Lok Sabha Question No. 2019 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-11-29
Subject: Major Innovations and Discoveries
Ministry: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Kapil Moreshwar Patil

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

## DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 2019 TO BE ANSWERED ON 29/11/2019

## MAJOR INNOVATIONS AND DISCOVERIES

## †2019. SHRI KAPIL MORESHWAR PATIL:

Will the Minister of SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY वान और ौयोगक मंी be pleased to state:

- (a) the  details  of  major  innovations  and  discoveries  made  in  the  field  of  science  and technology across the country during the last three years and the current year;
- (b) the steps taken for the commercialization of such innovations/ discoveries; and
- (c) the progress made in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE; MINISTER OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY; AND MINISTER OF EARTH SCIENCES (DR. HARSH VARDHAN)

वाय और परवार कयाण मंी ; वान और ौयोगक मंी ; और पृ वी वान मंी

डॉ. हष वधन

- (a) Several scientific organisations such as Department of Science & Technology (DST), Department  of  Biotechnology  (DBT),  Indian  Council  of  Medical  Research  (ICMR), Department of Space (DoS), Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) have made new innovations and discoveries in the field of Science & Technology in the country during the last three years and the current year.

Indian  Institute  of  Technology  (IIT),  Kanpur  has  developed  an  autonomous, unmanned, mini helicopter with support from DST.  The indigenously developed vehicle has  huge  potential  for  use  in  agricultural  spraying,  surveillance,  monitoring  and  aerial survey as well as for medical supplies and various defence applications. The helicopter is a result of a combination of innovations in mechanical systems, electrical systems and control aspects. The mini helicopter was developed with controls on-board and successfully flown in wireless mode with two phases of continuous support by DST and review and guidance by experts in the area drawn from different research organisations,  National Laboratories and Academic Institutions.

31 technologies have been Developed/ Demonstrated/ Transferred under Technology Development Programmes of DST in the area of Advanced Manufacturing, Waste Management and Devices for Agriculture, Textile, Analytical and Biomedical Applications.

The Ultracapacitor based Powered Lift technology suitable for 10 persons has been developed  that  stores  regenerated  energy  in  an  ultracapacitor  bank  and  reuses  it  at  the time of demand /power failure condition without any interruption for High Rise Buildings.

Carbon nanotube coated cotton yarns (CNT-wires) have been developed to power wearable  devices.  A  simple  and  elegant  approach  of  interweaving  CNT  wire  across  the electrolyte, supercapacitive junctions can store electrical energy.

Wind Augmentation and purifying Unit (WAYU) is an air purification system that can  remove  pollutants  which  are  emitted  by  vehicles.  It  allows  reducing  ambient  air pollution levels at traffic intersections.

An innovative and affordable technology product- Micro Solar Dome (Surya Jyoti) developed by NB Institute of Rural Technology (NBIRT), Kolkata under TARA scheme of DST would be useful for rural, tribal populations who do not have access to electricity or in forest areas. It has an additional feature for mobile charging.

Supercritical Brayton loop- A test loop has been established at Indian Institute of Science,  Bangalore  to  generate  necessary  data  for  future  development  of  scaled  up supercritical carbon-dioxide power plants under Technology Missions Programme of DST.

13  innovations  and  discoveries/  technologies  have  been  developed  or  transferred from projects funded by Indo-German Science & Technology Centre (IGSTC).

ICMR has developed more than 40 technologies of which 10 have been transferred to industry for up-scaling and commercialization during last three years. Truenat Rif, an indigenous,  cost  effective,  rapid  molecular  diagnostic  kit  for  TB/MDR-TB  has  been developed in collaboration with ICMR, DBT and the industry has been recommended for implementation in phased manner.

Many technologies have been developed by Department of Space such as Multilayer Printed  Antenna  Technology,  DDV  100  Resin,  Dual  Polarisation  LIDAR,  Precision Tapping  Mechanism,  15  W  C  Band  Solid  State  Power  Amplifier,  DK-18  ceramic, Photosynthesis Irrandiance Incubator Box, CSNM 0102 adhesive, Hard anodizing at room temperature,  Polyimide  film  including  production  of  Polyamic  acid,  HESC/CSNM-29M, Sesco-125 flame retardant coating,  EPY 1061 coating compound, BMT  ceramic, Benzoxazine  Resin,  EFA  4330  Film  Adhesive,  PC-10  Thermal  Protection  System,  Silica Fiber,  Silica  Granule,  Nickel  Hydrazine  Nitrate,  Lithium  Ion  Technology,  Fisherman NavICDevice, etc. About 20 technologies have been concluded with industries.

Several Innovations/Technologies have been developed by CSIR. Some of these are Jet  fuel  derived  from  Biomass,  Waterless  Chrome  Tanning  Technology,  Zero  liquid discharge leather technology, Coal dust collecting and briquetting system, Genomics and other Omics tools for Enabling Medical Decisions, Red mud based lead free material for XRay  and  CT  Scanner  Rooms,  Technology  for  Carbonated  fruit  juice  beverages  from selected fruits, Prevention of Adulteration in Milk.

(b)  &  (c):    Technology  Development  Board  (TDB),  a  statutory  body  of  Government  of India, provides financial assistance, in the form of soft loans, equity and grants to Indian industrial concerns/companies attempting development and commercialization of indigenous technology or adaption of imported technology for wider domestic applications.

TDB  has  provided  financial  assistance  to  37  industrial  concerns/companies  for projects  covering  various  sectors  such  as  Health  &  Medical,  Engineering,  Information Technology,  Chemical,  Agriculture,  Tele-communications,  Road  Transport,  Energy  & Waste Utilization, Electronics, Textile, etc. Some of these projects are on commercialization of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine, Lead-Acid Battery Recycling Technology, Development  and  commercialization  of  straw  utilization  technology  (In-situ  Accelerated and Sustainable Rice Straw Decomposition (ASRSD), Technology Adaption & Manufacturing of BS VI Quality Standard Pistons.

'Biotechnology  Industry  Research  Assistance  Council'  (BIRAC)  under  DBT  has provided funding to entrepreneurs, startups, SMEs and translational organizations. This has  helped  to  bring  high  quality  and  affordable  products  towards  commercialization. BIRAC has facilitated  commercialization  of  several  research  &  development  based  new products.

CSIR  has  an  established  system  for  commercialization  of  innovations/knowledge base.  CSIR  has  incentivized  commercialization  of  innovations/  knowledge  base.  The guidelines  are  in  place  with  respect  to  incentives  for  licensing/commercialization  of innovations/ technologies/knowledge base.

Several steps have been taken for commercialization from DST supported projects. A Laterite based Arsenic (As) filter that uses naturally abundant raw laterite modified by suitable chemical treatment has been developed at IIT Kharagpur and technology has been transferred  to  a  start  up  for  commercialisation.  The  technology  requires  no  power  for functioning.  The  adsorbent  is  cost  effective  and  adsorbs  both  As  (III)  and  As  (V).  It removes Arsenic, Iron and Bacteriological contamination.

Mercury Free Plasma UV (MFP-UV) lamp - A technology to produce UV radiation using  plasma  for  disinfection  has  been  successfully  transferred  for  commercialization  to Turners Pvt. Ltd. Jaipur.

An Electric Vehicle (EV) Charger prototype and its controlling software application has been developed at IIT Delhi and technology has been transferred to BSES Rajdhani Power Limited (BRPL) for testing and commercialisation.

AMRIT is an affordable solution for providing clean arsenic and iron free drinking water in arsenic affected areas. Technology has been already transferred to Start up Inno Nano Pvt Ltd and this start up incubated has commercialised nano based materials and water purification products.

Five technologies were transferred to industry by Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST), Trivandrum during the previous year.

International Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy and New Materials  (ARCI),  Hyderabad  has  transferred  solar  thermal  energy  technology  for  low temperature industrial heating to Greenera Energy Pvt Ltd Coimbatore.

Indian  Association  for  Cultivation  of  Science  (IACS),  Kolkata  has  transferred triboelectric generator technology to Continental Automotive GmbH, Germany for further development and commercialization.

Some of the ICMR technologies launched in the market are given below:

- (i) Diagnostic kit for crimean-congo haemorrhagic fever(CCHF) Sheep and Goat
- (ii) Diagnostic kit for Crimean congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) in Cattle
- (iii) Diagnostic kit for Japanese Encephalitis virus (JEV) from Mosquito
- (iv) AV -Magnivisualizer for detecting cancer leisons

Several  technologies  of  Department  of  Space  are  being  successfully  used  by industries today.

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