DRDO constructs multi-storey building in 45 days; to house R&D facilities for AMCA project

India’s premier defence research institute DRDO has built a multi-storey facility for flight control system at Aeronautical Development Establishment in Bengaluru in record 45 days using in-house technology, officials said on March 17.

The seven-storey building, with a plinth area of 1.3 lakh square feet, will house research and development facilities for the development of a fifth-generation medium weight deep penetration fighter jet for the Indian Air Force (IAF).

“The DRDO has completed the construction of a multi-storey infrastructure for flight control system at ADE Bengaluru with hybrid technology consisting of conventional, pre-engineered and precast methodology in record 45 days,” said one of the officials.

source: thehindu.com

India’s first digital water bank sets up shop in Bengaluru

India, and possibly the world, got its first digital water bank, an initiative to aggregate water resources under a single platform, on Monday. 

Science and Technology Minister Dr CN Ashwath Narayan, who inaugurated the water bank in Bengaluru, extended the state government’s full support for the initiative, undertaken by AquaKraft Ventures, a company that specialises in sustainable initiatives to provide drinking water and sanitation to all. 

source: newindianexpress.com

* IISc-Bangalore develops paper sensor to detect hydrogen peroxide

Researchers from the Department of Organic Chemistry at the IISc have developed a paper-based sensor for detecting tiny volumes of hydrogen peroxide, a chemical used widely in household and healthcare products like hand sanitiser as a disinfectant, in rocket fuel as a propellant, in biological cells, and also as a starting material in peroxide-based explosives. 

** ISRO inspires Channapatna rockets as engineers collaborate with artisans

The Indian Space Research Organisation offers its achievements in a language that connects, just in time for National Science Day, with DIY rocket models, Mangalyaan jigsaw puzzles, T shirts and more

“What we do is rocket science,” proclaims a tee-shirt. Created by Indic Inspirations for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the tee -shirt is a part of its Vyom collection. Most of the products, which include jigsaw puzzles based on Mangalyaan, rocket collectible matchboxes, mySpace PSLV notebooks and fridge magnets, come with a storyline.

“This collection is about ISRO’s achievements in space science and technology. We had to create a line that would interest a child and adults alike,” says Yogesh Dandekar, architect and chief product designer of Indic Inspirations. “India is doing a lot of work in space technology and people should know about this.” He adds that minute details on the models build up curiosity.

* Student develops mini-oxygen plant in just eight months, all by himself

A 19-year-old engineering student has single-handedly invented a prototype of a mini-oxygen plant that produces up to 94.5 per cent pure oxygen and can be used in homes, hospitals as well as industries.

Called OxiPlant, the device works on the pressure swing adsorption (PSA) process.

It took Tejas P Karanji, a first-year student of electronics and communication engineering at PES University, all of eight months to conceptualise, design, fabricate and develop the product.

* Experts recall success story of CFTRI’s infant food from buffalo’s milk

The story behind the formulation of infant food (Amul) from buffalo’s milk using the technology developed by the scientists from CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) was retold during a webinar organised on Monday, in commemoration of 80 years of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

Under the title “80 years and 80 success stories”, experts, including present and former CFTRI directors, former senior official of Amul and others brought to light how the infant food using buffalo’s milk was formulated and the efforts put in by the scientists of CSIR-CFTRI decades ago when resources were in scarce.

* Karnataka’s Republic Day Tableau Steals The Show

From skilfully made pots, carefully sculpted sandalwood miniatures to hand-woven sarees, Karnataka’s rich tradition of handicraft were on grand display at the Republic Day parade in New Delhi’s Rajpath on Jan. 26.

In fact, the Karnataka tableau stole the show with an eye-catching depiction of the land’s cultural icons. A massive Asiatic elephant sculpted out of Mysuru rosewood with ivory inlay carvings, impressive Bidriware, bronze statues and lacquerware toys from Channapatna were the highlights of the tableau which was based on the theme — ‘Karnataka: The Cradle of Traditional Handicrafts’

* BEL to supply IoT devices to US firm

Defence PSU Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and Hyperion Global Group, an infrastructure telecommunication distribution company, have entered into a contract to develop, manufacture and supply Internet of Things (IoT) devices for the US market.

As per the contract, BEL will manufacture and supply IoT devices worth US $73 million to Hyperion, based in the US, during the first year of commencement of supply, with a provision to negotiate and supply upgrades of the products, worth US $365 million, in the next five years, said a statement issued by BEL.

The contract was signed on January 21, by BEL’s New York Regional Office and Hyperion in the presence of M V Rajasekhar, Director R&D, BEL, Nick Studebaker, CEO,

* ‘This Is Us’ Honours Nasir Ahmed in Ep 8, Season 5 – Who is He?

Nasir is the man behind Discrete Cosine Transform – the technology which makes it possible to share photos & videos.

Nasir Ahmed hails from the southern city of Bengaluru, in India. He was born in 1940, and subsequently completed his schooling from Bishop Cotton Boys School. He earned his Bachelors in electrical engineering from the University College of Engineering in Bengaluru in 1961. Thereafter, he moved to the US for his higher studies and pursued both his MS and Ph.D at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque.

Inventor – DCT Technology

* Bengaluru virologist’s test kit ‘Omisure’ for Omicron variant cuts delays

“Globally, all other test kits for Omicron are either made for gene dropout or mutation specific detection. Omisure is the first test kit combining both.”

In a major and global breakthrough towards cutting down procedural delays in genome sequencing to ascertain the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV2, Dr V Ravi, former head of the Department of Neurovirology at National Institute of Mental Health & Neuro Sciences and Head, Research & Development, Tata Medical & Diagnostic Centre, Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu, and his team have developed the world’s first test kit, Omisure, that can detect the Omicron variant by combining S-gene target failure (SGTF) and S-gene mutation amplification (SGMA).