The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has extended wishes to the Kashmiri Pandit community on the occasion of Jyeshtha Ashtami.

"Best wishes, especially to the Kashmiri Pandit community, on the very special occasion Jyeshtha Ashtami.

Scientists from Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology (IASST) an autonomous institute of the Department of Science & Technology,Govt. of India have developed a pH-responsive smart bandage that can deliver the medicine applied in the wound at the pH that is suitable for the wound. The scientists have developed the delivery system by fabricating a nanotechnology-based cotton patch that uses cheap and sustainable materials like cotton and jute.

In the research by Dr Devasish Chowdhury, Associate Professor IASST,a nanocomposite hydrogel bound compact cotton patch incorporated with jute carbon dots was fabricated to carry out the drug release. Jute has been used for the first time as a precursor in synthesizing fluorescent carbon dots, and water was used as the dispersion medium. Herbal formulation neem leaf (Azadirachtaindica) extract was taken as the model drug to exemplify the release study.

This study published in the journal ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. demonstrated the stimuli-responsive drug delivery system using natural products – jute and neem leaf extract. The jute carbon dots were immobilized in the hydrogel matrix-bound cotton patch and could effectively exemplify different drug release pattern at two different pH levels --lower at pH 5 than at higher at pH 7.

The stimuli-responsive nature of the fabricated hybrid cotton patch acts as an advantage as in case of growth of bacterial infections in a wound, and this induces release of drug at lower pH which is favourable under these conditions. This pH-responsive behaviour of the fabricated cotton patch lies in the unique behaviour of the jute carbon dots incorporated in the system because of the different molecular linkages formed during the carbon dot preparation.

DrDevasish Chowdhury’s group had earlier fabricated a compact cotton patch that showed excellent wound healing ability but posed a disadvantage because of uncontrolled release when drug was loaded to it. In the present work, they controlled the drug release of the cotton patch, thereby making it a smart wound dressing material.

Around any wound, pH changes due to bacterial infections. Hence they developed a pH-responsive drug delivery system with the cotton patch. Carbon dots which are zero-dimensional nanomaterials, due to their unique carbon core and surface functional groups can be designed to exhibit different behaviour towards different pH. They are also known for their low toxicity and great biocompatibility. Therefore, different carbon dots were used as a nano-filler in fabricating hybrid cotton patches to check the drug release behaviour.

The development of such a stimuli-responsive behavior of hybrid cotton patch paves the way for utilizing it as smart wound-dressing or bandage material. Use of cheap and sustainable material like cotton and jute to fabricate the patch makes the whole process biocompatible, non-toxic, low cost and sustainable.

To scale up testing and enhance the reach across the countryCity /Regional clusters have been established in a Hub and Spoke Model to scale-up testing of COVID-19 samples in government institutions across the country. Institutes and Laboratories which have the capacity and expertise for both sample collection, handling/processing (BSL-2 facility) and testing (RT-PCR) serve as the hubs and they involve a number of laboratories which have RT PCR machines and the requisite manpower as their extended Testing facilities.

The Hubs are Government laboratories approved by respective Ministries /Departments (DBT, DST, CSIR, DAE, DRDO, ICAR etc) as per ICMR guidelines. So far 19 City /Regional clusters have been established in Bangalore, Delhi/NCR, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Chandigarh/Mohali, Bhubaneshwar, Nagpur, Pune, Mumbai, Lucknow, Chennai, Kolkata, North Eastern Region, Jammu & Kashmir, Ahmedabad, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Banaras, Palampur and Delhi city.

About 100 institutions have been involved and over 1,60,000 samples tested. Seven DBT Autonomous institutes have been approved as hubs by ICMR and they are performing testing for diagnosis of COVID-19 (RGCB, THSTI, ILS, inStem, NCCS, CDFD, NIBMG).

They are also functioning as hubs in the respective Cities/Regions and coordinating the efforts with a number of other premier Central and State Government institutions. In addition, they are working closely with the respective State Governments in obtaining samples for testing and are reporting every day to ICMR on their testing results. Collectively in about 4 weeks, these clusters have done nearly 1,70,000 tests. These clusters will now be scaled to nearly 50 in next 4 weeks and reach remote corners of the country.

Bihar State presented their Jal Jeevan Mission Annual Action Plan before Ministry of Jal Shakti for consideration and approval, wherein in it is planned to have 100% coverage of all households with functional tap water connections by 2020-21. Bihar state government has set an ambitious goal of providing all the remaining households with tap connection.

It’s a huge target, but the State Government is all set with the roadmap to achieve the target. A proper plan is in place for 100% coverage of all 38 districts during 2020-21. Bihar Government is also giving special attention to providing 100% of Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTCs) in Aspirational districts, quality-affected habitations and SC/ST villages. Because of abundance of ground water and surface water in Bihar, the State is making all efforts in this regard.

State is planning to provide tap connections to remaining 1.50 Crore households in 2020-21. Government of India has allocated Rs. 1832.66 Crore for this during 2020-21.

During the scorching summer and COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of clean water takes precedence. Washing hands and maintaining good hygiene needs clean water. Mostly the rural population depend on stand posts or wells for water, thus making it difficult for the masses to observe social-distancing. The relevance of potable water in one’s household premise is a one-stop solution for the given problem. During this testing time of CoVid-19 pandemic, such attempt to provide household tap connections in rural areas will surely improve the ease of living especially the women and girls reducing their drudgery and making them safe and leading a dignified life.

Though, there has been a considerable improvement in water situation as compared to past many years, but a long road is yet to be covered. Besides, enabling every household with tap connection, Bihar has to give equal thrust on water conservation, rainwater harvesting, grey-water management & tackling over-extraction of groundwater.

Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) has been launched in partnership with States, to enable every household in villages to have a FHTC within the premises by 2024. It has been envisaged that each household will have potable water supply of 55 lpcd of prescribed quality on a regular and long-term basis. it’s the endeavor of the Government to bring improvement in the lives of rural people by making provision of assured services at their doorsteps.

To implement the mission, institutional arrangements at various levels have been made and State's PHE/ Rural Water Supply Departments are to play a critical role along with the local community. Gram Panchayat/ village water sanitation committee/ user committee are encouraged to plan, implement, manage, operate, and maintain its in-village water supply scheme. A sense of ownership has to be instilled in the village community as they are at the center of this mission. The community is also expected to play a big role in water quality surveillance.

Rural women and adolescent girls spend a lot of time and energy in getting water for day-to-day use. This results in a lack of participation of women in income generation opportunities, loss of school days for girls, and adverse health impacts. JJM is to play a significant role in bringing 'ease of living' for the rural community, especially women. Women must lead JJM in their villages to meet their needs and aspirations.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has greeted the people of Goa on the occasion of their Statehood Day.