On 30th September 2020,Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Science & Technology, Earth Sciences and Health & Family Welfare launched a set of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research(CSIR) technologies for rural development under the joint initiative of CSIR, Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA), Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) and Vijnana Bharti (VIBHA) over a virtual event organised on the occasion of the 40th Foundation Day of CSIR – National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies (CSIR-NISTADS), a constituent laboratory of CSIR.
Key People:
Dr. Shekhar C Mande, DG-CSIR, Padma Bhushan Shri Vijay P. Bhatkar, Chairman of National Steering Committee of UBA, Ram Gopal Rao, Director of IIT Delhi, Virendra K. Vijay, National Coordinator of UBA and Dr. Ranjana Aggarwal, Director, CSIR-NISTADS participated in the virtual event.
Released CSIR Technologies:
i.Improved bee hive for quality and hygienic extraction of honey, CSIR-IHBT, Palampur
ii.Technology for manufacturing of Ginger paste, CSIR-CFTRI, Mysore
iii.Dehumidified dryer for food and agri products, CSIR-NIIST, Thiruvananthapuram; and
iv.Technology for agricultural waste (wheat bran, sugarcane bagasse and fruit peels) based biodegradable plates, cups and cutleries, CSIR-NIIST, Thiruvananthapuram
Note:
Union Minister Harsh Vardhan also released the e-Compendium of CSIR-NISTADS and e-Coffee Table Book during the virtual event.
Background:
The CSIR technologies were released under the tripartite MoU signed among CSIR, UBA and VIBHA in July 2020 at CSIR with an aim to cooperate in the post COVID fast track action plan to create opportunities in the rural region.
Key Points:
i.Various technologies developed by CSIR can be deployed in the rural areas through the Higher Education Institutional network of UBA and local chapters of VIBHA for the development, generation of livelihood opportunities and to achieve the target of Sustainable Development Goals(SDG).
ii.The CSIR-NISTADS will be acting as the Nodal CSIR lab to enable a linkage between CSIR labs, UBA, VIBHA and stakeholders.
iii.CSIR, UBA and VIBHA will jointly work on the framework for scientific interventions to create sustainable livelihood opportunities under the S&T organisations like CSIR, DBT, DRDO etc, VIBHA and UBA.
Unnat Bharat Abhiyan:
i.Unnat Bharat Abhiyan is a flagship programme of the Ministry of Education with an aim of transformational change in the rural development processes with the support of educational institutes to build an inclusive India.
ii.UBA constitutes around 45 Regional Coordinating Institutions (RCIs and 2614 Participating Institutions(PIs), under which more than 13760 villages are adopted.
Recent Related News:
i.On June 12, 2020, Shri Rajesh Bhushan, the officer on Special Duty of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched a National Healthcare Supply Chain Portal Aarogyapath (https://www.aarogyapath.in) to provide real- time availability of critical healthcare supplies with the involvement of manufacturers, suppliers and customers. The portal, developed by the CSIR team led by Dr Anjan Ray (Director of CSIR-IIP (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research -Indian Institute of Petroleum DehraDun, Uttarakhand).
ii.On May 7, 2020, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan and Minister of State for Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy(AYUSH) Shripad Yesso Naik jointly launched Ayush Sanjivani application(app) & clinical research studies on Ayurveda interventions as an addition to standard care to COVID 19 situation in New Delhi. Shripad Yesso Naik participates through a video conference in Goa.
About Council of Scientific & Industrial Research(CSIR):
Director General– Dr. Shekhar C. Mande
Headquarters– New Delhi
