Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) has been instrumental in changing the lives of the rural people in Himachal Pradesh. The transformations are visible not just in the sheer numbers of check dams, land development projects, footpaths, garbage pits, school buildings, Anganwadi and Mahila Mandal buildings and other infrastructures, but also in the quality of life of the people. There has been a significant impact on the lives of women and the underprivileged sections of the society, a study has said.

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi collaborated with the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR) for conducting this study on and documenting the successful implementation of MGNREGA in Himachal Pradesh.

The study titled Â‘Documentation of Successful Practices and Scalable Models under MGNREGA in Himachal Pradesh’sought to identify and delineate the practices and processes responsible for the successful implementation of MGNREGA in the diverse areas of the State.

The topography of Himachal Pradesh, the climate, culture and agricultural cycles, in addition to the relative absence of industrial factories that are the mainstay of urban employment in several other States sets the Himachal region apart from the rest of the country. Since the inception of MGNREGA, the State has been ahead of many others on parameters such as the number of people registered, person-days generated and increasing participation of women. Himachal Pradesh has successfully met some of the core objectives of MGNREGA including inter alia rural asset creation, micro-watershed development, checking urban migration, empowering women, and uplifting scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, economically and socially backward sections. The State has been honoured with several national awards for its exceptional participation in the MGNREGA scheme.

This study found that the impact of MGNREGA can be observed most significantly in the lives of women in Mandi district. The scheme has helped address the issue of financial dependence of women in the rural areas by providing them with an individual source of income that also led to a gradual increase in their self-confidence. About 75% of the work under the MGNREGA in Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh was executed through women as against the national average of 48% in the country. Further, in certain panchayats in the district, women brought about a ban on liquor through the rapport they had built by working under MGNREGA and the subsequent creation of women’s groups.

A good example of convergence stemmed from the issue of severe water shortages for irrigation and domestic use faced by the people of the Nihri village. The solution to this was arrived at through the collective efforts of MGNREGA and the Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) department of the State.

The mutual cooperation and trust demonstrated between the panchayat officials and villagers has been instrumental in the success of MGNREGA in Himachal Pradesh. An example of this cooperation was documented during the attempts of the people of Lambathach panchayat to build a footbridge on the Chaddhi khad rivulet that becomes extremely fierce during monsoons and is the only passage to five villages. After having failed three to four times, the panchayat officials and villagers came together to devise a strategy to complete the construction of the bride in time, before the onset of the next monsoon. The labour put in extra hours and worked beyond their 100 days’ requirement sometimes without wages, while the panchayat officials ensured the availability of raw materials in time and shared some of the expenses from their own pockets.

The Kangra district became the first district in the country to geotag 100% of the assets under MGNREGA, remarkably within one month of its declaration. This is despite the fact that a significant part of the district lies in the mid or high Himalayas and some parts do not even have road connectivity.

Elaborating on the role of NIRDPR in the study, Prof. S. Jyothis, Head, Centre for Wage Employment, NIRDPR said,“The study is supported by NIRDPR under the Annual Action Plan of the MGNREGS, Ministry of Rural Development, which reveals that MGNREGS in Himachal Pradesh is not only efficient and effective in terms of building infrastructure, natural and social capital at grassroots level, but also in helping in decentralized governance and women empowerment. The inputs from the study are also used in the course materials for MGNREGS capacity building programmes at the Centre for Wage Employment, NIRDPR.”

Speaking about the relevance of the study, Dr. Ramna Thakur, Assistant Professor at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences IIT Mandi said,“There was a great need to document successful practices and the mitigation strategies in MGNREGA in Himachal Pradesh to encourage others to treat MGNREGA as a sustainable way to uplift the rural livelihoods, and to change the face of rural India.”

Some recommendations as well have stemmed from this study, which take into account the unique socio-geographical landscape of the region. Given that the winter months (December to February) are a lean period in agriculture, MGNREGA must provide more work opportunities during this period such that the local people do not feel compelled to travel long distances for seeking employment. In addition, introducing skilled work under MGNREGA will allow the educated population to put their skills to better use. Integration of a skills development component into MGNREGA will also achieve the twin objectives of imparting work-specific training and addressing the paradox of educated, skilled people engaged in unskilled manual work. Finally, targeted awareness campaigns will be crucial in ensuring the local people know about the MGNREGA scheme and the benefits under it, as well as help reduce any stigma associated with unskilled manual labour.

The BJP on Wednesday attacked the Congress-led UPA government for blindly giving loans and weakening the banks due to which their losses increased from Rs 18,000 crore to Rs 53,000 crore, and said the NDA government brought transparency and forced people to repay their loans.

“Swachh Bharat Mission of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not restricted only to the cleanliness of courtyards but is also about the cleanliness in our economic system,” Union Minister Piyush Goyal told a press conference here.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said that after assuming the office in 2014, the Modi government inherited an extremely fragile banking sector.

“But the Prime Minister and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley took a wise decision not to bring any such white paper and they responsibly ran the government and brought sustainable solution to only strengthen the economy,” Goyal said.

Slamming the previous United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government for giving loans without doing the fact-check of projects, Goyal said: “The UPA government started distributing loans from 2006 and the procedure went on till 2014. The bank losses increased from Rs 18,000 crore to Rs 53,000 crore in those years.”

“Due to blindly giving of loans overcapacity was created,” he said.

Citing example of the Indian Bank, Goyal said: “Same situation of the non-performing assets (NPAs) was prevalent when Atal Bihari Vajpayeeji’s government had come to power. And at that time, he brought the transparency and the Indian Bank is running in profit.”

“And today, we have also brought transparency in the NPA loans and tried to resolve the entire mess that Congress gave us,” he said.

Attacking the Congress-led government, Goyal said: “UPA blindly gave out loans and weakened the banks, but the Modi government ushered in transparency and forced all the responsible individuals to repay the loans.”

“In case they couldn’t repay the loans, we tried to resolve through Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code,” he said.

The Railway and Coal Minister also said that during the UPA government, a lot of big people took loans without taking into account the responsibility that comes along with it.

“But it is Modi government which has acted tough with these people and forced them to pay back,” he said.

Goyal further said that the strictness of the government also led to the implementation of the Fugitive Law, under which the properties of the defaulters are attached.

This is the first government which has taken strict action against the rich people to repay loan, he underlined. 

Citing the achievements of his government, Goyal said: “Our government implemented the Benami Act. We brought GST instead of 40 different taxes,” the BJP leader added.

Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has announced an increase in remuneration for ASHA and Anganwadi workers. The announcement, which will be effective from next month, was made during a video bridge interaction with lakhs of ASHA, Anganwadi and ANM workers.
The Prime Minister announced the doubling of routine incentives given by the Union Government to ASHA workers. In addition, all ASHA workers and their helpers would be provided free insurance cover under Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and Prime Minister Suraksha Bima Yojana.

Prime Minister also announced significant increase in the honorarium given to Anganwadi workers. Those receiving Rs. 3000 so far, would now receive Rs. 4500. Similarly those receiving Rs. 2200, would now get Rs. 3500. The honorarium for Anganwadi helpers has also been increased from Rs. 1500 to Rs. 2250.

He also announced that Anganwadi workers and helpers using techniques such as Common Application Software (ICDS-CAS), would get additional incentives. The incentives ranging from Rs. 250 to Rs. 500, would be based on performance.

Interacting with teams of three As – the ASHA worker, Anganwadi worker and ANM (Auxiliary Nurse Midwife) from across the country, Mr Modi appreciated their efforts to work together, to use innovative means and technology, to improve the delivery of health and nutrition services and achieve the goal of the POSHAN Abhiyan – reduction of malnutrition in the country.

Highlighting the importance of the National Nutrition Mission, PM said that ‘Poshan Abhiyaan’ launched from Jhunjhunu in Rajasthan, targets reduction in incidence of stunting, anaemia, malnutrition and low birth weight. He added that it is essential to involve maximum women and children with this movement.

PM said that the Government has focussed on aspects relating to nutrition and quality healthcare. Vaccination efforts are progressing at a quick pace, helping women and children in particular.

An Indian-born woman research scholar from the University of Washington won the Paul Baran Young Scholar Award for 2018 for using smartphones to detect life-threatening symptoms, the California-based Marconi Society, which has instituted the award, said on Tuesday.

“Nandakumar Rajalakshmi is the winner of this year’s Young Scholar Award for her outstanding research work in detecting life-threatening symptoms using smartphones,” the Society said in an e-mail to IANS.

Inspired by bats, which use sonar to navigate in the dark by sending acoustic signals and using reflections to identify objects, Rajalakshmi, 28, has turned a smartphone into an active sonar system to detect physiological activity like movement or respiration in a human body by a remote device.

“Rajalakshimi’s system works by transmitting inaudible sound signals from a smartphone’s speaker and tracking their reflections off the human body. The reflections are analysed by algorithms and signal processing techniques,” the Society said in the e-statement.

The system is disrupting the sleep industry by creating a non-intrusive, low-cost application — ApneaApp for detecting sleep apnea, a breathing disorder that affects millions of people the world over and yet remains undiagnosed.

“I wanted to find a way to detect physiological signals, like pulse and heart rate, which are used for healthcare applications. When I found that many consumer electronic devices have speakers and microphones, I decided to study if inaudible signals could help detect physiological movement,” Rajalakshmi told IANS via another e-mail.

The Society will honour Rajalakshmi with the award on October 2 at Bologna, Italy.

“Being recognised by the Marconi Society is humbling and motivates me to excel further in this field and to have a much larger impact,” she said.

Paul Baran (1926-2011), a Polish-born Jewish American engineer, was a pioneer in the development of computer networks. He won the Marconi Prize in 1991 for inventing packet switching technology, used in data communications, worldwide.

Set up in 1975 by Marconi’s daughter Gioia Marconi Braga through an endowment, the Society annually awards outstanding individuals whose scope of work and influence emulate the principle of “creativity in service to humanity” that inspired Marconi.

The young scholars are selected by an international jury of engineers from leading universities and firms on nomination from their academic advisers.

The award consists of $5,000 (Rs 362,500) and expenses to attend the annual ceremony.

“More than the prize, Young Scholars are offered mentoring and guidance by the Society’s distinguished roster of engineering greats,” added the statement.

A post-doctorate scholar in the University of Washington’s Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science & Engineering at Seattle, Rajalakshmi went to the US in 2013 after a two-year stint as a research assistant at Microsoft India Research Centre in Bengaluru during 2011-13.

She graduated in B.Tech from Guindy College of Engineering in Chennai after studying at TVS Lakshmi School in the temple town of Madurai in Tamil Nadu.

Rajalakshmi’s parents run a healthcare devices firm Ideal Diagnostics Ltd at Madurai, about 460 km southwest of Chennai.

“My father was in the healthcare sector when I grew up and spent a lot of time in these environments. The best part of my work is seeing the people using my technology and knowing that it benefits their well-being. As a computer scientist, I find it very fulfilling,” recalled Rajalakshmi.

Before Rajalakshmi developed the ApneaApp, diagnosing sleep apnea was an expensive polysomnography test that involved an overnight stay in a hospital or sleep clinic connected to a tangle of wires, or in-home systems with high failure rates due to the accidental detachment of sensors during sleep.

Whereas, ApneaApp needs no instrumentation of the individual and can track a person’s breathing remotely from home.

After proving the effectiveness of her app, Rajalakshmi and the University of Washington licensed the innovation to ResMed, a leader in sleep technology and medical devices.

The technology was built into the new SleepScore app for Android and iOS that helps individuals to monitor their sleep quality.

“Rajalakshmi has a knack for selecting problems with high social impact,” said her advisor and associate professor at the university Shyam Gollakota on the occasion.

“What’s incredible is Rajalakshmi has innovated a technology that is like science fiction and has got it adopted by hundreds of people in the real world. It is rare for a graduate student to have such impact with even one application, and she is doing it time and again,” reiterated Gollakota.

Rajalakshmi’s latest work focuses on using sonar to detect opioid overdoses. About 100 people reportedly die daily in the US due to overdosing on opioids, making it a critical healthcare issue.

Deaths from overdose are preventable through timely detection and intervention. Rajalakshmi developed an app that people can download prior to engaging in high-risk behaviour that monitors breathing and other movements and automatically alerts emergency services or other help if these activities cease.

The application was also tested at a clinic in Vancouver, Canada, showing its ability to save many lives through early detection of the symptoms.

“Our Young Scholar award attracts the world’s brightest researchers. Rajalakshmi embodies the characteristics we seek – intellectual capability, entrepreneurial spirit and the vision to use her work to better humankind,” said Marconi Society’s Chairman Vincent Cerf.

The human body clock could have a significant impact on the way doctors are able to diagnose and treat asthma, according to new research.

The study found that the sputum of asthmatics were more than twice as likely to have more inflammatory cells — or eosinophils — in morning clinics than in the afternoon.

Levels of eosinophils — a biomarker in sputum — are used to guide treatment in severe asthma patients.

Doctor and patients have long known that asthma symptoms are at their worst in the small hours of the morning.

But previous research has shown that the worsening symptoms are biological in cause, rather than a result of lying down.

“These research results are really exciting but at an early stage – our aim was to understand a bit more about how the body clock affects the biochemistry of a person with asthma,” said lead author Hannah Durrington from The University of Manchester in the Britain.

“But we are pleased because our work should help with the accurate diagnosis and treatment of asthma in the future. We feel it may also have important implications on other lung conditions, as well as outside respiratory medicine,” she added.

According to her, the same way that measuring glucose levels in diabetes allows adjustment of insulin dosing, asthmatics can monitor their biomarker chemicals during the day, to help inform optimum treatment times.

The study, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, examined sputum samples of over 300 severe asthmatics.

Durrington said: “Based on our results, different clinical decisions could be made depending on whether the patient is allocated a morning or afternoon appointment.

“And it also points towards opportunities for more personalised treatment for asthma care in the future.”

 Suicides, between May and September, by two of its bright officers — one with the anti-terror squad (ATS) and the other posted as SP (East) in Kanpur — has rattled the Uttar Pradesh Police, one of the largest such forces in the country.

It also raises the question — as it does for other non-military forces around the nation — whether the men in khaki are overworked, stressed from having to meet unrealistic targets from political bosses and unable to balance their professional and personal lives.

Rajesh Sahni, a highly-decorated Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, posted as an Additional SP with the ATS, pulled the trigger on himself at his office in the upscale Gomtinagar neighbourhood of the state capital on May 29. Surendra Kumar Das, a 2014 batch IPS officer, swallowed an overdose of sulfa drugs on September 6 and died three days later. The reasons for taking the extreme step are not known yet, but colleagues say both were “stressed”, albeit for “different reasons”.

Director General of Police (DGP) O.P. Singh, who on September 8 visited the 30-year-old Das at a private hospital in Kanpur where he was battling for life, conceded that the force was in a “high level of stress”. While officers have for long been privately complaining of “heavy volume of work”, “endless work hours”, “ruined personal lives” and “demanding bosses”, the pressure on the police suddenly seems to have pushed people to the brink.

With the state government setting targets for the force so as to portray itself as a “different government which hounds out criminals”, a senior officer told on condition of anonymity that “working was tougher than ever before”. The suicides were a fallout of such pressures, he added.

“The political class, past and present, fails to understand the situation on the ground and the difficulties we face… it is madly after results,” rues another SSP-level officer in eastern Uttar Pradesh. The desperation, be it personal or professional, “to get out of the rut even if it means dying” can be gauged from the fact that Das “Googled ways to die”, a colleague said.

Former DGP Vikram Singh, who served for three long years under a “tough and demanding Mayawati” also admitted that high political stakes force policemen to get stressed. “The police, in any case, has been very overworked and growing crimes, shifting crime patterns and modus operandi add to our woes,” he added.

He regretted that owing to a host of issues like no holidays, lack of sleep, the sinking feeling of failure, public treatment of policemen with contempt, indifference of political bosses and almost no connect with superiors has led to an alarming fall in tolerance levels.

“We, as young officers, have worked with the likes of the legendary B.S. Bedi; they all were so connected and concerned about the well-being of their subordinate officers… sadly the joint family of police has broken,” Vikram Singh added.

Another former DGP, K.L. Gupta, said the police has become a “Draupadi” who is answerable to politicians, the public, RTI queries, courts and human rights activists.

“There certainly are forces that pull down one’s self-esteem and family discord is one reason for such steps,” he told

Brij Lal, another former DGP and currently chairman of the Uttar Pradesh SC/ST Commission, said he knows of many cases since 1981 when police officers took the extreme step due to marital discord. He, however, added that the force was certainly overworked and needed solutions fast and quick.

Sri Ram Arun, another decorated and very respected former DGP, said that pulls and pressures in the police service “now-a-days is more than ever before”.

“There is political pressure from all sides; officers are transferred on a whim,” he maintained, adding that to sort out the mess, the policemen need to stand up against wrongs, and balance their personal and professional lives — while the political masters need to understand that “better policing can only be achieved through a better and cordial relationship with the police and its officers”.

Many serving officers  spoke to said they were concerned about the spate of such sad events and suggested that annual mental profiling, as is the case in police forces in many countries, and even in some para-military forces, was one way to prevent such incidents. They also felt that old-style policing and better camaraderie between the seniors and junior staff was a must as well, along with a certain improvement in working conditions.

Researchers have developed a new vibrating device using bone conduction technology, that can identify the causes of dizziness.

Half of older adults over 65 years suffer from dizziness and problems with balance. However, the current tests to identify the causes of such problems are painful and can risk hearing damage. 

The novel type of vibrating device, developed by researchers from the Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden, is placed behind the ear of the patient during the test.

According to Bo Hakansson, Professor at Chalmers, the vibrating device is small and compact in size, and optimised to provide an adequate sound level for triggering the reflex at frequencies as low as 250 hertz (Hz). 

But in bone conduction transmission, sound waves are transformed into vibrations through the skull, stimulating the cochlea within the ear, in the same way as when sound waves normally go through the ear canal, the eardrum and the middle ear. 

In this technology, detailed in the journal Medical Devices: Evidence and Research, the sound levels which patients are exposed to can be minimised.

“The new vibrating device provides a maximum sound level of 75 decibels. The test can be performed at 40 decibels lower than today’s method using air conducted sounds through headphones,” said Karl-Johan Freden Jansson, postdoctoral researcher at Chalmers. 

“This eliminates any risk that the test itself could cause hearing damage,” Jansson added.

The benefits also include safer testing for children, and that patients with impaired hearing function due to chronic ear infections or congenital malformations in the ear canal and middle ear can be diagnosed for the origin of their dizziness, the researchers said.

As part of India’s reach-out to Africa, the External Affairs Ministry on Monday signed an agreement with the Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd. (TCIL) to establish a pan-African e-network between the two nations.

“This project, called the e-VidyaBharati and e-ArogyaBharati Network Project, will serve as yet another bridge – a digital bridge – between our countries, shrinking the distance between India and Africa even more,” External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said at the signing ceremony.

She said that the the Project “is a clear effort by India to reach out to Africa in the critical areas of education and health”. 

“This e-network aims at providing quality tele-education and tele-medicine facility by linking select Indian Universities, Institutions and Super Specialty Hospitals to African educational institutions and hospitals,” the Minister said.

Stating that the earlier avatar of this project was operated on satellite-based technology and covered 48 African countries, Sushma Swaraj said that it has now been decided to establish two separate web-based portals – one each for tele-education and tele-medicine. 

“This would significantly increase the ease of access for students, doctors etc. who are the intended beneficiaries of this project,” she said.

Reiterating the importance of Africa in India’s foreign policy priorities, the External Affairs Minister pointed out that in the last four years, there have been 26 visits to African countries at the level of President, Vice President and Prime Minister apart from several other Ministerial visits. 

“It has been decided to significantly enhance our diplomatic presence in Africa with the opening of 18 new resident missions over the coming four years,” she said.

She also referred to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 10 guiding principles of India’s engagement with Africa during his address to the Ugandan parliament in July and said: “Our development partnership will be guided by African priorities, so that it liberates African potential and not constrain their future. 

“We will rely on African talent and skills and build local capacity and create local opportunities. We will keep our markets open and make it attractive to trade with India.”

Sushma Swaraj also said that the Indian industry will be supported for investing in Africa. 

India is also a leading development aid partner of African countries and this includes implementation of 180 lines of credit worth about $11 billion in over 40 African countries.

 Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his silence on rising fuel prices, tumbling rupee and agrarian distress, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Monday said a united opposition would drive out the BJP in the next general elections.

Spearheading the ‘Bharat Bandh’ in the national capital, Gandhi said the country was “fed up” with Modi’s speeches and wanted to hear him on burning issues concerning the common man “but the Prime Minister continues to be mute”.

In a sarcastic remark, Gandhi said Modi had kept his 2014 election promise of making India something it had not been in the last 70 years as the economy, farm crisis, crony capitalism and rampant corruption were never as bad as as it was since Modi took power four years ago.

“The rupee has never been so weak in 70 years, petrol today is over Rs 80 while diesel is touching Rs 80. Modi while in opposition used to clamour about price rise but today he is silent. Cooking gas price has doubled to Rs 800, but Modi doesn’t utter a word. Farmers are committing suicide but Modi is silent. BJP MLAs are found involved in rape but Modi says nothing.

“When questions are raised in Parliament about the Rafale (jet) deal, the Prime Minister is unable to give answers. 

“The Prime Minister goes on giving speeches. Now the country has grown tired. He says nothing about what the country wants to hear, what the youth want to hear.” 

The shutdown called by the Congress and Left parties against rising fuel prices saw representatives from Janata Dal-Secular, Trinamool Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Nationalist Congress Party, Loktantrik Janata Dal (LJD), Rashtriya Lok Dal, All India United Democratic Front, Revolutionary Socialist Party and Aam Aadmi Party joining the protest march in Delhi. 

Gandhi spoke at the Ramlila Maidan in the heart of the capital after thousands of opposition activists and leaders, the Congress President included, reached there walking from Rajghat shouting anti-government slogans.

Gandhi also attacked Modi over demonetization and GST and accused him of creating a rift between Indians on caste and communal lines.

“Modi used to say what has not been done in 70 years he will do in five years. And actually what he has done in four years never happened in 70 years,” Gandhi said to laughter. 

“Wherever you see, one Indian is fighting with another Indian, wherever Modi goes he gives birth to a fight… one religion with another, one caste with another, one state with another.”

Gandhi said that while farmers, workers and small traders were losing hope, the biggest “15-20 crony capitalists” were enjoying all the perks. 

“Farmers’ debt cannot be waived but one industrialist can be given a gift of Rs 45,000 crore. India’s youth should know that the money Modi has given to his industrialist friend does not belong to him. The Rs 45,000 crore belongs to the youth and farmers,” he said, without naming any industrialist.

Pointing to how demonetisation destroyed the economy, farmers and small traders, Gandhi said Modi was yet to explain the country about the “real reason” behind the 2016 note ban. 

With a host of prominent opposition leaders joining the protest, Gandhi exuded confidence of a united opposition uprooting the Bharatiya Janata Party in the next general elections.

“Today the entire opposition is here on the dais. It is a reflection of unity. The ideology is the same and we all together will defeat the BJP. 

“The pain in the heart of our farmers, youth and the entire nation is also in the hearts of all the leaders here but it is not so in Modi’s heart. We promise, we will together drive out the BJP.”

New electrodes are being developed by Dr. Surendra K. Martha and his team at the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, for producing rechargeable lithium ion batteries with high energy densities.  

A combination of nano-engineering and new materials processing techniques promise batteries with energy densities twice as high as commercially available products. Dr. Martha’s studies have been published in the Journal of The Electrochemical Society, Journal of Power Sources, Ionics, Journal of Energy Storage and the American Chemical Society’s open access journal, ACS-Omega.

Li-ion batteries have become the power source of choice for a range of applications that involve portable electronics, power tools, and hybrid/full electric vehicles.  In particular, they hold the potential to free the automobile industry from the strong hold of depleting petroleum reserves. Little wonder then, that the Indian government has set a goal of 30% electric vehicles (EVs) on the Indian road by 2030. The realisation of this goal and the development of next generation lithium ion batteries hinges on improvements in the cell components and there is continuing research all over the world in developing better batteries with higher energy densities than possible in current systems.

The lithium ion cell, in its simplified form, consists of three parts: positive electrode (cathode), negative electrode (anode), and electrolyte that conducts the lithium ions between the two electrodes.  Lithium ion shuttles from the cathode to the anode during charging and in reverse during discharge, i.e., when current is being drawn from the battery to, say, operate your cell phone, through the electrolyte. The energy density of the lithium ion battery is decided by the “specific capacity” of the electrode material, defined as “the amount of charge that can be stored in the material per unit mass”, and voltage. 

The material currently used for making cathodes, usually mixed oxides and phosphates of certain metals, have specific capacity in the range of 140-210 mAhg-1 and the anode material, usually graphite, around 350 mAhg-1. The energy density of cells made using such material has hovered around 100–265 Wh kg-1. Dr. Martha and his team at IIT Hyderabad have developed new electrode (both cathode and anode) material with higher specific capacities than conventionally used electrodes.

Dr. Martha’s lab has developed two kinds of cathode material with better capacity than existing systems.  In one, they have synthesized mixtures of transition metal oxide and carbon-coated lithium manganese phosphate to form “blends” that show excellent stability under repeated cycling and very little energy loss over cycle life.  In addition, they have used nanoengineering, in which the material used to fabricate the cathode is a few nanometre in dimensions (for reference: a human hair is approximately 80,000-100,000 nanometre in diameter). The capacity of these electrodes is around 225 mAhg-1, clearly higher than those of current cathode material.  In a further development, the team has doped cathode material with fluorine and magnesium, to result in capacities ~280 mAh g-1 without energy loss during cycling. 

While carbon is presently used as anode material, there has been increasing interest in using silicon instead of carbon because of its outstanding theoretical capacity of 4200 mAhg-1.  This capacity improvement over carbon arises because one silicon atom can bond with more than four lithium ions, whereas six carbon atoms are needed to bind to a single ion of lithium. The main drawback of silicon is its poor physical integrity; silicon expands and contracts during lithium ion insertion and extraction and breaks down with repeated cycling.

Dr. Martha’s team, in collaboration with Oak Ridge National Laboratory USA, has developed a unique organic-binder-less, additive-free 3D electrode architecture made of silicon and carbon in nanodimensions and have coated it on a current collector made of carbon fibre, instead of copper foil that is used in conventional cells. The advantage of this material is that there is enough space between silicon and the surrounding carbon coating, which allows for volume expansion and contraction without pulverisation of the silicon. Reversible capacities over 2000 mAh g-1 at C/10 rate have been obtained for these electrodes. A provisional Indian patent has been filed for this work.

Dr. Martha’s new electrodes can result in better-performing lithium batteries with higher energy density than currently possible. Indeed, the team has already shown that combining the cathode and anode materials developed by them in coin-type lithium ion cell results in energy densities greater than 500 Wh kg-1. This is more than twice the energy density seen in commercial lithium ion cells. “I am in the process of scaling up and designing pouch and prismatic batteries from this small product”, says Dr. Martha.  This, in R&D parlance, is the first step in the path of commercialisation of high energy batteries that could power future electric vehicles on the Indian road.