December 11th 2007 Chandigarh Times of India, Neem Based pesticide to be made popular

The  Punjab State Council for Science and Technology (PSCST) and Forest Department (FD) are going to work jointly on a project for promoting neem-based bio-pesticide in the state.

The PSCST is already paying farmers for neem seed kernel and Forest Department has also started promoting the growing of neem trees. The department has also started a neem tree census in Bathinda, Patiala and Sangrur districts. In the first Stage of the project, the PSCST plans to establish two neem pesticides  production units, one at Kot Shamir village in Bathinda and another at Thapar Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Park at Patiala. The Forest department has already procured a huge stock of neem seed kernel in Rampura Phul area of Bathinda.

Additional Director of PSCST, Jatinder Kaur said, "With the adverse  effects of synthetic pesticides becoming apparent in Punjab, there is an urgent need to shift to some safer variants and neem is one of the best sources of non-synthetic pesticides".  She said the PSCST had an agreement with Punjab Agricultural University and Forest Department for producing and promotion of neem based pesticides. After seeing the successful results shown by neem based pesticides in West Bengal and Maharasthra the Punjab government decided to promote these here too, Said Dr. Arora. She said neem is one of the safest pesticides as it does not leave a residue on the crop like synthetic pesticides do.

"Bathinda district has a large number of neem trees. so the potential for production of bio-pesticide here is enormous," said Dr. Arora

She added, " Some villages in Rampura Phul area have 3,000 to 4,000 neem trees." The Forest department will also promote the growing of neem among farmers, said Dr. Arora.

November 2, 2007 The Tribune, Neem- based pesticide plant set up

Farmers of the state now can give up use of chemical fertilizers. The Punjab State Council for Science & Technology (PSCST) has set up the first  neem- based bio-pesticide  plant at Thapar deemed university. The unit was inaugurated by  Abhijit Mukurjee, at the Science and Technology Entrepreneurs Park of the Institute.

Dr. N.S. Tiwana, Executive Director, PSCST, present on the occasion, said Neem (Azadirachtin indica) is a wonder plant, known for medicinal properties. It will set new definition in the days to come as herbal bio-pesticide  fro eco-friendly farming in Punjab.

In an bid to switch over from synthetic pesticides to non-synthetic ones in Punjab,  the council is promoting eco-friendly and biodegradable neem-based pesticide. Under the programme, the first –ever neem bio-processing unit in Punjab has been set up by Council at Science & Technology Entrepreneur’s Park (STEP) of Thapar university, Patiala.

The memorandum of understanding for a collaborative programme was also signed between the Thapar institute and the PSCST on the occasion.

Dr. Jatinder Kaur Arora, Additional director, PSCST, said neem bio-processing unit was set up by the council at Thapar under the national level multi- institutional project  supported  by the union ministery of chemical and fertilizers and coordinated by the Regional Network on pesticides for Asia and Pacific ( Renpap). It also involves nine other participating insitituonal and organizations from all over India apart from the Council. The Council plans to set up two more such units in other parts of Punjab, he said.

Dr. Dinesh Goyal, Executive Director, Thapar, said ‘intensive farming in Punjab had led to  indiscriminate usage of fertilizers  and pesticides over a few decades leading to ground water pollution and accumulation of their residues in final produce making it unacceptable in international and domestic markets.

Later, Dr. Dapinder K. Bakshi, Senior scientific officer from  the council, apprised farmers about the simple and cost –effective technology by which they could prepare pesticide from neem fruit.

May 12th 2007 Chandigarh Tribune, National award for woman scientist

A national award has been conferred upon Dr Jatinder Kaur Arora, an outstanding scientist from Punjab. She has been given the award for her work on women’s development through science and technology. The award was presented to her today, on the occasion of Technology Day, by the President at Delhi.

Dr Arora is, perhaps, the first scientist to get such an award. She is a doctorate in microbiology and has a brilliant academic record. She has been awarded merit fellowship during graduation and post graduation and ICAR fellowship during her doctorate programme. After serving as an assistant professor in Punjab Agricultural University, she joined the Punjab State Council for Science and Technology in 1990 and is serving as a joint director in the council at present.

She has executed various prestigious projects, including mission mode project on biofertiliser, solid waste management through vermicomposting and promotion of cultivation and value addition through processing of medicinal and aromatic plants. She has also launched awareness campaigns on causes and prevention of genetic disorders which led to significant positive shift in prevailing perceptions of rural women. She is coordinating promotion of neem-based environment friendly pesticide in Punjab under Government of India supported multi-institutional project.

April 30, 2007 The Tribune, Genetically modified crops ‘becoming popular’

Opposition from various non-government organizations notwithstanding, the area under genetically modified (GM) crops is increasing rapidly in the country. Farmers' preference for Bt cotton can be gauged from the fact that 70 per cent of the total area under this crop was covered by Bt seeds. " In the next two or three years, Bt cotton will be spread over 90 per cent of the total area under this crop", said Dr P.Ananda Kumar, principal scientist, national research centre on plant biotechnology, and chairman, monitoring-cum -evaluation committee.

Dr Kumar told The Tribune that in 2002, only 0.5 million hectares was under Bt cotton and last year the area went up to 3.8 million hectares. The use of pesticides to save the cotton crop from pests, mainly the American bollworm, had gone down by 75 per cent, he claimed.

Asked about reports that genetically modified crops created health problems like skin diseases, he said there was no such report from any part of the cotton belt so far. " I believe it is just propaganda against such crops and there is no authentic report in this regard", he added.

G. Balachandharan, joint secretary, union ministry of environment and forests, said here today that after the introduction of Bt cotton in various parts of the country, now the focus was not on water-guzzling crops like rice.

Balachandharan was here to preside over a training workshop on bio-safety issues hosted by the Punjab state council for science and technology. Asked about the high price of Bt seeds, Balachandharan said it was true that in first years of Bt cotton, companies charged a high price. " But now we are recommending the Bt seeds of various companies to introduce competition in sales." Last year, we recommended the cotton seed of various companies and it brought down the price from Rs 1,400 per bag to Rs 700-800. We expect that the price will come down further in two or three three years", he added.

Punjab chief secretary Ramesh Inder Singh, who inaugurated the workshop, listed the steps taken to promote bio-technology in the state.

Others who spoke at the workshop were Dr N.S. Tiwana, Dr Manoranjan Hota, M.P. Singh, Jatinder Kaur Arora and P. Ananda Kumar.

January 16th 2007 Chandigarh Tribune, Punjab Students watching Clouds at NASA

For the past one year, at least hundred students of 10 schools of the state have been working on an assignment to watch clouds. As part of a global project promoted by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), these students note down the shape of the clouds overhead and report to the project centre at Colorado University, USA. Though these students are the only ones in India to participate in the Cloud Sat programme of GLOBE (Global Learning and Observation for a Better Environment), they are not alone. Students in 109 countries across the world have volunteered for this cloud-watching assignment in assisting weather satellites to study climatic and seasonal changes over the Earth. Dr Nandini Mcclurg, research scientist at Colorado University, said, “Students have been given a schedule which tells them when NASA’s satellite would be over the region. At that point, students here note the shape and size of the clouds overhead. The data is sent to the university, which is then forwarded to NASA. NASA uses this data to corroborate the information that it receives from the satellite.” Cloud Sat is a multi-satellite, multi-sensor experiment designed to measure the properties of clouds that are critical for understanding the effects on both weather and climate. Dr Mcclurg was here today to interact with students of Shastri Model School who are a part of the project. “Our students have been involved with the project for the past one year and a team of over 10 students have been sending the Cloud Sat report daily without fail,” said School Manager Ram Lal Sewak. The data collected from Punjab is forwarded to Colorado University through the Punjab State Council of Science and Technology. “It is a matter of pride that Punjab is the only state in the country where students are a part of this unique project. We are encouraging students involved in the project to participate in international science learning competitions being planned by GLOBE,” said Dr Neelima Jerath, Joint Director with the council.