July 2009

Vol 29 No 7

v National Technology Day Celebration in Labs/Estts of DRDO

v E-Security at LRDE

v Manpower Development Activities

n Workshop on Data Mining and Machine Learning

n Training Programmes on Coaching & Mentoring in R&D Organizations

n Special Course on Best Practices in System Integration

v Modernisation of NSTL Central Workshop

v ISSA Golden Jubi-lee Celebrations

v Personnel News

n Appointments

v ISO 9001 : 2008 Certification to LRDE

v Unit Day Celebration

v Dr BR Ambedkar’s Jayanti Celebration

v Patent Granted

v Copyright Obtained

v Floor Reaction Orthosis Calipers distribution Camp at NSTL

v Sports Round-up

v Visits to DRDO Labs/Estts

In This IssueNational Technology

Day Celebration in Labs/Estts of DRDO

National Technology Day signifies the glorious achievements of Indian science and technology and has been celebrated

all over the country after the successful Pokhran II, Nuclear test on 11 and 13 May 1998. Nuclear test was an attempt by India to strengthen its national security by joining the nuclear club, but moreover a determination to move ahead with technology for socio-economic uplifting with the application of science. Since 1999, 11 May being celebrated by labs/estts of DRDO with delivering of Technology Day Oration, Open House Session, Quiz, etc. The scientist after their technology day oration were felicitated with medals and commendation certificates signed by SA to RM. Highlights of the celebrations at some of the labs/estts are reported here:

ADE, Bengaluru

Shri Y Dilip, Sc F, delivered Technology Day Oration on ‘Plan ahead for Technology Insertion and Mitigate Obsolescence through Strategic Initiatives’. Director, ADE gave away the Titanium Medal and the Commendation Certificate to Shri Dilip.

CABS, Bengaluru

Smt P Santhya, Sc ‘E’ of the Centre delivered Technology Day Oration titled, ‘Independent Verification and Validation Process for AEW&C System Software’ on the occasion.

DEBEL, Bengaluru

Dr (Mrs) S Jyotsna Shaharpurkar, Sc E gave the Technology Day Oration on ‘Biodefence’. She was awarded with Titanium Medal and the Commendation Certificate by Shri Chittaranjan Das,

02

July

‘09

DRDL DRLCABS

DRDL, Hyderabad

Chief Guest on the occasion Shri A Balasubamaniam, Programme Director, Human Space Mission, VSSC, Thiruvananthapuram, gave the invited talk on ‘Space capsule recovery experiment and beyond’. He emphasised the need for more interaction between ISRO and DRDO for futuristic technological development as both organization face similar type of challenges. Technology Day Oration on ‘Design and Development of Aerospace Mechanisms’ was delivered by Shri MG Atre, Sc ‘E’. Shri P Venugopalan, Director, DRDL congratulated Shri Atre for doing the excellent work in Aerospace Mechanism. Shri Balasubamaniam presented the Titanium Medal and the Commendation Certificate to Shri Atre.

DRL, Tezpur

Defence Research Laboratory (DRL), Tezpur celebrated the National Technology Day on 11 May, 2009 in a very befitting manner. Dr A Sivathanu Pillai, DS & CC R&D (NS&ACE), DRDO HQrs was the Chief Guest on the occasion and he made a brief presentation on ‘Emerging Defence Technologies’. Dr Pillai interacted and gave away valuable piece of advice which had been very stimulating and morale-boosting one to the entire Scientific Community of DRL, Tezpur. Shri BJ Gogoi, Sci C, DRL, delivered the National Technology Day Oration on ‘Photochemiluminiscence Technology for Fast and Accurate Screening of Antioxidants in Plants’. Dr Pillai presented the Titanium Medal and the Commendation Certificate to Shri Gogoi for the oration.

HEMRL, Pune

Dr A Subhananda Rao, OS & Director, HEMRL, highlighted the significant achievements made by DRDO like BrahMos, Astra, Shourya, and Nag missiles and LCA Tejas aircraft. He stressed the importance

Sc G, Associate Director, DEBEL. Dr JR Mudakavi, Principal Research Scientist, Department of Chemical Engineering, IISc, Bengaluru, was the Chief Guest of the function. He gave a lecture on ‘Investigations of Activated Carbon Fabric and its Applications’.

DESIDOC, Delhi

National Technology Day was celebrated in Defence Scientific Information and Documentation Centre (DESIDOC), Delhi on 11 May 2009. Dr AL Moorthy, Director, DESIDOC delivered a talk on ‘Role and importance of S&T in human development’.

DIPAS, Delhi

Dr US Ray, Sci ‘E’ of this Institute delivered the oration on ‘Development of Yoga Packages for Armed Forces: A scientific perspective’. The Institute was open to the public in the forenoon. Some of the important clinical investigations were offered free of cost as part of this celebration. These included eye check-up, auditory/hearing status, heamatology, hand-grip strength and pinch strength, body composition and bone mineral density. Also a quiz contest was organised for school children on this occasion and the winners were duly rewarded.

DLRL, Hyderabad

On this occasion, DLRL was declared Open House and a large number of visitors were taken around for visit to various work centres. Chief Guest on the occasion Shri N Sitaram, DS & CC R&D(ECS) (Retd) gave an enlightening talk on ‘Electronic Warfare in NCW Era’ highlighting challenges and opportunities in Network Centric Warfare. Shri B Bhaskar Rao, Sc G, DLRL delivered the oration on ‘Control systems - The Past and the Present-Some Landmarks’. Shri G Boopathy, Director, DLRL gave away the Titanium Medal and the Commendation Certificate to Shri Rao.

03

July

‘09

DEBELHEMRL

LRDE

of defence technology to a country and emphasised that ‘strength respects strength’. Padmashri Dr Vijay P Bhatkar, Chairman, ETH Research Lab, Pune, and former Director, C-DAC, Pune, was the Chief Guest. He gave a stimulating lecture on ‘Technology Advancements - Future Challenges for India.’ He defined technology as ‘science in action’. He redefined IT as ‘India’s tomorrow’. He appealed to the defence scientists and technologists to come up with innovative ideas for the development of non-lethal weapons that will defend our country from external attacks.

Technical paper presentations on recent technological advances were also organised on this occasion. Shri Bipin Kumar Bihari, Sci B was awarded the First Prize for the Best Paper Presentation. The coveted Rolling Trophy for the Best Technology - 2009 of HEMRL was awarded to Dr AK Sikder, Sci F and his team for the work on Realisation of technology development from basic R&D on high performance energetic materials. Dr Saji J, Sci C received the Titanium Medal and the Commendation Certificate for Technology Day Oration on ‘Development of Thermobaric Explosive Compositions’.

INMAS, Delhi

Dr Anil Kumar Mishra, Sci ‘F’ delivered the Technology Day Oration entitled, ‘Smart Chemical Approaches to Develop Multivalent Probes in Imaging Sciences’ at the Institute of Nuclear Medicine & Allied Sciences (INMAS), Delhi on 11 May 2009. A large number of scientists, technical officers, and staff members attended the lecture.

ISSA, Delhi

Shri HV Shrinivasa Rao, Director, ISSA addressed the scientists on the importance of the Technology Day. Shri Manish Gupta, Sc ‘C’ delivered the National Technology Day Oration on ‘Clustering and Case-

based Reasoning Approach for Situation Awareness in the Context of Integrated Air Defence’. His oration was based on his work in the field. Shri Gupta started his oration with introduction to Multi-Sensor Data Fusion (MSDF) as an evolving technology, concerning the problem of how to fuse data from multiple sensors intelligently in order to make a more accurate estimation of the environment.

LRDE, Bengaluru

Shri S Vardarajan, OS & Director, LRDE inaugurated the celebrations and brought out the importance of the Technology Day. Shri K Sreenivasulu, Sci E delivered the Technology Day Oration on ‘Distributed Beam Steering Controller Architectures or Active Array Radars’. Director, LRDE presented the Titanium Medal and the Commendation Certificate to Shri Sreenivasulu.

MTRDC, Bengaluru

Microwave Tube Research & Development Centre (MTRDC), Bengaluru, celebrated National Technology Day on 11 May 2009. Shri P Sidharthan, Sci D’, delivered Technology Day Oration on ‘Electronic Power Conditioner for Microwave Tubes for Airborne Applications’.

NPOL, Kochi

Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), Kochi, celebrated National Technology Day on 11 May 2009 by organising an enlightening oration on ’Seabed Array Technologies’ by Dr P Balasubramanian, Sci G. Shri R Kanakarajan, Sc G, Officiating Director, NPOL presented the Titanium Medal and the Commendation Certificate to Dr Balasubramanian.

04

July

‘09

Kharagpur delivered a lecture on ‘Indian R&D in Satellite Communications and Satellite Navigation’ for the Officers and Staff of PXE on this occasion.

R&D(E), Pune

Chief Guest on the occasion Dr Sunil Sherlekar, Computational Research Laboratory, Pune, delivered a lecture on ‘Handling Complexity through Abstraction and Simulation’. Dr Arvind Kumar, Sc ‘D’, presented his Technology Day Oration on ‘Design Aspect of Solar Photovoltaic Park’. Shri HS Yadav, Sc ‘B’ was declared winner in the DRDO Essay Writing Competition for his essay on `Popularising Science’ and got award on National Technology Day.

SAG, Delhi

Technology Day Oration titled ‘Mobile Adhoc Networks: Challenges and Solutions’ was delivered by Ms Anu Khosla, Sci ‘F’. The talk focused on the fundamental security problem of protecting the mobile ad hoc networks. The security issues and challenges were discussed. She stated that research efforts in the last few years have been focused on specific security areas, such as establishing trust infrastructure, securing routing protocols, or intrusion detection and response. She concluded that the security solution should span different layers, and at the same time, achieve the desirable network performance.

TBRL

NSTL

ISSA

MTRDC

R&DE (E)

NMRL, Ambernath

Dr SK Singh, Sc ‘E’ gave the Technology Day Oration titled ‘Environmentally Compliant Coating Systems for Corrosion Protection’. Dr J Narayana Das, Director, NMRL presented Dr Singh with Titanium Medal and the Commendation Certificate.

NSTL, Visakhapatnam

Naval Science and Technology Laboratory (NSTL), Visakhapatnam, has celebrated National Technology Day on 15 May 2009. Dr V Bhujanga Rao, OS & Director, NSTL stressed the need for harnessing technology for the betterment of the lives of people and the defence of the nation. On the occasion, Cmd C Uday Bhaskar, former Director, Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA) delivered a lecture on ‘National Security Challenges for New Government’. Shri PVS Ganesh Kumar, Sc-F given his Technology Day Oration on ‘Computer-aided Design of Compound Vibration Isolation Systems’. Dr V Adimurthy, Associate Director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre delivered a talk on ‘Chandrayaan and Beyond – Achievements and Objectives of Indian Space Exploration’.

PXE, Chandipur

Prof (Dr) Kalyan Bandyopadhyay, Deptt of Electronics and Electrical Communication, lIT,

05

July

‘09

Shri S Vardarajan, OS & Director, Electronics & Radar Development Establishment (LRDE), Bengaluru formally declared, on 4 February 2009, that LRDE is E-secured while inaugurating, one of its kind in DRDO, E-security Control Room to Monitor and Control state-of-the-art E-security infrastructure/systems of the LRDE premises.

At the outermost layer of E-security, LRDE’s perimeter is protected by high raised compound wall with electric power fence. The campus, spanning around 60 acre, is divided into two zones, viz., ‘Technical Area’ and ‘Service Area’. Entry into Service Area is restricted through visual identification using uniform entry pass, based on DV&S, as specified in the DRDO HQ directives. Entry of personnel, the official vehicles and material into Technical Area is controlled through Biometric-based Access Control System, Boom Barrier System and X-Ray Baggage Inspection System respectively, deployed at boundary demarcating Technical and Service Areas.

Electric Power Fence

LRDE’s perimeter, spanning 2.5 km, is protected with electric power fence. The total length is divided into 10 zones of 250 m each. An energiser, which produces non-lethal high voltage pulse, as a deterrent, feeds each of the two zones. Each of the five Energisers are connected to centralised control panel receiver at LRDE security room through wired and wireless communication, for redundancy, so that the system is highly available. The system is uninterruptedly operational round the clock since August 2006.

Access Control System for the Personnel

Entry of the personnel into Technical Area of LRDE is controlled by biometric-based, two-factor, access control system, for which a series of Biometric Readers and Tripod Turnstiles have been installed. This system is functional round the

clock since January 2006, without a single day break. In addition, High secure workcentres within LRDE, are installed with three-factor authentication-based access control devices.

Access Control System for the Official

Non-official vehicles are not allowed to enter LRDE’s Technical Area. Private vehicles of employees are parked at multi-level vehicle parking facility. Entry of official vehicles into the Technical Area of LRDE is controlled by boom barrier-based access control system. This system is functional since August 2008.

Access Control System for Materials

Materials entering Technical Area including personal baggage of the employees and visitors are electronically scanned using human safe, X-Ray baggage inspection system, similar to the system available at airports. This system is uninterruptedly operational since January 2007.

IP-Based Video Surveillance System

An IP-based surveillance camera system has been commissioned and is operational since December 2008. The system consists of 15 fixed cameras, 15 ptz indoor cameras, and 4 PTZ outdoor cameras, viewing stations and a network-based terabyte storage solution to store live video data of all these cameras for a duration of typically one week continuously. All these cameras are centrally monitored by the security staff, on four LCD monitors, installed in the video surveillance monitoring room. In the monitoring room, security staff can select, pann, tilt and zoom any camera, for effective video surveillance. Solution being IP-based, from any desk, authorised officers would be able to view both live and recorded video data of any camera through LRDE’s Intranet.

E–Security at LRDE

06

July

‘09

Manpower Development Activities

Courses/Seminars

Workshop on Data Mining and Machine Learning

Defence Scientific Information and Documentation Centre (DESIDOC), Delhi organized a Workshop during 4-6 May 2009 on ‘Data Mining and Machine Learning’. Dr AL Moorthy, Director, DESIDOC, inaugurated the Workshop. Twenty-eight participants from different labs of DRDO attended the workshop. Lectures on various topics of data mining and machine learning were covered by faculty from Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi. Dr Shrikant, Coordinator, JCB, DRDO presented his closing remarks. Smt Vinod Kumari Sharma, Sci ‘E’ was the Course Director, Smt Sumati Sharma, Sci ‘E’ was the Course Coordinator and Shri Nishant Kumar, Sci ‘C’ was the Dy Course Director of the Workshop.

Training Programmes on Coaching and Mentoring in R&D Organisations, and Mentoring and Mentees in R&D Organisations

High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), Pune, organised training programmes on ’Coaching and Mentoring in R&D Organisations’ during 12-14 May 2009 and ‘Mentoring and Mentees in R&D Organizations’ on 15 May 2009. In his inaugural address, Dr A Subhananda Rao, OS & Director HEMRL stressed the need for institutionalized process of mentoring in DRDO, to help young scientists assimilate in the organisation easily and develop their potential to the fullest extent for their own benefit and the organisation in general. Thirty four Mentors (Sci D, E & F) and 45 Mentees (Sci B) from HEMRL, R&DE (Engrs), ARDE, and DIAT participated in the programmes. The programmes were conducted by a dynamic and knowledgeable person, Maj Gen (Retd) NK Dhir, Director, Alphabet Teletec Pvt Ltd, Noida. The training consisted of classroom lectures and group activities which were appreciated by all the participants. The aim of the programme was to make mentors and mentees aware of their responsibilities in the process of mentoring.

Special Course on Best Practices in System Integration

Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad and Centre for Personnel Talent Management (CEPTAM), Delhi, jointly organized a special course on ‘Best Practices in System Integration’ during 25-29 May 2009 at RCI, Hyderabad. Shri SK Ray, DS, Director, RCI inaugurated the course. About 48 Technical Officers from various DRDO Labs attended the Course. Dr SK Chaudhuri, SCI H & OS, Associate Director, RCI presided over the valedictory function. Shri M Shankar Kishore, Sci F, RCI was the Course Director.

Modernization of NSTL Central Workshop The Central Workshop of Naval Science & Technological Laboratory

(NSTL), Visakhapatnam is well on path towards modernisation with the addition of four new machines, two of them CNC machines, with more to come by 2010. The inaugural switching of the machines - CNC Vertical Machining Centre, CNC Turn Mill, Surface Grinding Machine, and Heavy Duty Power Band Saw Machine- was done by Dr V Bhujanga Rao,OS & Director, NSTL on 1 April 2009. Speaking on the occasion, Shri RVS Subrahmanyam, Head, Central Workshop explained the salient features of the machinery, control system, software and scope of application to various projects.

Technology Directors, HOD/PD/PLs, officers and staff members of NSTL attended the inauguration. On this occasion, the Director, NSTL informed the gathering that three more CNC machines are in pipeline and that the construction activity of the new CNC building would commence by the end of 2009. He appreciated the efforts put in by Head, Central Workshop for meeting requirements of various projects.

Dr V Bhujanga Rao, inaugurating the facility.

07

July

‘09

ISSA Golden Jubilee Celebrations

Institute for Systems Studies and Analyses (ISSA), Delhi completed 50 Years of its existence. ISSA Golden Jubilee Celebration was organized on 15 May 2009. VCAS Air Marshal PV Naik, PVSM, VSM, ADC was the Chief Guest of the occasion. Dr Prem Shankar Goel, Chairman RAC was the Guest of Honour, and Dr VK Saraswat, DS & CC R&D (MSS) presided over the function. Among the guests were previous Directors of ISSA and erstwhile CASSA, viz., Dr LK Wadhwa, Dr Natarajan, Shri SC Jethi, Shri RC Chakarvorty, Shri SS Prasad, and other scientists retired or posted to other Labs.

Shri HV Shrinivasa Rao, Director, ISSA welcomed the guests and elaborated on the nature of studies carried out during 1959–1989. He detailed on the current projects of ISSA, i.e., Project Battlefield Intelligent System for Analysis and Training (BISAT), Project CHANDI (SANGRAM-II), Air Wargame, ADEMPACT, ADAPS, Antiship Missile Defence Model (AMDM), Proof-of-Concept Network Centric Warfare (POC-NCW), modelling studies on effects of nuclear detonation. He also spoke on the future projects projected in the XI and XIIth Five-Year Plans i.e., Parikshit series wargame, Air/Joint Wargames, Software test-bed for new concepts of Integrated AD in NCW environment, naval operations evaluation, and nuclear war simulation.

Dr Goel highlighted that technologists in defence should be proactive in their approach and provide a technological edge to the armed forces. Dr Saraswat, in his presidential address, congratulated ISSA on the volumes of work done by a handful of scientists, mentioning wargaming, reliability models, info dissemination networks, evaluation of tactical plans and the current ventures on network centric warfare. Air Marshall Naik, stated that wargaming is a vital element for training of armed forces, for validating the operational plans, and for the evaluation of weapons and assured total support could be given to ISSA on its collaboration process in terms of teaching and training of air wargames and future warfare concept development efforts. He cautioned that private players are the competitors in the field of IT.

A booklet ‘Swarna Bimb’ about achievements of ISSA in the past fifty years was released by the Chief Guest, Air Marshall Naik. Raja Ramana Lecture Hall was inaugurated by Dr Saraswat, and ISSA website and Office Automation Systems was released by Director, ISSA. This was followed by session on ‘Vision Meet : Shaping the Future’ wherein young technology leaders of ISSA shared their vision in various thrust areas, viz., air wargames, network centric warfare, information security, naval systems analyses, networks and communication and interoperability, operations research and land weapon analyses, combat modelling, etc. The session was concluded by the director sharing his vision and mission of shaping ISSA to meet the challenges of present and future warfighters needs through integration of people, processes, and advanced IT technology and methods and assured that ISSA would strive hard to meet the expectations of the nation.

Dr VK Sarswat lighting the lamp.

Dr VK Sarswat being felicitated by Shri HV Shrinivasa Rao, Director, ISSA.

A booklet, Swarna Bimb is being released by dignitaries.

08

July

‘09

PERSONNEL NEWS

Appointments

Director, Dte of Life Sciences

Dr RB Srivastava, Sci ‘G’ has been appointed as Director, Dte of Life Sciences, DRDO HQrs wef 1 May 2009. Dr Srivastava was earlier Director of DRL, Tezpur, during August 2006 - May 2009. Born on 23 February 1955, Dr Srivastava obtained his MSc in Botany from Allahabad University in 1974 and PhD in

Applied Life Sciences from Kumaun University in 1981 with proficiency in German Language.

He joined DRDO in 1979 as Sci ‘B’ at the Naval Materials Research Laboratory (NMRL), Mumbai (1979-1994). Thereafter he was endowed with the post of Joint Director at Defence Materials & Stores Research & Development Establishment (DMSRDE), Kanpur (1994-2005).

Dr Srivastava has wide research experience in the fields of thermophilic microorganisms and their role in agricultural composting, marine pollution, biofilms and bio-corrosion, bio-deterioration of marine and aerospace materials, biodegradation of polymers and composites, biodegradable polymers and biotechnological exploitation of microbes. One of his important contributions to Armed Forces has been planning, coordinating, and conducting ‘Defence Materials and Stores Preservation and Packaging’ courses at Naval Stores Depots and at 10 other military depots under different commands allover the country.

Dr Srivastava is associated with scientific societies like Bioresearch Society, Association of Microbiologists, Academy of Environmental Biology, Indian Association of Aquatic Biologists, Electron Microscope Society of India, Society for Polymer Sciences, Materials Research Society, International Council of Biodeterioration of Cultural Property. Honorary Vice-president in International Council of Biodeterioration of Cultural Property (ICBCP). Honorary Vice-President in Electron Microscope Society of India (EMSI). Biography Published in Asian/American Who’s Who, Rifacimento International Publications, 2002.

Dr Srivastava is the recipient of DRDO Laboratory

Award twice, in 1999 and 2000. He is a superviser of PhD Programmes in CSJM, University, Kanpur.

Dr Srivastava has published 50 research papers/articles in National and International Journals and presented 30 research papers in National and International Conferences. He edited a book on Biodeterioration of Materials. He is associated as Executive Editor of EMSI Bulletin [Bi-annual Publication of Electron Microscope Society of India (EMSI)]; Counselor in Journal of Bioresearch Society; Member, Editorial Board, Indian Association of Aquatic Biologists (IAAB) Newsletter. He chaired sessions in National & International Conferences and Seminars.

Director, LASTEC

Shri Anil Kumar Maini, Sci ‘G’ has been appointed as Director, Laser Science and Technology Centre (LASTEC) wef 1 May 2009. He received BE (Electronics) from Punjab Engineering College, Punjab University, Chandigarh, in 1977 and currently pursuing his Doctorate in the area of design of

test systems for precision-guided munitions. He joined DRDO in 1978 and has more than 31 years of R&D experience in Lasers and Opto-electronic technologies and systems. He has spearheaded the development of Directed Energy Weapon System Technology for Indian Defence Forces and DRDO laboratories through the design and productionisation of state-of-the-art laser dazzler, Laser Aiming Device and high energy laser-specific high repetition rate capacitor charging units, which is a big leap towards self-reliance in the area of laser weapon technology.

Shri Maini has been at the hub of the development of complex and sophisticated test systems for seeker heads of electro-optically guided PGMs which have been successfully field tested by Indian Airforce on Russian and French Infra-red missiles and laser -guided munitions on Su-MKI & Mirage-2000 platforms. He has also done pioneering work in the indigenous development of dual-role EOCM laser systems, family of laser-warning sensors, programmable laser target designators.

09

July

‘09

PERSONNEL NEWSPERSONNEL NEWS...

ISO 9001 : 2008 Certification to LRDEElectronics & Radar Development Establishment

(LRDE), Bengaluru, dedicated to the design and development of Military Radar systems, has been awarded ISO 9001:2008, latest standard in the ISO 9000 series, to Establishment-level Quality Management System. The scope of certification includes design, development engineering, and transfer of technology for production of Radar Systems for ground, airborne, and naval applications, development of radar technologies, and test and evaluation of radar systems and subsystems. The certification has been awarded by KEMA Quality BV, Netherlands, an Internationally Accredited Certification Agency in association with NVT Quality Certification, India. LRDE has also been certified by NVT QC under NABCB accreditation of Quality Council of India. Shri S Vardarajan, OS & Director, LRDE has received these certificates from

He is a well trained scientist in the area of Dither free frequency stabilisation of Doppler broadened gas lasers and development of experimental laser system for EOCM applications at two premier institutes in France as well as in Russia.

Shri Maini is a Life Fellow of Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (IETE) and a Senior Life Member of Indian Laser Association. He has authored 10 books and more than 100 technical articles and papers in National and International magazines and presented in conferences. He has two patents to his credit.

Director, DRL

Dr Lokendra Singh, Sci ‘G’ has been appointed Director, Defence Research Laboratory (DRL), Tezpur, wef 1 May 2009. Dr Singh did his Postgraduation in 1981 and PhD in 1984 in Microbiology from Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana.

He started his career in DRDO as Sci B at Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL), Mysore, in 1984. After working for about four years there and having a brief stint at Defence Laboratory (DL), Jodhpur, he moved to Defence Research & Development Establishment (DRDE),

Gwalior as Sci C in 1989. He is promoted to Sci G in 2008. His major areas of research at DRDE have been Biodegradation of Human/Domestic Waste for low-temperature areas; Development of Immunobiosensor for Environmental Detection of Pathogenic Bacteria (Salmonella typhi and Vibrio cholerae); and Development of Detection Systems for Bacterial Toxins of BW importance.

He has several Awards/Honours to his credit. For his outstanding contributions in developing innovative technology for ‘Bioremediation of Organic Wastes’, he has been awarded DRDO Scientist of the Year Award in 2002. He has also been awarded ‘DRDO Technology Group Award’ twice in 2002 and 2006 for his outstanding contributions in developing ‘low-temperature active inoculums and biodigester for human waste disposal at high altitude and low temperature areas’, and for development of biosensors, respectively. He was conferred with the ‘DRDO Technology Spin-off Award’ in 2007 for his significant contributions in developing ‘Biodigester (Biotoilets) for onboard treatment of Human Waste’, which has been accepted and successfully tested by Indian Railways on certain Trains.

He had been a Member of the ‘14th Indian Scientific Expedition Team to Antarctica’ (1994-95). He has 87 Publications in national/international journals and 12 patents to his credit. He had supervised 10 students for their PhD work.

Shri KG Garg, Chairman & CEO, NVT QC, India in a function organised on 3 June 2009 at LRDE. With these dual certifications, LRDE joins the exclusive group of ISO 9001:2008 certified organisations and also being the first Electronics Systems laboratory in DRDO to get this certification.

Shri S Vardarajan, receiving certificates from Shri KG Garg, Chairman & CEO, NVT QC.

10

July

‘09

Unit Day Celebrations

Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE), Avadi, celebrated Unit Day on 26 March 2009 with great enthusiasm. Shri S Sundaresh, Outstanding Scientist & Director, CVRDE and Shri R Jayakumar, Chairman, Works Committee and Associate Director presided over the function.

Shri Sundaresh highlighted the achievements of CVRDE such as successful completion of AUCRT Trials of MBT Arjun and efforts done by all the technical divisions in delivering the third batch of 17 tanks to the Army. He also pointed out that the achievements of SV Division in completion of AHSP transfer of CI Ajeya to DGQA and delivery of 12 nos. of BLT T-72 which led to the release of production order of 147 nos of BLT T-72 to HVF, Avadi. Director also appreciated successful completion of the project on Carrier Command Post Tracked on BMP II and its readiness for field trials. He also touched upon the milestones achieved in Aircraft Projects. A video display highlighting the celebrations at CVRDE during the Golden Jubilee Year was shown on the occasion. An epic drama by Shri Amaresan troop enthralled

the audience with their humorous dialogues and actions. Later, Shri Sundaresh gave away the DRDO Laboratory Awards and Kaizen Awards to the winners. Shri R Jayakumar, Associate Director distributed the mementoes to the CVRDE sports personnel to commemorate their contribution in their respective sports field.

Dr BR Ambedkar’s Jayanti Celebrations at NSTL Naval Science & Technological Laboratory

(NSTL), Visakhapatnam celebrated Dr BR Ambedkar’s 118th Jayanti on 14 April 2009 at Manasi Auditorium, NSTL. Dr V Bhujanga Rao, OS & Director, NSTL graced the function as Chief Guest. Shri D Appa Rao, Sci E, Chairman, Organizing Committee welcomed the gathering and delivered opening remarks. Prof Y Satyanarayana, Vice-Chancellor, AP University of Law and Prof P Subba Rao, Dean, Dept of Education, Andhra University were the Guests of Honour at the function. The Guests spoke on the contribution of Dr Ambedkar to Indian Constitution, on his role, particularly for the welfare of downtrodden and for removing caste disparities. As a part of these celebrations, NSTL organized a blood donation camp in association with ‘A Raja Voluntary Blood Bank’. Sarees were also distributed to the poor to spread the message and noble cause of Dr Ambedkar.

Competitions in essay writing, painting, Rangoli, etc, were also conducted for NSTL fraternity.

Patent GrantedA patent has been granted by Indian Patent Office, New Delhi, on “A process for the preparation of improved

fire extinguisher” (Patent No.232339) to Centre for Fire, Explosive and Environment Safety (CFEES), Delhi, for the term of 20 years with effect from 1 March 1997. Inventors of the process are Shri Ghanshyam Kumar Mishra, Shri Pramod Kumar Rai, and Shri Ashok Singh Rawat.

Shri S Sundaresh, Director, CVRDE distributing prizes.

Prof Y Satyanarayana, Vice-Chancellor, AP University of Law addressing the gathering.

11

July

‘09

Floor Reaction Orthosis Calipers distribution Camp at NSTLNaval Science & Technological Laboratory (NSTL)

Seva Samithi and LIC jointly organized a Camp for free distribution of Floor Reaction Orthosis (FRO) Calipers which was inaugurated at NSTL Campus by Prof Beela Satyanarayana, Vice Chancellor, Andhra University, in NSTL Campus on 6 March 2009, in the presence of Dr V Bhujanga Rao, OS & Director, NSTL; Dr L Narendranath, Expert in Orthopedics, NIMS, Hyderabad; and Shri N Prabhakara Rao, Sr. Divisional Manager, LIC of India. About 150 polio-affected persons were fitted with calipers at the Camp. Prof Satyanarayana commended the organisers for the laudable effort, and wished that NSTL Seva Samithi would continue doing service for the sake of the society. Delivering the welcome address, Dr Bhujanga Rao explained that the camp was part of the ongoing service activities being taken up by NSTL

Copyright Obtained

Scientific Analysis Group (SAG), Delhi, has received copyright for the software package namely ‘Generalize Classification Tools (VY ATlREK)’ (Copyright Registration No. L-32362/2009 dated 17 March 2009). This package consists of 10 different Generalized Classification Models developed in C/C++ on RHEL-4 platform. These models have been developed in such a way that once the observation of any problem of identification converted into feature vector form, then they can be fed to these models for their respective classification, and hence the name Generalized Classification Models. These models have been developed under the leadership of Dr Shri Kant, Coordinator, Joint Cipher Bureau (JCB). The other contributors are Smt Neelam Verma, Shri Rajesh Kumar Asthana and Shri Bharat Lal Jangid.

Sports Round-up

Basketball Tournament

North-zone Basketball Tournament held at DL Jodhpur during 26-28 March 2009. Shri ML Sharma, TO ‘B’, TBRL got the Best Player Award. He also participated in Interzone Basketball Tournament held during 30 -31 March 2009 and the team got first position in the tournament.

DRDO National Volleyball Tournament at NSTL

Naval Science & Technological Laboratory (NSTL), Visakhapatnam organised DRDO National Volleyball Tournament during 23-25 March 2009. Teams from Central, South, West and North Zones participated in the Tournament. Central Zone comprising five

players from NSTL including the captain Shri GVV Prasada Raju emerged Winners, while North Zone was the runner-up. The prizes were given by Smt V Lalitha Bhujanga Rao, First Lady of NSTL. Shri S V Rangarajan, OITC was the Chief Guest for the inaugural and valedictory functions.

FRO Calipers distribution Camp at NSTL.

Smt. V Lalitha Bhujanga Rao, NSTL, giving trophy to the winners

employees. He hoped that the lightweight calipers developed by DRDO would give much needed relief to those suffering from Polio.

Visits to DRDO Labs/Estts

IRDE, Dehradun

SA to RM visited IRDE on 26 May 2009.

LRDE, Bangalore

Lt Gen KR Rao, AVSM, VSM, Comdt School of Arty, Col Comdt Regt of Arty visited on 13 May 2009.

Rear Admiral Sudhir Pillai, NM Flag Officer Naval Aviation (FONA) visited on 14 May 2009.

Dr SC Pandey, Addl FA (P), Office of Addl FA (P) & JS, Ministry of Defence (Finance) visited on 14 May 2009.

AVM Shankar Mani, VM, VSM, Director LCA (I) PMT ADA visited on 3 June 2009.

NSTL, Visakhapatnam

Mrs Indu Liberhan, Secretary (Defence Finance), Ministry of Defence visited on 2 June 2009.

Distribution

RP Singh

Editor-in-Chief

Dr AL Moorthy

Assoc Editor-in-Chief

Shashi Tyagi

Editors

B NityanandSudhanshu Bhushan

Design & Pre-press

SK TyagiAnjan Kumar Das

Printing

SK GuptaHans Kumar

SA to RM during his visit to IRDE being briefed on the MK - II version of Fire Control System for the Navy.

Lt Gen KR Rao interacting with scientist during visit.

Mrs Indu Liberhan, Secretary, Defence Finance taking keen interest on the products of NSTL.

AVM Shankar Mani taking keen interest in the products.

Editors are thankful to DRDO Correspondents for their inputs