Ne - NISCAIR · 50 CSIR News MARCH 2015 R&D Highlights The Wax Deoiling Technology developed jointly by the CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP), Dehradun and the

Volume 65 No. 5 & 6 March 2015website: http://www.csir.res.in

I n T h i s I s s u e

ISSN 0409-7467

Newsletter of the CouNCil of sCieNtifiC & iNdustrial researCh

DISPLAYING its commitment to plant research and welfare of floriculturists, the Lucknow-based CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) has come up with its latest offering – a new variety of Gladiolus flower named ‘NBRI-Lalima’.

The new variety was released on 9 February 2015 by Dr. C.S.

In The News

CSIR-NBRI Releases New Variety of Gladiolus 49 In The News

• CSIR-NBRI Releases New Variety of Gladiolus

• CSIR Wins International Competition to set up Wax Deoiling Technology at BPCL Refinery

National Science Day• CSIR-NEIST• CSIR-CSIO• CSIR-NCL

58

Nautiyal, Director, CSIR-NBRI and Dr. Harsharan Das, IAS, Principal Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of Uttar Pradesh.

The floret colour of ‘NBRI-Lalima’ is unique with pinkish-red combination and purplish splashes on its tip. The floret is highly frilled and is a late blooming variety. It is ideal for vase decoration and for cut-flower purpose.

50 R&D Highlights• CSIR-CBRI working on Green Retrofit Strategies for Office Buildings• CSIR-CBRI working on Solar Thermal Air Conditioner

53 Conference• CSIR-CMERI organizes AdMet 2015

Kisan Mela64

CSIR–Serving the Nation• CSIR-Central Building Research Institute

70

57 Science Awareness Programmes• CSIR-IICB Scientists Popularize Science among School Children

66 Honours & Awards

Release of the Gladiolus variety “NBRI-Lalima” by (L-R) Dr. C.S. Nautiyal, Dr. Harsharan Das and Dr. R.K. Roy

55 Workshops

Exhibition62

72 Announcements

CSIR News

50 CSIR NewsMARCH 2015

R&D Highlights

The Wax Deoiling Technology developedjointly by the CSIR-Indian Institute ofPetroleum (IIP), Dehradun and theEngineers India Ltd (EIL) has won aninternational competition. A WaxDeoiling Plant based on this indigenouslydeveloped technology has been set upwith an investment of 750 crore rupeesat the Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) –a subsidiary of Bharat PetroleumCorporation Limited (BPCL).

This wax deoiling plant will help todevelop small-scale ancillaries and cottageindustries in the nearby areas and willpromote industrial development in thenorth-east region of India. The plant willalso generate direct and indirectemployment opportunities for localpeople.

CSIR Wins International Competition to set upWax Deoiling Technology at BPCL Refinery

Scientists at the CSIR-Central BuildingResearch Institute (CBRI), Roorkee areworking on green retrofit strategies foroffice buildings.

A comprehensive study of theexisting green rating systems was carriedout and the attributes for assessing andretrofitting existing buildings wereidentified. A Questionnaire wasdeveloped for the proposed rating systemwith an acronym, GRASS – GreenRetrofit Assessment System forSustainability, for making and ratingexisting buildings as green. It was sent to500 professionals, engineers, materialscientists, architects, and students fromdifferent disciplines. The 85 responsesreceived were analyzed.

GRASS will rate a building on the

R&D Highlights

CSIR-CBRI working on Green RetrofitStrategies for Office Buildings

The Wax Deoiling Technology is usedto produce waxes from petroleumstreams. The first batch of Paraffin Waxhas been produced and regularproduction of Paraffin Wax is expectedto start by the end of first quarter 2015.

The newly set up plant will produce50,000 MMTPA of high value ParaffinWax and 4,500 MTPA ofMicrocrystalline Wax that will help cutdown the wax import by 50% and willsave foreign exchange of the order ofabout 500 crore rupees/annum. Paraffinwax is used for making candles, polishes,medicines, food packaging, paints, leatheretc, while Microcrystalline Wax is mainlyused in the cosmetic industry.

The development opens up avenuesfor setting up new units in the countryand even export of the technology.

basis of its measured operational impactson the environment, and will provide asimple indication of how well theenvironmental impacts are beingmanaged, compared with other similarbuildings. This rating is based on actualbuilding performance, along with design,modelling and simulation results.

Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) hasbeen used to analyze the questionnaire results.AHP is a mathematical technique whichprovides an effective means to deal withcomplex decision-making and to giveweightage for each attribute, criterion & sub-criterion based upon the surveys. MS Excelspread-sheet & Expert Choice Software isalso used to compute the weightages. Theresults obtained in each assessment item levelcan be calculated by using the equations:

CSIR News MARCH 2015 51

i) Sub-criterion score (Ss) = 0, 0.5 or 1(on the basis of fulfil lment), i i) Sub-criterion result (Rs) = Sub-criterionweightage (Ws) x Sub-criterion score (Ss);i i i) Criterion score (Sc) = Rs, iv)Criterion result (Rc) = Criterionweightage (Wc) x Criterion Score (Sc) ;and v) Total assessment result = Rc

Similarly, a MATLAB program hasbeen developed to predict the insulation

thickness to achieve the desired U-valuefor ECBC and NBC compliance for morethan 120 combinations of differentwalling assemblies (materials) used inexisting buildings built during 1950-2000.Different retrofit insulation thicknesseswith and without air gap have beenanalyzed and PUF (k = 0.023) insulationis found to be most economical fulfillingthe desired properties.

Vermiculite tiles of size 25x25x3.5cmhave been developed as part of the projectactivity and applied on the roof top of theexperimental model at the Institute to seetheir effectiveness in improving the thermalcomfort indoors. The physical properties ofthe tiles are:i) Density: 0.870 gm/cc;ii) Compressive strength: 4.66MPa;iii) Flexural strength: 1.36MPa;iv) Water absorption: 30% and

v) Thermal conductivity:0.228 W/m-k.The thermal performance indoors is

being monitored using a 64-channel data-logging system. The preliminary analysesshow that Vermiculite tiles with whitereflective paint provide good thermalinsulation.

Ashok Kumar, Rajesh Deoliya,Rajni Lakhani, B.M. Suman & Team

at CSIR-CBRI

Scientists at the CSIR-Central BuildingResearch Institute (CBRI), Roorkee areworking on the design and developmentof an air conditioner energized by solarenergy for residential buildings.

The aim is to develop a novel solarpower generation system with 30%conversion efficiency and a Solar

CSIR-CBRI working on Solar ThermalAir Conditioner

Adsorption Cooling System.A novel thermodynamic cycle has

been employed to achieve higherefficiency which is a combination ofStirling and Ranking cycle. This novelengine has high power-to-weight ratio andhigher achievable theoretical efficiencyalso. The PV and TS diagram of the

Casting of Vermiculite tiles and samples in Environmental Chamber


R&D Highlightsthermodynamic cycle are shown inFigure 1.

The engine was drawn in SolidWorkssoftware as shown in Figure 2 and is inthe stage of fabrication. The preliminary

design stage of Stirling Engine is based onRoss-Yoke drive Mechanism. This crankmechanism is chosen to eliminate thelateral forces on displacer and power pistonthus increasing the efficiency of the engine.

A rapid prototyping model engine hasbeen fabricated as shown in Figure 3 to verifythe working of the Crank (Ross-Yoke)Mechanism, which is working as per design.The fabrication of the second version ofthe engine, which shall work bothmechanically and thermodynamically, is inprogress.

Nagesh Babu Balam atCSIR-CBRI

Fig.1: PV and TS diagram of Novel Thermodynamic Engine

Fig. 2: Design of Stirling Cycle based Solar Power Generation System

Fig. 3: Rapid Prototype model Engine

Power Piston

Power Stroke

Vertica l Fins

Regnerator Foil Space

Displacer Piston

Horizanta l fins

Yoke Mechanism

Crank Case

EntropyVolume

StrirlingCycle

RankineCycle Te

mpe

ratu

re

Pres

sure


The 4th National Conference on Advancesin Metrology (AdMet2015) and CSIR-CMERI’s 58 th foundation day weresuccessfully organized by CSIR-CMERI,Durgapur from 25th to 27th February, 2015.AdMet2015 was co-organized by theMetrology Society of India (HQ&ER).

The Welcome Address was delivered byDr. P. Pal Roy, Acting Director, CSIR-CMERI, Durgapur.

The National Science Day was alsocelebrated on 27 th February 2015 incontinuation with AdMet2015 with aneminent lecture by Prof. T. Kumar, Director,NIT, Durgapur.

The main theme of AdMet 2015, that is,usefulness and application of metrology inall spheres of human activity was reflectedin all the lectures by eminent speakers fromNational Physical Laboratory, UK,IIT-Kanpur, IIT-Kharagpur, IISc-Bangalore,CSIR-NPL, and CSIR-CMERI.

Prof. R.C. Budhani, former directorCSIR-NPL (presently, Professor,IIT Kanpur), Prof E.S.R. Gopal (IIScBangalore) and Dr. Y.P. Singh (CSIR-NPL)briefly talked about the historical backgroundof metrology. Today, measurementactivity concerns extremely precisemeasurements.

Dr. A. Sengupta (Acting Director, CSIR-NPL) enlightened the audience about atomicclocks, which get delayed only by 1 secondin 130 million years and help to maintain ourradar systems, satellite communications, radiotelescopes and power grids.

At the end of the inaugural session, avote of thanks was proposed by Dr. RanjanSen, Chief Scientist CSIR-CMERI andConvener AdMet 2015. He said that thecentral theme of the conference takes itscue from the emerging trends and marketoutlook for the Indian manufacturingindustries where compliance to increasingstringent quality control with sustainable

Conferences

CSIR-CMERI organizes AdMet 2015

Dr. S. Yadav (CSIR-NPL) spoke aboutthe extremely precise pressure measurementdevices which are very useful for powergeneration, oil and natural gas exploration,exploitation, civil aviation and militarypurposes.

Dr. Y.P. Singh (CSIR-NPL) talked aboutthe highly sophisticated temperaturemeasurement devices that enhance thecontrol over nano-level activities.

Dr. Kamal Hossain (National PhysicalLaboratory, UK) and Dr. Rajat Mukherjee(SRL Laboratory) showed how metrology ispertinent for devising societal rules andinternational trade. Almost 80% of theinternational trade is dependent onmeasurement techniques. Not only trade or

Left to Right: Prof. R.C. Budhani, formerDirector, CSIR-NPL lighting the lamp;

Dr. P. Pal Roy, Acting Director, CSIR-CMERI,Durgapur, Dr. R. Sen, Chief Scientist,CSIR-CMERI & Convenor AdMet2015;

Dr. A. Sengupta, Acting Director, CSIR-NPL

development and more small products andsystems that conform to a more informedand discerning customer, who is continuouslyraising the bar for manufacturing industries.


Conferences

Prof. S.K. Pal (IIT Kharagpur)enlightened the audience about theadvantages of friction stir welding for precisewelding activity. Today, automobilemanufacturers are trying to apply the FSWprocess for welding of dissimilar materialswith dissimilar geometric dimensions.

Mr. A. Das Gupta (Ex-CMTI), Mr. R.Srikanth and Mr. N. Jhangra (both NABLAccreditation Officers) elaborated uponNABL norms for getting accreditation,

measurement of uncertainty, role ofcalibration and measurement traceability inquality management and possible reasons ofviolation of NABL rules.

In all , 13 keynote lectures werepresented.

Besides these, 70 papers were presentedin eight technical sessions: Health Care, Timeand Frequency, Electro Technical, Metrologyfor Advanced Manufacturing, QualityAssurance, Uncertainties in Measurementsand Standards, Dimensional Metrology andMachine Vision, and Pressure, Temperature,Humidity and Density.

About 150 registered participants fromvarious industries, organizations, academia andGovernment labs actively participated inAdMet2015.

One young researcher award was alsopresented to Dr. Subhadeep De (Scientist,CSIR-NPL) during the conference. Tomotivate other researchers, best paper awardswere also presented to eight researchers(from each of the eight sessions) for theircontribution towards the science ofmeasurement. Ten papers were also selectedfrom the conference for publication in a SCIjournal, MAPAN, Journal of MetrologySociety of India (published by Springer withimpact factor 0.477) after extension and peerreview.

Several government bodies such asCSIR, Science and Engineering ResearchBoard and NABL sponsored the conference.Various industries viz. M/s Mitutoyo SouthAsia Pvt. Ltd., M/s Ametek Instruments IndiaPvt. Ltd., M/s Icon Analytical EquipmentPvt. Ltd., M/s FARO Business TechnologiesPvt. Ltd., M/s WIKA Instruments India Pvt.Ltd., and M/s Nanovea also supported theconference. Other industries viz. M/sOctagon Precision (India) Pvt. Ltd., M/sIndian Calibration Services, M/s ShankarWire Products Industries Pvt. Ltd., M/sElectrometer Corporation, M/s Alcalab Pvt.Ltd., The Mission Hospital Durgapur, M/sDynotech Instruments Pvt. Ltd. alsoextended their hands to make this conferencesuccessful.

Left to right: Dr. P. Pal Roy, Acting Director,CSIR-CMERI; Prof. R.C. Budhani, Ex-Director,

CSIR-NPL; Dr. R. Sen, Chief Scientist,CSIR-CMERI & Convenor AdMet 2015; and

Dr. A. Sengupta, Acting Director, CSIR-NPL,releasing the abstract book of the conference

society, metrology has possibly touched allthe human activities right from the conceptionof human life to its demise. They alsohighlighted the importance of standards inmedical metrology. It is a sector that requiresa lot of work in the future.

Dr. V.N. Ojha (CSIR-NPL) and Dr. K.P.Chaudhary (CSIR-NPL) talked about aboutnano-metrology. The challenges in nano-dimension metrology are the formation,maintenance, calibration, and traceability ofstandards and many more. The effort bydifferent countries to take a positive steptowards this direction is the call ofthe hour.


The CSIR-Central Electrochemical ResearchInstitute (CSIR-CECRI), Karaikudi and Micro,Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME),Government of India jointly organized a one-day Workshop on “Recent Advances inElectroplating and Allied Technologies” forthe benefit of electroplating and allied industries,especially micro, small and medium scaleenterprises, on 28 January 2015 at HotelRadisson Blu, Chennai. The goal of theworkshop was to disseminate the latest trendsincluding technological advancements inprocess and equipment relating to electroplatingand surface coatings.

Inaugurating the workshop, Dr.Swaminathan Sivaram, ex-director of CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune urgedsmall-scale industries to adopt a clusterapproach to solve problems on marketingtactics, quality, etc. He underlined theimportance of talent and being alert toinnovations in order to sustain and grow inthe face of global competition.

Dr. Vijayamohanan K. Pillai, Director,CSIR-CECRI, in his presidential addressannounced CSIR-CECRI’s intention to set upan exclusive desk for micro, small and mediumenterprises. He added that anyone from theMSME sector could approach the desk fortechnical consultancy. He averred that the need

Workshop

CSIR-CECRI organizes Workshop on“Recent Advances in Electroplating andAllied Technologies”

of the hour for MSMEs was to adopt cost-effective and eco-friendly technologies to tideover stiff challenges.

Earlier, Dr. S. Mohan, Senior PrincipalScientist, CSIR-CECRI welcomed thegathering. Dr. Jun Hyung Jin (ManagingDirector, Semyung India Enterprises Pvt. Ltd.,Chennai), Shri. Raji Khoshi (ManagingDirector, Alent India Ltd.), Shri S. Rathinakumar(Senior Area Manager, Atotech, Chennai), ShriG.A. Ganesan (Managing Director, DynamicEngineers and Electroplaters, Chennai), and ShriB. Vijayakumar (President, ElectroplatersAssociation, Chennai) offered their felicitations.

Dr. S. Sivaram delivering the inaugural address

A section of the audience at the workshop


WorkshopsShri R.V. Alagesan, Head, BusinessDevelopment, CSIR-CECRI proposed a voteof thanks.

More than a hundred electroplatingindustries from Madurai, Coimbatore andChennai participated in the workshop, whichwas ably supported by the ElectroplatersAssociations of Chennai, Madurai andCoimbatore as well as their member industries.Enthone India and Semyung India Enterprisesexhibited their products for the benefit of theparticipants.

The technical sessions saw presentationson pre-treatment, hard chromium plating,electrode-less plating, alloy plating, passivatesfor zinc and zinc alloys, precious metal plating,and emerging techniques and methodologies.The deliberations helped synergize R&D

activities with industrial expectations andopened the floodgates to issues of qualitymaintenance, eco-friendly and cost-effectiveprocesses, and pollution control and effluenttreatment.

A number of queries were raised, amajority of which related to day-to-daytechnical problems such as recovery ofchromium in iron-contaminated solutions, waterreuse, graphite as electrode and quality controlmethods. CSIR-CECRI scientists not onlyprovided answers to the queries but alsoexpressed their readiness to address technicalproblems of the industry, as and whenrequired. In turn, the industries requested theorganizers to conduct similar programmesevery year.

CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal andAromatic Plants (CSIR-CIMAP), Lucknowsuccessfully organized a four-day hands-ontraining workshop on “EntrepreneurialTraining on Aloe vera ProcessingTechnologies” (AVPT-2014) from 24th to 27th

November 2014. Twenty-five participantsfrom different states of India (Kerala,

CSIR-CIMAP organizes Workshop onAloe vera Processing Technologies

Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra,Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand andUttar Pradesh) took part in the training.

Aloe barbadensis Miller, more commonlycalled Aloe vera or Ghritkumari or Gwar Pathain Hindi, is one of the oldest knownmedicinal plants gifted by nature, and is alsoknown as the wonder or miracle plant. The

Participants having hands-on exposure on processing of Aloe vera leaves


Aloe vera training course provided a platformto new entrepreneurs to learn the technicalaspects of the production of Aloe vera basedproducts and formulations such as juice, sap,aloe gel and cream.

The training workshop coordinated byEr. Sudeep Tandon, Principal Scientist &Head, Process Chemistry & TechnologyDepartment of the Institute familiarized the

participants with the theoretical and practicalaspects of the technologies with real-timehands-on experiments. Details of differenttypes of plant and machineries, economicsof production, details of preservatives,stabilizers, etc. were provided to the trainees.Particular emphasis was laid on the qualityanalysis procedures for the aloe-basedproducts.

Dr. Samir Kumar Dutta, Senior PrincipalScientist, CSIR-IICB was invited on 11January 2015 to address a workshop forschool students arranged at the St. ThomasSchool, Budge Budge. The workshop wasattended by more than 200 students fromdifferent schools. Dr. Dutta with his twoSenior Research Fellows demonstrated howbasic science is exploited by fake magicianssimply using scientific priciples. Students wereasked to perform the tricks themselves.

The demonstration made use of variousprinciples of physics, chemistry and biology.From the demonstrations students learnt thatDNA cannot be viewed by naked eyes, it

Science Awareness Programme

CSIR-IICB Scientists Popularize Scienceamong School Children

Balloon magic

Participants of the training programme with scientists and Director,CSIR-CIMAP, Prof. Anil Kumar Tripathi (seated sixth from left)


National Science Dayrequires UV light. Demonstration on enzymeactivity with body tissues/enzymes madethem believe that enzymes are present in ourbody. They learnt about solubility, indicator,polar and non-polar solvents, solventsheavier and lighter than water, etc. They alsolearnt how pressure helps to lift water abovea certain level, attraction of opposite polesdue to magnetism and drawing of ‘lines offorce’ keeping eyes closed on a board hidingthe presence of a magnet, boiling of water

under reduced pressure, transformation ofmaterials from solid to gaseous states directly,etc.

The students observed the experimentscarefully and enjoyed the demonstrations.The programme concluded with a few wordsto the students about why they shouldopt for science, how science has helped inthe progress of India, what is beingattempted now and how much we can do forour society.

Soap bubble Students watching a demonstration

Celebrating the National Science Day 2015,the CSIR-North East Institute of Science &Technology, Jorhat organised a specialprogramme on 25 February 2015 in the Dr.J.N. Baruah Auditorium.

National Science Day

CSIR-North East Institute ofScience & Technology

On the occasion, Prof. Harsh K. Gupta,Member, Atomic Regulatory Board;President, Geological Society of India;President, International Union of Geodesy& Geophysics and Chairman, ResearchCouncil, CSIR-NEIST delivered a veryilluminating lecture on the topic, “Living withEarthquakes in the North-East India”, whilegracing the event as Chief Guest.

Prof. Gupta in his lecture coveredvarious aspects about earthquakes andassociated hazards, earthquake data analysis,seismic moment rate release, magnitudedistribution of earthquakes, earthquakeforecast, early earthquake warning system,etc. He focused particularly on North EastIndia and the Himalayan region. He said thatProf. Harsh K. Gupta delivering

the National Science Day lecture


the first 14 years of the 21 st centurywitnessed much more loss of human livesand property than the entire 20th century.

Prof. Gupta further elaborated onmedium term earthquake forecast based onprecursory swarms and quiescence periodsfor predicting the probability of earthquakes.He spoke about earthquake early warningsystem where an early warning of even 20seconds prior to the occurrence of anearthquake can save millions of lives andproperty. Prof Gupta also gave somehighlights of the activities under NDMAfunded project on M 8.7 1897 ShillongEarthquake for creating a repeat scenario ofthe earthquake in the North East which isbeing implemented by CSIR-NEIST withthe association of NDRF, SDRF and SDMAsof all NE states.

Prof. Kankan Bhattacharyya,Department of Physical Chemistry, IndianAssociation for Cultivation of Science,Kolkata & Member-Research Council,CSIR-NEIST graced the event as Guest ofHonour. In his address, Prof. Bhattacharyyaspoke about the work of Prof. C.V. Ramanfrom his early life and his extraordinarypassion leading to the discovery of RamanEffect, for which he received the Nobel Prizein 1930. Prof. Bhattacharyya encouraged allto cultivate such passion, confidence and thespirit of victory to reach one’s destiny.

Earlier, Dr. R.C. Boruah, OutstandingScientist, CSIR-NEIST delivered thewelcome address and introduced the ChiefGuest to the gathering. Dr. D. Ramaiah,Director, CSIR-NEIST in his PresidentialRemarks said that the National Science Day

Dignitaries on the dais (from left),Dr. R.C. Boruah, Outstanding Scientist,

CSIR-NEIST; Prof. Harsh K. Gupta,Member, Atomic Regulatory Board and

Chairman, Research Council, CSIR-NEIST;Dr. D. Ramaiah, Director, CSIR-NEIST andProf. Kankan Bhattacharyya, Department ofPhysical Chemistry, Indian Association for

the Cultivation of Science, Kolkata

is celebrated every year in the country notonly to celebrate the discovery of RamanEffect but also to popularize the benefits ofscientific knowledge. He urged everyone tocontribute their best for the growth anddevelopment of science of the nation. Healso recapitulated the vision of the PrimeMinister, ‘Make in India’, and appealed to allto take on ‘Make in CSIR-NEIST’ spirit totranslate research into useful products andtechnologies.

A large number of invited guests,eminent personalities from Jorhat district andCSIR-NEIST fraternity attended theprogramme.

CSIR-Central Scientific InstrumentsOrganisation, Chandigarh celebrated theNational Science Day on 2 March 2015 byholding an Open Day and organizing aNational Science Day Lecture. All the labsof CSIO were kept open in the forenoon.

Around 750 visitors including studentsfrom various schools, colleges, universities

CSIR-Central Scientific InstrumentsOrganisation

and the general public went around thelaboratories of the institute. They interactedwith the scientists and were given exposureto the technologies available and beingpursued at CSIO.

Later in the afternoon Dr. Atul Sachdev,Director Principal, Government MedicalCollege & Hospital (GMCH), Chandigarh


delivered the National Science Day Lectureon the topic “Easy ways to good health”.He said that health is defined as a state ofcomplete physical, mental (psychological) andsocial (economic) well being and not merelythe absence of disease or infirmity. Tocomplete the definition it also includes healthas the capacity of adapting and selfmanaging and as a state of personalsatisfaction not only related to the integrityof the body but the level of satisfaction aperson gets from his body.

Dr. Sachdev highlighted that with thetechnology boom, the quality of l ifeimproved but it led to physical inactivitymaking people couch potatoes while theeating habits remained unchanged. Discontentwith life, profession-related stresses andeconomic and social pressures are leading toan epidemic of lifestyle diseases like obesity,diabetes, hypertension, etc. While quoting, “Apositive attitude makes life enjoyable”, he alsoencouraged the scientists to think about thefact that contentment is not in achieving whatyou desire but in knowing that what you haveis more than what you deserve.

Earlier, Dr. Amod Kumar, ActingDirector, CSIO welcomed the Chief Guestand said that the National Science Day iscelebrated in India on February 28 every yearto mark the discovery of Raman Effect bySir C.V. Raman, for which he was awardedthe Nobel Prize. He emphasized that scientificresearch should be for the benefit of thesociety. He underlined that although highscience like Nuclear Science and AtomicEnergy are very important but equallyimportant is the science of small innovationswhich have large societal impact.

The function concluded with a formalvote of thanks by Dr. C. Ghanshyam, ChiefScientist, CSIR-CSIO, Chandigarh.

From Left to Right: Dr. Amod Kumar, ActingDirector, CSIR-CSIO, Dr. Atul Sachdev, Chief

Guest and Director Principal, GMCH,Chandigarh, Dr. C. Ghanshyam, Chief

Scientist, CSIO

CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Punecelebrated the National Science Day fromFebruary 24 to February 27, 2015. The four-day celebrations included Poster Sessionsand lectures by students and scientistawardees. The special attraction of the eventwas the National Science Day Lecture on 27February 2015 by Dr. K. Radhakrishnan,former Chairman, Indian Space ResearchOrganization (ISRO) on ‘Recent strides inIndian Space Mission’.

Dr. Sourav Pal, Director, CSIR-NCLaddressing the audience said that the NationalScience Day is a special day and rememberedSir C.V. Raman and his contributions. Dr. Palalso mentioned how the performance of thelaboratory has been significantly improvingover the last few years in terms of

CSIR-National Chemical Laboratorypublications, patents as well as externalearnings. He formally introduced the chiefguest, Dr. K. Radhakrishnan, who gave thefabulous National Science Day Lecture.

Dr. Radhakrishnan said that science isfor building of the nation. He talked aboutthe Indian Space Programme led by legendarypersonalities like Vikram Sarabhai and SatishDhawan and the conditions they faced inthose times. He asked the youngsters presenton the occasion to “Play as a team to win thegame”.

Dr. Radhakrishnan mentioned thatcurrently there are twenty-five Indiansatellites in service around the earth that areworking for facilitation in different areas likecommunication, weather, navigation, remotesensing, etc. He talked about various space

National Science Day


applications supported by the satellitesrevolving in space. He claimed that India’sentry into space has made a big difference.The numbers of deaths due to earthquakes,cyclones, heavy rains and floods havereduced because of the timely predictionsby satellites revolving around the earth. Ithas also helped to reduce oil consumptionby boats in fishery and other businesseswhere predictions by satellites have playedan important role. He said that nearly 65government departments are usingapplications driven by the satellites improvingtheir working for better governance,development and in environment and disastermanagement.

Dr. Radhakrishnan mentioned that ISROhad spent much resource to deploymechanisms like solar panels for theproduction of energy and antennae forcommunication from remote places on theearth. He talked about the indigenousproduction of launcher technologies in PSLVand GSLV. Complex parts of the satellitesystems related to thermal conditions in spaceare examined carefully. The vehicle goinginto space is kept track of since a smalldeviation in the assessment can make themission a failure. He admitted that failuresmay come, but one should improve. He alsodiscussed the possibilities of human spaceflight in the future that involves the nextlevel of challenges like thermo-resistantinterior of the spaceship and safety of travelers.

Dr. Radhakrishnan also talked about theMars Orbiter Mission (MOM), India’s firstinterplanetary mission that was successfullyaccomplished recently. He said that Mars waschosen because it was closer to earth, in theneighbourhood, to understand the Sun andalso to find the answers to the origin of lifeon the earth and evolution of humans. Heelaborated how the cost of the mission waskept so less. Dr. Radhakrishnan entertainedmany questions from the audience.

The Poster Presentation programme gota good response from research students andproject assistants. More than 300 posterswere presented. Dr. Radhakrishnan gave awaythe National Science Day awards to deservingstudents. The awards included the NCL RF-Keerthi Sangoram Memorial Endowment

Award for Best Research Scholar in the areasof Physical Chemistry/Materials Science,Biological Sciences, Chemical Sciences andCatalysis and Engineering Sciences. Eachaward carried a cash prize of Rs. 5000 and acertificate. Various Best Research PaperAwards were given which carried cash prizesand certificates. Nearly 40 posters were

appreciated for better efforts.In the afternoon, talks were given by

the recipients of the awards as a part of thecelebration. The Maneckji and ShirinbaiNeterwala Foundation NCL RF AwardLectures were rendered separately by Dr.Prakash Wadgaonkar and Dr. Ulhas Kharuland Dr. R.A. Mashelkar Endowment FundNCL RF Award Lecture was given by Dr.Akkattu Biju. Lectures by the recipients ofthe Best Research Scholar Award 2014 andBest Research Papers with Highest ImpactFactors were also organized to enrich theevent.

Dr. Sourav Pal offering a memento toDr. K. Radhakrishnan

Dr. K. Radhakrishnan delivering the NationalScience Day lecture


The 10th International AEROINDIA 2015show opened on 18 February 2015 at theYelahanka Air Force Base. Mr NarendraModi, the Prime Minister of India,inaugurated the mega event.

The highlight of the inaugural ceremonywas the stress on the theme ‘Make in India’in the aerospace, defence, civil aviation,airport infrastructure and defenceengineering. Prime Minister Narendra Modimade a strong pitch to end India’sdependence on defence imports, promiseda conducive environment for manufacturers,including a discrimination-free tax system,and asked foreign firms not to be just

Exhibitions

CSIR-NAL participates in AEROINDIA 2015

“sellers” but “strategic partners”.The event spread across 2,50,000 sq m

attracted a large number of visitors fromIndia and abroad. AEROINDIA 2015 hassurpassed all previous records withparticipation of 49 countries through 328exhibitors and 295 Indian exhibitors. Theshow held from February 18 to 22 was anair extravaganza for lakhs of Bengalureansand outsiders. It attracted 5 lakh visitors.

The air show had static and air displayby various aircraft including fighter, transport,helicopter and aerobatic display teams.HAL’s Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) andthe Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Tejas wereon display at the event. The aircraftparticipating in static and air displays werethe Indian Air Force Sarang Team. Air displayteams from Sweden, UK, Czech Republicand open sky jump by USA Special Forceswere among the major attractions.

A breathtaking display of air power andbrilliant aerobatics by fighter jets andhelicopters enthralled the audience wherefamed international aerobatic teams left thecrowd awestruck with their death-defyingstunts. In the skies a tiny Tiger Moth, thevintage aircraft that was once used as primarytrainer aircraft for the Royal Air Force duringWorld War II and was also the basic traineraircraft in the IAF initially, followed by India’sLight Combat Aircraft Tejas pulled off somestunts.

Another Indian product that amazed allwas the Light Combat Helicopter made bythe state-run HAL. Its reverse flying, a featureuncommon for conventional helicopters, wasmuch appreciated along with itsmaneuvering skills. The wing walkers fromSweden left everyone stunned as two girlsdid aerobatic feats on board a flying plane.

CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratoriesalso participated in the AEROINDIA 2015Exhibition. The items showcased at theAEROINDIA 2015 included autoclave,radomes, wind tunnel model, DHVANI,DRISHTI, simulators, wankel engine, carbon

Exhibitions


fibre, MAVs, scaleddown models ofSARAS, HANSAand CNM5, etc.

The stall designwas unique thistime, as NAL hadopted for theMaxima Setups. NAL’s preparationfor the air showinvolved systematicplanning that startedmonths in advanceand the result wassufficiently gratifying.The il luminatedbacklit postersdisplaying NALtechnologies addedto the aesthetics of thelayout.

The importantvisitors to the stallincluded DirectorGeneral CSIR, JointSecretary CSIR, Dr.V.K. Atre, formerDRDO Chief,Former Directors ofNAL and otherforeign dignitaries.Dr. M.O. Garg, DG-CSIR appreciatedthe stall design andproduct display andcongratulated theNAL team forputting up a goodshow at theAEROINDIA 2015.

The NAL stallattracted a largenumber of seriousvisitors. NALreceived quite a fewbusiness enquiriesparticularly onMAVs, Autoclave,Wankel engine,DHVANI &Surface Coatings.


CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal andAromatic Plants (CSIR-CIMAP), Lucknoworganized a one-day Kisan Mela in its campuson 31 January 2015. About 4000 farmers andentrepreneurs from different statesparticipated in the Kisan Mela. Hon’bleGovernor of Uttar Pradesh Shri Ram Naikwas the chief Guest.

Kisan Mela

CSIR-CIMAP Organizes Farmers’ Fair(Kisan Mela)

In his inaugural address, the Governorsaid that medicinal and aromatic plantcultivation is helping the farmers to enhancetheir income. Lauding the efforts of CSIR-CIMAP in the development anddissemination of technologies, the Governorsaid that people are now demanding drugsand cosmetics based on natural products asthe prolonged use of synthetic items isproducing side effects. The Governor calledupon the farmers present in the Kisan Melato interact with scientists and to acquirerecent knowledge on the medicinal andaromatic plants.

Later, the Governor visited Kisan Melastalls and released the improved distillationunit for rose and other precious essential oilsdeveloped by CIMAP. He also planted asapling of ‘Sita Ashok’ (Saraca asoca) in theinstitute’s campus.

Mrs. Eva Sharma, Chief Conservatorof Forest was also present on the occasionas a special guest.

Earlier in his welcome address, Prof.Anil Kumar Tripathi, Director, CSIR-CIMAP said that CSIR-CIMAP is organizingKisan Mela on 31st January every year forthe last about 11 years. Prof. Tripathi citedthe contributions made by CSIR-CIMAP inthe area of mint technology and anti-malarialdrug plant Artemisia annua technologythrough which thousands of farmers andentrepreneurs and several industries havebeen benefitted over the past many years.

Interaction on production and marketingof medicinal and aromatic plants, sale ofquality planting material and publications,demonstration of improved plant varietiesand herbal products, live demonstration ofdistillation/processing, training for rosewater and agarbatti making, anddemonstration of ‘Early Mint Technology’were the main attractions of the CSIR-CIMAP Kisan Mela. An improveddistillation unit named “CSIR-CIMAP UnnatAsvika” (a multi-utility and portable minidistillation unit for all types of essential oils)

Hon’ble Governor of Uttar Pradesh,Shri Ram Naik and Director, CSIR-CIMAP,

Prof. A.K. Tripathi lighting the lamp. Standing inthe centre is Chief Conservator of Forests,

Mrs. Eva Sharma.

Release of ‘Aus-Gyanya’,a souvenir-cum-extension bulletin

Kisan Mela


A view of the guests and participants in theKisan Mela

developed by CSIR-CIMAP, the souvenir‘Aus-Gyanya’ and a booklet on the co-cultivation of menthol mint were alsoreleased by the Governor.

Representatives of IPCA Lab, Ratlam,SIDBI and buyers and sellers of medicinaland aromatic plants also participated in theKisan Mela. Various scientific institutes suchas CSIR-NBRI, Biotech Park and othercompanies and Mentha Growers Associationand several beneficiaries of CSIRtechnologies put up their stalls in theMela.

In the Technical Session, lectureson Mentha cultivation by Dr. V.K.S.Tomar, Co-cultivation of Mentha by Dr.Saudan Singh, Vetiver by Dr. H.S.Chauhan, Lemongrass and Citronella byDr. Saudan Singh, Palmarosa by Dr. H.P.Singh, distil lation and storage ofessential oil by Er. Sudeep Tandon,Artemisia by Dr. A.K. Gupta,Ashwagandha by Dr. Saudan Singh,Satavar and Kalmegh by Dr. H.P. Singh,marketing of medicinal and aromaticplants by Dr. Sanjay Kumar, and vermi-

CSIR-CIMAP Unnat Asvika, a multi-utility portable distillation unit released on the occasion

composting by Dr. Alok Kalra weredelivered.

A Question & Answer session wasalso organised for the benefit of the farmers.Dr. V.K.S. Tomar, Chairman of the organisingcommittee presented the details ofvarious programmes of the Kisan Mela whileDr. Sanjay Kumar, Convenor conductedthe proceedings and proposed the vote ofthanks.


Honours & AwardsHonours & Awards

CSIR-IICB Scientist Elected WAST Fellow

CSIR-IICB Scientist Awarded FNA

Dr. Subhas Chandra Biswas, Senior Scientist,CSIR-IICB, Kolkata has recently been electedas Fellow of the West Bengal Academy ofScience and Technology (WAST). Dr. Biswashas made very important contributionstowards the understanding of molecularmechanism of neurodegeneration in

CSIR-IICB Scientist Awarded FNASc

Alzheimer’s disease. He has established anexcellent neurodegenerative disease researchlaboratory at CSIR-IICB. He has identifiedseveral endogenous molecules and signallingpathways that can serve as potentialtherapeutic targets for amelioration ofneurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease.

Professor Nahid Ali, Chief Scientist, CSIR-IICB, Kolkata has recently been electedFellow of the prestigious Indian NationalScience Academy (2015) as a recognition ofher outstanding contributions to the field ofparasitology with focus on the potentiallyfatal disease visceral leishmaniasis or kala-azar.

She has successfully integrated variousscientific disciplines towards developmentof vaccines, immunotherapy, drugs anddiagnosis of this disease. Her pioneeringdoctoral work resulted in a paradigm shiftfrom anionic to cationic liposomes as vaccineadjuvant. Prof. Ali and her group were thefirst to demonstrate the use of liposomalprotein-based vaccines, and heterologous(DNA/protein) prime-boosting for sustainedprotection against visceral leishmaniasis.

Prof. Ali’s noteworthy observation onthe cytocidal activity of drug-freestearylamine-bearing liposomes, throughabundant parasite-specific phosphatidylserine,led to the development of efficient liposomal

drugs for sterile cure with single-shottherapy. The formulations show synergismwith the drugs and render them more specificand effective for treating the disease. Herassociates have recently extended thisstrategy for the targeted therapy of cancer.

Unravelling the enigma of immunesuppression, Prof. Ali’s group demonstratedfor the first time leishmanial antigen specificsecretion of suppressive cytokines, IL-10 andTGF-â, in kala-azar. Further, they providedvital clues for relapse and reactivation ofdisease in the form of PKDL. Moreover,her observations on the cross-reactivity ofleprosy sera with leishmanial antigensrecently challenged the authenticity ofphenolic glycolipid-1 as specific antigen forleprosy.

Prof. Ali is an elected Fellow of theWest Bengal Academy of Science andTechnology (2008), Fellow of the NationalAcademy of Sciences India (2011), andFellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences(2013).

Dr. Keya Chaudhuri, Emeritus Scientist,CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology(CSIR-IICB), Kolkata, has been selected forthe award of Fellowship of the NationalAcademy of Sciences, Allahabad, India, whichwas announced in October 2014 in MedicalSciences.

Dr. Chaudhuri was honoured for herfundamental contributions in understanding

of the pathogenesis of the disease cholera,with insight on how to design a better vaccine.Her group devised an original strategy thatidentified a number of in vivo inducedgene products in Vibrio cholerae. Her groupdeveloped a new algorithm for identificationof genomic islands in prokaryotes withwhich a new virulence determinant wasdiscovered in V. cholerae and was


CSIR-IICB Scientist Awarded FNASc

Dr. C.S. Nautiyal Honoured withJ. C. Bose National Fellowship

experimentally shown to encode a new RTXlike toxin.

Her laboratory for the first time haddeveloped human epithelial cell-dendriticcell (EC-DC) co-culture model for studyinghost-V. cholerae interaction. Her group has

recently discovered a novel mechanism oftransportation of cholera toxin via outermembrane vesicles and delineated itsimmune response. Her research has long-lasting impact on better invention strategiesfor the disease cholera.

Dr. Sharmila Chattopadhyay, PrincipalScientist of CSIR-Indian Institute ofChemical Biology (CSIR-IICB), Kolkata, hasbeen elected as a ‘Fellow of The NationalAcademy of Sciences, India, 2014’ for hersignificant contributions to the area of ‘PlantDefence Signalling Mechanism’.

Dr. Chattopadhyay is in CSIR-IICB forthe last 14 years after obtaining herpostdoctoral training abroad in ATO-DLO,Wageningen, The Netherlands. She hasrevealed how under environmental stressconditions plants sense the stress, and act tosurvive in the hostile environment. She hassuccessfully demonstrated that glutathionein its reduced form i.e. GSH has an intricateposition in plant defence. In her recentstudies, she has identified that few stressresponsive proteins viz. HSPs, NBS-LRR,serine/threonine protein kinase, annexin etc.

are the key conciliators of GSH-mediatedefence especially under biotic stressconditions in planta.

Besides, pathway engineering ontherapeutically important plant secondarymetabolites is another current research areaof her laboratory. Next-generationsequencing of Podophyllum hexandrum, anendangered medicinal plant, followed by theidentification and characterization of pathwaygene/s of podophyllotoxin, a secondgeneration anti-cancer agent, has beenperformed efficiently in her laboratory.

Dr. Chattopadhyay is a reviewer and amember of the Editorial Board ofprestigious international and national journalsin the area of Plant Science. She haspublished several research articles ininternational peer-reviewed journals andbook chapters as well.

Dr. Chandra Shekhar Nautiyal, Director ofCSIR-National Botanical Research Institute,Lucknow has been awarded the prestigious‘J.C. Bose National Fellowship’ by theDepartment of Science and Technology(DST), Ministry of Science and Technology,Government of India.

The award is conferred to Dr. Nautiyal,for his eminence and contributions in thefield of exploring ecosystem-friendlyapproaches utilizing science behind plant-microbe interactions that he has constantlypursued for the last three decades. Dr.Nautiyal has developed novel technologiesthat have enabled rapid screening and

selection of useful plant growth promotingmicrobes that impart plant tolerance to salt,drought, and pathogenic microorganisms.The outstanding endeavours of Dr Nautiyalin the field of agricultural biotechnologycontributed in increasing stress toleranceand enhancing the yield of plants, maximisingthe economic, environmental and societalbenefits to the people of India. The majorspin-offs of his contributions have beenseveral patents, publications and utilizationof these technologies by severalbiotechnology companies nationally andinternationally.


CSIR-IHBT Scientist ReceivesPrestigious VASVIK Award

Dr Jamil Akhtar, Chief Scientist, CSIR-CEERI, Pilani participated as an expert mem-ber in the 3rd Joint Committee Meeting onScience & Technology held in Cairo during22-23 December 2014.

Dr. Jamil Akhtar of CSIR-CEERI inconversation with Egyptian former Minister of

Agriculture Dr. Ayman Abu Hadid in presence ofIndia Ambassador to Egypt H.E. Mr. Navdeep Suri

During the meeting, India and Egyptsigned an ambitious new ExecutiveProgramme on Cooperation in the field ofScience and Technology. The documentswere signed in Cairo in the premises of theMinistry of Scientific Research and in the

presence of H.E. Dr. Sherif Hamad, Ministerof Scientific Research of the Arab Republicof Egypt and H.E. Mr. Navdeep Suri,Ambassador of India to Egypt.

The Indian delegation was led by Dr.Arabinda Mitra, Advisor and Head, Interna-tional Bilateral Cooperation, Department ofScience &Technology, Govt of India, whilethe Egyptian side was led by Prof. Dr. HazemMansour, Assistant to the Minister of Scien-tific Research, Egypt.

The Executive Programme will be validfor the period 2015-2018 and will focus co-operation on vital sectors of Biotechnology(agriculture biotechnology and enzyme bio-technology); Nano-Technology (Materialsciences and Sensors); and Information &Communication Technology (e-Health, e-Education and e-Governance). Both sideswill arrange Joint Research and DevelopmentProjects, exchange of visits by Scientists andtraining programmes, and scientific work-shops and conferences for which they willbe organizing two workshops in Egypt andone in India. The two sides also agreed thatthe 4th Joint Committee Meeting will be heldin India in early 2016.

CSIR-CEERI Chief Scientist visitsEgypt as Expert

Honours & Awards

Dr. Sanjay Kumar, Senior Principal Scientistat the CSIR-Institute of HimalayanBioresource Technology (CSIR-IHBT),Palampur was presented the prestigiousVASVIK (Vividhlaxi Audyogik SamshodhanVikas Kendra) award for the year 2013 in thefield of agricultural science and technologyfor his work on industrial enzymes, plants incold desert at high altitude, improving thephotosynthesis rate, stress tolerance and yieldof plants in a function held at Bhaidas Audi-torium, Mumbai.

The award was presented by Shri PiyushGoyal, Union Minister of State for New &Renewable Energy, Power & Coal in thepresence of Dr. Mohan I. Patel, Chairman,

Board of Directors, VASVIK, Shri NayanPatel, Director, VASVIK and Prof. M.M.Sharma, Chairman, Board of Advisors,VASVIK, apart from other dignitaries. Theaward carries a citation and cash prize ofrupees one lakh.

While working at CSIR-IHBT, Dr.Kumar has significantly contributed in Hi-malayan high altitude biology and transferof technology of a novel enzyme “Super-oxide Dismutase” (SOD) which is associ-ated with controlling oxygen toxicity arisingout of oxidative stress in any living system.The technology has been licensed to aKolkata-based company, M/s Phyto BiotechPvt. Ltd.


Ms Deeksha Bist, Acting Director of CSIR-National Institute of Science Communicationand Information Resources (NISCAIR), NewDelhi received the Science and TechnologyExcellence Award for ScienceCommunication 2014-15 from theUttarakhand State Council for Science andTechnology (UCOST), Department ofScience & Technology, Govt. ofUttarakhand. The award was presented to MsBist on 26 February 2015 by the ChiefMinister of Uttarakhand Mr Harish Rawatduring the 9th Uttarakhand State ScienceCongress at Vigyan Dham in Dehradun(26-28 February 2015).

In the past this prestigious award hasbeen conferred on eminent scientists fromUttarakhand such as Padmashri Prof. A.N.Purohit, former Vice Chancellor, HNBGarhwal University; Padmashri Prof. V.P.Dimri, former Director, CSIR-NGRI; Prof.S.K. Joshi, former Director general, CSIR;Dr. D.S. Bhakuni, former scientist, CSIR-CDRI; Dr. B.K. Gairola, Director General,NIC; Prof. R.C. Budhani, former Director,CSIR-NPL; Dr. G.S. Rautela, DirectorGeneral, NCSM; Dr. Manju Sharma, formerSecretary, DBT; Dr. V.P. Sharma, formerDirector, ICMR and Dr. P.C. Nawani, formerDirector, GSI and NIRM.

Ms Bist has been the Head of thePopular Science Division and the Print-Production Division in CSIR-NISCAIR. Shehas more than thirty three years of experiencein science writing, editing, and publishing.She was earlier Editor of the monthly Hindipopular science magazine Vigyan Pragati withwhich she was associated for 17 years. Mrs.Bist became the youngest editor of VigyanPragati. Also, she was the first female editor ofany Government science magazine in India.

She is currently Editor of CSIR Samachar(monthly Hindi newsletter of CSIR) andBharat ki Sampada. Ms Deeksha Bist haswritten more than 600 articles that have beenpublished in leading newspapers, magazinesand journals, has delivered more than 350S&T based radio talks and lectures on

CSIR-NISCAIR Acting Director Receives Awardfor Excellence in Science Communication

science communication and other S&Ttopics, and edited several books on scientifictopics. She has also been Chairperson/Member of several national committees.

Ms Bist is member of prestigiousassociations such as the Indian ScienceWriters Association, Indian Women ScientistAssociation, Kendriya Sachivalaya HindiParishad, Vigyan Parishad, Prayag, Societyfor Publication and Advancement of ScienceEducation, and Lekhika Sangh.

Ms Deeksha Bist has several honours toher credit. She was honoured with a citationand Public Honour by Manav Sewa Parishad,New Delhi (1991); conferred “VigyanShree” by Vigyan Parishad, Prayag forpopularising S&T (1997), “Whitaker VigyanPuraskar-1998” by Vigyan Parishad, Prayagfor excellence in popular science writing,“Bharat Ki Mahan Suputri” citation andpublic honour by Akhil Bhartiya ManavSewa Parishad, New Delhi in 1998,“Himwant Kavi Chandra Kunwar BartwalSamman” by Kedarkhand SanskritikSansthan, Mussoorie (2002) for excellence inscience writing in Hindi, “Vigyan LekhanShree Samman” by Bal Prahari, Almora,Uttarakhand for excellence in science writingfor children (2006), “Sh. Dilip M. SalwiISWA National Award for SciencePopularisation” by ISWA, New Delhi (2012)and “Vigyan Parishad Prayag ShatabdiSamman” for outstanding contribution forScience Popularization in RashtrabhashaHindi on the occasion of Vigyan ParishadPrayag Shatabdi Varsh (2012-2013).


CSIR—Serving The Nation

Since its inception in 1947 as the BuildingResearch Unit and its transformation into theCSIR-Central Building Research Institute,Roorkee in February 1951, CSIR-CBRI hasbeen assisting the building construction andbuilding material industries in finding timely,appropriate and economical solutions to theproblems of advanced materials, healthmonitoring and rehabilitation of structures,disaster mitigation, fire safety, energy efficientbuildings, etc.Building Materials: The thrust is ondevelopment of building material from naturalresources – inferior soil, mining, industrial,agricultural wastes. Work is on to developwood substitutes, polymers, plastics, protectivecoatings, adhesives, fibre-reinforced buildingmaterials and components, cement, lime andlime-based products, super-plasticiser and high-strength concrete and pollution controlling andmonitoring devices for lime kilns. Technologyfor termite prevention and prevention offungi attack in buildings has been developed.Clay Flyash Bricks: Plants for the manufactureof clay-flyash bricks have been set up atDabhol, Vadodara (Gujarat), Ropar &Bhatinda (Punjab) and Delhi, based on thetechnology developed at the Institute. Theplants utilize 40-50% locally available flyashfor the production of bricks.Flyash Sand Lime Bricks: A commercial plantfor the manufacture of flyash-lime brick hasbeen established at Durgapur by DamodarValley Corporation, Kolkata. The plant hasbeen designed to produce 40,000 bricks perday.Wood Substitute: The Institute has developedEPS Composite Door Shutters, Coir-CNSLBoard, Fibre Reinforced Gypsum Binder asan alternative to wood. Natural fibre doorshutter filled with foam has also beendeveloped.Block Making Machine for Remote Hilly Areas:Egg-laying type concrete block makingmachine capable of producing concrete blocks

CSIR – SERVING THE NATIONCSIR News is profiling all the CSIR laboratories throwing light on the

significant areas they work in and their achievements.

CSIR-Central Building Research Institute(CSIR-CBRI)

with stone aggregates as large as 75 mmsuitable for hilly regions has been designed anddeveloped.

Building ConstructionMini Climbing Crane: Mini climbing cranedesigned at the Institute was awarded RepublicDay Award by NRDC, New Delhi. It can liftloads up to 1000 kg. The crane is in use inbuilding construction projects for theconstruction of multi-storeyed residential andother buildings.Navodya Vidyalaya: More than 500 NavodyaVidyalaya complexes completed based ondesign, specifications and constructiontechnologies recommended by the Institute.NV complexes have been constructed at highaltitude like Kargil and at sea level likeLakshadweep and Andaman Nicobar Islands.Expert System for Computer Aided ArchitectureDesign: Expert System Software to helparchitects and planners in designing andevaluation of housing programmes.Rural Housing: Planning, design andconstruction of low-cost houses using localmaterials, low cost waste disposal system,socio-economic and physical surveys ofvillages in different geographical regions ofthe country.Disaster MitigationDamage Assessment due to Earthquakes:Earthquake damaged buildings surveyed inUttarkashi region of Uttarakhand andremedial measures for rehabilitation submittedto the Government.Earthquake-resistant Design and Construction: TheInstitute at the request of Govt. ofMaharashtra provided technical guidance forselection of appropriate building materials andconstruction technologies suitable forearthquake-prone areas.Houses for Cyclone-prone Areas: Alternativehousing plans developed utilizing pyramidalroof for cyclone-prone coastal areas ofAndhra Pradesh, Orissa and Kerala.


Landslide Hazard Zonation Maps of someregions of Garhwal and Sikkim prepared fordevelopment of housing complexes in safezones and in the maintenance of roads.

Building Efficiency Design of residential and industrial

buildings for natural and artificialillumination, ventilation, acoustic andthermal comfort, utilizing solar energyfor heating & passive cooling system.

Development of guidelines for greenand energy efficient buildings

Development of low-cost technologiesfor economically weaker section

Development of guidelines forphysically challenged

Guidelines, bye-laws code of practicefor use of glass in buildings

Fire Research Development of fire-retardant

treatments and coatings, post-fireinvestigations, study of the burningbehaviour of flammable liquid fuel instorage tanks and technology for itsextinguishment, development of firedetectors and alarm system, computermodeling of fire in buildings, evaluationof fire characteristics and burningbehaviour of materials and products.

Software CALFIRE (calculate fire inroom and enclosure) developed topredict the behaviour of fire.

New system for cable installation usingcavity blocks developed to make fire-stop walls and to separate cables fromeach other minimising risk of fire hazards.

Fire properties of new building materialsdeveloped in the country for commercialpurposes were determined.

For protecting and reducing fire hazardto aircraft seat cushion an innovativemethod of fire blocking layer (FBL) hasbeen developed at the Institute.CSIR-CBRI technologies were used in

construction of more than 200000 urbanhouses, 50,000 rural houses, 10,000 education,health and other buildings giving a saving ofabout 50 crores to the nation on the total costof construction of Rs 900 crores.

The Institute has linkages withInternational bodies like CIB, Netherland;TWAS, Italy; BRE, UK; ASTM, USA; CSIRO,Australia; RILEM, France; BRS, Canada,UNCHS, Nairobi, Kenya, etc. At the nationallevel the Institute has close liaison and linkagewith HUDCO, DST, MUD, Housing Boardsand Societies of the State Governments,engineering and academic institutions of thecountry and construction and building materialindustries.

Development of climatic zone map ofIndia included in BIS

Distress diagnosis & strengthening ofRC & heritage structures

Health monitoring & rehabilitation ofstructures

For further details contact:

DirectorCentral Building ResearchInstitute, Roorkee-247667,Uttarakhand, IndiaPhone: 01332-272243, 272235,27630Fax: 01332-272543, 272272E-mail:[email protected] &[email protected]: www.cbri.res.in


Deeksha Bist on behalf of CSIR-National Institute of Science Communication And Information ResourcesDr K.S. Krishnan Marg, New Delhi -110 012 and printed at NISCAIR Press

Dr K.S. Krishnan Marg, New Delhi -110 012Editor: Hasan Jawaid Khan; Editorial Assistance: Neelima HandooDesign: Neeru Sharma & Sarla Dutta; Production: Supriya Gupta

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1 |ÉBÉEÉ¶ÉxÉ BÉEÉ ºlÉÉxÉ/Place of Publication New Delhi2 |ÉBÉEÉ¶ÉxÉ BÉEÉÒ +É´ÉÉÊvÉ/Periodicity of its publication Semi-monthly3 àÉÖpBÉE BÉEÉ xÉÉàÉ/Printer’s Name Deeksha Bist

(BÉDªÉÉ £ÉÉ®iÉ BÉEÉ xÉÉMÉÉÊ®BÉE cè?)/(Whether citizen of India?) Yes(ªÉÉÊn ÉÊ Énä¶ÉÉÒ cè iÉÉä àÉÚãÉ nä¶É)/(If Foreigner, state thecountry of origin){ÉiÉÉ/Address National Institute of Science Communication

and Information ResourcesDr. K.S. Krishnan Marg,New Delhi 110 012

4 |ÉBÉEÉ¶ÉBÉE BÉEÉ xÉÉàÉ/Publisher’s Name Deeksha Bist(BÉDªÉÉ £ÉÉ®iÉ BÉEÉ xÉÉMÉÉÊ®BÉE cè?) /(Whether citizen of India?) Yes(ªÉÉÊn ÉÊ Énä¶ÉÉÒ cè iÉÉä àÉÚãÉ nä¶É) /(If Foreigner, state the country of origin) {ÉiÉÉ/Address As above in (3)

5 ºÉÆ{ÉÉnBÉE BÉEÉ xÉÉàÉ/Editor’s Name Hasan Jawaid Khan(BÉDªÉÉ £ÉÉ®iÉ BÉEÉ xÉÉMÉÉÊ®BÉE cè?) /(Whether citizen of India?) Yes(ªÉÉÊn ÉÊ Énä¶ÉÉÒ cè iÉÉä àÉÚãÉ nä¶É) /(If Foreigner, state thecountry of origin){ÉiÉÉ/Address As above in (3)

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I, Deeksha Bist, hereby declare that the particulars given above are true to the best of my knowledge and belief.

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Nominations are invited forG N Ramachandran Gold Medal for Excellence in

Biological Sciences & Technology - 2015The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) invites nominations for the G N Ramachandran GoldMedal for Excellence in Biological Sciences & Technology for the year 2015. The award is bestowed everyyear to an outstanding Indian scientist, who has made conspicuously important contributions, applied or fundamental,in the inter-disciplinary subject / field of Biological Sciences and Technology. The award would be given for thework done primarily in India during ten years preceding the year of the award.

Nominations addressed to Scientist Incharge, SSB YSA Unit, Human Resource Development Group, CSIRComplex, Library Avenue, Pusa, New Delhi 110 012 should be sent as per prescribed pro-forma (Original + onecopy) along with reprints of five most significant publications of the last 10-year’s period by 31 May 2015. Thedetails of the award and the prescribed pro-forma for nomination may be downloaded from the websitewww.csirhrdg.res.in

Documents

Ne - NISCAIR · 50 CSIR News MARCH 2015 R&D Highlights The Wax Deoiling Technology developed jointly by the CSIR-Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP), Dehradun and the