NEW DELHI BI-WEEKLY ESTH REPORT: SEPTEMBER 2008 FIRST WEEK

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 NEW DELHI 002418 STATE FOR OES/PCI, OES/STC, OES/SAT, OES/EGC, AND SCA/INS STATE FOR STAS STATE PASS TO NSF FOR INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS HHS PASS TO NIH STATE PASS TO USAID STATE FOR SCA, OES (STAS FEDOROFF),OES/PCI STEWART; OES/IHB MURPHY PASS TO HHS/OGHA (STEIGER/ABDOO/VALDEZ),CDC (BLOUNT/FARRELL), NIH/FIC (GLASS/MAMPILLY/HANDLEY), FDA (LUMPKIN/WELSCH, GENEVA FOR HOFMAN) PASS TO MAS/DAS/JESTRADA PASS TO MAC/DAS/HVINEYARD SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: TBIO SENV AMED CASC KSCA ECON ETRD BEXP EINV PGOV TSPL, TRGY, TNGD, EIND, ENRG, KGHG, IN SUBJECT: NEW DELHI BI-WEEKLY ESTH REPORT: SEPTEMBER 2008 FIRST WEEK NEW DELHI 00002418 001.2 OF 003 ¶1. SUMMARY: This edition of the New Delhi ESTH biweekly includes updates on the University Grants Commission's plans to open 735 new universities, a report on a workshop on nanotechnology, and problems that India will likely face in land acquisitions for large-scale solar power projects. The section on environment has an update on the Government of India's ban on the use, manufacture, and distribution of diclofenac as a measure to protect vultures. The health section includes updates on a recent encephalitis outbreak, FDA's Good Clinical Practice workshop for India's regulators, a Public Health Bill for emergency preparedness and combating bioterrorism, and an HHS/CDC Training of Trainers workshop on Instructional Design in Northeast India. END SUMMARY -------------- -------------- University Grants Commission Plans for 735 New Universities in India by 2012 -------------- -------------- ¶2. The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has planned an allocation of nearly USD 20 billion (Rs. 850,000 million)) towards higher education in the eleventh five year plan (2007-2012). This includes setting up new universities including Indian Institutes of Technologies (IIT) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIM). Towards this end, the University Grants Commission created a committee to investigate various modes of operation including potential private public partnerships. The committee's report highlights the need for additional universities and mirrors the views of the National Knowledge Commission (NKC) which had last year said that India would need at least 1,500 universities if India truly aspired to be a knowledge based economy able to meet its growing shortage of skilled human resources. -------------- -------------- Workshop on Indian R&D and Scope for Nanotechnology -------------- -------------- ¶3. The Federation of the Indian Chamber of Commerce & Industries (FICCI) along with the Department of Science and Technology (DST) organized a workshop on nanotechnology for industry on September 5, ¶2008. SciCouns and SciFSN participated in the workshop which was inaugurated by Professor CNR Rao, the Chairperson of the Scientific Advisory Committee to the Prime Minister of India. Professor Rao who also heads the GOI Nanotechnology Mission. He urged industry to take up large scale production of nano materials and appreciated the GOI initiative which allows academics and scientists to start new ventures based on original ideas. The DST Secretary, Dr. Ramasamy, highlighted the various products being developed based on nanotechnology, including water purifiers and new textile technology. He also noted Indian scientists were now eligible to receive up to USD 125,000 in funding from the GOI for starting new ventures in nanotechnology. Approximately 250 people participated in the workshop with industry present mainly as observers rather than presenters. -------------- -------------- Large Solar Power Projects and Land Acquisition Issues -------------- -------------- ¶4. The GOI has ambitious plans to harness solar energy but will face difficulty in acquiring the large tracts of land necessary for major solar installations. US and European experience indicates that a 100 MW solar power generation facility requires approximately a 1000 acre contiguous tract. GOI plans include very large 1000 MW NEW DELHI 00002418 002.2 OF 003 facilities requiring upwards of 10,000 acres. In overpopulated and hence land-starved India, creating large contiguous tracts requires relocating population settlements which usually proves highly problematic. The TATA group recently faced this issue in West Bengal when villagers demonstratQd over land given to the company to set-up a factory for the upcoming Nano car. The GOI has yet to articulate how it plans to acquire sufficient land for its large grid connected solar power generation projects although states such as Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana have enabled power companies to acquire large tracts of land through the use of Special Economic Zones. -------------- -------------- Government of India Bans Veterinary Use of Diclofenac -------------- -------------- ¶5. After five years of advocacy by conservationists from the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS),the Government of India has finally banned, via an amendment to section 26A of the Indian Drugs and Cosmetics Act, the manufacture, sale, and use of Diclofenac for veterinary use. Diclofenac, an anti-inflammatory and analgesic widely used on cattle, was identified in 2003 as the cause of a staggering 99 percent decline in the population of three species of Indian vulture which suffer renal failure after ingesting dead cows treated with Diclofenac. Despite a phase out announced in 2005, the drug remains in widespread use throughout India due to its efficacy, availability, and low-cost. The newly announced ban does not affect the manufacture or sale of Diclofenac for human use, which is widely substituted for use on animals, but is expected to have a positive impact on vulture populations and has been welcomed by conservationists. -------------- -------------- CDC Team Investigates U.P.'s Recent Encephalitis Outbreak -------------- -------------- ¶6. At the invitation of the National Institute of Virology (NIV), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) team of Thomas Ksiazek and Stuart T. Nichol visited Gorakhpur in eastern Uttar Pradesh from 27 - 31 August, 2008 to work with NIV professionals on the investigation of an acute encephalitis syndrome outbreak. The NIV-CDC team has come to the conclusion that the outbreak is not due to Japanese Encephalitis, which has been reported in this region from past years. The team is of the view that the outbreak may be due to Enterovirus. NIV has requested Enterovirus experts to visit India and help them in the investigation. -------------- -------------- FDA's Good Clinical Practice (GCP) Workshop for India's Regulators - A Huge Success -------------- -------------- ¶7. The first in a series of three workshops, the "Workshop on Good Clinical Practice/Clinical Research Inspection" held September 2-5, 2008 in New Delhi and organized jointly by the Ministry of Health's Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) office and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, focused on training 24 trainers from the DCGI office, state drug control offices, and from academia. According to DCGI Dr. Surinder Singh, the workshop marked the first time any of his regulators had an opportunity to participate in a GCP workshop or visit a clinical trial site as part of an educational exercise. The FDA team included Dr. David Lepay, Dr. Jean Toth-Allen and Dr. Beverly Corey. The workshop comes at a time NEW DELHI 00002418 003.2 OF 003 when India is attempting to not only put in place legislation for clinical trial regulation and inspections by the end of 2009, but also train their regulators at both the federal and state level. The second workshop is planned for May-June 2009. -------------- -------------- Draft Public Health Bill for Emergency Preparedness and Combating Bioterrorism -------------- -------------- ¶8. India is awaiting Cabinet approval for its newly-drafted Public Health (Prevention, Control and Management of Epidemics, Bioterrorism and Disasters) Bill which, when enacted, will replace the century-old Epidemic Diseases Act of 1897 and provide for better epidemic and disaster management. India, realizing the threat of potential terrorist attacks, has named bioterrorism as a major public health challenge along with emerging diseases such as Avian Influenza. The draft Act lists 32 epidemic prone diseases and 34 potential bioterrorism agents with enhanced penalties for deliberately engaging in the spread of disease. The draft Act will also enable the GOI to direct states on the implementation and execution of the Act. -------------- -------------- HHS/CDC Training Of Trainers on Instructional Design for North Eastern States -------------- -------------- ¶9. At the request of the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO), HHS/CDC GAP India conducted a Training of Trainers workshop on Instructional design at the NACO sub-office in Guwahati, Assam. The training, one of the first of its kind in that region, furthered the concept of linking capacity building initiatives to performance on the ground. This workshop was attended by 30 selected participants from diverse backgrounds ranging from medical professionals to peer workers representing governmental agencies, NGOs and UN agencies focused on HIV. The workshop proved highly successful and NACO is planning to replicate it throughout India with CDC's support. MULFORD