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Physical activity and aerobic exercise helps keep brain healthy

December 10, 2015

Summary:Regardless of gender, young adults who have greater aerobic fitness also have greater volume of their entorhinal cortex, an area of the brain responsible for memory. Better aerobic fitness however does not appear to impact hippocampal volume, another area in the brain responsible for memory.

Regardless of gender, young adults who have greater aerobic fitness also have greater volume of their entorhinal cortex, an area of the brain responsible for memory. Better aerobic fitness however does not appear to impact hippocampal volume, another area in the brain responsible for memory.

While aerobic fitness is not directly associated with performance on a recognition memory task, the participants with a larger entorhinal cortex also performed better on the recognition memory task. These findings by Boston University School of medicine (BUSM) researchers appear in the journalNeuroImage.

The entorhinal cortex is a brain area known to show early pathology in Alzheimer’s disease, which is characterized by profound memory impairment. Because of the strong association between hippocampal cell growth and exercise in models, previous work on exercise and the brain has not focused on the entorhinal cortex, despite its critical role in learning and memory until now.

The researchers recruited healthy young adults (ages 18-35 years) who underwent a treadmill test to measure aerobic capacity. During this test, the amount of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the participants’ breath as they walked or ran on a treadmill was measured. Participants then underwent magnetic resonance imaging and performed a recognition memory task. Entorhinal and hippocampal volume was determined using a method known as voxel-based morphometry and then regression analysis to examine whether recognition memory and aerobic fitness predicted brain volumes.

“Our results suggest that aerobic exercise may have a positive effect on the medial temporal lobe memory system (which includes the entorhinal cortex) in healthy young adults. This suggests that exercise training, when designed to increase aerobic fitness, might have a positive effect on the brain in healthy young adults,” explained corresponding author and principal investigator Karin Schon, PhD, BUSM assistant professor of anatomy and neurobiology. The researchers point out that unlike previous work done in older adults, in this young adult sample hippocampal volume does not show an association with aerobic fitness.

Researchers said this work could support previous studies that suggest aerobic exercise may forestall cognitive decline in older individuals at risk of dementia, and extends the idea that exercise may be beneficial for brain health to younger adults. “This is critical given that obesity, which has recently been linked with cognitive deficits in young and middle-aged adults, and physical inactivity are on the rise in young adults,” Schon said.

Source:Boston University Medical Center

Mahesh Sharma inaugurates National Museum’s Art Gallery at Udyog Bhawan Metro

saurabh

December 9, 2015

Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State (I/C) for Culture and Tourism inaugurated “National Museum’s Art Gateway” at the Udyog Bhawan Metro Station of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) here today. Addressing on the occasion, the Minister said that National Museum has joined hands with DMRC for promoting the Udyog Bhawan Metro Station as a gateway to Indian Art through the Metro. This novel initiative will allow Delhi Metro Rail Users in large numbers to get a quick glimpse of National Museum collection and the Art works displayed here will be changed regularly to engage viewers with many more pieces of Rich Indian Art and Cultural Heritage. He congratulated DG, National Museum and MD, DMRC for such a novel idea to make people aware of the unique collection of Art works in National Museum.

Secretary, M/o Culture, Shri Narendra Kumar Sinha, Director General of National Museum Shri Sanjiv Mittal, Managing Director of DMRC Dr. Mangu Singh and Director Operations of DMRC Shri Sharat Sharma also graced the occasion.

The Udyog Bhawan Metro Station located in the heart of Delhi will have 11 displays, a Museum Replica Corner and hoardings providing a glimpse into the precious collections of the National Museum and information about the activities of the museum.

National Museum signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with DMRC on September 17, 2015 to promote Udyog Bhawan Metro Station as a gateway to Indian Art through the Metro. This initiative of the National Museum, an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Culture, is a part of its outreach programme and aims at attracting the Delhi Metro users and directing them to the museum which will help in increasing the number of visitors to the museum which is about 5 minutes’ walk from the Udyog Bhavan station. A large portion of the daily commuters in Delhi use the Delhi metro, so this is a wonderful opportunity to inform the public at large about the museum, its collection, exhibitions and its regular programmes. It will also encourage young metro goers to get interested in the Museum and visit it as a fun and educative place of interest.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation has taken such initiatives at many of its stations and this is the first time that a replica corner is being created to provide a near-real experience for visitors who will be inspired to visit National Museum and enjoy its collections.

DNA sequences in GMOs: Largest database now publicly available

saurabh

December 9, 2015

Summary:The JRC has published a new database, JRC GMO-Amplicons, which contains more than 240 000 DNA sequences appearing in genetically modified organisms (GMOs). It will help to verify the presence of GMOs in food, feed and environment. To date, this new database is the largest and most comprehensive in this area and could be key to developing new methods for detecting GMOs in food and feed.

The JRC has published a new database, JRC GMO-Amplicons, which contains more than 240,000 DNA sequences appearing in genetically modified organisms (GMOs). It will help to verify the presence of GMOs in food, feed and environment. To date, this new database is the largest and most comprehensive in this area and could be key to developing new methods for detecting GMOs in food and feed.

The number of genetically modified (GM) crops, their complexity and the related cultivation area are steadily increasing worldwide. In the EU, only one variety of maize (corn) is currently grown commercially but GM varieties of maize, cotton, soybean, oilseed rape and sugar beet are authorised for import into the EU for food and feed uses. The authorisation is granted for new products if they do not pose threats to human or animal health or to the environment.

According to EU Regulation on labelling, labels have to specify if the product contains GMOs.

Correct labelling requires methods for GMO detection, identification and quantification and allows consumers to make informed decisions. These methods detect one or more short DNA sequences (amplicons) characteristic of the GMO genomes, i.e. they are able to detect if GMOs are present in the product. The new JRC GMO-Amplicons database was compiled by collecting information from a large number of publicly available databanks through an automatic computer-based procedure, called “Bioinformatics pipeline,” developed by the JRC experts. The database provides information on amplicons present in GMOs that are authorised in the EU and also those described either in a publication, patent, or public database (even if not authorised). This makes JRC GMO-Amplicons the most comprehensive source for the detection of DNA target sequences currently available.

The new database is easily accessible via the web and helps laboratories to identify suitable target-sequences for developing detection methods, especially for unauthorised GMOs.

The reliable detection of GMOs is pivotal for the enforcement of regulations on GMO authorisation and labelling. In the context of the GMO authorisation process, the European Union Reference Laboratory for GM Food and Feed of the JRC is responsible for validating, developing and optimising methods for the detection of GMOs, and harmonising their correct application throughout the EU. It also is responsible for making tools and methods available to the control laboratories.

The JRC GMO-Amplicons database is the third publicly available tool that has been developed by the JRC in the GMO field, together with the JRC GMO-Matrix and the GMOMETHODS database, a decision support tool to optimise the detection of GMOs and the EU database of reference methods for GMO analysis, respectively. They all together will contribute to make the analysis of GMOs in the food chain more efficient and cost-effective.

Source:European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC)

Role of MSME in Defence Sector

saurabh

December 9, 2015

Ministry of Defence set up a Committee of Experts under the Chairmanship of Shri Dhirendra Singh, IAS (Retd.), in May 2015 to evolve a policy framework for Make in India and to suggest requisite amendments in Defence Procurement Procedure (DPP) 2013. The Committee submitted its report in July 2015 and in its report it is mentioned that almost 80% of component, aggregates and assemblies of complex weapon system and aircraft are made by MSMEs, which are part of supply chains. The Report also mentions that there are nearly 6000 MSMEs across the country supplying components and sub-assemblies to the DPSUs, Ordnance Factories, DRDO and private industries. A 2012 Report of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) mentions that the employee base of 1.8 lakh in Ordnance Factories and DPSUs is similar to the countries like United Kingdom and France which are amongst the largest producers of defence related items.

The lack of state of the art defence technology and poor production capabilities are some of the major reasons for lagging behind by India in the field of defence production. However, the Government has promulgated Defence Production Policy in 2011aimed at achieving substantive self-reliance in the design, development and production of equipment, weapon systems, platforms required for defence in as early a time frame as possible; creating conditions conducive for the private industry to take an active role in this endeavour; enhancing potential of SMEs in indigenisation and broadening the defence R&D base of the country. In pursuance of the Policy, the Government has taken several steps to build strong defence industrial base, which are given as below:-

• FDI policy has been revised in Nov 2015 under which Foreign Investment upto 49% is allowed through automatic route and above 49% under Government route on case-to-case basis, wherever it is likely to result in access to modern and ‘state-of-art’ technology in the country.

• The Exchange Rate Variation (ERV) protection has been allowed on foreign exchange component to all Indian companies including private companies in all categories of capital acquisitions, so as to create a level playing ﬁeld between the Indian and foreign industry.

• To establish a level-playing field between Indian private sector and the public sector, the anomalies in excise duty/ custom duty have been removed. As per the revised policy, all Indian industries (public and private) are subjected to the same kind of excise and custom duty levies.

• The Defence Products List for the purpose of issuing Industrial Licences (ILs) under IDR Act has been revised and most of the components, parts, sub-systems, testing equipment, and production equipment have been removed from the List, so as to reduce the entry barriers for the industry, particularly small & medium segment.

• The initial validity of the Industrial Licence granted under the IDR Act has been increased from 7 years to 15 years with a provision to further extend it by 3 years on a case-to-case basis.

• To promote the participation of private sector, particularly SMEs for defence manufacturing, Outsourcing and Vendor Development Guidelines for DPSUs and OFB have been formulated and circulated to them. The guidelines mandate that each DPSU and OFB to have a short-term and long-term outsourcing and vendor development plan to gradually increase the outsourcing from private sector including SMEs. The guidelines also include vendor development for import substitution.

• The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the issue of No Objection Certificate (NOC) for export of military stores has been revised and put on the website. Under the revised SOP, the requirement of End User Certificate (EUC) to be countersigned/ stamped by the Government authorities has been done away with for the export of parts, components, sub-systems etc.

• The list of military stores has been finalised and has been put in the public domain to make the process transparent and unambiguous. The process of receiving applications for NOC for export of military stores and for issuing NOC has been made online to reduce the delay and to remove human interface in the process.

• Preference to ‘Buy (Indian)’, ‘Buy & Make (Indian)’ & ‘Make’ categories of acquisition over ‘Buy (Global)’ category, thereby giving preference to Indian industry in procurement.

RITES signing of MoU with Air India

saurabh

December 9, 2015

rites_logo_indianbureaucracy

Air India today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with RITES Limited (earlier known as Rail India Technical and Economic Service). RITES, a Govt of India enterprise, is a leading international consultancy and project management organization specializing in transport infrastructure service covering railways, airports, highways, ports and harbours etc.

With the signing of the MoU the two companies will cooperate in their future projects, in areas of planning,design and construction management of aircraft maintenance hangars, Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO), buildings, workshops, administrative buildings, air cargo terminals, etc.. Air India will also seek cooperation in project feasibility report, site investigation and material surveys, environmental impact assessment, preliminary project reports, preliminary cost studies and economic evaluations, surveys and traffic forecasts.
RITES will also help in the preparations of detailed project reports, design of airport pavements, preparation of specifications & schedule of quantities, preparation of contract documents, project management, construction supervision, quality control, procurement, detailed design and cost planning of all engineering & construction works, or any other such projects in the field of aviation, for which RITES has the necessary professional expertise available.

About Air India:

Air India occupies a special place in the global and Indian aviation scenario. It pioneered the aviation in India and its history is synonymous with the history of civil aviation in India. Air India is not a mere airline that transports passengers, baggage and cargo. It is a multi-faceted organization. The aviation infrastructure it has created over the years is a testimony of its contribution. Apart from servicing of all its aircraft in-house with its own engineering facilities, Air India also undertakes ground handling services of many airlines in many cities in India. Air India has grown to become a mega international airline with a network of 34 destinations across the USA, Europe, Far-East and South-East Asia and the Gulf. The airline’s domestic network covers 50 destinations, including far-flung areas of the North-East, Ladakh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Air India, today, flies one of the youngest, state-of-the-art, fleet of aircraft comprising a mix of the wide-body Boeing B777s, B747s, its latest acquisition- the B787 Dreamliner and the narrow body Airbus A321s, A320s and A319 aircraft.

Digital Commerce Market may touch $128 billion mark by 2017

saurabh

December 9, 2015

ASSOCHAM_IndianBureaucracy

Digital commerce market in India is likely to touch $128 billion in 2017 from the current level of $42 billion in 2015 due to increase in mobile and internet penetration, m-commerce sales, payment options, exciting discounts, according to the joint study brought out by ASSOCHAM and Deloitte.

With an increasing mobile and internet penetration, m-commerce sales, advanced shipping and payment options, exciting discounts, and the push into new international markets by e-businesses are the major drivers of this unprecedented growth.

The digital commerce market in India has grown steadily from $4.4 billion in 2010 to $13.6 billion in 2014, according to a study on “Future of e-Commerce: Uncovering Innovation”, jointly conducted by The Associated chamber of commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and Deloitte.

The M&A deals (Softbank’s $627 million deal with Snapdeal, Flipkart acquired Myntra for $370 million, Ola Cabs acquired TaxiForSure for $200 million) and sky-rocket valuation of these e-commerce giants rising in last one year shows that the sector is heating up. The question would be whether these valuations are sustainable despite showing no signs of profitability. The global players like Amazon and Alibaba have deep pockets to rely on their parent companies for continuous funding support. The homegrown players would definitely need different metrics to preserve the investor confidence build in the sector.

The big retailers are increasingly focusing on their digital strategies in order to gain the obvious benefits of online platforms – wider reach, always on, personalization to name a few. The e-commerce companies are concentrating their efforts on increasing the penetration of their mobile apps for higher growth. Big players in this space claim to have more than 50% of their revenue coming from mobile apps.

While releasing the paper Mr. D S Rawat, Secretary General said, “the supply chain and logistics in e-commerce business are highly complex to manage in a vast country like India where infrastructure is not well-developed to reach every remote and rural area. The taxation policies for the e-businesses are not well-defined depending on different business models and transaction types. The complexity has further amplified with transactions happening across borders for online selling of goods and services. Moreover, e-businesses do not take sufficient steps to deploy a security solution, which is hindering the consumer rom transacting online”.

Newer technologies that could significantly bring a paradigm shift in the online businesses are analytics, autonomous vehicles, social commerce, and 3D printing. Companies have started to invest in data analytics to gain real-time insights into customer buying behavior and thus offer personalized user experience. The e-commerce companies are building communities on social media networks to better understand customer needs and to drive effective marketing strategies, noted study.

The future of e-commerce is bright and growth will come from mobile platforms, personalization, social media analytics, omni-channel service, and sharing economy business models. The e-commerce industry is an exciting place with the interplay of social, mobility, analytics, cloud (SMAC), digital, 3D and, virtualization. The current high valuations, in spite of losses, perhaps, are indicative of the future potential.

Increasing internet and mobile penetration, growing acceptability of online payments and favorable demographics has provided the e-commerce sector in India the unique opportunity to fundamentally alter the way companies connect with their customers.

Online travel, one of the key drivers of India’s e-commerce market, accounts for nearly 71% of e-commerce business in India. Though the online retail market in India, currently at $1.6 billion, is a miniscule fraction of India’s overall $500 billion retail industry; retail e-commerce has recorded a three-fold growth since 2011, predominantly driven by million dollar investments by domestic and foreign investors.

On the other hand, mobile commerce (m-commerce) is growing rapidly as a stable and secure supplement to the e-commerce industry. Shopping online through smart phones is proving to be a game changer, and industry leaders believe that m-commerce could contribute up to 70% of their total revenues.

The Government’s ambitious ‘Digital India’ project that aims to offer a one-stop shop for Government services will further bolster the sector by introducing internet and broadband to remote corners of the country and increase trade. This initiative through a targeted investment of nearly $17 billion will transform India into a connected economy and also attract investment in electronics manufacturing and create millions of jobs, said Mr. Rawat.

It is therefore important to overcome challenges in Financing, Infrastructure, Logistics and focus on building Customer Loyalty to usher in the next wave of sustainable growth in e-commerce. Dedicated e-commerce laws are required to address issues in the sector’s legal and regulatory framework and Banks must play a leading role as ‘Facilitators’ by offering cost effective cash management solutions, secure payment gateways and other relevant banking services, highlighted the study.

There are about 930 million wireless subscribers in India. The wireless teledensity in urban areas is in excess of 140 while there is still huge potential in rural areas with teledensity of 44. A significantly large percentage of this subscriber base in India will be using mobile devices to access internet, estimated at 235 million users as of September 2014 and growing rapidly. This rapid spread of mobile internet, especially of smart phones could unlock a significant market beyond the Tier 1 cities for the online retail segment. Undoubtedly, mobile retailing is expected to continue to grow aggressively. In the next three years, global e-commerce sales made via mobile devices are expected to top $638 billion.

In India, online shoppers are expected to increase from 20 million in 2013 to 40 million in 2016. An additional 200 million Indians will access the internet in the next three years, with majority of them coming online through smartphones.

Around 75% of Indian internet users are in the age group of 15 to 34 years. This category shops more than the remaining population. Peer pressure, rising aspirations with career growth, and fashion trends encourage this segment to shop more than any other category and India. This category, therefore, clearly enjoys a demographic dividend that favours the growth of the India e-commerce sector.

IndianBureaucracy.com wishes the very best.

Shubhra Singh appointed as ED (JS Level) ,Department of Commerce

saurabh

December 9, 2015

Ms.Shubhra Singh IAS (RJ 19889) has been appointed as the post of Executive Director (JS level) Department of Commerce, Government of India. India trade promotion Organization (ITPO) vice Shri Malay Shrivastava IAS

IndianBureaucracy.com wishes the very best.

Make in India only Possible through Strengthening the Indian SME Sector: Kalraj Mishra

saurabh

December 9, 2015

CII Logo

Global SME Business Summit 2015 organized by CII, in close association with the Ministry of MSME, Government of India, in New Delhi, Shri Kalraj Mishra, Hon’ble Minister, Ministry of MSME stressed on the importance of global SME partnerships for the growth of Indian SMEs as well as for the success of the Prime Minister’s visionary Make in India initiative. He was addressing the CII Global SME Business Summit in Delhi.

The importance of SMEs has been stressed and reiterated at various fora. The Minister exclaimed that a platform like the summit is important to bring stakeholders forming various parts of the SME ecosystem in India and abroad together. He added that the dynamic global business environment has exposed Indian MSMEs to a plethora of opportunities as well as challenges. He further stated that the Ministry of MSME is committed to bringing in structural reforms to help India SMEs leverage the opportunities and evolve into globally competitive and robust powerhouses of the Indian economy.

Mindful of the expectations from the MSME sector under his able leadership, the Hon’ble Minister shared some of the most recent initiatives by the Ministry to propel the growth potential of these enterprises. Amongst these, he mentioned bill for redefinition of Indian MSMEs by enhancing the investment limits in plant & machinery which is in the parliament, the framework for revival and exit of sick MSME enterprises, the Public Procurement Policy mandating PSEs to source 20% of their procurement requirement from MSMEs which has been made mandatory from 1 April 2015, recommendations made by the KV Kamath Committee to examine the financial architecture of Indian MSMEs, the MUDRA Bank set up with a corpus of Rs. 20,000 crore and a credit guarantee corpus of Rs. 3000 crore to fund the unfunded enterprises, etc.

One of the most important initiatives, according to him, is the Udyog Aadhaar Memorandum for the simplification and universalization of MSMEs through a simple, online, one page form. He added that the Udyog Aadhaar has met with a resounding success with around 75,000 registrations online since its inception in September, 2015. He went on to share that the ministry is attempting to expand its presence on social media by uploading all schemes online and opening interactive sessions on Facebook and Twitter which have attracted over 12,000 followers. Emphasizing on the importance of skill development, he stated that the Ministry has launched a digital employment exchange platform for mapping skills. Under the ASPIRE programme, agro-based industry will be encouraged and also setting up of vocational training incubation centres for students from villages who have passed ITI courses and class 10 has been proposed, he added. He concluded by stating that a collective approach between the centre, state, private sector, industry associations, academia, banking fraternity, and other stakeholders is the most effective way to tackle barriers to the growth of MSME.

The Minister also launched CII’s new SME initiative, The India MSME Alliance (TIMA) which is an apex body of MSME associations in India.

Earlier Speaking at the Session, Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII welcomed the Hon’ble Minister at the Summit and applauded the Minister’s continued support for CII in its efforts to support the Indian MSME sector. CII has launched several initiatives to support SME sector including Finance Facilitation Centre, Cluster Development programme, Training Sessions, etc. He requested Ministry to make MSME “inspector free” for at least one year.

Mr T T Ashok, Chairman, CII National SME Council, welcomed the dignitaries and participants and shared some important challenges that SMEs face today. These included access to funding, infrastructure, skill development, mentoring support, etc. He pledged CII’s support to the Ministry and other bodies of the Government of India to synergistically create a vibrant and globally competitive SME sector.

High-powered FICCI Defense & Aerospace business delegation to USA

saurabh

December 9, 2015

Concurrent to the visit of the Mr. Manohar Parrikar, Defense Minister of India to USA, FICCI is mounting a 14-member high-powered Defense and Aerospace Business Delegation to USA from December 6 to 11, 2015. The FICCI delegation led by Mr. S N Subrahmanyan, Deputy Managing Director & President, Larsen & Toubro. India, the third-largest economy in Asia, is often characterized as a nascent great power and “indispensable partner” of the United States and possibly a potential counterweight to China. Of late, Washington and New Delhi have been pursuing a “strategic partnership” based on shared values and apparently convergent geopolitical interests. Both countries have moved on from being “engaged democracies” to “strategic partners” in high technology areas like defence, space, nuclear and cyber security.

The two countries since have engaged in numerous and combined military exercises, and major U.S. arms sales to India are under way. During the visit, the Indian delegation will interact with Mr. Manohar Parrikar, senior officials of US Department of Defence, strategic think tanks, captains of US Defense & Aerospace companies and American business chambers. Traditionally the defense trade between India and US is largely based on the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) route and all strategic commercial dialogues are done under G2G route. The FMS route is unsustainable for long-term development as it involves a one-time purchase from American defense contractors and does not enhance the technological know-how of Indian partners. Transfer of technology (ToT) is imperative for Indian industries to kick-start the muchneeded defense industrial base and generate economic spin-offs. Therefore, Indian industry looks forward to technology collaborations, joint R&D and joint ventures to commercialize the innovations and matured industrial products. Dr. A Didar Singh, Secretary General, FICCI, said “We believe that for the success of defense cooperation between India and US, the industry to industry interactions will be very crucial to understand the requirements, capabilities and possible areas of cooperation. Apart from the current pathways like FMS and Defence Technology Trade Initiative (DTTI), there is a need to explore opportunities to move forward B2B engagements with the Tier 1 & 2 of the US and Indian MSMEs.” The FICCI delegation is slated to meet with Mr. Marty Walsh, Mayor of Boston; Mr. Charlie Baker, Governor of Massachusetts; Secretary Cohen; Senator John McCain, Chairman, Senate Committee on Armed Services; Mr. Marc Bernstein, Associate Director, Lincoln Labs; Mr. Ami Bera, Co-Chair, House India Caucus; Mr. George Holding, Co-Chair, House India Caucus; Mr. Ed Royce, Chair, House Foreign Affairs Committee; Mr. Eliot Engel, Co-Chair, House Foreign Affairs Committee; William Todd, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State (PDAS); DAS Manpreet Anand; ADAS Sean Stein; Mr. Frank Kendall, Undersecretary for Defense for Acquisition, Technology, & Logistics; Mr. Matthew Borman, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Administration; Department of Commerce; Mr. Arun Kumar, Assistant Secretary Department of Commerce; Hudson President Dr. Ken Weinstein; Mr. Doug Feith, former Under Secretary of Defense Policy; Mr. Subodh Rajendra Babu; Mr. Jayant Patil; Col. H.S. Shankar Michael Pillsbury, Hudson Institute; Mr. Northrop Grumman; and Mr. Keith Webster, Director of International Cooperation.

The delegation will undertake a visit to MassChallenge facilities, startup space, and lab. MassChallenge is a start-up, accelerator that includes startups in the defense/robotics/aerospace fields and has partnerships with CASIS/Boeing/NASA to fund aerospace innovation. It will get a ring-side view of Lincoln Labs and hold discussions on federally funded R&D facilities, technology transfer, Intellectual Property and joint development strategies. A lunch roundtable is also being organized with representatives of American defense industry and Defense Minister Parrikar. The delegation will also visit US Army Research Laboratory and hold a meeting with officials of the Department of Commerce with Bureau of Industry and Security.

IndianBureaucracy.com wishes the business delegation the very best.

A Defect-free, Molecule-thick Film coming soon

saurabh

December 9, 2015

Summary:A research team has found a simple way to fix defects in atomically thin monolayers semiconductors. The development could open doors to transparent LED displays, ultra-high efficiency solar cells, photo detectors and nano scale transistors.

An emerging class of atomically thin materials known as monolayer semiconductors has generated a great deal of buzz in the world of materials science. Monolayers hold promise in the development of transparent LED displays, ultra-high efficiency solar cells, photo detectors and nanoscale transistors. Their downside? The films are notoriously riddled with defects, killing their performance.

But now a research team, led by engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, has found a simple way to fix these defects through the use of an organic superacid. The chemical treatment led to a dramatic 100-fold increase in the material’s photoluminescence quantum yield, a ratio describing the amount of light generated by the material versus the amount of energy put in. The greater the emission of light, the higher the quantum yield and the better the material quality.

The researchers enhanced the quantum yield for molybdenum disulfide, or MoS2, from less than 1 percent up to 100 percent by dipping the material into a superacid called bistriflimide, or TFSI.

Their findings, to be published in the issue of Science, opens the door to the practical application of monolayer materials, such as MoS2, in optoelectronic devices and high-performance transistors. MoS2 is a mere seven-tenths of a nanometer thick. For comparison, a strand of human DNA is 2.5 nanometers in diameter.

“Traditionally, the thinner the material, the more sensitive it is to defects,” said principal investigator Ali Javey, UC Berkeley professor of electrical engineering and computer sciences and a faculty scientist at Berkeley Lab. “This study presents the first demonstration of an optoelectronically perfect monolayer, which previously had been unheard of in a material this thin.”

The researchers looked to superacids because, by definition, they are solutions with a propensity to “give” protons, often in the form of hydrogen atoms, to other substances. This chemical reaction, called protonation, has the effect of filling in for the missing atoms at the site of defects as well as removing unwanted contaminants stuck on the surface, the researchers said.

Co-lead authors of the paper are UC Berkeley Ph.D. student Matin Amani, visiting Ph.D. student Der-Hsien Lien and postdoctoral fellow Daisuke Kiriya.

They noted that scientists have been pursuing monolayer semiconductors because of their low absorption of light and their ability to withstand twists, bends and other extreme forms of mechanical deformation, which can enable their use in transparent or flexible devices.

MoS2, specifically, is characterized by molecular layers held together by van der Waals forces, a type of atomic bonding between each layer that is atomically sharp. An added benefit of having a material that is so thin is that it is highly electrically tunable. For applications such as LED displays, this feature may allow devices to be made where a single pixel could emit a wide range of colors rather than just one by varying the amount of voltage applied.

The lead authors added that the efficiency of an LED is directly related to the photoluminescence quantum yield so, in principle, one could develop high-performance LED displays that are transparent when powered off and flexible using the “perfect” optoelectronic monolayers produced in this study.

This treatment also has revolutionary potential for transistors. As devices in computer chips get smaller and thinner, defects play a bigger role in limiting their performance.

“The defect-free monolayers developed here could solve this problem in addition to allowing for new types of low-energy switches,” said Javey.

Source:University of California – Berkeley

Indigenisation in Defence Sector on the high

saurabh

December 9, 2015

The Government has promulgated Defence Production Policy in 2011 in order to promote indigenisation in defence sector. The policy aims at achieving substantive self-reliance in the design, development and production of equipment, weapon systems, platforms required for defence in as early a time frame as possible; creating conditions conducive for the private industry to take an active role in this endeavour; enhancing potential of SMEs in indigenisation and broadening the defence R&D base of the country. In pursuance of the Policy, the Government has taken several steps to build strong defence industrial base which are given as below:-

o FDI policy has been revised in Nov 2015 under which Foreign Investment upto 49% is allowed through automatic route and above 49% under Government route on case-to-case basis, wherever it is likely to result in access to modern and ‘state-of-art’ technology in the country.

o The Exchange Rate Variation (ERV) protection has been allowed on foreign exchange component to all Indian companies including private companies in all categories of capital acquisitions, so as to create a level playing ﬁeld between the Indian and foreign industry.

o To establish a level-playing field between Indian private sector and the public sector, the anomalies in excise duty/ custom duty have been removed. As per the revised policy, all Indian industries (public and private) are subjected to the same kind of excise and custom duty levies.

o The Defence Products List for the purpose of issuing Industrial Licences (ILs) under IDR Act has been revised and most of the components, parts, sub-systems, testing equipment, and production equipment have been removed from the List, so as to reduce the entry barriers for the industry, particularly small & medium segment.

o The initial validity of the Industrial Licence granted under the IDR Act has been increased from 7 years to 15 years with a provision to further extend it by 3 years on a case-to-case basis.

o To promote the participation of private sector, particularly SMEs for defence manufacturing, Outsourcing and Vendor Development Guidelines for DPSUs and OFB have been formulated and circulated to them. The guidelines mandate that each DPSU and OFB to have a short-term and long-term outsourcing and vendor development plan to gradually increase the outsourcing from private sector including SMEs. The guidelines also include vendor development for import substitution.

o The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the issue of No Objection Certificate (NOC) for export of military stores has been revised and put on the website. Under the revised SOP, the requirement of End User Certificate (EUC) to be countersigned/ stamped by the Government authorities has been done away with for the export of parts, components, sub-systems etc.

o The list of military stores has been finalised and has been put in the public domain to make the process transparent and unambiguous. The process of receiving applications for NOC for export of military stores and for issuing NOC has been made online to reduce the delay and to remove human interface in the process.

o Preference to ‘Buy (Indian)’, ‘Buy & Make (Indian)’ & ‘Make’ categories of acquisition over ‘Buy (Global)’ category, thereby giving preference to Indian industry in procurement.

Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has, so far issued 307 Letters of Intents (LOIs)/Industrial Licences (ILs) to 182 companies to till Oct 2015 for manufacture of a wide range of defence items to public/private companies. So far 50 licensed companies covering 79 industrial licenses have reported commencement of production.

34 FDI proposals/Joint Ventures have been approved in defence sector since 2000, for manufacture of various defence items, both with Indian public and private sector companies.

Since the launch of ‘Make in India’ initiative in Sept 2014, Department of Industrial Policy &Promotion has issued 81 Industrial Licenses to 61 companies for manufacture of various defence items.

Army casualties in Ceasefire Violations

saurabh

December 9, 2015

The details of ceasefire violations in J&K along Indo-Pakistan border are as under:-

Ceasefire Violations along Line of Control (LC)
International Border (IB) under operational control of Army
Ceasefire Violations along IB under operational control of BSF

(from 01 January to 30th Nov, 2015)249

(from 01 January to 31st Oct, 2015)

(b) Six Army personnel were martyred during the ceasefire violations along the LC in the said period.

Monetary compensation to army soldiers’ families:

Ex Gratia Lump Sum Compensation from Central Government to Next of Kin (NoK) of Battle Casualty:

Death occurring due to accidents in the course of duties – Rs.10.00 lakh.
Death in the course of duties attributable to acts of violence by terrorists, etc. -Rs.10.00 lakh.
Death occurring during enemy action in war or border skirmishes or in action against militants, terrorists, etc.- Rs.15.00 lakh.
Death occurring during enemy action in International war or war like engagements specifically notified – Rs.20.00 lakh.
Death occurring while on duty in the specified high altitude, inaccessible border posts, etc. on account of natural disasters, extreme weather conditions -Rs.15.00 lakh.
Other Monetary Benefits:

Liberalised Family Pension: as applicable to Battle Casualty that is equal to emoluments last drawn by the deceased individual.
Death-cum-Retirement Gratuity: that is based on length of service rendered and emoluments last drawn by the deceased individual.
Army Group Insurance Fund:-
o Officers : Rs. 50.00 lakh

o JCO/ORs : Rs. 25.00 lakh

Army Group Insurance Maturity that is based on the contribution made by the deceased Army personnel.

Army Wives Welfare Association Fund:-
o Officers : Rs.10,000/-

o JCOs/ORs : Rs.15,000/- (w.e.f. 01 Apr, 2015)

Army Officers Benevolent Fund : Rs.50,000/-

Army Central Welfare Fund: Rs.30,000/-

Other Benefits:

o Education Concession

o Air Travel Concession

o Telephone Concession

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