First Women•s Science Congress: Women in Science and Science

Transcription

99 h
t
INDIAN
SCIENCE
CONGRESS
3-7 JANUARY 2012
First Women•s
Science Congress:
Women in Science and
Science for Women
Date: 5-6 January 2012
INDIAN
SCIENCE
CONGRESS
FIRST WOMEN'S SCIENCE CONGRESS
January 5-6, 2012, KilT University, Bhubaneswar
*
Prof. Geetha Bali
General President ISCA
Vijay Laxmi Saxena
Veena Goswami
General Secretary (Scientific Affa i rs) ISCA
Convener Women's Science congress
�achiYJ_J the unreachel
Fi rst Women's Science Cong ress
First Women's Science Congress:
Women in Science and Science for Women
The theme chosen for the 99th science congress is
improving maternal health, combating disease
"Science and Technology for Incl usive I n novation - Role
epidemics such as HIV/AI DS, among other things.
of Women". This pre-centenary science congress will be
Interestingly, even a cursory look at these goals drive
u n ique and has many special features. This is the first
home the point that al most all of them centre round the
science congress focusing on women. As the slogan
welfare of women and also spell that the aim of the
"Reaching the U n reached" ind icates, this science
MDGs can never be ach ieved sans the participation and
congress will deliberate on how to employ Science and
unfettered involvement of women.
Technology effectively to ensure development of all
sections of the society. The congress will especially focus
The women's science congress is being conducted for
on innovations to ensure the benefits of science and
the first time on the theme "Women in Science and
technology reach people irrespective of whether they
Science for Women"This prog ramme is designed to
are rich or poor, urban or rural, men or women, thus
spread the understanding of the need to empower
empowering every citizen to achieve inclusive
women who constitute nearly 50% of the population
development for successful transition into a developed
a nd involve them effectively in nation building activities
country. I t is now accepted across the world that any
tapping their potential as in novators and implementers
developmental project which is not engendered is only
of in novations other than being beneficiaries of
endangered.
i nnovations. While Science and Technology can be
Women are a great human resource in all countries and
Technology ca n be vastly enriched by women's
the role of women i n society is critical for development.
involvement. Thus, women's science congress will also
powerful tools in empowering women, Science and
Given proper own space, they can play an increasingly
showcase the contributions of women for Science and
i m portant role in social, ind ustrial and economic
Technology. Leading women scientists will deliver
development of the country. The involvement and
lectures on their contributions. This, it is hoped, will help
engagement of women in science on a n equal footing
i n breaking the myth that still persists that women are
with men would d i rectly contribute to improving the
less su ited to pursue science and encourage more
liveli hood of people, making it more susta i nable and
women to pursue science.
thereby promoting the social and economic
advancement of societies.
The united Nation's Millennium Development goals
(M DGs), set to overcome poverty, excl usion and
environmental problems by the year 20 1 5 have
identified eight international development goals that
include eradicating extreme poverty and hu nger
including achieving decent employment for women,
u niversal primary education, promoting gender equality
and empowering of women, red ucing child mortality,
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01
99th I nd i a n Science Cong ress
99th Indian Science Congress
First Women's Science Congress
January 5-6, 2012, KilT University, Bhubaneswar
INAUGURATION
Date: January 05, 2012
Welcome Address
I nauguration & Address
Time: 9.00-10.00 Hrs
Prof. Geetha Bali, General President, ISCA
Her Excellency Mrs. Nirupama Rao
Ambassador of India to USA, Washington D.C
Address by Guest of Honour
Dr. Gretchen Kalonji,
Hon'ble Assistant Director-General for Natural Sciences, U N ESCO
Keynote Address
Dr. D. Purandeswari, Hon'ble Minister of State (Education)
Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of I ndia
Presidential Address
Smt. Sheila Dikshit, Hon'ble Chief M i nister of the Government of NCT of Delhi
Vote ofThanks
Dr. Vijay Laxmi Saxena
(Gen. Secretary, Scientific Affa irs, ISCA)
WOMEN IN SCIENCE -SESSION I
Time : 10.00-13.00 Hrs
Chairperson
Dr. Polly Roy
Co-Chair
Smt. Geeta Varadan
20 mins each
Dr. Polly Roy, London WCIE, United Kingdom.
From Atomic Structure to safe Vaccines for a Viral disease.
Mrs. Geeta Varadan,
Director, ADRIN, ISRO, Hyderabad.
Harnessing Remote Sensing Technology for National Needs - An experience
Dr. Kiran Katoch
Director, National JALMA I n stitute for Leprosy &
Other Mycobacterial Diseases, Tajganj, Agra 282001.
11.00 -11 :15
02
Tea-Break
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Prof. Indira Nath, ICMR,
Safdarjung Hospital Campus, New Delhi
The enigma of human Leprosy
Dr. Vijayalakshmi Ravindranath,
Chairperson, Center for Neuroscience, liSe, Bang lore.
New approaches to disease modifying therapies for Alzheimer's disease
Prof. H. S. Savithri,
Professor, Department of Biochemistry, I ndian I n stitute of Science , Bangalore.
Functions of viral encoded intrinsically disordered domains/proteins
Dr. Shashi Bala Singh,
Di rector, Defence Institute of Physiology and All ied Sciences, New Delhi.
Low cost sustainable technologies for cold arid desert
Dr. Chitra Rajagopal,
Associate Director, Centre for Fire, Explosive & Environment Safety,
Timarpur, New Delhi
13:00- 14:00
Lunch - Break
WOMEN IN SCIENCE -SESSION II
Date : January OS, 2012
Time : 14.00-16.00 Hrs
Chairperson
Dr. Shashi Bala Singh
Co-Chair
Dr. Vineeta Sharma
20 mins each
Dr. Tessy Thomas,
Project Di rector, Advanced Systems Laboratory, Kanchangagh, Hyderabad.
Long Range Missile Systems - Technology Breakthrough
Dr. M. Sreepriya, Assistant Professor in Biotechnology
Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology
Bangalore University, Banga lore.
Dr. Qamar Rahman, Department of Biological Sciences Institute of Cell Biology
and Biosystems Technology, U n iversity of Restock.
Technological advancements! Past experiences future challenges
for Health and environment.
Dr. Nabanita R Krishna, Director, Directorate of
Management Information System and Technologies, DRDO Bhawan, New Delhi
A Scientist's Journey in DRDO
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03
Dr. G. Rohini Devi, Prog ra mme Di rector,
Advanced Systems La boratory, Hyderabad.
Development Of High Temperature Composites For Strategic Applications
16:00 - 16:15
Tea-Break
SCIENCE FOR WOMEN- SESSION I
Date : January 05, 2012
Time : 16.15-18.15 Hrs
Chairperson
Dr. Nirupama Prakash
Co-Chair
Dr. Ritu Anand
20 mins each
Dr. Vinita Sharma
Department of Science & Technology, Go I
Dr. Nirupama Prakash, Director, Centre for Women's Studies,
Jaypee U niversity of Information Tech nology, H i machal Pradesh
Involving Women in Science & Technology: An Empowering Tool
Dr. Ritu Anand, Vice President & Deputy Head-Global
H R, Tata Consultancy Services.
Innovation led transformation: the role of Women
Dr. M. Vasundhara, Professor, Medicinal & Aromatic Section,
U niversity of Agricultural Sciences, Benga luru
Empowered women in conservation - Karnataka experience
Amita Chattopadhyay, Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture, Bhuba neswar.
Vermitech: An Ecofriendly Approach for Providing Financial Security to Rural Women
Bijoya Mishra,
Ex Principal, Rama Devi Women's Autonomous College, Bhubaneswar.
Science and Technology for Women
SCIENCE FOR WOMEN- SESSION II
Time : 9.00-11.00 Hrs
20 mins each
Dr. S. G. Senthil Vel, SME and solution leader, Health Care and Life Sciences,
India Software Lab, I BM Software group, Banga lore,
Dr. Mukulika Hitkari, DGPG College, CSJM University, Ka npur
Women - Motivation to Scientific Development
04
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Prof. K. Rudramma Devi, Osmania University, Hyderabad
On Science Education and Women Empowerment
Dr.Padma Saxena, D. A. V. Col lege, CSJM University, Ka npur
Women Practicing Science - Is there a glass ceiling in India?
Pushpa Srivastava, Department of Botany, Un iversity of Rajasthan, Jaipur
Income Generating Spirulina Cultivation- Management by Rural Women
Charanjit Kaur, Sri Sathya Sai College for Women, Bhopal, M P
Science for Women
11 :05-11 :15
Tea-Break
WOMEN IN SCIENCE- SESSION Ill
Time : 11.15-13.00 Hrs
Chairperson
Dr. A.Anushya
Co-Chair
Dr. S. Karpagam
20 mins each
Neeta Thacker, Chief Scientist and Head Analytical Instruments Division,
National Environmental Engineering Research I n stitute, Nagpu r .
Environmental Release of Persistence Organic Pollutants - A Human Concern
Keisham Radhapyari and Raju Khan, Chemistry Division,
North East I nstitute of Science & Technology, Jorhat.
Development of electrochemical biosensor of horseradish peroxidase immobilized
on polyaniline for direct determination of anticancer drug tamoxifen
Smita Karpe', S.M. Kamble', P.B.Vidyasagar', S.C. Karl, ' PG Department of
Physics, New Arts, Commerce and Science College, Ahmed nagar
'
Biophysics la boratory, Department of Physics, University of Pun e.
Effect of altered gravity (hypergravity) on germination (growth) of mungbean &
chlorophyll pigment
A.Pethalakshmi', R.Raja Rajeswari', A.Anushya'
'
'
Department of Computer Science, M.V.M. Govt. Arts Col lege, Dindigul.
Department of Computer Science,
Manonmaniam Sundaranar Un iversity, Tirunelveli,
Convergence of Earthquakes, Atmospheric anomalies and Neuro Fuzzy
Models : A Close Study
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05
S. Karpagam & R. Ananthasayanam, Department of Educational Technology,
Bharathiar Un iversity, Coim batore.
Factor analytic study of Internet usage on educational perspectives
13:00- 14:00
Lunch - Break
Jyotshna Mahapatra, Regional I n stitute of Education, Bhuba neswar
Let Us Know the Chemicals Present in Our Food
Dr. Paramita Deb, BARC, M u mbai
Women working in Challenging areas of Science
DISCUSSION
POSTER SESSION
Time : 10:30-16:00 Hrs
R. Annapurna Ramamurthy, T. Rajya Lakshmi Prabhu, S.V. University, Tirupati
Rural Livelihood Security - Role of Women Organization
M. Narayana Swamy, Department of Education, Bangalore U n iversity
A Study Of Self-Concept And Achievement Motivation of Female Adults Towards Literacy
D Usha Rani and B. Jyotsna Devi, Centre for Extension Studies &
Centre for Women's Studies, S.V.University, Tirupati
Relationship between Socio-Economic Characteristics of SHG Women farmers
and Their Adoption of Farm Technologies in Chittoor District
Huma Naz and Asma Naz,
Department of Plant Protection, Aligarh Muslim U n iversity, Aligarh.
Importance of Women's for protecting the environment
Sucheta Priyabadini, KilT Un iversity, Bhubaneswar.
Journey through the gender prejudices: Women in Engineering.
'Gayatri Mohanty, 'Deepika Muduli, 'Bijayalaxmi Pradhan and 'Luna Samanta,
' Department of Zoology, Ravenshaw U n iversity, Cuttack,
'
Utkal University, Bhuba neswar.
Fertility and ageing: awareness and perceptions of female students to
leading universities of Odisha
Prabha Shastri Ranade,
ICFAI Business School, Ahmedabad.
Women's role in conservation of natural resources
S.A. Kazi, Onkar Kakade, P. G.Tadasad, T. Shanta Devi, S.R. Ghanti,
S.R.Soudagar, G.R.Naik,
Karnataka State Women's U n iversity, Bijapur.
Women's Technology Park - Road to Empowerment of Rural women.
06
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Sumalatha K.R', Sreepriya M' and Sheela Praveen'
'
Department of Biotechnology, Banga lore Un iversity
' Department of Pathology, Clu nex Diag nostics, Banga lore
Embelin augments apoptotic cell death in estrogen receptor positive human
breast adenocarcinoma eel/ line MCF-7, A positive correlation between its
anti-estrogenic and antiproliferative effects.
Meera Patnaik and Supriya Patnaik,
Ka linga Institute of Social Sciences, Bhuba neswar
Stepping through Partnership
Sunanda Sharan and Veena B
Department of Food Science a nd Nutrition, UAS, GKVK, Banga lore
Rural Technology/Agriculture
Sustainable Entrepreneurial Activity through Nutri Soya Products
Neena Joshi, Lata Kulkarni and Gopika Muttagi
Department of Food Science a nd Nutrition, Un iversity of Agricultural Sciences,
Banga lore
Agriculture and Forestry Sciences
Low Cost Appropriate Technology for Rural Women - Dehulling and
Value Addition of Sunflower Seeds.
Hemalata J. Wankhede
Director, Pre lAS Training Centre & Institute of Science, Govt. Science College,
Aurangabad
Role of Women in Science
VALEDICTORY
Time : 04.15 PM
Welcome Address & Report
Dr. Vijay Laxmi Saxena
on Women's Science Congress
Gen. Secretary, Scientific Affa irs , JSCA
Address by Guest of Honour
Dr. Vinita Sharma
Department of Science & Technology, Go I
Presidential Remarks
Prof. Geetha Bali,
General President ,ISCA
Valedictory address
Dr. Mahtab S Bamji
Vice President INSA
Vote ofThanks
Dr. Veena Goswami
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Brief-Profiles
Her Excellency
Mrs. Nirupama Rao
Dr D Purndeswari
Nirupama Menon Rao is the current Ambassador of I ndia
Dr. D Purandeswari is presently the M inister of HRD
to the Un ited States of America. She is also the first
(State) GO I . I n appreciation of her performance i n
woman spokesperson of the Externa l Affairs Ministry,
parliament, t h e Asian A g e adjudged h e r as t h e best
Chief of Personnel, Ambassador to Peru and China, and
parliamentarian for 2004-05. Recently she authored a
High Commissioner to Sri Lanka. She was a Fellow at the
book "In quest of Utopia" comprising of her i l l u minating
Weatherhead Center for I nternational Affa irs at Harvard
speeches she del ivered on national and international
Un iversity. She has written a book of poetry, named Rain
forums. Padmavthi Un iversity, Tirupati and Karnataka
Rising. Her poems have been translated into Chinese and
State Women's U n iversity Bijpur have honoured her with
Russian.
Honorry Doctorates.
Dr Gretchen Kalonji
Dr Gretchen Kalonji, is the first woman to hold the
position of Assistant Director-General for Natural
Sciences in U N ESCO. She is a distinguished honorary
Professor at Sichuan University, Chengdu and a visiting
Professor at Beijing's Qinghua Un iversity. Professor
Kalonji's work, has been recognized by numerous awards
a nd honors, including: the Presidential Young
I nvestigator Award; the George E. Westi nghouse Award
from the American Society for Engineering Education;
the Leadership Award from the International Network for
Engineering Education and Research; and the National
/
Smt. Sheila Dixit
Smt. Sheila Dixit is presently the Chief Minister of NCT of
Delhi. She is serving the NCT of Delhi as Chief Minister
for the third consecutive term. She has represented I ndia
at Un ited Nations Commission on Status of Women for
five years ( 1 984-1 989). She has also served as a Union
M i nister during 1 986-1 989. As Chief M i nister of Delhi,
Dikshit was awarded the Best Chief Minister of India, by
Journalist Association of I ndia in 2008. 1 n 2009, she was
awarded Politician of the Year by N DTV. She is also the
Secretary of the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust.
Science Foundation's Director's Award for Distinguished
Teaching Scholars, the hig hest honor offered by the NSF.
08
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Prof. Polly Roy
Professor Polly Roy is presently the chair of Virology at
Prof. Indira Nath
Professor Indira Nath is a world renowned authority on
the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
leprosy and a recipient of Padma Shri ( 1 999) for her
She is also a co-ordinator of several EU projects and is
contribution to the field of immu nology. She is
currently carries out research with support from the EU,
awarded with the t:Orea i-UN ESCO 2002 award for
BBSRC and N I H . Her salient contribution has been the
"Women i n Science -- Asia/Pacific Region". At present, she
first complete molecular understanding of a distinct
is Head of the Department of Biotechnology at All I ndia
group of viruses, orbiviruses of serious health and
Institute of Medical Sciences a nd Research Professor at
economic impact.
the S.N. Bose Centre.
'
Dr Geeta Varadan
Dr. Vijayalakshmi
Ravindranatha
Presently she is the Director, Advanced Data Processing
Dr. Vijaya lakshmi Ravindranatha is Professor and Chair of
Research Institute (ADRIN) at Hyderabad. She is the first
the Centre for Neuroscience at liSe, Banga lore. She is a n
woman to become the Director of an ISRO Centre in the
elected Fellow o f I ndian National Science Academy,
h istory of ISRO. She has a number of accolades to her
Indian Academy of Sciences, National Academy of
credit; viz - Recipient of I n d ia Today "Women in Science"
Sciences, India. She is also a Fellow of the National
award 201 0, ISRO Merit Award in 2009, ISRO team award
Academy of Medical Sciences, I ndia, I ndian Academy of
in 2007 and "Best Women Scientist" award by
Neurosciences and Th i rd World Academy of Sciences.
Astronautical Society of I ndia in 2006.
She is a recipient of the prestigious S.S. Bhatnagar award
( 1 996), Omprakash Bhasin Award (2001 ), the J.C. Bose
National Fellowship (2006) and Padma Shri (201 0).
Prof. Savithri H. S.
Dr. Tessy Thomas
Presently she is the Professor & Chai rperson, Dept of
She has been associated with Ag ni Progra mme right
Biochemistry Indian Institute of Science, Ba ngalore. She
from its developmental flights. She has designed the
is a reci pient of J.C. Bose Fellowship, 2008 and Alumni
guidance scheme for long range missile systems which is
award for excellence in research, liSe, 20 1 0. Prof. Savithri
used in all Agni missiles. I n her work spanning 24 years,
is the Chairperson of women scientists' scheme (WOS-A
she has contributed in various fields such as Guidance,
- Life Sciences) of the DST, GOI. She has also served as a
Control, I nertial Navigation, Trajectory Simu lation and
member ofTask Force - Agricultural Biotechnology, DBT.
Mission Design. She is Associate Project Director
(Mission) for Agn i-1, II & I l l systems. Currently she is
leading a major project A2 Prime, for a state-of-art
system with many new technologies for the first time.
She is also Project Director (Mission) for the long range
AS system and Technology Director for Mission Design
a nd System Analysis Group of Advanced systems
Laboratory. She is a recipient of many awards and
prominent among them are Dr. Kalpana Chawla
Dr. Shashi Bala Singh is presently Director of Defence
Memorial Lecture honour, India Today Woman of the
I nstitute of Physiology and All ied Sciences. She has the
Yea r (2009)
distinction of being the only lady Director in DRDO to
have served in immensely difficult terra in like
Leh- Ladakh. During her tenure as Director DIHAR,
National Mission on Sea buckthorn was launched.
She is the recipient ofTitanium Trophy-201 0, Marico
Innovation Foundation Awa rd-201 0 amongst the
various awards and honors to her credit. She has more
than 60 publ ications in national and international
journals to her credit.
Dr Qamar Rahman
Presently Dr Qamar Rahman is the expert Consultant of
Dept. Pulmonary Medici ne, King George Medical
Un iversity, Lucknow, Adj unct Professor Hamdard
Un iversity, Delhi, Visiting Professor Rostock U niversity
Rostock, Germany and Dean Research (Sc. & Tech.) Amity
Un iversity, I ndia. She is a recipient of Honorary Doctorate
Dr. Chitra Rajagopal
Dr.Chitra Rajagopal, presently working as Scientist G'
2009, Rostock U niversity Germany, and awarded UP
RATNA, for l ife time ach ievements. She is a Group
Leader, European Union's H ENVINET Project on
(Associate Director). Centre for Fire, Explosive and
Nanoparticles & Health and she is in the expert panel
Environment Safety, DRDO
board of European U nion's Public Health panel.
10
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Dr Nabanita R Krishnan
Dr.Nabanita Radhakrishnan is currently the Di rector,
Management Information System and Technologies
(MIST) at DRDO Hqrs. She has undertaken a number of
i n itiatives including upgradation of a Pa n-India
I ntranet backbone complete with m u lti tiered secu rity,
an enterprise-wide Video Conferencing setup
connecting a l l labs/Hqrs and a n application services
layer which will i n due cou rse serve all the operational
day to day transaction processes of DRDO. She is a
Member of Aeronautical Society of I n d ia and I nstrument
Society of I ndia.
Dr Nirupama Prakash
Dr. Nirupama Prakash is cu rrently Professor of Sociology,
Head, Department of Human ities & Social Sciences and
Coordinator, Centre for Women Studies at Jaypee
U n iversity of Information Technology (JUIT), Waknag hat,
Solan, Himachal Pradesh in India. Earlier, she served as
Head of Women Studies & Societal Development U n it
and Chairperson, Department of Humanistic Studies and
M.Phil program on Hospital & Health Systems
Management at BITS, Pilani. She was also fou nder
-Director, UGC Centre for Women Studies. She pursued
post-doctoral work at Hartshill Medical I nstitute, Stroke
on-Trent, U.K. a nd was a visiting scholar at George
Washington U niversity, Washington, D.C; Tulane
U n iversity Medical Center, New Orleans; U n iversity of
Maryland at College Park; U n iversity at Buffalo, State
U n iversity of New York, U.S.A; Casa Asia, Barcelona, Spain,
Ben Gurian U niversity, Israel; U N ESCO, Paris. Her main
i nterests include gender studies, medical sociology,
social conflicts, socio-cultural & development issues.
Dr. G Rohini Devi
At present she is Associate Director (Technologies) at
Advanced Systems Laboratory, DRDO. Currently she is
working on development of thin wall Carbon Carbon
Composite Nozzles, Development of High Temperature
Carbon and Ceramic Composite Structures for
hypersonic environment and Carbon Nano tube based
Composite Structures.She is recipient of several awards
and honours and prominent among them is
performance excellence award in 2008, Indian Carbon
Society Award i n 2009 for development of Carbon
Carbon Brake Discs Products and Scientist of the Yea r
Award 2009 from DRDO.
Dr. Mahtab S. Bamji
Dr. Mahtab Bamji is an eminent n utrition scientist. Since
her retirement from the National I n stitute of Nutrition as
Director grade scientist, and head division of Biochemistry,
she is working in vil lages of Medak district in AP on
projects related to im proving health, food, nutrition, and
environment security. Dr. Bamji has received 2 1 national
and international awards, includ i ng, Sir CV Raman gold
medal of I ndian National science academy and Woman
bio-scientist of the year award for the year 2000, (DBT).
Dr. Bamji is a fellow of I ndian National Science Academy,
National Academy of Agricultural sciences, National
Academy of Medical Sciences and Hon. Fellow of the AP
Academy of Sciences. Currently she is Vice President of
the Indian National Science Academy in charge of
Science and Society Programme.
11
ABSTRACTS
WOMEN IN SCIENCE
SESSION I
12
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'NachiYJ_J fhe unreachel
Fi rst Women's Science Congress
From atomic structure
the viral dsRNA genome. Further reconstitution studies,
to safe vaccines for a
shown how each of the structural proteins is organized
viral disease
order they are assembled. I nformation gained from
using the expression of the viral capsid proteins have
i n the multiple capsid layers of the virus and in what
these studies al lowed us to produce highly efficacious
virus-like-particle vaccines for bluetongue and related
Polly Roy
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine,
Keppel Street, London, WCI E 7HT, United Kingdom
diseases. Since BTV infection in animals results i n
variable cli nical features (e.g., fever, lameness, excessive
sa livation and congestion) and mortality dependent on
breed a nd species, a range ofVLP vaccine tria l studies
based on d ifferent serotypes have been undertaken in
Viruses are the cause of medical, veterinary a nd
different breeds of sheep a nd the data obtained
agricultural problems infections, including emerging
confirmed that VLPs were completely protective against
i nfections. Although viruses are generally simple in
virulent virus challenge.
comparison to bacterial or protozoan pathogens, they
ca n be highly complex i n their own right and their
A recent major finding was the derivation of the first
i nfection processes a re highly reg u lated both by host
reverse genetics system for BTV (the synthesis of
factors and viral components. A detailed knowledge of
i nfectious virus solely from synthetic genes), a tech nique
both these areas offers the best possibility for control.
long sought by researchers worldwide for this class of
viruses. The ability to d i rectly manipu late the virus has
Our research has centered on a molecular dissection of
opened a new window of opportunity to understand
Orbivi ruses, particularly Bluetongue virus, a n in sect
how the virus invades the host to cause disease. Further,
vectored emerging pathogen of wild ruminants and
this breakthrough system has been exploited to produce
livestock (with mortality reaching 70% in some breeds of
a n efficacious disabled infectious single cycle (DISC)
sheep). BTV was originated in South Africa in early 1 900
virus. In a recent vaccine trial study we showed that DISC
and is currently endemic in most tropical and subtropical
vaccine is highly protective against virulent virus
countries including I ndia and other south eastern Asian
challenge i n sheep. These vaccines represent
countries. BTV has recently had a severe economic
economically feasible and safe vaccine sources for BTV
i m pact on European agriculture. Currently 24 d ifferent
and related viruses. The advantage of such a vaccine
serotypes have been recog nized around the world. BTV
would be that it would represent a safe, cost effective
particle is architecturally complex structure composed of
alternative to recombinant and i nactivated vaccines and
seven discrete proteins that are organized into 4
would fulfi l l the requirement for a DIVA compliant
consecutive layers enclosing a genome often double
vaccine which could be used for emergency control of
stranded (ds) RNA segments. We have used multi
BTV outbreaks. The combination of manipu lated genes
disciplinary approaches including protei n engineering,
via reverse genetics with high resolution structural
synthetic biology and reverse genetics system in
information may a l low the design of a single cross
combination with 3-dimentional atomic structural and
protective BTV vaccine in the future.
molecular studies to provide a fine level of
understanding of the overa l l structural organization of
the virus as well as the functional basis of"who does
what" in the virus l ife cycle. A reconstituted
transcription/replication complex has allowed us to
identify the individ ual steps req uired for replication of
99th I nd i a n Science Congress
Harnessing Remote Sensing
hardware. The major challenges were realization and
Technology for National
to a fully operational system, va lidated with actual data
Needs - An experience
qua lification of the systems with simulated data leading
after launch i n 1 988. This was fol lowed by the launch of
the I RS-1 B in 1 99 1 , later second generation satellites IRS1 C, I RS-1 D with enha nced resolutions were lau nched as
follow-on to these satell ites, a nd thereafter appl ication
Mrs. Geeta Varadan
specific satellites such as Oceansat, Resourcesat etc.,
gained prominence.
Director, A DRIN, ISRO, Hyderabad
Enabling Data Exploitation:
The planet Earth could be viewed in its tota lity only after
the launch of Satellites into Space. Over a span of four
decades, the space borne remote sensing capabil ities
have g rown to such an extent that space based
observations have become the prime source of
information on earth's resou rces a nd it's environments,
enabl i ng a host of applications related to the protection
of our planet Earth. Space has become an attractive
arena for remote sensing due to its unique features. It
enables synoptic observations of large areas on a
repetitive basis with unpara l leled speed; over even
remote i naccessible areas. In view of several beneficial
applications, ISRO put considerable emphasis on
rea lizing a n operational remote sensing programme,
with strong accent on societal needs. Sign ificant
progress has since been made i n reaching the benefits of
this technology to the grass root level, thus making the
Indian remote sensing programme, one of the widely
acclaimed efforts, world over.
Commensurate with the developments in satellite
technology, there was a need to plan infrastructure for
effective uti l ization of the satellite data. In order to
optimally uti l ize the data from various Indian Remote
Sensing satellites for various applications, a National
Natural Resources Management System (NN RMS) was
setup in which severa l user Ministries/Departments of
Government partici pated in planning the use of space
based remote sensing i n their respective fields. Visual
interpretation techniques were then predominantly
used for identification of objects and classification from
photographic prints based on the image cha racteristics.
With the advent of computers, the digital processing and
analysis techniques gained momentum in view of its
in herent advantages which facil itated using various
advanced techniques for enhancing the i nterpreta bility
for mapping pu rposes.
Considering the need for enabling users to use the
digital techniques for resource mapping, under the aegis
The Beginning
During 1 980 ISRO emba rked on the first operational
I ndian Remote Sensing (I RS) programme I RS- 1 A. On the
ground segment there was a need to work out the
detailed specification req u i rements for the design and
development of the front end hardware, a very critical
u n it for Frame Synchronization and De-commutation of
serial data from the satellite i n real-time. The Quick Look
System (QLS) facil itated the visual ization of the raw data
on the display systems in real-time during the satellite
pass, which was rea lized using a microprocessor based
14
of the N N RMS, five Regional Remote Sensing Services
Centers (RRSSCs) geographically distributed to cater to
the different regions, were esta blished. In addition, four
associate centers were also operationalized. As the
leader of the team for establishing these centers, the
challenges faced were m ultifold. It involved planning of
the infrastructure, final ization of system configuration
a nd sizing of the systems based on the throughput
requirements, eval uating the various image analysis
software packages, finalize and operationalize the same.
The total qual ification procedures had to be formulated
and audit of the procedure and results final ized.
---
A number of appl ication specific software packages were
the processing systems were satellite specific, now it
developed and installed at these centres. The digital
called for an integrated multi-mission approach. The
analysis methodologies were developed for various
technological advances in computers and
national applications projects such as the generation of
com munication facil itated exploitation of high
normal ized d ifferential vegetation index imagery for the
performance computing techniques which enabled the
whole country on a reg ular basis (fortnight) basis for
data readiness in less than two hours. Emphasis was
various software packages such as the Drought Mission,
predominantly on automation for change detection,
land use/land cover mapping, crop acreage and
time series analysis floods in undation estimation for
production estimation, forest change detection,
relief operations, early warning systems to plan
command area mon itoring etc. All the nine centers were
precautionary measures to reduce the risks and
fully operational ized during 1 985-87 linked with the
damages, etc, a l l in near real time. Creation of sea m l ess
launch of i RS-1 A i n 1 988.
large databases to meet the National needs warranted
quick turnaround time for data products. The state of the
While remote sensing data was operationally being
art Grid computing methods were effectively exploited
uti l ized for mapping various resources, the need was
for this pu rpose and successfu lly utilized.
integrating these resource maps with other socio
economic data for generating action plans. Availability
The next leap during the last couple of years was
of a n indigenously developed GIS package was of
harnessing of the GP/GPU technology. The challenges
utmost i m portance. Spearheaded the development of a
were enormous as it called for re-engi neering the
raster-based GEOSPACE package and planned its usage
programmi ng approach to optimally uti l ize all the cores
at various user agencies. This culminated in organizing
with a major thrust on parallelizing. The results were very
the National Resources I nformation system (N RIS) across
encouraging. This in conjunction with 3G network
34 districts, spanning 1 7 states in the country. The
provided a breakthrough in dissemination of the data in
challenge was to evolve a standard for the classification
real time on to a PDA I i PAD, which could be with a field
schemes for the database layers in close co-ord ination
personnel in remote areas to meet emergent needs was
with the user commun ity.
a major stride forward. This is the first of its kind realized
Concerted efforts were put to conduct training
dissemination.
in the country for m u lti-mission real time processing and
programmes for the user departments both at district
and state levels. Creation and validation of the GIS
databases, integration of the software models and
generation of action plans on the click of a button for
Future Direction:
While great m i l estones have been ach ieved in the areas
the decision makers was an uphill task which was
of appl ication of satellite based remote sensing
successfu lly achieved.
technology to meet the day-to-day needs of the Nation,
the continuous advances in satellite technology and
Turnkey Solutions:
increasing satellite constellations pose a major challenge
to the exploitation approaches. The volume of data that
The efforts on usage of remote sensing technology for
needs to be handled would call for better performance
Natural resources su rvey opened up a new frontier for
systems both on-board and ground systems, newer
strategic appl ications. This paved the way to provide
tech niq ues in data analysis, and higher bandwidths for
end-to-end solutions from data reception to processing
data dissemination.
and analysis. Most i m portantly the entire processing had
to be time critical. This resulted in a new paradigm sh ift
in the data processing a pproach. While conventionally
15
The enigma of human
Of interest is the fact that whereas the patients with
Leprosy
immunity by T cells, those with general ized disease
local ized disease have low antibodies and high cellular
shows the opposite. Intriguingly, such patients can
recognise other organisms and mount an i m m une
Prof. Indira Nath, MD, FRCPath, U K
National Institute ofPathology, New Delhi
response but are unable to recognise M.leprae even after
treatment. This T cell decifit which is exquisitely antigen
specific would be the focus of my talk. In addition, it has
been shown by our group that such patients can
Leprosy is an ancient disease which mainly affects the
skin and nerves of man. It is the only bacterial infection
that affects the peripheral nerves thereby leading to loss
of sensation and causes ulcers in the li mbs. It is caused
by Mycobacterium leprae a close kin to the tuberculosis
causing organism and is not cultivable in the la boratory.
Both these bacteria hide within macrophages thereby
escaping attack by antibodies of the host. Of interest to
i mmunologists has been the fact that the disease
presents in 5 different forms by symptoms, signs and
histological features even though all forms are caused by
infection of same organism. This cl inic-pathological
spectrum consists at one end of localized skin patches
with nil or few bacteria ca lled tuberculoid leprosy and at
the other end by generalized disease called lepromatous
leprosy affecting most of the skin and other organs and
characterized by a high load of detectable bacteria. ln
between these polar types which are stable are also 3
forms of leprosy which are unstable and called
borderline leprosy. In add ition, leprosy patients develop
episodes of fever, joint and nerve pains which are
clinically serious and need im mediate intervention by
the doctor. These are of 2 types, type 1 or reversal and
recognise the organism when they develop reactions.
This recognition wanes off after the episode is control led
by drugs. In order to add ress the q uestion of whether we
can stimulate the immune response in the lepromatous
group we also looked at cytokine therapy with interferon
gamma one of the cytokines which we and others had
shown earlier to be lowered in lepromatous patients and
which is req u i red for killing intracellular bacteria. As
suspected this cytokine was able to kill bacteria in the
patients faster than the muti drug therapy cu rrently
used. Thus it is possible to combine cytokines with drugs
to treat patients in a shorter time. Due to its cost this
cytokine is considered not to be useful on a large scale.
The conventional model for studying drug resistance
and therapy efficacy was the mouse foot pad model
which used to take 9 months and req uired air
conditioned facilities with constant electricity, features
which are not always available in countries which have
the disease. Taking a clue from GPTalwar's initial report
our group developed an in vitro model which
ma intained organisms from patient's skin biopsies in
human or mouse macrophage cultures and studies their
viability using radio-labelled ma rkers.This assay took 2-3
type 2 or erythema nodosum leprosum reactions. These
weeks and was amenable to studying drugs and viabil ity
various forms of leprosy are thought to be due to the
of organisms. To understand the organism of leprosy
i m m une response of the host and not due to differences
in the pathogen. Since the baci lli are not cultivable, it has
not been possible to understand the organism till the
genome of the organism was publ ished and the
armadillo was shown to be a large reservoir of bacilli
after infection with the human strains. Recent evidence
from Mexico suggests that the organism causing severe
reactions has DNA sequence differences which may put
it in another category to the classical organism.
16
better we developed strateg ies to study the M.leprae
lambda gt 1 1 expression li bra ry. Using patients sera we
identified Lsr 2 gene which mimicked the native bacillus
in i mmune responses and were able to identify the
a m ino acid sequences that were identified by antibodies
and T cells of the patients. Moreover we were able to
show the type of cytokines that were i mportant for the
i mmune response against the organism. This also
provided clues for predictors of reactions.
-----
Since the peripheral nerve was a target of the bacillus
and it was i nvolved i n reactions we wished to find ways
to predict reactions or find therapy efficacy in a non
invasive manner. Using color Doppler high resolution
sonography Suman Jain showed thatthis methodology
was useful i n patients for both diagnosis a nd for
New approaches to disease
modifying therapies for
Alzheimer's disease
monitoring treatment. Thus using a muti pronged
a pproach of immunology, molecu lar biology, tissue
culture a nd ultrasonogra pghy our group has been trying
to understand the basic immune-biology of this disease
as well as provide possible tools for the clinician.
Vijaylakshmi Ravindranath
Centre for Neuroscience, Indian Institute of Science,
C. II. Raman Avenue, Bangalore 5600 7 2, Karnataka, India
Bra i n related disorders contribute up to one-third of the
tota l disease burden i n both developed and developing
countries. Among the brain related d isorders, which
comprise of both neurological a nd psychiatric i l l nesses, a
cause of serious concern are the age-related disorders
such as senile dementia, Alzheimer's disease and
Parkinson's disease etc. These disorders are progressive
and irreversible and the etio-pathogenesis of these
disorders are poorly understood. Senile dementia
including Alzheimer's disease (AD) results in severe
cognitive dysfu nction including memory loss for which
no cure or disease modifying therapies are currently
available. Traditional systems of medicine, such as
Ayurveda offer a knowledge base that can be uti l ized for
development for therapeutic intervention strategies for
treatment of these disorders. Utilizing the knowledge
base from Ayurveda, we have identified a n herbal extract
that reverses AD pathology both in terms of the
cognitive dysfu nction and the clearance of plaques in a
transgenic mice model of AD. The remarkable
therapeutic effect of the extract is med iated through up
regulation of low-density l i poprotein receptor-related
protei n (LRP) in the liver ind icating that targeting the
peri phery offers a novel mechanism for rapid elimination
of Af342 peptide and reverses the behavioral deficits and
pathology seen i n Alzheimer's disease models.
17
these viruses, as well as the fusion polypeptides SeMV
Functions of viral encoded
protease-VPg and PVBV VPg-Nia and their mutants have
intrinsically disordered
these recombinant proteins clearly demonstrates the
domains I proteins
d isordered VPg and the folded protease in modulating
been over expressed and pu rified. Functional analysis of
importance of interaction between the intrinsically
the function of both of these domains.
H.S. Savithri
Department of Biochemistry, Indian Institute of Science,
Bongo/ore 560 0 7 2.
I n SeMV, the inactive protease is activated by the
cova lently linked VPg domain. The crystal structure of
the protease shows a well-formed active site and an
oxyan ion hole as in chymotrypsin l i ke proteases and yet
I ntrinsica lly disordered proteins I domains lack a well
defined tertiary structure, although they may contain
residual secondary structural elements. Such domains
often attain folded conformations upon interaction with
specific target proteins or ligands. Higher structural
flexibi lity of these domains al lows interaction with a
large milieu of targets and thereby permits regulation of
a n u mber of biochemical processes. Viruses, which have
very sma l l genomes, have adopted the strategy of
coding for intrinsically disordered domains to regulate
the protease requires VPg as a (-terminal fusion doma in
to be catalytically active. Interestingly, addition of
pu rified VPg in trans to the protease does not activate
the latter. Our results suggest that aromatic stacking
interaction between Trp43 ofVPg with Trp271 and
His275 of the protease is responsible for this activation.
In contrast to these findings, the same VPg domain,
when present at the N-terminus of RNA dependent RNA
polymerase (RdRp) renders it less active.
PVBV protease domain is active as an isolated protein.
the function of their own proteins as well as those of the
However, its activity is enhanced by the presence ofVPg
susceptible host. Such disordered domains tend to be
in cis as well as in trans. VPg interacts in vitro N la-Pro that
rich in charged amino acid residues and contain
results in the quenching of the intrinsic tryptophan
relatively lower content of hydrophobic residues. They
fluorescence of the Nla -Pro. Analysis of the structure of
have characteristic CD spectra and exhibit abnormal
protease obtained by homology modelling reveals that
behaviour when exa mi ned by size exclusion
Trp 1 43 is the only su rface-exposed aromatic residue
chromatog raphy.
present i n the protease domain. It occurs on the W-C
Several viral genomes have a cova lently linked protein
This loop has been earlier shown to be crucial for
doma in (VPg) at their 5' end. The VPg domains of both
Sesbania mosaic virus (SeMV) and Pepper vein banding
virus (PVBV) are interesting examples of intrinsica lly
disordered domains. These polypeptides interact with a
repertoire of proteins and regulate mu ltiple processes
vital to virus propagation and mu lti plication. The VPg
doma in is cova lently linked to the C- and N-terminus of
the respective protease domains in SeMV and PVBV. We
have carried out extensive investigations on how the
interactions of the VPg with the protease domain
influence the structural and functional characteristics of
the two domains. The protease and VPg doma ins of
18
loop which also contains the active site residue Cys1 5 1 .
interaction with the incoming su bstrate and products.
Additional ly, we have shown that Trp 1 43 is hydrogen
bonded to Ser1 29 of N I a-Pro. Ser1 29 gets
phosphorylated by host cel l kinases and thereby
abrogates catalysis. Interaction ofVPg with N la-Pro
prevents phosphorylation of Ser1 29, as the residue is i n
the close proximity ofTrp 1 43. Molecular dynamics
simulations of the wild type and S 1 29 D Nla-Pro, the
phosphorylation-mimic mutant of the protease, have
shown that the W-C loop undergoes gross structural
changes when compared to the wild type protease, with
the result that Cys151 in the mutant is flipped away from
-------
the active site accounting for the loss of protease
activity. Trp143 might also influence the orientation of
Cys 1 5 1 by its interaction via His1 42 and His1 67. These
residues undergo concerted movements du ring the
simu lations. Therefore, conformational changes that take
place at the su rface (Trp 1 43) in the presence ofVPg can
Low cost sustainable
technologies for cold arid
desert
be relayed through main-chain interactions along the W
e loop or via H i s 1 42 and His1 67 to the active site pocket
(Cys 1 5 1 ). This in turn could influence catalytic activity of
the protease.
Defence Institute of Physiology and Allied Science,
Lucknow Road, Timarpur, Delhi- 1 1 0 054
Interestingly, PVBV VPg acquires a new function upon
interaction with the protease domain. The cleavage site
mutant of PVBV VPg-Pro, E 1 9 1 A VPg-Pro is capable of
hydrolyzing ATP whereas the individual VPg and Pro
domains cannot. This is the first example of disordered
domain assuming an altered /ordered structure upon
interaction with a globular domain that makes it an
ATPase. lnfact, addition of N la-pro in trans also results in
a functionally active ATPase. Analysis of the amino acid
sequence of PVBVVPg revea led the presence of Walker A
and B motifs, commonly found in nucleotide binding
proteins and ATPases. Mutation of Lys47 of walker motif
A and Asp88:Giu89 of walker motif B to alanine resulted
in the loss of a l most all ATPase activity in E 1 9 1 A VPg-Pro
confi rming that the ATPase function is inherent to the
VPg domain and is induced only by its interaction with
the protease domain. Further, the structural
cha racteristics ofVPg were altered upon interaction with
the protease domain. The presence of the folded
globular N la-Pro domain at the C-terminus stabil izes the
PVBV VPg structure which manifests as an ATPase. This
could have i m portant i mpl ications in several crucial
steps in the viral life cycle. Until recently it was bel ieved
that disordered proteins act as hubs and provide
platforms for interaction with proteins from m u ltiple
convergent pathways while ordered proteins are crucial
for enzymatic activities. Our results show that disorder
to-order transitions ofVPg could lead to a catalytical ly
active ATPase. Thus, the disordered segments of viral
encoded proteins play crucial structural and functional
roles and regulate the functions of neighbouring folded
domains.
The Indian soldiers req u i re scientific interventions for
sustaining themselves in the most difficult to inhabit
terrains. I have worked su bstantially for contributing
towards improvement in the qua lity of life of the soldiers
deployed at high altitudes. After completing my M.Sc.
and Ph.D. in Physiology from All India Institute of
Medical Sciences, New Delhi, I joined DRDO in 1 990. 1
have had the privilege of being the lady Director in
DRDO to have served in immensely d ifficult terrain l i ke
Leh- Ladakh. My innovative a pproach ensured health &
food security even at frontier posts of the Indian Army
and has resulted in close interaction between the troops
and natives providing insulation from security threats to
this region.
The troops deployed at high altitude complain of
anorexia, loss of appetite which leads to decrease in
body weight. Another common complaint is the
i m pairment in cognitive functions of the troops posted
at high altitude which are unique to Indian army as our
soldiers are posted at extreme high altitude. I have
worked in the field of high altitude physiology and
pioneered the development of nutraceuticals and
prophylactics for several high altitude malad ies that
include hypophagia and cognitive impairment. The
studies have led to elucidation of some of the basic
mechanisms involved in hypophagia at high altitude in
terms of taste receptor sensitivity changes. We
developed a method for amel iorating hypophagia by
taking ginger based appetizers before mea l .
Results from our study showed that i m pairment in
memory function is mainly due to the oxidative stress
conservation, climate change mitigation and
leading to neuro-degeneration in brain structures
development of herbal interventions for improving
(hippocampus, cortex a nd striatum) involved in learning
performance at high altitude.
and memory. We have contributed in the development
of supplementation with antioxidant and
In DI HAR, my endeavors have resulted in aug mentation
cholinomimetic drugs to improve high altitude induced
of fresh food productivity through introduction of new
impa i rment in cognitive functions. In pursuit for
varieties, establish ment of greater infrastructure a nd
developing therapeutic strategies for amel ioration of
intensification of lab to land progra m me. I have
hypoxia induced neu rodegeneration, we investigated
implemented technologies like vermi-composting for
the therapeutic efficacy of several antioxidants l i ke
orga nic fa rming and non-conventional methods of
N-acetyl-cystein, Acetyi-L-Ca rnatine and elaborately
storage of fresh produce. Development of broiler sheep
elucidated their mode of action. We formulated a
for MOH and insta llation of world's highest biogas plant.
composite herbal formu lation to combat hypoxia
During my tenure as Director DI HAR, National Mission on
induced cognitive deficits in the soldiers guarding the
Seabuckthorn was lau nched. Appointment of DIHAR as
frontiers of the nation.
Technical Agency for "Sea buckthorn Cluster
Our fi ndings on changes in evoked potentials and
ind ustries, program in itiated by Khadi and Vi llage
altered hedonic matrix in soldiers deployed at high
I n dustries Commission.
Development in Ladakh" for promoting small scale
altitude conditions have lead to formulation of herbal
interventions for amelioration of hypobaria ind uced
The esta blishment of permafrost based germ plasm
sleep disturbances and hypophagia in troops. Fol lowing
storage facil ity at 5360m, biogas plant at DIHAR and
preliminary studies on the alterations in P3 brain waves
esta blish ment of Biotechnology lab at Chandigarh are
and occu rrence of cognitive dysfunctions on exposure to
other achievements. Esta blishment of Physiology
high altitude, she pioneered the research on
Workstation and esta blish ment of National Germ plasm
identification of suitable therapeutic targets for
Storage Facility at Chang Ia Top (Only second of its kind in
amelioration of hypoxia induced cognitive i m pa i rment.
the world after Norway) were other achievements d u ri ng
Our studies revealed novel therapeutic targets for
my tenure.
hypoxia induced neuronal damage that include p75NTR
receptors, Sp fa mily of transcription factors and they ARE
regulating N rf-2.
We partici pated in the Indo -Krygyz project entitled
During my tenure at Leh, DIHAR was registered in Limca
Book of Records 2009 for the World Record of having
highest ag ro-animal technology I nstitute i n the world. It
also holds a National Record for producing some of the
"Study of Physiological mechanisms of hu man
largest agricultural crops in the country and for growing
adaptation at high altitude in population to evaluate and
78 different types of vegetables in one season.
increase accli matization to HA" which led us to the
understanding of differential physiological responses of
I ndian a nd Kyrgyz soldiers posted at high altitude. Acute
induction to HA at 3200m affected the cardia respiratory,
hematological and endocrinal system to the similar
extent in I ndian and Kyrgyz volu nteers. Indian subjects
exhibited improved � adrenoreceptor desen sitization
compa red to Kyrgyz subjects.
I have taken in itiatives for permafrost based germ plasm
20
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Towards an Integrated
Transfer ofTechnologies to Civil Sector: Some of the
Systems approach to
have been selected for g lobal commercialization.
Safety management
Work on clean and portable power source based on
technologies developed have been be patented and
hydrogen generated from bio-fuel i n com pact, on
board reformers to address the requirements of
Dr. Chitra Rajagopal,
Energy security in Defence and the need for
sustainable carbon neutral energy technologies.
Sc 'G' and Associate Director, CFEES, DRDO, Delhi
Proess Safety Management
MoD esta blishments handle a variety of HAZMATs and
under various operating conditions. The kind of hazards
which arise range from explosive, radiation, toxic to
mechanical, electrical, thermal, environmental,
occupational health etc. Further , the systems are
com plex, encompassing su b-systems and components
whose interactions could lead to una ntici pated
outcomes. This makes them a prime area of focus for a n
integrated systems approach t o safety management.
My work over the past 25 years has been focused on
many of these aspects of safety management.
Safety Lab planning :
Appl ication of Risk Assessment techniques to
HAZCHEMs in Defence: A qua ntitative approach to
proba bil istic analysis has been evolved, resulting in
Risk values which could be compared with
I nternationally acceptable standards, and a
Sensitivity analysis which helped provide i nputs for
decision making in prioritising safety measures and
Emergency plann ing.
An integrated software package using Rapid hazard
Ranking techniq ue, knowledge based hazard
identification, fuzzy logic based fa ult tree analysis
specifica lly tai lored for Defence use, was developed.
R&D activities/ consultancies provided in the areas of
Evolution of Lab charter for the Centre for
Environment and Explosive safety (CEES),
I nfrastructure planning: and setting u p of lab and
support facilities for environmental and explosive
safety
Capacity building through creation of expertise and
skills i n the relevant environment, explosive and fire
safety research areas.
Environment Safety Management
Development of Eco-friendly technologies for MoD:
To address the explosive safety/ waste management
I environment safety problems faced by DRDO I
Ordnance Factories/ Services
Risk and Hazard Analysis & Disaster Management
(disasters involving Fires, Explosions and Toxic
Releases), Hazchem & Hazwaste management,
Environment I m pact Assessment and Safety Aud it,
occupational Safety, Hazard classification of
ammunition & explosives, safe d isposal of obsolete/
rejected ammunition, accident investigation
Explosives Safety Management
The safety of Munitions and Explosives is of fundamental
i mportance to the m i l itary user and to the public at
large. We have a responsibi l ity to hand le, store a nd
transport their munitions and explosives in a safe
manner and in com pliance with international and
national agreed legislation. Even i n time of military
conflict, it is essential to minimize the risk of ammunition
21
or explosive accidents so as prevent loss of own forces'
Contributions to meeting national
lives and assets. The following initiatives have been
obligations under International conventions:
taken to addressing the Ammunition Safety Needs of the
MoD Stakeholders:
I n novative designs for safe storage of a m m unition
(LRC Igloos, U n it Risk principle based explosive store
houses, Underground Storages). Full scale
These include the Chemical Weapons Convention, U N
Com mittee on Tra nsportation for Hazardous Goods, a n d
meeting DRDO obligations u nder various National
environmental acts and reg u l ations
instrumented blast tria l s have been conducted to
The last 24 years at DRDO have been eventfu l and have
va l idate the CFEES designs of explosive storehouses
offered rich opportunities for research in areas having
and to refine the non-linear dynamic models
d i rect appl ication for MoD. I n all these efforts, I have
predicting blast effects on structures.
Qua ntitative Risk Assessment to complement the
been g u ided by luminaries both within a nd outside the
organization, who served as inspirational role models
conventional worst case scenario approach to
explosives safety management, providing i n puts to
decision makers for taking risk management
decisions.
Explosive and environmental safety regulatory
activities and compliance monitoring in MoD, (Army,
Navy, Air Force, Ordnance factories, DRDO labs,
Defence public sector undertakings, qual ity
assurance estts)
Knowledge dissemination : through User friendly
docu ments, explosive safety reg ulations in
electronic format, Formation of Study grou ps,
Organisation of Lectu res/ training progra mmes for
sensitizing MoD establish ments on relevant safety
issues.
Integrated Safety management initiatives
Safety, Health & Environment management for
DRDO work centres
Disaster management for northern region DRDO
labs
I m plementation of National Environment Policy in
DRDO
22
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ABSTRACTS
WOMEN IN SCIENCE
SESSION II
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23
Long Range Missile
a final system that meets the overa l l system
requirements.
Systems - Technology
On ground the performance prediction is essentia l ly
Breakth rough
sim ulation. The real time simulation is performed in OBC
done before flight in six Degree of freedom trajectory
I n-Loop simulation and hardware in Loop simulation
Dr. Tessy Thomas
Project Director, Advanced Systems Laboratory,
Kanchangagh, Hyderabad-500 058
(HILS). Missile trajectory is simulated in a 6-DOF
environment and performance of the system such as
flight loads, aerodynamic and wind dispersions are
evaluated for design of flight control systems. This
sim ulation is also used to interpret the flight data and
Missile Systems can be broadly classified into Strategic
and Tactical Systems. Missile Progra mme of DRDO has a
wide reach ranging from a few kilometer 'Nag' missile to
Thousands of kilometer 'Ag ni' missile systems. Strategic
Systems play a vital role in the country's defence and to
provide a minimum deterrence against external threats.
reconstruct the flight events by plugging in the flight
data. Hence 6 DoF Simulation is an efficient
mathematical tool which is used right from a system
design, validation of Control & Guidance algorithms to
realization of a mission and also after flight for post flight
analysis.
Basic design drivers for a Strategic missile system are
ma ny, the primary being the range capabil ity, accuracy,
surviva bility, mobility and anti-ba llistic defence
ca pabil ity, which forms the design specifications.
The primary component of this system is Propulsion
stages. The stages of rocket motor are propelled either
by solid or liq uid propulsion systems, which have their
own merits and lim itations. A new guidance scheme was
designed and evolved for Agni solid propelled system,
which gave a technology breakthrough in establ ishing
long range explicit guidance system with high accuracy.
This guidance scheme is used in all the Agni series.
Mission Design of a strategic missile is the most
cha l lenging field which includes the mission sequencing.
The main features of mission sequencing are event
based decision making, backup time for critical events
and software interlocks between events. Design of
strategic missions is a confluence of scientific and
mathematical formu lations, statistical techniq ues,
engineering concepts, numerical sim ulations and threat
ana lysis, involving a tremendous effort of multi
disci plinary optimization at all phases of design. Mission
design culminates from many design conciliations by
careful optimizations of configuration design, to achieve
24
---
expression. In addition to this, activity of alka l ine
Tinospora cordifolia
phosphatase was assayed in the cell culture
upregulates the expression
determination of collagen by Sirius red sta i ning and
su pernata nts, qualitative and quantitative
of genes promoting
light m icroscopic analysis of the cells after hematoxyin
osteoblastic activity on
findings. Results of the study ind icated that TC extract at
osteoblast model systems in
osteogenesis by u p regulating the expression of
vitro- Influence on bone
This is expected to have sig nificant influence on the
remodeling and potential
appl ications in the therapy of osteoporosis.
eosin staini ng was performed to su bstantiate our
a concentration of 251-lg/ml has a positive influence on
osteoca lcin, a l ka l i ne phosphatase and type I collagen.
reg ulation of bone remodeling and potential
applications in the therapy
of osteoporosis.
M.Sreepriya1
,
G. Abiramasundari1
and Sheela Praveen2
'Department of microbiology and Biotechnology Bangalore
University, Jnana Bharathi Campus, Bangalore - 560 056,
Kama taka, India. e-mail: mpriya7@ yahoo. com
' Department of Pathology Clumax Diagnostics
Jayanagar, Bangalore- 560 0 7 7 Karnataka, India.
Abstract: Osteoblasts are bone forming cells that are
responsible for the production of bone extracellular
matrix. Based on ethnopharmacological leads, we
investigated the effects of alcoholic extract ofTinospora
cordifolia (TC) (Menispermaceae) to promote the
u p regu lation of genes influencing osteoblastic activity
viz a l kaline phosphatase, type I collagen and osteoca lcin
on two osteoblast model systems (human osteoblast-like
cells MG-63 and rat preosteoblastic cells isolated from
fem u r ) in vitro. Alendronate (a bisphosphonate) widely
used in the treatment of osteoporosis was used as the
reference drug in the study for comparison pu rposes.
Qua ntitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-PCR) was
performed to elucidate the effects ofTC extract on gene
---
25
Tech nologica I
nanoparticles (NPs), currently expands to another
advancements! Past
science of extremely sma l l particles (app 1 - 1 00 nm
experiences future
electronics, medicine, information technology etc.,
challenges for Health and
resulting high activity. Present studies suggest threats to
human health and environment' .
environment
cardinal sou rce of man-made NP exposure. It is the
range), revolutionized the field of engineering,
mainly because of their extreme su rface area and the
The great speed at which new engi neered N Ps are being
man ufactured far exceeds the potential avenues, abil ities
Prof. Dr. Qamar Rahman
University of Rostock, Department of Biological Sciences
Institute of Cell Biology and Bio-systems Technology
Science and technology are the main components for,
economic, and social development and g loba lization.
Technological development on one hand is responsible
for the improvement in the quality of l ife, but on the
other hand, if proper safety eva luations are not appl ied
before their use, they may have serious adverse health
i m pact not only on the health of exposed population,
but also on the related environment.
During various technological revolutions as agricultural,
industrial and biotechnological, and the most recent
nanotechnological, fibers/particles/nanoparticles have
become a part of these revolutions. They were emitted
knowingly or unknowingly from various sou rces.
Among fibers come asbestos, technical use was
introduced in 1 878. Commercia lly it was used i n
thousands o f products a n d industrial appl ications a l l
over t h e world. Because o f its fire resistance, high
tensile, strength and d u rability, asbestos was used in the
construction ind ustry and its breakdown products
created a major health hazard even in public schools.
Several diseases including the mal ignant mesothelioma
of the pleura and peritoneum, pulmonary fibrosis and
cancer of the lung are caused by asbestos exposure.
and resources available for their parallel scrutiny of
physicochemical analysis and investigation of their
possible toxic health effects. Among the several types of
engineered nanoparticles, Carbon Nanotubes (CNT) has
become one of the most promising nanomaterials in
many industrial and biomedical applications. Due to
their unique physicochemical properties, interest is
growing i n the man ufacture of CNT-based products and
their subsequent marketing. Assessment of risks to
human health and adoption of a ppropriate exposure
controls is critical for the safe and successful introduction
of CNT-based products. The g rowth and use of this
material without prior human health eva luations
challenge society with the possibility that CNT could
become the "asbestos of the 2 1 st centu ry':
Multiwal led Carbon Nanotubes (MWCNT) with several
similar properties to that of asbestos such as d u rabil ity
and high tensile strength resulting in m ultitude of
appl ications in ind ustry and medicine. Several in-vitro I
in-vivo studies have a l ready demonstrated that exposure
to MWCNT causes acute inflammation, oxidative stress,
and a rampant g ranulomatous fibrotic response
associated with molecular changes3. It was also
reported that MWCNT are biopersistent in the lung and
are translocated to sub-pleural areas and induce
mesothalioma.
I n my presentation, I will discuss the problems faced by
asbestos, toxicity and future chal lenges of nanoparticles
However, these diseases caused by asbestos were
identified only after a long latency period ' .
findings.
The novel and rapidly growing field of nanotechnology,
The presentation will also discuss the issues of evidence
using engineered and artificially synthesized
based safety policies on nanotechnologies.
26
especially carbon na notubes, along with my own
-----
A Scientist's Journey in
ai rcraft.She was instrumental in assessing the system
DRDO
facilities for the qualification of AMAGB and the
req u i rement and developing state-of-the-art Test
ind igenously developed Power Ta ke off shaft.As Project
Manager, she oversaw the completion of over 1 000 hrs
Dr. Nabanita R Krishna
oftesting and the critical a irworthiness certification
process of AMAGB- and its installation as the single
Director, Directorate of Management Information System
and Technologies, DRDO Bhawan, New Delhi.
LRU in LCA.
Science & Technology plays a pivotal role in determining
the lab, she moved to the Corporate H rqrs to assist in
largest, dyna mically operating, indigenously developed
A major change in hercareer came when after 20 years in
the trajectory and projected course of a nation. Part of
the S&T req uirements of I ndia is met by DRDO- One of
modern Ind ia's largest R&D organisation. DRDO's
mission is to design & develop state-of-art defence
techno-management analysis and decision making
process for policy development. Here her focus for the
next 4years was in the science & technology global
developments- assessing its i mpact, comparative
systems and technologies and to provide technological
technology status in the country and providing decision
solutions to the Services while developing infrastructure
aids for development priorities.
and comm itted quality man power. For its over 25,000
personnel DRDO offers a m ultitude of
Based on her experience of project system development
scientific,technologicaland techno-managerial
and backed by her Corporate experience, she was given
chal lenges which are a feast for the fertile minds of its
the responsibility of heading the newly created
enthusiastic workforce.
This presentation describes the jou rney of one such
scientist who has travelled u p the ladder.
As a young scientist ind ucted into DRDO in the early
eighties she had the good fortune of working for two of
DRDO's biggest programs - the Main Battle Tan k
(M BTArjun) and t h e Light Combat Ai rcraft (LCA Tejas). I n
the MBT Program, s h e worked for t h e eval uation o f all
major su bsystems of the M BT- the engi ne, suspension
and transmission. This was the first exposure to a
massive combat platform with every su b-system bigger
than life, which necessitated development of a
continuous learning cu rve, working with newer and
cross technology domain- a confl uence of hydra u l ic,
mechanical, electronics, and control system knowledge.
This resulted in the setting up test and eval uation
Directorate of Management Systems & Technology with
the opportunity to work in the field of I nformation
Technology and take DRDO as an organisation into the
next generation IT enabled processes.The focus was in
the reorgan ization and upgradation of the PAN-I ndia
intranet of DRDO ca l led DRONA- DR DO's Rapid Online
Network access. The intra net is the backbone of the
com munication mechanism of DRDO and facil itates
information sharing and everyday com munication
amongst the various laboratories of DRDO. It is also
im perative to maintain the security of the intranet and
protect it from threats and u nauthorized access and
hence a 3 tier security system was put in place for each
of the physical, network and appl ication layers.
With the accelerated pace of technology development
both in IT and Networking domains, there was
req uirement of simu ltaneous voice, video, data
centres and carrying out assessment of the operational
transaction in addition to bandwidth intensive
capability of i m ported and indigenous su b-systems. The
appl ications across domains and labs. Hence was
next major activity was chal lenging task of development
established a DRDO wide Video Conference system for
and qual ification of the Aircraft Mounted accessory Gear
box for LCA- Ind ia's ind igenously developed combat
online reviews and deliberations. A wide range of ICT
appl ications, systems and services have been
progressively hosted on DRDO's Intranet in the areas of
Corporate a nd technical functioning including Project
Management, Mailing services and Open & Closed
Interest Groups. A web-based project reporting and
a nalysis system (PTS) has been created for Tracking of
projects by DRDO's top management.
The above have been challenging tasks cutting across
technology streams,which have aided in broadening
one's horizons while working in such a technologically
diverse organisation like DRDO.
Development of high
temperature composites for
strategic applications
Dr. G Rohini Devi
Programme Director, Advanced Systems Laboratory,
Kanchandagh, Hyderabad-500 058
Design and development of Aerospace Systems
operating in hypersonic environment pose extraordinary
chal lenges to material Scientists and Technologists
towards developing high temperature and ultra high
temperature materials. The rapid change in temperature
of the vehicle d u ring flight environment ind uces severe
thermal stresses with su rface tem peratures reaching u p
t o 3000 degrees Celsius. Materials a n d structures are the
key elements in determ ining the reliability and
performance of such systems. Material erosion due to
high aerodyna mic shear has to be minimized with
suitable material architectu re.
A fa mily of high tem perature composite products with
carbon and ceramic matrix have been designed and
developed to meet the thermal, thermo-structural and
other functional requirements of end products. Key
technologies developed include m u lti-d i rectiona l ly
rei nforced fiber architectures; perform densification
technologies a nd product design, development and
testing. Chal lenges associated in developing highly
process intensive technologies and facilities are
addressed.
28
------
ABSTRACTS
SCIENCE FOR WOMEN
SESSION I
---
29
Involving Women in
Science & Technology:
An Empowering Tool
women to science and technology, thereby producing a
critical mass of scientifica lly skilled women. It is
i mportant for ordinary women to appreciate and access
the findings of science and technology so as to improve
the living conditions of fa m i l ies and that woman
scientists take up this agenda and develop projects to
add ress the under-representation of women.
Prof. Dr. Nirupama Prakash
Head, Department of Humanities & Social Sciences
Coordinator, JUIT Centre for Women Studies,
Jaypee University of Information Technology,
Waknaghat (Solan), H.P.
[email protected]
There is need to remove structural obstacles and barriers
that continue to exclude g i rl children and women from
the study of science and technology. There is urgent
need for the development and mobilization of a l l
segments o f populations across cultures t o contribute to
the eradication of poverty, fighting diseases, stemming
environmental degradation and i mproving global
The gender dimension of science and technology has
become one of the most i mportant and debated issues
worldwide. Over the past 30 years, the U n ited Nations
economic competitiveness through the appl ication and
development of science and technology.
Science and Technology have been an integral part of
General Assembly and U N Economic and Social
Indian civil ization and culture. Over the years Indian
Com m ission (ECOSOC) have emphasized issues related
women have overcome the traditional mindsets and
to inequal ities, insufficiencies and disparities in the
have excelled in professions like teaching, medicine and
access of women to education, training and the labor
pure sciences. Women have made i mportant
ma rket. Various major international initiatives on the
contributions in all wa l ks of l ife and made inroads into
subject have been u ndertaken; including the U nited
new fields like engineering, information technology,
Nations Decades on Women and Development, and
biotechnology, nuclear science, space and many such
special attention has been directed towards the role of
specialized fields in the domain of science and
women in science and technology. Gender equa l ity is
technology.
one of the eight U nited Nations M i l l ennium
Development Goals, which clearly call for action related
While these developments have been highly satisfying,
to science, technology and gender. ( U N ESCO Report on
constraints i n the form of socio-cultural factors,
Science, Technology & Gender, 2007)
discri mination, lack of self-confidence and disparity
Women are identified as seriously under-represented in
their choices of career.
between the sexes continue to affect Indian women and
science, mathematics and engineering fields. They are an
under-utilized pool oftalent and resource that could
In an I ndian National Science Academy (IN SA) study in
contribute i mmensely towards the social and economic
2006 on "Gendered Science: Trends and Analysis of
development of societies through participating in
Contributions of Indian Women Scientists'; taken u p with
science and technology programs. Women comprise
a view to focusing on ach ievements and recognition of
more than half of the population of any society.
Indian Women scientists, it has been poi nted out that
women reaching to hig her positions in the cadre i n their
The challenge is to find ways of changing the situation
science careers are few and far between. Many women
such that women can be used as a resou rce for science
have done exceed ingly well in their scientific and
and technology. There is no doubt that country the
academic pursu its, however not many are seen being
world over need to open u p opportunities to bring more
awarded and rewa rded. Some of the contributing factors
30
---
mentioned in the IN SA study were: fa mily, motherhood,
commitments to fa m i ly with their desire to follow a
inadequate su pport systems, societal/cultural issues that
career? There are great concerns now being shown in
could be due to fixed m i nd set, restriction on movement,
India about careers for women in science and
nepotism and sexism.
consideration is being given to n u rturing their talent by
facilitating and providing various options.
The study revea led dissatisfaction of most respondents
regarding professional growth and career advancement.
The declining n umber of girls who follow through on
Reasons cited were lack of time; household
their apparent aptitude for science at the school level is
responsibil ities; lack of encouragement from the
evident in the few women scientists at the top of the
organ ization and ill health. Respondents who were
academic pyra mid. Those women who do manage to
denied promotion attributed it to gender bias and lack
pursue a career in science, often have to strateg ise how
of connections. The parameters focus on strong flavor of
to survive and to move ahead.
gendered science. The study suggests that remedial
measures to improve women's participation in science
I n the education sector, information and communication
need to be i m plemented at the earliest.
technologies (ICTs) hold great potential. Distance
It has pointed out that in Ind ia, as in many other
access to schools to participate through onli ne, radio or
education can enable women who don't have physical
countries, women have had to fight to be accepted as
other ICTs in education classes and programs. E-learning,
capable of being equal partners with men in science and
which can involve a wide variety of technologies such as
technology. (http://www.indiatogether.org/2004/jun/
DVD, CD-ROM, or internet, offers students access to a
ksh-science.htm) Within science, there are areas
vast amount of information and resources that are not
considered suitable for women and others considered
possible in a single instructional setting. Online teaching
outside their rea l m of ca pability. Thus it has taken a
support programs for teachers who have minimal
struggle, for instance, for women to become engineers.
teaching background can assist with lesson planni ng,
Rather than looking at the reason why more women do
curric u l u m design and other learning tools. Tra i ning of
not pursue careers in a particular branch of science and
women in the use of ICTs, media management and
technology, it is generally concluded that women have
content development can enable them to partici pate in
no aptitude for that strea m. Each time a woman
decision-making processes at government, private
becomes an aeronautical engi neer, or a nuclear physicist,
sector and civil society levels. Moreover, teaching
or excel s in some area previously considered a male
methods and tools must be gender sensitive and
preserve, she is applauded and celebrated, but strictly as
responsive to women's and gi rls' unique need and
an exception.
learning styles.
Even before they reach the point of choosing a career in
Education, training and skill development are critical to
science, women have to make d ifficult choices. Every
ICT interventions. These areas represent an entry point
year, girls do far better than boys, in science and arts, i n
for encouraging women to become more involved in ICT
t h e Class X a n d Class X I I examinations. I n some
appl ications development, shaping ICT solutions and
institutions, the majority of the toppers are gi rls. What
framing ICT policies according to female-specific needs
happens to them after that? Do they drop out? Are they
and experiences.
forced by their fa m i lies to make choices which are not
their own? Do they fai l to get through the competitive
Scholars a rgue that women suffer from an unequal
entrance examinations? Are they forced to make
atta in ment in other scientific fields too - from
pragmatic choices about the future because they are
engineering and biology to nuclear science - and the
conditioned to believe that marriage and fa m i ly come
inequal ity is observed along some im portant
first? Is there no way for them to balance their
d i mensions: recognition, awards, productivity,
----
31
consulting, and inventions (scientific entrepreneurship).
opportunities exist for women, not only in letter but
Some recent evidence gives cause for optimism showing
also in spirit.
that, especially in the field of biological sciences, the
gender gap has na rrowed. This evidence pertains only
I m plementing small but effective changes l i ke
to the most-developed societies of Western countries
flexible office timings for women can bring
and it does not necessarily represent the situation in a
promising results.
wide range of countries.
Few common traits for successful women
A recent su rvey often women achievers in life sciences
entrepreneurs-passion & perseverance to succeed,
ind ustry reveals the fol lowing:
flexibil ity to adapt, perceptiveness in identifying and
seizing opportunities.
Successful women leaders i n this stream believe that
women entrepreneurs face the same challenge as
men
Entrepreneurship is not gender based
Follow gender-blind h i ring process
Family support is i m portant.
Women in l ife sciences ind ustry are armed with "can
do attitude" and look for feedback frequently.
Most women are better at m u lti-tasking and have
the abil ity to stay focused on work along with
Practice meritocracy in performance management
nurturing and caring for their fa mil ies.
Offer reasonable flexibil ity to both women and men
There are several jobs in life sciences sector that
to balance their professional and personal
req uire staff to be present at night and after hou rs.
commitments
These are by nature d ifficult for women.
It also revealed that the number of women i n the life
About 60 o/o of women take up science at the college
sciences ind ustry is q u ite significant.
level, and not all start a career in their field after
college. This is why few women reach leadership
In US more women are pursuing science and hig her
roles. (Biospectrum Volume 8 Issue 1 1 November
studies than men are.
201 0)
More women are opting for engineering and
The gender gap persists in a majority of developed and
medicine; the challenge is to pull women from sma l l
developing countries. The diverse underlying causes of
towns;
gender disparity in science could be summa rized as
For women to reach senior level management right
amount of train ing and busi ness exposure should be
given
Challenge is to fight stereotype views that society
had about the role that women play in the world.
The best way to overcome this is to stay comm itted
and focused to one's objectives, and persistently try
to achieve & excel .
Organizations m u st make s u r e that equal
32
perta ining to the overa l l level of societal development
determ ining the level of economic opportunities open
to women for employment and education; to the
existing political system promoting or inhi biting policies
of gender equality; and to gender stereotypes depicting
women as incapable of achieving in technical and
scientific fields.
The gender gap i n academic science, in technology and
engineering is not only a topic of ongoing policy
changes and scholarly debates, but also is of interest to
policy makers and governments engaged in initiatives to
--
--
Fi rst Women's Science Co n g ress
na rrow the gap between women and men in these
make efforts for enhancing skills of both-female &
fields.
male students by improving their com m u n ication
skills, leadership role, opportunity for creativity.
Much progress has been made toward the
empowerment of women through science and
Women employees should be provided alternative work
technology interventions, but much more needs to be
arrangements; flexible hours; flexible locations; child
done before women and men can be said to enjoy equal
care i n the work place, care of elderly parents in specific
status.
cases; maternity and paternity leave.
I would now like to share some of the i nitiatives that I
2.
With regard to correcting gender imbala nce, there
have taken for empowering women in the domain of
is a need to build a culture to al low fu l l participation
science & technology :
of women.
One had organ ized a Round Ta ble Discussion on
3.
Accessibility; affordability; accepta bil ity and
"Sha ring Best Practices for I n creased Participation of
mentoring i n relation to science stream need to be
Women in Science & Technology Education & Career"
realized.
(February 1 0, 2007) with the following objectives :
4.
Infrastructure at rural areas; streamlining quality
To explore the challenges encou ntered i n
education and provision of e-learning distance
participation o f women in science a n d technology
coach ing for competitive examinations and also e
learning for distance education i n rural areas shou ld
education a nd career.
be made.
To brain storm on low enrol l ment of g i rls in science &
technology education & to explore solutions for
5.
There should be motivational exercises for women
overcom i ng the same.
scientists. There is a need to speak about role
To help academicians and professionals develop
shou ld be introduced. There is also a need to
i n novative strategies, policies a nd actions for
encourage Ind ustry to take CSR initiatives to
models and mentors. Awards and fellowships
enhancing their participation in Science and
introduce scholarships for women scientists for
Technology education, research and career.
hig her studies.
To discuss technological interventions for
6.
em powerment of rural women.
I ndia has more female doctors as compared to
other countries. These strengths should be
harnessed.
Deliberations of one-day Round Table
Discussion:
7.
There is a need to rea lize the gaps which are
existing at the Plus Two level, e.g. investment i n g i rls
Good I nstitutions must have systems in place which not
for higher education; discri m ination at that level
only show but actually incorporate the following :
could be addressed at the societal level, but at the
same time scholarships for bright girls from
I nstitutions/Industry should be provided.
practice good quality education
have conducive environment for g i rls
8.
Very few women innovators are reflected i n relation
to I ntellectual Property Rights, this issue needs to
good job opportunities for females & males
be addressed.
------
33
34
------
women to access the choices; providing timely
institutions. ( o/o of girls fel l drastica lly at BITS,Pilani once
information; strengthening support system and
com petitive exa m i nation replaced adm ission based on
enabling them to select the higher streams like
1 0+2 marks).
Science, Technology and I nformation Technology.
Closed ended questionnaire was designed highlighting
3 1 . Women m ust decide for themselves what they
would like to do.
gender d i mensions i n admission to higher professional
Institutions. Two sets of questionnaire were prepared
and posted along with stamped self addressed
32. Women's access to resources is very i mportant,
which should be taken care of.
33. Young children internalize their potential and make
up their m inds to select the streams for higher
education.
34. Teachers should also be motivated to pursue
research studies at the u niversity level.
35.
I n relation to the rural women, need is to enhance
their knowledge, skills and capabil ities.
36.
envelopes to 70 professional educational I n stitutes in
I ndia d u ring September, 2007. One set of questionnaire
was prepared for the Registrar of the I n stitute and
another was designed for students of I ITs, I I Ms, N ITs,
BITS-Pilani and various professional I n stitutes across the
country. 1 0 sets of q uestionnaires were mailed to
Presidents of Student Union of the Institutes to be filled
by 5 female and 5 male students. 429 filled in
questionnaires were received.
The key finding was that al most 70% of the respondents
were influenced by their parents in choosing the
Right information at the right time for right g i rls
particular stream in professional educational Institutions.
and women need to be provided at the village level.
Since enrolment of boys is more than girls in educational
Need is to bring the IT revolution in rural I ndia.
that parents motivate boys more than gi rls to seek
Institutes undertaken for the study, it may be i nferred
37.
adm ission in professional educational I nstitutions.
38. Need is to collect success stories and innovative
experiences at one place.
39.
On-line knowledge-based information on women
and entrepreneurship and the role of ICTs need to
be collated and shared
40. There should be online information/knowledge at
one website on "Women and S&T: Like-minded
institutions can join hands to establish a cel l to
provide online information.
•
Study on 'Gender Related Issues Regarding
Admissions to Higher Professional
Educational Institutions' (2008-09)
Gender sensitization of the society at large would help i n
this d i rection.
ICT Interventions for Empowerment of Rural
Women (2006-7)
A project on "Socia economic up-l iftment of Rura l
Women through Technology Intervention: Realizing
M i llennium Development Goals through ICTs" was
launched d u ring Februa ry, 2006 by Centre for Women
Studies in collaboration with One World South Asia, New
Delhi.
Goal
Em poweri ng communities on health, social and
We undertook a study on above mentioned topic
development issues through Mass Media and promoting
with the objective of finding out reasons for low
various ICT tools
enrollment of girls in engineering and management
------ 3 5
Objectives
The village volu nteers were trained to collect local
Address Millennium Development Goals d i rectly related
knowledge, add g loba l knowledge provided by Centre
to health such as :
for Women Studies and One World South Asia and
address the issues related to MDGs. Capacity building on
Reduce I nfant Mortality
Hindi typing was imparted to the vol u nteers for sharing
of knowledge-based content.
Reduce Child Mortality
Vol u nteers were also trained to write and upload local
Improve maternal health
Efforts towa rds prevention from commun icable and
sexual ly-tra nsm itted diseases.
To address other related issues like literacy, sanitation
and hygiene, employment having d i rect or indirect
relation to improving health & liveli hood indicators
Strategies :
Promotion of Mass Media and various ICT tools in
connecting communities and empowering people
stories on Ek Duniya website
(www.ekduniyagyansagar.net) in order to connect
communities and empower them through sharing local
knowledge. They were also trained on designing of local
newsletter.
Outcome
I ncreased awareness on gender sensitization.
Techno-savvy and computer literate.
Some of the volu nteers involved in the project are now
working at BPO, Pilani.
Advocacy Centers
Two village knowledge centers (called Advocacy
Centers) which em power rural women and the village
communities with knowledge on social awaken ing,
health and environment relevant to local needs were
established near Pilani in Rajasthan - the first one at
Jherli Village near Pilani and the second one at Dhandhar
Village Panchayat d u ring February, 2006 respectively.
After the establishment of Advocacy Centers in early
Training Program in Computer Literacy for
rural women and girls (2005-10)
Objective :
To train rural girls and women in computer literacy and
l i brary management
Strategies:
2006, CD players and COs with pre-recorded audio
programs were distributed to selected volunteers.
A three and a half months traini ng program in computer
These programs addressed issues on gender, health,
based g i rls and women has been imparted every
literacy and cata loguing of books and journals for rural
education, superstitious beliefs, poverty, unemployment
semester since October 2005. Evaluation scheme
and green environment.
comprises of three tests and a home assig nment. After
completion of the Train ing program, Certificates are
The information dissemination was done through
given to the participants. Outcome: After completion of
listeners' clubs. Series of capacity building workshops
the training, some of the trainees from previous batches
were organized by CWS in colla boration with One World
have got employment in government, private schools
South Asia, New Delhi at Advocacy Centre, Jherli near
and at computer training I n stitute. A trainee of the
Pilani for village vol u nteers d u ring 2007.
second batch now runs a Computer Centre.
36
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1<t;achin:; the unreachel
F i rst Wo men's Science Congress
Training on Paper Recycling (2007-10)
I nstrumentation U n it of the I n stitute on Sept 20, 2009. 20
females participated in this Workshop. "Learning by
Objective :
To help rural women in entrepreneurial activity
Strategies:
Everyday lot of paper waste gets collected. An activity on
recycling of paper was i nitiated by setting up the Mini
Paper Recycling U n it purchased from "Technology and
Action for Rural Advancement" (TARA) d u ring
Septem ber, 2007. Ten rural women were trained by me &
the team on recycling of waste paper. Out of these, fou r
were selected for making paper sheets. This skill i s
helping them create a mode o f economic livelihood. A
calendaring machine has been installed at paper
recycling u nit d u ring J u ly 2008. The trained women are
using the recycled paper sheets for making letter pads
doing" was the approach. The first lecture covered
history of electricity, various mea ns of generating
electrical energy, scientists who are the founders of
electrical engineering, terms & u n its used i n electrical
circu its, basic circuit components, their cha racteristics,
governing equations, safety preca utions in hand l i ng
electricity, tips for saving energy. Lectures were followed
by hands-on-experience in u nd ersta nding working of
tube light, testing various components of tube light,
connections of PCs. Lectures were also del ivered on
optimal use of energy, use of instruments to monitor the
performance and safe operation, working of home
applia nces like iron, grinder, geyser. The hands on
experience on seeing waveforms on CRO, soldering,
fixing three pin plug, setting u p circuits to read voltage,
cu rrent and power consumed by bulbs, tube light, iron
were performed.
and visiting cards.
Outcome:
Outcome
Rura l women/girls have been trained in skills for paper
recycling, I ncome generating activity
Awareness & Training Program on Effective
Use of Domestic Electrical Appliances for on
campus Women' (2009)
Objectives :
To promote awareness regard ing basic understa nding
about electricity, maintenance and repair of domestic
electrical & electronic applia nces
To promote awareness about saving energy
To build confidence a nd reduce the fear of handling
electrical equipment
Strategies:
The training was conducted in colla boration with
The female participants were very happy with the
learning experience and have requested for continuation
of such sessions with combination of theory and
practical knowledge.
Innovation led
secondary education. To sustain rapid growth and
alleviate poverty among masses, the time has come to
usher in a new wave of i n novation led transformation.
transformation: The role of
This would be i mperative to create and support
Women
segments of population can thrive.
Dr. Ritu Anand
Vice President & Deputy Head-Global HR of Tata
Consultancy Services.
communities and nu rture ecosystems where all
Owing to the increasing i mportance of i nnovation i n our
lives, the decade of 201 0-2020 has been declared as the
'Decade of I n novation' with a focus on inclusive growth
by the President of I ndia. No country can make progress
without improving the lot of its women. Women
The 3 1 st of October 201 1 witnessed an i mportant world
event. The planet welcomed its Seven Billionth member,
a nd a baby born in the Asia Pacific region was
considered to be a symbolic representative of this big
moment. I ncidental ly, whether it was Danica May
Camacho in Philippines or Oishee in Bangladesh or
Nargis i n Ind ia, all of them were g irls. These baby girls
have been born at a time i n h istory when the world, and
I ndia i n particular, is geared u p to leverage technology
constitute a significant percent of the world and I ndia's
population. They roughly control $20 trillion of total
consumer spending globally and that number is
expected to go up to $28 tri l l ion by 2 0 1 4. The U N D P
predicts that I ndia's GDP g rowth rate could j u m p b y 2 to
4% if women participation rates i ncreases to 70% from
the current 35%. The need of the hour is to ensure that
women are involved i n economic, social and political
progress donning the hat of catalytic change agents.
to improve standards of living and help them real ize
Innovation can benefit women in multiple ways and ca n
their potential.
spur widespread changes in the way society is
The future prosperity of I ndia depends largely on its
expecta ncy to access to markets nurturing the
ability to i n novate. New ideas, processes and products
hold the key to changing the lives of over one bill ion
people. Converting knowledge i nto viable solutions will
increase capacity, improve productivity and efficiency,
and promote g rowth. I n n ovation also plays a n
increasingly crucial role in addressing development
organized. From improvements in healthcare and life
entrepreneurial spirit leading to financial independence
it boosts confidence and creates positive rei nforcement.
While this is the tip of the iceberg, the next step is to
address deep rooted societal norms and institutional
practices which will result in a paradigm shift i n mindset.
related challenges that i m pact economic and social well
For the end objective to be met, the process must
being.
encourage a colla borated effort from all stakeholders
In order to support holistic nation building efforts,
accountability pin ned at all levels. Incl usive i n novation
benefits of i n novation need to transcend all boundaries
and i m pact people at the g rass-root levels. 70% of Ind ia's
population is rural, 90% of workers are employed i n the
government, academia, ind ustry and individuals, with
lies at the heart of I ndia's g rowth story and is the answer
to building sustainable solutions for the future.
informal sector. The working-age population is expected
to increase from 780 m i l lion in 201 0 to a whopping 1
billion by 2030. While the dynamic young population
under the age of 25, often referred to as the country's
demographic dividend is its biggest competitive
advantage, less than 20% of them have access to
38
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Empowered Women in
Vermitech : An Ecofriendly
Conservation- Karnataka
Approach for Providing
Experience
Financial Security to Rural
Women
Dr. M. Vasundhara
Professor, UAS, GKVK, Bangalore.
Women are the primary conservers of Biodiversity.
Dr. Amita Chattopadhyay
DST Women Scientist, Centra/ Institute of Freshwater
Aquaculture, Po- Kausalyaganga, Bhubaneswar-75 1 002
Women's ecological knowledge base is vast but
docu mentation is fragmentary. Women play a key role in
preserving biodiversity. Women provide knowledge,
Vermitech is a simple biotechnological method of
expertise that is essential to conservation. It is not
production of vermicom post, vermiwash, a nd
possible to preserve the knowledge without preserving
earthworms through organic waste decomposition
the environment i n which it is situated. We real ize the
using earthworms a nd could be easily adopted by rural
i m portance of preserving biodiversity but we fa il to
women. Emerging concepts of organic fa rming and
preserve the environment. Only after the biological
ecological agriculture have i ncreased the demand for
diversity convention of the U N i n 1 992, that the gender
vermitech products. Vermicompost is an excellent
d i mensions of the biodiversity has been studied.
organic fertilizer that takes care of soil health and leads
Systematic field ethnography of the gender di mensions
to sustainable production. Vermiwash is a bio-fertilizer
of biodiversity started only i n late 90's. U nder the Central
cum bio-pesticide. Earthworms are processed into
Sector Scheme i n 5 year plan mode, UAS, Bangalore
protein rich vermimeal used as fish, poultry and a nimal
began its journey in 1 992 to conserve the germ plasm of
feed. They also find use i n pharmaceutical and consumer
med icinal and aromatic plants in 30 acre area. The
ind ustries. A case study of a women Self Help Group
Garden serves as a source of elite planting material, a
(SHG) has been cited to highlight the vialibility of
place for women to identify the medicinal and aromatic
vermitech as a tool for controlling environmental
pla nts, learn about its utilization, n u rsery management,
pollution and providing financial security.
propagation, cu ltivation, collection, and post-harvest
management. Women can esta blish their own kitchen
garden or cu ltivate them on a bigger scale. They even
get trained for extraction of essential oils and other value
added products. Recently this garden has also been
declared as the biod iversity heritage site.
-----
39
99th I n d i a n Science Con g ress
Science and Technology
Technology has tremendous potential to address the
problem of poor, economically weaker section and in
particular women, who represent 50% of the human
for Women
resource of the country.
Bijoya Mishra
driving seat for economic and industrial revolution in the
Ex Principal, Rama Devi Women's Autonomous College,
Bhubaneswar.
Technology is essential. The application of Science and
If the country has to move forward with science in the
2 1 st centu ry, the involvement of women in Science and
Technology has to be designed to benefit women and
I n the "National Consultation on Science Technology for
Women: A Millennium Dialogue" held on 20th
December, 1 999 in New Delhi, the message delivered by
Dr. M u rali Manohar Joshi, the then Minister of Science &
ensure that women scientists and technologists are
gainfully employed; they should be encouraged to
pursue science as a career.
For a long time Department of Science and Technology
Technology and Ocean Development read that - "In our
has been making pioneering efforts in initiating and
way of thinking womanhood is identified with
i m plementing programmes based on appropriate
primordial energy. The creator causes the energy to
Science and Technology i nputs for the welfare for
create and that is how this un iverse moves in an orderly
women. This endeavor has m u ltifaceted objectives like
fashion. This is like fire and its burning power. This
reduction in drudgery Involved in the daily chores of
"Shakti" is described as "hridaya" (heart) and the "sara"
women, improvement in their quality of l ife and
(essense) of Shiva.
empowering them with opening of new avenues of
The Rig Veda, the oldest known work of literature in the
Technology initiated the scheme "Science and
world conta ins hymns by as many as twenty seven
women called Bramharadinis or women seers,
underscoring the fact that in the Ved ic tradition women
were equal partners in what was held as the highest
category of human activity - Scientific and Spiritual
inquiry. Our tradition did not discriminate against
women. "In this coming of the new m i l lennium, it is
these traditions which deserve a renaissance and it is
these traditions we need to delve into find ways of
correcting gender imbalance in our attitude:'This
message from a great man leads us to think about
gender discrimination in society today and particularly
i n the field of science and technology.
Women constitute 80% of the workforce in the
agriculture, but have the hig hest i l l iteracy rate indicating
that not more tha n SO% of women have reached the
primary level of education. We know, in our cou ntry, that
women constitute biggest source of potential workers in
rural areas. However it is unfortunate that 70% of the
poorest of the poor are women in the world. Science and
40
income generation. The Department of Science and
Technology for Women" in 1 98 1 with the objectives of
supporting projects aimed at appl ication of science and
technology for the benefit of women, especia lly i n rural
areas. Many projects have been funded under the
scheme and much insight gai ned d u ring the
implementation. Often it has been found that women in
rural areas are not able to pinpoint their own problems.
This is where it becomes necessary to encourage
scientists, especia lly women scientists, to spend time in
rural areas to enable them 'to identify the problems and
find solutions based as local resources.
In the male dominated society, selection of the
technology, whether useful to women or against their
i nterest, is lodged in the hands of man folks i n the fa m i ly.
For example, a l l the new agricultural technologies
preferred in the name of modern agricu lture is being
introduced without taking rural women into confidence.
This is irrespective of the fact that 60 - 70% of the labou r
req u i red for different agricultural operations is
----
contributed by women. Introduction of some of the
modern tools in the villages are red ucing the burden of
males at one hand while at the other they are
eliminating female workers from job opportunities. For
example use of tractor is providing more idle hours for
the males due to reduced working days req uired for land
preparations, at the same time use of mechanical
weedier a l ienates female labour from a job of weeding
operation.
It has been mentioned i n the "National Policy for
Empowerment of Women" adopted in the ninth plan
that - "Application of Science and Technology is vital for
the advancement of women. Technology will reduce
household drudgery and provide better working
condition for women, particularly i n rural areas with
emphasis on the i mprovement of the environment and
quality of women's lives at affordable costs".
Compared to their male counterpa rts, women as policy
managers or decision makers can play a n i mportant role
in selection and adoption of a ppropriate technology
relevant to welfare of women of rural areas or s l u m
dwe l l i ng fa m ilies i n u rban areas. It is therefore necessary
to expose the women, who have active share i n pol icy/
decision making either at national, state or panchayat
level to the basket of alternatives, cost effective and
simple technologies beneficial to women. It is high time
to educate this class of female parliamentarians,
legislators, bureaucrats and social activists about right
kinds of women oriented technologies. Once convinced
about relevance of such technologies they would be in a
position to generate pressure for implementation of the
related progra m mes. The social functioning of
technology is to make l ife easier, more comfortable and
happier for women.
---
41
ABSTRACTS
SCIENCE FOR WOMEN
SESSION II
42
---
su rvey, driven by Global ization of economy, have been
On Science Education and
widening the gap between men and women for better
Women Empowerment
jobs at the cost of getting i nto science stream of
opportunities making them to join software oriented
education.
K. Rudrama Devi
Girls a re often taken away from secondary school level as
Dept. ofZoology, Osmania University, Hyderabad-7
soon as they reach pu berty especially i n im poverished
com m u n ities in I ndia. In our country the first worry in
It is a fact that science education brings growth and well
being to people and it is not only the empowerment of
women through science but also the enrichment of
Science & Technology through women participation.
Study of science does not ensure further opportunities
and smooth career path for women - thanks to the
notorious "Glass Ceil ing"; there is a tremendous sexual
nepotism and women who seek science career have to
face triple burden of professional work, domestic work
a nd fighting male chauvinism. Recognition received by
getting the daug hter married. Denial of school
education blocks the stream that would feed to higher
education. These challenges can be overcome by
promoting fellowship facil ities a nd making the teaching
of science more female oriented. Activities l i ke, Science
and Mathematics teaching camps at school levels,
carrying out Science & Technology q u izzes, reg u larly for
gi rls and encouraging them to take up science based
courses. Government shou l d establ ish workable and
properly implementable policy to em power women in
i n novative scientific activities integrated with Science &
women scientists and their total R&D work force revea ls
Technology policy. Further, special efforts to develop
gender discrimination relative presence of women is our
appropriate technologies suited to women's needs as
own national esta blish ments like CSIR, ICAR, DOD, DAE,
1.1. Sc. and a l l Central Un iversities is less than 1 Oo/o and
much less as the promotional ladder goes up. My own
well as to reduce their drudgery have to be given a
special focus.
involvement in research revea ls that even the
My lecture will also will include statistical data on various
epidemiological su rvey of i nd ustrial toxicity being
aspects to high light the need for empowering women
caused to women has not been carried out. I had to
through science education a nd related R&D activates.
struggle over the last 30 years to establish that men
"Where a man is educated an individual is educated,
work i n m i nes (specially i n Coal Mi nes) and their wives
when a women is educated a fa mily and a country are
suffer from stil l births, premature deaths of infants,
educated" - M K Gandhi - Father of the Nation.
genetic deformation etc., Similarly, women exposed to
tobacco dust i n beedi women works suffer from
i ncreased i ncidence of Cancers, Still- births and genetic
deformations etc. i n their off springs. Our male
dom inated national research establishments are doing
research for their own satisfaction to gain I nternational
recognition and to have publications in high i mpact
parameter Journals rather than solving our own national
ind ustrial and technical development.
Em powering women i n science will certa inly have the
much needed national outlook towards our National
goa ls of R&D activities. Recent trends based on ma rket
Women Practicing
Science for Women
Science-Is there a glass
ceiling in India?
Dr. Padma Saxena
Dr. Charanjit Kaur
Dean Science faculty, Sri Sathya Sai College For
Women,Bhopai,Deptt. Of Chemistry,
PO Habibganj Bhopal, M.P., INDIA,
Email- ck2 7 [email protected]
D.A.\1. College, CSJM University, Kanpur,
[email protected]
Women constitute an i mportant section of the
Gender d isparity at all levels and its adverse i m pact on
women has become a fact of life. Among the various
professional spheres, women seem to miss out more in
science and technology, particularly physical sciences,
agricultu re and engineering fields. Traditional l y girls and
young women have not been encouraged to pursue
science as a reg ular part of their personal and
intellectual development. As a result the contribution of
women is not nearly as great as it cou l d or should be for
the welfare of science and of society. There is no
apparent professional gender discrimination in our
country. Creation of the 'glass cei ling' is usually not
because of a single cause and is also not always a drastic
phenomenon. I n fact, some of the causal factors are
sometimes so trivial in themselves that professionals
often do not even realize that they face any barrier in
professional advancement. But unfortunately may be
these situations might make a n i m pact on efficiency and
productivity of women professionals such as the women
scientists. There is a growing realization that by not
a l lowing the creative talent of women from being
expressed through their involvement i n research and
development, society is missing out, and something
needs to be done to make scientific research more
gender friendly. Different types of glass cei ling barriers
can exist, ranging from different pay for comparable
work; sexual, ethnic, racial, religious discrimination or
harassment i n the workplace; lack of fam i ly-friendly
workplace policies; to exclusion from informal networks;
stereotyping and preconceptions of women's roles and
abil ities; fai l u re of senior leadership to assume
accountabil ity for women's advancement; lack of role
models, and lack of mentoring etc. I n this article, I have
ana lyzed a l l the factors which create obstacles for
women scientists pursuing careers in scientific research.
44
workforce. However, the present situation of a large
number of well-qualified women scientists who due to
various circu mstances have been left out of the S&T
activities needs to be addressed. The problems faced are
several but, sig nificantly, most often the "break in their
careers" arises out of motherhood and fam ily
responsibilities. The option for revival of their profession
is presently unavailable due to restrictions in age and
qual ification and no system at present addresses these
issues.
A number of organizations have been set up to combat
the stereotyping that may encourage gi rls away from
careers in areas in science and technology.
AWlS is a national advocacy organization cham pioning
the interests of women i n science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics across a l l disciplines and
employment sectors. By breaking down barriers and
creating opportunities, AWlS strives to ensure that
women in these fields can achieve their fu l l potential.
In the UK The WISE Campaign (Women into Science,
Engineering and Construction) & the UKRC (The U K
Resource Centre for Women i n SET) are collaborating to
ensure ind ustry, academia and education are all aware of
the i mportance of challenging the traditional
approaches to careers advice and recruitment that mean
some of the best brains in the country are lost to science.
The UKRC and other women's networks provide female
role models, resources and su pport for activities that
promote science to girls and women. One of the largest
----
membership groups in the UK is Women's Engineering
Awards recognise support for women in
Society which has been supporting women i n
science
engineering and science since 1 9 1 9.
In the specific field of computing, the British Computer
Society specialist group BCS Women is active i n
encouraging girls t o consider computing careers, a n d i n
supporting women i n the computing workforce.
We should aim to reach out to the women in the poorly
Moreover, it is the prime duty of the society to
encourage the girls so that they become women i n
science. Make them understa nd that this is their place to
connect, communicate, and advocate as the most d i rect
and powerful way to create cultures of peace around the
world.
literate as well as literary challenged sections of society
both in the urban a nd rural sectors across the country.
Through participatory progra mmes specially designed
with specific issues i n focus and using the com munity
participatory form of radio-programming study how
best women can be encouraged to the benefits of
science in daily life.
As far as the village life is concerned superstitions are still
a dominating factor. Because of traditions, com pu lsions
of senior fam i ly member's women are followi ng these
which are affecting their key issues like health ...
Following steps may change the scenario
1.
Correct and sustained i nformation on environmental
issues especially health and other related problems
caused by mosquito menace is req u i red.
2.
The need to keep the surroundings clean and how
clea n l i ness is a health hazard needs to be
emphasized .
3.
Understanding of child nutrition and pregnant
women healthcare issues.
4.
lack of em ployment for women is also one of the
problems and people
5.
it would also be useful if participatory format of
programming is used for progra m mes on agricu lture
to facil itate better u ndersta nding of key issues.
There are n u mber of schemes and scholarships which
women should be made aware of so that they may take
advantage and feel better equi pped.
------
45
ABSTRACTS
WOMEN IN SCIENCE
SESSION Il l
46
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1<t;achiYJ_J the unreachel
F i rst Wo men's Science Congress
health and the environment from chemicals that remain
Environmental Release of
intact in the environment for long periods, become
Persistence Organic
fatty tissue of humans and wildl ife, a nd have adverse
Pollutants - A Human
Concern
widely distributed geogra phical ly, accumulate in the
effects to hu man health or to the environment. I n 1 995,
the Governing Council of the United Nations
Environment Prog ramme (UN EP) called for global action
to be taken on POPs. They defined POPs as the chemical
substances that persist i n the environment, bio
Dr. (Mrs.) Neeta Thacker
ChiefScientist & Head, Analytical Instruments Division
(AID), National Environmental Engineering Research
Institute (NEERI}, NehruMarg.
accumu late through the food web and pose a risk of
causing adverse effects to human health and the
environment. The Stockholm convention entered into
force on 1 7 May 2004 with ratification by an initia l 1 28
parties a nd 1 5 1 sig natories. India is also a party to two
other i nternational chemical-related conventions- the
Development activities such as intensive agriculture,
polluting ind ustry and u n planned urba nization are
posing enormous environmental challenges to the
country and across the globe. Emerging technologies are
constantly giving rise to hitherto un known poll utants.
The regulated pollutants are also invading new locations.
The Stockholm and Rotterdam conventions have
targeted some of the emerging pollutants viz.
Persistence Organic Pollutants (POPs), pesticides and
other hazardous chemicals.
POPs a re the compounds that persist, bioaccumulative in
plants and a nimals, travel long distances i n the
environment and highly toxic. They are also semi
volatile, a property which permits these compounds
either to vaporize or to be adsorbed on atmospheric
particles. POPs have the ability of long-range transport in
air and water from warmer to colder regions of the
world. They are detected in regions where they have
never been used or produced. Therefore, POPs are also
termed as Persistent Bioaccumulative and Toxic (PBTs)
Basel Convention and the Rotterdam Convention- which,
together with the Stockholm Convention, provide a n
international framework governing t h e environmenta lly
sound management of hazardous chemicals and wastes
throughout their l ife cycles.
I n order to ach ieve the objectives of Stockholm
Convention there has been set u p a system for tackling
chemicals which are identified as u nacceptably
hazardous. These chemicals are listed as Annexure to the
Convention as, Annex A - chemicals to be elimi nated;
Annex B - chemicals which have restricted use; and
Annex C- u n i ntentionally produced chemicals.
The emission of POPs in the environment is either
occurring due to the d i rect appl ication of POPs for plant
protection or disease vector control or d i rect and
indirect emissions of POPs from various sou rces as POPs
are being used in u rban areas in different forms and
pu rposes. POPs have been intentionally developed and
used i n a wide range of products (e.g. pesticides,
insecticides, dielectric and hydra ulic fluids in ind ustrial
-or Toxic Organic Micro Pollutants (TOMPs). Realizing
machinery, capacitors and transformers). Un intentional
the trend of pollution in various environmental media,
formation of POPs (Up Pops) in some processes,
elimination, production and releases ofthese chemicals
especially combustion, is also an i m portant sou rce for
in the country is one of the im portant activities that
some of them. Humans are mainly exposed to POPs
should be addressed.
indirectly via the food, but the d i rect exposure to some
The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic
Pollutants is an international treaty to protect human
of them may have been underestimated. By mid 1 990s,
the production and consumption of POPs were
forbidden, but as POPs had been produced and
incinerators and thermal processes were investigated
consumed in a large qua ntity before 1 990s in India, the
(Thacker, N . P. et. al. 201 0). The characteristics of mean
production sites and stockpiles all over the country may
PCDD/Fs 1-TEQ concentrations and congener profi les
be sig nificant pollutant sou rces. The major future
were studied over the samples of water, soil, fly ash and
problems, however, is probably connected to the
bottom ash of ind ivid ual source. I n a l most all the
continuous use of so far unregu lated persistent and
ana lyzed matrices the congener OCDD/OCDF was found
bioaccumulation su bstances.
in high concentration raising the critical concerns over
the overal l PCDD/Fs emissions from incinerations and
Mounting evidence of damage to human health and the
thermal processes. There are Goi/MoEF/CPCB has
environment has focused the attention of the
gu idelines for the emission standards for the discharge
international com munity on POPs. POPs are pesticides,
of such chemica ls i n atmosphere. The following lecture
industrial chemicals, or unintentionally produced by
will cover distribution and level of POPs i n
products (U pPOPs) of ind ustrial processes or
environmental media.
combustion. They are cha racterized by: a) persistence
the ability to resist degradation in various media (a i r,
water, sediments, and organisms); b) bio-accumulation
- the abil ity to accumu late in living tissues at levels
higher than those in the su rrou nding environment; and
c) potential for long range transport - the capacity to
travel great distances from the sou rce of release through
various med ia (air, water, and migratory species).
Because of these properties, POPs are fou nd throughout
the world, including in areas far from their orig inal
source. These chemical su bstances can cause mood
alterations, dia betes, change in white blood cells, dental
defects, disruption of the endocrine system, suppression
of the immune system, causing reproductive
dysfu nction, and fostering developmental abnormalities
in human and a n imals. The effect that has caused the
greatest public concern is cancer, and the I nternational
Agency of Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified TCDD
as a human carcinogen
The estimation of 2,3,7,8 - TCDD, dioxin congener and
precursors conta mination were carried out i n p u l p and
paper m i l l s, chloral-organic, chlorine base ind ustries,
plastic a nd PVC industries and other sites i n India
(Thacker, N. P. et. al. 2007). The study showed that the
pulp and paper mills using chlorine for bleach ing
showed the presence of 2,3,7,8 - TCDD compa red to the
ind ustries using chlorine dioxide.
The releases of U pPOPs, polychlorinated d i benzo-p
dioxins and d i benzofu rans (PCDD/Fs) from waste
48
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Development of
Effect of altered gravity
electrochemical biosensor
(hyper gravity) on
of horseradish peroxides
germination (growth ) of
immobilized on polyaniline
mungbean & chlorophyll
for direct determination of
pigment.
anticancer drug tamoxifen.
Smita Karpe, S. M. Kamble, P. B.
Keisham Radhapyari and Raju Khan
Analytical Chemistry Division, NEIST (Formerly RRL)
(R&D lnsitute of CSIR), Jorhat-785006, Assam
An am perometric biosensor was prepared by
immobil ization of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) enzyme
Vidyasagar & S. C. Karle
7: PG Department of Physics; New Arts, Commerce and
Science college, Ahmednagar.- 4 7 4 003,
lndia.Email:[email protected],
[email protected]
2:Biophysics laboratory, Department of Physics, University
ofPune, Pune-4 7 7 007,/ndia
onto a polyaniline (PAN I)-doped platinum disk electrode
after activation with g l utaraldehyde. The PAN I film was
electrochemically deposited on the plati num electrode
at scan rate 50 mvs·' ;Ag-AgCI for 8 cycles. Cyclic
Volta mmetric cha racterization of the PAN I film in 1 M HCI
showed two distinct redox peaks, which proved that the
PAN I fi l m was electro active and exhibited fast reversible
electrochemistry. HRP was immobilized onto the su rface
of the PAN I fi l m by simple adsorption method and
voltammetry was used to monitor the electro catalytic
reduction ofta moxifen under diffusion control led
conditions. FT-IR, Cyclic voltammeter a nd
Electrochemica l I m pedance Spectroscopy technique has
been uti l ized for cha racterization and for studying the
electrochemical interfacial properties of su rface
Gravity is very im portant concept now a day-today life.
We choose the topic of altered gravity because it is very
necessary to see the effect of altered gravity on plants
because we are trying to search the planet which is
a ppreciate to earth where human can live, plants can
germinate because it is necessary for our survival. But for
every planet gravity is not same, on some planet it is
greater than earth or less.
In hyper gravity treatment (gravity greater than that of
the earth) we observed the seed germination. For this
we gave hyper gravity treatment to seeds (moonbeam)
by means of centrifuge machine. Then g row them on
agar gel for 5 days under the condition of appropriate
modified electrodes. The current versus concentration
'
plot was l i near over the range 1 - 1 1 ng mL· . The achieved
temperature, humid ity. After 5 days to check chlorophyll
li mit of detection (LOD) and li mit of quantification (LOQ)
'
'
were 0.07 ng mL· and 0.29 ng ml· respectively. The
then take absorption spectra.
content, place the leaf in DMF solution for one day and
proced u re was applied to the assay of the drug in bulk
For calculating chlorophyll content and carotinoid,
and dosage form with mean percentage recoveries of
choose a ppropriate wavelength and calcu late it from
99.4%. Precision and accuracy were also checked and
Arno's formula.
were within the limits.
------
49
I n this study we choose the different orientations of
seeds and the different gravitation va lue and check the
Convergence of
result.
Earthquakes, Atmospheric
I n general, in hyper gravity the germination of plant is
anomalies and Neuro Fuzzy
slow as we i ncrease the gravitation va lue like SOOg,
1 OOOg, and 1 500g.
Models: A Close Study
At 90 angle orientation, the chlorophyll content,
carotenoid and g rowth is satisfactory for all gravitational
values. This i m plies orientation affect on germination.
Dr. Mrs. A.Pethalakshmi, Mrs.R.Raja
Rajeswari, Miss. A.Anushya
Department ofComputer Science, M. V.M. Govt. Arts College
(W), Dindigul.
[email protected],[email protected]
Research Scholar,Department ofComputer Science,
Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli., E-mail:
[email protected]
Earthquakes, the most devastating natural disasters,
occur a l most in a l l parts of the world, in the present
decade. And they pose a major threat to human l ife,
nature and also nuclear pla nts, hence affecting the
global environment as we have seen in the case of
Japanese earthquake which occurred in March 201 1 . A
popular notion about earthquake is that it is
unpredictable.
But the increase in frequency of earthquakes all over the
globe has necessitated meani ngful research in
earthquake prediction. Work done so far has bore fruits
in terms of finding sig nificant earthquake precursors. The
promising earthquake precursors include atmospheric
anomalies and radon gas emission. After identifying
earthquake precursor's next step is to classify the
existing weather data inventory based on known
preseismic patterns and predict an earthquake. This
req uires reliable computing methodologies, converg ing
on Neuro Fuzzy model, a n emerging soft computing
tool.
This research paper intends to discuss atmospheric
anomalies as earthquake precursors, role of Neuro Fuzzy
50
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Model in prediction arena and fi nally suggests a n
amalgamation o f Neuro Fuzzy Models with atmospheric
anomal ies to predict earthquake.
Let Us Know the Chemicals
Present in Our Food
(Keywords: Earthquake Prediction, Neuro Fuzzy Model,
Thermal anomal ies, Relative humidity)
Prof. Jyotshna Mahapatra
Cornig, New York, [email protected]
Abstract: The appetising colour of many a food item is
derived from toxic pigments. Ever wondered why home
made tomato sauce is a brownish-red concoction while
the packaged variety is bright red? Or why gulab jamuns
bought from a sweet shop are a rich brown while the
ones that mother makes are so m uch paler? And why
jalebis today are more vividly colored than the ones we
remember from child hood?
It's all because food man ufacturers use colors to gloss up
their wares. Some are food grade and some, shocking ly,
are just non-food grade dyes.
Rule 26 of the Prevention of Food Adu lteration Act
permits the use of colours such as beta-carotene, beta
apo-8'carotenal, carotenoic acid, canthaxanthin,
chlorophyll, riboflavin, caramel and saffron i n food.
However, sometimes man ufacturers also use non
permitted dyes to cut costs. The perm itted colours are
often replaced with cheap, non-food grade dyes that
i m part the same colour but have high levels of toxicity.
The rampant and il legal use of poor quality toxic colou rs,
oil and flavours in sweets, snacks, biscu its, chips, pickles,
ice creams and soft drinks is not only cheating I ndian
consumers but also leading to serious health problems.
The results thrown u p by recent research by the zoology
department of the U n iversity of Jaipur on the effects of
Tomato Red - a dye common i n red coloured sweets
and sauce - on mice are scary. Studies revealed severe
degenerative changes in the liver, kidney and testes of
the rodents. Experts concluded that the use of this dye i n
food c o u l d have a toxic effect on vital organs i n humans,
too.
---
51
99th I nd i a n Science Con g ress
But if you think that by avoiding sweets and processed
which are found in sweets and snacks coloured with
food, you can stay away from toxic dyes or other
non-food grade dyes, are worse as they are not excreted.
additives, think again. Th ings as diverse and necessary as
I n stead, they are deposited in the body and causes
table salt and baking powder may be brightened up
harmful diseases.
with a l u m i nium. Even fresh fruits and vegetables may be
coloured to make them look more appetising. Coal tar is
Avoid buying food that is artificially coloured and ensure
often added to powdered spices to give them the right
that the package mentions the use of perm itted colours.
hue. The effects of all these chemicals can be life
We must not be fooled by bright colours a nd fresh
threatening.
textures.
Survival strategies
It's i m possible for a consumer to understand and verify
which colouring agents are used in which food. When it
comes to packaged food, a retailer's job is to ensure that
Read the fine print on packaged food to make sure
he buys from the right source.
that only perm itted colours have been used
Still, consumers can also exercise caution. It is suggested
Wash fresh fruits and vegetables in water to which
that consumers check packaged and tinned food to find
out if the colours used are perm itted. One should also
potassium permanganate has been added. Fish, rice
wash fruits and vegetables with water tinged with
and pulses shou ld be washed repeatedly to remove
potassi u m permanga nate before cooking, she adds.
the urea used to whiten them
Some suggest that there could be a way out of this
Children should not be given coloured food, even if
it conta ins permitted colour. Encourage them to
have colourless sweets and snacks. Avoid colas and
ice creams that are not branded.Chemical dyes such
as a u ramine causes dysfu nction of the liver and
kidney; another dye, rhodamine B, leads to g rowth
reta rdation, apart from degeneration of the liver and
kidney. Malachite Green causes a decrease i n
appetite, g rowth and ferti lity, Yellow G provokes
asthma and AI l u ra Red can lead to stomach cancer.
Some of the common side effects of prolonged
consu m ption of these colours are hyper acid ity, thyroid
tumours, urticaria, dermatitis, asthma, nasal congestion,
abdominal pain, nausea, eczema, liver and kidney
damage and even cancer.
The worst sufferers are children. Studies show that the
concentration level of children is going down owing to
excessive consumption of coloured foodstuff and soft
drinks. Many children are also allergic to artificial
problem if manufacturers resorted to natural dyes
instead of artificial food colouring. Several natural dyes
possess bio-active properties and can be used both as
colouring agents and for therapeutic pu rposes.
For example, turmeric, which gives food a vibrant yellow
colour, is also a digestive aid as well as a potential
biomolecule for the treatment of cancer. Carotenoids
(found in carrots, mango and papaya) have a natural
orange colour and strong antioxidant properties.
Similarly, anthocyanins (red grapes, red cabbage and
sweet potatoes) and betacya nins (red potatoes, beetroot
and amaranth), which are good for health, can also
impart a nice red colour to a dish. One could opt for
these natural food colours and completely stop the use
of chemical colours.
That may not come about in a while. But as long as
artificial colours are being used, the consumer can't be
too careful about making sure that he or she buys a
product that only uses "permitted" colours.
colours. Heavy metals l i ke lead, mercury and arsenic,
52
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Advanced Technology
technique, where the oscil lator pulse is stretched in time
Development in High Power
then compressed in time to obtain high peak powers.
Lasers at B.A. R.C
before being a m p lified in the chain of amplifiers, and
The driving force for this development was the fast
ignition path to ICF. This work too has a large
contribution from woman scientists at B.A.R.C, and will
be presented at this Science Cong ress.
Paramita Deb.
Physics Group, BARC,Mumbai-400085.
The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, where research
reactors have been built since its inception, spans a large
cross section of science and technology that is req u i red
and will be needed for reactor science itself. Therefore a
multi-disciplinary research organization has grown. I t
includes nuclear research, materials research, chemical
technology research, accelerator physics, laser physics ,
fuel chemistry, spectroscopy and many many more
branches of Science and technology. The emphasis has
always been on in-house technology development i n
order t o be self reliant. Women have been active
contributing members in a l l these challenging areas of
science. A paper will be presented at this Science
Congress, that gives a flavor of the contribution by
women scientists for the development of B.A.R.C.
One section of this multi-disciplinary research is the
physics and technology of laser systems, that has been
pursued for quite a few decades. The research in this area
includes a wide spectrum, ranging from tunable lasers in
the visible to free electron lasers in the X-ray band. In
addition lasers with high powers have been built . The
tech nique of producing high peak powers is to make an
oscil lator (operating in the pulsed mode) followed by
chain of ampl ifiers that lead to energy of the pulse being
i n the hundred Joule range. At B.A.R.C the technology of
a carbon dioxide laser chain and an Nd:glass laser chain
has been established. The driving force for this
development was, inertial confinement fusion (ICF). An
extension of this method, for an ultra short pulse , high
peak power laser chain, has also been developed
recently at B.A.R.C. This is the chirped pulse amplification
------
53
ABSTRACTS
POSTER SESSION
54
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Rural Livelihood Security
Role of Women
Organizations
Our Mandai President Smt. Annapura n Rama m u rthy is
not only one of the founder members but also
contributed a lot towards this goa l i n severa l ways which
is a non profita ble organization. But the site and Building
has been funded by Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams.
The total porgramme i ncludes mostly poor women fol k
and t h e i r liveli hood patterns.
Smt. R. Annapurna Ramamurthy, Smt.
The following are some of the main activities of the
T. Rajya Lakshmi Prabhu,
Mandai.
J.President, Sri Padmavathi Prarhdana Mahila Mandali,
Narasimha Theertham Road, Tirupati.
2. Associate Professor (Retired), S.V.Univeristy, Tirupati.
Women working i n Agricultural on daily wages,
growing Vegeta bles and Fruits.
Women who work i n Cottage industries.
Science and Technology for incl usive i n novation: Role of
Vocational course involving silk reeling sewing,
Women: (Women Organizations, A.P.Ti rupati
typewriting, tailoring, Computer Courses.
(Rural/Urban)
Provision of Bank Loans for small scale business.
The a bove mentioned topic ca n be dealt as two parts i.e.
conventional methods and Modern scientific a nd
Learning Embroidery, Knitting Painting, Cooking.
Technological methods.
Educating Auto Drivers children.
In the Temple Town ofTirupati one of the Vol u ntary
Women Organ ization by name Sri Padmavathi Prardhana
Placement for Physically Handicapped Children.
Mahila Mandali has been esta blished i n the year 1 963
Food and Nutrition camps.
and in the first Mahila Mandali in the District. Almost
forty five years, this organization has been working to
Explaining Women employee's lega l rights.
wards achieving the goal of poverty eradication
progra m mes for the poor and downtrodden women folk.
Ad ult education camps.
Since socially excluded groups are highly heterogeneous
Providing Free Medical Checkups.
a u n iform package of prog ramme would he highly
u nethical. Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru remarked "The
advancement of a Nation can be judged by the status
women enjoy" Even the m i l lennium goa l s identified by
U.N.Centre around women. During the tenure of Sri Rajiv
Gandhi Women's movement gained much vibrancy
livelihood systems of the poor can never he understood
in any one track logic as mentioned earlier.
The total prog ramme included all types of categories of
occupation Agriculture, Horticu lture, Cottage ind ustries,
healic came and Hygienic, Literary; prog rammes etc.
Mostly u n recognized poor women fold and their
liveli hood patterns will be discussed.
OTHER ACTIVITIES :
This presentation focuses on the role of voluntary
Women organizations towards this endeavor. Certa i n
Cottage Industries :
issues a r e Common t o both Rural and Urban areas.
1.
Fruit Ju ice making
FLOW CHART
I
RURAL LIVELIHOOD SECURITY
Conventional Methods
Modern Scientific & Technological Methods
Agricultural Occupations
New Tools New Livelihood
Govt. or NGO Programmes (Rural /Urban)
New Technologies field trips
1 . Awa reness programme by Manda Is,
for new Technologies Exhibition 2.
Counseling about their legal rig hts, wages.
on global awareness
3. Lecturers by Scientists and Sociologists
Type Writing Usage of Machinery
4.Distribution of Selfmade Handcrafts Articles
5. Literary Programmes (3Rs)
2.
Weaving Baskets
6.
3.
Horticulture
4.
Vocational course involving Silk reel ing, Sewing and
Food and Nutrition - How it is im portant for
effective functioning.
Results and Recommendations :
Embroidery, Ta iloring.
1.
5.
Preparation ofToys and Pu ppets.
6.
Preparation of Masala Powders
7.
Preparation leaf plates and bouls.
8.
Seeking Bank Loans
3.
9.
Tra ining in Time Management.
4.
Awareness programmes and counseling in groups at
door slep helped many women.
2.
Bank Loans facil itated many women fol k t o meet
their live hood routine.
Youth and Children (Handica pped) got placements.
Small scale industries has been esta blished by the
members for making and selling hand made articles,
1 0. Learning to mainta i n Accounts etc.,
Masala Powder Packets.
Other types of Activities :
-
1.
Education to Rickshaw Pul ler's Children.
2.
Conducting Health Camps - Child Care, Hygienic etc.
3.
Environment - Its importance
4.
Looking after Physica lly handica pped children
5.
Created awareness on health and Hygiene
maintaining clean environment in the Su rrou ndings.
6.
Adult Education Programmes brought the desired
livelihood changes. It also developed self confidence
among poor women.
7.
Women em powerment is achieved.
Counseling to parents.
5.
Adult education programmes (Minimum levels of
learning help them to partici pate in meetings which
d i rectors about man-eating, maintaining accounts).
56
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A study of self-concept and
be an act of faith and social engineering. According to
achievement motivation of
equality is too im portant to be l eft to the individual
female adults towards
im plementing the progra m mes.
the Progra mme of Action ( 1 992), education for women's
commitments or proclivities of persons i n charge of
literacy.
M . Narayana Swamy
Department of Education, Bangalore University,
mnarayana 7 @gmail.com
Women's i l l iteracy is one of the major issue faced by the
planners, educationists and admin istrators of I ndia since
the dawn of I ndependence. Lack of u n iversal literacy has
thwarted total development in the country. Women
constitute al most half of the population, and hence
should play a major role in the social and economic
development of the Nation. It is a generally accepted
fact that "if a man is educated only a single person is
educated; if a woman is educated a whole fa mily is
educated': The Report of the U n iversity Education
Commission ( 1 949) states:
"If general education has to be l i m ited to men or
women, that opportunity should be given to women,
from them it would most surely be passed on to the next
generation"
Similarly, in the Report of the Education Commission
( 1 966) it has been stated "for full development of our
human resou rces, for the improvement of homes and for
molding the character of children d u ring most
i m pressionable years of infancy, the education of
women is of even greater i mportance than that of men:'
The National Policy of Education (NPE, 1 986) has
emphatically stated that Education will be used as an
agent of basic change in the status of women. I n order to
neutralize the accumu lated distortions of the past, there
will be a well-conceived edge in favour of women. l n a
very strong and forthright statement, N P E says: This will
---
5?
Importance of Women's
I nvestment in women's education, health and
for protecting the
especia lly in the hill and tribal areas.
environment
Creating respect for women by an aware and
welfare to ensure poverty alleviation. Most
dynamic leadership-with adeq uate representation
by qualified women-which will address crucia l
Huma Naz, Asma Naz
Department Of Plant Protection, FlO Agricultural Sciences,
Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh-202002, U.P. India,
E-Mail:- [email protected]
issues arising from time to time.
Traditionally, women have dealt with non
monetised biomass based su bsistence economy of
the household i.e. firewood, cowd ung, crop wastes,
organic manure, etc. In comparison. men tend to
destroy nature to earn cash even if it means creating
"Involving women in protecting the environment
would help societies develop the sense of
responsibility needed to maintain a good balance
between humans and the earth's resources"
To begin with, it is relevant to ask the question what is
environment? And does it not seem presumptuous on
hardship in their own fa m i l ies for their womenfolk
to collect fuel and fodder e.g. sa le of herbs and
wood. The upshot is that women work as unpaid
labourers on fa mily fa rms with a greater role tha n
men in operational decision making.
Fuel, fodder and water collections are the accepted
the part of human beings to use the world
responsibilities of women. As the environment
'management' in this context? For what we have
degrades, these basic necessities become d ifficult
succeeded in doing is not only damaging the
to collect. The time a woman spends on gathering
environment, but damaging it irretrieva bly. This is
fuel, fodder and water, as well as attending to
apparent across the planet, making restoration of the
household work, agricultural work and anima l care,
environment the very basis of global concern. Instead of
reduces her efficiency and inputs. Dr. M. S.
managing the environment, we should act to conserve
Swa minathan, former member of the planning
and protect it, so that it is treated not only wisely, but
Commission stated, "if men had to fetch drinking
with H u m i l ity. For it is man that is destroying this
water the 230,000 vil lages would not have remained
essential l ife support system, and yet it is man that is a
without provision of drinking water after several
part of this tota lity called environment. The challenge
years of planned development". The workload
facing the development of women in India is not merely
differs in different parts of the country .In the hill
a problem of finance but also one of motivating and
areas, the time devoted to these activities far
mobilizing them. This in turn is linked to the
exceeds the time spent on the same activities.
developmental progra m mes i n a society which expects a
change in the perception and values characteristic of
The population pressure has increased male
Indian culture. This is adequately emphasized for
migration, which i n turn adds to the women's work
example in the National Forestry Policy 1 988 rega rding
load. In effect this means that women's
the role of women I n forestry development, 'creating a
responsibilities extend from the household duties
massive people's movement with the involvement of
to working in the fields as well. A destructive chain
women for achieving this objective and to minimize
reaction emerges. As the time req uired for fuel and
pressure on existing forests".
fodder collection grows and fi rewood becomes
scarce, cow-dung previously spread on the fields, is
A woman biased development process.
53
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used in the kitchen, thereby depleting soi l resou rces
and causing a negative effect on the livelihood of
local people and environment. The absence of the
male fa m i ly member(s) adversely affects
production.
Journey through the gender
prejudices: Women in
Engineering
Skills are handed down from mothers to daug hters
to help strengthen the bond between man and the
environment. This is sustainable development.
Dr. Sucheta Priyabadini
Women mobilize conserve and preserve resou rces
Joint Registrar, KilT University, [email protected]
in their roles as housewives, mothers, wives,
daughters and farmers.
"When there is no water in the villages, no crops
grow. Men migrate to the cities for work and women
are left to fend for themselves, their children, old
members of the family and their cattle;•
Post liberal ization era caused a spurt in the pace of
industrial ization, urba nization and globalization. This
growth created the need for a greater pool oftechnical
manpower to form a support base. Students cutting
across the various divides got attracted to technical
education. Engineering education hitherto considered a
domain of the male, gradually saw the advent of women.
However, the entry of girl students in technical
education was never a quantum jump, given the
phenomena of conservative mind sets i n operation.
Although women represent half of the population,
presence of women at all level of education is low.
Women especially in the technical education are grossly
underrepresented. The scenario of women in technical
education all over the world is the same. Based on
qual itative and qua ntitative study with interviews
conducted on 250 women students of B.Tech courses of
various reputed Engineering Colleges at Bhubaneswar,
the capital city of Orissa, the present study intends to
explore and analyse the nature of enroll ment,
susta inabil ity and socialization of women students in
technical education. It is hoped that this study would
lead to appropriate recommendation for overcoming the
proverbial "glass ceiling" and work towards achieving a
balanced representation. Our study proposed that
gender representation is only one di mension of
gendered disadvantage in engineering, as complex
forms of gendered disadvantages reside at social,
cultural, psychological and economic layers of life.
Fertility and ageing:
Women's role in
Awareness and perceptions
conservation of natural
of female students to
resources
leading universities of
Prabha Shastri Ranade
Odisha.
lcfai Business School, Ahmedabad, [email protected]
1Gayatri Mohanty, 1 Deepika Muduli,
This contribution for Women's Science Congress
28ijayalaxmi Pradhan and 1 Luna
highlights the role of women NGOs in conservation of
Samanta
their families and providing the fa mil ies with basic
Address: 'Department ofZoology, Ravenshaw University,
Cuttack,
'Utkal University, Bhubaneswar,
[email protected]
natural resou rces. Women are responsible for feeding
nutrition. Poverty hits women the hardest. Women are
more dependent on natural resou rces such as land,
wood and water. These a re facing the adverse i mpact of
cli mate change and women's access to these resources
is l i m ited. Women in developing countries are more
In recent times there has been a noticeable trend among
young women i n many parts of the developed world to
delay childbearing to achieve career goals. However due
to lack of knowledge about the decline in fertility with
age suffer from infertility in later part of life. This study
was designed to assess the female students' perceptions
rega rding female reproductive ageing in two oldest and
prestigious Un iversities of Odisha: Ravenshaw and Utkal.
In this study, most women overesti mated the chance of
pregnancy at a l l ages and were not conscious of the
steep rate of fertility decline as well wrong notions about
the use of contraceptives.
vul nerable than men to the consequences of cli mate
change, When an NGO is formed, women are able to
raise voices and achieve their desired objectives
collectively. Women have extensive theoretical and
practical knowledge of the environment and resource
conservation, which is util ized by women NGOs. They
have taken a lead in promoting sound environmental
practices. Women NGOs world over are doing
commendable work in development sector. They are at
the forefront of t he conservation of forests and water
resources. Women are playing a key role in reforestation
and afforestation of cleared land. Women have always
been the principal conservers of bio-d iversity. They
perform duties such as seed selection, m u ltipl ication and
conservation.
There has been a rapid increase in the number a nd
visibil ity of women's NGOs working on environment and
resource conservation issues. The Samudram Women's
Federation in Orissa through a sustained campaign
monitors breed ing, restore habitats, protects beaches
for conservation of Olive Ridley turtles, promotes
responsible fishing practices a nd protects the
60
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livelihoods of coastal com m u nities. Samudram is crucial
force i n efforts to protect Orissa's coastal biodiversity
and to mobilize local communities to conserve natural
resou rces. Green Belt movement is a Kenyan Women's
NGO, which started planting trees in 1 977 to tackle the
problems of deforestation, soil erosion and water
Women's Technology Park
Road to Empowerment of
rural women
scarcity. I nnovative Farmers Progra mme is a Ta nzanian
NGO. It works to secure and ach ieve higher crop yields.
The members learn to convert agricultural waste into
organic fertilizer, conserve seeds, counter soil erosion,
and improve rainwater storage in the ground. Several
such small movements led by a handful of women a few
Dr. S.A.Kazi, Dr. 0. Kakade,
Dr. P.G. Tadsad, Smt. Shanta Devi
Dr. S.R. Ghanti, S.R. Soudagar &
years back have become state-wide campaigns that hold
Dr. G.R. Naik
im portant lessons for conservation in itiatives. While
Kama taka State Women's University, Bijapur.
raising awareness and catalyze solutions, their efforts are
helping to build sustainable livelihoods a nd i n poverty
a l leviation.
The U niversity has esta blished a women's technology
park one of its kind in the state providing a variety of ski l l
training progra mmes t o women especially from
backward areas. The park includes a software technology
park, a food processing training centre, vermi
composting training centre, tissue culture tra i ni ng
centre, bio-diesel training centre, media centre and
fashion designing.
Ananya: Food Processing Training Center and
Incubator: In association with Association of Women
Entrepreneurs of Karnataka (AWAKE), a non
governmental organization, 'Annanya' a food-processing
training center and Incu bator, has been set u p on the
un iversity campus, as part of the un iversity's women
empowerment programme. The centre conducts
training programmes for women in processing of fruits,
vegetables and pulses, packaging and ma rketi ng. The
centre also serves as an incubator and encourages
women i n becoming entrepreneurs and facil itates the
same. A number of students studying in the campus also
avail the training progra m me.
Bio-diesel Technology Centre: This centre
established with fu nding from Government of Karnataka
works in col laboration with Bio-Fuel Task Force,
Government of Karnataka a nd Bio diesel Society of Ind ia,
Bangalore. The centre i ncludes a Bio Fuel training and
------
61
demonstration centre, Bio diesel research centre and Bio
This centre has necessary infrastructure including
diesel information dissemination centre. Bio diesel
computers, servers, UPS and necessary software for
plantation is being esta blished in the Jnanashakti
training women in Bio-i nformatics. The centre
campus.
undertakes tra i n ing of students from Karnataka State
Women's U niversity as well as students of Biology - UG
Computer Centre and Software Technology
Park: A Computer Centre is esta blished with funding
and PG as well as researchers a l l over the state.
from UGC. The Centre is equipped with 44 computers,
Biotechnology Research and training Centre:
high end servers, Internet and u n i nterrupted power
The centre has been established with grant from DST to
supply with ded icated personnel including system
implement advanced research in Biotechnology a nd
ana lyst and computer software experts. It provides
provide practical training to students from a l l over the
regular training for teaching, non-teaching staff and
state.
students and is also open for women who wish to hone
their ski l l s in developing software.
Paper Recycling Technology Center: A well
Vermi-composting Centre: A vermi-composting
esta blished in J nanashakti campus to provide vocational
unit has been esta blished in Jnanashakti campus. Short
training to our students, rural women and women from
term training prog rammes are offered to women in
poor socio-economic background of this reg ion. The
equipped Paper Recycling Technology Center is
vermi com posting.
center produces files, folders, visiting cards, carry bags,
food packaging etc from the waste papers through value
Multi-Media Training Centre: A well-equi pped
addition.
studio and m u lti-media centre with qual ified staff
provides short term training in facing interviews,
interviewing, news reading on electronic media, camera
techniques, editing etc.
Tissue Culture Centre: A plant tissue culture centre
is being established in Jnanashakti campus. Short term
training courses in tissue culture are being designed.
Fashion Technology: The U niversity has signed an
MOU with the I ndian I n stitute of fashion Technology and
is facil itating providing training to rural women in
fashion technology. A modern facility with latest
machinery has been established by l i FT which is made
available for tra i n i ng women students of the u n iversity.
The University is also offering a n u mber of Certificate,
Diploma, Degree and Post-graduate Degree
prog rammes in Fashion Management.
Bio-informatics Facility Centre: Bio-informatics
Facility Centre has been esta blished with fu nding from
the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India.
62
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Embelin augments
orange/Ethidium bromide staining and Hoechst
apoptotic cell death in
caspase-3 and Bcl2 was investigated by reverse
estrogen receptor positive
exhibited strong inhi bitory effects on the g rowth of
staining). I nfluence of em bel in on the expression of
transcription PCR. Results revealed the embelin
estrogen receptor positive MCF-7 cells. This opens u p
avenues for exploring t h e benefits o f em bel i n i n the
human breast
therapy of estrogen receptor positive breast cancer in
adenocarcinoma cell line
humans.
MCF-7. A positive
correlation between its
antiestrogenic and
anti pro I iterative effects.
1
Sumalatha K.R1, Sreepriya M and
Sheela Praveen3
7. Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology
Bangalore University, Jnana Bharathi Campus
Bangalore - 560 056, Kamataka, India
2. Department of Pathology
Clumax Diagnostics, Jayanagar 3rd Block
Bangalore - 560 0 7 7, Kamataka, India
Abstract: The benzoq u i none embelin is an apoptosis
activator a nd a potent i n hibitor of X lAP. Several studies
report the strong antiestrogenic effects of em bel in in
a n i mal models. I n the current study we investigated the
influence of em bel i n i n attenuating the proliferation and
augment apoptotic cel l death i n estrogen receptor
positive human breast adenocarcinoma cel l line MCF-7.
Cell prol iferation was assessed by MTT assay, Clonogenic
potential by colony formi ng assays i n soft agar, ind uction
of apoptosis was confirmed by characteristic DNA
fragmentation and qua ntification of fragmented DNA by
DPA method. Cell morphology was studied by light
m icroscopy (Hematoxylin/eosin staining) and by
fluorescence m icroscopy analysis (Acridine
---
63
Rural Technology/
Agriculture and Forestry
Agriculture
Sciences
Sustainable Entrepreneurial
Activity through Nutri Soya
Low Cost Appropriate
Products
Technology for Rural
Women - Dehulling and
Sunanda Sharan and Veena B
Department of Food Science and Nutrition,
UAS, GKVK, Bangalore
Va lue added soya products being an excellent source of
Value Addition of
Sunflower Seeds
nutrition needs to be promoted through entrepreneurial
Neena Joshi, Lata Kulkarni and
activity for women, Hence, the study was undertaken
Gopika Muttagi
with the objective of development of va lue added
products, training on ski l l development and evaluating
the i m pact on income generation. Va lue added products
Department of Food Science and Nutrition,
University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore
[email protected]
developed were soya papad, soya chutney powder, soya
multi mix, soya noodles, soya vermicelli and evaluated
for different parameters.About 338 women were trained
Key words: su nflower kernels; dehulling su nflower
both at on-ca mpus and off-ca mpus level for a period of 2
seeds; food uses of su nflower kernels.
- 3 days of 20-30 years belonging to small and marginal
and few were big farmers of Ma ndya . Training was
Karnataka ranks first in the production of su nflower in
imparted on these products as indicated in the
I ndia where it has replaced a large part of the traditional
objectives.The results of the study revea led that a total
food crops. A newly introduced crop can agg ravate
of 338 women trained, out of which 83 women (24.5%)
nutritional insecurity because the communities lack the
were able to become entrepreneurs and earned about
tradition of incorporating it into thei r dietaries. Sh ifts in
Rs. 1 00 to 800/- /month. However, continued follow u p is
cropping patterns must always be associated with
essential for sustainability as well as for successful
serious efforts at developing low cost appropriate
esta blishment on a commercial scale.
technologies which will enable the fa rming community
to benefit from new crops not only to enjoy the cash but
also the nutritional returns. Thus, a methodology for
primary processing (household dehulling) and
secondary processing (indigenous products) were
developed and transferred to the fa rming com mu nity.
Variety KHSB 44 was used in the experiment. The trials
on dehulling involving severa l chemica l and mechanical
methods revealed that mechanical method of dehul l i ng
was more effective. A simple household method which
64
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could easily be adopted by the farm women was
standardized. This method consistently resulted in 60 %
kernel recovery. Two heritage products chikki and
hurigalu were standardized using sunflower seeds and
compared with groundn uts and subjected to sensory
eval uation. While there were no sig nificant differences in
the taste in case of the product chikki; product hurigalu
prepared from su nflower kernels were better l i ked by the
taste panel. The nutritional va lue of the products
prepared from su nflower ca n be rated as good. These
products had the potential to contribute sign ificant
qua ntities of protein, energy, PUFA, calcium, iron, zinc
and vitamin E. The products were i ntroduced i n two
villages where sunflower is grown through extension
efforts i nvolving KVK, Hiriyur and SHGs. Dehulling the
seeds at the household level and lack of awareness
about its food value were the main reasons for the
kernels not being use. The responses with respect to
sunflower seeds as food after the extension efforts were
positive.
ROLE O F WO M E N I N SC I E N CE
Dr. Hemlata J . Wa n khede
Director, Pre I.A.S. Traning Centre and Institute of Science {PG & Research}
Govt. Science College Campus, Kille Arch,
Near Subhedari Guest House, Aurangabad (M.S) India
E-mail:[email protected]
Wo men in science have made contribution a n d
sacrifices from earl iest ti mes; however th ey, l i ke
m a ny men i n science, have in l a rge pa rt received l ittle
or no a p p robation nor d i sti nction for t h e i r work
d u ri n g thei r lifeti mes. Science is genera l ly a n d
h istorica l l y a m a l e d o m i nated fie l d a n d evi dence
suggest that t h i s is due to stereotype as well as self
fulfi l l i n g prophecies. H i stori a n with a n i n terest in
gender a n d science have i l l u m i nated the scientific
e ndeavo u rs and acco m p l i s h m e nt of wo m e n, the
ba rrier they have faced, and the strategies
i m p l e m e nted to t h e i r works peer-reviewed a n d
accepted.
---
65
3-7 January, 201 2, Bhubaneswar

First Women•s Science Congress: Women in Science and Science

Transcription

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