Achievements of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research of 2014-15

Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR)

Achievements of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research of 2014-15

Year –end Review 2015

·         The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has been continuously striving to address the unmet needs through its unique S&T interventions. CSIR through its New Millennium Indian Technology Leadership Initiative (NMITLI) has been successful in developing a reflectance confocal microscope with super continuum light source. The development has paved way for India’s presence in global photonics research. This is a World Class ‘Made in India’ High-end Product.

·         CSIR also made great headway in developing niche aerospace technologies. CSIR and the India Meteorological Department (IMD) are jointly producing the Drishti system, a visibility measuring system that provides information to pilots on visibility for safe landing and take-off operations, so as to enable the deployment of 70 such systems at Indian airports. The system has already been installed in 5 major Indian airports.

·         CSIR has been a consistent comrade of the ISRO and DAE. Its unstinting strong R&D support to the strategic sector has been most beneficial to the country. Gyrotron, a device used in nuclear fusion process, is currently imported in the country. Countries that manufacture gyrotrons namely the United States, Russia, Japan, and European Union do not disclose their designs and associated technology. Through focused efforts, CSIR with the Department of Science and Technology (DST) has developed the first Indian gyrotron which is ready to be tested at the Institute for Plasma Research (DAE), Gandhinagar, which is a partner institute on this project. CSIR has also been providing support in the development, production and supply of neodymium doped phosphate laser glass to the Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology (DAE).‘DHVANI’, the Detection and Hit Visualization using Acoustic N-wave Identification system developed by CSIR for perfecting marksmanship skills by accurately determining the location of bullet impact and providing real-time feedback, has been approved for induction into the Indian Army.

·         CSIR’s endeavours in the domain of traditional knowledge for providing affordable healthcare have been praiseworthy. An anti-diabetic herbal formulation BGR-34, from a combination of natural extracts derived from six plant species mentioned in ancient Ayurveda texts has been developed. The drug which was approved by the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy (AYUSH) is an adjuvant to existing diabetes treatment, to help maintain normal blood glucose levels and also in improving the immune system. The herbal drug has been launched by industry in parts of North India.

·         Further, a national cGMP facility for extraction, formulation and packaging of traditional herbal medicines has been set up at CSIR-Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (CSIR-IIIM), Jammu. It has been created as per WHO guidelines. The facility will also be made available to R&D institutions and industry. The facility will target preparation of extracts and formulations for conducting clinical trials, process development, scale-up & optimization of lab- processes and converting them into commercially viable technologies besides generation of authentic and accurate clinically acceptable data. This facility will transform quality herbal drug production in India and its export to US and European markets.

·         The farmers are the backbone of our country. CSIR has developed and released to farmers a new improved high yielding variety of Ashwagandha, NMITLI-101 which is rich in several bioactive compounds. The average root yield from NMITLI-101 crop is about 25 quintal/hectare and the seed production from the variety is up to 3 quintal/ha, under optimum conditions. The estimated economic return from cultivation of this variety is about Rs. 2.5 Lakh/hectare per crop.

·         CSIR has also launched the JK Aroma Arogya Gram (JAAG) project which targets job and wealth creation through intensive cultivation of CSIR agri-technology of high value, low volume medicinal and aromatic crops. The benefits of the JAAG project include handholding of the farmers by CSIR for cultivation of medicinal plants, besides providing unemployed youth an opportunity to set up ventures in cultivation of medicinal plants. Awareness camps for farmers of the area besides demonstrations of Mobile Distillation Unit for extraction of essential oils are conducted. Started in July 2015, so far, seventy three farmers in 14 villages of Kathua district (J&K) have been distributed slips of lemongrass, Java citronella and vetiver for cultivation in 17.47 hectares area under the JAAG project.

·         Also focusing at ‘Reaching to the Unreached’, CSIR’s Centre for High Altitude Biology (CSIR-CeHAB) in Lahaul and Spitiis providing deployable knowledgebase to local communities for inclusive growth. The CSIR knowhow related to food & agri-processing was showcased at the Tribal Fair at Keylong for the benefit of the local farmers in making novel products from major crops of the region such as Buckwheat and also brining of the peas and cauliflower.

·         As part of efforts towards developing sustainable energy solutions, CSIR under the CSIR-NMITLI, has successfully developed indigenous know-how to make technology components and the process for building Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) multi-cell stack of desired power output. CSIR has taken existing technology know-how from stack-to-system level higher by scaling-up the power produced to 3.5 kW and validating it for a commercial application such as telecom tower power backup. For this, a modular test bed has been designed, built and commissioned with in-house knowhow at Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), Patalganga site. The fuel cell facility commissioned now, is expected to provide plenty of useful data for testing and developing indigenous fuel cells at low costs for commercial applications.

DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

1. India International Science Festival  (IISF) 2015

IISF (2015) was organised in IIT, Delhi during 4^th Dec. to 8^th Dec. 2015 with the objective of exposing the fruits of Science & Technology to the masses; building strategy to instill scientific temper among the masses; showcasing Indian contributions in the field of S&T over the years; providing platform to young scientists for exchange of knowledge and ideas; and supporting flagship programmes like Make in India, Digital India, Start-ups, Smart Villages, Smart Cities, etc. Approximately 10,000 delegates from all over the country participated in the following components of the festival – young scientists’ conference, techno-industrial expo, science film festival, national level exhibition and project competition showcasing innovative models under INSPIRE programme of Department of Science & Technology, industry academia conclave, largest practical science laboratory demo and interactive workshops and informative sessions.

Largest Practical Science Session with 2000 students, on 7^th Dec. 2015, working in small teams to complete experiments as part of the lesson that focused on catalysts has found the entry in the Guinness Book of World Records.

2. National Supercomputing Mission

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the launch of the National Supercomputing Mission on 25^th March 2015. This is a visionary program to enable India to leapfrog to the league of world class computing power nations. The Mission would be implemented and steered jointly by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DeitY) at an estimated cost of Rs.4500 crore over a period of seven years.

The Mission envisages empowering our national academic and R&D institutions spread over the country by installing a vast supercomputing grid comprising of more than 70 high-performance computing facilities. These supercomputers will also be networked on the National Supercomputing grid over the National Knowledge Network (NKN). The NKN is another programme of the government which connects academic institutions and R&D labs over a high speed network. Academic and R&D institutions as well as key user departments/ministries would participate by using these facilities and develop applications of national relevance. The Mission also includes development of highly professional High Performance Computing (HPC) aware human resource for meeting challenges of development of these applications.

3. DST-MHRD Collaboration in Impacting Research Innovation and Technology (IMPRINT) Project: Department of Science & Technology (DST) is working with Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) to evolve a mechanism for joint implementation of IMPRINT projects which was launched on 5^th Nov. 2015 by the Hon'ble President of India.  Preliminary meetings with MHRD have already taken place and detailed modalities  are being  worked out with MHRD.  IMPRINT projects will address major societal and developmental needs such as healthcare, information and communication technology, energy, sustainable habitat, nano technology, water resources and river systems, advanced materials, security and defence, and environment and climate.

4. DST-Ministry of Railways (MoR)  Joint R&D Initiative : Department of Science and Technology (DST) and Ministry of Railways (MoR) are shaping a joint R&D initiative to address research problems of immediate and direct relevance to MoR by taking up suitable projects within time span of 3-5  years with well defined deliverables. Collaboration between MoR and DST are in the area of fuel efficiency and emission control technologies, alternate fuels, fuel conservation in diesel traction etc. and to derive synergy based on mutual strengths. As an outcome of these efforts, scope of programme support has been finalized  in the meeting of 8^th September, 2015

5. Science and  Technology of Yoga and Meditation (SATYAM)

DST has launched a new programme “Science and Technology of Yoga and Meditation (SATYAM)” in 2015-16 to rejuvenate research in yoga and meditation. Given the ever increasing prevalence of physical and mental health problems, the holistic approach of Yoga and Meditation is believed to have the potential to find beneficial treatment that is relatively safer and more cost-effective. Cutting-edge research under SATYAM will seek to identify related issues and challenges and address these to enhance human well-being. Another objective of SATYAM is to also harness knowledge obtained in academic institutions and other related agencies for finding S&T-led solutions that would enable us to cope with stress and strain associated with fast changing social, economic, environmental and professional circumstances. The programme will encourage research in two major thematic areas: (1) investigations on the effect of Yoga and Meditation on physical and mental health, and (2) investigations on the effect of Yoga & Meditation on the body, brain, and mind in terms of basic processes.

6. Scheme for funding Industry-relevant R&D

The Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) recognizes the need to facilitate increased Public Private Partnerships in its funding mechanism, and has recently approved a scheme that provides an opportunity for collaborative research between academic institutions and industry. This scheme aims to bridge the gap between public funded research and industrial R&D. The new scheme seeks to target solution driven research to address industry specific problems. Project will be jointly designed and implemented by the academic partner and industry, and the cost will be shared between SERB and Industry with industry share not less than 50 % of the total budget. All industries (including Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) & industrial R&D Centres) are welcome to participate in this scheme.

7. Scheme for funding High Risk-High Reward Research

Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) has approved a new and significant initiative to support proposals that are conceptually new and risky, and if successful, expected to have a paradigm-shifting influence on the S&T landscape. Outcome could be new and significant theoretical or experimental advances, formulation of new hypotheses, or breakthrough science which will lead to new technologies. Proposals that address scientific issues leading to “incremental” knowledge will not be supported.

8. Early Career Research Award

A new scheme viz.  Early Career Research Award (ECRA) has been launched to provide quick research support to the researchers who are in their early career for pursuing exciting and innovative research in frontier areas of science and engineering. The Award carries a research grant up to Rs. 50 lakhs for a period of three years. More than 600 young scientists have responded in November 2015 for the Award.

9. National Post-doctoral Fellowship (N-PDF) scheme

In order to attract and retain young scientists and discourage brain drain in academic/R&D institutions, a National Postdoctoral Fellowship (N-PDF) scheme has been launched. It aims to identify motivated young researchers and provide them support for doing research in frontier areas of science and engineering. The Fellow will work under a Mentor, and it is expected that the training will provide him/her a platform to develop as an independent researcher. The Fellow will be provided a fellowship of Rs. 55,000/ pm for a period of 2 years with a research grant of Rs. 2.0 lakh per annum.

10. Technical Research Centres - Five Technical Research Centres (TRCs) in the existing autonomous institutions of the Department of Science & Technology are being set up.  A detailed road-map has been prepared by the Department for setting-up of these centres. TRCs are expected to further enhance translational research being carried out by these autonomous institutions. Final financial approval of TRCs is expected by end of December 2015.

11. Technology Applications by Institute of Nano Science & Technology (INST), Mohali

(A)     Waste Water Treatment:  Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), Mohali, an autonomous institution of DST, is working towards the development of low cost filter for waste water treatment. They have developed low cost novel nano-adsorbent for removal of toxic metal ions as well as organic pollutant. For this, the water purification trials for removal of lanthanides, transition metal ions, arsenic and organic dyes at laboratory level have been done. The initial trial have been done on purification of real domestic waste. The following are proposed future plans :

(a) Setting up the metal adsorbent pads at the bottom of the boats :

INST is fabricating trapping pads for metal ions and organic pollutant removal. This will be a portable pad which can be fixed to the wall of boats and hence clean river. 

(b) Domestic waste treatment:

In this area INST is planning to make small cartridge (low cost) which can be put at the exhaust of the sink or washing machine and then exhausted clean water will be recharged by clean water.  This is kept in river cleaning concept because the most of the river waste is from waste generated from the people of the country. And if we can address these waste at the source level then we can definitely protect our river to get contaminated form human generated waste.

(c) Industrial waste treatment:

Since the adsorbent made by INST’s scientist are very efficient in trapping high concentration of metal ions, the  idea is to put a cartridge at the exhaust of the industry and trap the waste product and for different industries, specific cartridge will be made.

(d) Plans for urban and rural areas:

 For urban cities, it is planned to do the real time detection and removal of water impurities and its implementation in real life. It is also planned to make low cost water testing strips for rural people and small portable ca cartridge for instant water purification.

(B) Development of Clinical Biomarkers: Institute of Nano Science and Technology (INST), Mohali, an autonomous institution of DST is developing cost effective biosensing platforms for clinical biomarkers like Cardiac serum markers (Myoglobin, Troponin I, BNP, FABP etc.) and Prostate cancer markers along with environmental pollutants such as food/water pathogens (E. coli and other enteric pathogens) and new generation pesticides. INST’s aim is to design and develop its own optical/fluorescence/electrochemical based sensors using nanotechnology approach to minimize the size of the sensor as it can be suitably used for rapid and field applications. INST is attempting to increase the specificity of our biosensor by generating our own bio-receptors (antibodies/aptamers) and immobilizing them onto nanostructured platforms in order to have enhanced sensitivity (upto sub picomolar range). The developed sensors will be highly versatile and can be used for other target analyses depending upon the kind of bio-receptor used on the sensor surface.

12. Revamping and Reorientation of Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) Scheme

The INSPIRE Award component which is meant for school children from class 6^th  to 10th is being reoriented  to align it with the national agenda of the Government and observations made by the Hon'ble Prime Minister. The programme is being modified to encourage children to visualise/analyse needs of the nation; develop critical thinking about national issues and problems pertaining to everyday life, as well as, create awareness and inspire them to devise innovative ideas to address them. Follow-up mechanism to further fine tune the best creative ideas/concepts is being put in place.

The second component of the INSPIRE scheme deals with  organizing Science Camps for science students of Class 11th based on their performance at the Class 10th Board examination. Through the Science Camps, these students are provided an opportunity and exposure for interaction with scientists and academicians including Nobel Laureates. Now, “Innovative Idea Writing" has been introduced on themes specific like Water, Energy, Security etc. in keeping with the current initiatives of the Government like Make in India, Swachch Bharat etc. In each Camp, the ideas are being screened for finding the 3 best innovative ideas.

13. New Initiatives in Water and Clean Energy

(a) Recognizing that Water is of fundamental importance for human development,  the, Water Advanced Research and Innovation (WARI) Fellowship Program- a dynamic and transformative program has been launched on 21 September 2015 to foster long term Indo-American  Science and Technology partnerships. A programme for natural water treatment and waste water treatment has also been initiated with French collaboration.

(b) In the area of clean energy following new initiatives have been taken :

 

-       A new research track on energy storage and smart grids have been agreed for Indo-US collaboration during Energy Dialogue co- Chaired by Hon’ble Minister of Power and US Secretary of Energy on 21^st September 2015. A new programme on Clean Coal Research is also on the anvil.

-       Considering the importance of capacity building in energy efficiency for built environments, a fellowship programme for Indian researchers have been launched to expose them to world class research facilities in US.

-       An Indo–UK Virtual Centre for Clean Energy has been initiated to explore integrated solution for remote and rural locations using distributed solar energy generation,  storage and off grid/ grid interaction following an India-UK discussion meeting on 10-11 June 2015.

-       In order to improve energy security of the country, a roadmap for Methanol Economy as a promising alternate energy source has been initiated in partnership with NITI AAYOG following brainstorming with stakeholders on 11^th September 2015 steered by Dr VK Saraswat, Member, NITI Aayog and Secretary DST.

14. Waste Management Technology Development

With the objective to contribute towards Swachch Bharat, a new programme under the Technology Development Scheme has been initiated to come up with technological solutions for the problems faced by the country in waste management. Areas under this include hospital waste, plastic waste, e-waste, etc. First call for proposals has received an overwhelming response.

15. Advanced Manufacturing

Aligning with the Make in India agenda of the Government, the Department has initiated a programme to promote development of advance manufacturing technologies in the country. The areas include robotics and automation, nano-materials, precision manufacturing, etc. Call for proposals has already been given.

16. Development of Bio-medical Devices

The Department is planning to initiate stakeholder consultation to identify bio-medical devices to be taken up for indigenous development. The programme is being evolved to align with the objective of Swasth Bharat of Government of India.

A Technical Research Centre at Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute of Medical Sciences and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram is being established to give a big push to the development and commercialization of biomedical technologies in this institution which has an enviable record in this domain.

17. Scheme for Promoting Innovations, Creativity and Entrepreneurship among ITI Students (SPICE ITI)

As suggested by the Hon'ble Prime Minister during the meeting with Science Secretaries on 29^th July 2015, a separate scheme is being worked out by the National Innovation Foundation, Ahmedabad for promoting innovations, creativity and entrepreneurship among Industrial Training Institute (ITI) students.

18. North Eastern Centre for Ethno Medical Research:

 DST has recently approved establishment of “Ethno Medicinal Research Centre” at FEEDS, Manipur with budgetary support of approx. Rs 6.00 crores. This Centre aims to undertake ethno phyto-chemical research of wild herbs available in the NE region that have unique medicinal and aromatic properties, particularly in our traditional systems.  The Centre will not only give scientific validation of traditional herbs but aims to improve quality of life and economic status of local community through product development and better livelihood.

19. Revamping of Science Express

As suggested by the Hon’ble Prime Minister, the Department has initiated action to strengthen outreach activities along the route of the 8th Phase of the Science Express.  The Department  intends to approach NCSTC-Network (a conglomeration of 83 NGOs), National Council for Science Museum (NCSM), Vigyan Prasar (VP), National Innovation Foundation (NIF), Centre for Environmental Education (CEE), Vikram Sarabhai Community Science Centre (VASCSC), academic and research institutions at 65 destinations of Science Express etc. for providing additional S&T activities to the children visiting Science Express.

The CEE has been advised to exhibit interactive models graphic interfaces and animations to make it more interesting.  In addition to this, several platform activities for children are being planned to make the Science Express experience more meaningful for children.

20. Recent Developments through International S&T Cooperation

(a) A new programme with Russian Science Foundation was concluded by DST for cooperation in Basic Sciences (Physics, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, Biology (Medical and Agriculture), Mathematics) during  8^th Session of  India - Russia Working Group on Science & Technology            in Moscow on September 3, 2015.

(b) A joint declaration of extension of Indo-German Science & Technology Centre was signed on 5^th Oct. 2015 .

(c) A Letter of Intent (LoI) for Indian participation in annual meeting of Nobel Laureates and Students was signed on 5^th Oct. 2015.

(d) The Indo-US fellowship programme on Climate Research is being launched this year.

(e) Collaboration with USA on Women in Science has been strengthened with 20 Indo-US Women Fellowship in S&T; training programme on leadership and career development; and Silicon Valley visitation programme for women entrepreneurs.

(f) Under support of US-India Endowment Fund, prototypes of several innovative technologies on affordable healthcare and food security have been developed with a potetial for societal impact and commercial application. Through the five calls, the United States-India Science and Technology Endowment Fund is currently supporting and funding 17 joint U.S.-India entrepreneurial projects in the area of Healthy Individual (affordable biomedical devices, diagnostic/preventive/curative measures, or food and nutrition products to improve health) and Empowering Citizens (information and communication technologies, water, agriculture, financial inclusion, and education etc.) with a grant size of up to Rs. 2.50 crores or approximately $ 400,000. The joint entrepreneurial teams are working together on co-developing innovative product or technologies that are beyond the idea stage with high societal impact and significant potential to commercialize with 2-3 years. In addition to this, 3 project proposals are under the review process of evaluation. In the recent call of Sixth round of July 2015, 19 bi-national teams have been shortlisted by the joint U.S.-India expert panel for Stage II: detailed business plan and presentation at USA . Out of 19 companies, 5 have been shortlisted in November 2015 by the joint panel for further due diligence before award of the grant.

21. Showcasing of Indian Innovators in Silicon Valley during the visit of Hon’ble Prime Minister.

Under the India Innovation Growth Programme jointly supported by DST and Lockheed Martin Corporation, 10 Innovators participated in the Start-up Connect Programme and displayed their innovations.  It would be worthwhile to mention that out of the 34 innovations showcased at Silicon Valley; approximately 50% were supported in one way or the other by DST.  The innovators have attracted a lot of attention from the Venture Capitalists (VCs) in Silicon Valley and many of them have stayed back to explore further deals and investments.

22. UV Imaging Telescope

UV Imaging Telescope developed by Indian Institute of Astrophysics is one of the payloads on ASTROSAT which has been recently launched by ISRO. Telescope has started giving images and calibration is being done by ISRO.   

23. Big Data Initiative

A proposal to initiate a new scheme viz. Big Data Initiative has been prepared and is under consideration of the Department. The scheme is aligned with the Government's Digital India initiative.

24. Policy on Conflict of Interest

In a significant move, the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) has given its nod to go ahead with the much awaited policy on Conflict of Interest for grant applicants (including collaborators), reviewers and  committee members and officers dealing with various programs. The Board felt that issues of conflicts of interest and ethics in scientific research and research management have assumed greater prominence in the new era of knowledge economy. All the stakeholders are required to sign an undertaking to adhere to the policy on conflict of interest. The approved policy aims to bring more transparency and increased accountability in funding mechanisms and provide assurance to the general public that processes followed in award of grants are fair and non-discriminatory.

Department of Biotechnology

Success Stories – 2014-15

I.  Healthcare

(1) India is today a leading Vaccine Manufacturing Hub:

The Vaccine Grand Challenge Programme is under implementation to encourage novel and innovative vaccine related discoveries, accelerated development of candidate vaccines for which earlier leads are available, research of basic & applied nature to improvise current understanding of vaccine science and to strengthen the scientific basis for future vaccine design. R&D projects supported through VGCP are focusing on Development of candidate vaccines &  Development of vaccine related technologies. Some major initiatives are:

(i) Rotavirus vaccine launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister : The first indigenously developed and manufactured Rotavirus vaccine 'Rotavac.' from an Indian strain 116E was launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on 9^th March, 2015. The indigenously developed vaccine will boost efforts to combat infant mortality due to diarrhoea. ROTAVAC developed in collaboration with Bharat Biotech under the Public-Private Partnership mode is efficacious in preventing severe rotavirus diarrhoea in low-resource settings in India. ROTAVAC significantly reduced severe rotavirus diarrhoea by more than half - 56 percent during the first year of life, with protection continuing into the second year of life. Moreover, the vaccine also showed impact against severe diarrhoea of any cause. The developed Rotavirus Vaccine at $1 per dose has been cleared for market license. Potential to prevent >500K childhood diarrheal deaths. The NTAGI of M/o Health & FW has approved introduction of  the vaccine in EPI in a pilot mode.

(ii) Malaria Vaccine: To promote the development of vaccines against P. falciparum and P. vivax malaria, Department has provided continued support to MVDP (Malaria Vaccine Development programme)- A consortium of DBT, ICGEB, Malaria Vaccine Initiative (MVI), PATH, EMVI and WHO-TDR. Currently MVDP is involved with developmental of malaria vaccine JAIVAC1 & JAIVAC 2 at ICGEB.

(iii) Dengue Vaccine: Department is supporting the group at International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) for developing a safe, efficacious and inexpensive tetravalent dengue vaccine. The recombinant EDIII-based sub-unit dengue vaccine candidate is being developed in the form of VLPs using the yeast P. pastoris as an expression host.

 (2)       DBT has significantly augmented the infrastructure for diagnosis & treatment of human genetic disorders in India

Impact

- 21 Genetic Diagnosis cum Counseling Units established

o   >5 lakh affected families and >1 lakh tribal families benefited

- DNA typing of 25 autosomal markers in 53 ethnic groups (tribal, caste and religious communities) completed

o   Revealed evidence of human migration from India to SE Asia.

(3)        A major flagship programme on International Cancer Genome (ICG) specific to Oral Cancer is under implementation.

(4) India Bio-design makes new advances

Technologies developed:  - 5

o   Ostomy Management device;

o   Emergency medical alert device;

o   A breathable  and customized cast for immobilization of the fractured limb;

o   Fluid extraction device;

o   Posture support device

Technologies Transferred: - 2

o   Technology for Fetomaternal Parameter Monitoring System transferred to M/s. Brun Health Private Limited, Telangana, startup Company formed by Fellows 2013 Batch.

o   Technology for ‘A Portable Hand Sanitization device’ transferred to M/s. Observe Design Private Limited, New Delhi.

o   Fecal Incontinence device technology received USFDA 510 approval for their device.

Patents, Trademark, Industrial Design Filing:

o   6 Indian patents and 6 PCT applications filed;  6 trademark applications filed; and    One design registration filed for the Accufeed Invention.

o   Patents have been granted  in 4 countries namely Singapore, Japan, USA and Europe for the device for collecting fecal discharge in incontinent patients

New initiatives:

o   i-Fellowship program initiated with Australia as a new international partner

o   BMJ Innovations launched.

(5)        Major New Effort on Pre-Term Birth

Multi-institutional National Programme on pre-term birth launched

Pre-term Birth Program is the first inter-institutional program on maternal infant health and spontaneous pre-term birth sciences in India funded by the Department under Grand Challenge Program at a total cost of the project is Rs. 48.85 crore for a period of 5 years. It envisages a multidisciplinary research effort to predict & diagnose Preterm Birth (PTB) by enhancing the knowledge of the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms. It is expected that the clinically relevant research outputs from the study will aid characterization of biological, clinical and epidemiological risk factors to achieve appropriate risk stratification of mothers who may deliver before term. These in turn would provide a basis for discovery of novel therapeutic agents & determine appropriate timing for their clinical application. Together, it would strengthen the commitment of the Department of Biotechnology to health equity, contributing significantly to reduction in infant and maternal mortality.

II. Agriculture and Industrial:

(i)         Rice variety Samba Mahsuri: With the support of Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Scientists at Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) and Directorate of Rice Research (DRR) have jointly developed bacterial blight resistant Rice variety “Samba Mahsuri’ through Marker Assisted Selection and Backcross Breeding. The variety has so far spread to an area of 90,000 ha in the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

      

(ii) Decoding the Wheat Genome: A strong partnership in Decoding the Wheat Genome has been built. 15 countries joined hands to complete this huge task of decoding 17,000 million bases. Indian Scientists participated in Decoding Chromosome 2A.

(iii) Maize hybrid (Vivek 9) with High Quality Protein and Increased Provitamin A was developed and released.

(iv) High zinc rice has been developed for the first time which has 22-24 ppm zinc and named as CGZR-1 and after all India trials would be available to farmers in another two years.

(v) 12 popular rice varieties to be grown in the rain fed agri-eco systems have been developed by incorporating major quantitative trait loci (QTL) or genes for flood, drought and salt tolerance. 

(vi) Bread wheat and durum wheat genotypes with high yield and high micronutrient concentration in optimum soil zinc have been developed.

(vii) First indigenous technology developed for commercial production of Ethanol from lignocellulosic waste: DBT-ICT Centre for Energy Biosciences established at Institute of Chemical Technology, Mumbai has developed Cellulosic ethanol technology.  Based on this indigenous technology a demo/pilot plant designed by an Industry, India Glycol Limited with financial support from DBT-BIRAC with a capacity of 10 tonnes lignocellulosic biomass per day to produce 3000 L ethanol/day on a continuous basis.  It is expected that the commercial plants based on the technology will be built in 2016, which is not far behind the technologies being implemented in the USA. 

(viii) Under a Mission programme on microbial prospecting: ‘Drugs from Microbes’ Involving nine institutes and an industrial partner in a public-private partnership model, 2.50 lakhs microbes were screened for four activities i.e. anti cancer, anti diabetic, anti inflammation and anti infective activities. A total of 16123 three stars hits were obtained- Anti-infective- 5286; anti cancer-518; anti inflammation-3643; anti diabetic-6676. One New Chemical Entity with anticancer and anti-inflammatory activity and 12 probable new use of compound were identified. Efforts are being made to explore the strategies for moving some of the active molecules obtained in the current program from discovery to Pre- Investigational New Drug (IND) studies, thereby creating a path of development of molecules. The Country’s largest Microbial Culture Collection Centre was set up at NCCS, Pune will 2,00,000 culture.

III. Human Resource Development

(i)         DBT has undertaken multiple initiatives for teaching & training in biotech education…

o   Star College Program

¾    92 colleges supported

¾    10 colleges accorded star status

o   >1600 personnel trained under UG, PG training courses

o   >2000 candidates provided training in biotech industries under BITP

(ii)        The Ramalingaswami Re-entry Fellowship was conceived with the idea of encouraging Indian scientists working outside the country (Indian Nationals), and who would like to come back home and pursue their research interests in life sciences and biotechnology and other related areas. During the last six years 247 overseas scientists were selected and 173 have already returned and joined various research institutes/ universities 27 scientists are likely to join in next six months.  50 scientists are selected every year. This has enriched the scientific pool of the country.

IV. Societal Impact

“Women’s health, hygiene & nutrition” is the current focus under DBT’s women’s societal upliftment programme of DBT. The Department has supported major programme on cervical cancer screening, genetic disorder & counseling, pregnancy-related complications, breast cancer screening & post-operative care. While education on menstrual hygiene, cervical cancer & preventive measures were conducted in several villages involving more than 2,000 women, including school girls, around 5,000 women were offered cervical cancer screening services through village based camps. A network programme on Breast Cancer Screening was implemented in 4 districts of North-East, namely Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura with the help of Cancer Foundation of India, Kolkata.

A project for awareness, counseling, screening & education to prevent genetic and congenital disorder has been implemented in West Bengal and a web based portal (www.genomegyan.com) on genetics has been developed to popularize it as a subject among medical students and physicians.

(V) Biotech Based Developments in North Eastern Region (NER) of India

The North Eastern Region (NER) of India comprises of eight ‘sister’ states. The region is one of the most ethnically and culturally diverse regions of Asia and the home for more than 150 tribes. In order to give focused attention for the North Eastern Region, the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) has allocated 10% of its annual budget for promoting/strengthening biotechnology driven activities in North Eastern States of India. A dedicated cell, North Eastern Biotechnology Programme Management Cell (NER-BPMC) has been established by DBT in the year 2009-2010 and the cell is assisting DBT to evolve, implement and monitoring of various programmes for the benefit of NER states.

Some of the major flagship programmes/schemes implemented and created impact on biotech based developments in North Eastern States during the last one year are as follows:

·         Twinning Programme

The goal of this programme is to strengthen R&D activity in the North East India through joint collaborations. Financial assistance is provided to competitive R&D projects from scientists in the North Eastern States in collaboration with Scientists from National Institutions from other parts of the country.

The programme has supported nearly 400 R&D projects, leading to more than 200 papers published in peer reviewed journals, and more than 450 young scientists of NER trained in advanced biotechnology. Every year approximately 70-80 projects under this flagship programme are being supported to NER.

·         Setting up of “DBT-NER Centre for Advanced Animal Diagnostics and Services on Animal Health and Diseases (ADSAHD)” involving stake holders from all NER States including national laboratories from Bhopal, Bangalore and Hissar.

The North Eastern Region of India, owing to its unique geographical location sharing five international borders, bears constant threat of exotic trans-boundary diseases of our valuable livestock. This programme is aimed at strengthening regional infrastructure and capabilities for developing latest diagnostics and organizing rigorous surveillance for the highly contagious and ravaging diseases so that forecasting model on disease outbreaks in the region can be developed for a formidable defense to guard the territories. The programme envisages establishing three core laboratories across the NER for carrying out research and training activities in trans-boundary and endemic animal diseases. It aims to impart training to the State veterinary personnel in disease reporting, sample collection techniques and fostering public-public partnership module for effectively handling the animal-man-environment continuum chain.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Hon’ble Minister of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Govt. of India, has launched this programme in NER on February 17, 2015.

·         Establishment of Unit of Excellence in Biotechnology (U-Excel)

With a view to recognize promising mid-career scientists in NER, a programme of awarding Unit of Excellence grant to them has been initiated so as to enable them to pursue their innovative research in frontier areas of biotechnology. So far, 12 Units of Excellence have been established during the year.

·         Overseas Associate ship for NER Scientists

This scheme aims to promote capacity building in cutting edge areas of biotechnology and life sciences. The Award promotes and supports scientists of merit in their pursuit of skill enhancement in scientific research/training in overseas laboratories for short term as well as long term. So far, 130 scientists have been awarded the Associate-ship. As of now more than 110 scientists have availed this Associate ship. This overseas associate ship has resulted in more than 20 research papers in peer reviewed journals and has also enabled more than 15 laureates in getting extra-mural funding for their R&D projects besieging training in house scientific human resource of NER.

(VI) Enhanced Innovation Ecosystem:

Under the DBT, for a well-defined Innovation Ecosystem for product development - a Public Sector undertaking, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) has been set-up, supporting nearly 300 companies and 100 young entrepreneurs for innovation, research and product development. Further, the Biotechnology Translational research and industry academia partnership has promoted through 3 Biotech clusters, 8 Biotech Parks and 13 Bioincubators. Also, 16 Centers of Excellences have been created as a flexible model of long-term support for highly innovative, basic and translational research to create high quality state-of-the-art facilities for R&D.

Taking Science and Technology to Industry

Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council

·         The biotech startup scenario in India was transformed by one of BIRAC’s flagship scheme called BIG (Biotechnology Ignition Grant). BIG has supported 140 entrepreneurial ideas over 5 calls at pre-proof-of-concept stage. 22 new startups were created (in 18 months) and the total number of employment generated is 231.

·         Providing access to high end infrastructural requirement to the biotech community in India. BIRAC through its bioincubation scheme (BISS) has supported 15 bioincubation centres across the nation and has created 124,000sq.ft of incubation space. Within these incubators, around 199 biotech start-ups are being provided support. In each of the bioincubator, BIRAC has supported a common pool of high end instrumentation that is being used by incubate and other SMEs for R&D.

·         17 Products, 11 Technologies, 16 Early Stage-Technologies. 2 Process Innovations, 23 IP Generated/Facilitated.

·         322 Start-Ups, SME, and Entrepreneurs Supported.

·         BIRAC Ace Fund – An Equity Fund for Accelerating Entrepreneurs was announced by Hon’ble Minister of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences during BIRAC Foundation Function.

·         Products Launched/Developed: Malaria Antigen Detection Kit, Quality Wine Produced By Enzymatic Maceration of Mango Pulp, Indigenous Production of Dextranase using Ssf Technique.

Major Achievements in respect of Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs for the year 2015

Major Achievements in respect of Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs for the year 2015

YEAR-END REVIEW 2015

The 13^th Edition of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) Convention was held successfully at Mahatma Mandir Convention Centre, Gandhinagar, Gujarat from 7 – 9 January, 2015. This year’s PBD was special being the centenary year of the return of Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa to India. The Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports was the Partner Ministry for the PBD 2015 and Gujarat was the partner State. H.E Donald Ramotar, the Hon’ble President of Guyana was the Chief Guest of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas held at Gandhinagar in January, 2015. Maite Nkoana Mashabane, Minister of International Relations and Cooperation was the Guest of Honour of the PBD-2015.

Hon’ble Prime Minister during the Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas (PBD) held in Gujarat from 7-9 January, 2015 announced the starting of an Online Quiz titled ‘Bharat Ko Janiye’ for imparting knowledge on India among the Diaspora children and youth. The quiz was launched by Hon’ble Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs on 24th Nov 2015. This online quiz programme on India has been arranged for NRI / PIO and others to get an all-round understanding on India.

9th Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (RPBD) Convention was organized by MOIA in Los Angeles, USA from 14th - 15th November 2015 for interaction & discussion with Indian Diaspora to ensure their connectivity with their ancestral motherland as well to know their expectations & concerns.

(a)             The Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre (OIFC) (a PPP between Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs and CII) in July 2015 decided that the OIFC will undertake enhanced and sustained engagement with overseas Indians in a proactive manner, with special emphasis on the young Diaspora, and engagement with the State Governments in India.

(b)           The Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre (OIFC) organised the Indian Diaspora Business Meeting in Los Angeles on 14^th November 2015 on the side-lines of 9^th Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Divas – Los Angeles, USA.

This Ministry played a leading role in the repatriation of Indian nationals from Yemen with funding through the Indian Community Welfare Fund. A total of 5600 Indians were evacuated with the active involvement of various Ministries that was coordinated by MEA.

For the period from January to September 2015 Know India Programme (KIP) were conducted in the state of Gujarat, Goa and Punjab. A separate KIP for Francophone countries has also been started this year from 6^th January to 26^th January, 2015.

With a view to meet the objectives of “Minimum Government, Maximum Governance”, MOIA has, with effect from 16 January, 2015 started issuing Electronic clearance through the e-Migrate portal and stopped the affixing of ECR stickers on the passports from that date. This electronic clearance is also available on the data base of the Bureau of Immigration at all their Check Posts. This has made the Emigration Clearance process simpler, easier and less time consuming for the emigrant.

(a)           The Emigration Act, 1983 provides for registration of Recruiting Agents, to recruit Emigration Clearance Required (ECR) passport holders going to ECR countries on employment visa. The Rules in this regards provide for security in the form of Bank Guarantee to be provided by the Recruiting Agents, as a part of the process of the registration. The security amount has been enhanced from Rs. 20.00 lakhs to Rs.50.00 lakhs vide Gazette Notification dated 21/09/2015.

(b)          Joint Consultative Committee Meeting between India and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was held on 12^th – 13^th October, 2015 to discuss various issues relating to the Agreement on Labour Cooperation for Domestic Service Workers (DSW) recruitment between India and Saudi Arabia and welfare of emigrants.

This Ministry and Government of Tamil Nadu set up in June 2015, a Migrant Resource Centre (MRC) in Chennai, to provide intending migrant workers information on all aspects of overseas employment. The MRC in Chennai is the fourth such MRC in India, set up by the MOIA.

E-Office, a digital filing system, introduced in October, 2015, has been made operational in the Ministry. The system was officially launched on 01/10/2015 as a Good-governance initiative. All new files are being generated through e-office. The processing time has been reduced substantially and while ensuring transparency and accountability.

(a)           IDF-OI held its 4^th Board Meeting on 23^rd May 2015 and 5^th Board Meeting on 5^th December 2015 chaired by Hon’ble Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs and Chairperson, IDF-OI.

(b)          IDF-OI held a successful outreach from 15-16 October 2015 in three cities of UAE- Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Dubai to showcase its projects and invite the Diaspora to make contributions. NRIs and PIOs gave commitments to support flagship programmes such as Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and Clean Ganga Mission.

The 3rd SIP was conducted from 3rd January, 2015 to 3rd February, 2015 by the Symbiosis University. 18 Overseas students from South Africa participated in this programme

Year End Review-2015 for the Ministry of Food Processing Industries

Year End Review-2015 for the Ministry of Food Processing Industries

YEAR END REVIEW

The food processing sector has emerged as an important segment of the Indian economy in terms of its contribution to GDP, employment and investment. During 2014-15, the sector constituted as much as 9.0 per cent and 10.1 per cent of GDP in Manufacturing and Agriculture sector, respectively.  Food Processing Industries sector has grown at 7.1 per cent during this period.  The Ministry of Food Processing Industries is implementing various schemes for providing impetus to the development of food processing sector. 

2.         The Ministry has been implementing schemes for infrastructure development having components of Mega Food Parks; Cold Chain and Abattoirs. The milestones achieved in implementation of the schemes during 2015 are as under:

MEGA FOOD PARKS

·         The Scheme of Mega Food Park was launched to provide modern infrastructure for food processing units in the country on pre-identified cluster basis.

·         The scheme envisages financial assistance in the form of grant-in-aid @ 50% of the eligible project cost in general areas and @ 75% in difficult areas, subject to a maximum of Rs.50.00 crore per project.

·         Presently, 39 Mega Food Parks have been granted approval. Out of these, 5 Mega Food Parks have become operational and remaining are under implementation.

·         During the current year, 16 Mega Food Park projects have been given in-principle approval, 9 Mega Food Parks have accorded final approval and 1 project at Nalbari (Assam) has been made operational. 3 projects at Jangipur (West Bengal), Khargon (Madhya Pradesh) and Ranchi (Jharkhand) are likely to be operationalized by 31^st March, 2016.

·         It is expected that on an average, each project will have around 30-35 food processing units with a collective investment of Rs. 250 crores that would eventually lead to annual turnover of about Rs. 450-500 crores and creation of direct and indirect employment to the extent of about 30,000 persons.

Food Processing Fund at NABARD

·         To support the Mega Food Parks and the food processing units to be set up in such food parks by making available affordable credit, a Special Fund of Rs.2000 crore has been set up in National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) in 2014-15. This fund called ‘Food Processing Fund’ was operationalized with effect from 11.11.2014.  Loan at concessional rate of interest may be availed from this fund for establishing food parks and food processing units in the Designated Food parks.

·         So far, the Ministry has notified 148 food parks in which concessional credit can be availed by food processing units. A loan of Rs. 519.20 crore has been sanctioned to 12 Mega Food Projects.

Cold Chain Scheme

·         The Cold Chain Scheme was launched to provide integrated cold chain and preservation infrastructure facilities without any break, from the farm gate to the consumer.

·         The scheme envisages financial assistance in the form of grant-in-aid @ 50% of the total cost of plant and machinery and technical civil works in general areas and 75% for difficult areas subject to a maximum of Rs.10.00 crore.

·         Government has approved 138 cold chain projects during 2009-2015 which will create a capacity of 118 lakh LPD of milk processing, 4.76 lakh MT of cold storage, 119 MT/ hour of IQF and 810 number of reefer van. These include 30 new cold chain projects approved by this Ministry in May, 2015.

·         70 projects have become operational till December, 2015 and 68 projects are under implementation. The capacity created by 70 completed projects is 93.8395 lakh LPD of milk processing, 295933.1 MT of cold storage, 75.038 MT/ hour of IQF and 440 number of reefer vans. 

·         Of this, 19 cold chain projects have been completed during 2015 creating capacity of 10 lakh LPD of milk processing, 55820 MT of cold storage, 9.25 MT/ hour of IQF and 80 number of reefer vans. 

Modernisation/ Setting up of Abattoirs

·         Under the Scheme for Setting-up/Modernisation of Abattoirs, grant-in-aid is given to Local Bodies/Public Sector Undertakings etc. for establishment of modern abattoirs and modernisation of existing abattoirs.

·         The scheme envisaged grant-in-aid @50% of the project cost in general areas and 75% for North Eastern Region and difficult areas subject to a maximum of Rs.15.00 crore per abattoir.

·         Out of 40 approved projects, 5 Abattoirs have become operational which includes 1 (one) Abattoir project in Hyderabad completed this year. 1 project at Vishakhapatnam is likely to be completed shortly.

·         The Scheme has since been subsumed under NMFP w.e.f. 01/04/2014. NMFP has been delinked from Central Government support w.e.f. 2015-16 except for UTs.

Food Testing Laboratories

·         The Ministry is implementing a Scheme for Quality Assurance for setting up of Food Testing Laboratories.

·         The scheme envisages 100% grant-in-aid to Government agencies and 50% to Private Organisations / Universities for the cost of equipment and @25% of cost of Technical Civil Work and Furniture & Fixtures in general areas and higher grant @ 33% in difficult areas.

·         So far, 42 Food Testing Labs have been completed.

·         Presently, 40 Food Testing Labs are under implementation.

·         5 Food Testing Labs have been completed during current year.

Technology Up gradation Scheme

·         The Ministry is also processing the proposals of committed liabilities of 11^th Plan of Scheme of Technology Up gradation/ Modernization/ Establishment of Food Processing Industries.

·         During current year, 540 cases were approved amounting to Rs.95.33 crore.  Out of this, 173 cases are of 1^st installment amounting to Rs.32.87 crore and 367 cases are of 2^nd installment amounting to Rs.63.57 crore.

NIFTEM

·         National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM) located at Kundli, Haryana is an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Food Processing Industries. It has been accorded a deemed to be University under de-novo category on 08.05.2012.

·         NIFTEM imparts B.Tech, M.Tech, Ph.D courses and research work in food technology and engineering.

·         NIFTEM is also conducting Skill Development trainings and outreach programmes for the benefit of students, farmers and entrepreneurs. It has conducted 104 such programmes skilling 8469 persons. NIFTEM has trained 44 persons under the PMKVY scheme.

·         Their M. Tech. students are getting 100% placements in leading food processing industries and also doing commendable research.

·         NIFTEM has also initiated a unique initiative “Village adoption program” for linking rural entrepreneurs and farmers. In this programme students of B. Tech (Food Technology & Management) and M. Tech students are divided into groups of 10 to 12 students under the guidance of Faculty (Mentor) and adopt a village and nurse it during the entire programme of study. The groups go and stay in the village twice a year for about 10-12 days each time in each semester. This is a two way learning process where while villagers gain scientific and technical knowledge through students who promote future possibilities of food processing among them, students obtain firsthand experience of Indian rural scenario and understand traditional processing technologies adopted by the villagers.

·         So far, 9 visits have been accomplished under this programme covering 39 villages across 18 States.

·         Recognizing the efforts of Village Adoption Porgramme, NIFTEM was awarded the  Agriculture Leadership Award for the year 2015 in the area of promoting rural entrepreneurship in rural sector. The efforts of NIFTEM were assessed by a Committee headed by Dr M.S. Swaminathan, father of Indian Green Revolution. The Award ceremony was organized by Agriculture Today Group on 18.9.2015 in New Delhi. Dr Ajit Kumar, Hon’ble Vice Chancellor, received the award from the hands of Shri Rajnath Singh, Hon’ble Home Minister of India in the presence of Shri Kaptan Singh  Solanki, Hon’ble Governor of Haryana.

IICPT

·         The Indian Institute of Crop Processing Technology (IICPT) is a pioneer Research and Development and Educational Institution under the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Government of India. The Institute was upgraded as a national institute and called as Indian Institute of Crop Processing Technology. IICPT has now state of art facilities including NABL accredited Food Safety and Quality Testing Laboratory; ISO 9000, 14000 and 22000 Certified Food Processing Business Incubation cum- Training Centre; AICTE approved Teaching Laboratories and Research Laboratories.

·               IICPT’s Academic programmes are affiliated to Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU). Current year intake: 46, 10, and 4 in B.Tech., M.Tech. and Ph.D. in Food Process Engineering, respectively and 10 in M.Tech. in Food Science and Technology.

·               At present, IICPT has developed and commercialized 28 technologies (eg. idli dry mix to Supreme Power Food Products, SSR Products and others).

·               25 gadgets and 6 technologies are ready for commercialization.

·                The Institute has filed for 15 patents.

·         IICPT has conducted over 293 skill development programmes during the past year, for over 4122 beneficiaries. Out of these, 17 have established their own industries and 51 have secured industry-based jobs (especially after the programme).

·         The institute is affiliated to Food Industry Capacity and Skill Initiative (FICSI) as a Training Provider under PMKVY.

·         Training on modern techniques for rice quality analysis for 400 QC officers of Tamil Nadu Civil Supply Corporation (TNCSC), at Food Safety and Quality Testing Laboratory.

·            IICPT has a FSSAI referral laboratory for food sample testing and analysis.

·            Food testing services utilized and benefited by 921 beneficiaries.

·            Mobile Food Testing Laboratory inaugurated by Hon’ble Minister of State, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti and has been taken to the field (across different parts of the state) for demonstrations and popularization.

·         IICPT is doing consultancy services for nutritional labeling, shelf-life studies and food quality analysis for 2 industries, technical guidelines for establishment of Modern Rice Mills for 3 beneficiaries, guidelines for improvements in rice milling systems for > 10 beneficiaries, and has provided technical solutions to existing problems in various other food industries.

·         A Regional Center of IICPT has been established at Guwahati, Assam. During the current year 2015, 36 skill training programmes for 482 beneficiaries were organized there.  

Skill Development

·         The Ministry is associating with the Sector Skill Council i.e., Food Industry Capacity & Skill Initiatives (FICSI) in taking forward skill development in Food Processing Sector.

·         So far, FICSI has developed 52 draft Qualification Packs (QPs) for food processing industry out of which 27 QPs are approved by QRC (Qualification Review Committee).

·         Skill development programme has been launched in 30 Centres across 11 States of the country on 4^th September, 2015.  So far, 12182 persons have been enrolled for training and 124 training centres have been affiliated in 25 States.

·          On Ministry’s initiative a module on entrepreneurship has been added in all trainings to make them more meaningful and result oriented.  Course curriculum for these QPs is being developed by NIFTEM to ensure quality and standardized content which is also being shared with all States and Universities.

Research and Development

·      List of R&D research projects/ findings have been uploaded on the Ministry’s website for better dissemination, commercial adoption and use by the farmer & entrepreneur.

·      An R&D portal is in the process of being set up at NIFTEM to disseminate the outcome of the R&D projects assisted by the Ministry and catalogue all research in the food processing sector in the country.

  

·      All the Vice Chancellors of State Agricultural Universities, State governments have been requested to take up R&D projects which are farmer centric so that the findings are available with the stakeholders.  They have also been requested to disseminate the information available in MoFPI website and also to submit their research findings for uploading on Ministry’s website and R&D portal.

Investors’ Portal

·         An Investors’ Portal has been developed by the Ministry with the intention to disseminate information on the state-specific resource potential, policy support and fiscal incentives offered to investors in food processing sector.  The investors, both domestic & foreign, can also seek guidance on specific issues by using information available on the portal.

Food Maps

·         Surplus and deficient areas of various agricultural and horticultural produce in the country have been identified. It will help in planning processing clusters by means of setting up suitable facilities in different parts of the country. The map is available on the website of the Ministry.

            Exemption From Service Tax

·         At the behest of the Ministry the services of pre-conditioning, pre-cooling, ripening, waxing, retail packing, labeling of fruits & vegetables have been exempted from Service Tax w.e.f. 01/04/2015.

Priority Sector Lending

·         At the behest of the Ministry Reserve Bank of India has issued  guidelines dated 23.04.2015,for bank loans to food and agro processing units to form part of Agriculture for Priority Sector Lending (PSL) subject to aggregate sanction limit of Rs. 100 crore per borrower. It will ensure greater flow of credit to entrepreneurs for setting up of food processing units and attract investment in the sector.

YEAR-END REVIEW 2015:AYUSH

1st INTERNATIONAL DAY OF YOGA celebrated, Two Guinness World Records achieved

Agreements signed with several countries for promoting Traditional Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy

Seven National Level Arogya Fairs organised this year to promote awareness & showcase developments in AYUSH Systems

Ministry of AYUSH receives ISO 9001:2008 Certificate for Quality Management System

       YEAR-END REVIEW 2015

The Ministry of AYUSH, in its 1^st year of inception, made long strides in the direction of providing reliable and economic alternative healthcare facilities to the Indian masses.

The Department of AYUSH under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare was upgraded to a full-fledged Ministry of AYUSH on 9^th November, 2014 with an aim of stepping up education and research in Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy and expanding the reach of these medical systems in public. 

In a little more than one year, the Ministry has taken up a large number of programs to popularise AYUSH medical systems. During 2015, the first ever State Health/ AYUSH Ministers Meeting was organised. Memorandums of Understanding for international cooperation in the field of AYUSH were signed with many countries. Ministry of AYUSH through Ministry of Culture filed nomination to inscribe Yoga as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity under UNESCO. But the most glittering event of the year was the 1^st International Day of Yoga Celebrations in which two Guinness World Records were achieved.

Following are the significant achievements and details of the important activities of ministry of AYUSH during the year 2015:

​

CELEBRATION OF 1^st INTERNATIONAL DAY OF YOGA

The Ministry of AYUSH successfully celebrated 1^st International Day of Yoga on 21st June, 2015 at Rajpath, New Delhi. Two Guinness World Records were achieved- the Largest Yoga Lesson involving 35,985 participants and Maximum number of Nationalities (84) participated in a single yoga lesson.

Two days’ International Conference on “Yoga for Holistic Health” was organised on 21^st and 22^nd June, 2015 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, wherein, about 1300 delegates from India and abroad participated.

Central Council for Research in Yoga and Naturopathy (CCRYN) extended financial assistance of Rs. 1.00 Lakh each to Government Organizations/NGOs in all the Districts of the country to conduct one month Yoga Camp as also for celebrations of International Day of Yoga on 21st June, 2015. For celebration of 1st International Day of Yoga in Delhi & NCR, free Yoga Camps were organized from 21.05.2015 to 21.06.2015 at 100 places by engaging Yoga Instructors. As per the information received from institutions, approx. 10 lakh people attended these Yoga programmes.

Outside India, the 1st International Day of Yoga was celebrated in all the Countries of the world (except war torn Yemen) by the Ministry of External Affairs in association with Ministry of AYUSH and various Yoga organizations.

v     OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS IN YOGA

Ø      Ministry of AYUSH through Ministry of Culture has filed nomination to inscribe Yoga as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity under UNESCO.

Ø      For imparting Yoga Training to Uniformed Service Personnel, Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga (MDNIY), an autonomous body under this Ministry had started from 1st January, 2015 at its premises, a three and half  months duration course titled as ‘Certificate Course in Yoga Science’ for Para-Military Personnel.

Ø      A Central Sector Scheme titled as “Yoga Training for Police Personnel” formulated by the Ministry of AYUSH has been launched w.e.f. 1st April, 2015 in all the Districts of the Country.

Ø      Ministry of AYUSH has supported DoPT to start Yoga training programme for Central Government Employees and their family members in 40 Griha Kalyana Kendras across the Country. MDNIY has provided the Yoga instruction and technical support.

Ø      A Samarpan Dhyan Yoga Shivir was organized at the premises of MDNIY in association with Yoga Prabha Bharti (Sewa Sanstha) Trust, Mumbai from 27^th April, 2015 to 04^th May, 2015 exclusively for the Parliamentarians and their families. The Shivir was inaugurated by Smt. Sumitra Mahajan, Hon’ble Speaker, Lok Sabha. The camp was attended by many Parliamentarians & their families, VIPs and Senior Officers of Government of India.

Ø      Quality Control of India, at the behest of Ministry of AYUSH, has developed a Scheme for Voluntary Certification of Yoga Professionals. The focus of the scheme is to certify the competence of Yoga professionals providing Yoga lessons/classes as Teachers or by any other nomenclature. Scope of Certification has been categorized as-

a) Level-1 – Yoga Teacher Certification

b) Level -2 – Yoga Master Certification

c) Level- 3 – Yoga Guru Certification.

The Level-1 Certification programme has been launched on 22nd June, 2015 on the occasion of International Day of Yoga.

STATE HEALTH/AYUSH MINISTERS’ MEETING

The Ministry of AYUSH convened the first ever State Health/AYUSH Ministers Meeting on 20^th February 2015 for one full day at New Delhi, specifically focusing on various issues related to AYUSH sector including National AYUSH Mission. Ministers in charge of AYUSH/ Health from 10 State Govts./UTs took part in the meeting. 

Shri Shripad Yesso Naik, in his address emphasized upon the need to strengthen the quality of ASU & H drugs. He said that a focused thrust on growth, development and monitoring of AYUSH and improvement in quality of education is the need of the hour.

NATIONAL AYUSH MISSION

The National AYUSH Mission (NAM) is a turning point as it envisages better access to AYUSH services through increase in number of AYUSH Hospitals and Dispensaries, mainstreaming of AYUSH through co-location of AYUSH facilities at Primary Health Centres (PHCs), Community Health Centres (CHCs) and District Hospitals (DHs), ensure availability of AYUSH drugs and trained manpower. It also aims at Improvement in quality of AYUSH Education through enhancement in the number of upgraded educational Institutions, sustained availability of Quality Raw materials and improved availability of quality Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Homoeopathy (ASU &H) drugs through increase in number of Pharmacies, setting up of Drug Laboratories in the States which are responsible for enforcement mechanism of ASU &H drugs.

Under the NAM, there is a sub-component of AYUSH Gram wherein one village per block is selected for adoption of method and practice of AYUSH way of life and interventions of health care. In AYUSH village, AYUSH based lifestyles are promoted.

After the Ministry of AYUSH was formed, Rs. 183.77 Crores has been released to 25 States/UTs against their submitted State Annual Action Plan (SAAP) under National AYUSH Mission for the year 2014-15. Further, expanding the National AYUSH Mission to more States/UTs during the year 2015-16, State Annual Action Plans (SAAPs) from 33 States/UTs has been approved by the Mission Directorate and Rs.165.27 Crores has been released to 18 States/UTs up to November, 2015.

INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

Ø   For global promotion and popularization of AYUSH systems of Medicine and Yoga, several steps have been taken by the Ministry. In the 8th Ministerial Meeting of India-US Trade Policy Forum held on 25th November, 2014, the Joint statement on the Trade policy forum was issued, wherein the United States agreed to facilitate further engagement in this field between the experts of both countries. As a result of this, bilateral dialogue with US Embassy Officials was initiated in a structured manner.

The  Joint Statement was issued during the visit of President of USA to India from 25-27 January, 2015 ‘sanjha prayas- sabka vikas’, Shared Effort- Progress for All  addressed the issue of Traditional Medicine stating that the Prime Minister and the President agreed to expand the India-U.S. Health Initiative into a Healthcare Dialogue with relevant stakeholders to further strengthen bilateral collaboration in health sectors including through capacity building initiatives and by exploring new areas, including complementary and traditional medicine. The President and the Prime Minister pledged to encourage dialogue between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and its Indian counterparts on traditional medicine. The Leaders also pledged to strengthen collaboration, dialogue, and cooperation between the regulatory authorities of the two countries to ensure safety, efficacy, and quality of pharmaceuticals, including generic medicines.

An India-US Health Dialogue held in September, 2015 had a separate working group on AYUSH where it was agreed to collaborate in the area of Traditional medicine in a structured manner.

Ø   An India-Canada Joint Statement: “New Vigour, New Steps” was issued on 15th April, 2015 in which mentions that “In the interest of public health and recognizing the need to strengthen bilateral engagement and exchange information in the areas of safety, efficacy, and quality of therapeutic products, including cellular therapy products, as well as on traditional medicines, the Prime Ministers agreed to establish a dialogue between relevant federal departments of the two countries in order to facilitate cooperation”. 

Ø   Unani Academic Chair established at the University of Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa was extended for one year on the recommendation of University and Indian Mission at South Africa.

Ø   A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation in the field of Traditional Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy was signed on 11thMarch, 2015 between the Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India and the Ministry of Health and Quality of Life, Government of Mauritius.

Ø   A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation in the field of Traditional Systems of Medicine and Homoeopathy was signed on 17th May, 2015 between the Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India and the Government of Mongolia.

Ø   A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation in Yoga and Traditional Medicine was signed on 11th July 2015 between the Government India and the Government of Turkmenistan.

Ø   A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation in the field of Research and Education in Homoeopathic Medicine was signed on 11th November, 2015 between the Central Council of Research in Homoeopathy, Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India and Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine (RLHIM).

Ø   A Letter of Intent for cooperation in the field of Ayurveda was signed on 9th April, 2015 between Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS) and University of Strasbourg, France.

Ø   A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the establishment of Academic Chair in Ayurveda was signed on 29thJune, 2015 between the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India and Rangsit University, Thailand.

Ø   A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the establishment of Academic Chair in Ayurveda was signed on 4th November, 2015 between the Central Council for Research in AyurvedicSciences (CCRAS), Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India and UdayanaUniversity, Bali, Indonesia.

Ø   A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the visiting professor of Ayurveda was signed in November 2015 between the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India and University of Primorska, the Government of Slovenia.

Ø   The Ministry of AYUSH has set up an AYUSH Information Cell to disseminate authentic information about AYUSH Systems of Medicine in the premises of Indian Consulate at Dubai. It was inaugurated on 21st June, 2015 on the occasion of celebration of International Day of Yoga.

Ø   The Ministry of AYUSH has set up an AYUSH Information Cell in the premises of Embassy of Indian Zagreb, Croatia in August, 2015 to disseminate authentic information about AYUSH Systems.

Ø   A request was received from US Embassy Charge‘d Affaires, Ambassador Embassy in New Delhi for arranging a visit for Kathleen Stephens and her team to faculty of Ayurveda in Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi. On 26th December, 2014 the US team along with Ministry representative visited the facilities relating to Ksharsutra and Drayaguna at BHU which helped to push forward further cooperation. This was followed by visit of US Embassy officials to explore collaboration in the area of Ksharasutra.

INFORMATION, EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION

The Ministry produced and telecast 10 episodes of an interactive TV Programme “AYUSHMAN BHARAT” through Doordarshan in Hindi (one) and its 9 Regional Kendras in regional languages from April to June, 2015. The programme was repeat telecast from 26 Regional Kendras of Doordarshan all over the Country.

A tableau was presented by the Ministry in the Republic Day Parade at Rajpath on 26th January 2015 on the theme “ÄYUSH for Holistic Health.”

The Ministry organized Seven National Level Arogya Fairs at Bangalore, Guwahati, Raipur, Jaipur, Bhubneshwar,  Thiruvananthpuram & Varanasi and Six State Level Arogya Fairs at Gandhinagar, Panchkula, Chandigarh, Goa, Manipur & Mizoram in collaboration with the State Governments and the collaborative partners like FICCI, ICC, CII, & World Ayurveda Foundation. The fairs aim to create awareness among the members of the public about the efficiency of the AYUSH System, their cost effectiveness and the availability of herbs and plants used for prevention and treatment of common ailments at their door steps through various mass media channels to achieve the objective of health for all

A Seminar on role of AYUSH in Cancer Care was organized on World Cancer Day on 4th February, 2015.

The e-book of the Ministry was launched on 5th January,2015.

v     ACHIEVEMENT IN RESEARCH ACTIVITIES

A pilot project on ‘Homoeopathy for Healthy Child’ for health promotion and treatment of common diseases among children has been launched in six districts, viz., Gautam Buddha Nagar (UP), Gorakhpur (UP), Palgarh (Maharashtra), Delhi, Kamrup (Assam) and Cuttack (Odisha).

Integration of Homoeopathy, Ayurveda and Unani in National Program for Prevention and Control of cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and stroke (NPCDCS) program in 6 selected districts approved by Directorate General of Health Services. Besides this    Central Research Institute of Yoga and Naturopathy has been made functional at Delhi with OPD activities.

The Ministry has launched Swasthya Rakshan Programme through Research Councils, National Institutes and ASU&H Colleges (through CCIM and CCH) to start OPDs in five nearby villages or urban localities and link it with Swachh Bharat Mission.

Dr. D. P. Rastogi Central Research Institute of Homoeopathy, Noida was inaugurated by Hon’ble Minister of State (Independent charge), Ministry of AYUSH on 7th October, 2015.

An Occupational therapy and Rehabilitation Center has been inaugurated on 10^th January 2015 at Central Research Institute (H), Project on Ayurgenomics has been initiated by CCRAS and CCRUM has successfully organized a National Seminar on Non-communicable diseases on 14th – 15th January, 2015 in New Delhi.

A literary Research Institute of Unani Medicine has been made operational at Jamia Milia Islamia, Delhi with OPD activities.  Foundation stone of new Hospital block was also laid and Biomedical Laboratory with Guest House facility was inaugurated at Central Research Institute of Unani Medicine, Hyderabad.

Foundation stone has been laid for the construction of Research Institute of Homoeopathy and Unani under the Central Council for Research in Homoeopathy (CCRH) and Central Council for Research in Unani Medicine (CCRUM) respectively at Kharghar, Navi Mumbai in Maharashtra.

EDUCATION

As against 334 Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani (ASU) Colleges in 2014-15, there are 352 ASU Colleges as on November, 2015 and as against 191 Homoeopathic Colleges in 2014-15, there are 197 Homoeopathic Colleges as on November, 2015. The Indian Medicine Central Council, Post-graduate Diploma Course in Siddha and Post-graduate Diploma Course in Unani Medicine have been notified. Besides this the Homeopathy (Degree Course) Amendment Regulations, 2015 has also been notified.

The Government has approved setting up of (i) All India Institute Ayurveda at SaritaVihar, New Delhi to conduct Post-graduate and Ph.D. courses in Ayurveda and (ii) North Eastern Institute of Ayurveda and Homeopathy at Shillong in Meghalaya to conduct Under-graduate, Post-graduate, Doctoral and Post-doctoral courses both in Ayurveda and Homoeopathy.

  

OTHER ACTIVITIES/ACHIEVEMENTS

Pharmacopoeial monographs on single drugs and compound formulations of Ayurvedic System of Medicine-Ayurveda (33), Unani (29), Siddha (19) and Homoeopathy (15) have been developed. In addition to that Hormonisation of 20 monographs has been completed.  

Revised Scheme on “Central Sector Scheme for Conservation Development and Sustainable Management of Medicinal Plants” involving total outlay of Rs. 450.00 crore has been approved for the current Plan.

A detailed study-cum-survey to assess the Demand & Supply of Medicinal Plants in India- in the National Perspective as well as in respect of the International Market has been commissioned by the Ministry.

The Ministry of AYUSH has been conferred with the ISO 9001:2008 Certificate for applying Quality Management System for “Provision of Policy Formulation, Development and Implementation of Programmes for the Propagation & Growth  of Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha & Homeopathy” The Certificate has been issued by TUV India Pvt. Ltd. Indian operations of a German Firm, TUV Nord Group, appointed by the Quality Council of India, which is the nodal organization for ISO 9001:2008 Certification. This Certification has placed Ministry of AYUSH in a unique position enjoyed by only a few Ministries/Departments of Government of India, which are ISO 9001:2008 certified. The ISO 9001:2008 certification is an international standard that defines good   management practices. The certification aims at providing a global standard that spells out quality and tru