India's Contribution to Science & Technology

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 07 Mar 2005 19:56

http://www.hindu.com/2005/03/07/stories ... 220100.htm M.R. Srinivasan, former Chairman, AEC, and now member of the AEC, said TAPP-4 reaching criticality signalled the maturing of the nuclear power technology in the country. Dr. Srinivasan, whom Dr. Kakodkar described as "the pita maha of the PHWRs" in the country, said, "all components were made here. All inputs were from within the country."

A Sharma · Post by **A Sharma** » 09 Mar 2005 02:02

Indian American among US' top engineering faces

Balasubramani also developed a process planning system for Indian defence laboratories by using Visual Basic, MS Access and Solid Works '98 to generate the process plans for manufactured parts.

AJay · Post by **AJay** » 09 Mar 2005 21:15

From the Hindu article posted by krsna wrote: The discovery of carbon nanotubes by the institute has been patented. "We are developing a technology for the future with nanotechnologies," he said.

Is that true?Carbon nanotubes are discovered/invented at IISc? If true, wow.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 09 Mar 2005 21:22

AJay wrote:
From the Hindu article posted by krsna wrote: The discovery of carbon nanotubes by the institute has been patented. "We are developing a technology for the future with nanotechnologies," he said.
Is that true?Carbon nanotubes are discovered/invented at IISc? If true, wow.

let me wow you up further with this link

http://www.frontlineonnet.com/fl2003/st ... 309000.htm

Sagar · Post by **Sagar** » 09 Mar 2005 21:51

AJay wrote:
From the Hindu article posted by krsna wrote: The discovery of carbon nanotubes by the institute has been patented. "We are developing a technology for the future with nanotechnologies," he said.
Is that true?Carbon nanotubes are discovered/invented at IISc? If true, wow.

I suppose you will also be pleased to know that Al Gore invented Internet.

[/i]

AJay · Post by **AJay** » 10 Mar 2005 00:18

Sagar wrote: I suppose you will also be pleased to know that Al Gore invented Internet. [/i]

and you would fall for the marketing hype that Sir Tim-Berners Lee single-handedly invented internet and gald that he got knighted for this...

Added later:

Probably my skeptisism did not come through in my post. The second artcile posted by krsna talks about the Japanese and that's the story I remember. "Discovery of Carbon nanotubes" by the DDMs at The Hindu probably should have read more like "Discovery of this phenomenon in Carbon Nanotubes". Thanks for stopping by...

Harsh · Post by **Harsh** » 14 Mar 2005 20:09

Don't know if posted before

Famous Indian Scientists

Purush · Post by **Purush** » 14 Mar 2005 20:36

AJay wrote:
From the Hindu article posted by krsna wrote: The discovery of carbon nanotubes by the institute has been patented. "We are developing a technology for the future with nanotechnologies," he said.
Is that true?Carbon nanotubes are discovered/invented at IISc? If true, wow.

I know your post is tongue-in-cheek, but just a remark: IIRC, one of the pioneers in the field of carbon nanotube technology is a Prof of Indian origin, Dr. Ajayan Pulickel, at Renesselaer PolyTech. If memory serves me right, he even has a few joint publications with S. Iijima ( of NEC, the discoverer of carbon nanotubes) from around the 1991-1995 time period.

Kati · Post by **Kati** » 17 Mar 2005 22:27

Prestigious Science magazine is celebrating its 125th anniversary by publishing a series of 'global views'. This is on India. Don't miss it.

http://www.sciencemag.org/sciext/globalvoices/

Vick · Post by **Vick** » 17 Mar 2005 22:35

A Vacuum In Space

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 18 Mar 2005 03:10

India builds up research base with two institutes

[NEW DELHI] The Indian government is to create two new research institutes and establish an autonomous funding agency under the aegis of the prime minister, Manmohan Singh.

The chairman of the prime minister's science advisory council, C. N. R. Rao, says he has been pushing the scheme for more than a decade. "I am happy that it has finally come through," he told Nature. The agency, the National Science and Engineering Research Foundation, is to be modelled on the US National Science Foundation and will have an initial annual budget of Rs10 billion (US$230 million). The two new institutes — in Pune and Kolkata — will each cost Rs5 billion and be modelled on the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore.

In another effort to build up basic science, research funding in some of India's seven institutes of technology will be increased.

http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage. ... 0a_fs.html

Alok_N · Post by **Alok_N** » 19 Mar 2005 05:19

The establishment of a funding structure (with peer review, one hopes) and two new institutes is wonderful news ...

I got the following in email ... this is also an important step ... Indian scientists should be able to publish locally in mutiple journals ... more the merrier ...

We are pleased to announce the launching of our new journal “International
Journal of Pure and Applied Physics (IJPAP)”. We would like to invite you
to submit manuscripts of your original paper, for possible publication in
the IJPAP, which is a peer-reviewed periodical dedicated to the
proliferation and dissemination of scholarly research results in the
Physics. More information on the journal, and the publishing process can be
obtained at: http://www.ripublication/ijpap.htm.

1. International Journal of Pure and Applied Physics (IJPAP)
Aim & Scope: International Journal of Pure and Applied Physics (IJPAP)
publishes original research papers, comprehensive review articles, survey
articles, book reviews, dissertation abstracts in pure Physics and its
applications in the broadest sense. It is intended that the journal may act
as an interdisciplinary forum for Physics and its applications. Innovative
applications and material that brings together diverse areas of Physics are
particularly welcome.

We recognize that authors, institutes and societies are increasingly seeking
to reach a global audience and RI Publications is in a position to help
support meeting that object. We are always looking for authors and
institutes who are interesting to publish their books, monographs,
conference and proceedings, starting new Journals\ E-journals. We have a
worldwide network and a well-organized and strong infrastructure. A mailing
list of fifty thousand or so intellectual, scholars, Universities,
Institutions and common readers worldwide strengthen it further.

Please visit our company website at http://www.ripublication.com for more
information about our journals, services and subscription. These journals
are published by our company:-
A. International Journal of Oceans and Oceanography (IJOO)
B. International Journal of Applied Chemistry (IJAC)
C. International Journal of Statistics and Systems (IJSS)
D. International Journal of Pure and Applied Physics (IJPAP)
E. International Journal of Dynamics of Fluids (IJDF)
F. International Journal of Mechanics and Solids (IJMS)
G. Global Journal of Pure and Applied Mathematics (GJPAM)
H. International Journal of Lakes and Rivers (IJLR)
I. International Journal of Applied Agricultural Research (IJAAR)
J. International Journal of Biotechnology & Biochemistry (IJBB)

Looking forward to have your active support, revered service and effective
consultancy to reach the desired goal.

With Kind Regards,

Vivekanand
Publishing Coordinator
Research India Publications
Head office: D1/71, Top Floor, Rohini Sec-16, Delhi-110085 INDIA
Email: ripublication@vsnl.net
Website: http://www.ripublication.com

Tilak · Post by **Tilak** » 28 Nov 2005 05:33

A car that can jump over obstacles
Bose — yes, that Bose — aims to shake up auto industry

Nov. 26, 2005

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. - In a cleared-out parking lot at Bose Corp.'s headquarters, a test driver guides a Lexus at 25 mph toward what would appear to be an unfriendly introduction to a two-by-six lying on its side, ankle-high.

A childlike grin spreads across 76-year-old Amar Bose's face as the vehicle does something most can't: jump over the board, like a cat bounding over a fallen log.

The sedan's experimental, Bose-designed suspension, driven by four electromagnetic motors, had quickly pulled each wheel up, then down.

It's a stunt, triggered when the car passed over a reflective strip that activated a sensor linked to the suspension. But the feat hints at the more practical capabilities of a suspension system that is Amar Bose's answer to a longtime engineering challenge: giving a car good cornering capabilities without sacrificing a smooth ride.

For five decades, Bose has puzzled over why potholes seem harder to conquer than Mount Everest. He started tackling the challenge in secret in 1980, even as the privately held company he founded kept churning out the high-end speakers and stereo equipment that have made the Bose name famous among audiophiles.

"This by far consumes most of my time," Bose said in an interview at Bose headquarters, where he remains chairman and technical director at an age when many have long since retired. "For all these years, it's been rare that I didn't work on it at some point every day."

Unlike spring-and-shock absorber systems, Bose's suspension uses high-voltage electrical coils and magnets to counter bumps in the road and prevent roll around corners.

Will people pay for it?
The approach is drawing praise as a revolutionary way to ensure a smooth ride, but doubts center on its cost as rivals push their own suspension improvements that are less radical, but more affordable. Bose's system could add $5,000 or so to a car's cost, along with a few hundred pounds.

"Technically, on paper, I think it's brilliant," said Aly Badawy, a vice president at Livonia, Mich.-based auto parts maker TRW Automotive Holdings Corp., which is developing its own high-end suspension system expected to be ready years before Bose's. "The problem is, is it going to be affordable?"

Bose says his suspension's technical advantages will win over high-end car buyers.

"If you ride over those roll bumps," he said, pointing to obstacles set up for the demonstration, "after just 50 feet you know you've been in a vehicle that has comfort like nothing else."

By year's end, Bose hopes to select a single automaker from a handful of companies interested in making the suspension commercially available in five to six years. He wouldn't identify the companies.

"Initially, you cannot try to go in many directions at the same time, or you won't have a good product," Bose said.

The system will be incorporated into a yet-to-be-designed luxury car as standard equipment. The system may eventually find its way into mid-range cars, but it likely will never cost low enough for inexpensive vehicles, Bose says.

He won't disclose the effort's cost to the $1.7 billion-a-year, 8,000-employee company, which he has led into years-long research ventures in fields as diverse as nuclear submarine technology and cold fusion, with varying success.

"There are a lot of projects that we've done that weren't known to the public," Bose says.

Automobile suspensions are outside the company's main expertise, and winning over colleagues wasn't easy.

"Even our financial people were trying to get the engineers to discourage me, because they all saw money going into it," said Bose, a lifelong tinkerer who began repairing radios as a teenager growing up in Philadelphia. "But some things you just believe in."

Neal Lackritz, one of only 100 Bose employees who knew of the project's existence before it was announced last year, said the effort would have been impossible at a company facing short-term profit pressures.

"Dr. Bose would have been fired many times over it if were a publicly held company," Lackritz said.

The innovations all happen in Framingham, about 20 miles west of Boston, atop a hilltop the company calls "The Mountain." A road just off the Massachusetts Turnpike circles upward to the company's glass-and-steel headquarters, where Bose speakers are abundant on office desktops.

Many employees were drawn to the company because they're music buffs. Many also come from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where Bose studied and eventually taught, remaining a professor emeritus.

These days, Bose spends most of his time working from his Wayland home or at headquarters, where a glass wall in his office is inscribed with a quotation from Albert Einstein on the importance of "widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty."

Bose started his company using a $10,000 bank loan to pursue commercial and military applications for acoustics technologies he developed at MIT. His innovations in sound reproduction have resulted in smaller speakers along with headphones that cancel out low frequencies from outside noise such as jet engines.

The design challenges for the auto-suspension system aren't entirely unfamiliar to Bose. Technologies he devised in the 1960s to amplify audio are also used to minimize fuel costs by regenerating energy flowing in and out of the electromagnetic motors that control the wheels' vertical motion.

The challenge of improving suspension design has gnawed at Bose ever since he bought a new 1958 Pontiac Bonneville that boasted a unique air suspension system.

It helped smooth the bumps in the young electrical engineering professor's commute to MIT, though he eventually found the system unreliable.

A decade later, he bought a Citroen with an air-and-oil suspension that was even more unusual, but also somewhat impractical.

Over the years, Bose concluded that the answer to the challenge lay in designing a so-called "active" suspension to do more than simply absorb bumps. Once he finally got around to pursuing it, Bose and his engineers spent five years just testing mathematical theories and running computer models.

Eventually, they concluded that their dream would be within reach if they could make some breakthroughs in electromagnetics, power amplifiers and control algorithms. They worked on those challenges and bet successfully that the computer industry would accelerate computational speed to help the suspension rapidly respond to changing road conditions.

Although Bose no longer puts in the 80-hour work weeks he once did, he insists he won't back away from doing whatever it takes to make the suspension system a commercial success.

His colleagues don't doubt him.

"He's got more energy than an 18-year-old," said Bose president Bob Maresca. "Every one of the naysayers only strengthens his resolve."

Gerard · Post by **Gerard** » 11 Dec 2005 19:05

The nano science of kajal

eswarpr · Post by **eswarpr** » 13 Dec 2005 18:42

Sarkar has not patented the process.

‘‘I do science, not business,’’ he said. He suggests the production of kajal should be promoted as a cottage industry that would generate employment for thousands of educated, unemployed people.

WHY do Indians have this "holy cow" attitude towards being business-men?

Ramanujan · Post by **Ramanujan** » 16 Jan 2006 03:58

Crosspost:

AJay wrote:

If you are interested and others indulge me a little, just got an idea as to how this could have come about.

1. My observation is that the caption of the most famous photo of Ramanuja[nm] has the 'm' spelling where as the text invariably has the 'n' spelling.
2. This photo is his passport/visa/travel photo which was taken just about the time when he was about to travel to England.
3. One of his pricipal sponsors was one Ramachandra Rao from Nellore. His name and the place Nellore suggest that he is a Telugu gentleman.

So, it would have been possible that the travel documents were filled out by Mr. Ramachandra Rao or one of his office employees who would have naturally used the Telugu spelling with an 'm' ending. Another consideration is that Ramanujan actually disappeared for a number of months - Kanigel says that was a very short period of something like 3 months, but I have read an account where the time iis judged to be more like a year to year and a half - during which time Ramanujan was at Andhra University, Waltair. According to this accountm, his stay there was not all that obscure and he did work on some interesting mathematical ideas during his stay there. It is possible that Ramanujan himself had used the Telugu ending of 'm' for sometime.

AJay, thats very interesting. The passport pic appears to be the only surviving photo of him. Hardy always used N and most links devoted to him stick to N as well. I dont recall Kanigel referring to the alternative name either. Wiki gives no indication of an alternative spelling - it does for do so for Mendeleev (Mendeleyev). Anyhoo, it all makes sense now.

AJay · Post by **AJay** » 16 Jan 2006 12:09

Ramanujan wrote:I dont recall Kanigel referring to the alternative name either.

I read that book a while back and don't have iit in my personal library. May be just my memory. Incidenatlly attended the memorial service for Prof. Vijay Pandharipande this afternoon. I did not know him persoanlly but according to the messages read out it was evident that the Nuclear Science community lost a brilliant mind. He did his Ph.D. from TIFR and M.Sc. from Nagpur.

Some quotes:

"Don't worry, you're not the first grad student who has considered
jumping out a window. That's why the windows in your office don't open all the way."
Vijay Pandharipande

"I'm not worried about that, I'm more worried about an invisible
monster that's mutating."
Vijay Pandharipande debugs fortran code.

"Yes, the question is academic. However, since we are in academia,
we must answer it."
Vijay Pandharipande

and the winner is

"Why speculate when you can calculate?"
Vijay Pandharipande

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 04 Feb 2006 11:13

Indian researchers have proposed a means to verify quantum gravity:

http://physicsweb.org/articles/news/10/2/2/1

As you know, one of the last and biggest mysteries of physics is how to reconcile the large-scale perspectives of Relativity and Gravity with the small-scale perspectives of quantum physics.

The extreme fringe conditions of dying stars may be a way to do this.

Ananth · Post by **Ananth** » 07 Feb 2006 21:33

Sanjay,

A related report from rediff
Indian scientists find answers that eluded Einstein

Vinod N · Post by **Vinod N** » 08 Feb 2006 00:12

NCBS scientists show that rats smell in stereo.

The paper was published in Science (Feb.3)

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/07/science/07side.html

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 18 Mar 2006 00:39

Bangalore meeting of the ILC

This is about the Indian contribution to an International Linear Collider.

Developing Partnership with India on the ILC

It is clear from our visits that Indian scientists and laboratories possess interest and the technical skills and facilities to play an important role in collaboration on the ILC. We drew up a short list of possible areas were India could become involved in the R&D phase of our work. We plan to now discuss these topics and possibly others in more detail with the goal of developing active involvement in the near term future, integrating India into our work as full partners as we move toward an ILC construction project.

Laks · Post by **Laks** » 21 Mar 2006 15:30

http://www.computerworld.com/developmen ... 15,00.html
Is Panini's rules on Sanskrit grammar a precursor to the Turing Machine?

Proving the old adage that a good idea has many fathers, some scholars believe that one of the fathers of computing is Panini, an ancient Sanskrit grammarian who, according to commonly accepted estimates, lived in the fifth century B.C. Almost nothing is known for certain about Panini's life. Tradition has it that he was born near the Indus River in what's now Pakistan.

Panini's grammar for Sanskrit is highly systematized and technical. Inherent in its analytic approach are the concepts of the phoneme, the morpheme and the root, not recognized by Western linguists until some two millennia later. His rules have a reputation of perfectionâ€”that is, they are claimed to fully describe Sanskrit morphology, without any redundancy. A consequence of his grammar's focus on brevity is its highly nonintuitive structure, reminiscent of contemporary "machine language" (as opposed to "human-readable" programming languages).

Panini uses metarules, transformations and recursions with such sophistication that his grammar has the computing power equivalent to that of a Turing machine. In this sense, Panini may, indeed, be considered the father of computing machines. His work was also the forerunner to modern formal-language theory. Paninian grammars have also been devised for non-Sanskrit languages. The Backus-Naur form (sometimes called the Panini-Backus form), or BNF, grammars used to describe modern programming languages are similar to Panini's grammar rules.

It's not even known whether Panini used writing for the composition of his work. Some historians argue that a work of such complexity would have been impossible to compile without written notes, while others allow for the possibility that he might have composed it with the help of a group of students whose memories served him as "notepads."

Vick · Post by **Vick** » 27 Mar 2006 19:06

Nainital to get giant telescope

Raju · Post by **Raju** » 28 Mar 2006 12:47

A blast from the past.
link

Were the Mayasâ€™ Pyramids Built By the Vedic Architect Maya?
(by Marcus Schmieke)

Nowadays, it is generally known that Columbus was not the first to discover America. In the course of centuries, almost every seafaring culture set out to the American continents. In the last few years, direct traces have been discovered which lead from India directly into the heart of the Maya Culture of Central America.

In the scriptures of South India, countries located south of India and their relation to the Vedic culture were mentioned. Following these traces, the renowned Vedic architect Dr. V. Ganapati Sthapati travelled to Peru in spring of 1995. His ancestors had built the big Shiva temple in Tanjore approximately a thousand years ago, and he himself continues to build temples all over the world according to the same principles of Vedic architecture. Merely studying old Sanskrit and Tamil scriptures on architecture caused him to assume that there had to be a connection between South America and India.

Not only is its plot based exactly on the same geometric matrix, the Vasatipurusha Mandala, but also its form is identical with the South Indian Vimana (temple domes) even in details. Furthermore, there are amazing similarities as to measurements.

Dr. Sthapati discovered that the South-Indian measure/rule (Kishku yardstick approx. 33 inch) was used mainly in the Peruvian region of Kushku. Residential buildings were also built strictly according to the principles of Vasati , as developed by Maya Danava. Its plots, position of doors and windows, proportions, form of roofs, inclination angles of roofs, diameter of columns, width of walls etc. are perfectly in accordance with the rules of Vasati , which are still applied in 60% of all houses built in India nowadays.

Considering so many similarities, it is hard to believe in accident as an explanation. In addition, also the techniques applied by the Maya to erect their buildings and to hammer their huge stones for temples and pyramids are identical to those still taught and applied by Dr. Sthapati today. They have been described by Maya Danava in his books on Vasati.

Did Maya Danava really travel from South India to Peru, or did he originally come from South America to become a famous architect in India later? This question can only be answered if we take into account the mystical personality of Maya Danava.

According to historical records of the Vedic culture, Maya Danavaâ€™s influence on man was prevailing for 8000 years. But at the same time, he is described as a being from another planetary system who is equipped with all sorts of mystic powers and with an astronomic life span. Had the same Maya Danava first worked as an architect in South India and published Vedic texts in order to contribute later to the development of the Maya Culture in Central America, which shows a number of similarities with the Vedic India also in fields different from architecture?

It is also very interesting to have a closer look at a linguistic comparison. Even today there are a number of words in the Maya language which indicate a relation to the Vedic culture. The Maya word Kâ€™ultanlini refers to the divine power and has obvious similarities to the Sanskrit word Kundalini which also refers to the life power and the power of consciousness.

The Sanskrit term yoga can be found again in the Maya word Yokâ€™hah, which means at the top of truth. For our considerations, it is most interesting to investigate the connection between the Maya word Chilambalam which is the name for the temple room of the caste-pyramid Chichen Itza. This pyramid has the same plot as a South Indian temple vimana. Both are based on a grid consisting of 8 x 8 squares.

In Vasati such a square grid is called Manduka Mandala, the frog mandala. The centre is formed by a square made of four squares, which corresponds to the Brahmasthana, the place of Brahma. At this location the divine energy is so strong that it is not suitable for people to live there.

Both in the Vasati temples and in the Maya pyramids the most sacred place of the whole structure is located exactly in this square. The Mayas call this area Chilambalam, which means sacred room. This room is cubic and corresponds to the original form of room itself in Vasati.

Adhering to this principle, there is a Shiva-temple in South India in which the sacred room or the room of consciousness is being worshiped. This temple with immaculate proportions is called Chidambaram and ranks amongst the most famous Vasati temples of South India next to Shri Rangam. The same concept of the sacred room or hall of consciousness was called Chilambalam by the Mayas. Another perplexing parallel.

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 28 Mar 2006 20:53

The book by George G Joseph listed in the bibliography is a must read. I came across the book at my university bookstore way back in early 90's and promptly bought it.

The Kerala School, European Mathematics and Navigation

In addition to the latitude problem, settled by the Gregorian Calendar Reform, there remained the question of loxodromes, which were the focus of efforts of navigational theorists like Nunes, Mercator etc. The problem of calculating loxodromes is exactly the problem of the fundamental theorem of calculus. Loxodromes were calculated using sine tables, and Nunes, Stevin, Clavius etc. were greatly concerned with accurate sine values for this purpose, and each of them published lengthy sine tables. Madhava's sine tables, using the series expansion of the sine function were then the most accurate way to calculate sine values.

Europeans encountered difficulties in using these precise sine value for determining longitude, as in Indo-Arabic navigational techniques or in the Laghu Bhaskariya, because this technique of longitude determination also required an accurate estimate of the size of the earth, and Columbus had underestimated the size of the earth to facilitate funding for his project of sailing West. Columbus' incorrect estimate was corrected, in Europe, only towards the end of the 17th c. CE. Even so, the Indo-Arabic navigational technique required calculation, while Europeans lacked the ability to calculate, since algorismus texts had only recently triumphed over abacus texts, and the European tradition of mathematics was "spiritual" and "formal" rather than practical, as Clavius had acknowledged in the 16th c. and as Swift (Gulliver's Travels) had satirized in the 18th c. This led to the development of the chronometer, an appliance that could be mechanically used without application of the mind.

VickersB · Post by **VickersB** » 06 Apr 2006 00:34

What civilization could they be referring to?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060405/ap_ ... _dentistry

9,000-Year-Old Dental Drill Is Found

....Primitive dentists drilled nearly perfect holes into live but undoubtedly unhappy patients between 5500 B.C. and 7000 B.C., an article in Thursday's journal Nature reports. Researchers carbon-dated at least nine skulls with 11 drill holes found in a Pakistan graveyard......

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 06 May 2006 17:46

High-Speed Switching Chip developed by Indian in Israel to Power Indian designed TATA Super Computer.

Dawes · Post by **Dawes** » 08 May 2006 03:07

As a non-Indian (and a frequent reader but seldom if ever a contributor to these boards) I would like to pose a question to the membership. Why hasn't India, with it's immense supply of obviously bright and talented scientists and engineers, made more of a splash in the world of military-related equipment? All of my information is admittedly obtained from reading the various articles in Defense magazines and so forth, but the following is an extract from MSNBC:

The American Electronics Association (AeA) agrees with Cohan, via its 2004 report on outsourcing. Among the many examples given in the report, the AEA cites the Indian Institute of Technology's growing reputation as one of the top engineering schools in the world. Other nations have caught up to or exceeded the level of math and science education in U.S. schools.

I know that the LCA fighter, the light helicopter, and Arjun tank are in various stages of development, but given India's engineering capabilities I would think that India would be an exporter of high-technology equipment and the above systems would have been in frontline service years ago.

I hope this isn't construed as a slight against India. It's not. Just a question from the curious.

Beena · Post by **Beena** » 08 May 2006 04:31

Dawes, I believe money is the main reason. Our best minds often immigrate to the West where they can get payed much more for their talents. In addition, research and development requires a lot of funding, which has to be spent on social welfare in a third world nation like India.

JCage · Post by **JCage** » 08 May 2006 04:34

To export, India had to have the committed desire to do so- our "founding fathers" and their follow on Govts were so caught up in the mantra of non violence, that exports of arms and munition were a strict no-no. Also, the guns vs butter syndrome, coupled with a belief in socialism limited the amount of money and resources devoted to armaments production & limited the number of players to mostly Govt owned units, for whom exports were hardly essential as they ran on fixed price local contracts. In recent years, these chains have been removed- and I'd wager good money that the coming decade will see significant exports. Currently, there are many firms outsourcing IT related goods and components to India. The state owned units export small arms and munitions, plus some spares for soviet/ french units, and undertake contract based work for other aerospace firms. But increasing links are being forged via trade shows and the like, and business is picking up.

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 11 Jun 2006 21:01

Kolkata-born scientist's invention Powers NASA astronaut's suits.

Kolkata man Dr Sankar Das Gupta, who has more than 200 global patents to his name, has seen his invention go as far as outer space.

NASA is using his patented lithium ion-super-polymer battery technology to power the life support system for astronaut's suits.

In partnership with Microsoft, he has also developed the Scribbler, a wireless laptop that runs eight to 10 hours on one charge and weighs less than 1.4 kg.

He has also designed a Green Car, which is powered by same technology (Lithium ion super polymer technology) that could go 300 kms on a single charge at a cost of Rs 80.

ashish raval · Post by **ashish raval** » 04 Oct 2006 18:19

guys we narrowly did it.
http://www.hindu.com/2006/10/04/stories ... 110100.htm

Vasu · Post by **Vasu** » 06 Oct 2006 19:19

Next stop, next year: India in the Arctic

India plans to send its first expedition to the Arctic in the International Polar Year next year to research on climate change, at a time when the effects global warming are being a hotly debated.

The first team would go to research station Spitsbergen in 2007-08 with the help of other Arctic teams, but Indiaâ€™s first expedition vessel is targetted for landing at the Norwegian island only in 2009-10.

The Ministry of Ocean Development has sought Rs 46 crore over the next five years to launch the three research expeditions to study Arcticâ€™s impact north of the equator.

Another objective is to ensure a perceptible and influential presence of India in the polar regions and initiate scientific work in line with those being conducted by other countries under the Svalbard Treaty.

The treaty, signed in 1920, places the arctic islands of Svalbard under the governorship of Norway but gives all signatories equal rights to run business on the islands. India is among the 40 signatories, apart from the US, major EU nations, Russia and Australia.

India has strongly underlined its presence in Antarctica since the first expedition in 1981 but its scientific community has not paid much attention to the northern hemisphere.

Sources said the foray into Arctic as well as expeditions to Antarctica could see India develop its own ice-class research vessel. The vessel would transport men and material and serve as a platform for oceanographic studies in the sub-Artic and sub-Antarctic regions.

shaardula · Post by **shaardula** » 06 Oct 2006 19:51

comedians here were talking about bhagwathi being the big kahuna for economics..

Abhiman · Post by **Abhiman** » 06 Oct 2006 21:05

Dawes wrote:I know that the LCA fighter, the light helicopter, and Arjun tank are in various stages of development, but given India's engineering capabilities I would think that India would be an exporter of high-technology equipment and the above systems would have been in frontline service years ago.

I hope this isn't construed as a slight against India. It's not. Just a question from the curious.

Hello. Dawes, a reason for the above is that a corrupt politician & arms dealer nexus exists in India, which tries to stymie indigenous procurement of military hardware and ensures the import of foreign hardware, in order to earn bribes.

Recently, a submarine procurement scam emerged in which the son of a prominent politician and the nephew of the current Naval Chief are prime accused.

The production of indigenous military hardware such as LCA Tejas, Arjun tank, Akash and Nag missiles are nearly completed or awaiting purposely delayed user-trials by the armed forces.

As rightly mentioned by a member earlier, if ballistic missiles had been for sale by western nations, then Indian politicians and arm-traders would have ensured that the Agni and Prithvi missiles are Not inducted into the armed forces.

Thanks.

svinayak · Post by **svinayak** » 08 Oct 2006 02:45

Top Stories
"India must become a global innovation leader"

Jaipur, Oct. 8 (UNI): Nuclear scientist and Principal Scientific Advisor to the Central government, Dr R Chidambaram, urged that India should strive to go beyond the objective of a 'developed nation' by aiming to become a global 'innovation leader'.

Dr Chidambaram said this while delivering the second convocation address at the Malaviya National Institute of Technology here on Saturday.

Dr Chidambaram said India is now considered one of the hot-spots for innovation. "Till sometime back, they (developed states) were talking only of China in the context of technology. Now they talk of China and India," he said.

Dr Chidambaram referred to an instance mentioned in the biography of renowned scientist, Prof. Chandrashekar, wherein his biographer, Kamaleshwar Wali, puts a question to Chandrashekar as to how India produced such world-class scientists like C V Raman, and S N Bose in the 1920's.

Prof. Chandrashekar had replied, "In the 1920's there was need for self-expression as a part of the national movement to show to the West that, in their own realm, we are equal to them," he said.

Dr Chidambaram said, "today, 59 years after Independence, our motivation should be to make India a developed nation in the fullest sense of the term in the shortest possible time."

He said in areas like atomic energy, space and IT software, the world no longer viewed India as a developing country. He said we could claim to be a developed nation when the quality of life in rural India becomes comparable to the quality of life in the non-urban areas of already developed countries.

Sunil Arora, Principal Secretary to Rajasthan Chief Minister, Vasundhara Raje, was the guest of honour at the function.

Chairman, Board of Governors Mukul Kasliwal and Director Prof. R P Dahiya spoke about the achievements and future plans of the institute.

shyamd · Post by **shyamd** » 17 Oct 2006 23:45

India to join fusion energy bloc in Nov

India alongwith the EU, China and four other countries will sign next month an agreement on the joint implementation of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project aimed at tapping fusion energy, a senior official said today.

The agreement between India, the US, the European Union, China, South Korea, Russia and Japan marked the formal launch of the multi-million dollar project, Director General Nominee with the ITER International Fusion Energy Research Project, Kaname Ikeda said.

The project aims to recreate the conditions of the sun under which a nuclear fusion reaction can take place and has been nicknamed "artificial sun" by scientists.

The formal implementation of the project offers people an opportunity to realize their dream of bringing nuclear fusion energy under control, Werner Burkart, deputy director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said.

The construction of the reactor will take nearly 10 years and cost euro 10 billion. It will be located in France, Ikeda was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency controlled nuclear fusion is seen as an efficient way for people to generate infinite, clean energy to offset the dearth of fossil fuels such as oil and coal.

India was accepted as a full partner in the ITER project in December last year. The financial cost of India's participation in ITER will be around Rs 200 crore annually.

India had expressed interest in participating in the ITER project as a full partner as it has an advanced scientific and technological base. It has been running an experimental fusion programme since the mid-1980s with the indigenously built operational reactor Aditya.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 25 Oct 2006 03:52

Scientists from BARC recharge dry spring
From Shishir Prashant DH News Service Dehra Dun:
For the first time, scientists of the prestigious Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) have successfully recharged a dry spring locally known as dhara in the hilly Rudraprayag district of Uttaranchal rekindling new hope for the region badly hit by scarcity of drinking water.

Using Isotopic Application Study (IAS) method, a team of scientists from BARC headed by Dr Gursharan carried out research work at Gwarchauki village of Rudraprayag district. For the past six months, the scientists worked tirelessly to track the origin of the dried spring at this village.

Once the origin and route were traced, scientists built bunds so that water would start percolating within the earth. Once this happened, the spring got recharged at the village downstream.

Widespread deforestation is said to be the bane of water scarcity in mountain areas from Jammu and Kashmir right up to the North-East region.

And now, the water discharge in the dried spring has risen to 16 litres per minute from a scanty 2 litre per minute with the IAS technique. â€œThis is a significant development,â€

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 30 Oct 2006 14:28

It's fastest, it's latest, it's India's supercomputer.

Sanjay M · Post by **Sanjay M** » 16 Nov 2006 06:21

Did India really invent carbon nanotubes?

http://www.nature.com/news/2006/061113/ ... 13-11.html

Bharat Rakshak

India's Contribution to Science & Technology

May be I remember Kanigel wrong...

Loop Quantum Gravity

nanotubes