News on Science, Technology and Research in India
She assumed office on July 31, 2026, succeeding Asit Saha, who served as Director General from July 27, 2024, until the end of July 2026. Her appointment marks a significant milestone for one of India’s oldest scientific institutions and reflects the growing leadership role of women in the country’s geoscience sector.
For centuries, our culture has revered the Sun as Surya Dev, a symbol of life and energy. Yet, modern science continues to reveal that the Sun is far more complex than it appears. Like Earth, the Sun has an atmosphere, but scientists have long wondered how this vast atmosphere behaves as the Sun rotates.
Hence, to fill this research gap, the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) carried out investigations on a well-dated (10 AMS 14C dates) sediment core recovered from the Deoria Tal (Lake) of Garhwal Himalaya for providing a high resolution (centennial-to millennial-scale) pollen-based record of vegetation dynamics, hydroclimate change and the ISM variability spanning the mid-Holocene to present.
The research team includes Muthuvel Arumugam, Sangeswari Thirukumar, Kanchana Shanthakumar, Parthasarathy Varadarajan and Ajithkumar Thankappanpillai. Most of the inventors are associated with Annamalai University’s Centre of Advanced Study in Marine Biology, while Ajithkumar is affiliated with the ICAR–National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources. The university is listed as the patent applicant.
Researchers recorded 37 fruit fly species belonging to several genera and 16 subgenera across forest, orchard and vegetable habitats in Ri-Bhoi district. The two species described as new to science were named Zeugodacus umiam, after the Umiam region where the research was conducted, and Zeugodacus nasivittatus, whose name refers to its distinctive physical markings.
Blue Straggler Stars (BSS) are a peculiar class of stars found in star clusters that appear hotter, brighter, and more massive than their peers, and have long puzzled astronomers seeking to understand their origin and evolution.
The company’s Vikram launchers are named after Dr Vikram Sarabhai, the architect of India’s space programme. Their primary market consists of small satellites used for Earth observation, communications, navigation, scientific research and technology demonstration. Dedicated launches allow a customer to select mission parameters more precisely, while rideshare services distribute launch capacity and cost among several payload operators.
As the world race toward cleaner energy storage, aqueous batteries are gaining attention as a safe, low-cost, environmentally friendly alternative to lithium-ion systems. Among them, the electrically rechargeable zinc-air battery (ZAB) stands out for its high theoretical energy density, low-cost, and water-based chemistry.
EyeROV operates through IROV Technologies Private Limited from the Kerala Technology Innovation Zone at Kalamassery in Kochi. Founded by Johns T. Mathai and Kannappa Palaniappan, the company has developed a full-stack marine robotics platform combining underwater vehicles, surface craft, sensors, navigation systems, inspection software and data analytics.
The latest figures were presented in a written reply to the Lok Sabha by Minister of State for Jal Shakti Raj Bhushan Choudhary on July 23, 2026. According to the reply, the monitored lakes are located across the Himalayan river basins associated with Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, along with the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
