The Indian Express ,Chandigarh,  8th March 2010,Scientist Jatinder Kaur Arora haswon the Indian Television Academy award for her contribution tothe empowerment of rural women in the State

AMONG the host of film ­stars, cosmeticians, fash­ionistas whotook to the stage to receive their award at the Great Women Awardby Indian Television Academy in Mumbai last week, there was also a45-year­ old, whose profile was somewhat different from the rest.Jatinder Kaur Arora, Additional Director, Punjab State Council forScience and Technology, was conferred the award for her sustainedwork in the field of genetic literacy pro­gramme that has helpedcreate awareness about female foeticide in the state.

Arora says she tried explaining the genetic code to the rural folkin the villages of Punjab as simply as she could. "It's notpossible to ex­plain the concept of X and Y chro­mosomes tovillagers, so I used the metaphor of threads. I told them that allhumans have 46 threads, and two threads determine the sex of thechild. While mother con­tributes green threads, father gives agreen and a red. The child with one red thread is a boy. Soeventu­ally, it's the man who literally de­termines the gender ofa child. I called it the thread theory," she says.

For many of the rural women, this awareness became a boon toemancipation, particularly in the face of domestic abuse andsoci­etal pressures. 'At least they could tell their husband thatthe respon­sibility lay with them, when they were beaten up fornot having a male child," she says. The attitude of the men toounderwent a change. "They said that they knew how the machinery ofa tractor worked. Now they could under­stand the human body bettertoo," she smiles.

Her study threw up other data too, such as how only about 11percent rural women in Punjab were aware of the fact thatmarriages among blood relatives contribute to genetic disordersand only 17 per rural women were aware that genetic contributionfrom father determines the sex of a child. Talk­ing of Punjab'sabysmal sex ratio and spiraling foeticide cases, she wears apensive look. "I am the youngest of three sisters, and had alwaysthought that my parents were expecting a son, when I was born. Toovercome the feeling of being unwanted, I started educat­ingparents about gender issues," she says. A product of PAU,Lud­hiana, Arora has also worked on socio-economic empowerment ofwomen in the Shivalik foothills by promoting cultivation ofmedici­nal and aromatic plants.

Recalling the glittering evening in Mumbai, Arora says she didn'tknow that the evening would be at­tended by the likes of AishwaryaRai, Sushmita Sen, Saroj Khan, Zoya Akhtar and Miss India PoojaChopra among others. "Most of the awardees had come with theirfami­lies. I wish my mother had been there with me," she says.

The IndianExpress, Chandigarh, 9th July 2011, History of Science, innovtions in Punjab to be compiled:

Punjab may havebeen losing its scientific temper, but it was a frontrunner in thefield even before the dawn of modern civilisation. And to tell theworld and posterity about its glorious technical forays, the statehas decided to compile the history of science and technology inPunjab.

Dr Kulbir SinghBath, Principal Scientific Officer of Punjab State Council forScience and Technology (PSCST), who is compiling the compendium,said their aim is to start a course in the subject and thisproject is first step in the direction.

Once compiled,the compendium may be distributed at schools, libraries and otherinstitutes. Funded by the Union Department of Science andTechnology, the project will be completed in two years. PSCSTAdditional Director Dr Neelam Gulati Sharma will be the chiefinvestigator of the project along with Bath.

“At present,scientists at individual levels have compiled histories of variousstates, but Punjab is probably the first one where a governmentdepartment is doing the job. However, at the all India level, alist has been compiled,” he said.

 Bathmaintained that to attract the youth towards the subject, theyhave to be told that people of the region were trailblazers andthe state’s forts, bridges, roads, gardens and the irrigationsystem vouch for their scientific acumen. People of the IndusValley Civilisation followed scientific agricultural practices andtheir system of measurement and computational techniques forconstructions and commercial transactions and town planning werevery advanced, he added.

The compendium will cover all erasup to post-Independence and the concluding chapter will talk aboutthe current scenario - problems arising out of unplanneddevelopment and future scientific requirements.

The history of science andtechnology in Punjab began at Mehrgarh (now in Pakistan) andirrigation was developed in the Indus Valley Civilization, whichbrought prosperity and eventually lead to more plannedsettlements.

Claiming that the region was moreadvanced than the West, he added: “There were pottery pipes inwalls that allowed drainage of water. In some cases, there wasalso the provision of a crib for sitting in toilets. Excavationsat Balakot in Pakistan have yielded evidence of an early furnace.The Aryans’ knowledge of astronomy and mathematics gave them amilitary and technological advantage.”

Listing other achievements of theregion, Bath said: “During the Mughal rule, the introduction ofPersian wheel facilitated artificial irrigation, resulting inconsiderable increase in agricultural production. After the Turksintroduced manufacturing of paper, Sialkot emerged as an importantindustrial hub. Then came Sufis and Sikh gurus, who popularisedscientific temper through their teachings.” Ranjit Singh was thefirst ruler in Punjab who made largescale utilisation of canalwater for the irrigation, he added.

The IndianExpress, Chandigarh, 11th May 2010, Punjab scientists tipinnovators on protecting intellectual property :

Manufactuires offarm equipment in Moga come up with unique technologies, but donot know how to protect and cash in on their intellectualproperty. A case in point is the paddy straw reaper that leavesvery little residue in the soil so that the next crop can beplanted with ease, and is customised according to the need ofPunjab farmers.

“Due to lack ofawareness, some unique technologies, when displayed at exhibitionsand fairs, get exposed to big and foreign manufacturers. So, it isimportant to make manufacturers aware of their intellectualproperty rights (IPR),” says Dr Neelima Jerath, Executive Directorof the Punjab State Council for Science and Technology (PSCST),which had set up Intellectual Property Facilitation Centre (IPFC)for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) last year.

TheIPFC has decided to focus its energies on Moga industries and MSMEis the driving force behind a large number of innovations and 90per cent of the farm equipment used in Punjab is manufacturedhere. The IPFC, which has received nine applications sinceFebruary this year from industries across Punjab, also plans toguide clusters of sports goods in Jalandhar, cycle parts inLudhiana and bathroom fittings in Mohali.

“Weare planning to hold workshops, and have already held meetingswith CEOs of industries in Ludhiana. A helpdesk has been set up atChamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertaking (CICU) inLudhiana, where on every second and fourth Thursday an IPFCofficial addresses IPR related queries. An innovator can also callup at the IPFC office in Chandigarh, and an official will be sentto his doorstep,” says Gurharminder Singh, an IPFC scientist.

About the initialhiccups, another scientist, Vikas Asawat, says people are moreapprehensive of infringing upon intellectual property rights ofothers than interested in getting their own. “We get so manyqueries from manufacturers asking us to check if the technologythey are using is not patented by anyone else, as damages the IPRholder can seek may be huge,” he says. Talking about trends,Gurharminder says the sports goods industry in Jalandhar is moreinterested in knowing the major players in the field worldwide andthe IPRs they have sought and own. “For them, we prepare atechnological scan report in Rs 5,000, covering trends in 110countries.”

Dr Jerath sayswith the assistance of the Centre, a steering committee has beenconstituted in Punjab to monitor and guide IPFC. The committee,which will have industries director as its chairman, will meetonce in three months. President of the Moga Agro IndustriesAssociation is also a member of the panel, which will have a termof three years.

IPR cells in allvarsities

Intellectualproperty rights cells have been set up at all state universitiesto facilitate students, teachers and other staff members, who havean innovation under their belts, says Gurharminder. Financial aidwill be given to the cell where a nodal officer will be appointedto get various clearances from the university authorities.

Types of IPRs &registration fee

*  Patents (eg: brake system in automobiles): Rs 1,000 forindividuals, Rs 4,000 for company.

* Trademarks (eg:Wheel, Swastik pipes): Rs 2,500 for goods andservices and textile     trademarks.

* Industrial design (eg: jewellery): Rs 1,000

* Geographical indications (eg: Darjeeling tea): Rs 5,000

* Copyrights (eg: books, songs, software): Rs 50 for literary,dramatic, musical and artistic work; Rs 400 for sound recording;Rs 600 for cinematographic film

* Trade secrets (eg: business plans, financial data): No fee assuch. If there is an agreement, then attorney fee and stamp dutyas applicable.

Hindustan Times, Dated: November, 30,2009,Workshop on ‘intellectual property rights for SMEs’

Chamber ofIndustrial and Commercial Undertakings (CICU) in association withPunjab State Council for Science & Technology (PSCST), Chandigarh,conducted a one day workshop on awareness/sensitatisation of‘Intellectual Property Rights for MSMEs’ at CICU Complex here lateevening on Saturday.

Dr. NeelimaJerath, Executive Director, PSCST, Chandigarh, in her introductoryremarks said the ‘objective of this initiative was to impartskills to industry professionals to manage intellectual propertyon day to day basis. IPR needs to be intertwined with alltechnology interventions to enable Indian Industry to face globalcompetition”, she said, and stressed that India had a very goodpatent law and it needed to be enforced properly and industryneeded to understand support available for intellectual propertyprotection.

A series oftechnical and operational sessions ranging from Role of IPR inMSMEs, Overview of IPR and Some Case Studies, IPR Related Schemesof Ministry of MSMEs, Experiences of MSMEs in Punjab andTrademarks and Brand Management were dealt in detail by Dr.R.Saha, director Patent Facilitation Centre (TIFAC), Dr. NeelimaJerath, Executive Director (PSCST), Anil Kumar, Deputy Director(IPRs), MSMEs, R.C.Chopra, Director, MSME-DI-Ludhiana and VikasAsawat, Project Officer (IPFC).

Inderjit SinghPardhan, President, CICU and Chairman, Small Industry DevelopmentBoard, Punjab, expressed his gratitude to the Chief Guest J.S.Kandhola, Additional Secretary, Department of Science &Technology, Punjab for attending the workshop. In his inauguralspeech, he emphasized that Indian Industry was passing throughhard times. He said that CICU was regularly conductingseminars/workshops so as to provide innovative and empoweringsolutions crucial for development of MSME industry.

The welcomeremarks were given by Avtar Singh, General Secretary, CICU. Hesaid in the present economic scenario, MSMEs were to be encouragedfor enhancing awareness sensitization of IPR, so that they coulddevelop the right skills sets to face the challenges head on.‘This workshop will provide a form to learn implications ofvarious important IPR tools, so that their units are in a betterposition to take measures not only protecting their own ideas andbusiness strategies, but also avoiding infringement of therelevant rights of others through their operations, he said.

Upkar Singh, JointSecretary, CICU in his concluding remarks said the workshop wouldfoster IP culture, create a system of IP facilitation, exchange ofbest practices, enhancing knowledge regarding comparative analysisof IPR enforcement techniques and to learn methods forstrengthening legal framework and chalk out strategies forindustry action. He expressed his gratitude to Dr. Jerath and highofficials of Ministry of MSME and Development of ScienceTechnology and Environment for sparing their precious time andthanked all participants for lively and interactive discussion.

The Time of India, March 3,2010 , MRA Sr. Sec Model School,Sec-27 , Chd

"Environment Day" wascele­brated with due fervour and spirit, Dr RC Mishra IPS, IG,Admn

Law & Order Haryana waschief guest and delivered his key note address. Director S Mahajan,principal S Savant, all the staff and students were present in theschool. Dr Mishra gave his talk in a very simple terms andlanguage and guided the school children about the universalproblem of environment, the warning of the global warming. DrSatnam Singh Jt Direc­tor Punjab State Council for Science andTechnology also enlightened the audience  on the subject. Apainting com­petition was also held in two different categories.Dr RC Mishra  gave away the prizes to the position holders ineach category. Director thanked the guests for their enlighteningtalks. After the programme in the audito­rium tree plantationcere­mony  was also in the school campus. Dr RC Mishra, DrSatnam Singh, Director S Mahajan and  Principal S Savantplanted saplings. Be­sides a good number of teachers and studentsalso planted trees.

The Times of India, March 8, 2010 --St Stephen's School,Togan Bags GREEN SCHOOL AWARD, 2009

Green   SchoolProgramme, is conducted every year by Centre for Science andEn­vironment, New Delhi. All government and private schoolsparticipate in this programme. A state-level Green SchoolProgramme was conducted by Punjab State Council for Science andTech­nology (PSCTC). PSCTC in­vited schools to submit theirenvironmental audit reports covering five main areas, viz, land,air, water, waste and en­ergy. They were to measure the parametersaccording to a given scale.

 National' EnvironmentAwareness Campaign (N'EAC), organized a guidance workshop on"Climate change” at PSCTC office, Sec­tor 26, Chandigarh. In thisprogramme lectures were delivered by ,Dr Arun  Deep Ahluwalia andDr Satnam Singh Ladhar on environment and global warming issues.

The PSCTC presentedawards to top ten schools of Punjab, out of which St Stephen'sSchool, Togan was ranked 7th and also received a special award foroutstanding work pertaining to Water Parameters. It must bemen­tioned that the school has its own Sewage Treatment Plant (STP)for water conservation. Sewage water is purified and used againfor watering the plants, the playgrounds and the lawns. The solidwaste is treated and used for manur­ing the lawns and the gardens.This helps in water conser­vation and makes St Stephen's School,Togan, an environ­ment friendly model school.

Chandigarh Tribune , February 6, 2010 -Seminar onEnvironment

Under the National Environment Campaign, a one-day seminar on"Reduce, carbon pollution and control seasonal changes" was heldat Govrnment In-Service Training Centre, Patiala, here today.

Padamshree Baba Sewa Singh, Khadoor wale, was the chief guest. Theseminar was organised by Punjab Sate Council of Science andTechnology, Chandigarh, with the help of envi­ronment and forestdepartment, Government of India.

Principal of the centre Inderjeet Kaur Gill welcomed the chiefguest. She stressed upon the need to preserve environ­ment forbetter living. She cited the example of Baba Sewa Singh who hadplanted 50,000 trees in a campaign to save earth. Baba Sewa Singhstressed on the need of planting more trees and preserving them.He said: "Planting a tree alone was not enough. One should alsoensure that it is taken care of, so that it grows up into ahealthy tree."

Dr Charanjit Singh from the Punjab Pollution Control Boardsupported his opinion. He thought human greed was the rea­sonbehind air and water pollution. Our current lifestyle had alreadyled to an increase in the temperature of earth by 10C and furtherincrease would be deadly, he added.  Gurnek Singh from the punjabEnergy.

Development Agency stressed on the need for preservation ofelectricity. Project coordinator Archana Mahajan said tiny stepscould be helpful for preservation of air and water pollution. Banof polythene bags, using cloth bags, replacing meat by vegetableswere small things that were important.