Meet Shubhangi Swaroop, first female pilot of Indian Navy, studied engineering from...
Women are standing shoulder to shoulder with men in every field, breaking barriers and setting new benchmarks across professions. In this article, we will talk about one of India's most fearless women, who became the first female pilot of the Indian Navy. She is…
Shubhangi Swaroop, a native of Uttar Pradesh, created history by becoming the Indian Navy's first-ever female pilot. She was part of the pioneering batch of women officers to graduate from the Indian Naval Academy in Ezhimala, Kannur. She earned a degree in Biotechnology Engineering from Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Tamil Nadu. Later, Swaroop underwent training at the Air Force Academy in Hyderabad. A national-level Taekwondo champion, Shubhangi has excelled in both academics and athletics.
This achievement is more than just a professional milestone for Shubhangi, it's deeply personal. She's walking the path once taken by her father, Gyan Swaroop, a retired Navy officer who couldn't be prouder of his daughter. In a heartfelt interview with Deccan Chronicle, her father stated.'After competing her BTech in biotechnology, she was eager to join the defence forces. A national gold medallist in taekwondo and a passionate diver, she always dreamt of becoming part of the defence forces.'
Speaking about her family, Shubhangi's mother, Kalpana Swaroop, is a dedicated secondary school teacher at the Navy Children School in Visakhapatnam, where she plays a key role in nurturing and educating young minds.
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India Gazette
an hour ago
- India Gazette
QuBeats wins Defence Ministry's iDEX ADITI 2.0 grant of Rs 25 crore to build Quantum Navigation Systems for Indian Navy
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The Hindu
4 days ago
- The Hindu
Bacteria found at Rajgir hot spring shows antibacterial activity
To live a cozy life on the earth, a temperature of around 25° to 30° C is ideal. But during a heat wave, where temperatures can cross 40° C, the consequences can be deadly. Humans and most complex multicellular organisms are not built to tolerate such heat. That doesn't mean no living thing can, however. Bacteria called thermophiles (meaning 'heat lovers') have been known to tolerate 45° to 70° C of heat. Such a high temperature can give human skin third-degree burns. While such an environment may seem hellish to people, thermophilic bacteria see an opportunity. Places on the earth with temperatures like this — including hot springs, deep-sea thermal vents, and compost piles — offer a mineral-rich neighbourhood with relatively few competing life forms. To gain an edge, some thermophilic bacteria produce potent antibiotics as weapons to neutralise their competitors. This is exactly why scientists have deemed hot springs around the world to be unexplored mines of antibiotic-producing bacteria. For example, thermophiles isolated from hot springs in the Asir and Jizan regions of Saudi Arabia have been found to produce a variety of potent antibiotics effective against gram-positive pathogenic bacteria. The hot springs of India are not very well studied, however. But driven by their putative value, researchers at the Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) in Tamil Nadu examined the Rajgir hot spring lake in Nalanda district of Bihar. Their findings were published last month in the Indian Journal of Microbiology. Exploring microbial diversity 'People take holy baths in these hot spring lakes, thinking diseases can be relieved,' K.V. Bhaskarrao, professor at VIT and corresponding author of the study paper, said. 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Bacteria belonging to this group are known producers of antimicrobial compounds. Well-known drugs like streptomycin and tetracycline were first discovered as the products of Actinobacteria. 'Hot springs studied till now showed very little diversity of Actinobacteria: — sometimes it is like 20% — but in our study I saw them to be abundant at Rajgir,' Aparana Kumari, a PhD scholar and first author of the study, said. Discovering antibiotic-producing bacteria has become more pressing in the era of antimicrobial resistance — a silent epidemic fuelled by the unwarranted use of antibiotics. Bacteria have responded by developing ways to resist the drugs, reducing the latter's potency. One outcome is the rising cost of healthcare, since multiple antibiotics may be required to treat a single infection. The World Health Organisation has projected antimicrobial resistance will add up to $1 trillion in healthcare costs worldwide by 2050. 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Industrial, agricultural potential The potential of thermophiles goes beyond antibiotics: they have many applications across industries. For example, the PCR test — widely in use during the COVID-19 pandemic to check for the virus's presence — requires an enzyme that was first found in a thermophile called Thermus aquaticus. A 2018 study in Frontiers in Microbiology by Banaras Hindu University researchers reported that a cocktail of bacteria from a hot spring in the Chumathang area of Leh district has the ability to promote plant growth. Associate professor and the study's lead author Jay Prakash Verma said hot-spring strains are effective for industrial and agricultural applications thanks to their heat-tolerant properties. Mohit Nikalje is an IISc alumnus and a science communicator based in Bengaluru.
Hans India
31-05-2025
- Hans India
DISB scientists visit ENC
Visakhapatnam: In a step to enhance collaboration between Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) scientists and naval personnel onboard ships and operational platforms, 59 scientists from the Directorate of Interaction with Services for Business (DISB), DRDO visited Eastern Naval Command (ENC). Aimed at fostering meaningful dialogue between the personnel in research and operations, the interactive programme aided in providing first-hand exposure for the scientists to various operational naval systems. The engagement exemplified the growing synergy between scientific research and operational practitioners, furthering the shared vision of an Atmanirbhar Bharat in the defence sector. Also, it reaffirmed the Indian Navy's commitment of close coordination with DRDO to indigenise critical technologies and thereby enhance maritime combat readiness. During the recently-concluded seven-day programme, DRDO scientists, headed by Director DISB were given a detailed briefing on operations of the Indian Navy by Chief Staff Officer (Operations) at HQENC. Subsequently, they engaged in educational visits to several operational and training units of the Eastern Naval Command, including INS Satavahana, INS Kalingaand INS Shalki. A day at sea onboard Eastern Fleet Ships provided the DRDO team first-hand experience of naval operations, peculiarities of the maritime environment and showcased the Indian Navy's evolving indigenous combat capabilities. The visit concluded with a formal ceremony where Chief Staff Officer (Technical), HQENC, awarded certificates of participation to the scientists.
