A Nation on the March

The Technology & Economic Forum is a venue to discuss issues pertaining to Technological and Economic developments in India. We request members to kindly stay within the mandate of this forum and keep their exchanges of views, on a civilised level, however vehemently any disagreement may be felt. All feedback regarding forum usage may be sent to the moderators using the Feedback Form or by clicking the Report Post Icon in any objectionable post for proper action. Please note that the views expressed by the Members and Moderators on these discussion boards are that of the individuals only and do not reflect the official policy or view of the Bharat-Rakshak.com Website. Copyright Violation is strictly prohibited and may result in revocation of your posting rights - please read the FAQ for full details. Users must also abide by the Forum Guidelines at all times.
Rahul M
Forum Moderator
Posts: 17168
Joined: 17 Aug 2005 21:09
Location: Skies over BRFATA
Contact:

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by Rahul M »

Raghavendra wrote:Delhi is also PhD capital of the Country http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city ... 521400.cms
most of them in 'evil India studies' I guess ?
Sudip
BRFite
Posts: 378
Joined: 28 Oct 2008 05:42
Location: Paikhana

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by Sudip »

Rahul M wrote:
Raghavendra wrote:Delhi is also PhD capital of the Country http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city ... 521400.cms
most of them in 'evil India studies' I guess ?
I think a better survey carried out would be to find the number of articles published in reputed journals per year. It is an open secret that a lot of the PhDs are done for non-academic/research purposes. While, I am also aware of people who published articles in reputed journals for simply their masters!
vish_mulay
BRFite
Posts: 643
Joined: 14 Jan 2010 05:07

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by vish_mulay »

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=11683537
Researchers Develop Protein-Packed Potato in India

One of its genes, Amaranth Albumin 1 (AmA1), is regarded as agriculturally important because it endows the plant and its seeds with high protein levels and higher concentrations of several essential amino acids.

Led by Subhra Chakraborty at the National Institute of Plant Genome Research in New Delhi, the scientists inserted the gene into seven types of potatoes and then grew the transgenic potatoes over two years.

They found that the transgenic potatoes contain between 35 and 60 percent more protein than unmodified potatoes. They also contain increased levels of amino acids, notably lysine, tyrosine and sulphur, which are usually limited in potatoes.
http://www.smh.com.au/world/superspud-c ... 15k0c.html

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn1 ... otein.html

I know GM food is "hot potato" issue and some BRF members might take exception to this development but i think this might be a good way to reduce malneutrition in India.
Varoon Shekhar
BRF Oldie
Posts: 2178
Joined: 03 Jan 2010 23:26

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by Varoon Shekhar »

Despite denials of competing with, or comparing themselves with, India, the Chinese have done and continue to do many things with the idea of matching, countering or surpassing India. One can think offhand of the establishment of an Antarctica research unit a few months after India started one; the scrambling to launch a moon mission after India announced plans for its own; learning English; getting into software and call centre outsourcing; alternative energy like wind and solar; astronomy both radio and optical; plans to set up institutes like the IIT's, and probably several more. In fact, apart from nuclear bombs and missiles, it's very hard to point to a single modern industry/activity or service where India followed China.
Shankk
BRFite
Posts: 244
Joined: 30 Jan 2006 14:16

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by Shankk »

^^^^Varoon, proof of the pudding is in the eating...It is very easy to start things but a totally different ball game to actually implement them preferably without time and cost overruns. Starting an initiative starts with dreaming and Indians have proved to be very good at that. Time will tell how Indians are in execution. Just take a look at CWG preparations.
RoyG
BRF Oldie
Posts: 5620
Joined: 10 Aug 2009 05:10

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by RoyG »

Curry Favor: US job hopefuls pack for India

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icvlO84w_6A
Gerard
Forum Moderator
Posts: 8012
Joined: 15 Nov 1999 12:31

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by Gerard »

naren
BRFite
Posts: 1139
Joined: 23 Apr 2010 07:45

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by naren »

UK school enlists Indian maths tutors online
Pupils at a north London primary school have been improving their maths - thanks to the internet which has put them in touch with teachers thousands of miles away in India.
Who's teaching who now, biatch :twisted:
Amber G.
BRF Oldie
Posts: 9265
Joined: 17 Dec 2002 12:31
Location: Ohio, USA

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by Amber G. »

^^^ Actually not for primary school but an excellent program for Engineering and Science students is from NPTEL (Thanks to IIT's and IIsc)
offers first rate courses from college mathematics to physics, Engineering. All from first rate faculty. (One does not have go through JEE of pay all that tuition! - well many of the courses are free - some are are modestly priced )

Checkout, if you have not , National Program on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL)

... http://nptel.iitm.ac.in/
or http://www.youtube.com/user/nptelhrd

You can find courses from Nuclear Physics, to Digital Electronics ..
IIT's/IIsc ..should be really proud of the quality of courses it is putting online.

(MIT is USA also has very nice open courses)
ramana
Forum Moderator
Posts: 59773
Joined: 01 Jan 1970 05:30

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by ramana »

Also recommend Khan academy course on Youtube.

Salman Khan is Bangladeshi origin genius from MIT. He decided to make his tutoring course available for free on Youtube.
ramana
Forum Moderator
Posts: 59773
Joined: 01 Jan 1970 05:30

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by ramana »

vish_mulay wrote:http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=11683537
Researchers Develop Protein-Packed Potato in India

One of its genes, Amaranth Albumin 1 (AmA1), is regarded as agriculturally important because it endows the plant and its seeds with high protein levels and higher concentrations of several essential amino acids.

Led by Subhra Chakraborty at the National Institute of Plant Genome Research in New Delhi, the scientists inserted the gene into seven types of potatoes and then grew the transgenic potatoes over two years.

They found that the transgenic potatoes contain between 35 and 60 percent more protein than unmodified potatoes. They also contain increased levels of amino acids, notably lysine, tyrosine and sulphur, which are usually limited in potatoes.
http://www.smh.com.au/world/superspud-c ... 15k0c.html

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn1 ... otein.html

I know GM food is "hot potato" issue and some BRF members might take exception to this development but i think this might be a good way to reduce malneutrition in India.
The issue is with trans-species Genetic Modification ie inducing animal genes in edible plant material.

The above new potato is within the plant kingdom and shouldn't cause concerns. If it weren't then it would impact many dietary practices in India.
SwamyG
BRF Oldie
Posts: 16267
Joined: 11 Apr 2007 09:22

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by SwamyG »

naren wrote:UK school enlists Indian maths tutors online
Pupils at a north London primary school have been improving their maths - thanks to the internet which has put them in touch with teachers thousands of miles away in India.
Who's teaching who now, biatch :twisted:
This is what will happen when society entrust all schooling to be done by Schools. Tutors are necessary only when the subject matter is beyond the grasp of parents. Tutoring maths for kids of 10yrs should be done @ home. If the parents don't have the time, then it points to other problems.
ramana
Forum Moderator
Posts: 59773
Joined: 01 Jan 1970 05:30

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by ramana »

VinodTK
BRF Oldie
Posts: 2982
Joined: 18 Jun 2000 11:31

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by VinodTK »

G20 seals IMF power shift; China, India to wield more power
"Agreement on IMF reforms has been reached. There will be a shift in quota shares to dynamic EMDCs (emerging market developing countries) and to underrepresented countries of over 6 per cent while protecting the voting share of the poorest," finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said here.

With this, India's rank in International Monetary Fund (IMF) will improve to the 8th position from the current 11th in terms of quota, he told reporters after a meeting of finance ministers of G20 nations.
wig
BRF Oldie
Posts: 2162
Joined: 09 Feb 2009 16:58

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by wig »

Construction of approach roads, tunneling work to get boost as INDIAN AIR FORCE airlifts machinery to toughest terrain of railway line
Indian Air Force (IAF) today begun airlifting of heavy machinery to the intricate terrain in the Reasi district to pave the way for construction of road and subsequent start of work on most difficult section of the Katra-Qazigund Railway Line.

Indian Air Force’s MI-26 helicopter took off from the Technical Airport Jammu this morning with Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of the Northern Railways, R K Gupta and senior officers of the Konkan Railways Corporation Limited (KRCL) on board and airlifted heavy machinery like dozer, tipper and excavator etc in two sorties to Surukote area of the Reasi district where the Northern Railways has already constructed a helipad with the assistance of local populace.

This was for the first time in the history of the Indian Railways that Indian Air Force help had to be sought to airlift machinery for the construction activities.
source : http://www.dailyexcelsior.com/
Amber G.
BRF Oldie
Posts: 9265
Joined: 17 Dec 2002 12:31
Location: Ohio, USA

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by Amber G. »

X-Post.
Infosys prize for Chandrashekhar Khare, the maths wizard
The Infosys Award carries the highest cash prize for scientific research in India — Rs 50 lakh for each of the winners. The award is an annual feature that recognises outstanding contributions by scientists, researchers, engineers and social scientists in India. By recognising and rewarding extraordinary accomplishments, the award aims to elevate the prestige of pure and applied sciences research in India.
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20101114/edit.htm#4[/quote]

^^^Congrats. Nice to see that Indian Newspapers covered this story ..About 2 weeks ago, ...Khare's award was mentioned in this BRF thread too. ( with a comment " No one seem to have mentioned it anywhere in BRF :) . MMS will personally award this to prof Khare in coming January.

Other to be honored with this prize are:
Sandip Trivedi, (TIFR) (prize in the Physical Sciences category - superstring theory)

Ashutosh Sharma (IITK) (Engineering and Computer Science for his fundamental contributions in materials science).

Chetan E. Chitnis ( Malaria Group, (ICGEB)) (Life Sciences - viable malarial vaccine.)

Amita Baviskar ( Institute of Economic Growth) and Nandini Sundar (Delhi School of Economics) (Social Sciences)
Ameet
BRFite
Posts: 841
Joined: 17 Nov 2006 02:49

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by Ameet »

In India, the World's Largest School Lunch Program

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/ ... 25,00.html

Narasimha Das is on his way to feed 169,379 hungry children. A devotee of Lord Krishna, Das oversees operations in an industrial-size kitchen in the Hindu religious town of Vrindaban, about a three-hour drive from New Delhi.

It's only 3 a.m., but the kitchen, run by the Akshaya Patra Foundation, already exudes the warm fragrance of freshly baked chapati. Thirty men in overalls and mouth and hair guards silently labor over tons of wheat flour and dough. They have less than five hours to make tens of thousands of rounds of Indian flatbread that will be loaded onto heat-insulated, dust-free delivery vans and transported to 1,516 schools in and around Vrindaban.

To address the enduring and intertwined problems of hunger, child malnutrition and illiteracy, India launched the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, the largest school-lunch program in the world, back in the 1960s. Today the program feeds 120 million students every day across the nation. Akshaya Patra, a Bangalore-based nonprofit, is its largest nongovernmental partner, running 17 kitchens across eight states and providing hot meals to more than 1.26 million children every day at their schools. The program aspires to feed 5 million children by 2020

Vrindaban kitchen now makes 250,000 flatbreads, four tons of rice, more than two tons of lentils and between five and six tons of vegetables each morning. The menu, developed with the needs of growing children and local food habits in mind, consists of rice or chapatis and a different kind of Indian soup, like daal or kadhi (a soup made from yogurt and flour), with vegetables and, once a week, dessert.

Despite its success, Akshaya Patra's guiding principle has remained the same: that no children in India will miss out on education because they are too hungry to attend.

Despite repeated requests from other parts of the developing world, Akshaya Patra wants to remain focused on India. "We have enough hungry children to feed in India," Dasa says.

Laxmi Binodini, the headmistress, says attendance has increased from 120 to 200 students since the program started in her school four years ago. The number of girls has doubled.

A survey by Akshaya Patra showed that since its kitchen started in Vrindaban in 2006, attendance in the town's schools rose from 80.6% to 92.4% and the proportion of underweight children dropped from 38% to 26%.
arjunm
BRFite
Posts: 220
Joined: 26 Sep 2010 10:25

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by arjunm »

Gangotri Temple to train Dalit boys
Category » Nation Posted On Wednesday, November 03, 2010

United News of India
Gangotri,Uttarakhand, Nov 3:

Opening up the exclusive preserves of brahmins, the Gangotri temple priests have agreed to bring in young and talented dalits into the temple precints for training.
Gangotri Mandir chief priest and management president Pt. Sanjiv Semwal with his team of office bearers are agreed that the Mandir must train young and talented Dalits( scheduled caste) boys in Dharma Shiksha and Karam Kand,so far confined to Brahmins, said Rajya Sabha M.P Tarun Vijay.
Terming the move as historic, Mr. Tarun Vijay, who took the initiative, said meetings on the issue were held inside the temple precints of Gangotri over the weekend. He said the Pandas and President of the Mandir committe were told that the move would go a long way in forging unity among various caste ridden sections of the Hindu society, often embroiled in violent protests in Haryana and UP over intercaste mariages.
He said the methodology of the programme to train Dalit boys will be soon finalised and the reforms to have the best management and cleanliness in the highest pilgrim centres would be worked out in consultation with local priests and young members of the movement from Uttarkashi region.










http://www.centralchronicle.com/viewnew ... leID=51084
ramana
Forum Moderator
Posts: 59773
Joined: 01 Jan 1970 05:30

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by ramana »

Good move if you consider both Ramayana and Mahabharata were written by non-Brahmins.
RamaT
BRFite -Trainee
Posts: 85
Joined: 20 Aug 2010 16:19

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by RamaT »

ramana wrote:Good move if you consider both Ramayana and Mahabharata were written by non-Brahmins.
Great move if you consider the future of India and Hinduism.
wig
BRF Oldie
Posts: 2162
Joined: 09 Feb 2009 16:58

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by wig »

first of its Kind for India
National Authority for Chemical Weapons Convention gets ISO 9001 Certification
Commended by OPCW
The National Authority for Chemical Weapons Convention (NACWC), a part of Cabinet Secretariat has been commended by the premier world body, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) on getting ISO 9001:2008, Certificate. The award is in recognition of the highly successful performance of the National Authority. India’s Ambassador to Netherlands Ms. Bhaswati Mukherjee presented a copy of the certificate to the Director General Of the OPCW at a function in Hague on Thursday. The Director General of the OPCW, Mr. Ahmad Uzumen said that the Indian example is a role model for other countries. Australian representative Josey Meyers lauded India’s role and said it will ensure high quality outputs from the National Authority. US Ambassador and Permanent Representative to OPCW ,Dr. Robert Mikulak has hailed it as an impressive achievement.

At a function organized on the sidelines of the 15th Conference of the States Parties, the Chairman of National Authority and other members of the Indian delegation made a presentation on the aim, objectives and process for obtaining the ISO 9001 certification by Bureau Veritas, world’s leading certification body based in France. It was very well attended by over 70 participants from different Regional Groups including those from Africa . At least 15 Ambassadors including the Ambassadors from Netherlands, United States, Italy, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and several African countries were present. Indian embassy in Netherlands has already received may requests already regarding future technical assistance that can be provided by National Authority.

The ISO 9001 Certificate makes the National Authority for Chemical Weapons Convention (NACWC) the first among all 188 member nations of OPCW to attain this distinction
http://pib.nic.in/newsite/erelease.aspx?relid=0
Sachin
Webmaster BR
Posts: 8965
Joined: 01 Jan 1970 05:30
Location: Undisclosed

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by Sachin »

Ameet wrote:In India, the World's Largest School Lunch Program
Can any one confirm which state in India started this good programme first? Was it Kerala by any chance? I remember this scheme in place right during the 1980s. Every school had a cook recruited for the purpose, and rations allotted to the school. The teachers took turns to serve food to the kids. At that time (some where in late 1980s) I was surprised when a cousin (a teacher in such a school, with commie leanings) said that they still had cases where kids use to get dizzy and fall, because they did not have a good breakfast before coming to school :(.

Now things seems to be changing as in the same area, people are sending their kids to privately managed English medium schools, which also have school buses to pick up and drop the kid.
Vasu
BRFite
Posts: 869
Joined: 16 Dec 2002 12:31

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by Vasu »

In independent India, it was Tamil Nadu, when K. Kamaraj introduced it in the sixties.

And yes, Kerala, Gujarat and Pondicherry were next to adopt it in the 1980's.
Prasad
BRF Oldie
Posts: 7793
Joined: 16 Nov 2007 00:53
Location: Chennai

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by Prasad »

I thought it was MGR who started it. Kamaraj? Hmmm. wonderful scheme if I may so.
arjunm
BRFite
Posts: 220
Joined: 26 Sep 2010 10:25

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by arjunm »

China is famous for producing cheaper and higher quality products at large scale.
Now Chinese will show their skill and expertise even in replicating Indian Bollywood movie. So move over Bollywood here comes the Chinese-even their try copying this Umrao-Jaan Classical song... this video clip from Umrao Jan !
Please notice that
"R" is mostly pronounced as "L" in Chinese").

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AxH-pbUwZ8
Gus
BRF Oldie
Posts: 8220
Joined: 07 May 2005 02:30

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by Gus »

Prasad wrote:I thought it was MGR who started it. Kamaraj? Hmmm. wonderful scheme if I may so.
Kamaraj introduced many such schemes. MGR took credit for these things.

Kamaraj was truly a man of honesty and integrity, the last of his kind perhaps. Even as a CM he kept his mom living in his ancestral village home since he did not want interference from relatives. One of his cabinet minister, Kakkan used to cycle to the assembly.

And then the "rationalists" came to power. Now we don't even know how many zeros are there in that 2g scam.
naren
BRFite
Posts: 1139
Joined: 23 Apr 2010 07:45

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by naren »


Since 2001 all Indian primary schools have provided pupils with a free midday meal. Seven years on truancy rates have been slashed, and child health is soaring. Western governments are taking note.
"Compared to ours, today's generation is better off," explains a cook at one school we visited. Vijay Bhaskar agrees, he is the food administrator in Karnataka, and reveals, "the number of children out of school has reduced from 1 million to 70,000." The scheme has also seen off the junk food industry, as Bhaskar comments, "any person who has seen children eating a hot meal knows that no cookie can substitute."

April 2008
Produced by SBS Dateline
Distributed by Journeyman Pictures
sanjaykumar
BRF Oldie
Posts: 6094
Joined: 16 Oct 2005 05:51

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by sanjaykumar »

India's Nicole Faria is Miss Earth 2010.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-s-N ... 34456.aspx

__The event raised 100 million Vietnamese Dong__


Shame about the wording.
Theo_Fidel

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by Theo_Fidel »

Vasu wrote:In independent India, it was Tamil Nadu, when K. Kamaraj introduced it in the sixties.

And yes, Kerala, Gujarat and Pondicherry were next to adopt it in the 1980's.
Actually this program predates even Kamaraj. The Madras (yes back then) city corporation had a midday meal program way back in the 1940's that I've heard of. This program, different from the MDMS, still covers ALL schools in the city limits. Even the convent schools can get funds for the program if they want. I know for instance that the SBOA school in Annanagar West, one of the better academic schools, used to run a program with corporation money since the mid 80's. They still had it in 2007 when I visited though I didn't ask about the funding. IIRC Madurai city had a similar one back then too.

Back then it used to be called the Noon meal program. It was first expanded to Kanchipuram and the other districts surrounding Madras (Chennai). While Kamaraj is a good guy and did provide funding my dad does not recall him ever having advocated it as an election plank. It was not a big deal back then. It was also not comprehensive. It mostly covered the urban poor. Interestingly it is this grouping of educated individuals who run TN today. They are the basis of much of the administrative class. When MGR expanded the program the support within this class was very strong.

MGR definitely included it as an election plank and the opposition from the 'elite' classes esp. in Madras was almost total. I remember even my Mom saying we were pampering the poor, though how food for children is pampering escaped me even back then. I would say MGR should get all the credit for expanding it, esp. to every child and to every rural area.
JE Menon
Forum Moderator
Posts: 7127
Joined: 01 Jan 1970 05:30

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by JE Menon »

naren, thanks for posting that link. wonderful.
kmkraoind
BRF Oldie
Posts: 3908
Joined: 27 Jun 2008 00:24

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by kmkraoind »

Corrupt Bihar babus in for hard times
A draft Right to Service Bill has been put on the anvil by the government that envisages a stipulated timeframe for delivering important services to its citizens including birth and death certificates. This would mean any government official sitting inordinately long over a file for issuing a birth certificate, a ration card or power connection, could land himself in jail.
The Right to Service Bill can create wonders if implemented by all states. It definitely has potential to de-incentivize the poll corruption, like offering ration cards and pensions right at the time of elections.
Sachin
Webmaster BR
Posts: 8965
Joined: 01 Jan 1970 05:30
Location: Undisclosed

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by Sachin »

kmkraoind wrote:The Right to Service Bill can create wonders if implemented by all states.
+1. If Nitish Kumar can implement this in Bihar, and give it good propoganda I am sure people in other states would also be aware of it. Sooner or later politicians would be forced to come up with similar laws. I feel every service offered by a govt. agency should have their own SLAs (like they have in IT/Vity) and people should be taken to task for idling away their time. In many cases I feel bribes are given to speed up the process, because there is no fixed time line for the delivery of any service, by a govt. agency. A case in point is RTOs.
abhishek_sharma
BRF Oldie
Posts: 9664
Joined: 19 Nov 2009 03:27

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by abhishek_sharma »

http://www.sciencemag.org/content/330/6010/1493.full
PERSPECTIVE
RETROSPECTIVE
Veronica Rodrigues (1953–2010)
K. VijayRaghavan1 and Michael Bate2
+ Author Affiliations

1National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Bangalore, India.
2Department of Zoology, Cambridge University, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK.
E-mail: vijay@ncbs.res.in

With the death of Veronica Rodrigues on 10 November, India has lost a leading figure in the resurgence of research and teaching in the biological sciences in the subcontinent. Her scientific influence was widely felt, but she was also intimately connected with fostering and advancing research in molecular biology and developmental genetics at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) in Mumbai, and more recently in the inception of the landmark center of excellence at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) in Bangalore. Her leadership was particularly apparent in Indian developmental biology and was especially inspirational to women scientists.

Veronica Rodrigues was born in 1953 in Nairobi, one of 10 children of Goan immigrants of very modest means. She entered Makerere University in Kampala but then, in the turmoil surrounding the regime of Idi Amin, moved to Trinity College, Dublin, where she earned an undergraduate degree in microbiology in 1976. Stimulated by the pioneering studies of the neurogeneticist Obaid Siddiqi on bacterial genetics, Veronica applied to work with him at the Tata Institute in Mumbai. In 1976, she landed in India (stateless, but carrying a singular British passport of the time that barred entry into Britain), a country about which she later confessed she had a somewhat naïve view as a cultural paradise. By this time, Siddiqi had shifted his interests to neurogenetics, and Veronica was recruited to investigate olfaction in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. So important was her contribution to the study of olfactory mutants that while she was a Ph.D. student, she was offered a permanent faculty position at the TIFR. She spent 3 years on leave from the institute (1982 to 1984) to work at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen, where she performed a landmark study of odor coding in the antennal lobe of the fly.

On returning to the TIFR, Veronica combined her experience in neurobiology and behavior with her expertise in genetics and development and forged an influential group of researchers and students to study the formation of olfactory circuitry. She and her collaborators pioneered research into chemosensory biology. Her standard behavioral and electrophysiological assays for adult and larval responses to olfactory and gustatory cues are still widely used in the field, and variants of these assays have seen a major revival with the advent of new genetic and molecular tools for studying the neuronal circuitry underlying patterns of behavior. Her work and expertise ranged from genes and molecules to behavior, showing how each step in the assembly of the olfactory neuronal network is related to the emergence and maintenance of function. In daring to take on such ambitious projects, Veronica often started with students who were completely inexperienced in experimental biology. Under her tutelage, these raw recruits blossomed into self-confident mature researchers, setting out to become part of a worldwide network of scientists who began their careers in the Rodrigues lab.

Perhaps her greatest achievement was fostering young scientific talent not only in Mumbai, but more widely through her leadership in creating and running an influential biennial course in neurobiology at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics in Trieste. Through this course, which she led for the past 9 years, she inspired a new generation of students from countries as far apart as Iran and Cuba and more especially from Africa. In parallel with her research and teaching, Veronica gently assumed the leadership of the Molecular Biology Unit in the TIFR, later to become the Department of Biological Sciences. Over 25 years, the department grew in its research scope and capacity, nurturing high-quality scientists who can now be found in laboratories worldwide. It also spawned, in 1988, the NCBS, as a separate TIFR center. In 1992, the NCBS moved to a new campus in Bangalore. There, Veronica continued to act as a responsible steward, navigating the transition through tense situations that might otherwise have prevented the formation of strong bonds between geographically distinct parts of the TIFR. Despite this commitment to launching the NCBS in Bangalore, she chose to remain in her beloved TIFR campus in Mumbai. However, the diagnosis of her cancer led to an eventual move to Bangalore where the management of her health was easier.

Veronica's direct influence on the entire academic community in Bangalore and Mumbai was enormous. Although she was a tough scientific critic and always spoke openly and honestly (she held nothing back), Veronica inspired loyalty and affection because she was usually right. She was keenly aware of India's male-dominated scientific environment, yet still achieved great success as a scientist, mentor (particularly of women scientists), colleague, and leader. She was proud of other contributions to Indian science on all these fronts.

To many Western scientists, Veronica Rodrigues was their gateway to India, her care and her generosity smoothing the path for their first stumbling steps in very unfamiliar surroundings. To know Veronica was to enter a world of very particular places and occasions, where the pursuit of science was indissolubly linked to the enjoyment of good conversation, food, and drink. A tea stall on Colaba Causeway, a bar in the shadow of the Taj Hotel, an ice cream parlor in Trieste were the inescapable backdrops for discussion, the development of new ideas, and the simple celebration of life.

Stylish without effort and full of impish fun, her premature departure leaves her wide network of friends bereft. Her imprint on Indian science will endure, and the story of the stateless woman from Africa whom chance brought to Mumbai will be an inspiration to all who follow her.
ASPuar
BRFite
Posts: 1538
Joined: 07 Feb 2001 12:31
Location: Republic of India

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by ASPuar »

Rahul M wrote:
Raghavendra wrote:Delhi is also PhD capital of the Country http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city ... 521400.cms
most of them in 'evil India studies' I guess ?
:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

I think Doctor of Evil India Studies (D.eIs) should become the degree awarded to many persons who comment on the nation. Among others, the Clown Prince has also apparently earned his D.eIs degree, if Wikileaks latest revelations about his conversations with the American ambassador are to be believed.
abhishek_sharma
BRF Oldie
Posts: 9664
Joined: 19 Nov 2009 03:27

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by abhishek_sharma »

Don’t bother about Nobels, boost basic research: Venky

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Don-t ... nky/727296
ashokpachori
BRFite
Posts: 291
Joined: 28 Nov 2010 01:02

Re: A Nation on the March

Post by ashokpachori »

US to meet Indian team today on UNSC expansion
However, the discussions at the State Department over the next two days will be exclusively with India, and according to sources, Washington does not want to be left out in terms of working out a modus vivendi with New Delhi, especially since French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's visits to New Delhi last week where they strongly endorsed India's candidacy for the UNSC and agreed to launch a concerted effort for UNSC expansion.


http://www.rediff.com/news/report/us-to ... 101220.htm
Post Reply