Minister for Science & Technology, Social Welfare, ARI & Trainings, Government of Jammu & Kashmir, Shri Sajad Gani Lone called on Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh here today and discussed the upcoming Biotech Park project at Gaati-Phase 3, near Kathua, which is going to be the first-ever of its kind in this part of the country. He also discussed wide range of other issues pertaining to various development projects and new initiatives planned for the State.
Dr Jitendra Singh told Shri Sajad Lone that the proposed Biotech Park coming up at Kathua will be a game changer not only for the State of Jammu & Kashmir but for the entire northern part of the country. He disclosed that this would be the first such park of its kind in North India after the one that exists in Lucknow.
Dr Jitendra Singh said that the approval for this project was given last year by the Union Ministry of Science & Technology, Department of Biotechnology, Govt of India and there was some hassle regarding the land clearance for which the Union Ministry of Environment was approached and guidelines were suitably modified. As it is now, the project is through for construction at a budget of around Rs 100 crore in the first phase which is expected to be completed in a period of 18 months, following which this first ever Biotech park of the region will become functional.
Shri Sajad Gani Lone assured Dr Jitendra Singh of full cooperation from the J&K State Department of Science & Technology and offered to coordinate with the Union Ministry of Science & Technology, Department of Biotechnology in completing this prestigious project. He said, he will personally monitor the project so that it gets completed in time.
Courtesy: Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & PensionsAppreciating Dr Jitendra Singh for getting the first-ever Biotech Park for the State, Shri Sajad Gani Lone said that this will not only usher in a new era of development but will also prove to be an important source of revenue generation and employment generation.
The heading is very misleading. Publishing papers doesn't mean we have practical facilities to fabricate and implement.
Taiwan has been waiting with open invitation to collaborate with us in various businesses. Our govt should ditch China and strengthen the R&D bonding in all areas with Taiwan. Additionally, we have hardly made use of our trustworthy, time tested friendship with Russia in non defense research collaborations and it is high time that we collaborate with Russia in joint R&D on various fields.India All Set to Produce Its First Lithium-Ion Battery: CECRI
Hope the succeed. I'm bored from Chinese batteries inside my phone.
I know but it's the similar in way in which Chinese member @Martian thumps his chest. I don't think publishing nature articles will make China unpolluted.The heading is very misleading. Publishing papers doesn't mean we have practical facilities to fabricate and implement.
We can only make electronics which don't have application of semiconductors. GOI's new electronic policy is to import semiconductors, make rest at home and then, export assembled items. It makes way more sense because even our first planned semiconductor plant in Prantji is outdated. By no way before 10-15 years, we can catch up with modern manufacturers. People won't pay for our outdated technologies otherwise.Taiwan has been waiting with open invitation to collaborate with us in various businesses. Our govt should ditch China and strengthen the R&D bonding in all areas with Taiwan. Additionally, we have hardly made use of our trustworthy, time tested friendship with Russia in non defense research collaborations and it is high time that we collaborate with Russia in joint R&D on various fields.
Is it used by Indian army ?.....................................................................
MUMBAI: Global drug maker Abbott is setting up an innovation and development center (I&D) in Mumbai aimed at developing new drug formulations, new indications, dosing, packaging and other differentiated offerings to feed into its global branded generics business that clocked sales of $3.7 billion last year. The centre will act as a “hub” and ship products to at least 30 countries that will further develop the products to suit local needs. Abbott officials did not divulge the amount it is planning to invest.
Speaking to ET, Mike Warmuth, Executive VP, Established Pharmaceuticals division of Abbott said the proposed investments will result in doubling of its local scientific manpower like packaging technologists, formulation development specialists and clinicians. The centre will also have a pilot scale plant, he added. “We are investing in innovation and scale and we are doing it in areas where people have needs. It is not about getting sales for the sake of getting bigger,” Warmuth, who is based in Basel, Switzerland, told ET on his second trip to India in the last two weeks.
Abbott has its existing innovation and development centres in Chile and Columbia for the regional needs in Latin America and one in Russia. The Indian I&D hub is expected to become its biggest center in the next few years.
The drugs-to-devices giant drew over a fifth or $850 million (Rs. 5673 crore) of its global branded generics business from India in 2015. Warmuth described India as a “cornerstone of success” making specific reference as a “talent exporter” and how it helped Abbott gain a scientific edge in its other countries of operations.
Warmuth said he expects the India business to outperform the market consistently as in the case of its other 15 priority markets that together contribute 75% of the total sales. “We do the heavy lifting, providing products at a rate that is affordable and not price gouging,” he noted. He said his company will explore about 20 to 30 products that are likely to come off-patent in near future. Beyond that, Warmuth said part of his “model” includes in-licensing drugs that may include biosimilars. It exists in the “realm of the possibility” but not necessarily of a big scale in India.
Abbott is uniquely positioned in the global branded generics business. It carved out the business and separated AbbVie, its innovation products business. Abbot has been among the most aggressive investors in India. Last year in one of the biggest deals in the real estate space, it acquired commercial property in Mumbai’s business district Bandra Kurla Complex at Rs 1479 crore.
The drug maker had leapfrogged to the number one position India after it snapped up Piramal Healthcare’s prescriptions business for $3.7 billion in 2010. Last year Abbott slipped to second position with Sun Pharma acquiring Ranbaxy to gain the top spot.
Asked about the overall regulatory and economic environment in India, Warmuth said the regulators are trying to do the right things but he maintained it would be good to see the environment a little more stable when making investment decisions. “Overall that does not really change our view on the market itself,” Warmuth added.
Couldn't find an appropriate thread for this post , so posting it here :
First titanium project begins test production
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities...test-production/article9302593.ece?ref=tpnews
The first titanium project of India being established by Saraf Group in Ganjam district of Odisha started its test production.
One of its four furnaces became functional for test run on Wednesday. Speaking to The Hindu , director of Saraf Titanium Industry, A. R. Mehta said this titanium plant, which is first of its kind and the only one in the country would be ready for inauguration in next few months. After inception this plant is expected to produce 36,000 tons of titanium slag and 20,000 tons of pig iron per year.
In the first phase, Saraf group has invested 350 crore rupees in this titanium project, which will produce titanium slag. Its raw material, ilmenite would be procured from Odisha Sands Complex (OSCOM), a unit of Indian Rare Earths Limited (IREL) in Ganjam district of Odisha as well as a private company which has its unit in Srikakulam of adjoining Andhra Pradesh.
“In the long run Saraf Group aims to extend its titanium project and manufacture titanium metal and the total targeted investment in the project is around 2200 rupees”, Mr. Mehta said.
Mr Mehta added that the company has provided appointment letters to 104 persons from families that had lost their land for the project. The company has decided provide appointment to around 210 persons of land loser families. Three hundred and sixty-five families who lost their land for the project have also been provided proper compensation. For this project 200 acres of private land and 34 acres of government land had been acquired.
This project had been proposed in 2005. In 2007, the then Russian Premier Viktor Ubkov had shown interest in this project during visit of then Indian PM Manmohan Singh to Russia. Saraf Group had signed MoUs with two Russian State-run companies for the proposed titanium project. But later the Russian companies had backed out. But Saraf Group had entered into a MoU with Odisha government in 2008, to take up the project on its own. This unit received forest and environment clearance in March this year.
This export based industry is expected to export around 75 per cent of its produce to countries like China, Japan. Its produce would also be used within country in ship making, aeronautics, automobile and defence products manufacturing industries. This titanium project of Saraf Group is coming up near Gopalpur port and the proposed SEZ of Tata Steel in the region. This titanium industry would use ilmenite produced by Odisha Sands Complex (OSCOM) of Indian Rare Earths Ltd (IREL) located in the same area to produce titanium.
@sorcerer
@Indx TechStyle @Razor , @OneGrimPilgrim , @pmaitra , @Adioz , @aditya g and others.
CHENNAI: Endearing, interactive and superfast with data, India's first banking robot Lakshmi made her debut on Thursday in the city. Launched by the Kumbakonam-based City Union Bank, the artificial intelligence powered robot will be the first on-site bank helper.
Top private lender HDFC Bank, which is also experimenting with robots to answer customer queries, is testing its humanoid at its innovation lab. Lakshmi, which took more than six months to develop, can answer intelligently on more than 125 subjects.
Want to know your account balance? Interest rates on home loans? Deferred payments or possible charges to be incurred on fixed deposit closure? Lakshmi can answer it all. "Apart from answering generic questions, we have also programmed it to connect to the core banking solution. If a customer wants to know his bank account details or transaction history, the robot can flash the answer on its display," said N Kamakodi, MD and CEO, City Union Bank.
Sensitive financial information like account details are displayed discreetly on the robot's screen and not voiced. "Lakshmi only talks out loud on generic subjects. If you visited our branch with your girlfriend, she won't embarrass you by showing your low account balance," joked its CEO.
Lakshmi, who currently speaks in English, gestures, turns around and engages in a very life-like manner in conversations. Unlike most robots her speech is not formal, but more relaxed and casual. "Since its artificial intelligence, the robot is constantly learning from customers - the more interactions it has with customers the better it gets," said a bank executive.
And what if a question stumps Lakshmi? "She then asks you to get in touch with the branch manager. But at the back-end, we will be collecting all the questions she was unable to answer and equip her with better data sets, so she can service customers. Today she can give real time updates of foreign exchange movement, current interest rates at banks for different asset classes like personal, educational, two-wheeler and home loans, possible charges on withdrawals or deposits. But going forward, she might be able to more than that," said its assembler Vijay V Shah of Coimbatore-based Vishnu Engineering.
In the next few months, City Union will aim at programming the humanoid to greet customers in Tamil. "We are also looking at enabling it so that it can service visually challenged individuals. Worldwide very few banks employ robots at branches and we want to bring a whole new experience to India," said CEO Kamakodi.
Currently, the bank has readied only one version of Lakshmi and has plans for 25-30 robots deployed at key branches by the end of the year if Lakshmi proves a hit with customers. The bank was planning on Lakshmi's debut on Thursday at its T.Nagar branch. But given the rush due to the demonetization drive and customers thronging the branches for exchanging withdrawn notes, Lakshmi might go public only on Monday.
Cool, I knew that Indians are already at the top when we talk about innovation. Good job done.@Akask kumar @Chinmoy @republic_roi97 you have watched Japanese robots a number of times, how about Indian One?
Lakshmi, country’s first banking robot, makes debut in Chennai
City Union Bank MD N Kamakodi interacts with robot Lakshmi