Latest news with #CSIR-IICT
The Hindu
05-07-2025
- Science
- The Hindu
What are the lessons from Telangana blast?
The story so far: On the morning of June 30 at 9.10 a.m., an explosion tore through Sigachi Industries, a pharmaceutical factory, and flattened a three-storeyed building in Pashamylaram on the outskirts of Hyderabad. The stock market-listed entity estimated the death toll at 39 of the 143 workers who were on-site during the explosion. What happened? A four-member committee is investigating the cause of the explosion. The committee is led by B. Venkateshwar Rao, emeritus scientist at CSIR-IICT, and includes T. Prathap Kumar, chief scientist at CSIR-IICT; Surya Narayana, retired scientist at CSIR-CLRI; and Santosh Ghuge, safety officer at CSIR-NCL, Pune. While the cause is being investigated, the pharmaceutical company has issued a statement, 'The accident was not caused by the reactor explosion.' Sigachi Industries was incorporated in 1989 and was in the business of manufacturing microcrystalline cellulose. This is nothing more than refined wood pulp or powder. This powder is shaped into tablets and serves as an excipient or a non-reactive carrier of medicine. The wood pulp or slurry is processed in a spray dryer that strips it of moisture using hot air. Once processed like this, the wood pulp turns into a fine powder or microcrystalline cellulose. This fine powder is suspected to have blown up on that fateful Monday morning. One of the first such 'dust explosions' recorded was in Turin in Italy in 1785 when a boy working with flour in a bakery created a cloud of flour that got lit by the lamplight. Two persons, including the boy, were injured. There is a long record of similar dust explosions in flour mills, coal mines, and grain silos killing dozens across the world. Fire forensic experts say the blast at Sigachi was a dust explosion considering the scale of damage, raw materials used and processes involved. Initially, the explosion was suspected to be a Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapour Explosion, a technical term regarding the pressure built up inside the reactor. But this has been ruled out by the company, as well as experts. Was there a regulatory failure? The laxity of the regulatory framework was stark on the day of the explosion. When fire department and emergency personnel rushed to the site they did not have any information about what they were up against. The State and central pollution control boards mandate a board outside factory premises listing details about the pollution potential of the institution and factory operations. The fire fighting and disaster rescue operations are guided by this information. The green board or environment display boards outside the Sigachi Industries did not have proforma environmental data leaving fire and disaster rescue workers clueless about the nature of material involved and how to douse the fire. A tough regulatory framework with periodic check-ups would have ensured that information was available for a faster emergency response. This incident comes close on the heels of other serious accidents in pharmaceutical firms in India. Six persons were killed in Sangareddy in the SB Organics factory in 2024, 17 were killed in August 2024 in Anakapalli in Andhra Pradesh, and two were killed in Parawada, Andhra Pradesh in June 2025. What are the implications for the sector? An American investments and real estate company in its April 2025 report said: 'Telangana has emerged a pivotal contributor to India's life sciences landscape accounting for approximately one third of the country's pharmaceutical production, one fifth of pharmaceutical exports, and one third of global vaccine production. The State's position as a pharmaceutical manufacturing hub has attracted significant investments, with over $1.49 billion channelled into the life sciences sector over the past four years.' It also analysed the role of Hyderabad in this scheme of things. Over 20 life sciences and medical technology incubators are located in Hyderabad, which is the highest concentration in the country. India, with Telangana as its hub, has emerged as a powerhouse in the pharmaceutical sector. But safety and quality concerns have dogged smaller pharmaceutical firms. The U.S. is one of the biggest markets for Indian medical exports that is regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The United States Pharmacopeia-National Formulary has a set of standards that regulate identity, strength, quality, purity, and packaging and labelling through the chain of manufacture and use. To keep being plugged into this profitable market, the standards have to match. Safety is one of the key aspects of branding for the pharmaceutical industry that helps build trust among customers. Any laxity in any aspect of the drug processing has a cascading effect for the company as well as the industry. At stake is not just the safety of one factory but the systems and workflow that are hallmarks of stable and safe drug production. Two books, The Truth Pill - The Myth of Drug Regulation in India and Bottle of Lies: Ranbaxy and the Dark Side of Indian Pharma, by Dinesh S. Thakur and Prashant Reddy T. and Katherine Eban respectively have chronicled the regulatory leeway, and documented the dangerous practices resorted to by Indian pharma firms to keep costs low and profit margins high. What about pollution control norms? Hyderabad and Telangana's pharmaceutical industry growth has been aided by lax zoning and regulatory norms. Industrial areas have to be necessarily away from residential areas. The IDA Pashamylaram was established in the early 1980s drawing some of the biggest pharmaceutical firms to the area, away from Balanagar and Patancheru that led the initial growth of the industry in Hyderabad. The initially isolated industrial area is now surrounded by residential areas. In the absence of robust and reliable public transport, worker colonies have cropped up close to the factories and industrial area. This affects the livelihood and health of people in the industrial cluster and surrounding areas. Environmentalists have documented how tonnes of toxic chemicals and effluents have been released into the ground and into water bodies around the region. The Musi River remains highly polluted with a study on 'Pharmaceutical pollution of the world's rivers' placing it in the 22nd position worldwide in terms of concentration of active pharmaceutical ingredients. This high pollution is linked to poor waste water management infrastructure, and pharmaceutical manufacturing processes. The chemicals in the water have also been linked to a rise in antimicrobial resistance. What next? The pharmaceutical sector holds the potential to attract investments and create high employment opportunities in Hyderabad and other places in India. To capitalise on this potential, India must establish a robust regulatory framework. The explosions and accidents are loud warning signs for the industry and the country.
New Indian Express
03-07-2025
- New Indian Express
Sigachi Industries refutes reactor blast as cause of tragedy, confirms 38 dead
SANGAREDDY/HYDERABAD: The state government on Wednesday constituted an expert committee to investigate the explosion that killed at least 38 people at Sigachi Industries in Pashamylaram. Rescue operations continued on Wednesday, with two more bodies recovered from the debris, bringing the official death toll to 38. Another 10 workers are still unaccounted for. Meanwhile, the company announced that it will offer an ex-gratia of Rs 1 crore to the kin of each deceased. The committee, chaired by B Venkateshwar Rao, Emeritus Scientist at CSIR-IICT, has been tasked with identifying the causes of the blast and recommending measures to prevent similar incidents in the future. The order to set up the four-member panel was issued on Wednesday by M Dana Kishore, Principal Secretary, Labour and Factories department. The committee, which includes T Pratap Kumar (chief scientist, CSIR-IICT), Surya Narayana (chief scientist, CSIR-IICT), and Santosh Ghuge (safety officer, CSIR-NCL, Pune), has one month to submit its report. The explosion, which occurred around 9.20 am on June 30 while microcrystalline cellulose powder was being manufactured for use as a binding agent in pharmaceuticals, caused extensive damage to the facility. At the time of the incident, 143 workers were present on-site. Sigachi MD and CEO Amit Raj Sinha, who visited the site on Wednesday, said that external experts had inspected the remaining equipment to help determine the cause of the explosion. Internal and third-party assessments are underway, and findings will be shared with government investigators, he said. Collector P Pravinya confirmed that blood samples from six persons have been sent for DNA analysis. So far, 18 bodies have been handed over to families, she said.
The Hindu
13-06-2025
- Science
- The Hindu
Telangana govt to host event to bring farmers, farm research bodies together
Telangana Government is planning to organise a conclave of the Hyderabad based Central and State scientific organisations working on agriculture research to have an outreach programme with the farming community, informed Agriculture secretary M. Raghunandan Rao on Thursday (June 12, 2025). Addressing farmers and scientists at a one-day workshop on 'Environmentally Benign Farming Practices for Farmers: Fermented Organic Manure from Anaerobic Digestion and Pheromones for Pest Control' organised by the CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) here, Mr. Rao said about 25 such organisations are researching diverse crops like rice, millets and also in meat, poultry, bio-manures, biogas etc., are working from the capital region. The government wants farmers of the State to know about the four to five key products being offered by these organisations in the planned exhibition, where farmers can also interact with the scientists. Proposed to be held over a period of three days in two months time, it is to help farmers enhance their incomes and livelihoods by going for eco-friendly measures in agriculture and in livestock maintenance. Action plan to disburse Rythu Bharosa ready The annual financial assistance of ₹6,000 per acre ('Rythu Bharosa') will soon be released for all the farmers, and an action plan is ready for the same. The government has also decided to participate in centrally sponsored agriculture schemes for improving soil health, mechanisation, drip irrigation, digitisation, and promoting oil seeds production with a budget allocation of ₹1,600 crore after a gap of five years, said Mr. Rao. CNG plant using paddy residue Another interesting concept in the offing is the proposal to set up agri-based industries using biomass and others on lands belonging to the agriculture department with CNG plants likely to take off first using paddy residue. The secretary has urged farmers to avoid overuse of fertiliser as it would affect the soil health and not to burn paddy residue. 'Let us not follow Punjab and Haryana, where soil health has taken a beating due to the excess usage of fertilisers. Burning of paddy residue will lead to atmospheric pollution and other hazards. We will soon have a plant to make use of it,' he said. Earlier, CSIR-IICT director D. Srinivas Reddy explained about the institute's initiatives towards helping farmers and promoting green energy like the production of biogas using vegetable waste, bio-manure, and others. Senior scientists A Gangagni Rao and B.V. Subba Reddy participated. About 300 participants were later shown the pilot plants for organic farming, anaerobic gas lift reactor technology, accelerated anaerobic composting technology, and the pheromone application eco-friendly pest management that traps insects/pests.
The Hindu
13-05-2025
- Science
- The Hindu
Surya Prakash Singh is first researcher from CSIR-IICT to receive INSA Distinguished Lecture Fellowship
CSIR–Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (CSIR-IICT), Hyderabad, scientist Surya Prakash Singh has been awarded the prestigious INSA Distinguished Lecture Fellowship for the year 2025 by the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) on Tuesday. (May 13, 2025). Dr. Singh is the first researcher from CSIR-IICT and the city of Hyderabad to receive this distinguished honour, making it a landmark moment for the institute and the region. He leads a research group focused on photosensitizers to boost the efficiency of next-generation solar technologies like dye-sensitised, organic, and perovskite solar cells. Another key achievement has been the development of neutral, non-toxic, stable, and highly fluorescent 'Bodipy' dyes for mitochondrial imaging in biological systems, as per a press release.
New Indian Express
12-05-2025
- Health
- New Indian Express
Telangana Governor Jishnu Dev Varma hails Centre's efforts to make science more accessible
HYDERABAD: Governor Jishnu Dev Varma on Sunday said, 'This is the age of research, of technology, of finding ways to make the world a better place.' He was speaking at the National Technology Day celebrations and ASTC Annual Convention held at CSIR-IICT. Addressing the gathering, the governor lauded the Union government's efforts to make science and research more accessible and expressed hope that CSIR institutions would continue to undertake transformative work for the benefit of society. In his welcome address, CSIR-IICT director Dr D Srinivasa Reddy underscored the role of scientific innovation in addressing global challenges. He highlighted the institute's contributions, including the development of compostable plastics, affordable sanitary pads and AGR technology for converting organic waste into biogas. Delivering the ASTC Foundation Lecture on 'Gut Microbiome – The Science & Application', AIG Hospitals chairman Dr D Nageshwar Reddy discussed the microbiome's critical role in modern medicine, touching on its impact on immunity, metabolism, mental health and neurological disorders. He stressed that manipulating the gut microbiome could help manage a wide range of conditions.
