Every 1 in 10 medical products circulating in low- and middle-income countries is either substandard or falsified, according to new research from the World Health Organization (WHO). 

In simple terms, it means that people are taking medicines that fail to treat or prevent disease. Not only is this a waste of money for individuals and health systems that purchase these products, but substandard or falsified medical products can cause serious illness or even death.

Prior to 2013, there was no global reporting of this information. Since WHO established the Global Surveillance and Monitoring System for substandard and falsified products, many countries are now active in reporting suspicious medicines, vaccines and medical devices.  WHO has trained 550 regulators from 141 countries to detect and respond to this issue. As more people are trained, more cases are reported to WHO.

Since 2013, WHO has received 1500 reports of cases of substandard or falsified products. Of these, antimalarials and antibiotics are the most commonly reported. Most of the reports (42%) come from sub-Saharan Africa, 21% from the Americas and 21% from the European region. 

This is likely just a small fraction of the total problem and many cases may be going unreported. For example, only 8% of reports of substandard or falsified products to WHO came from the WHO Western Pacific region, 6% from the Eastern Mediterranean and just 2% from the South-East Asia region.

WHO has received reports of substandard or falsified medical products ranging from cancer treatment to contraception. They are not confined to high-value medicines or well-known brand names and are split almost evenly between generic and patented products.

“Substandard and falsified medicines particularly affect the most vulnerable communities,” says Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “Imagine a mother who gives up food or other basic needs to pay for her child’s treatment, unaware that the medicines are substandard or falsified, and then that treatment causes her child to die.  This is unacceptable.  Countries have agreed on measures at the global level – it is time to translate them into tangible action.”

In conjunction with the first report from the Global Surveillance and Monitoring System, WHO is publishing research that estimates a 10.5% failure rate in all medical products used in low- and middle-income countries. 

This study was based on more than 100 published research papers on medicine quality surveys done in 88 low- and middle-income countries involving 48 000 samples of medicines. Lack of accurate data means that these estimates are just an indication of the scale of the problem. More research is needed to more accurately estimate the threat posed by substandard and falsified medical products.

Based on 10% estimates of substandard and falsified medicines, a modelling exercise developed by the University of Edinburgh estimates that 72 000 to 169 000 children may be dying each year from pneumonia due to substandard and falsified antibiotics. A second model done by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine estimates that 116 000 (64 000 – 158 000) additional deaths from malaria could be caused every year by substandard and falsified antimalarials in sub-Saharan Africa, with a cost of US$ 38.5 (21.4 – 52.4) million to patients and health providers for further care due to failure of treatment.

Substandard medical products reach patients when the tools and technical capacity to enforce quality standards in manufacturing, supply and distribution are limited. Falsified products, on the other hand, tend to circulate where inadequate regulation and governance are compounded by unethical practice by wholesalers, distributors, retailers and health care workers. A high proportion of cases reported to WHO occur in countries with constrained access to medical products.

Modern purchasing models such as online pharmacies can easily circumvent regulatory oversight.  These are especially popular in high-income countries, but more research is needed to determine the proportion and impact of sales of substandard or falsified medical products.

Globalization is making it harder to regulate medical products. Many falsifiers manufacture and print packaging in different countries, shipping components to a final destination where they are assembled and distributed. Sometimes, offshore companies and bank accounts have been used to facilitate the sale of falsified medicines.

New Delhi: The ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival which has often been described as the ‘greatest literary show on earth’ and the ‘Kumbh Mela of literature’ has hosted nearly 2000 speakers and welcomed over a million booklovers over the past decade, evolving into a global literary phenomenon. A true champion of literary and artistic traditions and democratic discourse, it encourages freedom of thought through a range of voices from India and abroad engaged in informed and enlightened dialogue and promotes above all a love for literature.

This year, the Festival will welcome over 250 writers, thinkers, politicians, journalists and popular cultural icons from over 35 different nations. It will feature a spectacular line-up of speakers representing the major awards including the Nobel, Man Booker, Pulitzer,Padma Vibhusan anhe Sahitya Akademi Award. The first list of 60 speakers released today include  Akhil Sharma, award-winning writer and creative writing professor Amy Tan, author of the widely adapted book The Joy Luck Club; award-winning Indian film director and producer Anurag Kashyap, Indian art critic, art historian, Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awardee, B.N. Goswamy, former president of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai, English novelist and author of the iconic Bridget Jones Diary, Helen Fielding, Man Booker winner and author of The English Patient  Michael Ondaatje;Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter from The Boston Globe’s Spotlight team Michael Rezendes; Sahitya Akademi Awardwinner Mridula Garg;2006 Nobel Peace Prize Laurate Mohammad Yunus, essayist and novelist Pico Iyer, best known for travel writing;New York Times bestselling poet and illustrator Rupi Kaur; Indian classical dancer and Padma Vibhushan awardee Sonal Mansingh; Indian philanthropist and writer Sudha Murty; Academy and Tony Award winning Czech-born British playwright and screenwriter Tom Stoppard; and Grammy Award winning tabla maestro Zakir Hussain, among others.

The Festival will open as usual with Jaipur Book Mark (JBM), now in its fifth edition, with a full day of programming on 24 January at Diggi Palace followed by sessions at a dedicated JBM venue at the Festival Hub from the 25-28January.

 The ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival sets literary conversations, debates and dialogue against the backdrop of built and cultural heritage including curated art installations, world music performances at the Music Stage and cultural evenings at heritage venues like the Amber Fort and Hawa Mahal.

 Namita Gokhale, writer, publisher and Co-director of the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival, says, “This is a vintage year for the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival, with an amazing line up of international and Indian writers and multiple strands of thoughtfully curated sessions. A space to interrogate our changing times and to encounter poetry and the dreaming mind, the Festival returns with its unique brand of magic, whimsy and intellectual rigour.”

 According to William Dalrymple, writer, historian and Co-director of the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival, 2018 may be the best Jaipur ever, fielding an unrivalled literary ‘First Eleven’ made up of star poets and acclaimed novelists, historians and biographers, thinkers and dreamers and scribblers and critics, and half the faculty of Harvard.

 Sanjoy K. Roy, Managing Director of Teamwork Arts who produce the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival, said, “As we wait to celebrate yet another milestone year of the ZEE Jaipur Literature Festival in 2018, we look forward to the infectious energy of intellectual debate and the dynamism that charges the Festival’s atmosphere and comes from a mingling of celebrated minds, diverse perspectives, and heightened cultural experiences.

BJP’s concerted attack against Rahul Gandhi catapults him as main opposition leader. With assembly elections in six states next year, Congress is in power only in Karnataka.

As the scion of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, Rahul Gandhi could not have ducked any longer becoming president of the Indian National Congress, the oldest political party in the country. Its significance cannot be lost as the baton of being the ‘numero uno’ of the Congress gets passed from mother Sonia Gandhi to son on the eve of the assembly elections in Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The importance of this particular poll cannot be undermined as the BJP has been in power in Gujarat continuously for 22 years. The fight this time between the Lotus party and the Congress appears to be a close one though Modi’s magic coming to the fore in electoral battles as evidenced in the past cannot be ruled out. 

Rahul has to steel himself for the daunting task ahead. He barely has 18 months remaining for the next general elections in the first half of 2019. Prior to that there are assembly elections in half a dozen states next year. The Congress is in power only in Karnataka. In the other states — Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Chattisgarh and Haryana — the saffron brigade has clinically sent the Congress packing. 

Despite serious doubts about Rahul’s ability to turn around the fortunes of the Congress particularly as its organisation is in a shambles, there is a big question mark about Rahul’s ability in pulling the chestnuts out of the fire and re-establishing the pre-eminence of Congress in the country’s politics. 

The ruling BJP led NDA at the centre is facing growing criticism on a wide range of issues encompassing spiralling prices, surging unemployment coupled with the hurried and poor implementation of the much talked about GST from the first of July. The problem caused by last November’s demonetisation and the distress caused to farmers has also caught the Modi government on the wrong foot.

Even though the country’s map is awash with the saffron colour as never before, Modi being the main campaigner for the Lotus party has proved to be debilitating for the Congress since he stormed to power at the Centre in May 2014. 

For Rahul, the do or die battle is revitalising the Congress party. It is widely believed that no one but for a member of the Nehru-Gandhi family can hold the Old Lady of Bori Bunder’s potentially fractious elements together. 

Intense infighting in the party and depressed Congressmen leaving the party to join the BJP has been disconcerting as evidenced by its impressive victories particularly in the Hindi heartland. The Lotus party regaining power in the most critical state of Uttar Pradesh with a mind boggling three-fourth majority was stunning.  

One of the major handicap confronting the Congress is being shorn of mass leaders in the states. This is on account of the high handedness and peremptory style of functioning of the Congress High Command. 

In the last few months since Rahul’s interface with teachers and students in Berkeley in the United States, there has been a marked and refreshing change in his approach. He is more amenable in having an interface and listening to the people along with becoming more active on the social media. At the same time there has been periodic chorus seeking his elevation as President of the 130-year-old party. 

There is anti-incumbency against the BJP in Gujarat having been in power on the trot for more than two decades. The angst against Modi who was also the chief minister of Gujarat for more than two terms is discernible. 

That the Lotus party has a challenge on its hands is not in doubt. Its leaders in Gujarat insist achieving the target of 150 seats fixed by BJP president Amit Shah in the 182-member assembly is being highly over ambitious. They believe it will be a saving grace if they retain power and manage anywhere from 100 to 110 seats. 

Losing power in Gujarat is bound to be a big loss of face for Modi having the portends of casting its shadow in the next general elections two years later. Rahul’s elevation as Congress President next month is more of a formality. This does not mean that the seniors will be sidelined or sent packing.  

Rahul will have to think out of the box as its rank and file is feeling demoralised. He has more than his hands full in galvanising and rebuilding the party organisation. A senior politician disappointed with Rahul’s style of functioning emphasised that “politics is a 24X7 job in this country”. 

He will have to be politically sound in taking on the formidable Modi-Amit Shah duo. This requires vision and connecting with workers right from the block level infusing a sense of pride and confidence in them. 

Lately, there has been a marked change in Rahul’s political approach. Getting elected as the President of the Indian National Congress is the easy part. The difficult part is getting accepted as a serious, interactive and committed leader. 

In the 2014 general elections the Congress finishing with its lowest ever tally of 44 seats in the 545-member Lok Sabha was a shocker. The party failed to secure even one-tenth of the seats in the House of the People to become eligible as the Leader of the Opposition. On the other hand the BJP secured a majority on its own for the first time in the Lok Sabha.  

BJP’s concerted onslaught against Rahul has contributing in propelling him as the main opposition leader in the country. There is no doubt the Congress requires a radical overhaul. It is a tricky affair requiring patience, tenacity and purposefulness for winning the electorate’s affection. It is for him to get his act together in galvanising the Congress along with forging an opposition front giving Modi and the BJP led NDA a run for its money. After all, the Congress has overcome challenges in the past.  

Parliament sessions are usually held thrice a year: once in February for the Budget Session, once around July or August for the Monsoon Session, and once in November for the Winter Session.  This year, the government is yet to announce the dates for the Winter Session.  While there has been uncertainty around whether Parliament will meet, ministers in the government have indicated that the Session will be held soon.

The practice of allowing the government to convene Parliament differs from those followed in other countries.  Some of these countries have a limited role for the government in summoning the legislature, because in a parliamentary democracy the executive is accountable to Parliament.  Allowing the government to call the Parliament to meet could be in conflict with this principle.  While we wait for the government to announce the dates for the Winter Session, this post looks at the relationship between Parliament and the government, recommendations made over the years on improving some parliamentary customs, and discusses certain practices followed by other countries.

What is the role of Parliament in a democracy?

The Constitution provides for the legislature to make laws, the government to implement laws, and the courts to interpret and enforce these laws.  While the judiciary is independent from the other two branches, the government is formed with the support of a majority of members in the legislature.  Therefore, the government is collectively responsible to Parliament for its actions.  This implies that Parliament (i.e. Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) can hold the government accountable for its decisions, and scrutinise its functioning.  This may be done using various methods including, during debates on Bills or issues on the floor of Parliament, by posing questions to ministers during Question Hour, and in parliamentary committees.

Who convenes Parliament?

Parliament must be convened by the President at least once in every six months.  Since the President acts on the advice of the central government, the duration of the session is decided by the government.

Given the legislature’s role in keeping the executive accountable for its actions, one argument is that the government should not have the power to convene Parliament.  Instead, Parliament should convene itself, if a certain number of MPs agree, so that it can effectively exercise its oversight functions and address issues without delay.  Some countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia release an annual calendar with the sitting dates at the beginning of the year.

How regularly has Parliament been meeting over the years?

Over the years, there has been a decline in the sitting days of Parliament.  While Lok Sabha met for an average of 130 days in a year during the 1950s, these sittings came down to 70 days in the 2000s.  Lesser number of sittings indicates that Parliament was able to transact less business compared to previous years.  To address this, the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution has recommended that Lok Sabha should have at least 120 sittings in a year, while Rajya Sabha should have 100 sittings.

The Constituent Assembly, while drafting the Constitution had debated the power that should be given to Parliament with regard to convening itself.  Mr. K. T. Shah, a member of the Assembly, had suggested that in case the President or the Prime Minister are unable or unwilling to call for a Parliament session, the power to convene the Houses should be given to the presiding officers of those Houses (i.e., the Chairman of Rajya Sabha and the Speaker of Lok Sabha).  In addition, he had also suggested that Parliament should itself regulate its procedure, sittings and timings.

How does Parliament hold the government accountable?

One of the forums of holding the government accountable for its actions is the Question Hour.  During Question Hour, MPs may pose questions to ministers related to the implementation of laws and policies by the government.

In the 16^th Lok Sabha, question hour has functioned in Lok Sabha for 77% of the scheduled time, while in Rajya Sabha it has functioned for 47%.  A lower rate of functioning reflects time lost due to disruptions which reduces the number of questions that may be answered orally.  While Parliament may sit for extra hours to transact other business, time lost during Question Hour is not made up.  Consequently, this time lost indicates a lost opportunity to hold the government accountable for its actions.

Further, there is no mechanism currently for answering questions which require inter-ministerial expertise or relate to broader government policy.  Since the Prime Minister does not answer questions other than the ones pertaining to his ministries, such questions may either not get adequately addressed or remain unanswered.  In countries such as the UK, the Prime Minister’s Question Time is conducted on a weekly basis.  During the 30 minutes the Prime Minister answers questions posed by various MPs.  These questions relate to broader government policies, engagements, and issues affecting the country.

How is public opinion reflected in Parliament?

MPs may raise issues of public importance in Parliament, and examine the government’s response to problems being faced by citizens through: (i) a debate, which entails a reply by the concerned minister, or (ii) a motion which entails a vote.  The time allocated for discussing some of these debates or Bills is determined by the Business Advisory Committee of the House, consisting of members from both the ruling and opposition parties.

Using these methods, MPs may discuss important matters, policies, and topical issues.  The concerned minister while replying to the debate may make assurances to the House regarding steps that will be taken to address the situation.  As of August 2017, 50% of the assurances made in the 16^th Lok Sabha have been implemented.

Alternatively, MPs may move a motion for: (i) discussing important issues (such as inflation, drought, and corruption), (ii) adjournment of business in a House in order to express displeasure over a government policy, or (iii) expressing no confidence in the government leading to its resignation.  The 16^thLok Sabha has only discussed one adjournment motion so far.

To improve government accountability in Parliament, the opposition in some countries such as the UK, Canada, and Australia forms a shadow cabinet. Under such a system, opposition MPs track a certain portfolio, scrutinise its performance and suggest alternate programs.  This allows for detailed tracking and scrutiny of ministries, and assists MPs in making constructive suggestions.  Some of these countries also provide for days when the opposition parties decide the agenda for Parliament.

Source – PRS Legislative

On the morning of 1 December 2014, the family of 48-year-old judge Brijgopal Harkishan Loya, who was presiding over the Central Bureau of Investigation special court in Mumbai, was informed that he had died in Nagpur, where he had travelled for a colleague’s daughter’s wedding. Loya had been hearing one of the most high-profile cases in the country, involving the allegedly staged encounter killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh in 2005. The prime accused in the case was Amit Shah—Gujarat’s minister of state for home at the time of Sohrabuddin’s killing, and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s national president at the time of Loya’s death. The media reported that the judge had died of a heart attack.

Loya’s family did not speak to the media after his death. But in November 2016, Loya’s niece, Nupur Balaprasad Biyani, approached me while I was visiting Pune to say she had concerns about the circumstances surrounding her uncle’s death. Following this, over several meetings between November 2016 and November 2017, I spoke to her mother, Anuradha Biyani, who is Loya’s sister and a medical doctor in government service; another of Loya’s sisters, Sarita Mandhane; and Loya’s father, Harkishan. I also tracked down and spoke to government servants in Nagpur who witnessed the procedures followed with regard to the judge’s body after his death, including the post-mortem.

From these accounts, deeply disturbing questions emerged about Loya’s death: questions about inconsistencies in the reported account of the death; about the procedures followed after his death; and about the condition of the judge’s body when it was handed over to the family. Though the family asked for an inquiry commission to probe Loya’s death, none was ever set up.

At 11 pm on 30 November 2014, from Nagpur, Loya phoned his wife, Sharmila, using his mobile phone. Over around 40 minutes, he described to her his busy schedule through the day. Loya was in Nagpur to attend the wedding of the daughter of a fellow judge, Sapna Joshi. Initially he had not intended to go, but two of his fellow judges had insisted that he accompany them. Loya told his wife that he had attended the wedding, and later attended a reception. He also enquired about his son, Anuj. He said that he was staying at Ravi Bhavan, a government guest house for VIPs in Nagpur’s Civil Lines locality, along with the judges he had accompanied to Nagpur.

It was the last call that Loya is known to have made, and the last conversation that he is known to have had. His family received the news of his death early the next morning.

“His wife in Mumbai, myself in Latur city and my daughters in Dhule, Jalgaon and Aurangabad received calls,” early on the morning of 1 December 2014,  Harkishan Loya, the judge’s father, told me when we first met, in November 2016, in his native village of Gategaon, near Latur city. They were informed “that Brij passed away in the night, that his post-mortem was over and his body had been sent to our ancestral home in Gategaon, in Latur district,” he added. “I felt like an earthquake had shattered my life.”

The family was told that Loya had died of a cardiac arrest. “We were told that he had chest pain, and so was taken to Dande Hospital, a private hospital in Nagpur, by auto rickshaw, where some medication was provided,” Harkishan said. Biyani, Loya’s sister, described Dande Hospital as “an obscure place,” and said that she “later learnt that the ECG”—the electrocardiography unit at the facility—“was not working.” Later, Harkishan said, Loya “was shifted to Meditrina hospital”—another private hospital in the city—“where he was declared dead on arrival.”

The Sohrabuddin case was the only one that Loya was hearing at the time of his death, and was one of the most carefully watched cases then underway in the country. In 2012, the Supreme Court had ordered that the trial in the case be shifted from Gujarat to Maharashtra, stating that it was “convinced that in order to preserve the integrity of the trial it is necessary to shift it outside the State.” The Supreme Court had also ordered that the trial be heard by the same judge from start to finish. But, in violation of this order, JT Utpat, the judge who first heard the trial, was transferred from the CBI special court in mid 2014, and replaced by Loya.

On 6 June 2014, Utpat had reprimanded Amit Shah for seeking exemption from appearing in court. After Shah failed to appear on the next date, 20 June, Utpat fixed a hearing for 26 June. The judge was transferred on 25 June. On 31 October  2014, Loya, who had allowed Shah the exemption, asked why Shah had failed to appear in court despite being in Mumbai on that date. He set the next date of hearing for 15 December.

Loya’s death on 1 December was reported only in a few routine news articles the next day, and did not attract significant media attention. The Indian Express, while reporting that Loya had “died of a heart attack” noted, “Sources close to him said that Loya had sound medical history.” The media attention picked up briefly on 3 December, when MPs of the Trinamool Congress staged a protest outside the parliament, where the winter session was under way, to demand an inquiry into Loya’s death. The next day, Sohrabuddin’s brother, Rubabuddin, wrote a letter to the CBI, expressing his shock at Loya’s death.

Nothing came of the MPs’ protests, or Rubabuddin’s letter. No follow-up stories appeared on the circumstances surrounding Loya’s death.

Over numerous conversations with Loya’s family members, I pieced together a chilling description of what Loya went through while presiding over the Sohrabuddin trial, and of what happened following his death. Biyani also gave me copies of a diary she said she maintains regularly, which included entries from the days preceding and following her brother’s death. In these, she noted many aspects of the incident that disturbed her. I also reached out to Loya’s wife and son, but they declined to speak, saying that they feared for their lives.

Biyani, who is based in Dhule, told me that she received a call on the morning of 1 December 2014 from someone identifying himself as a judge named Barde, who told her to travel to Gategaon, some 30 kilometres from Latur, where Loya’s body was sent. The same caller also informed Biyani and other members of the family that a post-mortem had been conducted on the body, and that the cause of death was a heart attack.

Loya’s father normally resides in Gategaon, but was in Latur at the time, at the house of one of his daughters. He, too, received a phone call, telling him his son’s body would be moved to Gategaon. “Ishwar Baheti, an RSS worker, had informed father that he would arrange for the body to reach Gategaon,” Biyani told me. “Nobody knows why, how and when he came to know about the death of Brij Loya.”

Sarita Mandhane, another of Loya’s sisters, who runs a tuition centre in Aurangabad and was visiting Latur at the time, told me that she received a call from Barde at around 5 am, informing her that Loya had died. “He said that Brij has passed away in Nagpur and asked us to rush to Nagpur,” she said. She set out to pick up her nephew from a hospital in Latur where he had earlier been admitted, but “just as we were leaving the hospital, this person, Ishwar Baheti, came there. I still don’t know how he came to know that we were at Sarda Hospital.” According to Mandhane, Baheti said that he had been talking through the night with people in Nagpur, and insisted that there was no point in going to Nagpur since the body was being sent to Gategaon from there in an ambulance. “He took us to his house, saying that he will coordinate everything,” she said. 

(Questions that I sent to Baheti were still unanswered at the time this story was published.)

It was night by the time Biyani reached Gategaon—the other sisters were already at the ancestral home by then. The body was delivered at around 11.30 pm, after Biyani’s arrival, according to an entry in her diary. To the family’s shock, none of Loya’s colleagues had accompanied his body on the journey from Nagpur. The only person accompanying the body was the ambulance driver. “It was shocking,” Biyani said. “The two judges who had insisted that he travel to Nagpur for the marriage had not accompanied him. Mr Barde, who informed the family of his death and his post-mortem, had not accompanied him. This question haunts me: why was his body not accompanied by anyone?” One of her diary entries reads, “He was a CBI court judge, he was supposed to have security and he deserved to be properly accompanied.”

Loya’s wife, Sharmila, and his daughter and son, Apurva and Anuj, travelled to Gategaon from Mumbai, accompanied by a few judges. One of them “was constantly telling Anuj and the others not to speak to anybody,” Biyani told me. “Anuj was of course sad and scared, but he maintained his poise and kept supporting his mother.”

Biyani recounted that when she saw the body, she felt that something was amiss. “There were bloodstains on the neck at the back of the shirt,” she told me. She added that his “spectacles were below the neck.” Mandhane told me that Loya’s spectacles were “stuck under his body.”

A diary entry by Biyani from the time reads, “There was blood on his collar. His belt was twisted in the opposite direction, and the pant clip is broken. Even my uncle feels that this is suspicious.” Harkishan told me, “There were bloodstains on the clothes.” Mandhane said that she, too, saw “blood on the neck.” She said that “there was blood and an injury on his head … on the back side,” and that “his shirt had blood spots.” Harkishan said, “His shirt had blood on it from his left shoulder to his waist.”

But in the post-mortem report, issued by the Government Medical College Hospital in Nagpur, under a category described as “Condition of the clothes—whether wet with water, stained with blood or soiled with vomit or foe-cal matter,” a handwritten entry reads, simply, “Dry.”

Biyani found the state of the body suspicious because, as a doctor, “I know that blood does not come out during PM”—post-mortem—“since the heart and lungs don’t function.” She said that she demanded a second post-mortem, but that Loya’s gathered friends and colleagues “discouraged us, telling us not to complicate the issue more.”

The family was tense and scared, but was forced to carry out Loya’s funeral, Harkishan said.

Legal experts suggest that if Loya’s death was deemed suspicious—the fact that a post-mortem was ordered suggests that it was—a panchnama should have been prepared, and a medico-legal case should have been filed. “As per legal procedure, the police department is expected to collect and seal all the personal belongings of the deceased, list them all in a panchnama and hand them over to the family as they are,” Asim Sarode, a senior Pune-based lawyer, told me. Biyani said the family was not given any copy of a panchnama.

Loya’s mobile phone was returned to the family, but, Biyani said, it was returned by Baheti, and not by the police. “We got his mobile on the third or fourth day,” she said. “I had asked for it immediately. It had information about his calls and all that happened. We would have known about it if we got it. And the SMSes. Just one or two days before this news, a message had come which said, ‘Sir, stay safe from these people.’ That SMS was on the phone. Everything was deleted from it.”

Biyani had numerous questions about the events of the night of Loya’s death and the following morning. Among them was that of how and why Loya had been taken to hospital in an auto rickshaw, when the auto stand nearest to Ravi Bhavan is around two kilometres away from it. “There is no auto rickshaw stand near Ravi Bhavan, and people do not get auto rickshaws near Ravi Bhavan even during the day,” Biyani said. “How did the men accompanying him manage to get an auto rickshaw at midnight?”

Other questions, too, remain unanswered. Why was the family not informed when Loya was taken to hospital? Why were they not informed as soon as he died? Why were they not asked for approval of a post-mortem, or informed that one was to be performed, before the procedure was carried out? Who recommended the post-mortem, and why? What was suspicious about Loya’s death to cause a post-mortem to be recommended? What medication was administered to him at Dande Hospital? Was there not a single vehicle in Ravi Bhavan—which regularly hosts VIPs, including ministers, IAS and IPS officers and judges—available to ferry Loya to hospital? The winter session of the Maharashtra state assembly was to begin in Nagpur on 7 December, and hundreds of officials usually arrive in the city well in advance of assembly sessions for the preparations. Who were the other VIPs staying in Ravi Bhavan on 30 November and 1 December? “These all are very valid questions,” Sarode, the lawyer, said. “Why was the report of the medication administered at Dande hospital not given to the family? Will the answers to these questions create problems for someone?”

Questions such as these “still keep bothering the family, friends and relatives,” Biyani said.

It added to their confusion that the judges who had insisted that Loya travel to Nagpur did not visit the family for “one or one and a half months” after his death, she said. It was only then that the family heard their account of Loya’s last hours. According to Biyani, the two men told the family that Loya experienced chest pain at around 12.30 am, that they then took him to Dande Hospital in an auto rickshaw, and that there, “he climbed the stairs himself and some medication was administered. He was taken to Meditrina hospital where he was declared dead on arrival.”

Even after this, many questions were left unanswered. “We did try to get the details of the treatment administered in Dande Hospital, but the doctors and the staff there simply refused to divulge any details,” Biyani said.

I accessed the report of Loya’s post-mortem, conducted at the Government Medical College Hospital in Nagpur. The document raises several questions of its own.

Every page of the post-mortem report is signed by the senior police inspector of Sadar police station, Nagpur, and by someone who signed with the phrase “maiyatacha chulatbhau”—or the paternal cousin brother of the deceased. This latter person is supposed to have received the body after the post-mortem examination. “I do not have any brother or paternal cousin brother in Nagpur,” Loya’s father said. “Who signed on the report is another unanswered question.”

Further, the report states that the corpse was sent from Meditrina Hospital to the Government Medical College Hospital by the Sitabardi police station, Nagpur, and that it was brought in by a police constable named Pankaj, of Sitabardi police station, whose badge number is 6238. It notes that the body was brought in at 10.50 am on 1 December 2014, that the post-mortem began at 10.55 am, and that it was over at 11.55 am.

The report also noted that, as per the police, Loya “died on 1/12/14 at 0615 hours” after experiencing “chest pains at 0400 am.” It stated, “He was brought to Dande hospital first and then shifted to Meditrina hospital where he was declared to be in dead condition.”

The time of death cited in the report—6.15 am—appears incongruous, since, according to Loya’s family members, they began receiving calls about his death from 5 am onwards. Further, during my investigation, two sources in Nagpur’s Government Medical College and Sitabardi police station told me they had been informed of Loya’s death by midnight, and had personally seen the dead body during the night. They also said that the post-mortem was done shortly after midnight. Apart from the calls that the family received, the sources’ accounts also raise serious questions about the post-mortem report’s claim that the time of death was 6.15 am.

The source at the medical college, who was privy to the post-mortem examination, also told me that he knew that there had been instructions from superiors to “cut up the body as if the PM was done and stitch it up.”

The report mentions “coronary artery insufficiency” as the probable cause of death. According to the renowned Mumbai-based cardiologist Hasmukh Ravat, “Usually old age, family history, smoking, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes are the causes for such coronary artery insufficiency.” Biyani pointed out that none of these were applicable to her brother. “Brij was 48,” she said. “Our parents are 85 and 80 years old, and are healthy with no cardiac history. He was always a teetotaller, played table tennis for two hours a day for years, had no diabetes or blood pressure.”

Biyani told me that she found the official medical explanation for her brother’s death hard to believe. “I am a doctor myself, and Brij used to consult me even for minor complaints such as acidity or cough,” she said. “He had no cardiac history and no one from our family has it.”

(Story was reported by Niranjan Takle, Source- Caravan Magazine)

Brahmos, the world’s fastest supersonic cruise missile created history today after it was successfully flight-tested first time from the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) frontline fighter aircraft Sukhoi-30MKI against a sea based target in the Bay of Bengal. The missile was gravity dropped from the Su-30 from fuselage, and the two stage missile’s engine fired up and straightway propelled towards the intended target at the sea in Bay of Bengal.

The missile was gravity dropped from the Su-30 from the fuselage, and the two-stage missile’s engine fired up and straightway propelled towards the intended target at the sea in the Bay of Bengal.

The successful maiden test firing of Brahmos Air Launched Cruise Missile (ALCM) from Su-30MKI will significantly bolster the IAF’s air combat operations capability from stand-off ranges. 

Brahmos ALCM weighing 2.5 ton is the heaviest weapon to be deployed on India’s Su-30 fighter aircraft modified by HAL to carry weapons. 

Brahmos, the world-class weapon with multi-platform, multi-mission role is now capable of being launched from Land, Sea and Air, completing the tactical cruise missile triad for India. 

Brahmos is a joint venture between DRDO of India and NPOM of Russia.

Raksha Mantri Smt Nirmala Sitharaman congratulated DRDO and BrahMos for the outstanding accomplishment.

Dr S Christopher, Chairman DRDO & Secretary, Department of Defence R&D congratulated the Scientists and Engineers for this excellent text book kind of flight test.

The missile test was witnessed by Dr Sudhir Mishra, DG (BrahMos) & CEO & MD, BrahMos Aerospace along with senior IAF officials, Scientists and Officials from DRDO and BrahMos.

Turning its focus on the region and its huge potential, Sri Lankan Airlines  is very bullish on the Indian market. Not only Sri Lanka has become a favourite destination for Indians, Colombo is also becoming a big hub to connect Indian cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai with Asian nations with efficient and effective strives and network by Sri Lankan airlines.

Member of the OneWorld alliance, Sri Lankan airlines is giving a big push to the new wave of tourism into Sri Lanka and has decided to go all out to woo the Indian consumers. It has launched the Delhi-Sydney flight via Colombo and is also connecting cities like Melbourne and Perth in Australia with Delhi  and Mumbai.

It has lined up expansion plans to  top the huge potential of the Indian market especially the cities in Northern India. Till now, Sri Lankan had focussed mainly on South India but now wants to turn its attention to cities in North India.

Sri Lankan Airlines North India region Manager, Chinthaka Weerasinghe is very bullish about charting a new course with the Indian customer and with his needs in mind. Currently operating from 14 destinations in India with 125 flights per week, the airline is not resting on its laurels and has lined up massive expansion plans to connect Indians to destinations like Male and Gan Island in Maldives, Sydney and Melbourne in Australia, Bangkok and Indonesia and China. “We are seeking to bring destinations in Asian region closer to India and link them with our vast network. Colombo will be our hub  which will provide fast and efficient connectivity to the customers,” he remarked.

As Sri Lanka has one of the highest expatriates community living in Australian cities of Mebourne and Sydney, it is providing a direct link from Colombo to Melbourne and other cities in Australia. Now it has extended that link to India by starting the New Delhi-Melbourne flight. The Srilankan Airlines is seeking to tap the key markets of Delhi, Mumbai, Gujarat and Punjab for the New Delhi-Australian circuit. `We have come up with a schedule of double daily flights from Colombo with transit time of less than one and half hours. The total flight time from Delhi to Melbourne would be around 15 hours which is unique. Similarly, connectivity would also be provided on the same basis from New Delhi to Sydney,’’ Mr. Weerasinghe said.

In order to tap the huge potential of markets in Punjab and Gujrat, Srilankan Airlines has tied up with Vistara and some other local carriers to give special fares so that it could be coupled with Delhi Melbourne flight. And the response has been overwhelming.

The airline has also tied up with OneWorld alliance partners to give auto price rates through Sydney and other domestic points in Australia and New Zealand to make the route lucrative for passengers. And the bonanza does not end with a tight flight schedule, the pricing is also very competitive as the New Delhi-Melbourne route price is coming to an attractive Rs. 43,000 all inclusive. The price for the Delhi-Sydney flight is also the same. The response has been amazing as this route is selling like hot cake in the North India market.

Offering a whole compact package for the passengers, there is the attractive baggage policy with the economy class being allowed 30 Kg, Business Class 40 Kgs and 50 Kgs allowance for the students

Mr. Weerasinghe said in addition to this, the focus would also be on regional routes at Asia and South Asia. China is a big market for us and Srilankan Airlines has good connections to Bangkok, Indonesia.“We are looking at consolidation in India with a larger focus to get Indian tourists on our national airlines. Tourism has been a big attraction with a double digit growth along with wedding, leisure and MICE.

Mr. Weerasinghe said Sri Landkan Airlines has been operating for the longest time in India since 1979 from Bombay and Madras at that time. It commenced its Delhi operations from 1993 and now presently are in 14 destinations in India. “We are celebrating 25 years of operations from Delhi next year which speaks volumes about our services and commitment to the Indian market. We have 125 flights per week from India which we plan to increase to 134 flights in the coming months,’ he added.

He said Srilankan Airlines has over 28 frequencies given in the bilateral agreements and we are one of those airlines which has utilised these most making us the number one career in terms of points of operations. In terms of frequencies, we stand around third. On the cards is a double daily flight to Mumbai. The Sri Lankan airlines gives a lot of importance to the Indian market which is indicated in the number of tourist arrivals from India into Sri Lanka.

Last year nearly 3.75 lakh Indian tourists visited Sri Lanka making it the number of inbound tourist country. This year it is expected that this number will cross the 400,000 market. Over the years, the airline has mainly focused on the South Indian market but now has turned its focus on the Northern region sensing its huge potential. Plans are already afoot to open three new stations in India – Hyderabad, Vishakhapatnam and Coimbatore. Double daily flights from Delhi and Mumbai are now operated. The airlines has three flights from Kolkata which will soon be increased to four.

In addition to this, there is the chartered flights traffic to to Bodh gaya and Varanasi to cater to pilgrim traffic. After US, United Kingdom and Bangladesh, Sri Lanka ranks fourth in terms of tourist arrivals into India. The focus in the North Indian market is on leisure traffic and MICE. “We are seeking to build relationships with stakeholders and tour operators.

Talking about the potential of the Maldives market, where Srilankan Airlines has a strong presence, Mr. Weerasinghe said the airline is quite established for the Maldives market in South India and Mumbai. In Delhi, there were initial hiccups due to single flight but now that has changed and we have a second flight operating from Delhi giving more choice and convenience to the tourists. Now Delhi is properly connected with Male and tourists can now reach their destinations in Maldives by evening instead of spending one night in Male. This brings down the tour expenses and also gives convenience to the tourist to plan their trip.

Srilankan Airlines is sure that the double daily flight from Delhi will give them more numbers ffor the Maldives market. The connectivity from the airline hub of Colombo is seamless as now five flights operate to Male. “We are also looking at guest houses and hotels to increase our volumes. Also last year, we were first operator to operate to Gan Island in Maldives. We have four flights a week, and we hope to increase it further. We need to give more options of connectivity to tourists going to Gan island to various resorts of Island destinations from there. We need to work with the industry, government and the resorts in Gan Island to increase the frequency of fights. We could look at sea plane services which will reduce the transit time Male to various destinations through Gan island,” he remarked.

Similarly, with Colombo emerging as a major hub, Srilankan has been able to provide options to the Indian travellers. Now Indian tourist to go to Seyshells seamlessly and the pricing is also very competitive. The Syeshells route is doing fairly well in terms of traffic from India.

Chief Justice Mohit Shah Made An Offer Of Rs 100 Crore To My Brother For A Favourable Judgment In The Sohrabuddin Case: Late Judge Loya’s Sister

In July 2010, the CBI arrested Amit Shah in connection with the allegedly staged killing in 2005 of Sohrabuddin Sheikh. In September 2012, the Supreme Court shifted the case out of Gujarat, to Maharashtra, stating that it was “convinced that in order to preserve the integrity of the trial, it is necessary to shift it outside the state.” Shah was discharged by the special CBI court in Mumbai in December 2014.

Brijgopal Harkishan Loya, the judge presiding over the CBI special court in Mumbai, died sometime between the night of 30 November and the early morning of 1 December 2014, while on a trip to Nagpur. At the time of his death, he was hearing the Sohrabuddin case, in which the prime accused was the Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah. The media reported at the time that Loya had died of a heart attack. But my investigations between November 2016 and November 2017 raised disturbing questions about the circumstances surrounding Loya’s death—including questions regarding the condition of his body when it was handed over to his family.

Among those I spoke to was one of Loya’s sisters, Anuradha Biyani, a medical doctor based in Dhule, Maharashtra. Biyani made an explosive claim to me: Loya, she said, confided to her that Mohit Shah, then the chief justice of the Bombay High Court, had offered him a bribe of Rs 100 crore in return for a favourable judgment. She said Loya had told her this some weeks before he died, when the family gathered for Diwali at their ancestral home in Gategaon. Loya’s father Harkishan also told me that his son had told him he had offers to deliver a favourable judgment in exchange for money and a house in Mumbai.

Brijgopal Harkishan Loya was appointed to the special CBI court in June 2014, after his predecessor, JT Utpat, was transferred within weeks of reprimanding Amit Shah for seeking an exemption from appearing in court. According to a February 2015 report in Outlook, “During the CBI court’s hearings that Utpat presided over for this one year, or even after, court records suggest Amit Shah had never turned up even once—including on the final day of discharge. Shah’s counsel apparently made oral submissions for exempting him from personal appearance on grounds ranging from him being ‘a diabetic and hence unable to move’ to the more blase: ‘he is busy in Delhi.’”

The Outlook report continued: “On June 6, 2014, Utpat had made his displeasure known to Shah’s counsel and, while allowing exemption for that day, ordered Shah’s presence on June 20.  But he didn’t show up again. According to media reports, Utpat told Shah’s counsel, ‘Every time you are seeking exemption without giving any reason.’” Utpat, the story noted, “fixed the next hearing for June 26. But on 25th, he was transferred to Pune.” This was in violation of a September 2012 Supreme Court order, that the Sohrabuddin trial “should be conducted from beginning to end by the same officer.”

Loya had at first appeared well disposed towards Shah’s request that he be exempted from personally appearing in court. As Outlook noted, “Utpat’s successor Loya was indulgent, waiving Shah’s personal appearance on each date.” But this apparent indulgence may just have been a matter of procedure. According to the Outlook story, “significantly, one of his last notings stated that Shah was being exempted from personal appearance ‘till the framing of charges.’ Loya had clearly not harboured the thought of dropping charges against Shah even when he appeared to be gentle on him.” According to the lawyer Mihir Desai, who represented Sohrabuddin’s brother Rubabuddin—the complainant in the case—Loya was keen on scrutinising the entire chargesheet, which ran to more than 10,000 pages, and on examining the evidence and witnesses carefully. “The case was sensitive and important, and it was going to create and decide the reputation of Mr Loya as a judge,” Desai said. “But the pressure was certainly mounting.”

Nupur Balaprasad Biyani, a niece of Loya’s who stayed with his family in Mumbai while studying in the city, told me about the extent of the pressure she witnessed her uncle facing. “When he was coming from the court, he was like, ‘bahut tension hai,’” she said. “Stress. It’s a very big case. How to deal with it. Everyone is involved with it.” Nupur said it was a question of “political values.”

Desai told me, “The courtroom always used to be extremely tense. The defence lawyers used to insist on discharging Amit Shah of all the charges, while we were demanding for the transcripts of the calls, submitted as evidence by the CBI, to be provided in English.” He pointed out that neither Loya nor the complainant understood Gujarati, the language on the tapes.

But the defence lawyers, Desai said, repeatedly brushed aside the demands for transcripts in English, and insisted that Shah’s discharge petition be heard. Desai added that his junior lawyers often noticed unknown, suspicious-looking people inside the courtroom, whispering and staring at the complainant’s lawyers in an intimidating manner.

Desai recounted that during a hearing on 31 October, Loya asked why Shah was absent. His lawyers pointed out that he had been exempted from appearance by Loya himself. Loya remarked that the exemption applied only when Shah was not in the state. That day, he said, Shah was in Mumbai to attend the swearing-in of the new BJP-led government in Maharashtra, and was only 1.5 kilometres away from the court. He instructed Shah’s counsel to ensure his appearance when he was in the state, and set the next hearing for 15 December.

Anuradha Biyani told me that Loya confided in her that Mohit Shah, who served as the chief justice of the Bombay High Court between June 2010 and September 2015, offered Loya a bribe of Rs 100 crore for a favourable judgment. According to her, Mohit Shah “would call him late at night to meet in civil dress and pressure him to issue the judgment as soon as possible and to ensure that it is a positive judgment.” According to Biyani, “My brother was offered a bribe of 100 crore in return for a favourable judgment. Mohit Shah, the chief justice, made the offer himself.”

She added that Mohit Shah told her brother that if “the judgment is delivered before 30 December, it won’t be under focus at all because at the same time, there was going to be another explosive story which would ensure that people would not take notice of this.”

Loya’s father Harkishan also told me that his son had confided in him about bribe offers. “Yes, he was offered money,” Harkishan said. “Do you want a house in Mumbai, how much land do you want, how much money do you want, he used to tell us this. This was an offer.” But, he added, his son refused to succumb to the offers. “He told me I am going to turn in my resignation or get a transfer,” Harkishan said. “I will move to my village and do farming.”

I contacted Mohit Shah and Amit Shah for their responses to the family’s claims. At the time this story was published, they had not responded. The story will be updated if and when they reply.

After Loya’s death, MB Gosavi was appointed to the Sohrabuddin case. Gosavi began hearing the case on 15 December 2014. “He heard the defence lawyers argue for three days to discharge Amit Shah of all the charges, while the CBI, the prosecuting agency, argued for 15 minutes,” Mihir Desai said. “He concluded the hearing on 17 December and reserved his order.”

On 30 December, around one month after Loya’s death, Gosavi upheld the defence’s argument that the CBI had political motives for implicating the accused. With that, he discharged Amit Shah.

The same day, news of MS Dhoni’s retirement from test cricket dominated television screens across the country. As Biyani recounted, “There was just a ticker at the bottom which said, ‘Amit Shah not guilty. Amit Shah not guilty.’”

Mohit Shah visited the grieving family only around two and half months after Loya’s death. From Loya’s family, I obtained a copy of a letter that they said Anuj, Loya’s son, wrote to his family on the day of the then chief justice’s visit. It is dated 18 February 2015—80 days after Loya’s death. Anuj wrote, “I fear that these politicians can harm any person from my family and I am also not powerful enough to fight with them.” He also wrote, referring to Mohit Shah, “I asked him to set up an enquiry commission for dad’s death. I fear that to stop us from doing anything against them, they can harm anyone of our family members. There is threat to our lives.”

Anuj wrote twice in the letter that “if anything happens to me or my family, chief justice Mohit Shah and others involved in the conspiracy will be responsible.”

When I met him in November 2016, Loya’s father Harkishan said, “I am 85 and I am not scared of death now. I want justice too, but I am extremely scared for the life of my daughters and grandchildren.” He had tears in his eyes as he spoke, and his gaze went often to the garlanded photograph of Loya hanging on the wall of the ancestral home.

(Story Source- www.caravanmagazine.in)

During the Cleaner Planet Convention (CPC) organised in Amsterdam last year, the impact of digital transformation in the waste industry was the bottom line. Artificial Intelligence and automation and big data are playing increasingly important roles in most industries and waste is no exception. 

Using data and connected devices to optimise waste collection and its end usage has become the new buzzword. Coupled with this the Internet of Things is helping cities improve everything from traffic data, weather, and parking, to water usage and waste management.

Sensing the increasing role of technology and need to reduce the carbon footprints in the use of energy, oil giant  Shell in collaboration with technology company Bio-Bean has launched an initiative power some of London’s local transport buses using a biofuel made from waste coffee grounds.

Interestingly, as a part of its commitment to reduce the dependence on crude oil and increase the use of biofuel and reduce CO2 emissions, India had encouraged use of ethanol mix in petrol from 2003 onwards. “It’s a great example of what can be done when we start to reimagine waste as an untapped resource. We’ve started in the UK, but imagine the potential of a country like India that drinks more than 13 billion cups of coffee a year. By rethinking our approach to waste, we can create smarter global cities and a brighter future for everyone,” says Bio-Bean Founder Arthur Kay.

In case of London, the B20 biofuel contains a 20 percent bio-component which contains part coffee oil. This coffee oil is added to the London bus fuel supply chain to help power some of the buses, without need for modification. Biofuel provides a cleaner, more sustainable energy solution for buses across London’s network by decreasing emissions. 

“Our Coffee Logs have already become the fuel of choice for households looking for a high-performance, sustainable way to heat their homes – and now, with the support of Shell, bio-bean and Argent Energy have created thousands of litres of coffee-derived B20 biodiesel which will help power London buses for the first time.” said Bio-Bean’s founder Arthur Kay.

The average Londoner drinks 2.3 cups of coffee a day which produces over 200,000 tonnes of waste a year, much of which would otherwise end in landfill with the potential to emit 126million kg of CO2. bio-bean works to collect some of these waste coffee grounds from high street chains and factories.  

Bio-Bean works with its fuel partner Argent Energy to process this oil into a blended B20 biofuel. 6,000 litres of coffee oil has been produced, which if used as a pure-blend for the bio component and mixed with mineral diesel to form a B20, could help power the equivalent of one London bus for a year. 

This latest collaboration is part of Shell’s #makethefuture energy relay, which supports entrepreneurs turning bright energy innovations into a positive impact for communities around the world. In fact, Shell has diversified its portfolio last year itself making renewable energy as one of the big focus of its future expansion plans and vision.

Sinead Lynch, Shell UK Country Chair, said: “When it comes to clean energy, we are always looking for the next inventive solution.  A good idea can come from anywhere, but with the scale and commitment of Shell, we can help enable true progress.  We’re pleased to be able to support bio-bean to trial this innovative new energy solution which can help to power buses, keeping Londoners moving around the city – powered in part by their waste coffee grounds.”

In India, the use of ethanol has been encouraged by the government from time to time and in its latest thrust to push usage of this fuel, the Narendra Modi  Government raised the price of sugarcane-extracted ethanol used for blending in petrol by around Rs. 2 per litre to Rs 40.85 from next month onwards.

The approval will facilitate the continued policy of the government in providing price stability and remunerative prices for ethanol suppliers. It will also help in reducing dependency on crude oil imports, saving in foreign exchange and benefits to the environment. t is estimated that for ethanol supply year 2016-17, about 65 crore litres of ethanol will be procured.

Doping petrol with 5 percent ethanol was launched in 2003 to promote the use of alternative and environment-friendly fuels and also cut import dependence. However, since 2006, oil firms were not able to receive offers for the required quantity of ethanol against the tenders floated by them due to various constraints like state specific issues, supplier related issues, including pricing of ethanol.

A team of researchers from Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, has developed a new device that promises to help detect infectious diseases at low costs and very early.

The device uses a biochip and a nanomaterial based on Zinc Oxide. As a proof of concept it has been demonstrated in rapid detection of malaria.

The biochip comprises of a sensing platform integrated with a three-electrode system. The sensing electrode consists of antibody conjugated nanofibers. In the case of the device which has been tested, nanofibres were conjugated with histidine-rich protein II antibodies, which are specific to malarial antigen. Upon recognizing the presence of even a trace of malaria’s biomarkers in blood serum, the device registered a signal. It is calibrated to assess the quantitative level of infectious biomarker present in the sample. Samples obtained from a hospital were tested using the device.

The device can also quantify the extent of infection and does not require a trained technician to use it. “It can be used as a point of care device. It will be particularly useful in rural areas where diagnostic facilities are not available readily. People in endemic areas can keep the device at home and when someone in the house falls sick, they test if there is infection,” Shiv Govind Singh, leader of the team, said while speaking to India Science Wire. 

The device is highly sensitive. It can detect malaria parasite at a concentration of even as low as a trillionth of a gram in a millilitre. This means it can detect minutest presence of a parasite, and help detect the infection on day one itself. 

Dr. Singh said he and his team members were working on taking the device to the next level wherein the diagnosis could be transmitted to a medical professional via a smart phone. In addition, they are working on a device through which several diseases could be detected in one go.

The research team included Brince Paul and Asisa Kumar Panigrahi (IIT Hyderabad) and Dr. Vikrant Singh from School of Medicine, University of California. The study results have been published in journal ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces.