| Annual
Report 2007-2008 Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Research Programme The
Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Research Programme (DPRP) was initiated in 1994-95 for
promoting Industry-Institutional collaboration in drug and pharmaceuticals sector.
This programme aims at enhancing capabilities of institutions and the Indian Drugs
& Pharmaceuticals Industry towards development of New Drugs in all systems
of medicine. The specific objectives of this scheme are: - To synergize
the strengths of publicly funded R&D institutions and Indian Pharmaceutical
Industry in developing drugs in areas of national relevance;
- To create
an enabling infrastructure, mechanisms and linkages to facilitate new drug development;
and
- To stimulate skill development of human resources in R&D for
drugs and pharmaceuticals.
Achievements
The following are the new collaborative R&D
projects which have been funded during the year: - In-vivo standardization
of a Siddha Herbal formula for Obesity among SASTRA University, Thanjavur/ Tulsi
Ayurvedic Pvt. Ltd.
The Pharma Industry
loan R&D projects - Discovery and Development of Novel Inhibitors
of Undecaprenyl pyrophosphate Synthase (UppS) to Chembiotek Research International
Pvt. Ltd., Kolkata
- To develop an efficient, cost effective and commercial
process for co-enzyme Q10 from solanesol to M/ s Innovassynth Technologies (I)
Ltd., Mumbai
- A novel phosphodiesterase-4B inhibitor for Chronic Obstructive
Pulmonary Disease to M/s Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd., Gurgaon
- TRC4186:
Novel agents for treatment of diabetes and aging related vascular complications
to M/s Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Ahmedabad
- Development of Therapeutic
Vaccine for Pancreatic Cancer to M/s Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Ahmedabad
- Clinical
development of prioritized drug candidate through Phase-C to M/s Indigene Pharmaceuticals
Ltd., Hyderabad
- Development of new drug delivery systems to administer
Recombinant Human Para Thyroid Hormone (rhPTH (1-34)) for the treatment of osteoporosis
to M/s Virchow Biotech Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad
National
Facilities Supported - Setting up of a National Bio-safety Level
4 (BSL4) facility for infectious diseases caused by dangerous micro organisms
to CCMB, Hyderabad
Agreements Signed So
far, during 2007-08, fourteen MOUs have been finalized between DST, Pharma industry
and collaborating research institutes such as Jadavpur University, Kolkata; Indian
Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata; SASTRA University Thanjavur; Viswa Bharati,
Shantiniketan; Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad; Promed Exports
Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi; Lupin Ltd., Pune; Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd., Gurgaon; Innovassynth
Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai; Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Ahmedabad; Torrent
Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Ahmedabad; Indigene Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Hyderabad; and
Virchow Biotech Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad. EFC Meetings
EFC meeting of the project titled “A national Biosafety Level
4 (BSL-4) facility for infectious diseases caused by dangerous microorganisms”
at Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad was held. Interaction
Meets, conferences & Workshops Support was provided for
organizing several interaction meets between Academia and Industries involved
in R&D and products development in Natural Products and Modern System of medicine.
These are as follows: - Industry-Institution-Interaction session
on Drugs & Pharma R&D during the symposium titled “Bioresources in the
Development of Medicine” by IABMS during 20-22 Sept., 2007 at Bharathidasan University,
Tiruchirappalli
- Industry-academia-interaction on the occasion of the
conference on “Contemporary issue and future challenges in drug development during
5-7 October, 2007 at Seth G.S. Medical College & KEM Hospital, Mumbai
- Industry-Academia-Interaction
Symposium on Drug Discovery and Development on the occasion of 40th Annual Conference
of Indian Pharmacological Society (IPS) at NIPER, Chandigarh
- 3rd International
Symposium on Current Trends in Drug Discovery Research during Feb.17-21, 2007
at CDRI, Lucknow
- Workshop on Bioinformatics during 16-19 December, 2007
organized by University of Hyderabad, Hyderabad
- Expanding domain of medicinal
mineralogy in the ancient Indian System of Medicine with special reference to
the development of mineralo-herbal drugs during 27-29 Sept., 2007 at Karnataka
University, Dharward
- 3rd Medical Development Congress being organized
by ICMR on the theme of Can Traditional Wisdom be Super Modern during 15-16 September,
2007 at ICMR, New Delhi
- Two day's National Conference entitled “Development
of Healthy and prosperous Society by using traditional Knowledge” held on the
November 29-30, 2007 at CIMAP, Lucknow.
- 2 day's seminar entitled “ Novel
tools of Nanotechnology , Material Science and Geological techniques in standardization
of Ayurvedic Bhasmas” held at Prof. S. N. Tripathi Memorial Foundation, Varanasi
during December, 28-29, 2007 .
Participation
in Exhibitions Participated in the following exhibitions:
- International Exhibition “Bangalore Bio-2007” organized by MM ACTIV,
Bangalore at International Exhibition Centre, Bangalore during June 7-9, 2007.
- International Exhibition entitled “ChemTechPharma World Expo-2007” at
Mumbai during February 610, 2007 at Bombay Exhibition Centre, NSE Complex,
Mumbai organized by Corporate Affairs, Chemtech Secretariat, Mumbai.
- Exhibition
entitled “PHARMA EXPO-2007” held between November 1-3, 2007 along with “ Pharma
Summit 2007 ” organized by CII, Mumbai at MRDA Grounds, Bandra Kurla Complex,
Bandra (East), Mumbai.
Monitoring Committee Meetings
Monitoring Committee meetings were organised for various projects
including Synthesis and scale-up of new chemical entities (NCEs) as anti-fungal
agents; Lead optimization and development of new orally active anti-malarial perodixes;
Development of quality controlled plant based formulation in the treatment of
dementia and its validation with reference to its safety and efficacy; Development
of a quality herbal formulation (R06A) and its scientific validation for the management
of renal calculi; Enhancement of Benzaldehyde Biotransformation; Development of
new generation therapeutic & prophylactic hepatitis B vaccines; Evaluation
of Tuftsin-bearing polyene nanoparticles in combating some systemic murine fungal
infections; Development of a clinically proven and process development of a commercially
viable manufacturing process of monoclonal tetanus immunoglobulin (mTIG) expressed
in recombinant Chinese Hamster Ovary (CHO) cell line; Development of a commercially
viable manufacturing process for the manufacture of clinically proven: (i) Monoclonal
anti-D Immunoglobulin (h-m-AntiD), using human hybridoma, indicated for use in
Hemolytic Disease of the Newborn (HDN) – Phase A (ii) Recombinant Monoclonal Anti-D
immunoglobulin (r-m-AntiD) expressed in CHO cells, indicated for use in Idiopathic
Thrombocytopenic Purpura (ITP) cases-Phase B; Research and development of a second
generation inactivated vaccine against Japanese Encephalitis Virus (JEV) infections;
Development of a tetravalent dengue vaccine by using a combination of 30 deletion
mutant and chemeric constructs of DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3 and DEN4 viruses against
dengue virus infection; Scientific evaluation of safety and efficacy profile of
an Ayurvedic Herbal Formulation (R05) in the management of Diabetes Mellitus;
Scientific evaluation of safety and efficacy profile of an Ayurvedic Herbal Formulation
(AR7) in the management of rheumatoid arthritis; New antiarthritic compounds synthesis
and screening; Synthesis of new chemical entities based on polyketide – derived
macrocyclic structures and their amide-linked analogues using sugar amino acids
and related building blocks and evaluation of their anti-microbial and other biological
properties; Synthesis and evaluation of novel cephalosporins as anti-bacterial
agents; Development of Herbomineral and Plant based disease oriented immunomodulatory
formulation; Formulation development, stability studies, pre-clinical and clinical
studies of anti-cataract eye drops for applying the technology and innovation
in effective prevention and treatment of cataract; Development of Drugs for the
Medical Therapy of Glaucoma using Natural Products; RNAi approach for Gene Silencing
of HIV-1 (The SyneRgy project); Development and commercialization of prioritized
leads in metabolic and respiratory disorders; Development of new anti-amoebic;
Evaluation of the toxicity and anti-Leishmanial efficacy of liposomal Amphotericin
B (Kalsome) in mouse model; Setting up of State-of-the-art production and distribution
of organic chemicals & reagents for Drug Discovery; Development of recombinant
human parathyroid hormone (rhPTH) for the treatment of osteoporosis; Production
of para-hydroxy phenyl Glycine (PHPG) using Hydantoinase and Carbamoylase enzymes
clone E.coli; C-Phycocyanin in COX-2 inhibition and diagnostics; National Facility
for Regulatory Pharmacology and Toxicology at CDRI Lucknow; Epidermal Growth Factor
– Development of Novel Therapeutic Interventions; Development and standardization
of herbal antimalarial drug; and Development of botanical immunomodulators as
adjuvants for improving vaccine efficacy. Under the projects
sanctioned in this programme, several product & process patents have been
filed, several new molecules have been facilitated for generating pre-clinical
toxicological, clinical Phase-I, II, III data needed by the regulatory authority,
Pharma Industry/Institutions and also in the scientific validation and standardization
of Indian Systems of Medicine. The programme has enabled the training of few hundreds
of young scholars in handling high profile R&D projects and generated competent
manpower for pharma industry and institutions. Science
and Technology Advisory Committee (STAC) The Department of
Science and Technology has played a catalytic role in initiating the STAC mechanism
in 24 socio-economic ministries. The Inter-Sectoral Science & Technology Advisory
Committee (IS-STAC) was set up to provide a forum for the Member Secretaries of
STACs, other scientists and technologists to share the expertise and experience
and provide additional tools in decision making process vis-à-vis socioeconomic
development. During the course of IX plan the concept of Joint
Technology Projects with other socio-economic ministries was introduced under
which emphasis was laid upon the identification and initiation of a few specific
projects of joint interest with the participation of user ministries, academic
institutions and industry as well. Under initiative like Joint Technology Project
with Ministry of Mines, the project entitled “Simulation Assisted Process for
making Aluminium Metal Foam through Liquid Metallurgy Route” was successfully
completed by Regional Research Laboratory, Bhopal. This joint technology project
has demonstrated the commercial viability of the process of making aluminium metal
foam which has various applications in defense and medical fields besides cold
storage application. Joint Technology Projects
under STAC/IS-STAC: Under the above mentioned plan scheme,
the following new joint technology projects were initiated:
i) Under
the National Helium Conservation Program the Phase-III of the project “Monitoring
of Geo chemical Precursory Signals for Seismic Events” which is being implemented
jointly with University of Kashmir by Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP),
Kolkata the Helium Monitoring Laboratory has been established at Tattapani (J&K)
and it has been connected online with Central Helium Laboratory at Saha Institute
of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata
(ii) Under the National Helium Conservation
Program the Phase-III of the project “Monitoring of Geochemical Precursory
Signals for Seismic Events at Andman Nicobar Island and Establishment of 3 rd
Helium Monitoring Laboratory at A&N Islands”, the specific Site at Baratang
Mud Volcano in Middle Andmans has been identified and the arrangements are being
made to establish the Helium Monitoring Laboratory. This laboratory will be linked
online with the Central Helium Monitoring Lab at SINP, Kolkata
(iii)
Under the National Helium Conservation Program of DST the joint technology project
“Extraction of Helium from Natural Gas and Establishment of Pilot Plant” which
is being implemented jointly by SINP, Kolkata and ONGC, it is envisaged that Pilot
Plant will be erected and commissioned so as to produce Grade-A Helium 99.995%
purity level from Natural Gas available at Kuthalam oil fields of ONGC by 31.01.2008.
(iv) A study entitled “Identification of Deep Under Ground
Aquifers and their suitability for Carbon Dioxide Sequestration” was successfully
completed which established a data base for future references for researchers
and planners. (v) A joint technology project with Ministry
of Steel entitled “Creation of Steel Technology Center at IIT, Kharagpur” has
been approved. (vi) A joint technology project with Ministry
of Shipping entitled “Control of Balllast Water Problem in Ships through Design
Development” is being implemented by Department of Ocean Engineering & Naval
Architecture, IIT, Kharagpur. National Program on Carbon
Sequestration (NPCS) Research National Program on Carbon Sequestration
Research was initiated so as to compete with other countries in this emerging
and strategic area from perspective of pure/applied research and its industrial
applications in the important sectors of economy such as Power (especially power
generation), Coal Mining & Utilization (CBM Projects), Carbon Capture &
Storage Technologies etc. Around 40 odd proposals were received
which were discussed in the meetings of the Expert Group on 17 th July, 2007 and
14 th September, 2007 and Inter-Ministerial Committee on the Programme on 18 th
October 2007. As per the deliberations of these meetings four thrust areas of
research were identified viz. I. CO 2 Sequestration through Micro algae Bio-fixation
Techniques; II. Carbon Capture Process Development; III. Policy development Studies;
and (iv) Network Terrestrial Agro-forestry Sequestration Modeling. As per the
recommendations the following projects were approved: I.
CO 2 Sequestration through Micro algae Bio-fixation Techniques - CO
2 Sequestration through culture of medicinally useful micro-algae in photo-bio-reactors
linked to gas outlets of industries – Department of Botany, Andhra University.
- Experimental and Stimulation Studies on Bio-fixation of
CO 2 by micro-algae – Center for Energy & Environment Science and Technology
(CEESAT), National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirapalli.
- Pilot
Bio-reactor using biological and chemical carbon dioxide sequestration – National
Institute of Environmental Engineering (NEERI), Nagpur.
- Modeling
& Simulation of Caqrbon Recycling Technology through conversion of CO 2 in
flue gas into useful multi-purpose fuel – Rajeev Gandhi Technological University,
Bhopal.
II. Carbon Capture Process Development
and III. Policy development Studies - Development of Carbon
Composite Materials – Indian Institute of Chemical Technology, Hyderabad.
- Development
and characterization of porous solid adsorbents – National Chemical Laboratory,
Pune.
- Sequestration of CO 2 into Gas Hydrates – Laboratory
Studies: National Geophysical Research Institute, Hyderabad.
- Preliminary
interactions to be made on laboratory results in Phase-I of projects at (a) &
(b) – Indian Institute of Petroleum, Dehradun.
Interaction
with other Ministries Ministry of Mines The
36 th meeting of Standing Scientific Advisory Group (SSAG), Ministry of Mines
was held in Ministry of Coal on 1 st August, 2007 under the Chairmanship of Secretary,
Mines. The meeting was attended by Member Secretary (IS-STAC). The SSAG approved
two new projects viz. Characterization, Beneficiation and Utility studies of some
Graphite deposits from Arunachal Pradesh – Regional Research Laboratory, Jorhat;
and Preparation of Strontium Hexa Ferrite Powers from Celesite Ore and Blue Dust
– Thapar Institute of Engineering & Technology, Patiala. In
addition, Project Evaluation & Review Committee (PERC) has been constituted
to review ongoing project as well as new projects submitted to SSAG for financial
support. SSAG was apprised about the current status of the Joint Technology Project
among DST, DRDO and Min. of Mines viz. National Facility for Semi Solid Forming
implemented by Indian Institute of Science (IISc.), Bangalore which has been successfully
completed on 31.07.2007. Modalities for sustenance of this R&D facility were
worked out to facilitate further research in this area as well as technology transfer
to industry. DST has also supported another project entitled “Determination of
Parameters for Semi Solid Processing of Aluminium Billets”. Ministry
of Steel The 18 th meeting of Empowered Committee (EC), Ministry
of Steel was convened on 14 th August, 2007 under the chairmanship of Secretary,
Steel. The meting was attended by Member Secretary (IS-STAC). The following important
new joint technology projects were discussed and decisions taken: Ministry
of Environment & Forests IS-STAC secretariat participated
in the meetings of the National Clean Development Mechanism Authority (NCDMA)
and XXXIII meeting of the Empowered Steering Committee on Montreal Protocol held
in MoEF. Participation in other STAC Meetings/Workshops IS-STAC
secretariat participated in many national/international meetings/ workshops.
Technology Development
Board The Government of India constituted the Technology Development
Board (TDB) in September 1996, under the provisions of the Technology Development
Board Act, 1995. The mandate of the TDB is to provide financial
assistance to the industrial concerns and other agencies attempting development
and commercial application of indigenous technology or adapting imported technology
for wider domestic application. The financial assistance from
TDB is available in the form of loan or equity; in exceptional cases, it may be
grant. The loan assistance is provided up to 50 percent of the approved project
cost and carries 5 percent simple rate of interest per annum. In the alternative,
TDB may also subscribe by way of equity capital in a company, subject to maximum
up to 25 percent of the approved project cost. The financial assistance is provided
during the commencement, start-up or growth stages of an industrial concern. Major
Achievements In the recent past TDB has provided financial
support to commercialise following innovative technologies:- Production
of Lutein, dietary source of vitamin A from marigold flowers M/s.
Omni Active Health Technologies Private Ltd., Mumbai, was provided financial assistance
from TDB for commercialization of the technology for extraction and encapsulation
of Lutein products from marigold flowers. Lutein, a main dietary source of vitamin
A in humans, is an important dietary nutrient with beneficial and protective effects
on eye, blood serum, skin and cardiovascular health. Omni Active started manufacturing
Lutein under its own brand name Lutemax and is supplying to certain overseas customers
to develop the market. The company has obtained US patent for the technology and
the product. Information Life cycle management software
M/s. Solix Technologies Limited, Secunderabad developed a
unique method of archiving data, which is named as ARCHIVEjinni. It covers wide
area of enterprise applications, e-mail and documents, packages such as SAP, People
Soft, Oracle and also customized solutions. It offers integrated and comprehensive
web based solution for managing data across all data segments (Applications, E-mail,
Documents) for wide range of ERP / Applications packages. Detonation
Spray Coating of Engineering Components M/s. SVX Powder M
Surface Engineering Pvt. Ltd., Greater Noida has Commercialized Detonation Spray
Coating Technology, developed and transferred by ARCI, Hyderabad. They have successfully
developed coating for Rotor Shafts of Vertical Displacement Pumps, which is used
for carrying Ceramic and other abrasive slurries. This improvement will increase
the life of the components many fold. DSC will be used for various coating applications
in Power Plants, steel plants and other engineering industries. It is acting as
major import substitute. Biologicals API manufacturing
facility M/s Zenotech Laboratories Ltd., Hyderabad, established
a state of the art US FDA approved API manufacturing facility and the general
formulations facility. The company has launched two generic biological drugs,
recombinant human G-CSF (NugrafTM) and recombinant human GM-CSF (MacrogenTM).
NugrafTM is supplied as pre-filled syringes of 0.5ml, of 30MioU strength. It is
indicated in the treatment of neutropenia and in neutropenia-related clinical
sequelae in patients receiving myelosuppressive chemotherapy, induction/ consolidation
chemotherapy for patients with AML and other indications for neutrophil recovery.
MacrogenTM is supplied as single use lyophilized vials containing 4.4x106 units
of activity. It is indicated for use during cancer chemotherapy and bone marrow
transplantation. These drugs were developed using in-house patented technologies
Satellite based Tracking/ Communication Products M/s.
Jisnu Communications Ltd., Hyderabad has set up facilities for manufacturing Specialized
Electronics Communication, Data Acquisition and Control Systems Products capable
of meeting the customized domestic requirements of sensitive application in the
Department of Space & Defense. Facility for
manufacturing Microarrays M/s Ocimum Biosolutions
(India) Limited (OBL), Hyderabad proposes to set up a unit at Hyderabad, for the
manufacture of Microarrays viz. Human 40K Oci Chips TM and disease/pathway based
Oci Chips. TM This will provide a framework for the identification of novel potential
drug targets and the common genetic factors that affect drug metabolism and toxicity
using a technology acquired from Oxford Gene Technology (OGT) and Affymetrix.
Oxford Gene Technology Human 40K Ocichip will consist of 40,000 genes with full
functional characterization and content referencing, enabling efficient and focused
whole genome research for identifying new target genes and their functions. Manufacturing
of Enterprise Routers M/s Realtime Systems Limited (RTS),
New Delhi has been provided loan assistance by TDB for setting up a facility at
Sitarganj (Uttaranchal) for “Design, Development, Manufacturing & Marketing
of Enterprise Routers” for the access and enterprise segment. The Company is setting
up a facility for designing and manufacturing new router family that includes
products for small and medium businesses. Company is in the process of developing
LAN/WAN routers for the Enterprise & SOHO segment. Scanning
System for vehicle security M/s KritiKal SecureScan Pvt. Ltd,
Noida has developed a vision based scanning system as an indispensable tool in
the area of vehicle security and surveillance for homeland security and public
safety. The technology and product can be very effective tool for ensuring the
security and prevents entry of any explosives, bombs etc and other contraband
things attached to the underside of the moving vehicles. The
company has filed an Indian Patent as well as PCT application that reflects an
enormous potential for product development as per wide range of end use application
areas. Cross Breeding Facility The
Company intends to set up a cross breeding facility for developing an improved
variety of desi fowl named as Indbro Super Kroiler to obtain better quality meat
and to improve on quantitative production of eggs. The technology
has been developed in house under a DST supported project. The Super Kroiler developed
by the company is a cross progeny between these two breeds namely the colored
heavy weight broiler male line and colored light weight egg type brown female
line. The Super Kroiler developed by the company, is fast growing, dual purpose,
colored and Desi type bird that is superior to the available birds in the market
from the competitors.
Development of Telemedicine
Solution M/s Neurosynaptic has indigenously developed a Telemedicine
Solution called ReMeDi, in collaboration with the TeNeT group of Indian Institute
of Technology, Madras. The company has developed medical equipments that can record
physical and clinical (medical) parameter for the diagnosis of a patient remotely
by a doctor. ReMeDi Telemedicine is an innovative effort to provide primary health
care integrated solution to the deprived rural populations with video and audio
conferencing facility between the doctor and patient at an affordable cost. The
project specifically focuses on the rural needs and as such has societal relevance
and national importance Mobile Enterprise Solutions (Software)
M/s. AccelTree Software Pvt. Ltd., Pune intends to develop
an in house Mobile Frame Work named as Front End Application Developer (FRED)
for browser based applications, which would enable customization of applications
and build connectors to enterprise systems in short span of time. Tissue
based products M/s. Frontier Lifeline Pvt. Ltd., Chennai intends
to set up a facility for developing tissue based products viz. Amniotic Membrane,
Bovine Pericardium, Cord Blood Stem Cell Banking for clinical use. Utility
software products/applications for use in mobile phone handsets M/s.
Verity Technology Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore proposes to develop utility software products
/ applications for use in mobile phone handsets. The applications would be platform
independent and can be deployed on low end handsets without need of any proprietary
software.
API manufacturing facility M/s.
Ind-Swift Laboratories Ltd., Chandigarh intends to set up a facility for manufacture
of the 9 APIs: Quetiapine Fumarate, Ropinirole HC1, Aripiprazole, Clopidogrel
Bensylate, Risedronate Sodium, Venlafaxine HCI, Donepezil, Nateglinide and Fluvastatin
Sodium through indigenous technology. The formulations are used in the treatment
of chronic diseases such as Parkinson disease, diabetes, Alzheimer / cognitive
defect, thrombosis/stroke, osteoporosis, hyperlipidemia / coronary artery disease
etc.
Commercialisation of Indigenous Technology
for Utilization of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) M/s Unique
Waste Processing Company (UWPC), New Delhi was provided financial assistance from
TDB for the project on Creation of PDF for “Commercialisation of Indigenous Technology
for Utilization of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW)” in 14 different locations in the
country. The company is engaged in waste utilization based R&D and is located
in Delhi. The company is a joint venture of IL& FS Ltd and APTDC. The consortium
has floated this SPV for the sole purpose of implementation of Municipal Waste
Project on a large scale all over India. TIFAC has developed a technology for
segregating MSW at source, converting into RDF and using RDF to generate fuel.
Development and Commercialization of Liquid Adsorbed
Rabies Vaccine M/s Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL),
Hyderabad was provided financial assistance from TDB for Development and Commercialization
of Liquid Adsorbed Rabies Vaccine. The company proposes to set up facilities for
production of liquid rabies vaccine production with a capacity to produce 50 lakh
dosages in phased manner. The company has obtained WHO approved Pitman Moore Strain
of rabies vaccine from Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) USA through
a material transfer agreement and characterized at their in- house R&D laboratory.
The rabies vaccine will be produced by including the Vero cells into Bioreactors
using micro carrier technology.
Concentration, Evaporation
& Spray Dryer System for Distillery Effluent treatment The
Ugar Sugar Works Limited, Ugarkhurd, District Belgaum (Karnataka) was provided
financial assistance from TDB to set up Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) for 75
KLPD Distilleries attached with the sugar plant. The company has absorbed the
ETP technology developed by DSIR approved M/s. SSP Ltd Faridabad. The unique feature
of the ETP is utilization of bagasse and powder as fuel. The powder is produced
by ETP plant as byproduct which is a good manure as well as fuel. Seed
Support for STEP/TBIs TDB provided financial assistance to
five Technology Business Incubators (TBI's) and Science & Technology Entrepreneurs
Parks (STEP's) under Seed Support System for Start-up in Incubators to incubate
technological ideas during 2005-06. This scheme has progressed well. TDB has extended
the scheme and selected another five incubators out of the list of ten forwarded
by DST in the second round in 2007-08. The new STEP/TBI's are namely PSG College
of Technology, Science & Technology Entrepreneurial Park (STEP), Coimbatore,
Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering (SJCE), Science & Technology
Entrepreneurs Park (STEP), Mysore, SIDBI Innovation and Incubation Centre, Indian
Institute of Technology Kanpur, Technology Business Incubator (TBI), Kongu Engineering
College, Perundurai Erode (Tamilnadu) and International Corps Research Institute
for the Semi-Arid Tropic (ICRISAT) Patancheru (A.P.). This would enable come of
these innovative ideas/ technologies to graduate to successful commercialization.
Technology Day Award The
Technology Day Award Function 2007 was inaugurated by His Excellency Dr. A.P.J.
Abdul Kalam, President of India as the Chief Guest held in New Delhi on 11 th
May 2007 at Ashoka Hotel and released products of four companies i.e. M/s. Orion
Tele-Equipments (P) Ltd., Bangalore; M/s. Zenotech Laboratories Ltd., Hyderabad;
M/s. OmniActive Health Technologies (P) Ltd., Mumbai and M/s. SMS Coatings (India)
Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad. Award to SSI
Unit 2007 for the successful commercialization of a technology based product was
given to the following units: (i) M/s. Elpro Energy
Dimensions Private Limited, Bangalore For Developing and commercializing
Energy Tracking and Control System to track the actual energy reduction measures
through voltage and control mechanism. The key purpose of this activity is to
control and monitor the energy consumption and wastage in the street lighting
system with the adaptation of new techniques, incorporation of better energy efficiency
and energy management technologies available in the market. (ii)
M/s. Diaonics Automation (I) Pvt. Limited, Nasik For designing
and developing state-of-the-art “Wireless Digital Addressable Fire Detection cum
Prevention System with Centralised Monitoring Station”. The company has developed
Wireless Digital Addressable Fire Detection cum Prevention System that can be
integrated with the BMS, CCTV and Surveillance system, Access Control to provide
the operator an instantaneous overview of all systems located with immediate access
to detailed information as required. This wireless revolutionary system is ideally
suited for small to large size installations of commercial, institutional and
industrial life safety applications. This Fire Soft system offers all the intelligent
features of today's most advanced and futuristic world. The integration of Wireless
Addressable Software allows the system engineer to customize panels and maximum
efficiency for a different application. Monitoring of non-fire related events
such as plant; security and processes can also to be catered for by the system.
 | 
| Water Technology Initiative Department
of Science & Technology has initiated a new Programme on ‘Water Technology
Initiative' with the objective of promoting R&D activities aimed at providing
safe drinking water at affordable cost and in adequate quantity using appropriate
Science and Technology interventions evolved through indigenous efforts. The
common sources of drinking water are surface water and ground water. While surface
water faces contamination problem due to bacteriological and microbiological contaminants
whereas ground water suffers from various contaminants such as Fluoride, Iron,
Arsenic, Nitrates etc. Attempt would be made to address these contaminations and
develop non-power or minimal power dependent systems, technologies and processes.
Hybrid concepts to derive synergy of various technologies to enhance their combined
effectiveness would be consciously encouraged for development. There is need both
for point of use devices (Household Systems) as well as point of distribution
units (Community Systems) which may be used either in conjunction or in isolation.
In order to identify need for development and evolve
meaningful R&D programme, Department organized brainstorming sessions with
experts at University of Lucknow and Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute,
Kolkata. A Programme Advisory Committee (PAC) was also constituted to guide the
efforts of department. The following areas of importance were identified for focused
attention under this programme: - Development of innovative materials
which can serve as filters and analysis of pore size distribution/ pore density
of various indigenously developed products.
- Development of effective
potable water treatment and storage pots.
- Development of candles and
other suitable structures to provide safe drinking water.
- Comparative
scientific performance and operational analyses of various traditional and modern
technologies for water purification.
- Technologies to prevent water losses/evaporation/unnecessary
percolation in distributing/storage system and rejuvenation of traditional techniques.
- Technologies for mass/domestic storage of water including novel rain
harvesting structure.
- Cataloging of technologies available on labs shelves
and ready for field trials.
- Development of inexpensive and easy-to-use
reliable-test kits for water quality testing.
- Development of on-line
sensors and their appropriate interfacing to IT solutions for remote monitoring
of plant performance and water quality, particularly of units operating in remote
locations.
- Local capability development for manufacturing and maintaining
of filters.
- Development and application of plant derivatives to eliminate
contaminants.
- Demonstration of best operating community models in sufficiently
large numbers to create visible demonstrative effect and generate adequate scientific
data to enable technologies to be perfected under field conditions and thereafter
proliferated.
- Setting up of a technology park on Water Purification Technologies
with the involvement of State S&T Councils.
During
the year, department has identified a group at IIT-Chennai for application of
Nano-materials for removal of endosulfan and assessment of mineralization and
removal efficiency of pesticides from water samples of endemic region. In order
to address the problem of arsenic contamination, activities have been supported
for low cost effective household module using silica coated hydrous ferric oxide,
modified laterite and iron filings. A proposal on systematic studies towards the
development of non-chlorinated products to purify domestic water supplies on individual
and community level was also supported. In order to address the problem of iron
excess in drinking water, pilot scale demonstration of cost effective Iron removal
plants based on technology developed by Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute,
Kolkata has been taken up in 15 locations (Figure 5.14). 
Figure
5.14: Iron Removal Plant at Guwahati, Assam
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Introduction
Introduction
