NEW DELHI ESTH OFFICE HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE WEEK OF JULY 16 -

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 003342

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TAGS: SENV TSPL TBIO ECON SOCI KSCA IN
SUBJECT: NEW DELHI ESTH OFFICE HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE WEEK OF JULY 16 -
20, 2007

REF A: NEW DELHI 3306
REF B: NEW DELHI 3262
REF C: NEW DELHI 3220

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1. (U) Summary: This week the ESTH office held a climate change
event, presented at a symposium on civilian nuclear energy,
participated in a DVC with Astronaut Sunita Williams, and reported
on: engagement with IIT-Kanpur, the market for clean technology,
the biotech industry, and the launch of India's first clinical
trials registry. End Summary.

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ENVIRONMENT
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2. (SBU) The ESTH Office hosted an informal event focused on climate
change attended by GOI officials including Dr. Akilesh Gupta,
Advisor to the Minister for Science and Technology, and M.
Ravindranath, Joint Advisor to the GOI's Planning Commission, as
well as science officers from other diplomatic missions including
China, the U.K., New Zealand, and Australia. The event focused on
the science of climate change as well as adaptation and mitigation
strategies. There was essentially no disagreement among the
attendees regarding the science or the seriousness of the problem.
ESTH officers pushed home the President's Global Climate Change
initiative for which there was broad support for discussing the
post-Kyoto framework.

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SCIENCE
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3. (U) SciCouns attended a mini-symposium on civilian nuclear energy
at the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur campus (IIT-K).
SciCouns presented a detailed overview of the status of the U.S.
civilian nuclear power sector while Dr. Bijon Datta, Chairman, Board
for Engineering Sciences, Homi Bhabba National Institute, Department
of Atomic Energy, provided an overview of the Indian sector.


4. (U) Rekindling the Spirit Of The Kanpur Indo-American Program At
IIT-Kanpur. DCM and SciCouns visited IIT-K in an effort to continue
engagement with the institution which remains very receptive to
America's best ideas on education for the 21st century. The ESTH
office reported on the visit in Ref A.


5. (SBU) Per OES instructions, the US-India Science and Technology
(S&T) Cooperation Matrix was shared with the Indians last month.
The Indians were supposed to prepare a similar document. Regarding
the Terms of Reference for the Joint Endowment Fund, the Indians are
both surprised and concerned about the delay from the US side. They
have already shared their draft with us.


6. (U) SciCouns attended a DVC featuring U.S. Astronaut Sunita
Williams. This was a joint effort hosted by Public Affairs, NASA,
and the ESTH Office and was broadcast mission-wide. SciCouns
invited Dr. T. Ramasami, Secretary of the Department of Science and
Technology (DST),GOI, and Professor V.S. Ramamurthy, Chairperson,
Board of Governors, IIT Delhi, as special guests. They remarked
that S&T plays a key role in the exploration of space. Ms Williams
echoed their views by describing some of the experiments she
conducted in the International Space Station. Her Indian-American
heritage was also a topic of keen interest.

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TECHNOLOGY
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7. (SBU) Lack of Market Drivers For Clean Technology. ESTH Office
undertook a review of the market penetration of clean technology in

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India and reported in Ref B.


8. (U) SciCouns participated in an advisory capacity in the
selection process of the Lockheed Martin Innovation Growth Program
which is a joint initiative among Lockheed Martin, the Federation of
Indian Chambers of Commerce (FICCI) and the University of Texas at
Austin's Innovation, Creativity, and Capital Institute. The program
is designed to accelerate innovative new Indian technologies into
markets in the United States and around the world. The program
awarded gold and silver medals to 14 emerging technologies ranging
from waste plastic conversion to petroleum fuel to nitrifying
bioreactors. Along the same lines, SciCouns also attended the award
ceremony for the Intel India Innovation Pioneers Challenge. This is
a joint DST, Intel and Indo-US S&T Forum activity. Minister of S&T
Kapil Sibal presented the awards. It is obvious that the focus of
S&T in India is on innovation and entrepreneurship.

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HEALTH
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9. (U) India - On The Threshold Of A Biotech Revolution. The ESTH
Office completed an extensive survey of the Indian Biotech industry
and reported in detail in Ref C.

10. (U) The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) launched
India's official clinical trials registry (Clinical Trials Registry
- India) on July 20, 2007. The Clinical Trials Registry - India
(CTRI) is an online register of clinical trials, which aims to
ensure that every clinical trial conducted in India and involving
human participants of any intervention (drug, surgical procedure,
preventive measures, etc.) is prospectively registered. The setting
up of CTRI is a highly encouraging initiative and will allow
information about clinical trials taking place across the country to
be publicly and freely accessible for the first time. This is a
step towards improving transparency and increasing public trust in
the conduct of clinical research.

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