private partnership in the development of aircraft. The aircraft has been designed using cutting edge technology and design and analysis tools. It is ideal for air taxi, air ambulance, training, tourism and cargo applications.

• A wind tunnel is used in aircraft design to study the effects of air moving past solid objects. It comprises a closed tubular passage, in which the aircraft fi tted with appropriate sensors is subjected to airow. NAL established a trisonic wind tunnel in the 1960s to catalyse aerospace research and development.

Every Indian aerospace vehicle, from satellite launchers to aircraft, has graduated out of this wind tunnel.

• India’s fi rst Micro Air Vehicle Aerodynamics Research Tunnel (MART) for testing the fi xed-wing, apping-wing and rotary-wing MAVs in the 500 mm wingspan category was set up at NAL. The project was jointly coordinated by CSIR,

DRDO and DST. This advanced tunnel can address all the aerodynamic, propulsion and aeroelastic issues related to MAVs.

• Drishti Transmissometer facilitates aircraft landing and take-off at all civilian airports of the nation even in low visibility conditions. The sophisticated instrument was designed and developed by NAL, and 27 systems installed in ten major Indian airports across the country, in collaboration with the India Meteorological Department (IMD).

Saras

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• Radiation Shielding Windows (RSW) used in nuclear installations are viewing devices that allow direct viewing into radioactive areas while still providing adequate protection to the operating personnel. CSIR-Central Glass & Ceramic Research

Infant Food from Buffalo Milk

Till about fi ve decades back, Indian infants who were deprived of the wholesome benefi ts of breast milk for some reason, had to depend on imports of milk-based food for their daily feed. The country was spending a huge amount of foreign exchange on importing large quantities of infant foods, which were based entirely on cow’s milk. Buffalo milk was not considered suitable for infants because of its high fat content, curd tension and processing needed to convert into milk powder.

Multinational companies across the world refused to set up manufacturing facilities in India because India did not have enough cow milk. They also made us believe that easily digestible powdered milk could not be made from buffalo milk, which was the most consumed in India.

Faced with this challenge, scientists from the CSIR- Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysuru, developed a technology for spray-drying fat- rich buffalo milk, which could then be converted to easily digestible powdered milk. The composition of buffalo milk was modifi ed to obtain an infant food with 20-22% protein and 14-15% fat.

In 1961, the process of this indigenous infant food formula was licensed to Anand Milk Union Limited (AMUL) for their commercial plant at Anand, Gujarat, which produced infant food under the brand name Amulspray.

This was the first time anywhere in the world that baby food had been made from buffalo milk on a commercial scale. The technology gave birth to a ourishing infant food manufacturing industry in India, which has since never had to import foreign infant food brands. It resulted in foreign exchange savings of Rs. 16 crores a year during the 60’s.

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Strategic & Defence

• In the 1980s, the CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Goa, played a major role in exploring the oceans for its resources. Ocean waters are a source of strategic metals like Nickel, Cobalt and Copper at water depths of 4-6 km. India

was the fi rst nation to get “Pioneer Investor” status from the United Nations, which gave it mining rights of over 1.5 million square kilometre area.

• India’s first ever indigenously built research ship

“Sindhu Sadhana” was launched by CSIR-NIO to enhance the capabilities of Indian oceanographers to understand the multidisciplinary observations and oceanographic processes in the seas around the nation and to translate this knowledge to benefi t the country.

• The Acoustic Test Facility designed and developed by NAL has been used for acoustic tests of Chandrayaan-1, Mars Orbiter Mission, GSLV, and India’s Reusable Launch Vehicle- Technology Demonstrator.

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Institute (CGCRI) has developed homogeneous and defect-free high-density RSW glass blocks. The technology of specialty glasses is closely guarded and under technology denial.

• Tungsten is fully imported for ordnance applications.

It is irreplaceable due its high density. There is an annual requirement of 500 tonnes in the country. Global tungsten supply is dominated by Chinese monopoly. CSIR-National

Metallurgical Laboratory (NML) has developed the cheapest and shortest route to produce high pure tungsten powder from a variety of tungsten carbide (WC) hard metal scraps.

• Light weight metallic materials are required for the manufacturing of light tanks. CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science & Technology (NIIST) has developed and supplied such light weight composite components for India’s light combat battle tanks being manufactured by DRDO.

• CSIR-NIIST has also developed microwave low loss materials usable for strategic establishments such as DRDO and ISRO. This Institute over a span of two decades reported the largest number of materials (> 600) on low loss microwave ceramics in the world.

• The indelible ink, a tool to prevent voting by the same person more than once, has become the mark of elections in India. It was developed in 1952 by the CSIR-National Physical

CSIR Firsts

• Designed India’s fi rst ever parallel processing computer osolver.

• First to introduce DNA fi ngerprinting in India.

• Designed & developed India’s fi rst all-composite aircraft Hansa.

• Designed and developed India’s fi rst 14-seater plane ‘SARAS.’

• Invented the fi rst ever once a week non-steroidal family planning pill in the world by the name of Saheli.

• Achieved the fi rst breakthrough of the owering of Bamboo within weeks.

• Helped India to become the fi rst Pioneer Investor under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

• First to produce baby food from buffalo milk.

• Pioneered convenience food technology for the fi rst time in the country.

• First to produce the indelible ink used in elections in the country.

• Established for the fi rst time anywhere in the world the ‘Traditional Knowledge Digital Library’

accessible in fi ve international languages – English, German, French, Japanese and Spanish.

• Completed the fi rst Complete Genome Sequencing of an Indian.

• Successfully tested India’s fi rst indigenous civilian aircraft, NAL NM5 made in association with Mahindra Aerospace.

• Electric car under CSIR-NMITLI is the fi rst four- door electric vehicle indigenously designed, developed and commercially produced in India.

• Mercury-free UV lamp for Water Purifi ers is the fi rst of its kind worldwide.

• First Indian Gyrotron for a nuclear fusion reactor.

• First indigenous “Electronic Nose” to detect toxic fumes.

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Laboratory (NPL), New Delhi, and s u b s e q u e n t l y licensed to the state-run Mysore Paints and Varnish Limited, Mysore,

which is the sole supplier of indelible ink to the Election Commission of India. The technology has since been transferred to countries like Nepal, Cambodia, Turkey, South Africa, Nigeria and others.

• Earthquake Warning System (EqWS) is a technological intervention and the fi rst of its kind initiative in the country to avert the huge loss of life and infrastructure during an earthquake. This system was developed by CSIR-Central Scientifi c Instruments Organisation (CSIO), Chandigarh, to activate the appropriate actions for safety during the tremor.

The EqWS has been deployed in Delhi Metro at fi ve different locations including Mundka, Botanical Garden, Huda City Centre, Metro Bhawan and Faridabad, which helps metro stop services during the disaster.

• DHVANI — Detection and Hit Visualisation using Acoustic N-wave Identifi cation system, an indigenous marksmanship training device that informs the trainer and shooter the accuracy of shots within seconds.

It was developed by CSIR, and after rigorous fi eld trials at Army ranges in

Bengaluru, Secunderabad, and Infantry School Mhow, the well-validated training system was approved for induction into the Indian Army in July 2014.

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Kangra Tea Regains Lost Glory

Famed the world over for its rich aroma and taste, Kangra tea was a ourishing industry during the British era. The Kangra District Gazette in 1882 reportedly described Kangra tea as “superior to that produced in any other part of India”.

Somewhere along the way, with the rise of the teas from Darjeeling, Assam and other large tea-producing regions, and also due to problems such as lack of labour and use of unscientifi c processes, Kangra tea lost its glory.

It was at this stage that scientists at the CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (CSIR-IHBT), Palampur, stepped in to take up the challenge to help Kangra tea regain its lost glory.

The scientists worked on ways to add value to the shoots that could not be plucked at the right time so that they could be of economic benefi t to the producers.

They also focused on the extraction of avonoids from the low-quality tea shoots. avonoids are antioxidants with antibacterial, anticancer and anti-inammatory attributes and have a wide market and fetch good prices. Using overgrown shoots to extract avonoids, instead of producing tea, added value.

Scientists from CSIR-IHBT also developed a novel process to extract catechins from overgrown tea shoots. Catechins give tea its taste and are also used in dietary supplements, natural colours, preservatives and cosmetics.

A slew of scientific interventions ranging from pest management strategies, improved cultivars, and mechanisation have seen incomes of small tea-growers increasing on average by 50%. The Kangra tea industry is now worth Rs 50 crore annually.

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e) Integrated M.Sc. & PhD in Clinical Research f) Integrated M.Sc. & PhD in Health Informatics

g) Finishing School Programme (One/Two-year PG diploma) h) Short Term Courses

Creating Scientifi c Human Resource for the Country

Innumerable citizens of the country following science have benefi ted at some point in their career through research grants, scholarships and awards given out by CSIR.

Awards

Basic interest in science CSIR Programme on Youth for Leadership in Science (CPYLS) Masters research Post Graduate Research Programme in Engineering

Doctoral research Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), National Eligibility Test (NET), JRF (GATE), Senior Research Fellowship (SRF), Shyama Prasad Mukherjee

Fellowship (SPMF)

Post-doctoral research Research Associateship, Senior Research Associateship, CSIR-Nehru

Science Post-Doctoral Fellowship

Interaction amongst Foreign Travel Grant and Symposium Grant researchers

State-of-the-art R&D Research Schemes

Recognition of excellence Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar (SSB) Prize, CSIR Young Scientist Award,

GN Ramachandran Gold Medal, CSIR Innovation Award for School Children (CIASC)

Support to superannuated Emeritus Scientist Scheme scientists

Academy of Scientifi c and Innovative Research (AcSIR)

With the establishment of the Academy of Scientifi c and Innovative Research, CSIR is striving to create the next generation of scientifi c human resource for the country in trans-disciplinary areas. The Academy provides teaching and research facilities particularly in emerging and futuristic areas not ordinarily taught in regular academic universities.

The programmes currently offered are:

a) M. Tech.

b) Integrated M.Tech.-PhD & PhD in Engineering c) PhD Programme in Sciences

d) M.S. by Research Programme

Electronics & Instrumentation

• Optical glass is used in lenses and prisms in a wide range of scientifi c, photographic and survey instruments.

The manufacture of optical glass was a closely guarded secret, and India had to import it at high prices. CSIR-CGCRI succeeded in designing and fabricating it without any foreign collaboration. Its 10-tonne capacity pilot plant went into production in 1961.

osolver

• In the 1980s, India was importing computing power from other nations. When the US government refused to supply a Cray supercomputer to India in 1986, scientists from the CSIR- NAL built their own supercomputer. They connected several computers in parallel to create osolver, India’s fi rst parallel

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Leather Largesse

One of the most remarkable turnaround success stories is that of leather. In 1996, the Supreme Court ordered the closure of leather tanneries because they were letting out polluting chrome salts into efuents and affecting the lands and livelihood of the people in the vicinity of the tanneries. Virtually on the verge of closure, the CSIR- Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI), Chennai, came to the aid of the ailing industry.

CLRI set up several chrome recovery plants in tanneries to mop up the polluting chrome. It evolved tannery modernisation packages by which not

only pollution loads but also processing times were cut down. The Institute helped set up efuent treatment plants in several

tanneries.

CLRI played a key role as consultant in designing and developing the Calcutta Leather Complex in Kolkata (the biggest i n A s i a ) s t a r t i n g f r o m t h e c o n c e p t s t a g e . C o m m o n Efuent Treatment Plant for this

complex (6 modules) has also b e e n

designed and commissioned by CLRI. Today t h e Institute is capable of offering technology packages on chrome recovery units to other developing countries.

CLRI scientists also came up with new techniques through which inferior quality leather could be fi nished to give an exotic appearance and used to manufacture a wide range of leather goods such as children’s shoes, garments and upholstery.

CLRI’s technologies have also added a touch of class to the world of fashion in leather. With novel technologies tie-and-dye leathers and printed leathers were introduced for the fi rst time in the western market known for its fastidiousness for fancy leather goods such as colourful handbags, wallets, leather cases and several other utility articles.

In 1986, the fi rst computer aided design (CAD) facility in India for footwear was established at CLRI to designing fashionable footwear. The facility is equipped with state-of-the-art computer hardware and software and is linked to a mechanical cutter for automatic pattern cutting and also to a 3-D design terminal. CLRI has also designed and fabricated special purpose footwear, such as diabetic/therapeutic footwear.

The leather industry survived and the sector is today one of the fi ve largest foreign exchange earners in India.

computer. osolver was used to aid research in uid dynamics and aeronautics, and its success triggered other successful parallel computing projects in the country such as PARAM.

• CSIR-CGCRI in collaboration with Network Systems Technology (NeST), developed a product called ERBIUM Doped Fibre Amplifier (EDFA). The amplifier is a key component of cable TV networks and restores energy loss

during transmission and ensures high-quality picture, sound and connectivity. The EDFA is commercially viable in national and international markets.

• National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) and National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) pioneered the use of a novel geophysical technique called marine magnetotellurics to continue their exploration of the Gulf of Kutch and the

Saurashtra region.

• CSIR successfully developed a “Reectance Confocal Microscope”, w h i c h i s b a s e d o n Supercontinuum Light Source. This innovation paved the way for India’s position in global photonics research.

• VIHBRA — Virtual

Intelligence in Home Based Rehabilitation developed by CSIR- CSIO – is a virtual intelligent platform for motor rehabilitation which combines experience from virtual reality and knowledge from machine intelligence to enhance neural reorganisation that optimises the physical rehabilitation outcomes in patients with disability.

• Optical Time Division Reectometry (OTDR), a disaster mitigation and health monitoring technique for safe

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and smart built environment is an inexpensive, less time- consuming fi eld technique developed by CSIR for monitoring onsite landslide activity at multiple locations.

• CSIR developed the fi rst Indian Gyrotron in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology (DST) for a

nuclear fusion reactor – it releases much more clean energy than the fi ssion process currently used.

Healthcare

• Birth control pills based on female hormones progestogen and oestrogen had many undesirable effects due to their interference with other actions of the endocrine system.

Scientists at CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI) developed an agent that would prevent pregnancy by interfering with implantation of the fertilised ovum in the uterus without

disturbing the hypothalamus-pituitary-ovarian hormone axis.

The once-a-week pill, Centchroman, reached the masses by the end of the 1980s, and is marketed under the brand Saheli.

• Herbal medicine for the remedy of bronchial asthma, christened Asmon, was developed by the CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB). Asmon inhibits arachidonic

acid oxidation, blocks the key enzymatic step for the synthesis of asthma-inducing enzyme leukotriene and is not toxic to the liver as many contemporary drugs.

• In 1995, scientists at the CSIR-Central Drug Research Institute (CDRI) developed a drug to treat malaria – Arteether.

Arteether is a semi-synthetic derivative of artemisinin, the active constituent of the plant Artemisia annua. It is a fast acting agent that attacks at the erythrocytic stage of malaria in blood.

• Scientists at the CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) developed a cheaper process for the manufacture of anti- HIV cocktail of drugs. The anti-AIDS drug Zidovudine (commonly known as AZT) had to be imported at a prohibitive cost. At a time when the price of anti-AIDS drugs produced abroad was about $10,000 per AIDS victim for a year’s treatment, Indian pharmaceutical Cipla created a stir by offering the same for just

$350! This innovation ushered in an era of drug development at cheaper costs.

• The modern diabetes drugs have some side- effects, hence affordable anti-diabetes Herbal Drug — BGR-34, a combo of natural extracts was jointly developed by CSIR-NBRI and CSIR- CIMAP which controls blood sugar and limits the harmful effects.

• Johne’s Disease (JD), a progressive granulomatous enteritis of ruminants characterised by untreatable, profuse, chronic diarrhoea, weight loss, and emaciation. The CSIR-New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership Initiative (NMITLI) scheme with M/s Biovet Private Limited, Bengaluru, developed the vaccine against Johne’s Disease i.e. JD Oil and JD Gel. The vaccine is the fi rst indigenous vaccine against Johne’s disease affecting ruminants.

Four months post vaccination

Before vaccination

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Kolhapuri Revival

The ubiquitous Kolhapuri has been adorning the feet of women and men on the move, for centuries. Painstakingly created, kolhapuri offers a unique blend of rustic ruggedness and charm of a well-honed craft.

However, once exported to Europe, the Kolhapuri lost its pride of position due to non-standard and varying workmanship. The product required overhaul in image with respect to standardisation,

design and quality for greater acceptance and wider outreach.

CSIR-CLRI scientists stepped in with training of hundreds of families, standardisation of patterns, improvement in the quality of the leather, use of alternative materials, interfacing of design innovation, standardisation of methods of manufacture and improvements in productivity.

A large variety of designs evolved and the products were showcased in various fairs in India and abroad. In the GDS Fair in Dusseldorf, Germany itself orders worth US$ 30000 were fi nalised.

• Streptokinase is an essential, life-saver injectable protein drug that saves up to 40% of human lives after heart attacks if given within few hours

of the onset of chest pain. CSIR-IMTECH has developed a portfolio o f S t r e p t o k i n a s e technology. Cadila is manufacturing the drug indigenously, a fi rst in India. The cost of the imported brands also

reduced in the country by about 40%, resulting in a major saving to the Indian consumer and thus making it available to common people.

Potable Water and Wastewater Treatment

• C S I R - C e n t r a l Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI) came up with a solution to providing water in villages with technology that was simple, easy to operate and maintain with the India Mark II pump. Made of non-corrosive non-metallic parts, the low-cost pump has been successful not only in rural India but several other nations.

• CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) pioneered the Nalgonda technique to remove uoride from water in 1988. The Nalgonda technique is named

after the village in India where the method was pioneered and employs the occulation principle. It involves several unit operations including rapid mixing, chemical interaction, occulation, sedimentation, fi ltration, disinfection and sludge concentration to recover water and aluminium salts.

• CSIR-Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute (CEERI), Pilani, developed Mercury-free Plasma (MFP) UV-lamp for water disinfection systems which would provide water free of hazardous mercury. This is the fi rst of its kind worldwide. The technology can also be used for sterilisation of food, medical equipment, surfaces, ill-skin conditions, air conditioners and air fresheners for hospitals, etc.

Removal of Excessive oride

Screen &

Cloth fi lter

Raw water

Lime Alum

Treated water

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• To meet drinking and cooking water requirements on an emergency basis, CSIR-

NEERI developed NEERI-ZAR which serves as a disaster management tool for drinking water supply

under ood affected situations.

• CSIR-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (IMMT), B h u b a n e s w a r , d e v e l o p e d t h e

‘TERAFIL’ fi lter which is a highly efficient low-cost device for supply of clean drinking water. The fi lter is especially useful when the water is rich in sediments, suspended particles, iron and certain micro-organisms causing water borne diseases.

Sustainable Energy

• Central Electrochemical Research Institute (CECRI) developed a novel titanium substrate insoluble anode (TSIA) leading to energy saving in caustic soda cells.

• Sooty kerosene wick-based stoves, which were energy ineffi cient and hazardous to health, were once the only option for cooking food in rural Indian homes. In the late 1970s, Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP) developed Nutan, with funding

and marketing support from Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). Launched in the Indian market in 1977, Nutan revolutionised smokeless cooking and reduced fuel requirement by 25%. Nutan is still considered an effi cient cooking appliance in the kerosene stove market.

• National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) has made inroads into an area of frontier research that may offer solutions to our energy crises. Gas hydrates are methane molecules, locked in a cage of ice, whose reserves alone could meet international gas requirements for the next 300 years! NGRI is involved in explorations of gas hydrate reserves of Indian coasts, and preliminary studies are encouraging.

• The Solar Power Tree developed by the Council of Scientifi c and Industrial Research (CSIR) is a uniquely designed vertical array of solar panels that can generate 5 kWh of electricity from just four square feet area. The energy is enough to light up fi ve homes.

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Clean Drinking Water

In Keonjhar, a tribal district of Odisha, school children used to often fall sick drinking dirty water. But now the children drink crystal clean water from the TERAFIL unit installed at their school.

Te r a f i l , a l o w - c o s t w a t e r fi ltration unit made up of red clay porous media, was the result of thorough research by scientists of CSIR-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (IMMT), Bhubaneswar. It is now being used by thousands of households in the state of Odisha, Karnataka, Meghalaya and a few other states to treat turbid raw waters rich in sediments, suspended particles, iron and certain micro-organisms causing water borne diseases.

The quality of purifi ed water is well within BIS limits.

It has been made available to be used at different scales such as domestic, community and online pressure fi lters. Its usage does not require electricity and sludge management. The average life of TERAFIL is fi ve years and the unit cost of a 100 mm diameter and 50 mm thickness Terafi l disc fi tted with food grade plastic holder is Rs 25. This disc can purify 1 LPH (litre per hour) in a domestic fi lter for about fi ve years.

• S o l e c k s h a w

— green solution u r b a n t r a n s p o r t served as a boon to rickshaw pullers.

S o l e c k s h a w L i t e is a pollution-free, safe and economical e l e c t r i c t h r e e wheeler, designed a n d d e v e l o p e d under CSIR-New Millennium Indian

Technology Leadership Initiative (NMITLI) scheme to meet the need of short to medium distance transport within cities.

• World’s lightest and lowest cost, 4-door, 4-seater battery operated “Electric Car” was developed under CSIR-NMITLI, Mahindra Reva launched the car for use as a city car. It is

the fi rst four-door electric vehicle with some “trans-city”

capabilities regarding range and speed.

• Environment-friendly process technology developed by CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST), Thiruvananthapuram converts ilmenite to beneciated titanium feedstock, which is the base material for production of titanium metal and titanium dioxide, two critical products used in the aerospace, automotive, medical, sports, cosmetics and paint industries.

• Jet fuel derived from biomass is an initiative towards Green Aviation.

CSIR-Indian Institute o f P e t r o l e u m , Dehradun, developed the technology as well as a catalyst to produce jet fuel based on biomass- derived non-edible oils such as jatropha oil.

• ‘Electronic Nose’ (E-Nose) for monitoring obnoxious odours generated from industries developed jointly by the CSIR- National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nagpur and the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC). It can sniff out Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) potentially harmful to human life in a very short time.

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• For effi cient cooking with reduced fuel consumption and pollution, CSIR-Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology, Bhubaneswar, designed Energy Effi cient Multi- Fuel Portable Cook Stoves. These stoves are used for cooking

in smokeless condition with reduced fuel consumption and pollution. A variety of solid fuels like wood, twig, leaf, dung cake, agricultural waste, raw coal, briquettes, etc., can be burnt in the stoves at high thermal effi ciency (30% to 50%).

• In rural and remote areas where cooking often becomes a messy affair and hunting for fuel a pain, Neerdhur gives a quick solution. The newly improved cooking stove designed and developed by the CSIR-National Environmental Engineering

Research Institute, Nagpur, is effi cient and can run on multi- fuels (biomass pellets, charcoal, agro residue, wood chips, wood logs, cow dung cakes, etc.).

Agrotechnologies & Farm Machinery

— To Boost Farming

• Mechanisation of agriculture played an important role in making India self-suffi cient in food grains. Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute (CMERI) made its contribution

with the SWARAJ, a 20 HP tractor, which was fi rst licensed to Punjab Tractor Limited in 1974. CSIR’s latest contribution to Indian agriculture is SONALIKA, a 60 HP tractor.

Krishishakti, another CSIR contribution, is a small range (11.2 hp) diesel engine tractor enabling mechanised agriculture for small farmers.

• Plantations in Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, had been declining over the years. Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT) devised techniques to revive the plantations. Agro and harvestry practices were developed to suit specifi c conditions.

Processing innovations reduced the withering time from 16 to 5 hours. These measures boosted premium tea production in the region.

• Central Institute of Medicinal & Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), Lucknow, provided farmers with pest-resistant and high oil-yielding varieties of Menthol mint (Mentha arvensis).

More than 4,00,000 hectares of land in the Indo-Gangetic plains are being used to cultivate the many new varieties of mint developed by the scientists. Thousands of farmers are earning their livelihood through mint cultivation, and India has now become the largest exporter of menthol mint and its oil.

Swaraj (above) Sonalika (right)

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CSIR S

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Seaweed Farming

In Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu hundreds of women are gearing up to turn entrepreneurs by cultivating seaweeds.

This new-found income opportunity has been revealed after over two decades of research by scientists of the CSIR-Central Salt & Marine Chemicals Research Institute (CSMCRI), Bhavnagar.

Until the 1990s, the only known extract from Kappaphycus alvarezii, a species of red algae, was carrageenan which is widely used as a thickening and stabilising agent. However, CSMCRI scientists discovered other constituents of this seaweed like sap, which is now a proven low-cost bio-fertilizer. They have also acquired patents for using certain constituents of the seaweed in health drinks that boost immunity. Another important discovery was using seaweed to make low-sodium vegetable salt.

The cultivation of the seaweed requires no fertilisers or pesticides and it’s grown on rafts, the income from sales accrues swiftly since it can be harvested in just 45 days. Self help groups in the fishing villages of coastal Ramanathapuram cultivate more than 1000 rafts producing 50 tons of seaweed generating about 150 days of employment per year to the coast fi shermen community.

Today, the Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu has emerged as one of the leading producers of Kappa- carrageenan in the country.

Biology & Biotechnology

• Bamboo owers only once during its lifetime and that too just once in seven to a hundred years depending on the species.

The owering is called gregarious owering because all the bamboo clumps ower at the same time. The plants die after owering. In 1990, CSIR scientists created history when they made bamboo owering within weeks possible by using tissue culture technologies.

• The Centre for Cellular & Molecular Biology (CCMB) developed a Bkm-derived probe for DNA fi ngerprinting, which is extensively used for forensic investigation, paternity

determination and seed stock verifi cation. This indigenous technique has been used as evidence in many cases in the judiciary. The direct result of this work was the formation of an autonomous institution, the Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) in 1995.

• Project LaCONES is aimed at the conservation of endangered animals through the use of the biotechnological intervention. This initiative of unmatched scale anywhere in the world has a wide range of objectives including monitoring

of genetic variation using modern techniques such as DNA fi ngerprinting, establishment of cell banks and gene banks through cryopreservation of semen, eggs and embryos of endangered species, and the development of assisted reproductive technologies such as artifi cial insemination, in-vitro fertilization as well as embryo transfer and cloning.

Through assisted reproductive technologies, scientists at LaCONES have already achieved pregnancy in blackbuck, chital and blue rock pigeon. In 2007, LaCONES announced the birth of “Spotty,” a baby spotted deer by using artifi cial insemination.

• The Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) achieved completion of the first ever Human Genome Sequencing of an anonymous healthy Indian citizen. India is now in the league of countries that have demonstrated the capability to sequence and assemble complete human genomes like the United

States, China, Canada, United Kingdom, and Korea. The breakthrough paves the way for predictive healthcare and the

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possibility of identifying why certain people (with particular gene sequences) do not respond to certain medications, and what diseases a particular gene carrier, or a population, is likely to develop.

• CSIR deployed genomics-based diagnostics for understanding rare diseases under GUaRDIAN, a one of its kind research programme which is an extensive collaboration between clinicians and researchers. The process is targeted to understand the genetic basis and molecular mechanisms of rare genetic disorders using advanced genomic technology.

Food and Food Processing

• During the 1970s, CSIR- Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) developed baby food from buffalo’s milk and licensed it to the Kaira Milk Producers Co- operative Ltd., which marketed the product as Amulspray Instant Milk Food.

• Convenience foods like dosa, idli, vada, gulab jamun and many other crispies and snacks are very popular today. They have not only reduced drudgery but have also made working in the kitchen a pleasurable chore.

I t w a s C F T R I t h a t c o n c e i v e d a n d d e v e l o p e d convenient mixes for these popular Indian dishes more than two decades ago.

Today, 90% of the annual production of convenience food products worth several millions of rupees is based on CFTRI technologies.

• Scientists at CFTRI have also successfully designed machineries for the bulk manufacturing of popular cuisines like idli, dosa and chapati. Some of the other machineries the Institute has devised include vada frying, coffee roaster, infrared drying of cashew nuts, continuous popping machine, laddu making and chikki making machineries. Bio plates from agri-horti wastes, sunower dehuller and papad making units have become popular with the farming community and Small Scale Industrial units.

• Just as the INS Vikramaditya defends the nation, technologies developed at the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) feed them. The naval ship is now equipped with six dosa and three idli-making machines,

which can produce 400 dosas and 1,000 idlis per hour. They have been designed to spread the batter to a pre-determined size, oiling, cooking and dispensing chutney and curry.

• Ksheer-Scanner, an electronic system f o r d e t e c t i o n o f adulteration in milk, was launched by CSIR- Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute (CEERI), Pilani.

Another device, Ksheer Tester, has also been developed for testing adulteration in milk for domestic usage.

• CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysuru, developed the technology for carbonation of fruit juices as an alternative to soft drinks. The fi zzy fruit juice formulations, promoted as ‘healthy’ and ‘nutritious’ drinks, are suitable for all age groups.

Leather & Leather Products

• The Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) has always had an active role in supporting leather processing and retail units. This was momentous in 1996 when CLRI prevented the shutting down of 570 tanneries in Tamil Nadu as per Supreme Court orders. CLRI’s cleaner leather process technologies solved the problem of the highly polluting nature of the tanning efuents, thus saving 2,50,000 jobs.

Ksheer Tester (above right)

Ksheer-Scanner (Right)

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CSIR S

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Rejuvenating Drylands

Anantapur is the largest district in Andhra State and one of the driest parts of the country. Farmers in the Anantapur district made a historical switch over to groundnut leaving behind the cultivation of traditional crops in the early eighties. But in the late nineties when the oil market was deregulated, groundnut cultivation became expensive and uneconomical due to increase in input costs and sudden drop in the sale price.

The CSIR-CIMAP Research Centre in Hyderabad, after extensive studies, suggested cultivation of ashwagandha, replacing the traditional groundnut, redgram and bengalgram. Ashwagandha is valued in different systems of medicine, especially in Ayurveda and Unani.

Soon the area under ashwagandha cultivation increased to over 550 ha with 184 farmers from 30 villages in Rayalaseema districts of Andhra Pradesh taking to ashwagandha cultivation. Cultivation of ashwagandha has resulted in a net income of Rs. 25- 30000/- acre to the drought-prone farmers, which is 100%

more than the profi t they got from groundnut cultivation.

• CLRI’s technologies have also added a touch of class to the world of fashion in leather. With novel technologies, tie-and- dye leathers and printed leathers were introduced for the first time in the western market known for its fastidiousness for fancy leather goods such as colourful handbags,

wallets leather cases and several other utility articles. Designing fashionable footwear is also CLRI’s forte. In 1986, the fi rst computer aided design (CAD) facility in India for footwear was established at CLRI.

Building and Construction

• CSIR-CBRI has developed several technologies for low- cost buildings.

• “Queen” Coal/Wood Fired Pottery Kiln for effi cient sintering/baking

o f a l l k i n d s o f p o t t e r i e s o r t e r r a c o t t a items such as h a n d i c r a f t s , d o m e s t i c e a r t h e n w a r e , roof tiles, water filters, etc. at a uniform high t e m p e r a t u r e ( 8 0 0 - 9 0 00C ) to obtain good quality and long life of potteries.

It is a low-cost coal, or wood fired furnace, made with red brick & clay. It was developed by the CSIR-

Institute of Minerals and Materials Technology (IMMT), Bhubaneswar.

• CSIR-Central Building

Research Institute (CBRI), Roorkee has developed a Fire Resistant Metallic door. It reduces the spread of fire from one compartment to the other.

• CSIR-CBRI has come up with wood plastic composites using rice husk for the development of wood alternatives. The important features of advanced products are wood-like surface appearance, dimensionally stable, biologically durable, easily recyclable, carpenter friendly, and replacement of natural wood.

• C S I R - C B R I h a s a l s o developed a know-how for the production of pine needle composite boards/panels using isocyanate adhesive.

Herbal Products

• Herby Soft — Natural Hair Care Shampoo, a unique blend of herbal extracts with natural essential oil based on scientifi cally validated traditional knowledge. It was formulated by CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow. This herbal shampoo is for individuals of all age groups and stops hair fall as per feedback data.

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• To maintain the skin’s cleanliness, Kleenzie, a natural face wash made of aloe vera and other essential oils has been developed by CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Lucknow. Besides, Cracknil — anti-crack cream with good antifungal activity against commonly occurring fungal

pathogen, Hankool — hand disinfectant, Herbi Chew — Tobacco & chemical free herbal mouth freshener especially for those addicted to chewing gutkha, pan masala or similar products and Swabee — oor disinfectant, are also some signifi cant herbal products from CSIR-CIMAP.

• CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow has formulated purely natural and non-toxic Herbal Health Drink with a unique blend of modern Nutraceutical concepts with traditional knowledge. Herbal Ointment for wounds and

cuts, herbal colours and herbal Sindoor, are also some herbal extracts from CSIR-NBRI to keep away people from hazardous chemicals.

Waste to Wealth Initiative

• CSIR-IIP has developed a process for the conversion of waste plastics (polyolefi ns) to value-added hydrocarbons like gasoline, diesel and aromatics.

• Non-toxic radiation shielding materials utilising industrial waste like red mud (from aluminium industries) and y ash (Thermal Power Plants) have been developed by CSIR-Advanced Materials and Processes Research Institute (AMPRI), Bhopal, which has been accredited by Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) for application in diagnostic X-Ray rooms.

• Biodegradable wastes from kitchen contribute significantly to pollution, which demands immediate management and treatment. CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-NIIST), Thiruvananthapuram, has developed Anaerobic Digester to convert household biodegradable Kitchen Waste to Biogas for

“Swachh Bharat.”

Intellectual Property

• A pioneer of India’s intellectual property movement, CSIR is granted 90% of the US patents granted to any Indian publicly funded R&D organisation.

• On an average, CSIR fi les about 250 Indian patents and 300 foreign patents every year.

• About 13% of CSIR patents are licensed – a number that is much above the global average of 3-5%.

• Amongst its peers in publicly funded research organizations in the world, CSIR is a leader in terms of fi ling and securing patents worldwide.

• CSIR challenged the US patent granted to the wound- healing properties of turmeric in 1995 and in 1997 won the patent battle, and turmeric patent was revoked. Subsequently, CSIR developed a digital archive of Indian traditional knowledge – the Traditional Knowledge Digital Library (TKDL) – to protect Indian intellectual property. The TKDL includes documentation of the traditional knowledge available in public domain in the form of existing literature related to Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Yoga, in digitised format.

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CSIR S

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Heart Saviours

Clot-busters, drugs that help dissolve blockages in blood vessels, are the fi rst line of action in case of heart attacks, and if administered within six hours of

the onset of symptoms, can prove to be a life-saver in 40 to 50 per cent of the cases.

India imported these drugs – the cheapest of these were priced at around Rs 5,000 per dose.

In the 1990s, scientists at CSIR- I n s t i t u t e o f M i c r o b i a l Te c h n o l o g y (IMTECH), Chandigarh developed a technology package for streptokinase, a protein that is naturally produced by certain bacteria. The resultant drug, produced

by fermentation followed by a highly cost-effective new process, came into the market in 2002. This was followed in 2009 by the ‘second-generation’ streptokinase clot- buster (recombinant streptokinase) that was even cheaper.

Prices of clot-busters in the Indian market dropped by up to 65 per cent. Together, these two drugs occupy nearly 50 per cent of the market share for clot-busters.

Studies have assessed the economic impact of these interventions to be worth Rs 20,000 crore in terms of saving medical expenses of patients since they became available.

IMTECH has also developed the third-generation clot-buster, this time a novel molecule reported for the fi rst time anywhere in the world. This clot-specifi c streptokinase performs a much-required additional function of preventing bleeding, a common side-effect of clot-busters. It can be given as a single-shot injection.

The IMTECH team has now begun work on developing fourth-generation drugs – streptokinase with extended half-life, so that it is effective for a longer period of time.

Information Dissemination

• CSIR-National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources (NISCAIR) is the country’s largest Institute in the area of science communication and scientifi c information dissemination.

• NISCAIR publishes 18 international-standard peer- reviewed research journals covering the major disciplines of S&T and two abstracting journals.

• N I S C A I R a l s o p u b l i s h e s t h r e e p o p u l a r s c i e n c e magazines – Science Reporter (English), V i g y a n P r a g a t i (Hindi) and Science ki Duniya (Urdu). These are among the largest circulating popular

science magazines in the country.

• The Institute also publishes a number of scholarly and popular science books.

18 international-standard peer-reviewed research journals

Over the 75 years of its journey, contributions made by CSIR have been widely recognised nationally and internationally. While in many instances CSIR’s technologies have boosted the Indian industrial sector, at the same time the processes, techniques and technologies developed by CSIR have had wide-ranging social impact also. The Council of Scientifi c & Industrial Research remains committed to furthering the interests of the country for many more years to come.

Compiled by Hasan Jawaid Khan and Sonali Nagar

References

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