Soldiers sometimes have to be at high altitude with sub-zero temperatures for prolonged periods of time. To keep warm, they use a variety of strategies. This could include warm clothing, using heat packs, or electric blankets. But, they do not provide comprehensive solutions.

While warm clothes do prevent loss of body heat, they fail to generate any heat on their own, hot water bottles fail to retain the heat for long durations and electric heating pads or blankets require electric supply which has a risk of causing skin burn and thus making them unfit for prolonged use. 

Now, scientists at the Defense Laboratory Jodhpur (DLJ), and the Indian Institute of Technology-Jodhpur (IITJ) have designed a new combination of previously known materials that could help save soldiers and those living in cold regions from adverse events such as frostbite and hypothermia. 

The scientists, have made this new combo-material using sodium acetate trihydrate and ethylene glycol that can retain significant amount of heat for long . The combo-material is a type of ‘phase change material’, that have been previously used for making thermal management devices for regulating human body temperature, reducing temperature fluctuations inside buildings, and for storing solar energy.

Sodium acetate trihydrate is known to make efficient heat packs. But, it has several disadvantages. For example, it is hard and lumped, with sharp edges that makes it prone to puncture or damage during use. Also, it provides heat at nearly 57 degree Celsius as opposed to a temperature of 40degree Celsius, which is required to manage frostbites. 

The scientists at DLJ and IITJ have now found that it can be made more flexible and its heat retention time could be increased by about 10% by adding ethylene glycol and thus made suitable for thermal therapeutic applications like for frostbites. 

The scientists, Ambesh Dixit, Rohitash Kumar, SumitaVyas, and Ravindra Kumar have published their results in a recent issue of science journal Nature’s  Scientific Reports.

 Â“Novel ethylene glycol and aqueous sodium acetate trihydrate composite phase change materials with enhanced thermo-physical properties have been designed and developed. It is a promising material for applications such as body warming, building heating under adverse conditions and seasonal solar thermal energy storage”, they said in their report. 

Mohammed Farid, professor at the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Auckland, New Zealand, who is not connected to the study but works with similar materials agrees that, “scientists have improved the performance of the materialthrough modifications. It will also make it more comfortable to use”, he says. (India Science Wire)

KATHMANDU: The grouping of seven BIMSTEC countries have  reiterated their strong commitment to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, which remains the single most significant threat to peace and stability in the region.

The member-countries agreed to take concrete measures to step up cooperation and coordination among their law enforcement, intelligence and security organisations. 

They also agreed to expedite the ratification of the BIMSTEC Convention on Cooperation in Combating International Terrorism, Transnational Organized Crime and Illicit Drug Trafficking, signed in Myanmar in 2009. The 20-year-old BIMSTEC grouping has Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal as its members. 

In a joint statement, issued at the end of the 15th BIMSTEC Ministerial meeting in Kathmandu on Friday, it was also agreed to complete the internal procedures to sign the BIMSTEC Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters at the earliest.

The joint statement expressed satisfaction that the member States have commenced negotiations on BIMSTEC Convention Against Trafficking in Persons. 

The member-countries agreed to implement the recommendations of their National Security chiefs to counter terrorism, violent extremism and radicalization; and deepen cooperation to deal with traditional and non-traditional security threats in a comprehensive manner.  

Apart from counter-terrorism and trans-national crime, the joint statement touched upon 15 other areas for increasing cooperation among BIMSTEC countries. These are trade and investment, climate change, energy, agriculture, public health, transport and communication, technology, poverty alleviation, fisheries, tourism and culture, blue economy and mountain economy and people-to-people contact.  The two-day ministerial meeting was inaugurated by Nepalese Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba.  

Earlier, in her address External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj noted that BIMSTEC countries represent one-fifth of world humanity and  said the region is also one of the fastest growing regions in the world. 

Stressing that BIMSTEC enjoys the unique strengths of connecting South and South-East Asia, she said that it links the ecologies of the Himalayas and the Bay of Bengal. With shared histories, values and ways of life, it is the natural platform, to build our common future, she said. 

For India, Ms. Swaraj said, BIMSTEC remained its natural choice to fulfil the key foreign policy priorities of ‘Neighbourhood First’ and ‘Act East’.

Listing the priority areas of Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime; Transport & Communication; Tourism; and Environment & Disaster Management, where India was the lead country, Ms. Swaraj said that peace and security were  essential for development to take place. 

She noted that the first meeting of BIMSTEC National Security Chiefs in New Delhi in March this year had adopted a holistic approach to tackle traditional and non-traditional security challenges that threaten our region. 

“We worked out collective strategies to counter the scourge of terrorism, violent extremism & transnational crimes, as also to strengthen our maritime and cyber security cooperation. Specific follow-up measures in these areas are now under progress,’’ Ms. Swaraj said. 

Pointing out that the region was vulnerable to a variety of disasters due to its geo-climatic conditions, she said that to build regional capacities India would be hosting the first BIMSTEC Disaster Management Exercise in October 2017. It will help in developing  quicker, coordinated and comprehensive responses to disasters. 

“Intra-regional tourism got a boost with the launch of the BIMSTEC Network of Tour Operators recently in New Delhi. This first-of-its kind platform has brought industry and stakeholders together. Promotion of intra-BIMSTEC tourist circuits, joint marketing strategies, and BIMSTEC specific tourism products, notably the Buddhist circuit, would allow tourists to experience our rich and shared civilizational heritage,’’ Ms. Swaraj told the ministerial meeting. 

Describing energy was the engine of economic development, she expressed satisfaction that cross-border exchange of power between India, Nepal, Bhutan & Bangladesh was on a rapid upswing. The BIMSTEC MOU on Grid Interconnection, which has been finalized, would further facilitate regional energy trade. 

Arguing for deeper economic integration, she said that BIMSTEC has a combined GDP of over USD 2.85 trillion but the potential remains unfulfilled. 

As the BJP’s go to man in the South, can Venkaiah Naidu’s elevation as Vice President change the saffron brigade’s fortune there.

The amiable M Venkaiah Naidu’s facile win in the Vice Presidential elections last Saturday (August fifth) was never in doubt. The cross voting became all too evident with his opponent Gopalkrishna Gandhi losing by a wider margin that expected even as he acknowledged gracefully that “it was the victory of the ballot”. 

Expectedly certain regional parties in the South like the ruling but faction ridden AIADMK in Tamil Nadu as well as the TRS in Telengana and the YSR Congress in Andhra Pradesh backed the old war horse whose popularity was never in doubt. 

Naidu sought to clear the air once for all right at the beginning emphasising that he no longer belongs to any party. History has been created with the BJP bagging the top three constitutional posts in the country – President, Vice President and the Prime Minister – for the first time since it was formed in 1980. 

The credit for achieving this landmark must go to Narendra Modi in large measure as the Head of Government. In the first instance he zeroed in on Ram Nath Kovind, a low profile barrister and a Dalit hailing from UP, for being ensconced in the majestic Rashtrapati Bhawan, in a bid to assuage the feelings of the 21 per cent Dalits in the country towards the BJP. 

Then he turned to Venkaiah Naidu as the Vice President to boost the Lotus party’s image in the South accounting for no less than 130 seats in the 543-member Lok Sabha. There is a felt need to enlarge the party’s image and presence in the South akin to winning Assam and having a BJP government for the first time in Gauhati considered the gateway to the Northeast. 

Being a fractured entity since the passing away of Amma and AIADMK supremo, J Jayalalithaa, the Lotus party had set its eyes on having a truck with them. It appears to be fructifying now with chief minister E K Palanisamy meeting the Prime Minister in the national capital on Thursday for being an ally of the NDA. The faction headed by erstwhile chief minister O Paneerselvam is merging with the ruling faction subject to certain conditions being met. 

This has the portends of the saffron brigade achieving a significant breakthrough in Tamil Nadu. At the same time considering the pitfalls and unpredictability of the situation in the AIADMK, the BJP is hopeful of its calculated gambit succeeding in Tamil Nadu, a main battleground state in the South. It has a tally of 39 seats in the Lok Sabha. 

The endeavour of Modi along with his confidant and BJP president Amit Shah is to enlarge the saffron brigade’s footprint all over the country including the South rather than being confined to the Hindi heartland. 

The gambit is to take advantage of Naidu’s outreach in the South akin to his tenure as BJP president from 2002 to 2004 considering his fluency in several languages like his mother tongue Telegu, Tamil and Kannada among others. There is no doubt he is the most prominent face of the BJP from the South. Karnataka is the only state in the South to have voted the BJP to power. 

Left to himself, Naidu might have preferred to remain in active politics. He was BJP’s man Friday for making allies in the South. He had developed a good equation with southern leaders like Telengana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, AP chief minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu and the late Jayalalithaa in Tamil Nadu. 

At the same time his role as the Chairperson of the Rajya Sabha in ensuring the smooth functioning of the House of Elders will be crucial. Naidu has to ensure debate rather than disruptions which has been the norm in the Rajya Sabha lately. It is significant that the BJP has managed to edge past the Congress tally thus becoming the single largest political entity in that House. Nevertheless, the BJP led NDA still has some way to go before achieving a majority in the 245-member House of Elders. 

The BJP has become the dominant party in the country evidenced with the splash of the saffron on the country’s map. Its aggressive politics enabled it to bag major states and install its party men as chief ministers. This is indicative of the BJP securing another mandate for itself in the 2019 general elections with hardly any opposition on the horizon. 

With the ruling dispensation virtually having complete sway over key seats of power, how it pans out in practical terms remains to the seen. The Constitution requires the President and the Vice President to be non-partisan which is bound to be put to test now.  

Winning the trust of the opposition might not be easy in the wake of Naidu’s long association with the BJP. He has alluded to no longer being a party man and that it will be his duty to preserve and protect the Constitution. He was installed as the 14th Vice President of India yesterday (Friday, August 11) when he was administered the oath of office and secrecy by President Ram Nath Kovind.  

Legendary sportsperson, Milkha Singh, has been appointed WHO Goodwill Ambassador for Physical Activity in South-East Asia Region.
As WHO Goodwill Ambassador, Milkha Singh will promote WHO South-East Asia Region’s NCD Prevention and Control Action Plan which seeks to reduce the level of insufficient physical activity by 10% and NCDs by 25% by 2025.
“Promoting physical activity for health is an important intervention, which is expected to get a significant boost in the Region with the support of octogenarian Mr Milkha Singh, a champion for the cause,” Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director, WHO South-East Asia, said.
Regular exercise and physical activity helps reduce the risk of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer – diseases that are now increasingly afflicting people cross the world.
An estimated 8.5 million people die due to NCDs every year in WHO South-East Asia Region. Many of these deaths are premature and nearly all are lifestyle related, the Regional Director said.
An alarming 70% of boys, 80% of girls and nearly 33% adults in the Region report insufficient physical activity which is becoming a common feature of modern life, she said.
Physical activity is not only cost effective, but also has long-term impact when applied strategically, for example at schools and workplaces, communities and cities, and national and sub-national events. WHO has been advocating for physical activity as a “best buy” intervention for reducing the risk of deaths due to NCDs.
WHO recommends at least 60 minutes of daily physical activity for children and 150 minutes of weekly activity for adults to stave off noncommunicable diseases. Physical activity helps those aged 65 years and above to maintain cognitive functioning and reduce the risk of depression. To facilitate this, WHO has also been advocating with governments to create public spaces for recreational and organized sport.
“Whatever the age group, gender, physical ability, or socio-economic background, being physically active is an effective way to ensure a healthy and productive life”, the Regional Director said.
With support of Milkha Singh, we expect to promote and scale up physical activity in the Region to be able to arrest and reverse the NCD epidemic, she said.

Bharati Rathore, a former Defense Research Development Organization Researcher and Cognitive Neuro-Scientist, whom I met on LinkedIn, shared the story of inventing ‘Futuristic Safe Injection System-2020’. Bharati and her family are working diligently to help millions facing serious menace of the burden of unsafe injections in the world and invented ‘Futuristic Safe Injection System-2020’. It is a method and device for sustainable drug delivery system. The mission is to eradicate the threat of the adverse effect of reused syringes on humankind. Here are some excerpts.
About the invention:
This disruptive invention provides the most effective, cheapest, safer, greener and ergonomic drug delivery method and device compatible to WHO’s guidelines. It consists of two variants of reusable injector and 18 variants of safely disposable drug-cartridge. It contains piston and retractable needle along with a fixed dose of medicament, wherein needle retracts automatically within the empty cartridge after the injection process. Neither of the two parts per se are syringe but constitute an efficient, simple and user-friendly auto-retractable safety syringe, when both the parts are coupled together. The disposable drug cartridge, thus, constitutes a smart packaging material to pharmaceutical industry. The injector is provided with an LED indicator, which not only regulates and keeps vigil on the entire injection process but also illuminates the injection site in dark hours to conveniently facilitate the injection procedure. Besides, the injector may also be used to collect the fluids safely, when attached with the specially designed Fluid Collector. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u24Rc7ZIaXo 
Backgrounder:
Bharati’s family came across a World Health Organization (WHO) report regarding ‘the burden of unsafe injections worldwide’ published in 2004. It revealed that only in 2002, up to 70% injections were being given by reused syringes in developing world, causing 1.3 million deaths, loss of 26 million years of life worldwide and estimated increased medical costs $1 billion alone in USA annually. The exposed deadly contaminated needles of used syringes and the Needle Stick Injuries (NSI) caused by such syringes, were held responsible as a primary source of the most dreadful diseases like HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, gonorrhea, typhus, herpes, malaria, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, syphilis, and tuberculosis as well as other communicable diseases. It reported a spike in new cases, particularly caused by Needle Stick Injuries (NSI) up to 30% of hepatitis B, 41% of hepatitis C and 9% of HIV/AIDS. Increasing lifestyle diseases like diabetes, hormonal problems etc. have added a steep growth of injections. Each injection needs a new syringe every time, which is ultimately discarded after use along with the empty drug container creating ever-growing piles of hazardous medical-waste posing serious health concerns and increasing the  global disease burden as well as global healthcare burden. 
Motivation behind the invention:
“In 2006, doctor prescribed regular insulin shots to my diabetic mother, Dr. (Mrs.) Neelam Rathore. Buying a new syringe for every single shot of insulin for rest of her life was a quite expensive affair but we had to afford. Once, it occurred as an unexpected incident, my younger brother, Jai Hind Rathore, who was hardly of 7 years and student in 3rd Grade, found syringe as a fascinating toy to play with and started collecting the disposed syringes from garbage without our knowledge. One day, while cleaning his cupboard, our mother found a box full of used syringes, she annoyed and scolded him with a warning not to indulge in such activities. Being a doctor, she knew well about the repercussions and the grave hazards of sharp medical waste particularly, the risks of deadly contaminated needle-stick injuries, which made her furious. Despite, it was not possible for the lad to keep away his fascination for syringes as a toy. He still continued having lot of questions behind her fear.” 
“The same year my elder sister Pratibha, student of class 11 and my father Dr. B. C. Rathore) had just finished a research project relating to the density fingerprinting of alloys to determine the purity of gold jewelry using ‘decoding of density method’ without any destruction of such precious jewelry. Our findings subsequently published in ‘Material Letters’ as “Theoretical optimization of constitution of alloys by decoding their densities” in publication of ELSEVIER Journal, which was highly appreciated by Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Defense Research Development Organization (DRDO), National Physical Laboratory (NPL, Delhi), Vikram Sarabhai Space Research Centre (VSSRC) etc. and also the then President of India, His Excellency Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam took cognizance and referred the matter to BARC and BIS for further action.”
“At this point of time, we collectively undertook the WHO’s report as a missionary challenge and consistently worked with a zeal to find out a most suitable solution to effectively curb the menace of unsafe injections. Our studies revealed that only and only the retractable syringes may be the perfect solution of this challenge, but the costly retraction mechanism makes the syringes so costly that they are hardly affordable even to o.1% of the global population.”

Global Recognition of the Technology Â“The European Patent Office, while examining our International Patent Application (PCT/IB2016/051060)WO/2016/142799  has clearly opined as follows:
“Recently, our invention scored 2nd position in the world among 225 inventions/projects submitted from various countries by securing more than 32000 global populous votes at#youforG20: Project of an Interconnected World, an initiative undertaken by Deutschland on the occasion of G-20 Summit-2017 at Hamburg. It has been featured in ISIPS Newsletter of USA (Issue: 7th July, 2017), which is fully dedicated to ensure complete prevention of Needle Stick Injuries (NSI), the ultimate root-cause of  HIV, Hepatitis B & C as well as other communicable diseases worldwide. It has also been shortlisted among few inventions globally in the first stage of ‘The First Mile Innovation Challenge’by The Consortium for Affordable Medical Technologies (CAMTech) of Massachusetts General Hospital in association with GE Sustainable Healthcare Solutions. The invention has also been awarded with ‘BIRAC-SRISTI Appreciation Award-2017’worth Rs.1Lac by ‘Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and Institution’ (SRISTI) and ‘Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council’ (BIRAC) under Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India.Now, we are at final stage of pitching in ‘Millennium Alliance Award’ conducted by FICCI in August, 2017. The system is fully compliant to guidelines laid down by WHO, FDA and NIOSH.”
What was the role of each of the inventors? Have you named the product?
“Family of five, have put our persistent endeavors and invested our entire knowledge, skill, efforts, time, money, energy as well as all available resources in this pious missionary task of designing our dream invention to save the lives of millions. Pratibha Rathore, [Director of Rescitech Vision Pvt. Ltd., M.Tech. in Medical Nanotechnology] – Technical expertise in inventing new technology, Bharati Rathore, [M.Tech. in Cognitive& Neuroscience]- Technical expertise in inventing new technology, Jai Hind Rathore, [Student]- Technical expertise in inventing new technology, 3D Designing, Animation and Virtual Prototyping of the product, Dr. (Mrs) Neelam Rathore,[Medical Practitioner]- Medical expertise, presently working as Medical Officer in a State Ayurvedic Hospital under the Govt. of U. P, Dr. B. C. Rathore- Expertise in Legal and Intellectual Property Rights, Presently working as a Govt. Servant under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Govt. of India. 
Have you registered a company in India or plan to do so for the scaling up in terms of manufacturing and marketing? Are you looking at a tech transfer to the industry or you will be founding a company to do so?
“Rescitech Vision Pvt. Ltd., founded in 2014, is a technology and design company with a focus on sustainable innovations. Its mission is to accelerate the world’s transition towards sustainable and inclusive innovation growth by creating simple technologies with no technological divide. Our innovation start-up envisions the complete prevention of Needle Stick Injuries, re-use needle, counterfeit drugs, drug-abuse etc. and simultaneously to avoid the need of separate syringe for injection procedure in order to reduce the cost of injection procedure. Our invention is expected to decrease the bio-medical waste generated due to disposable syringes globally up to 70-75% and save the same extent of raw material particularly plastic material to be converted into bio-medical waste.” 
“Presently, we are trying hard to raise the requisite funds to secure our IPRs worldwide and commercialize our invention from the money obtained from various awards, grants, seed funding, licensing etc. We are zealously trying to become a part of the most ambitious ‘Make in India’ regime of Government of India. We have seriously planned to adopt Licensing model for commercialization and revenue generation.”
How much funds went into the invention? What has been the funding source? Has that been enough?
“Since 2006, all the financial resources, whatsoever, available at our ends have already been streamlined and exhausted completely in inventing and prosecuting patents of this breakthrough technology. Recently, the invention has been awarded with ‘BIRAC-SRISTI Appreciation Award-2017’ worth Rs.1Lac by ‘Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies and Institution’ (SRISTI) and ‘Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council’ (BIRAC) under Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India. Now, we are processing to enter in national phase patent applications filing to protect patent rights in potential PCT jurisdictions. Simultaneously, our sincere efforts are underway to R&D and commercially exploit our invention, so that the real benefits of the technology may reach to the end-users. We are also in need of global network and resources, expertise etc. to commercialize our innovation. For all such purposes, we are in urgent and dire need of money. We are putting all possible efforts to arrange the necessary funds from external sources.”Currently at what stage is the product development? Does it require further refinement?“We have successfully completed technical phase as inventors in developing this breakthrough technology. The virtual prototype has been created to ensure its feasibility. International Patent Application (PCT/IB2016/051060) has already been filled, which has been published by World Intellectual Property Organization, Geneva on 15th September 2016 as WO/2016/142799.Now, the invention is ready for commercialization. The European Patent Office (EPO), a globally acclaimed International Search Authority has recognized our entire claims novel, possessing inventive steps and industrially applicable. It fervently inspires our confidence and provides solid footings to assure about the grant of patent in all potential PCT countries. We are in process of filing our national phase patent applications in various potential PCT jurisdictions i.e. USA, Europe, EAPO, ARIPO, China, Japan, Brazil, Australia, Canada, South Africa etc. to secure patent rights. Simultaneously, our sincere efforts are underway to initiate further R&D and commercially exploit our invention, so that the real benefits of the technology may reach to the end-users.”“Presently, we are facing hard a severe crunch of funds urgently required even for filing and prosecuting our national phase patent applications in potential countries. We urgently need to undertake R&D activities too. In order to effectively address all such urgent requirements, we are in urgent need of a huge amount of money in crores along with the expertise resources, which we are clearly lacking and finding no active platform which may support us in accomplishing our pious and visionary mission.”
What are your expectations both in terms of commercialization and revenue?“The statistics reveals that more than 2.5 billion syringes were used in 2010 worldwide which are forecasted to grow by 10% annually. Potential market of syringes is expected to increase from USD 10.56 billion in 2016 to USD 15.99 billion in 2021 at a growth rate of 8.7%. Several governments across the world have started adopting legislation that restricts the frequency of needle-stick injuries (NSIs).  WHO’s Global Health Initiative for Needle Safety is urging countries to transition by 2020 to the exclusive use of the new “smart” syringes. Increasing adoption of safety syringes, increasing demand for vaccines, high prevalence of chronic diseases and increased awareness as well as the requirements on safety syringes are bound to expand enormously the market of safety syringes worldwide. Despite all market constraints i.e. costs, procurement structure etc. will be negated by our technology to effectively meet the rising global demand.”“The medical devices industry has doubled from Rs 31,900 crore in 2013-14 to over Rs 60,000 crore in 2016, with nearly 80% being imported, according to estimates by Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AIMED).With this huge influx of imports, domestic companies are reeling under the threat of Chinese manufacturers who are dumping products that are 30-40% cheaper. India imported US$ 29.87 million worth of syringes and the overall imported quantity was 783.14 million units in FY 2014-15. The medical devices market in India is dominated by imported products, including products manufactured using imported material, which comprises approximately 75% of the total sales. This is heavily eroding our Forex reserve. The domestic companies which are largely involved in manufacturing low-end products for local and international consumption can now be upgraded to solely manufacture this cheapest, smartest, greener and safer device for domestic as well as global consumption removing our import dependence. Indian can become the sole exporter of this smart indigenous technology to meet the domestic and international demands firmly.”
“Moreover, India is the tenth largest pharma exporter in the world with domestic pharma industry of $12bnin 2015. The Indian Pharmaceuticals Industry (IPI) earns around 70 per cent of its revenues from sale of generic drugs and generates around 50 per cent of its revenues from exports. But the export of injectable is weak due to prime reasons like increase in competition, regulatory issues faced by Indian pharma companies which may be overcome by utilizing strategic innovation for smart packaging of injectable drugs. Moreover, immense opportunities in domestic market as only half of the country’s rural population is covered by the sector and Indian average income keeps rising and the lifespan increases, the middle and upper classes are spending more on healthcare than ever before that will only keep rising in the future and globally as the governments around the world are beginning to favor generics – the strength of most Indian drug companies – for greater affordability, the smart packaging will exponentially increase the domestic as well as export revenues due to it very high reachability, affordability and safety assurance. The smart packaging of injectable drugs in fixed dosage in our Drug-Cartridges will do value addition of latest technology to the finished products which will strategically enhance the commercial as well as export prospects of the product worldwide enhancing their huge revenue, reputation, and goodwill.”“The smart packaging of injectable drugs in fixed dosage ranging 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 ml etc. in our Drug-Cartridges will not only facilitate them an extended technologically advanced, smart, safe, ergonomic and aesthetic packaging to add value to their finished products but will also ensure the prevention of all risks and probabilities of under/over-dosage, contamination, wastage of drug etc. during transfer of drug into syringe and further into patient. Our technology will  increase the efficacy of drug by avoiding all risks of contamination with  no further requirement of 5-15% of ‘overfill quantity’ of drugs amounting huge direct input savings of pharmaceutical industry compensating/negating increase in cost and preventing wastage of drugs; ensuring safe disposal of empty drug-cartridge encapsulating used-needle as safe non-hazardous medical waste. Automation being affordable only to big pharmaceutical industry will strictly prevent prevalence of counterfeit-drugs safeguarding their huge revenue, reputation, and goodwill. Such a value addition of latest technology will strategically enhance the commercial as well as export prospects of the product worldwide. Besides, being a green technology, it will reduce the bio-medical waste by 70-75% and simultaneously will save same extent of raw material, particularly the plastic material, from being converted into hazardous bio-medical waste.”
“Futuristic Safe Injection System-2020 is versatile, sustainable, inclusive and strategic innovative solution to fulfil the aim of ‘Pharma Vision 2020’ to make India the global leader in pharmaceutical markets by becoming sole exporter of this breakthrough technology worldwide popularizing ‘Made in India’ generic injectable drugs worldwide. It will also help in meeting Govt. of India’s commitment to phase out disposable syringes, Sustainable Development Goals and Paris Agreement on Climate-Change and global leadership to India for safety syringes by 2020 conferred by WHO.”
What would the approximate cost of the product once in the market? What are your thoughts on affordability for masses?
“First time in the history of syringes, the expensive retraction mechanism has been made frequently reusable in the form of reusable injector. The frequent use of injector decreases its cost almost to zero with each and every next injection procedure. The smart packaging of fixed dosage of drugs in drug cartridges will, however, increase drug’s packaging cost by 20-25% as compared to conventional packaging but it will also save ‘overfill quantity’ containing 5-15% additional precious drug that goes waste which will result inhuge direct input savings of pharma industry compensating/ negating any increase in cost by smart packaging.”
“In proposed innovation, the end-user only needs to buy medicine packed in the drug-cartridge without any further requirement of separate syringe for each and every dose.  NO NEED TO BUY SYRINGE makes this innovation a cheapest and affordable solution for all resulting in huge saving on the out-of-pocket expenditure of the end-used.  It will decrease overall cost of injection procedure by at least 70-75%.  And also will decrease the global health burden as well as global disease burden to a considerable extent simultaneously.”
What are the future plans and way forward? 
“Futuristic Safe Injection System-2020 will effectively reduce Needle-stick injury almost to zero, to exponentially decrease global disease & healthcare burden; democratize healthcare system making it equally affordable and accessible to all; meeting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by multi-fold benefits to healthcare system and fighting grave challenges of healthcare sector’s contribution to Climate-Change by negating the carbon footprint of entire syringe industry to achieve the highest goal of securing a safe, healthy and dignified ‘Right to Life’ for all.”

Ahmed Patel winning the Rajya Sabha seat is not going to turn around matters or ensure the Congress party regaining power in Gujarat. It will require a lot more.
For a strategist who prefers remaining in the shadows coupled with being the political secretary to Congress president Sonia Gandhi for more than 15 years, it should not have surprised those who have watched Ahmed Patel closely to get the better of BJP president Amit Shah in winning the Rajya Sabha seat in his home state of Gujarat. 
There is no doubt Patel seemed edgy throughout Tuesday till late at night when the results were declared. Without exception most of the Congress heavyweights backed him by knocking at least thrice on the doors of the Election Commission of India and succeeded in having its objection upheld. That not only ended the nail chilling suspense raising hopes about the door being barely ajar for the desperate Congress to bid for a comeback.    
This had become a prestige issue for Shah, who was elected to the House of Elders along with union minister Smriti Irani. That brought down the curtain on a day of high drama with the pendulum swinging back and forth about Patel’s prospect of winning which was nothing short of a cliff hanger. 
Even as the Congress wasted no time in expelling eight MLAs for cross voting, the BJP’s bubble of invincibility has been burst in Gujarat which was seen as a proxy war between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sonia Gandhi.  
Patel’s win is a shot in the arm for the Congress which has been steadily losing ground in the country over the last three years since the BJP led NDA came to power in 2014. This win has raised the hopes of the oldest party in the country making a determined bid to regain power in Gujarat. That is, however, highly premature at this juncture. 
Blocking Patel’s entry into the Rajya Sabha was clearly in keeping with the BJP’s desire of striving for a “Congress mukt Bharat”.  At the same time the discriminating feel the Congress faces an uphill task in the assembly elections in Gujarat later this year as the party organisation is in a shambles besides being riven with factionalism.
The contest for the Rajya Sabha seat was bitter and brought to the fore how such elections should not be fought. The elected representaties of the people in State assemblies constitute the electors and it is an abuse of this scheme by political parties to encourage cross voting which should be desisted. When the strength of the assembly is known, it is unseemly to field an extra candidate and force a contest. 
Literally in the dumps, the Congress party has been laid low by the BJP over the last 36 months since Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power in 2014. It is in this context that its senior leader and former Union minister Jairam Ramesh drew attention to the party facing an existential crisis and its leaders behaving like Sultans having lost their Sulatanate. The points raised by him needs to be discussed with the seriousness it deserves in the highest party fora. 
There is urgent need to reinvent itself and move beyond a few predetermined and ordained leaders from the dynasty who have failed to make any impact or infuse confidence among the people at large. 
The Congress direly needs to prop up youthful and energetic faces who have the capacity to make a difference to the Old Lady of Bori Bunder. There have hardly been any new faces that have come to the fore in the last decade and a half which has proved to be a major dampener for its revival. 
The challenges for the party are manifold and not just resting on the laurels of getting Patel a berth in the Rajya Sabha. There is no doubt he is one of the main and powerful faces of the party in Gujarat. Patel’s win is bound to strengthen the Congress and particularly the old guard. However, the party’s turnaround will require redoubled efforts in Gujarat and a lot more as the challenge for the Congress lies elsewhere than Patel winning the Rajya Sabha seat.

NEW DELHI: Seventy-five years after the 1942 Quit India movement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the movement’s spirit should be rekindled for a movement for nation building between 2017 and 2022. 
“Poverty, lack of education and malnutrition – these are big challenges our nation faces. We need to bring a positive change in this regard,” Mr Modi said in the Lok Sabha during a special discussion on the occasion of 75th anniversary of Quit India movement.
In 1942, Mr. Modi said, the clarion call was “Karenge Ya Marenge (Do or Die)” today the call should be “Karenge aur Karke Rahenge (Will do and will definitely achieve).  
He said that the recollection of movements such as the Quit India Movement, is a source of inspiration, and added that the current generation has a responsibility of passing on the legacy of such movements, to the future generations.
The Prime Minister recalled that even as  senior leaders like Mahatma Gandhi were jailed at the beginning of the Quit India Movement, a new generation of leaders emerged to fill the vacuum and take the movement forward.
The Prime Minister noted that the freedom struggle went through several phases, and recalled various leaders and movements that emerged at various points since 1857. He added that the Quit India Movement that began in 1942, was a decisive movement. 
Quoting Gandhiji, the Prime Minister said that all sections of people joined in, responding to Mahatma Gandhi’s clarion call of “Do or Die.” He said that from political leaders to the common man, everyone was imbued with this spirit. Five years was all it took to achieve the objective of independence, once the entire country shared this common resolve, the Prime Minister said.
The Prime Minister quoted the writer Ramvriksha Benipuri, and the poet Sohanlal Dwivedi to describe the mood that prevailed at that time.
The Prime Minister noted that corruption, poverty, illiteracy and malnutrition are challenges that India now needs to overcome. He also mentioned the role played by women in the freedom struggle, and said that women can add immense strength to our common objectives, even today.
Speaking about rights and duties, the Prime Minister said that while we are well aware of our rights, we cannot forget our duties, and these too, must become part of our way of life.
The Prime Minister said that colonialism began in India, and its end too, began with India’s independence, which was soon followed by the fall of colonialism across Asia and Africa.
In 1942, conditions internationally became favourable for India to get independence, the Prime Minister said, noting that today again, the global conditions are favourable for India. He said, that from 1857 to 1942, the move towards freedom was incremental, but the years from 1942 to 1947, were transformative, and delivered on the objective. 
The Prime Minister urged the Members of Parliament to rise above differences, and join in a common effort to create an India of the dreams of the freedom fighters in the next five years, from 2017 to 2022, coinciding with the 75th anniversary of independence.
He said the next five years should also be about “Sankalp se Siddhi” – a resolve which will lead us to accomplishment.
Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan  said while the spirit of Quit India movement was to urge the colonial rulers to leave India, in the present time the appeal should be for “uniting India”.
“There is a need for a movement now so that from Kashmir to Kanyakumari we can build up a strong and well organised India.Our freedom fighters had envisioned a dream of an inclusive India,” she said.

NEW DELHI: Since the formation of the BJP government, led by Manohar Lal Khattar in Haryana, Barala family has only managed to gain in its influence and clout in the state. 

Being the State President of the BJP in Haryana, Subhash Barala’s Twitter handle is replete with praises of the party president Amit Shah’s routine proceedings. In one of his tweets, he is also remembering the former president Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. However, there was no tweet against the alleged conduct of of son or on the safety of the girls. 

Now he appeared on the national television calling Varnika Kundu like his daughter and assuring action against his son Vikas Barala and the other accused Ashish. Both of them have joined investigation being carried out by the Chandigarh Police. Now this is very obvious. The state BJP chief would never have thought that one day the wrongdoings of his family’s ‘chirag’ will be maligning his political image and will be struggling to get the crisis managed by any PR team he had hired for his social media campaign. 

With pressure mounting, he spoke with a view to calm down the national outrage and anger, “The law should take its own course. The BJP is a party that believes in women’s rights and freedom. Neither I nor BJP is pressuring anyone in this matter.”

Subhash Barala has said that action will be taken. But how? All the 9 CCTV footage of the route, which Vikas Barala choose to chase and harass Varnika Kundu, are missing, as the UT police said. Chandigarh is considered a very posh and modern city. It is highly suspecting that all the 9 close circuit cameras stopped functioning at one time in a posh sector like sector 7 to the Housing Board traffic light point. 

The BJP’s central leadership, is still silent on this issue.  Apart from Shaina NC, Kirron Kher  and Babul Supriyo, none have spoken. Haryana continues to claim the infamous badge when it comes to women’s safety, girl child killing and rapes. In May, 83 girls from Rewari went on an indefinite hunger strike, demanding upgrade their school and to fight against eve teasing and harassment. After a week, the Haryana government intervened and the protesting girls called off their strike. 

PM Modi’s flagship program of ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ seems pointless in such a scenario. Manohar Lal Khattar associated Olympic medal winner Sakshi Malik as the brand ambassador for the campaign, ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’. Now a girl of similar age is being stalked in Chandigarh city who managed to escape the threat of abduction. 

The time has come to start a debate for education of boys, who pose a danger to civilised norms of a peaceful, harmonious society. 

Amid this uproar, neither the top brass of the BJP government have come out in the support of Varnika Kundu. Spokespersons of the BJP shout out their throats on TV debates on nationalism but the silence on Varnika Kundu looks very disappointing. It shows the temperament that the party leadership is not very serious with its flagship campaigns for girls’ safety and protection when the country is boiling with fury against Vikas Barala. Law should indeed take its own course and swiftly in this case lest the people begin having serious doubts over the country’s already overburdened and inefficient criminal justice system. 

(The views expressed by the writer are personal.)   

Committed to eliminate measles and control rubella/congenital rubella syndrome (CRS) by 2020, India will include Measles-Rubella (MR) campaign in its universal immunization programme (UIP).

The vaccination is given to the children in the age group of 9 months to less than 15 years in a phased manner. This is going to be the largest ever vaccination campaign worldwide and will will replace measles vaccine, currently given at 9-12 months and 16-24 months of age of child.

The first phase of measles-rubella vaccination campaign has been successfully completed in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Lakshadweep and Puducherry when more than 3.3 crore children were vaccinated, reaching out to 97% of the intended age group. The campaign was carried out in schools, community centers and health facilities. The next round began on August 1, in 8 states/UTs (Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Telangana and Uttarakhand) from August 2017, aiming to cover 3.4 crore children.

The campaign aims to rapidly build up immunity for both measles and rubella diseases in the community so as to knock out the disease, therefore, all the children should receive MR vaccine during the campaign. For those children who have already received such vaccination, the campaign dose would provide additional boosting to them, a statement issued by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has said.  

The Measles-Rubella campaign is a part of global efforts to reduce illness and deaths due to measles and rubella/CRS in the country. Measles immunization directly contributes to the reduction of under-five child mortality, and in combination with rubella vaccine, it will control rubella and prevent CRS.

Measles is one of the leading causes of death among young children, despite the fact that a safe and effective vaccine has been available for over 40 years. It is a highly a contagious disease, caused by virus of the paramyxovirus family and spreads through coughing and sneezing of an infected person.

Measles is commonly recognizable as a visible red rash with high fever, cough, runny nose and red eyes. Children who do not have sufficient immunity contract the disease, if exposed and can make a child vulnerable to life threatening complications such as pneumonia, diarrhoea and brain infection.

Globally, an estimated 1,34,200 deaths were caused from measles in 2015, even though a safe and cost-effective vaccine is available. Measles killed an estimated 49,200 children in 2015 in India, contributing nearly 36% to the global figures.

There has been a 79% global decline in measles deaths from 2000 to 2015 credited to the measles vaccine. The estimated cases and estimated deaths in country, 2015 were 27,68,032 and 49,200 respectively.

Rubella, although a mild viral illness, can lead to serious consequences if infected during early pregnancy, leading to abortion, miscarriage, still birth, and set of congenital anomalies in the foetus and newborns known as Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS), which is a cause of public health concern.

CRS is characterized by multiple defects, particularly affecting the eyes (glaucoma, cataract), ears (hearing loss), brain (microcephaly, mental retardation) and heart defects- many of which are lifelong disabilities, requiring treatment, surgeries and other expensive care throughout life.

In 2010, an estimated 1,03,000 children were born with CRS (congenital rubella syndrome) globally, of which nearly 47,000, i.e. 46% were in South-East Asia Region. An estimated 30,000 children are born with congenital rubella syndrome India.

The measles and rubella vaccines are live, attenuated vaccines. These vaccines are safe and effective vaccine, available for more than 40 years. To provide greater protection, 161 WHO member countries are providing measles second dose in their national immunization programme and rubella vaccine has been introduced in 149 countries.

The MR vaccine used in both the campaign and in routine immunization is WHO-requalified, manufactured in India and is considered very safe and highly effective. Over 33.5 million children have already received the MR vaccine through this campaign. In private sector, parents are charged between Rs. 400 – 900 for MMR vaccination but is given free of cost to benefit all children.

New Delhi : A neglected and old anti-parasitic drug used during the World War II is emerging as a new weapon in the fight against malaria as malaria parasite becomes resistant to currently available drugs.

A group of Indian researchers have resurrected acriflavine or ACF which was used as an anti-parasite drug in the last century, and have found it to be effective against malaria parasite. Now they are working to make this molecule more effective using nanotechnology.  

Researchers at the Special Centre for Molecular Medicine at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) have got a patent for antimalarial properties of ACF. They have now joined hands with scientists at the National Institute of Immunology (NII) to develop a nano-formulation of the dug and to study its potential in animal models. The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) is funding this joint effort.

ACF was previously used as a trypanocidal agent against a range of infections during World War II. But due to preferential use of chloroquine for treatment of malaria, its antimalarial activity was never investigated. “It was used as an antibacterial and anti-parasitical agent but it was not known as antimalarial agent. We have found that it is effective as an antimalarial molecule also,” said Prof Suman Dhar of JNU. “We believe nanoformulation of ACF will help release the molecule slowly into the host. This will increase its stability, and it will be then conjugated with specific antibodies to make it more specific.”

The researchers have already shown that ACF inhibits the growth of both chloroquine-sensitive and chloroquine-resistant strains of human malarial parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. It was also found to clear malarial infection from bloodstreams of mice infected with Plasmodium berghei. In addition, they have found that ACF is preferentially accumulated in the parasitized red blood cells. 

Chloroquine and pyrimethamine, which were used as primary chemotherapeutic drugs, are of little use now since the parasite has developed resistance to them. Though there is a decline in global burden of malaria continues to be a major health problem in many countries. Recent reports of resistance to artemisinin, the only effective antimalarial drug at present, are causing concern among health agencies globally. 

The team of researchers includes Prof Suman Dhar from Special Center for Molecular Medicine at JNU; Dr Jaydeep Bhattacharya and Dr Deepak Gaur from School of Biotechnology at JNU; and Dr Agam P. Singh from NII, New Delhi.  (Indian Science Wire)