National technology day celebrated

11th May 1998 being the defining moment in the growth of technology prowess, was christened as National Technology Day by the then Prime Minister of India. Since then it is being celebrated every year as National Technology Day across the country by various scientific and industrial organizations and educational institutions.

The event in New Delhi today was coordinated by the Ministry of Science & Technology with Union Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Shri Kapil Sibal presiding over the ceremony to mark the occasion that was graced by former President of India, Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam as the Chief Guest. The celebration for the Technology Day 2008 had three parts:

In the first session, Technology Day Lecture is delivered by an eminent person from field of Science & Technology or industry. This year, Dr. Swati Piramal of the Nicholas Piramal delivered the lecture.

In the second part of the event, new products were released by the Chief Guest. This year, 5 products of the following companies were released:

1 Unified Relationship Management Suite for e-Governance and Enterprise Workflow Application Framework (URM-SEWA) by M/s Value One Infotech (P) Ltd., New Delhi

2 Software for agribusiness industry – HARVEST itTM by M/s i-Smart Business Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Cochin

3 Hib Vaccine and Pentavelent Vaccine by M/s Shantha Biotechnics Ltd., Hyderabad

4 Batch Irradiation Gamma Sterilization facility by M/s Microtrol Sterilisation Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai

5 Microarrays by M/s Ocimum BioSolutions (India) Ltd., Hyderabad

The third part consisted of Technology Day 2008- National Awards distribution function. National Awards instituted by the Technology Development Board (TDB), National Science & Technology Entrepeneurship Development Board (NSTEDB) under DST, and Department of Biotechnology (DBT) were presented on this occasion by the Chief Guest.

The Technology Development Board has instituted a ‘National Award for Successful Commercialization of Indigenous Technology’ by an industrial concern. The national award consists of two components: (i) to the industrial concern, which has successfully commercialized the indigenous technology and (ii) to the developer/provider of such technology. Each component will carry a cash award of Rs. 10.00 lakhs along with a trophy, further, the TDB has introduced cash award of Rs. 2.00 lakhs to be given to two SSI units which have successfully commercialized a technology based product.

National Award for for the successful commercialization of indigenous technology has gone to Natco Pharma Limited ,Hyderabad for developing and commercializing five innovative and cost-effective, anti-cancer drugs under the Brand Name GEFTINAT for Non - Small Cell Lung Cancer, LETRONAT for Breast Cancer, NATFOST for Radiation Protection, ZOLDONAT for Bone Metastasis and BORTENAT for multiple myeloma. These are available with 3 to10 times reduced cost over the imported brands which makes them both affordable and available to meet the requirements of the common man.

Award to SSI Unit for the successful commercialization of a technology based product has been given to Lifecare Innovations Pvt. Ltd. ,Gurgaon for developing and commercializing highly economic Liposome mediated Amphotericin B formulation under the Brand Name FUNGISOMETM i.v. for targeted delivery for treatment of Systemic Mycosis and Kala – azar. The liposomal drug developed and manufactured by the company is a superior substitute of the three imported drugs for systemic mycosis. And also to Prime Telesystems Limited, Delhi for developing and commercializing the HDVSL (High Definition Video over Subscriber Line) standard and supporting technology stack for the delivery of interactive video over legacy and emerging cable, telephony and internet networks. The stack eliminates the requirement of a personal computer or set top box in the house through high end virtualization and facilitates Computer Telephone Integration (CTI).

In order to recognize the good work done by various organizations in the area of promotion of techno-entrepreneurship, the National Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India has instituted a National Award for Technology Business Incubator. The award carries a cash prize of Rs. 1.00 lakh and a trophy. In today’s function National Award for Technology Incubator for the year 2007 was conferred jointly to ICICI Knowledge Park, Hyderabad and TechnoPark Trivendrum. .

This year’s award is being conferred to the Energy and Resources Institute, New Delhi.

Source: Press Inormation Bureau
Date: May 11, 2008