Green Products – Page 3 – Global Records India

IIT Madras professor T Pradeep chosen PSIPW laureate

Thalappil Pradeep, institute professor, Department of Chemistry at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM), has been selected as the laureate of the 10th edition of the ‘Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water’ (PSIPW). He was selected for the award under ‘Creativity Prize’ category given for ‘breakthrough discovery’ in any water-related field.

Pradeep developed environmentally-friendly ‘water positive’ nano scale materials for the affordable, sustainable, and rapid removal of arsenic from drinking water.

He was recognized earlier with the Padma Shri, and Nikkei Asia Prize, among many others and his technologies are delivering clean water to over 1.2 crore people.

India’s newest recorded snail named after Western Ghats

The Haploptychius sahyadriensis is endemic to the Vishalgad Conservation Reserve in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur district

The Western Ghats of Maharashtra have yielded a carnivorous land snail new to the world of science.

The Haploptychius sahyadriensis, recorded from the northern Western Ghats of Maharashtra, is the third member of the genus Haploptychius. The other two – H. andamanicus and H. pfeifferi – were recorded in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the 1860s.

From IIT Guwahati, a device to turn wastewater into energy

The device uses microbes to convert chemical energy in organic substrates into electrical energy

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati have developed a microbial fuel cell (MFC), a bio-electrochemical device that can generate “green energy” by treating wastewater.

The researchers said the device offered a dual benefit — generation of bioelectricity and waste management — by converting chemical energy contained in organic substrates into electrical energy through microbes.

The Department of Science and Technology supported the research led by Mihir Kumar Purkait and his Ph.D student Mukesh Sharma of IIT Guwahati’s Department of Chemical Engineering.

The IIT Guwahati claimed the device could be used for obtaining clean energy from municipal wastewater economically.

India becomes largest producer, second largest exporter of sugar

The government on Wednesday claimed that India has become the largest producer of sugar in the world in the year 2022-23, more than Brazil, while it would be the second largest exporter of sugar.

Sugar production in 2018-19 was 332 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) after discounting diversion of 3 LMT for ethanol; in 2019-20, it was 274 LMT (after discounting diversion of 9 LMT for ethanol); in 2020-21, the production increased to 310 LMT (after discounting diversion of 22 LMT for ethanol) and for 2021-22, it is 335 LMT (after discounting diversion of 35 LMT for ethanol).

The production of sugar has increased and so has sugar exports. In sugar seasons 2017-18, 2018-19 & 2019-20, only about 6.2 LMT, 38 LMT & 59.60 LMT of sugar was exported. “In sugar season 2020-21 against target of 60 LMT, about 70 LMT have been exported. In the current sugar season 2021-22, against the projected 100 LMT exports, contracts for export of about 90 LMT have been signed, about 82 LMT sugar has been dispatched from sugar mills for export and approximately 78 LMT have been exported. Export of sugar in current sugar season 2021-22 is the historically highest,” Subodh Singh, Joint Secretary, Food, told media persons.

About 80 per cent of sugar is produced in Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka and because the two states south of Narmada are nearer to the ports, export takes place more from these states.

** New plant species of the genus Ophiorrhiza spotted in State

Researchers have come across a new plant species of the genus Ophiorrhiza, a group of plants valued for their medicinal uses, in the biodiversity-rich Western Ghats region.

Researchers spotted the new species from the Adichilthotty colony, near Malakkapara, in Thrissur district during a plant exploration trip. It has been named Ophiorrhiza sasidharaniana after Prof. A. Sasidharan, former Botany Department head of the University College, Thiruvananthapuram.

The journal Annales Botanici Fennici, brought out by the Finnish Zoological and Botanical Publishing Board, has published a paper on the discovery by researchers from the University of Kerala and the Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (JNTBGRI), Palode.

Kerala / th

** Money spider, ant-mimicking spider discovered at Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary

Discovery by researchers of Christ College, Irinjalakuda

Money spiders, commonly found in European meadows, have been reported for the first time in the country from the Muthanga range of the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary. The species is called so as it is “believed to bring luck” to the person who comes in contact with it.

Researchers of Christ College, Irinjalakuda, Thrissur, have discovered the spider that belongs to the family of dwarf spiders ( Linyphiidae) under the genus Prosoponoides. It has been given the name Prosoponoides biflectogynus.

“Only six species of spiders belonging to this genus have been identified from across the world so far. It is the first report of this genus from India and hence no extensive studies have been conducted on this species of spiders in the country,” said Dr. Sudhikumar A.V., Head, Department of Zoology, Christ College.

Kerala / th

GLOBAL RECORDS: INDIA RECORDS: India-born Scientist & Conservation Biologist Kamal Bawa Elected to US National Academy of Sciences

Conservation biologist Kamal Bawa has been elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences. Kamal Bawa is president of the Bengaluru-based Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment (ATREE) as well as an elected fellow of the Royal Society (London) and the American Philosophical Society.

“The election is a reaffirmation of our important work on the ecology, conservation, and management of tropical forests that are declining all over the world but are critical to humanity’s well-being,” said Dr. Bawa.

A few years ago, Dr. Bawa brought together scientists from India’s leading institutions to develop the National Mission on Biodiversity and Human Wellbeing under the banner of the Biodiversity Collaborative.

The effort was supported by the office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, and is currently funded by the Rohini Nilekani Philanthropies.

source/content: thehindu.com (edited)

** The Indian leg of the Great Backyard Bird Count records an impressive 1,017 species

Hobby birders and students collaborated with naturalists from across the country at the 10th edition of biggest four-day bird-o-thon and documented over 1000 bird species

A pair of bright yellow eyes stared right back at Angeline Mano, a 23-year-old birder, as she zoomed in with her binoculars. Angeline was at Stanley Reservoir in Salem, one of the largest fishing reservoirs in South India, documenting birds for the recently-concluded, annual Global Backyard Bird Count (GBCC). The bulky bird with a finely streaked breast, was a brown fish owl, perched on a branch just 10 metres away.

The India leg of the four-day event, coordinated by Bird Count India, allowed participants to count birds for as little as 15 minutes from a particular location. They upload their sightings online, on eBird (www.ebird.org/india), the world’s largest biodiversity-related citizen science platform.

** EV maker Omega Seiki Mobility to foray into trucks, tractors and drones

Company planning to raise capacity from 12,000 units to 20,000: chairman Narang

Electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Omega Seiki Mobility Pvt. Ltd. said it would get into manufacturing of e-trucks in 1.5, 3.5 and 6.5-tonne capacities, e-drones and e-tractors to broaden its product offerings. The company is also working on a high-speed scooter range and e- rickshaws, founder and chairman Uday Narang said.

Currently the company manufactures seven EV models, including five three-wheeler models and two two-wheelers.

** Arunachal scientist bags two Indian patents

Dr. Sanjeeb Kalita has been granted two Indian patents for developing ‘Polyherbal formulation for the treatment of painful Diabetic Neuropathy’ and ‘hybrid cotton patch and a method for its fabrication’

A scientist from the Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Bio-resources and Sustainable Development at Kimin in Papumpare district of Arunachal Pradesh has been granted two Indian patents for developing ‘Polyherbal formulation for the treatment of painful Diabetic Neuropathy’ and ‘hybrid cotton patch and a method for its fabrication’.

Dr. Sanjeeb Kalita, the scientist of the centre under the Arunachal Pradesh State Council for Science and Technology (APSCS&T) carried out fundamental research and development for both the inventions at Guwahati-based Institute of Advanced Studies in Science and Technology, official sources said on Friday.