AI in healthcare

 

 

Integrating AI into healthcare offers profound benefits, not just in economic terms but also in enhancing the quality and efficiency of patient care. This paper articulately presents a multidimensional view of AI's impact, balancing economic savings against improvements in healthcare delivery and outcomes. As healthcare continues to evolve, embracing AI becomes essential for addressing current challenges and shaping the future of healthcare services.

Paper:  Dr. (Prof.) Narendra Nath Khanna, Mahesh Maindarkar, PhD, Vijay Viswanathan, Jose Fernandes E Fernandes, Sudip Paul, Mrinalini Bhagawati, Puneet Ahluwalia, Zoltan Ruzsa, Aditya Sharma, Raghu Kolluri, and et al. 2022. "Economics of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare: Diagnosis vs. Treatment" Healthcare 10, no. 12: 2493. DOI: 10.3390/healthcare10122493

Report card (2015-2020) of PRISM

 PRISM is an upgraded version implemented by DSIR.

Report:  https://www.dsir.gov.in/sites/default/files/2023-09/Impact_Study_Report_2015-2020h.pdf

 

CII Industrial Awards 2024

 NOMINATIONS OPEN

Patent strategy:Global innovators of Indian origin and Resident Indian Innovators

Indian Government has taken several policy measures to boost patenting by resident Indians including faculty researchers, scientists working in public funded research institutes and independent innovators. The results are encouraging and lays the ground for next level of journey. This paper gives few examples of `Gobal Innovators of Indian Origin’ and `Resident Indian Innovators’ to explain the pathway to global excellence.

Paper:  https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4754395

Padma awardees- Scientists, Grasroot innovators, Farmers

 SCIENTISTS

Dr Ravi Prakash Singh, alumnus of GPB, (Genetics and Plant Breeding), Institute of Agricultural Sciences BHU has been awarded with the prestigious Padma Shri award for his outstanding contributions to Science & Engineering. As an eminent *Wheat Scientist*, Ravi Prakash Singh has pioneered high-yield wheat varieties, positively impacting millions across the globe.

Dr. Narayan Chakraborty, the 2024 Padma Shri awardee, is a name synonymous with groundbreaking research in arsenic toxicity.As a Visiting Professor in the Post-Graduate Department of Zoology at Maulana Azad College, Kolkata, and a Scientific Consultant and Director at the West Bengal Biotech Development Corporation, Dr. Chakraborty’s expertise has been instrumental in shaping policies and interventions to address arsenic contamination.

Dr. Ram Chet Chaudhary, awarded the Padma Shri, is celebrated for his pioneering work in agriculture, particularly in developing Kalanamak rice varieties. Kalanamak rice, an aromatic and nutritious variety native to Uttar Pradesh, owes its resurgence to Dr. Chaudhary’s efforts. From cataloging and conserving various strains to developing high-yielding varieties through hybridization, his work has been pivotal in saving Kalanamak rice from extinction.

Dr. Shailesh Nayak, the recipient of the prestigious Padma Shree, is a luminary in the field of oceanography. He pioneered India's first automated Tsunami Warning System, significantly bolstering the nation's disaster response capabilities.As the Director of the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), he conceptualized, installed, and operationalized this crucial system, enhancing India’s capabilities in disaster management and response.

Dr. Eklabya Sharma, awarded the Padma Shri, is an esteemed ecologist with over four decades of experience in sustainable mountain development, particularly in the Himalayan region.

Prof Ram Chander Sihag, who has been selected for the Padma Shri award, has made remarkable contributions in the field of beekeeping in the country. Prof Sihag, a retired agriculture scientist, began his career with Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, in 1979.

Dr Hari Om (65), who has been working in the field of natural farming, will be conferred with the Padma Shri award in the science and engineering category. Dr Hari Om, along with Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat, had taken up natural farming at Gurukul in Kurukshetra.

GRASS ROOT INNOVATORS

Shri C V Raju and Shri Moa Subong, grassroots innovators from Andhra Pradesh and Nagaland, respectively, are amongst the 106 Padma Shri awardees announced for the year 2023. While the awards recognized Shri C V Raju’s efforts of reviving the traditional art of making Etikoppaka toys by adoption of eco-friendly technologies, Shri Moa Subong will be awarded for S&T based innovative ways of creating Naga folk music.

FARMERS

Read more: https://eng.ruralvoice.in/national/farmers-honoured-with-padma-awards-for-promoting-agriculture-despite-all-odds.html?

This happens only in India- Guidelines for coaching institutes

(Source: https://youtu.be/djDF4AkTw4I?si=SdIvP6RZ6VLgumNy)

The guidelines were prepared as a response to issues related to the private coaching centers more so in the context of rising student suicide cases, fire incidents, lack of facilities as well as methodologies of teaching have been engaging the attention of the Government from time to time.

The controversy is guidelines state that coaching centers shall not enroll students below 16 years of age or that student enrolment should be only after the secondary school examination. Most of the students are enrolled in class to prepare for competitive exams after XII.

Curious case of Kota:

Till the 90s, Kota was struggling as an industrial city and the final nail on the coffin came with the closing of various units of JK Synthetics in 1997 due to financial problems. Vinod Kumar (VK) Bansal, a mechanical engineer employed with JK Synthetics had already started looking for an alternative career and began tutoring class 7 students in 1981 and gradually started taking in class 10 & 12 students as well. He tasted success in 1985 when his first student “cracked” the IIT-JEE (no known as JEE Advanced) getting admission into one of the hallowed Indian Institutes of Technology. This is how “Bansal Classes” came into being in 1991. There are more than 150 coaching institutes in the town that are vying for the best students. Most of them are among the best coaching institutes in India that admit students only after they clear an entrance exam! Imagine the irony – you’ve got to clear an entrance exam to join a course that again prepares you to clear another entrance exam!

Preparation in Korea:

Koreans consider the Suneung exam as the first step (and also almost final) for an individual to step into the labor market. Exam results not only determine which university you will go to, but also determine career and friends for your future life. Most of the teachers here think that if the Korean students fail the Suneung exam, they'll fail the rest of their life. In Korea, passing a university will be a ticket to help you have the opportunity to work in big companies. Therefore, most Koreans believe that if you pass this exam, your future will be really bright. To reach that "bright future", Koreans also have to practice hard throughout their school life, especially high school students. They have to get up early in the morning to go to school, spending about 10 hours there. When they leave school, they all go to tutoring classes and exam centers until 10pm and 11pm. Then they come back home and self-study until 1 or 2 am. On average, Korean high school students study for about 16 hours in one day to prepare for the Suneung exam. 

Especially Koreans have a strict concept about sleeping hours: 

• Sleep 3 hours, you have a chance to enter SKY schools (top 3 universities in Korea: Seoul National University, Korea University and Yonsei University)

• Sleep 4 hours, you can get into other universities,

• Sleep 5 hours, don't dream of going to college.

Indian parents and students are not wrong in embracing private tuition. Is there any alternative?

ICMR invites suggestions for revision of National Essential Diagnostics List

Since 2018, the WHO recommends the development and implementation of National Essential Diagnostics List (NEDL) to facilitate availability of In-Vitro Diagnostics (IVDs) across the various tiers of the healthcare pyramid, facilities with or without a laboratory onsite. The Indian Council of Medical Research released the first National Essential Diagnostics List (NEDL) in 2019 to make the availability of diagnostics an essential component of the health care system.

Since considerable time has elapsed following the release of the first NEDL in 2019, ICMR invites suggestions for revision of the existing list i.e. addition or deletion of diagnostic tests, from all the relevant stakeholders.

The applicant should submit suggestions on addition or deletion of diagnostics tests to the current list using the Google form https://forms.gle/93Rn586J3Pksv9Wc6 latest by February 29, 2024.

Report from Australia recommends Demandside Innovation policy

Why $30b in business innovation support is not working?

This is addressed in the report. 

Recommendations and policy considerations 

Demand-side drivers and the need to innovate 

1. Effectively identify businesses with the need to innovate and focus interventions on the barriers specific to that sector. Actions could include: 

1.1 Selectively support businesses with the need and risk appetite to innovate to deliver novel products and/or services for growing domestic and international markets. 

1.2 Design incentive programs that target businesses and industries critical to Australia’s industry policy objectives and align business and funding risk-taking in both direction and magnitude. For example, design funds and guidelines to filter applications based on business motivation and ambition, and provide advice, connections and resources specific to their needs to de-risk their opportunity. 

1.3 Focus government interventions on businesses seeking to service growing export market opportunities and transitioning internal markets with innovative new-to-market products or services that over time will contribute to improving Australia’s economic complexity. 

1.4 Effectively aggregate demand for innovation through coordination of whole-of-government policies, such as the transition to a net-zero economy, and the development of sovereign advanced manufacturing capabilities required to meet domestic and global needs. This will create competitive, dynamic markets for innovation in priority areas.

Further reading on Demand side innovation policy:

New Year Greetings From Indian Innovators Association

 

List of Top 100 Indian Innovations (2023)

 

The yearbook has profiles of innovators, technology trends, innovation merits, patent position, and commercialization status.

https://notionpress.com/read/top-100-indian-innovations-2023

https://www.flipkart.com/top-100-indian-innovations-2023/p/itm95b97050b9c55

https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0CLTN58N7?&tag=notionpcom-21

Indian patents 2022

 

WIPO released statistics for 2022.

Indian patent office received 77,068 applications, 38,551 from residents and 38,517 from non-residents, more than Germany, the UK, France, Russia Australia, and Canada but less than China, USA, Japan, and Korea. Patents in force are 1,28,663 with non-residents share at 81.60% and most of them are in force for more than 10 years,

Report: https://www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/en/wipo-pub-941-2023-en-world-intellectual-property-indicators-2023.pdf

Technologies avialable for transfer from ICMR

 

ICMR listed several technologies ready for transfer.

Example- Personal cooling garment system 

Salient features of the technology:  Personal cooling garment (PCG) has been designed and developed for auxiliary body cooling. The garment is useful for maintaining comfortable microclimate around the human body.  The PCG is a jacket-like enclosure system creates an interior space of microclimate for auxiliary body cooling.  The PCG is attached with a small coolant reservoir that can be clipped on the hip belt for easy carrying.  Re-circulation of the coolant is powered by a small submersible, battery operated pump immerged in the coolant reservoir.  Low temperature of the coolant creates a microclimate condition that promotes heat transfer between the wearer’s body and circulating fluid.  Easy to use and maintain PCG (filled with coolant) is light weight (~0•75 kg). The reservoir bottle and pump accessories had an additional weight of ~1 kg.  Caution is needed if the garment is not frequently used. The coolant needs to be pushed out of the tubing for hygienic reasons. Effective and use time of the garment depend on the inlet temperature of the coolant.  The product has to be tested in the work environment. Validation under process.  Indian Patent application has been filed with application no.- 2746/DEL/2012.  This technology has been developed by NIOH, Ahemdabad (an ICMR Institute)

Details: https://main.icmr.nic.in/technology?title=

INEX India 2023, Goa

 Indian Innovators Association started organizing International Innovation Fair since 2016 in association with global network partners. This year's event held in Goa attracted 100 Indian and global innovators. The yearbook 2023 was also released. Few glimpses:

Top100 IndianInnovations 2023SampleChapter

 

Innovation Yearbook with profiles of Innovators who made it to the Top 100 in the year 2023.

Read the sample chapter here:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/375030518_Top100_IndianInnovations_2023SampleChapter

Buy online:

https://notionpress.com/read/top-100-indian-innovations-2023

https://amzn.eu/d/9u1T2gL

Global Innovation Index- India card

 

The 2023 edition of the Global Innovation Index (GII) takes the pulse of global innovation trends against the background of an economic environment fraught with uncertainty. It reveals the ranking of this year’s most innovative economies in the world amongst 132 economies and localizes the top 100 science and technology innovation clusters.

India's rank is 40 and where does score better?

1. Entrepreneuship Policies and Culture- rank 13

2, Graduates and Science & Engineering- Rank 11

3. Global Corporate R&D Investors- Rank 13

4. QS University Ranking- Rank 22

5. Finance for startup and scale ups- Rank 9

6. Citable Documents H Index - Rank 20

7. Intangible asset Intensity- Rank 8

DBT, India links Exclusive Licensing of Intellectual Property to TRL level

 Department of Biotechnology released DBT INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY GUIDELINES 2023.

The policy guidelines tried to answer the long-debated issue- Exclusive licensing of technology vs. non-exclusive? While recognizing the merits of exclusive licensing, an attempt is made to link it TRL level.

5.2. Exclusive licensing 

5.2.a. For research leads in lower TRLs, exclusive licensing may be considered. 

5.2.b. Public interest should be protected with clauses on the availability of the final product in Indian markets at affordable rates, especially for products with the potential for mass deployment. 

5.2.c. Timelines on commercialization should be clearly defined in a licensing agreement. 

5.2.d. Preference to Biotech SMEs and Manufacturing in India. 

5.2.e. Preferred purchase arrangements for start-ups for products developed under government-funded programs. 

5.2.f. A standard licensing agreement framework may be developed by the public institution that would ensure a share of the revenue earned by the licensee to be given to the partnering public institutions for a limited timeframe. 

5.2.g. The license shall be subject to the irrevocable, royalty-free right of the Government of India to practice or to require the licensee to grant sublicenses to responsible applicants, on reasonable terms, when necessary to fulfill the health safety or security needs of the country.

Research Landscape and performance benchmarking in biotechnology

This report gives a glimpse of what is happening in DBT-funded research institutes. Patent analysis:

Between 1997 and 2027 DBT applied for 256 distinct patent families, on the average of 22-24 per year. NII, Delhi is the msost active with 42 of the 256 followed by IGGEB with 27 and CDFC 11, NCCS 10, NBRC 9, RGCB-8

Also read: Ravi, R., Janodia, M.D. University-Industry Technology Transfer in India: a Plausible Model Based on Success Stories from the USA, Japan, and Israel. J Knowl Econ 13, 1692–1713 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-022-00908-z

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13132-022-00908-z

TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION RESEARCH IN CHINA AND INDIA: A BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS FOR THE PERIOD 1991–2015

 This is an important study from Debabrata Chatterjee and Sreevas Sahasranamam from the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode, India, and the University of Strathclyde, UK.

ABSTRACT Although substantial literature on the management of technological innovation exists, several scholars argue that much of this research has been rooted in Western contexts, where key assumptions are very different from those in emerging economies. Building on this viewpoint, we investigate the current state of knowledge on technological innovation in two of the largest and fastest-growing emerging economies: China and India. We undertook a bibliometric analysis of author keywords and combined different quantitative approaches – frequency analysis, cluster analysis, and co-word analysis – to review 162 articles on technological innovation published in China and India for the period 1991– 2015. From the analyses, the trends in technological innovation research in the two countries and the dominant themes of discussion were identified. These themes were further classified into eight sub-themes. Our key findings indicate a near absence of research on the management of technological innovation based on India, a limited volume of research on indigenous aspects of innovation, and a lack of theory-building based on these countries’ contexts. Several suggestions for future research are offered based on the gaps identified.

Download the paper here.

Green Hydrogen Standard for India

 The government has notified the Green Hydrogen Standard for India. The standard issued by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India outlines the emission thresholds that must be met in order for hydrogen produced to be classified as ‘Green’, i.e., from renewable sources. The scope of the definition encompasses both electrolysis-based and biomass-based hydrogen production methods. After discussions with multiple stakeholders, the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy has decided to define Green Hydrogen as having a well-to-gate emission (i.e., including water treatment, electrolysis, gas purification, drying and compression of hydrogen) of not more than 2 kg CO2 equivalent / kg H2.

The notification specifies that a detailed methodology for measurement, reporting, monitoring, on-site verification, and certification of green hydrogen and its derivatives shall be specified by the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy.

Download the notification

From Lexology post:

In U.S., as per the Clean Hydrogen Production Standard proposal, “clean hydrogen” is defined as hydrogen generated with a carbon intensity not exceeding 2 (two) kilograms of carbon dioxide-equivalent emitted at the production site per kilogram of hydrogen produced. Although, for the purpose of tax incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, “qualified clean hydrogen,” refers to hydrogen with a lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions rate no higher than 4 (four) kilograms of carbon dioxide-equivalent emitted at the production site per kilogram of hydrogen.

In the EU, a much more liberal definition of green hydrogen has been adopted. The European Commission has set the fossil benchmark at 94 (ninety four) g carbon dioxide-equivalent per megajoule. For hydrogen, this translates to 3.38 (three point three eight) tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions at the production site per tonne of hydrogen produced. Notably, hydrogen and hydrogen-based fuels exceeding this limit are not automatically excluded as renewable fuels, yet they cannot contribute to the renewable energy targets of member States.

In the UK, to demonstrate compliance with the low carbon hydrogen standard, producers of low carbon hydrogen must be able to report a green-house gas emissions intensity of 20 (twenty) carbon dioxide equivalents per megajoule of produced hydrogen or less, which is equivalent to 2.4 (two point four) kilograms of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions at the production site per kilogram of hydrogen produced.

Draft National Deep Tech Startup Policy (NDTSP)

 National Deep Tech Startup Policy (NDTSP) Consortium, set-up by the Prime Minister's Science, Technology, and Innovation Advisory Council has released the draft national deep tech startup policy (NDTSP) for public consultation. 

The draft NDTSP aims to complement and add value to the existing Startup India programmes, by fostering a conducive ecosystem for deep tech startups to thrive and address their unique and complex challenges. The draft NDTSP captures various new policy instruments and suggests policy changes under the following themes:

1. Nurturing Research, Development & Innovation
2. Strengthening the Intellectual Property Regime
3. Facilitating Access to Funding
4. Enabling Shared Infrastructure and Resource Sharing
5. Creating Conducive Regulations, Standards, and Certifications
6. Attracting Human Resources & Initiating Capacity Building
7. Promoting Procurement & Adoption
8. Ensuring Policy & Program Interlinkages
9. Sustaining Deep Tech Startups

The draft NDSTP is available here.

We are preparing a response for this draft NDTSP. In this regard, we are requesting your feedback on this draft policy by August 31, 2023. 

Kindly write to garima@nasscom.in and tejasvi@nasscom.in. 

A MAJORITY OF BILLION-DOLLAR STARTUPS HAVE AN IMMIGRANT FOUNDER-USA

Immigrants take away jobs or create jobs???

More than half (319 of 582, or 55%) of America’s startup companies valued at $1 billion or more have at least one immigrant founder. Immigrant entrepreneurs in U.S. billion-dollar startups come from diverse backgrounds, hailing from 57 countries. India, with 66 companies, is the leading country of origin for the immigrant founders of U.S. billion-dollar companies. Immigrants from Israel founded the second-most billion-dollar companies with 54, followed by the United Kingdom (27), Canada (22), China (21), France (18), Germany (15), Russia (11), Ukraine (10), Iran (8), Australia (7), Romania (6), Italy (6), Poland (6), Nigeria (6), South Korea (5), New Zealand (5), Pakistan (5) Argentina (5), Brazil (5), Spain (4), Portugal (4), Denmark (4) and several other countries.

Photo source: https://research.ucdavis.edu/migration-research-cluster/

Report: https://nfap.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/2022-BILLION-DOLLAR-STARTUPS.NFAP-Policy-Brief.2022.pdf