Shedding its hesitant and cautious approach of the past with regard to participating in global mega science projects, India has taken bold steps in recent years to join international scientific quests. 

The Science Technology and Innovation policy of 2013 envisages positioning India among the top five global scientific powers by 2020. In addition to home-grown science and engineering projects, the policy advocated participation in global science projects arguing that as a civilised country we must also participate in global mega science projects aiming to find out for example the ultimate structure of matter or the origin of the universe. 

Here are some of India’s Big Science initiatives:

Feeling the fabric of space-time: The detection of gravitational waves for the first time in February 2016 after a century of speculation and decades of tenacious attempts to improve sensitivity of instruments to detect these elusive waves, was hailed as the ‘discovery of the century’. Of over 1000 scientists from 15 countries who jointly made this discovery, 39 were from India. Indian scientists made direct contributions – ranging from designing algorithms used to analyse signals registered by detectors to ascertain those from a gravitational wave to working out parameters like estimating energy and power radiated during merger, orbital eccentricity and estimating the mass and spin of the final black hole and so on. Currently there are only two detectors in operation, both in America. Building on their strength, Indian astronomers are proposing to build the third detector somewhere in Maharashtra. Called Indian LIGO (IndiGO), the instrument matching the two LIGO observatories in the US would enable scientists to pinpoint the source of gravitational waves. 

Big Bang: India became a full Associate Member of “God particle” fame CERN on January 16, 2017, thereby getting full access to data generated at the world’s largest particle physics laboratory. Currently, CERN has 22 member states. Indian scientists have helped build the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the most powerful particle collider in the world as well as construction of two significant CERN experiments, CMS and ALICE. Incidentally CMS is one of the two experiments that discovered the Higgs Boson, popularly called as ‘God particle’ and ALICE creates conditions that existed at the time of big bang.

Digging deep: Shivajisagar lake was impounded in the Koyna region in Maharashtra to create an artificial reservoir in 1962. The massive earthquake of magnitude 6.3 that occurred in 1967 brought to light dangers of Reservoir Triggered Seismicity (RTS). Since its construction, the region has witnessed 22 earthquakes exceeding magnitude 5, 200 exceeding magnitude 4 and several thousand smaller earthquakes. Indian geophysicists have drilled a seven-km deep borehole in this earthquake zone and have established an on-the-spot observatory to study earthquakes. The observatory is studying physical and mechanical properties of rocks before, during and after a quake; physical and chemical changes in the earth’s crust that occur during an earthquake; and temperature change that impels melting of rocks. Geologists are hopeful that the knowledge garnered from the web of 15 earthquake sensors and the on-spot data collection, has potential for making earthquake forecasts possible in future.

Making of atoms: India is part of the international Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) coming up at Darmstadt, Germany for studying the building blocks of matter and the evolution of the Universe. This sophisticated accelerator complex will use high-energy, precisely-tailored ion beams to mimic the conditions inside the core of stars and early phase of the universe.

The 1.2-billion euro facility will study the structure of matter and the evolution of the universe since the Big Bang. While the Helium and hydrogen was formed in the early universe, rest of the elements it is postulated were cooked inside the stars. The facility would also shed light on the creation of heavy elements in stars and also the interiors of planets. Indian institutions will be engaged in building NUSTAR (Nuclear Structure, Astrophysics and Reactions), CBM (Compressed Baryonic Matter) and PANDA (Antiproton Annihilation at Darmstadt) in addition to building equipment to be used at the heart of the FAIR accelerator. 

Looking back in time: India has joined nine other nations to build the world’s largest and most sensitive radio telescope – Square Kilometre Array (SKA). It will combine signals received from thousands of small parabolic and dipole antennas spread over a distance of several thousand kilometres across Africa and Australia. Karoo desert in South Africa will host the core of the 350 megahertz to 14 gigahertz mid-frequency dish array while the Australian telescope will observe lower-frequency scale, from 50 to 350 megahertz and the total detection area of the receiver dishes would exceed 1 square kilometre.  A large number of dipole antennas are capable of receiving very low frequencies while the 3000 odd parabolic antennas operate at higher frequencies. Combining signals from all these thousands of antennas would simulate a single giant radio telescope with extremely high sensitivity. The sensitivity of this radio telescope would be fifty times more than any other radio telescope and it will be able to survey the sky 10,000 times faster enabling astronomers to even capture faint radio signals emitted by cosmic sources billions of light years away from Earth. With such a powerful telescope, astronomers could peer deep into the universe, way back in time when the first stars were emerging. 

Shining like Sun: TheInternational-Thermonuclear-Experimental-Reactor (ITER) has embarked upon an ambitious project to build a little bit of Sun in laboratory conduction. While the conventional nuclear reactor breaks a heavy atom like plutonium to gather the binding energy, the fusion reactor will fuse two light elements like say hydrogen into helium to harness the energy. As fusion reactors will not use any radioactive materials, yet generate immense energy, it is considered as a clean-green source of energy. The high temperature in the core of the stars results in light elements becoming highly ionised and attain plasma state. It is in this plasma state that two or more light elements could fuse. If we have to re-create such a condition on Earth, then we need to make a small amount of hydrogen into plasma before we can achieve fusion. One of the challenges is to contain high temperature plasma in a confinement to achieve the fusion. The experimental nuclear fusion reactor being built at Cadarache in south of France hopes to harness fusion reaction to generate energy. European Union, United States, Japan, China, Russia, South Korea and India are jointly building and operating this test facility. Institute for Plasma Research, Ahmedabad is contributing crucial parts of the tokamak reactor’s gigantic cryostat.

Predicting rain:  The India Meteorological Department (IMD) is developing a dynamic weather prediction model involving 3D mathematical simulation of the atmosphere on computer and to test variations of dynamic models to ferret out the best ones for operational forecast of rainfall. While the ultimate goal is to get operational weather forecasts at a horizontal resolution of 12 km, by 2019 National Monsoon Mission will provide block level weather forecast. With the improvements in forecast, 24-hour track and intensity forecast error of the tropical cyclones reduced from 141 km to 97 km and ‘landfall error’ from 99 km to 56 km during 2006 to 2015. The accurate forecast of the recent cyclones, Phailin, HudHud and Vardah saved thousands of human lives. 

Churning the sea:  Using research vessel, Gaveshani, Indian researchers had collected samples of poly metallic nodules from Arabian Sea in 1981 and India was given a pioneer area for exploration of deep sea minerals in the Central Indian Ocean Basin in 1987. Subsequently extensive surveys were carried out leading to allocation of an area of 150,000 sq km with exclusive rights under the UN Law of the sea. India has access to an area of 75,000 sq km with an estimated resource of about 100 million tons of strategic metals such copper, nickel, cobalt besides manganese and iron. As various national institutions have developed technologies for extraction of metals from the minerals, soon India would establish First Generation Mine-site (FGM) with an area of 18,000 sq km and harvest natural resources from the sea-bed. The multi-purpose deep ocean mission would also try to harness deep ocean energy, deep sea fishing along with deep sea mining. Further technologies for sea water desalination to obtain potable water would also be undertaken.

Looking deep:  The Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT), world’s advanced ground based telescope, is expected to outsmart all ground-based telescopes once it is operational. Made of 492 individual segments, the telescope mirror would have a reflective diameter of 30 meters and would be 81 times more powerful than any other telescope. It a partnership project involving CalTech, Universities of California, Canada, Japan, China and India. While initial location chosen was Hawaii, Hanle in Ladakh was also considered as an alternative. However, it may perhaps be finally located in Chile. Building of such a massive telescope is a technological challenge. The mirror segments have to be aligned precisely with each other and the adoptive optics proposed would eliminate the twinkling effect caused by atmospheric thermal disturbances. India will develop and manufacture 15% of the mirror segments and assembly.

Reaching for stars: India had dazzled the world by reaching Mars in very first attempt. Indian spacecraft reached the moon before that. Currently AstroSAT a multi wavelength space telescope is operational. ISRO in coming years would add many more deep space missions to its credit. Chandrayan 2- with a lander and rover is proposed to be launched some time inn 2018-19. A mission to study the Sun – Aditya, is in the offing. Building upon the success of the Mars Orbiter Mission, ISRO is planning to send yet another spacecraft to study Mars. Indian space programme in addition to providing telecom, weather, navigational services, would also take a pride of place among the spacefaring nations of the world. 

Technological spinoffs of mega projects such as LHC or FAIR are immense. Technology developed in CERN went into making mammograms used for breast cancer detection, while the positron used in particle physics experiments gave us PET (Positron Emission Tomography). The study of fundamental particles is sure to yield newer imaging technologies. That’s why it is important to invest in mega science projects. (India Science Wire) 

Amid simmering differences with the Board of Directors and co-founders of Infosys, Vishal Sikka resigns as the Chief Executive Officer of the second largest IT company in India. UB Pravin Rao has been appointed as the interim chief and managing director. The giant of Silicon Valley said it in a notice to the stock exchange.

Dr. Sikka wrote in his BlogSpot shortly after his resignation, “very public noise around us had created an untenable atmosphere that prevented the management from functioning effectively.”

Vishal Sikka was the first non-founder CEO of the company. Now the Silicon Valley import is appointed as the executive vice chairman. Infosys has accepted Sikka’s resignation during a board meeting on Friday.

“In his notice of resignation to the Board, Dr. Sikka reiterated his belief in the great potential of Infosys, but cited among his reasons for leaving a continuous stream of distractions and disruptions over the recent months and quarters, increasingly personal and negative as of late, as preventing management’s ability to accelerate the company’s transformation,” said Infosys.

In a report published in Mint, Infosys co-founder N.R. Narayana Murthy tells advisers in an email that at least three independent directors have been complaining about CEO Vishal Sikka.

“All I hear from the at least three independent directors, including MR Ravi Venkatesan (co-chairman), are complaints about Dr. Sikka. They have told me umpteen times that Dr. Sikka is not a CEO material but CTO material. This is the view of at least three members of the board, and I have not seen him operate from the vantage point of an Infosys board member,” Murthy said in the mail.

This crisis marked the low in the stock exchange as the scrip was trading over 5 per cent down at Rs 965.80 around 9.30 am (IST), whereas BSE sensex was down 185 points, or 0.58 per cent, at 31, 611.

Concerned over several cases of self harm while play Blue Whale Game Challenge on internet, Union Women and Child Development Minister, Maneka Sanjay Gandhi, has written to the Union Home Minister, Rajnath Singh and Union Minister for Electronics & IT, Ravi Shankar Prasad, asking them to take all measures to remove the self-destructive game from social media.

Several cases of students and youngsters have reportedly committing suicide playing this Game, according to media reports.

Raising concern over these shocking incidents, Ms Gandhi suggested that the Game Challenge be removed from social media by suitable intervention.

The Ministry of Electronic and Information Technology has issued a circular to Google, Facebook, Whatsapp, Instagram, Microsoft and Yahoo to report anyone who’s advocating or promoting the game.

Earlier in May, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights had also written to the IT Ministry to take immediate action to ban the Game.

Ms Gandhi has also appealed to the parents to monitor the activities of children and dissuade them from falling prey to such dangerous games.

Aimed to prevent unethical profiteering and ensure affordable and quality healthcare for the people, the government has fixed ceiling prices on knee implants. The move comes within months of fixing of prices for stents.

The new prices, reduced by at least 60%, came into force immediately. Overcharging of knee implants would be strictly monitored and penalised, Union Chemical and Fertlisers Minister Ananth Kumar said while announcing the new prices.

The most commonly used Cobalt Chromium implant which used to cost Rs 1.58 lakh will now cost Rs 54.720; implants made of special metals like titanium and oxidized zirconium priced at Rs 2.49 lakh will now be available for Rs 76,600; high flexibility implants has now been priced at Rs 56,490 instead of Rs 1.81 lakh; prices of revision implants has come down from Rs 2.76 lakh to Rs 1.13 lakh and the prices of specialised implants for cancer and tumor will be fixed at rs 1.13 lakh.

Based on the numbers of about 1 to 1.5 lakh orthopaedic knee procedures done in India every year, there will be a saving of about Rs.1500 crore for the people annually. It is a step to prevent unethical profiteering and ensure affordable and quality healthcare for the last man, the Minister added.

According to the data analysis of National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), under Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers, there was huge margin in trade which was found to be unreasonable and in a way unethical ‘profiteering’. The NPPA, while fixing the ceiling prices, has kept all the new technology implants in mind and prices have been fixed accordingly.

Mr Ananth Kumar said the World Health Organization (WHO) has estimated that by 2020, osteoarthritis is going to be the fourth largest cause of immobility in the world. India has about 1.2 to 1.5 crore orthopaedic patients who require orthopaedic implant surgery. Most of the diagnosed people requiring knee surgery are not able to afford because of very high cost. the government is reforming this state of affairs putting a ceiling on knee implants from today, the Minister added.

The Minister said that the Government expects full cooperation from all the stakeholders including importers, distributors, retailers, and hospitals in ensuring that the benefit of reduction of prices of knee implants reaches the last man. The Minister added that all complaints of overcharging would be strictly monitored and the overcharged amount would be recovered from erring parties with an interest of 18% over it. The Government might also consider cancelling of licenses and initiate criminal proceedings against stakeholders engaged in unethical profiteering.

Meanwhile, Medical Technology Association of India (MTaL) is reviewing the Order of the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) on knee implants, and will revert with suggestions, if any, to the NPPA for ensuring the practicality of its implementation after due analysis.

The Institute of Microbial Technology, a constituent laboratory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), has identified two new molecules against tuberculosis and has joined hands with a private drug company for their further development.

Initial studies have shown promise of more effective and safe oral-based treatment regime to tackle all types of tuberculosis including multi-drug and extensively drug resistant forms, Dr Anil Koul, director of the Chandigarh-based laboratory, told newsmen on Wednesday. 

For further development of the new molecule, the CSIR lab will work with Johnson & Johnson. The agreement signed on Wednesday also covers two additional molecules developed by J&J for which the CSIR lab will collaborate with the drug company.

For all the four new molecules, preliminary studies have indicated they could be put together to develop a new drug regime for the disease. An agreement has been signed to explore validity of initial findings. “While we will provide microbiology and medicinal chemistry expertise, the company will provide preclinical resources and drug development support,” he added.

Asked about aspects such as funding pattern for the project, Dr. Koul said all details like milestones, actual working relationships and costs are being worked. He added that other research institutions working in the area of TB were welcome to contribute to the programme. “We are interested in finding a lasting solution to the TB problem. All assistance is welcome.”

“India can move forward on the path of innovation and development and leverage its efforts through creating and strengthening desired partnership with industry in the domain of health research,” commented Dr Harsh Vardhan, minister for science and technology. (India Science Wire)

As India completes 70 years of its independence, it is time to introspect at the contribution of science and technology to national development. Several scientific and technological developments have touched the lives of common people in the last seven decades, though limelight is often hogged by achievements in fields like space and atomic energy.

In the past seven decades, India has built satellites and sent probes to the moon and Mars, established nuclear power stations, acquired nuclear weapon capability and demonstrated firepower in the form of a range of missiles. Undoubtedly these are all fabulous achievements of Indian scientists and technologists. 

At the same time, scientific research – combined with favourable public policies – has made India self-sufficient in production of food, milk, fruits and vegetables, drugs and vaccines. All this has had great social and economic impacts and directly and indirectly touched the lives of ordinary Indians. Developments in communications and information technology have enabled timely forecast of weather and early warning of cyclones, saving thousands of lives. 

These are all results of investments made in scientific research soon after the independence and science-politics network built in decades prior to that. Investment in scientific research was 0.1 percent of GNP in 1947. It went up to 0.5 percent in less than a decade. Scientists like Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar, Homi Jehangir Bhabha and Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis not only built scientific institutions but also helped shape policies. 

Here are seven defining contributions of Indian science and technology since 1947:

Green Revolution: In 1947, India produced about 6 million tonnes of wheat which was grossly inadequate to meet the total demand forcing the country to depend on large scale imports. With measures such as land reforms, improvements in irrigation facilities, fertilizer production and Intensive Agriculture District Programme, wheat production rose to 12 million in 1964 – which was still insufficient to feed all Indians. While all this was going on, plant breeder Benjamin Peary Pal at the Indian Agriculture Research Institute was working on improving wheat varieties to achieve disease resistance and yield. The first breakthrough came in 1961 when a dwarf spring wheat variety with the Norin-10 dwarfing gene – developed by Normal Borlaug in Mexico- was grown in IARI. It had reduced height but long panicles. Later semi-dwarf varieties were grown in farmers’ fields, yielding great results. These developments led to launch of the Hugh Yielding Varieties Programme covering not just wheat but rice, maize, sorghum and pearl millet. The All India Coordinated Wheat Research Project under Pal remains an outstanding example of agriculture research. By 1970, wheat production went up to 20 million tonnes and rice production to 42 million tonnes. Thus began the Green Revolution, making India self-sufficient in foodgrain production in the decades to come.  

White Revolution: At the time of the independence, India was not only importing foodgrains but also milk products like baby food, butter and cheese. In 1955, India was importing 500 tonnes of butter and 3000 tonnes of baby food from dairy companies in Europe. The dairy movement had started in 1946 with the founding of the Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers Union Limited under the leadership of Tribhuvandas Patel. In 1949, Verghese Kurien arrived in Anand to fulfil the condition laid down in the bond he had signed with the government at the time of going to America for higher education with government scholarship. He stayed back and became General Manager of the cooperative in 1950. The dairy faced a problem of fluctuating milk production as surplus milk would find no takers. European dairy companies were not willing to part with milk powder technology and were of the view that buffalo milk can’t be converted into milk powder. H M Dalaya, a young diary engineer working with Kurien at Anand, demonstrated with experiments that buffalo milk can be converted into milk powder. Dalaya assembled a device using a spray paint gun and an air heater to make powder from buffalo milk, for the first time in the world. Later he showed that a commercially available machine, Niro Atomizer, could do the same. This laid the foundation for a dairy revolution in India and a national milk grid, making the country self-sufficient.  

Satellite and communication revolution: When Vikram Sarabhai, as chairman of the Indian National Committee for Space Research, in mid-1960s envisioned the use of satellite technology for communication, remote sensing and weather prediction, few people believed him because India then did not possess any capability in building a rocket or a satellite. He wanted India to use space technology for education, health and rural development. Within a decade, India not only developed such a capability but demonstrated to the world peaceful use of space technology with the success of the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE), and the launch of Aryabhata satellite from the Soviet Union. In another decade, Indian scientists launched the landmark INSAT and IRS series of satellites, bringing communication and television services to millions of people across the country. Timely prediction of weather events like cyclones using India-made satellites has helped save lives. Through pioneering use of the VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) technology, banking and other services were revolutionized in the 1980s. 

Drugs and vaccines manufacturing: India today is known as ‘pharmacy of the world’ as Indian companies are supplying affordable drugs and vaccines to not only developing but also to developed countries. It has been a long journey from the time when Indian drug industry was dominated by foreign companies whose drugs were prohibitively costly. In order to break the hold of multinational corporations, the central government established Hindustan Antibiotics Limited in 1954 and then the Indian Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Limited (IDPL) with Soviet assistance. These public sector units – along with national laboratories like National Chemicals Laboratory (NCL), Regional Research Laboratory Hyderabad (now known as Indian Institute of Chemical Technology) and Central Drug Research Institute – played a central role in generating necessary knowledge base and human resources needed for Indian industry to grow. The Patent Act of 1970 recognised only process patents, paving the way for Indian companies to make copies of patented drugs using alternative processes. CSIR labs developed processes for a range of drugs – ciprofloxacin, diclofenac, salbutamol, omeprazole, azithromycin etc. – and transferred the technology to private companies. Over next two decades, all this helped develop indigenous capabilities in both R&D and manufacturing.

C-DOT and telecom revolution: Like most other sectors, telecom sector too was dependent on supplies from multinational corporations, and due to high costs as well as shortage of foreign exchange new technology could not come in. The switching technology was considered strategic and only a handful of companies possessed it.  The waiting period for a telephone line in India in the 1970s was several years, and connectivity in rural areas was extremely poor. The first attempt to develop an indigenous electronic exchange was initiated at the Telecom Research Centre (TRC) in the 1960s and the first breakthrough was a 100-line electronic switch developed in 1973. Around the same time, scientists at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), along with those from IIT Bombay, developed a digital Automatic Electronic Switch for the army. These efforts got a boost in 1984 when the government established the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) by pooling scientific teams from TRC and TIFR under the leadership of Sam Pitroda. The rural telephone exchange developed by Indians could work under harsh conditions and without air conditioning. The technology developed in public sector was transferred for free to private companies, ending the monopoly of multinational giants and rapidly bringing connectivity to rural areas. C-DOT exchange became popular in dozens of developing nations.    

IT revolution and railway computerisation: The data processing industry in India during the decades after the independence was dominated by two multinationals – IBM and ICL. The data processing machines of these two firms were in use in the government, public sector, armed forces as well as research institutes. These companies brought old and discarded machines to India and leased them at high rentals. India needed latest computers for applications like National Sample Surveys, nuclear reactor development and other research. In order to break the monopoly of big companies and spur indigenous software and hardware development, the Department of Electronics was established in 1970. Public sector companies like Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), Computer Maintenance Corporation (CMC) and state electronics development corporations were established. The skills and knowledge thus developed got transferred to private industry. The first major application of information technology was the passenger reservation project of the Railways launched in 1986. It was the largest such project which demonstrated how technology can improve efficiency, cut corruption and touch the lives of millions without the need for them owning a digital gadget.     

Blue Revolution: The ‘blue revolution’ refers to adoption of a set of measures to boost production of fish and other marine products. It was formally launched with the establishment of the Fish Farmers’ Development Agency during the Fifth Five-year Plan in 1970. Later on, similar development agencies were set up for brackish water development to boost aquaculture in several states. The objective of all this was to induce new techniques of fish breeding, rearing and marketing, as well as initiate production of other marine products like prawns, oysters, seaweeds, pearls and so on, using new techniques and scientific inputs. Scores of new technologies developed by research institutes under the Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) have been transferred to fish farmers all over the country. (India Science Wire)

NEW DELHI: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued a notice to the Uttar Pradesh government, through its Chief Secretary, calling for a detailed report in the matter of several deaths of children in the BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur. It has also asked about the steps taken for relief and rehabilitation of the affected families as well as action taken against the guilty officers within four weeks. Taking suo motu cognizance of several media reports hinting at negligence in the supply of liquid oxygen at the hospital which resulted in the tragedy, the Commission has observed that reported deaths, in such a large number in a government run hospital, amount to serious violation of right to life and health of the innocent victims. “This indicates towards gross callousness on part of the hospital administration and the Medical Education and Health Department of Uttar Pradesh. Earlier also, it has come across several instances of deaths in the hospitals due to Japanese encephalitis,’’ the notice says. The Commission has further observed that the issue of deaths due to Japanese encephalitis was discussed with the Chief Secretary and other senior officers of the State Government in detail during its recently concluded Open Hearing and Camp Sitting at Lucknow for the cases of Uttar Pradesh from the 9th to 11th August, 2017. However, in spite of assurance given by the state administration, the situation has not improved. According to the various media reports, carried since 12th to 14th August, 2017, by the most of the Hindi and English newspapers, the private firm, contracted to supply liquid oxygen to the BRD Medical College, stopped the supplies, as it was not paid the outstanding dues of almost Rs. 70 Lakh and the result was tragic deaths of about 60 children, admitted in the Neo-natal and Encephalitis Wards of the Hospital. As per media reports, the magisterial inquiry has been ordered by the administration to ascertain the cause of death. In the last three decades, Japanese encephalitis (JE) and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) have claimed over 50,000 lives in the eastern Uttar Pradesh, mostly in the Gorakhpur district. It is further mentioned that total 124 deaths were reported in the hospital till 8th August, 2017. As many as 641 children died last year and 491 in the year 2015.

NEW DELHI: BeNative has embarked on a very vital initiative to empower the youth of today and developing societies. They aim to provide today’s educated generation a rightful place in the emerging global sectors. After having successfully assisted leading MNCs and corporates in South Korea, the company plans to make its foray into the Indian market equipped with a digital initiative to up-skill youth in Business/Corporate Communication.
“BeNative is in touch with a number of innovative Indian institutes and universities to help them provide their students a platform to enrich their business/technical English and Chinese so that they can express themselves more effectively in the global markets,” says BeNative’s Director Shruti Kaul, who hails from India and is now settled in South Korea. She is leading BeNative’s foray in India and was recently in India to explore possibilities of expanding her company’s exposure in India.
“South Asian countries, particularly India, is ready to take a more meaningful position in the global markets when it comes to education and training in communication skills. We have taken up this responsibility with the objective of bridging further communication constraints to make world a truly global village. We train workforce to improve and sharpen their communication skills, particularly in their specialised fields, to enable them express forcefully and more effectively,” Ms. Kaul adds.
BeNative has partnered with Ashoka University to understand the needs of today’s youth and find a proper balance between the products currently being offered and what needs to be improved and added to cater to the local market. “We see a vast yet diverse market in India and would like to play a pivotal role in the ongoing skill India movement. We plan to have many such engaging events and partner with universities and related government organizations to provide a platform for today’s digitalized youth in both rural and urban India so that they can be champions in their own fields in the language that the world speaks,” says Ms. Kaul.
BeNative CEO Alan Moonsoo Kim, whose first company Etoos was sold for $30 million, has been working in the online education industry since its inception over 15 years ago. “We believe that any student, if given the right kind of inspiration, learning path and sufficient exposure to the opportunities available, will certainly be able to realize his/her potential. Our mission is to provide such inspiration, learning and exposure to millions of students by closing the gap between their skills and industry needs,” says Mr. Kim.
More than 2000 companies and universities in China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan use BeNative tools to improve their employees’ and students language skills in both English and Chinese. BeNative has already established itself as a leader in corporate education in Asia. Its premium service, BeNative Pro, is currently used by major companies including Samsung, LG, and IBM for employees learning English and Chinese. It has won several awards around Asia and the Americas.? It has been nominated as one of 2016’s top innovative companies by the Edison Awards.
BeNative creates their unique content material by interviewing business people, including CEOs and other top-level executives. Some of their current interviews include employees of major companies such as General Motors, IBM, Paypal, 3M, and Harvard Business School. In addition to that, BeNative also has in-house videos to teach and explain certain other essential business etiquette required to be successful in the business world.
BeNative teaches: Native English from native speakers. Most commonly used phrases and vocabulary in the business world. Most modern expressions and idioms used in the business world. English for business situations. English for business travelling.
(Courtesy: ictflash.com) 

Monsoon is often called as the season of death in Poorvanchal—eastern parts of Uttar Pradesh and the adjoining region for rains lead to the death of hundreds of children every year due to viral encephalitis and its cousin Japanese encephalitis – the first caused by a water-borne enterovirus and the second by mosquito bite. The symptoms of both the killer diseases are almost the same and both are marked with high mortality and morbidity among children.
Not much has changed at Baba Raghav Das Hospital in Gorakhpur since 1978 when reports of children dying of JE/AES first came. The Hospital then had less capacity – though the best in the region—then number of patients was also less, but as the Hospital was upgraded – after Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi’s visit in 2011 following a spate of deaths—the number of patients has increased manifold as it still continues to be the best. Patients as far as from Nepal come to get their children treated here putting a huge load on the infrastructure and staff.
Japanese encephalitis and viral encephalitis diseases, broadly classified as AES, are a poor man’s diseases and affect the families of paddy farmers. But, it is not only a health issue. Of course, the present apathy and callousness of the hospital administration—if proven in the probe ordered by the State government—is nothing less than criminal negligence which needs to be dealt with in an exemplary manner.
Contaminated water, lack of proper sanitation facilities and bad personal hygiene habits are the factors which lead to children contracting the diseases. Living near paddy fields where mosquitoes breed and drinking infected water from shallow tube-wells are the risk factors as is the presence of pig farms located within the hamlets where communities live. These act as breeding sites for mosquitoes.
The patients who come here are poor and, therefore, undernourished, which even further lowers their chances of survival. Those who come from far off areas for treatment reach the hospital in a critical stage and their chances of survival are slim.
In 2012, the Centre government launched a National Programme for Prevention and Control of JE and AES on the recommendation of the Group of Ministers. The Rs 3,350 crore project was to be implemented in a phased manner. The first phase was launched in 60 most affected districts and included provision of rehabilitation for those who were left mentally retarded.
Over the years, not much could be heard of the project which was to be implemented by the Ministries of Rural Development, Drinking Water and Sanitation, Human Resource Development, Women and Child Development and Health and Family Welfare. While the focus has always remained on the achievements of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in this respect, no one even questions the other Ministries – which have a crucial role in preventing the diseases. They probably have forgotten about the project!
 Annual deaths at the BRD Hospital are shameful. Successive governments have not paid necessary attention to address the issue is even worse. Upgrading the Hospital with additional beds or ventilators and other infrastructure can only help in treating the patients but what is required in multi-pronged strategy to fight the scourge which has now spread to 17 States across India with almost all eastern States under its grip. Awareness and quality communication are equally important to raise the levels of information and education among the community and needs to be implemented well at various levels—community, providers and policy makers themselves.
Back at the present situation in Gorakhpur, it only speaks of the systemic failure that has sniffed away more than 60 innocent lives. Whether the oxygen supplier actually stopped the flow of life-saving oxygen or whether the administration held back the payment is indicative of the weak supply chain we have even in health facilities; and speaks of the possible corrupt practices the authorities indulge in while releasing the payments. These are issues which will come out in the enquiry reports, but one hopes that the issue does not die a natural death this time round too! 

Seeking to clear the air regarding allegations that it was trying to influence policies in India, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has said it rarely initiates programs from scratch and instead partners with leaders and communities striving to add value as they take on big health and development challenges.

“Over the years, the Gates Foundation has learned a lot about how to be an effective partner. We understand India’s scale and diversity and know that we don’t have the resources to support multiple programs here on our own. We also recognize India’s complexity and know that the most reliable and sustainable solutions are best provided by local champions who have spent their careers working in India,’’ the second edition of the India Country Office Letter of the BMGF, released here said. The letter is authored by Nachiket Mor, India Country Director of the Foundation.

“Sometimes the Gates Foundation contributes expertise. We know the issues and key players and can help connect the right people and resources. At other times we contribute data. We quickly set up pilot projects to test and refine a strategy, and provide decision-makers with examples and evidence,’’ the letter added.

The Foundation said it also helps facilitate important relationships across traditional boundaries so that governments, non-governmental organizations and private sector companies can collaborate to deliver innovations faster to those in need. The investments they make fill gaps and help good ideas become lifesaving solutions.

The letter highlights progress in India’s development through investments in scientific and technological advances, as India moves forward to meet the Sustainable Development Goals. Specifically, the letter focuses on successful interventions in sanitation, women and child development, vaccination and lymphatic filariasis, and demonstrates how thoughtful application of innovation and technology can contribute to transforming health and development outcomes.

Speaking on the launch of the second edition of the India Country Office Letter, Mr Mor said, “The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is partner to the Government of India in their efforts to address inequities that affect the most vulnerable populations, so that everyone can lead healthy, productive lives. This letter demonstrates through some examples of how science and technology can advance and transform India’s health and development outcomes.” He further added, “We admire the scale and scope of the country’s ambitions related to its development and are optimistic of the country’s progress across key development indicators.”

India is applying new-age thinking and cutting-edge technologies that can contribute to progress on the most challenging issues facing the poor. As the country strives to attain the Sustainable Development Goals, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is optimistic about India’s future, the letter says.