Category Archives: Science & Technology

Kolkata students develop system to help farmers switch on pump sets from home

Education, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Records, All, Science & Technology

Kolkata :

Five pass-outs from the Meghnad Saha Institute of Technology (MSIT) have bagged the runners-up prize at the prestigious Texas Instruments Innovation Challenge 2015 by inventing a system that will enable farmers to turn on their pump sets (to water their fields) from home by using mobile or landline telephones.

Not only will this help in conservation of water, the system also promises to protect farmers from snakebite. As per a latest WHO report, nearly 50% Indian farmers suffer snakebites while travelling through dense undergrowth in the night to reach the pump sets.

The ministry of water resources claims that nearly 40% water is wasted due to inefficient irrigation practices. An IAPC – World Bank report states that irrigation efficiency in India is only 35%. This is what Suman Basak, Anik Dutta, Sourav Sinha, Priyanjit Kumar Ghosh and Mostafa Kamal Mallick, from the electronics & communication engineering department of MSIT, set out to rectify in 2014. They participated in the challenge along with 3,200 other teams from engineering colleges across India and Sri Lanka.

“They came up with something they named XENCOM. Xen means water in Chinese and ‘Com’ is short for communication. They presented this idea to Nasscom’s Idea to Proto-type Challenge for eastern India and bagged first position in June, 2014. For the TI Innovation Challenge, they had to have the product ready. They toiled hard for the last one year to develop this,” says MSIT principal Tirthankar Datta.

Apart from the timer facility, the system considers several parameters such as temperature and humidity and after interpreting the data on the basis of test cases, lets the farmer know through SMS when it is time to water his field for better irrigation. Datta calls this ‘suggestive farming’. The farmer is also kept in the loop about power availability in his field at any point of time.

“We feel awesome. Our hard work paid off. We received a lot of support from out institute, Prof Datta, Kamalendu Langal and Saikat Paul, our point of contacts with the industry and Sudip Dogra, our faculty mentor,” says Priyanjit Kumar Ghosh.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / by Jayanta Gupta, TNN / June 20th, 2015

MCKV Institute of Engineering Hosts Tech Fest – PRAGATI 2015

Education, Science & Technology

Kolkata :

MCKV Institute of Engineering (MCKVIE) kick-started a two-day ‘Tech Fest- PRAGATI 2015’, on Thursday.

The major attraction of the day was the session on “Robotics Prelims”- a creative implementation of the students of various colleges with the latest technological trends.

“We have always been proud of our students who have attained heights in their endeavours. And as MUCH as I understand, COLLEGEfest is a platform where students are our prime focus and it is always a ground for talent hunt and an undefinable innovation. We look forward to more such platforms for the future leaders of our country,” said Mr KK Kejriwal Managing Trustee, MCKVIE.

Innovation FORMS an integral part of every engineer’s life. Generally the curriculum does not always suffice in developing the creativity and the knack for coming up with innovative ideas.

The event on ‘Robotics’ at Pragati is one of the most sought after events in this year’s fest. There are different categories in this competition under the core head Robotics Prelims, they are Robo soccer, Inferno, Line follower and Chase the Maze. All these events required a team’s participation. These events had inwardly helped develop a sense of team work amongst the students and to work with high end technological improvements. There were also other highlights of the event like Arcane (Treasure Hunt), Mathemania, CODE STORM (C PROGRAMMING), Gaming Prelims and many more.

There were 16 participating colleges along with schools in the Tech Fest. Some of them were Surendranath College, Rishra Bidhan College, Bangabasi College, JLD College of Engineering, and Dinabandhu College among others.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / by Jhimli Mukherjee Pandey, TNN / April 17th, 2015

IIEST to focus on industry knowledge

Education, Science & Technology

Kolkata :

Matching steps with global standards, the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology (IIEST) is planning to introduce a unique hands-on teaching method where students will be asked to take assignments from reputable multinational companies and get their projects evaluated by the firms.

“Students will have to compulsorily undergo two months of industrial training. They will be required to do projects offered by the industry in their respective discipline,” said institute director Ajay Ray.

He explained: “For example, a civil engineering company dealing with design or structure of multistoried buildings or bridges will assign tasks to students who will work on those projects and submit it to the institute as well as to the company. The projects will be evaluated by both. This will give us an idea about the knowledge acquired by students. This exercise will be repeated from time to time. ”

“We hope to use these projects for societal needs. Students will have to learn 3D engineering objects, including 3D models of human organs or the aircraft or the automobiles. The students will also learn the essence of engineering design and simulation through advance simulation laboratories. Simulation laboratories will be set up soon,” Ray said, adding that the proposal will be placed before the IIEST board of governors soon.

To usher in more changes, IIEST-Shibpur has set up a senate committee to look into the complete restructuring of the five-year dual degree — BTech and MTech programmes. “IIEST is trying to make a model course structure to ensure that a student receives a holistic education with adequate skill in diverse fields. One of the features of the new structure will be to provide a large number of elective subjects so that the students can choose a subject they want to study. Projects will be compulsory in all semesters from second year onwards so that the students can learn industry methods while studying. The slogan of the new structure is ‘Active Learning’ as students will learn while they design and develop the engineering models, structures and systems, including software,” added Ray.

Students will get credit for all extra work like robotics, software writing or even dramatics, music, debating, quiz, etc. But it does not mean the credits will be mentioned alongside the scores obtained in core subjects. The credits will be a part of the aggregate. “Various schools of co-curricular activities will decide on the weightage and the methods in which students will be evaluated,” said Ray.

In the near future, the university will have industry experts as their honorary faculty members. The institute has initiated consulting experts from IITs, IISE-Bangalore and from various universities from the West.

Humanities will be an integral part of the new curriculum to make the syllabi holistic. Apart from it, environmental science and human biology will be compulsory subjects. “Students should understand environmental degradation, which has caused tremendous change in the ecology, and they should try and find solutions as well,” added Ray.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / by Somdatta Basu, TNN / April 07th, 2015

India’s first private airport, at Durgapur, to be operational by April 14

Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology
Picture for representation purpose only. (Source: Reuters)
Picture for representation purpose only. (Source: Reuters)

India’s first private greenfield airport at Durgapur, promoted by Bengal Aerotropolis Projects (BAPL), is likely to be operational by April 14.

“The final calibration of navigational aids at the airport by Airport Authority is done. Now, we expect to get final DGCA licence in a month,” state Transport Secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay said in Durgapur on Monday.

In all probability, the airport, christened Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport, will be operational from April 14, the first day of Bengali calendar, BAPL officials said.

The West Bengal government has 1.2 per cent stake in BAPL, and Singapore’s Changi Airport is the single largest shareholder in the airport.

Bandyopadhyay said Pinnacle Air, a non-scheduled airline, will begin its operations from here four days a week connecting Bagdogra, Coochbehar, Durgapur and Kolkata soon after getting license from DGCA.

BAPL managing director Partha Ghosh said the company is in negotiations with IndiGo and GoAir for scheduled flights for connecting Delhi-Durgapur including Air India and non-schedule airline Air Coasta for connecting southern cities like Hyderabad and Bangalore.

Air Costa may connect these two south Indian cities for four days a week.

However, the final agreement will depend on concessions the Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport offers.

The major concessions demanded by the scheduled airlines are waiver of landing and takeoff fees, underwriting minimum of seats and 30 per cent surcharge waiver for ATF for a greater timeframe.

State government has already given a three-year waiver of surcharge on ATF for three years to Andal, Coochbehar and Bagdogra airports.

Utsav Parekh, one of the initial promoters of BAPL, said the company will focus on real estate and was holding dialogue with several global real-estate majors from Singapore, Japan and others.

source: http://www.businesstoday.intoday.in /Business Today / Home> Sectors – Aviation> Story / by PTI / Durgapur / March 16th, 2015

IIT alumnus makes green sanitary pads

Business & Economy, Education, Green Initiatives / Environment, Science & Technology

Kolkata :

Spurthi Gummadala, an IIT Kharagpur alumnus who is now working with National Innovation Foundation and Honeybee Network, has developed low-cost, “semi-reusable” and “bio-friendly” sanitary napkins.

“The napkins available in the market have three parts – the top dry feel layer, the middle absorbent polymer layer mixed with wood pulp to soak in the liquid and the bottom polypropelene layer that helps avoid leakage. Once used, the entire napkin is discarded adding to landfills. I have tried to tweak this in my product,” Spurthi said.

“I have made my napkin a semi-reusable one. Here you have a holder made of polyurethin coated polyester for repeated use. The absorbent layer can be disposed and refilled with a fresh layer which doesn’t pose biohazard. So, it will help arrest biohazard to an extent,” she added.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / TNN / March 12th, 2015

Unique initiative for mentally-ill patients

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Science & Technology

A unique initiative involving the West Bengal Health Department and a non-government organisation here on Monday has brought hope to mentally ill patients of Kolkata’s Pavlov Hospital.

Ostracized by society and abandoned by their family members, patients of the biggest mental health facility in West Bengal can now dream of financial independence and a life beyond the confines of the hospital.

A memorandum of understanding for Dhobhi Ghar, a laundry project, was signed between the representative of State Health Department and Anjali, a mental health rights NGO, which at the outset will involve at least 12 patients who have recovered from their ailment but are unable to return home.

“Initially, we will be dry-cleaning clothes from hospitals and slowly we will take orders from hotels and restaurants. The 12 people who are involved in the project will be paid Rs 232 per day as per minimum wages laws,” said Ratnaboli Ray, who signed the MoU on behalf on Anjali.

While the machines for starting the project have been imported by the NGO, the Bengal government has provided necessary infrastructure and ensured water and electricity supply for the project.

“We thought that it was a good proposal to provide livelihood and rehabilitation to mental health patients. This is the first such initiative taken in Bengal involving mental health patients,” Moloy De, Principal Secretary of Bengal’s Health Department told The Hindu .

According to mental health activists like Ms Ray this is first such initiative tried anywhere in the country and it comes as good news from the mental health instruction of Bengal after many years.

In the past, the mental hospitals of Bengal particularly the Pavlov Hospital were in the news for unnatural deaths and human rights violations.

The death of 84 inmates in the mental health facility of Bengal in 2013 over the past three years had resulted in strong criticism by activists.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kolkata / by Shiv Sahay Singh / Kolkata – March 03rd, 2015

ZSI plans digitisation of specimens

Records, All, Science & Technology
A view of the Alipore Zoo in Kolkata / The Hindu
A view of the Alipore Zoo in Kolkata / The Hindu

Launching its centenary celebrations, the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), India’s premier taxonomic research institute, is aspiring for an ambitious project of digitisation of its millions of specimens, besides identifying the gap areas in taxonomy.

Started in 1916 with four scientists and seven other employees, the ZSI, in the past 99 years, has identified 96,000 species in India, considered a mega-diversity country possessing seven-eight per cent species of the world.

Speaking to The Hindu, ZSI Director K. Venkataraman said on Saturday that one of the primary future initiatives was networking with taxonomist and taxonomical research institutes in the country and identifying the gaps in taxonomy.

Scientists at the ZSI pointed out that despite the identification of 96,000 species, only 10 per cent of the country’s biodiversity and 50 per cent of the ecosystem had been explored. They also faced the challenge of a large number of species in the wild becoming endangered and even facing the threats of local extinction.

Commenting on the rich repository of biological specimens in collection with the ZSI, Mr. Venkatraman said the ZSI was the largest repository of fauna in Asia. “Over four million zoological specimens, including 17,000 type specimens, are maintained in the national zoological collections of the ZSI. This will the first set to be digitised,” he said. This would be followed by preparation of a database of temporal and spatial distribution of specimens over 100 years of the ZSI, he added.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kolkata / by Special Correspondent / Kolkata – February 15th, 2015

Top scientists in Kolkata to talk CERN theories

Science & Technology, World Opinion

Kolkata :

Leading physicists from around the world will analyze CERN experiments and theories over the next three days at a conference — ‘India’s International Collaborations In Physical Science’ — to be held in the city.

Sessions will review and dissect CERN experiments and chart out a future course of action. They will also discuss theories thrown up at CERN, according to scientist Bikash Sinha, a former director of the Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP), which played a key role in getting India involved with the CERN experiment.

“CERN has thrown up hundreds of theories that will dictate particle physics in years to come. Scientists who will be here have been directly associated with CERN from its inception and it will be a good opportunity to listen to them. Indian scientists will have a rare opportunity to collaborate with them,” said Sinha.

Among those who will join the conference are Horst Stoecker, the director general of GSI Darmstadt, Johanna Satchel, a recipient of the Lise Meitner Prize, CERN director Rolf Heuer and CERN spokesperson Jurgen Schukraft. Larry McLerran, professor of theoretical physics, Brookhaven National Laboratory and a recipient of the Herman Feshbach Prize, will also attend the conference.

Heuer is arguably the biggest name on the guest list. An outstanding experimental physicist, he has been the architect of the leadership of CERN’s experiments with LHC, which led to the discovery of the Higgs Boson.

Several renowned Indian scientists will also share the dais. Notable among them are Siraj Hasan, a former director of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Rakesh Bhandari, a former director of the Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre and Dinesh Kumar Srivastava, an outstanding theoretical physicist and Sibaji Raha, director of the Bose Institute and S N Bose Centre, Kolkata.

Though the science community in the country is upbeat about the conference, India’s status at CERN remains unclear, according to Sinha. While the community has been trying hard to elevate India to the grade of an associate member at CERN, the government clearance is yet to come through. “Even Pakistan is an associate member now. We deserve to play a greater role now,” said Sinha.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / TNN / February 03rd, 2015

School adopts US model to inspire kids in science

Education, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Kolkata :

Bengal is going to get its first STEM-based school in Barrackpore, some 25km from Kolkata, to encourage more children to take up science and arrest the decline in interest in engineering.

STEM — an acronym for ‘science, technology, engineering and mathematics’ — is a US-based teaching method that aims to inspire kids to become engineers rather than dreading the sciences and mathematics as many do now. STEM World School- the Barrackpore school, for instance, will have a STEM laboratory where attendance will be compulsory. The lab can accommodate 30 students at a time.

The STEM World School in Barrackpore will be affiliated to ICSE. Admissions for playgroup to Class VI will start from the 2015-2016 session, say officials.

The emphasis on science comes at a time when projections of a nationwide shortfall of technocrats threaten to hold back India’s progress.

“A recent study by Defence Research and Development Organisation revealed that just 4 out of 1,000 students in India opt for science, technology or research as their career. In contrast, this figure is 110 in Japan, 76 in Germany and 46 in Korea, indicating the dearth of young talent in these vital areas in our country. Because of this, India is at risk of a huge economic crisis, despite being the youngest country demographically,” said Paddy Sharma, a board member of the school. “The main objective in setting up a STEM school in Kolkata is to create critical thinkers, increase science literacy and give rise to the next generation of innovators,” said Hilda Peacock, former principal of La Martiniere for Girls, who is one of the advisors.

According to a survey, India will be facing a shortfall of 1.5 to 2.2 million engineers by 2020, Sharma added.

“Innovation leads to new products and processes that sustain economy. Innovation and science literacy depend on a solid knowledge base in STEM areas. We just need to remind kids that this kind of learning can be fun. We need to introduce children to the basic concepts of science, engineering, technology and mathematics in junior grades and continue with these programmes through high school,” she said. Michael Glanton, Democratic member of Georgia House of Representatives, USA, is one of the advisors.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / by Somdatta Basu, TNN / January 11th, 2015

Bringing smiles to a thousand lips

Amazing Feats, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All, Science & Technology

Kolkata :

About 25 years ago, a surgeon at the state-run SSKM Hospital, Sankar Chatterjee, had applied stitches on the scalp of a Congress leader, a woman who was to create history in Bengal by single-handedly dislodging the Left Front from power.

Today, Chatterjee has created a sort of record by himself. As a project director of Smile Train programme, he has performed cleft lip and cleft palate surgeries on 1,000 underprivileged children in Tripura and Assam over the last six years.

“On August 16, 1990, I was on duty at SSKM Hospital when Mamata Banerjee was wheeled in with two deep injuries on her scalp. She had fended off a third blow with her left arm and fractured it. I was called in to repair the injuries to her scalp as a micro-surgeon. I applied 18 stitches on her scalp under local anesthesia. She didn’t even wince when I applied local anesthesia for the stitches,” Chatterjee recalled.

He took early retirement from state health service and became a part of Smile Train in 2008. He was assigned two hospitals at Agartala and Silchar where cleft surgeries were to be conducted free of cost.

“In Agartala and Silchar, my experience have been heartwarming. The smiles on the faces of the children after they see their ‘new’ faces on mirrors are worth dying for. I still remember a 14-year-old girl from Silchar who turned up a month after her surgery. She told me: ‘Daktarbabu, ami jiboney prothom baar lipstick lagiyechhi (Doctor, I have applied lipstick for the first time in my life).’ I was overwhelmed,” Chatterjee added.

Chatterjee completed his 100th cleft lip surgery in Silchar around the time when the film “Smile Pinki” bagged an Academy Award in 2008.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / by Jayanta Gupta, TNN / January 11th, 2015