H.E Oleg N. Avdeev (Consul General of Russia) having a word with A.Sivathanu Pillai, Father of Brahmos, Vice President Indi Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industries, along with N. Ram, chairman, The Hindu Publishing group (right) and Kadambur Raju, Minister for Information and Publicity Tamil Nadu (left) ”BrahMosin Vetri Manthiram” book release function during the Mahatma Gandhi 150th year birth day celebration held at Russian Cultural Centre, Alwarpet in Chennai on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: B_JOTHI RAMALINGAM
Sivathanu Pillai, creator of the BrahMos missile, credits Dr. Kalam for achievements
The Russian Centre for Science and Culture, along with the Indo-Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industries, commemorated Gandhi Jayanthi by releasing a book by renowned defence technologist A. Sivathanu Pillai, BrahMos in Vetri Manthiram, on Tuesday.
A discussion on Indo-Russian humanitarian relations was held on the occasion.
Contribution lauded
Minister for Information and Publicity Kadambur Raju, who presided over the event, lauded the contribution of Mr. Pillai in creating the supersonic cruise missile, BrahMos, and promised to take his book to schools across the State so that students could get a glimpse of missile technology.
“The friendship between India and Russia has always been strong and will continue to remain so,” he added. N. Ram, Chairman, THG Publishing Private Limited, said, “Despite Western attempts to cause prejudice against Russia, the people of India have not been misled, especially in Tamil Nadu. I don’t see their propaganda have any serious influence. India remains immune.” Commending Mr. Pillai, he said, “Nobody, including the USA, has been able to reproduce anything like BrahMos. It is not meant to be used against anyone but to defend India’s national security.
“The people of Tamil Nadu represented by our Minister here are grateful to Russia for remaining steadfast strategic partners and co-operators.” Thanking the gathering for honouring his work and his book, Mr. Pillai recalled the days when he would study Tomahawk and other missiles to create something better in India. “It was Dr. Abdul Kalam’s dream to put our country on the top in technological advancements. “With the help of Russia and our leaders we were able to reach there by creating BrahMos,” he said.
“And like Mr. Ram said, weapons are not meant to fight but to protect. People will respect us only if we are able to defend ourselves,” he said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Staff Reporter / Chennai – October 03rd, 2018
Google on Monday honoured eminent ophthalmologist and founder of Aravind Eye Hospitals Govindappa Venkataswamy with a doodle in his birth centenary year.
The doodle, visible in India, Australia, and New Zealand, features a mirrored landscape blurred on one side and clear on the other with a caricature of Dr. Venkataswamy in the middle. Dr. Venkataswamy or Dr. V is known for introducing low-cost cataract surgery and the eminent ‘Aravind Model’ of free cataract treatment to the poor.
According to a World Health Organisation report released in 2012, cataract continues to be the main cause of blindness in the world (51%). According to a paper published by Indian Journal of Opthalmology, 8.25 million people could lose eyesight in India in 2020 due to cataract.
Dr. Venkataswamy started Aravind Eye Care in a rented house with 11 beds in Madurai in 1976 with an aim to eradicate what he called needless blindness. Today, Aravind has over 57 centres comprising five tertiary care centres, five secondary care centres, six outpatient centres and 41 vision centres across India.
Born on October 1, 1918, in Vadamalapuram village in what is today Virudunagar district of Tamil Nadu, Dr. Venkataswamy decided to study obstetrics reportedly after seeing three of his cousins die due to pregnancy-related complications. He graduated from Stanley Medical College in Chennai and joined the Indian Army as a physician in 1945. But Dr. Venkataswamy had to retire in the early thirties after he was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis that permanently twisted his fingers out of shape. This also meant he could not continue as an obstetrician.
Dr. Venkataswamy studied Ophthalmology and subsequently became the head of the Ophthalmology department at the Government Madurai Medical College. For the next two decades, Dr. Venkataswamy led Tamil Nadu government’s initiative of mobile eye camps in rural areas. At one stage, Dr. Venkataswamy would perform 100 surgeries in a day. “His team of paramedicals do most of the prep work required for each surgery, freeing doctors to do what they do best,” said Google’s blog post on Monday’s doodle.
Dr. Venkataswamy designed the way to address the problem of blindness in a holistic way. “He set up eye camps in rural communities, a rehab center for blind people, a training programme for ophthalmic assistants, and personally performing over 100,000 successful eye surgeries,” said Google’s blog post.
After retiring in 1976, Dr. Venkataswamy founded Aravind Eye Care with 11 beds. The vision was to devote six beds to those patients who could not pay anything and to cover those costs with the other five beds, serving patients paying only as much as they could afford. This model is a case study for numerous medical institutions and governments across the globe and has featured in classed of Harvard Business School. Today, Aravind has nearly 4,000 beds and 70% of patients receive free or subsidised treatment. To put this in perspective, every year Aravind performs 60% as many eye surgeries as the National Health Service in the United Kingdom, doing so at one-thousandth of the cost.
Dr. Venkataswamy was accorded the Padma Shri in 1973 and BC Roy Award in 2001 for his low-cost lenses that costs as little as $2 and is being exported to over 120 countries.
Dr. Venkataswamy passed away on July 7, 2006, and his family continues to run Aravind with the same vision of the patriarch.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sci-Tech> Internet / by K. DeepaLakshmi / October 01st, 2018
How many men does it take to wind 2,200 clocks? A single, if slightly obsessed, one. Peek into Robert Kennedy’s collection of antiques
It’s like a dream, an abstract painting. Clocks are all but spilling out of Robert Kennedy’s compact two-room flat, when he opens the door to a rush of woody scent. On the back of the door, barely visible behind the weights of pendulums, is a poster that reads, “There is never a wrong time to do the right thing”. It’s a philosophy Robert lives by: he’s spent the majority of his 55-year-old life — in between vacations, during work trips, Sundays — roaming about in scrap shops hoping to finding a clock or two.
We sit on the only two chairs in the room, with the faces of each of Robert’s 2,200 clocks staring down at us from the walls. “This one is French,” he says, pointing to an ornate golden brown one. “It was made by Constantine Ditoche, one of the finest clockmakers of France during Napoleon III’s reign.” Robert chanced upon this clock at the house of a Frenchman in Puducherry when he was 24. “He wouldn’t even let me touch it. But when I showed him my own budding collection, he was impressed. He gave that clock to me for ₹1,000,” he says. Today, the clock is worth lakhs.
Rich man’s hobby
Robert, who has been collecting watches since he was 17, is full of stories like these. “You point to any clock and I’ll tell you the story behind it. They’re like my babies.” His fascination began with his grandfather’s Ansonia clock, given to him by the British, that had a red hand for the date — unusual for that time. “My father would always tell me stories about how people would come to our house to see the clock,” he says.
Soon enough, young Robert, growing up in small town Nagercoil, took pride in his possession and wanted more of it. “I collect clocks because they feel alive to me. I can make them run.”
As if to prove his point, he takes me to a 1910 German clock and gives it a half-wind, turning the minute hand that chimes at every quarter. Robert sings in tune along with it, “1, 2, 3, 4…” counting the notes. “When the pendulums were first invented, they didn’t think of adding chimes. Like this one,” he says, pointing to a 280-year-old clock from London, his oldest. Other clocks in his collection include balance wheel marine clocks, weighted wall clocks and the grandfather of flip clocks — Plato clocks.
Antique collection need not be just a rich man’s hobby — Robert is a stellar example. “I found most of my clocks going through scrap and second-hand shops across India,” he says. “So I generally make blind purchases, led only by intuition. About 30% of the clocks I collect are actual scrap, but still, their parts may be of use,” says Robert, who has a network of clocksmiths and watchmakers at his disposal. “I have 300 more clocks in my garage that are in need of spare parts.”
But beyond adding lost parts, Robert doesn’t believe in revamping old clocks. “To me, their charm lies in the peeling paint on the dial. You shouldn’t repaint it, but protect it in the exact state you got it.”
Along his journey, he has stumbled upon many an old watch, coffee grinders, carriage lights, a working steam engine model and even a bicycle with a clock attached. As we move around the flat, he says, “I need more space for all this.”
Living with a hoarder
This is not where he lives: he bought this flat just to keep this collection. In his home a floor below, the sound of parakeets, not clocks, fill the air.
He narrates the bittersweet story of this second flat, “My marriage was almost headed towards a divorce because of these clocks.” Robert’s wife, Teeni, was the one who ended up taking care of the house, and the humongous collection naturally took up a lot of space and made living as well as cleaning difficult.
“I still remember, on our first bus ride home after our marriage, I boasted to her about my clock collection. She just asked me, ‘But why? What do you do with it?’ It’s a question I still don’t have an answer for.”
Eventually, things came to a head and Teeni demanded the collection be kept separately. “It’s not her fault, living with a hoarder can’t be easy, I understand. That’s when I got this flat, in 2007. I may not be the best husband,” he says, shrugging with a tinge of regret, “But I manage the show.”
Robert now wants to open a trust museum for his collection. “I don’t want to hand it over to my children, I want it to be open to the public. My collection is for my nation,” he underlines.
Robert has applied for a Guinness World Record, he can be reached at 9840689408. He will also be giving a talk at TEDxNapierBridge. The event will be held at Museum Theatre, Egmore, on September 16, at 2.30 pm. Tickets can be bought online at bit.ly/pleaseturnover for ₹999. Discount for students. Contact 9790715610 for details.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Society / by Sweta Akundi / September 12th, 2018
P. Ravichandran became the first visually challenged teacher in the School Education Department to win the Best Teacher award on Wednesday.
A congenitally blind person, he began his career in 1993 as a PG assistant and in 2012 was posted as headmaster in the Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Pallikonda, Vellore district, where he hadV served for 27 years.
The history teacher finished class X from St. Louis Institute for the Deaf and the Blind in Adyar, Chennai, and class XII from Don Bosco, in Katpadi.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Special Correspondent / Chennai – September 06th, 2018
M. Karunanidhi in 1969, the year he became Tamil Nadu Chief Minister. | Photo Credit: The Hindu Archives
Karunanidhi was a strong advocate of the rights of the State governments, State autonomy and federalism, and he secured the right for Chief Ministers to hoist the national flag on Independence Day.
M. Karunanidhi, five-time Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president for nearly 50 years, died at 6.10 p.m. on Tuesday after battling illness for 11 days at the Kauvery Hospital in Chennai. Affectionately called Kalaignar (artiste and man of letters) by followers, he was 94.
“Despite the best possible efforts by our team of our doctors and nurses to resuscitate him, he failed to respond,” Aravindan Selvaraj, executive director of the Kauvery Hospital, said in a press release.
The stalwart of the Dravidian movement is survived by wives Dayalu Ammal and Rajathi Ammal; children M.K. Muthu (born to his first wife Padmavathy); M.K. Alagiri, M.K. Stalin, M.K. Tamilarasu and daughter Selvi (through Ms Dayalu); and M. Kanimozhi, born to Ms. Rajathi.
The DMK patriarch, who outlived all his contemporaries in the Dravidian movement, except general secretary K. Anbazhagan, was rushed to the hospital from his Gopalapuram house in the early hours of July 28 after a drop in his blood pressure.
His health had begun to deteriorate on Monday evening with doctors acknowledging that maintaining his vital functions remained a challenge considering his age related ailments and setting a 24-hour deadline for determining the prognosis. At 4.30 p.m. on Tuesday, doctors announced that his condition was “extremely critical and unstable”.
On Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Stalin, Mr. Alagiri and Ms Kanimozhi, along with senior party leaders T.R. Baalu, I Periyasamy, E.V. Velu and Pondmudy, had a 20-minute meeting with Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami at his official residence on Greenways Road, ostensibly to inform him of Karunanidhi’s declining health and seek permission to bury him on the Marina by the side of his political mentor and DMK founder C N Annadurai. They returned to the Kauvery Hospital thereafter.
Soon after this meeting, Chief Secretary Girija Vaidyananthan and some officials of the Public Works Department and Director General of Police T K Rajendran were closeted in a meeting with the Chief Minister.
Karunanidhi, who was largely confined to his home since December 2016, was on July 18 taken to the Kauvery Hospital to change his tracheostomy tube and he returned home the same day. Thereafter, he developed fever and infection and was treated round-the-clock by a team of doctors and nursing professionals in hospital-like environment on the first floor of his home.
Man of records
Karunanidhi was the only Chief Minister in the State whose government was dismissed twice — first during the Emergency in 1976 and again in 1991— by invoking Article 356 of the Indian Constitution. He also created a record by winning all the 13 Assembly elections he had contested since 1957. In 1984 he chose to enter the Legislative Council (since abolished).
A strong advocate of the rights of the State governments, State autonomy and federalism, he secured the right for Chief Ministers to hoist the national flag on Independence Day. It was he who created a separate invocation song for the State — Tamil Thai Vaazthu — by adopting Manonmaniam Sundaranar’s poem Neerarum Kadalodutha.
In pictures: M. Karunanidhi, the five-term Chief Minister
M.Karunanidhi takes oath as Chief Minister at the Raj Bhavan in Madras on February 10, 1969. He was 44 when he took over as Chief Minister after the death of his mentor C.N. Annadurai. Mr.Karunanidhi first term lasted till January 04th, 1976
“During the Emergency when there were fears that regional parties could be banned and even leaders like V.R. Nedunchezhian suggested that the DMK should drop the word Dravida from its name, he stood his ground,” said K. Thirunavukkarasu, historian of the Dravidian Movement and author of the three volume history of the DMK.
Born in Tirukkuvalai, a small hamlet 40 km away from Tiruvarur in the then composite Thanjavur district into a family of musicians — his father Muthuvelar was a nagaswaram player — Karunanidhi was also sent to learn the instrument. But the rebel in him turned his back on music, as nagaswaram players in those days were not allowed to wear shirt or wear the angavastram.
He even once threatened to jump into Kamalayam, the temple tank of Thiyagarajaswami in Tiruvarur, when the headmaster refused him admission. His political career began when he organised students against imposition of Hindi in 1938. He was just 14 then.
Formative tears
Even though his formative years belonged to a period when the Communist movement dominated east Thanjavur, Karunanidhi, with a passion for Tamil language and social justice, gravitated towards the ideas of the Justice Party, Periyar E.V. Ramasamy and C.N.Annadurai. He had a meteoric rise, first in the Dravidar Kazhagam and subsequently in the DMK and he always proved that he has the skill and calibre to run the party after the demise of Annadurai. He was the first president of the DMK, a post created after Annadurai’s time, and Nedunchezhian who was also in the race for the Chief Minister post, became the general secretary.
His rise in the party and government as Chief Minister put an end to the team of leaders who wielded power and enjoyed clout almost on a par with Annadurai. He gained control over the party gradually and at one point the DMK became synonymous with Karunanidhi.
As a minister and later as Chief Minister, Karunanidhi heralded sweeping and bold reforms. As a transport minister in Annadurai’s government, he nationalised the bus service and the DMK government headed by him introduced land reforms. Later, Communist leader Manali Kandasami would say Karunanidhi was able to achieve land reforms with a drop of ink–signature–what Communists struggled to achieve through blood.
A writer, orator and journalist, who founded the DMK’s official organ Murasoli, Karunanidhi’s end has come nearly a year after the platinum jubilee of the newspaper was celebrated. During the Emergency he braved the censors and at times hoodwinked them while bringing out the Murasoli. As he could not publish the names of those who had been arrested under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA), he just published the list of those who could not pay their respects to Annadurai, the founder of the DMK and the party men got the message.
As a dialogue and screenplay writer, he worked for 77 films. Karunanidhi penned the dialogues for films that propelled three actors of Tamil cinema into heroes. Rajakumari, the first film he worked as a dialogue writer was also the film MGR was first introduced as a hero. Parasakathi, for which he wrote the dialogues announced the arrival of Sivaji Ganesan, another formidable talent. S.S.Rajendran was introduced as a hero in the film Ammaiappan for which Karunanidhi was the script writer.
For supremacy of Tamil
In his career as a politician and Chief Minister, Karunanidhi constantly sought to entrench the idea of the supremacy of Tamil. The creation of Valluvar Kottam in Chennai, Chilapathikaram Exhibition at Poompuhar and 133 feet statue of Tiruvalluvar near Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanniyakumari are his efforts to relive the glory of the past. He wrote commentary for Tholkappiyam,the ancient Tamil grammar and many Sangam literary works. His dialogues for the film Poompuhar, based on Silapathikaram, the Tamil epic, are also a masterpiece.
Even when out of power for 13 years during the reign of MGR and President’s rule, he was able to draw the limelight through his constant political activities, writings and public speeches. He released the report of Justice Paul Commission that probed the deathof Subramania Pillai, the official of the Tiruchendur Murugan temples and gave a troubled time for MGR and his cabinet colleagues.
The DMK government headed by him contributed enormously to the development of infrastructure in the state and most of the flyovers aimed at easing traffic congestion were the brainchild of his government. His commitment to social justice led to the creation of Periyar Memorial Samathuvapurams, egalitarian self-sustained housing colonies where families belonging to various communities were allotted houses, though it was seen as a tokenism.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Tamil Nadu / by K. Kolappan / Chennai – August 07th, 2018
Coimbatore 21/10/2012. A one megawatt scale grid-connected solar power plant commissioned by Swelect Energy Systems Limited under REC scheme at Kuppaepalayam near Coimbatore. The solar arrays are ground mounted with light sensing tracking systems for increasing output. Photo:K.Ananthan. | Photo Credit: K_Ananthan
Tastes better than bottled water: firm
Swelect Energy Systems Ltd. (formerly known as Numeric Power Systems Ltd.) has unveiled ‘Source,’ a hydro (solar) panel to provide pure drinking water using sunlight and air, said a top official.
“For this, we have partnered with U.S.-based Zero Mass Water,” said R. Chellappan, managing director, Swelect Energy Systems Ltd. “By using hydropanels, we are eliminating plastic and water waste of bottled and filtered water.”
Source is a combination of solar PV (photovolatic), material science and other technologies. It is a standalone product and can work anywhere — on top of the building or on the ground. It can be installed immediately. It doesn’t require any electrical input.
Absorbing water vapour
He said water vapour from air is drawn into Source through fans, following which special materials absorb the water. The vapour is collected as the air flow passes through a condenser, then flows into a reservoir where it is mineralised with calcium and magnesium. Water is pumped through a polishing cartridge before being delivered to a dispenser. “The water will taste better than bottled water and the total cost of ownership will be cheaper when compared with bottled water,” he said.
The price per panel will be ₹2 lakh and it will generate up to five litres of water per day depending on humidity and sunlight, he said. The panel would last for about 15 years. There is also a storing facility underneath a panel that can hold 30 litres.
“The product is very similar to solar PV. It is scalable and we can do one panel per home to 100 panels for a village,” said Robert Bartrop, executive vice-president– business development, Zero Mass Water.
Swelect plans to sell Source panels to government-run programmes on water, retail and institutional markets through its network of channel partners. The company will target primary health centres, schools, large villas, resorts and water-starved places.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Business> India / by N. Anand / Chennai – July 30th, 2018
Here we go: The Ahura Racing team members strike a happy pose.
Ahura Racing women handled their machines with aplomb
The Ahura Racing women took everybody by storm with their steely show in the LGB Formula 4 class of the JK Tyre championship here on Sunday.
In their maiden outing, the ‘Women in Red’ handled their machines with aplomb to earn a big applause from the crowd.
They showed good speed and a strong race sense but the big boys of racing had them trailing right through. It was still a great show considering the fact that they had minimal track experience.
The girls were thrilled as well. “I was really nervous at the start but that was only for a while,” said Coimbatore’s K.S. Megaa, who clocked the fastest timing among the girls on all three days. “We drove on the wet as well for the first time and now have started to believe that we can do even better,” she added.
Lea Daran said that she had lots of fun. “The feeling was great. I was a bit more cautious on the first day but mixed it up with some aggression today. The passing was a lot easy as well.”
“We are getting better with each passing day and don’t be surprised if we beat the boys. We will beat them for sure with some proper planning and training,” said actor Manisha Kelkar.
“Motorsport in a real big community and I was happy to be a part of it. I liked the way they helped each one of us. It was like being in one big family,” said Hansuja, the youngest in the team.
“We could feel the adrenalin rush in us. It was a unique experience that we will remember for our life time,” said Dr. Ritika Oberoi.
“I had done two wheeler events before but this one was awesome. I wanted to do for some time but I never knew it will come this soon,” Priyamvada Saradhi said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Sport> Other Sports / by Rayan Rozario / Coimbatore – July 08th, 2018
Chennai boy Chetan Korada, perhaps the world’s only motor car racer with synthetic limbs, is ready to step abroad
This is going to be Chetan Korada’s biggest year yet; a year that will see him go international.
“It will be exciting,” he says, rubbing his hands in glee, “I’ll be racing on international tracks at Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Bahrain, which are very different from the ones here in India.”
Korada is not your usual motor racer; the 31-year-old is probably the world’s only motor car racer with synthetic limbs who holds the distinction of winning several series and championships. “I’ve never thought of it as an obstacle. It was never on my mind,” he says, walking up the stairs of his Kilpauk residence and posing for a photograph.
Growing up in the city, sport was always on Korada’s mind. He did dabble in other sports, but realised that racing was his calling a decade ago when he took out an LGB 1300 for a spin.
“Before I sat in the car, my heart was thumping with excitement,” he recalls about that day, “I had prosthetic legs and didn’t know if they would fit. But when I stepped into the vehicle, I could settle in smoothly.” That day remains memorable for Korada, even as his racing career — that includes outings in the JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship, MMS Mini Enduro and the Spring Karting series — enters its 10th year.
Today, Korada looks back at his early childhood as years of determination: ones in which he proved that he was no different from the rest of his friends.
At a very early age, he had to undergo bi-lateral amputation because of his congenital limb deformity, but his inclination towards cars — fuelled by encouragement from his mother and teachers — nudged him to lead a life on the fast lane.
In his initial years in sport, he took great inspiration from Italian Formula One Driver, and paracyclist, Alex Zanardi. “I kept telling myself: if he can do it, I could too. He was a role model.”
Closer home, Korada was following the racing exploits of actor Ajith, who also has a keen interest in the sport.
“I used to like his movies, but when I saw him on the race track in 2007, it was so inspiring…,” he trails off, excited to talk about his favourite star.
He also focussed a lot on his fitness, with Ramji Srinivasan of the city-based QLP Sports helping him out a lot in recent times.
“The folks there know my body better than me,” he says, “Racing demands a lot of physical and mental toughness.”
Korada did look at other careers when he was younger — dabbling in a bit of DJing thanks to his liking for music — but once a racing career looked feasible, he didn’t take a step back.
With such an expensive career, funds might be an issue, but thankfully, he has QNet supporting him on that front. Currently, his sights are set on international racing glory, for which he attended a course with the Formula Masters Testing Programme in Malaysia recently.
“I can’t wait to race on those tracks,” he grins.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Society / by Srinivasa Ramanujam / July 09th, 2018
Anukreethy Vas, a 19-year-old college student from Tamil Nadu, has been crowned fbb Colors Femina Miss India 2018 in an extravagant ceremony held here, hosted by filmmaker Karan Johar and actor Ayushmann Khurrana.
Meenakshi Chaudhary (21) from Harayana was declared the first runner-up while Andhra Pradesh’s Shrey Rao Kamvarapu (23) stood as the second runner-up in the beauty competition.
The crowning ceremony saw performances by actors such as Kareena Kapoor Khan, Jacqueline Farnandez and Madhuri Dixit, and also by Miss World 2017 Manushi Chillar.
The judges panel included cricketers K L Rahul and Irfan Pathan, actors Bobby Deol, Malaika Arora and Kunal Kapoor.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National / by PTI / Mumbai – June 20th, 2018
MoU signed between NIF and Dabur earlier this year
In what could give Indian indigenous medicine a boost, a herbal concoction used by a 60-year-old woman to treat early stage cataract of people in in Tamil Nadu’s Madurai district may soon make its way to market shelves.
This traditional wisdom used by herbal healer Muthulakshmi for decades may be commercialised after Ahmedabad headquartered National Innovation Foundation (NIF) which supports such grassroots innovations has signed an MoU with Dabur Research Foundation earlier this year to develop and commercialise the product.
The herbal medicine which was used to treat early stage cataract patients is currently up for clinical trials and is expected to hit the markets in 6 months.
“We scouted this product with the help of Honey Bee Network, our collective a few years ago. In the past we have validated traditional knowledge and practices of people that are unavailable in classical codified texts with the help of ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research). We got excellent results with the herb that treats patients with early state cataract after preliminary tests were conducted on this herbal medicine tested with PERD (Pharmaceutical Education & Research Development) Ahmedabad.
Later we signed a co-development agreement (MoU) with Dabur Research Foundation earlier this year for testing and developing the herbal medicine. Dabur also has the first right of refusal and can pay market cost for the technology,” said Vipin Kumar, director & chief innovation Officer(CIO) of NIF-India, an autonomous body of DST, Govt of India.
Kicking off the momentum for indigenous traditional medicine made from a flower and administered by Muthulakshmi to treat cataract patients in her region, may be available commercially in an affordable format after it is developed as a viable herbal product.
“We have signed a broad-based MoU and are working with NIF to develop herbal-based products to treat humans through the non-codified herb. The flower is indigenous and grows widely in the country. However, knowledge of this traditional medicine may be lost if it is not passed on to the people. The formula needs to be checked for efficacy on cells and duplicated and made affordable to poor. Through preliminary data we are trying to see if the extract has the potential to cure and will be conducting a clinical trial on 200 subjects.
We are currently in the process of finalising a chemical centre. The money generated through the IPR or patent of this herbal medicine and its royalty will go to the inventor Muthulakshmi and not to us or the NIF. The product can be commercialised within 3 to 6 months once clinical trials are over. Once the product formulation is complete we would obviously not like to refuse it and bring it at affordable rates as our CSR and try to make it low cost for people,” said Dr Manu Jaggi, chief scientific officer, Dabur Research Foundation.
