Latest news with #DBT
NDTV
2 hours ago
- Science
- NDTV
Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla To Serve As Mission Pilot On Axiom-4 Mission: Jitendra Singh
New Delhi: Union Minister for Department of Space, Jitendra Singh announced on Saturday that Shubhanshu Shukla, one of India's astronauts, will conduct exclusive food and nutrition-related experiments onboard the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the upcoming Axiom Mission 4 (Ax-4), a release from the Ministry of Science and Technology said. The experiments--developed under a collaboration between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), with support from NASA--aim to pioneer space nutrition and self-sustaining life support systems vital for future long-duration space travel. Union Minister Singh detailed that the first ISS experiment will examine the impact of microgravity and space radiation on edible microalgae--a high-potential, nutrient-rich food source. The study will focus on key growth parameters and the changes in transcriptomes, proteomes, and metabolomes of various algal species in space compared to Earth conditions. Presenting an example of Atmanirbhar Bharat, the Space biology experiments aboard the ISS will be conducted using indigenously developed biotechnology kits under the Department of Biotechnology (DBT). These specialized kits, tailored for microgravity conditions, have been designed and validated by Indian scientists to ensure precision and reliability in space-based research. Their deployment marks a major milestone in India's ability to deliver world-class scientific tools for frontier research and underscores the country's growing self-reliance in critical technologies for space exploration and biotechnology. "Microalgae grow rapidly, produce high-protein biomass, absorb carbon dioxide, and release oxygen--making them perfect candidates for sustainable space nutrition and closed-loop life support systems," said the Minister. Some species can grow in as little as 26 hours, and when cultivated in photobioreactors, they produce more biomass per unit volume than traditional crops--crucial for space missions with tight space and resource constraints. The second experiment will investigate the growth and proteomic response of cyanobacteria--specifically Spirulina and Synechococcus--under microgravity, using urea- and nitrate-based media. The research will evaluate the potential of Spirulina as a space "superfood" due to its high protein and vitamin content, assess the feasibility of using nitrogen sources derived from human waste, such as urea, for cyanobacterial growth, and study the effects of microgravity on cellular metabolism and biological efficiency. These insights are critical for developing closed-loop, self-sustaining life support systems essential for long-duration space missions. "These organisms could be the key to carbon and nitrogen recycling in spacecraft and future space habitats," Singh emphasized. Jitendra Singh noted that Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla will serve as Mission Pilot on the Axiom-4 mission, alongside Commander Peggy Whitson (USA, former NASA astronaut); Mission Specialist Slawosz Uznanski-Wisniewski (Poland/ESA); and Mission Specialist Tibor Kapu (Hungary/ESA). Captain Shukla is part of the first team of Indian astronauts trained for human spaceflight, with Captain Prasanth Balakrishnan Nair serving as his designated backup. The Ax-4 mission, managed by Axiom Space and launched via SpaceX Falcon 9, is a landmark for India's first astronaut-scientist-led space biology experiments onboard the ISS. To drive future innovation, an ISRO-DBT Joint Working Group (JWG) has been constituted to accelerate collaborations in Space Biotechnology and Space Biomanufacturing. Institutions including the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi, and BRIC-inStem, Bengaluru, are currently exploring new experiment opportunities. "The JWG recently discussed a joint 'Announcement of Opportunity' in Space Biotech, highlighting challenges and pathways for in-space manufacturing, bio-regenerative systems, and extra-terrestrial biomanufacturing for long-term missions," said Jitendra Singh. With these initiatives, India is not just reaching space--but shaping how humans will live, eat, and survive in it. The success of these experiments has the potential to revolutionize human nutrition in space and enable bio-recycling systems for closed habitats. Dr. Jitendra Singh affirmed that this mission underscores India's growing influence in the global space sector and its transition from launch services to space exploration, sustainability, and science leadership.
Hindustan Times
17 hours ago
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Uttar Pradesh govt makes Aadhaar verification a must for cattle adoption scheme
The Uttar Pradesh government has made Aadhaar verification mandatory for availing of the benefits under the scheme that provides financial support to individuals who voluntarily adopt cattle from cow shelters. According to a government notification issued by principal secretary, animal husbandry, K Ravindra Naik here on May 27, beneficiaries will now have to furnish proof of possession of an Aadhaar number or undergo Aadhaar authentication to receive the monetary support of ₹50 per cattle per day for up to two cattle. Those not yet enrolled will be required to register for Aadhaar at designated enrolment centres and furnish proof of application to avail of the interim benefits. Officials said the move aims to streamline service delivery, eliminate duplicate and fake beneficiaries, and ensure that subsidies reach only genuine and eligible individuals. Aadhaar linkage will also facilitate direct benefit transfers, reduce paperwork and improve transparency in the disbursal process. 'In addition to targeting the right beneficiaries, Aadhaar integration supports better monitoring and data-driven planning for resource allocation,' special secretary (animal husbandry), Devendra Kumar Pandey said. Under the current system, according to Pandey, the money was transferred to district magistrates (DMs) who would provide the funds to the beneficiaries. 'Now, like in various other government-funded schemes, the funds under the cow adoption scheme too will be transferred directly to the beneficiaries through the DBT after their Aadhaar verification and linking the same to their bank account,' he said. The notification acknowledges potential authentication failures and outlines remedial measures: The scheme also outlines mechanisms to address biometric failures during Aadhaar authentication. In cases where fingerprint or iris scans fail, face authentication, OTP-based verification, or other approved fallback options will be used to ensure no genuine beneficiary is left out. The department has directed the implementing agency to widely publicise the new requirement and ensure that the Aadhaar mandate does not become a barrier to access. A grievance redressal mechanism has also been put in place as per guidelines of the Cabinet Secretariat issued in 2017. Under the cow adoption scheme, eligible beneficiaries receive ₹50 per cattle per day on a monthly basis to cover food and fodder expenses for animals adopted from temporary or permanent cow shelters. Currently, there are around 14 lakh stray cattle, including 1.30 lakh in urban areas, sheltered in 8381 conservation centres across the state. Over 1.50 lakh stray cattle have been adopted by individuals under the cow adoption scheme.
Belfast Telegraph
2 days ago
- Business
- Belfast Telegraph
Nearly 30 NI firms including well-known pub owner ‘failed to pay minimum wage to workers'
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) released a list of 518 employers in the UK that underpaid workers over several years, including 28 people or businesses here. In total, around 1,650 workers in Northern Ireland were underpaid almost £160,000. It means pay for some staff fell short of the national minimum wage, or the national living wage, which is what the Government calls the minimum wage for those aged over 21. The Northern Ireland company with the highest bill was Property Management Services, which has a registered office address in Annagh Drive, Craigavon. DBT said the company had underpaid 414 staff to the tune of £54,852.44. It is one of the Belfast-based Golf Holdings group of companies, which spans pubs, off-licences and retail. Four other Golf Holdings limited companies with registered offices in Belfast are also identified in the list. In total, its firms had underpaid workers around £116,300. Golf Holdings company Regency Hotel (Northern Ireland) failed to pay £19,952.21 to 201 workers, while Winemark the Winemerchants failed to pay £15,738.33 to 186 workers. Philip Russell failed to pay £10,507.58 to 111 workers, while Wine Inns failed to pay £9,295.35 to 103 workers. Wine Inns is the owner of pubs and clubs around Belfast including Alibi, The Empire, Cutters and the Four Winds. Golf Holdings has been contacted for comment regarding the non-payment of the minimum wage by its subsidiaries. Sean Elliott, a director of Elliott's Garage in Ballymena, failed to pay £17,518.00 to one worker, according to the government. The business has been contacted for comment. Whistledown Inn in Warrenpoint failed to pay £2,154.29 to 46 workers, the government announcement said. It has been contacted for comment. There are five nurseries on the list, with Building Blocks Day Nursery (NI) in Toome recorded as having failed to pay the highest amount, at £5,576.45, due to 45 workers. Owner Kate McFerran told the Belfast Telegraph: 'We didn't realise that we should have been paying for their (staff) uniforms. "This has all been rectified. It was an oversight for us, and even our accountant didn't know. "Everyone has now been back-paid.' Restaurant the Sooty Olive in Londonderry, which has now closed, failed to pay £819.24 to 33 workers. UK-wide, Pizza Express, Lidl, British Airways, and outsourcing firm Capita were among the big businesses named by the Government. In total, nearly 60,000 people UK-wide had been left out of pocket, the DBT said. Capita, one of the Government's biggest suppliers with major public sector contacts, was top of the list, owing £1.15m to 5,543 workers. This meant individual employees were underpaid about £208 on average. A spokesman for Capita said it was 'inadvertent underpayments' between 2015 and 2021, due to issues including adding 25 minutes per week for call centre staff to log in for their shifts. 'All owed monies were paid immediately, and we are sorry for any impact this had on colleagues and former colleagues at that time,' the company added. 'Our processes and systems were updated to ensure there would be no further issues; we have continued to monitor them carefully, as well as any changes to employment regulations.' Pizza Express failed to pay £760,702 to 8,470 workers – amounting to about £90 on average. A spokeswoman for Pizza Express said: 'Once we were made aware of this historic unintentional technicality, which occurred between 2012 and 2018, we swiftly identified who was impacted, apologised and rectified. 'There's nothing more important to us than fairly and accurately paying our team members.' News Catch Up - Tuesday 28th May All the workers left short will be repaid a combined £7.4 million, following investigations by HMRC between 2015 and 2022. The national living wage was £11.44 in the year to the end of March, and has risen to £12.21 since April. The minimum wage for 18-20-year-olds rose to £10 this year, and for those aged under 18 it rose to £7.55. Justin Madders, the minister for employment rights, said: 'There is no excuse for employers to undercut their workers, and we will continue to name companies who break the law and don't pay their employees what they are owed.' The Government said that not all minimum wage underpayments are intentional, but those who do not pay staff correctly will be penalised. The businesses named on Thursday faced financial penalties of up to 200% of the total amount they underpaid. The full list of NI firms named for not having paid minimum wage: Property Management Services (NI) Belfast, BT3, failed to pay £54,852.44 to 414 workers Regency Hotel (Northern Ireland), Belfast, BT3, failed to pay £19,952.21 to 201 workers Sean Elliott, Ballymena, BT42, failed to pay £17,518.00 to one worker Winemark the Winemerchants, Belfast, BT3, failed to pay £15,738.33 to 186 workers Elmoreton, Belfast, BT7, failed to pay £14,782.81 to 391 workers. Philip Russell, Belfast, BT6, failed to pay £10,507.58 to 111 workers Wine Inns, Belfast, BT3, failed to pay £9,295.35 to 103 workers Building Blocks Day Nursery (NI), Toome, BT41, failed to pay £5,576.45 to 45 workers City Office (NI), Belfast, BT12, failed to pay £3,622.46 to two workers Whistledown Inn, Newry, BT34, failed to pay £2,154.29 to 46 workers R J Ferguson Company, Stewartstown, BT71, failed to pay £2,014.04 to three workers CPM Electrical, Omagh, BT79, failed to pay £1,937.71 to four workers Mr John Fulton Allen & Mr John Gary King, Strabane, BT82, failed to pay £1,725.59 to one worker SPI Trading Limited, Lisburn, BT28, failed to pay £1,656.74 to three workers Electrical Services Ltd, Castlederg, BT81, failed to pay £1,542.58 to three workers Mr Francis Joseph McParland and Mr Peter Liam McParland, Armagh, BT61, failed to pay £1,466.04 to four workers Colemans Garden Centre, Templepatrick, BT39, failed to pay £1,450.11 to 35 workers. Mcaleer & McGarrity, Cookstown, BT80, failed to pay £1,207.77 to 2 workers Trinity Park Nursery, Craigavon, BT67, failed to pay £1,020.97 to 17 workers. Birdies Day Nursery, Lisburn, BT28, failed to pay £821.32 to 8 workers Sooty Olive Ltd, Waterside, BT47, failed to pay £819.24 to 33 workers Kids Korner Day Nurseries, Belfast, BT6, failed to pay £779.81 to 23 workers Safe Gas (NI), Newtonabbey, BT36, failed to pay £639.10 to 1 worker Kanto Stranmillis, Belfast, BT9, failed to pay £590.15 to 1 worker Happy Children Day Nursery, Ballynahinch, BT24, failed to pay £573.74 to 12 workers. SC HCW, Belfast, BT5, failed to pay £533.54 to 7 workers Ardmore (Co. Derry) Pre-Cast Concrete, Ardmore, BT47, failed to pay £525.69 to 1 worker Timberquay, Derry, BT48, failed to pay £503.98 to 14 workers
North Wales Chronicle
2 days ago
- Business
- North Wales Chronicle
Capita, Pizza Express and Lidl named by Government for minimum wage failures
The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) released a list of 518 employers and businesses that underpaid workers over several years. It means pay for some staff fell short of the national minimum wage, or the national living wage, which is what the Government calls the minimum wage for those aged over 21. In total, nearly 60,000 people had been left out of pocket, the DBT said. Capita, one of the Government's biggest suppliers with major public sector contacts, was top of the list, owing £1.15 million to 5,543 workers. This meant individual employees were underpaid about £208 on average. A spokesman for Capita said it was 'inadvertent underpayments' between 2015 and 2021, due to some issues including adding 25 minutes per week for call centre staff to log in for their shifts. 'All owed monies were paid immediately, and we are sorry for any impact this had on colleagues and former colleagues at that time,' the company added. 'Our processes and systems were updated to ensure there would be no further issues; we have continued to monitor them carefully, as well as any changes to employment regulations.' Pizza Express failed to pay £760,702 to 8,470 workers – amounting to about £90 on average. A spokeswoman for Pizza Express said: 'Once we were made aware of this historic unintentional technicality, which occurred between 2012 and 2018, we swiftly identified who was impacted, apologised and rectified. 'There's nothing more important to us than fairly and accurately paying our team members.' Lidl was also high on the list, having owed £286,437 to 3,423 employees. And British Airways was named for failing to pay £231,276 to 2,165 workers. A spokesman for BA said: 'Back in 2017, an audit revealed we had accidentally slightly underpaid some of our cabin crew who joined us between 2014 and 2017 during their first two months of employment. 'We apologised and issued backdated payments several years ago.' Meanwhile, smaller groups of employees were underpaid larger sums by some British companies – such as hotel chain Hilton UK which underpaid 20 members of staff an average of £946 each. Restaurant chain Prezzo, motoring and cycling retailer Halfords, and travel group Tui were also found to have been underpaying some workers over several years. All the workers left short will be repaid a combined £7.4 million, following investigations by HMRC between 2015 and 2022. The national living wage was £11.44 in the year to the end of March, and has risen to £12.21 since April. The minimum wage for 18-20-year-olds rose to £10 this year, and for those aged under 18 it rose to £7.55. Justin Madders, the minister for employment rights, said: 'There is no excuse for employers to undercut their workers, and we will continue to name companies who break the law and don't pay their employees what they are owed.' The Government said that not all minimum wage underpayments are intentional, but those who do not pay staff correctly will be penalised. The businesses named on Thursday faced financial penalties of up to 200% of the total amount they underpaid. Lidl has been contacted for comment.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
NI employers named for not paying staff minimum wage
Twenty-eight businesses in Northern Ireland have been named for failing to pay their employees the minimum wage, according to the Department for Business and Trade (DBT).This comes after a significant uplift to the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage came into effect in department said 518 employers across the UK have been ordered to repay workers over £7.4 million after nearly 60,000 workers have been left out of includes 28 employers in Northern Ireland. The businesses have since paid back what they owe to their staff and faced financial penalties of up to 200% of their for Employment Rights Justin Madders said: "There is no excuse for employers to undercut their workers, and we will continue to name companies who break the law and don't pay their employees what they are owed.""This will put more money in working people's pockets, helping to boost productivity and ending low pay," he added. What are the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage? The National Living Wage went up from £11.44 an hour to £12.21. The government said the increase was worth £1,400 a year for an eligible full-time National Living Wage has applied to employees aged 21 and over since April 2024. Previously, you had to be pay rates are set by the government every year on the advice of an independent group, the Low Pay CommissionYounger employees - aged between 16 and 20 - receive the National Minimum 18, 19 and 20-year-olds, it rose from £8.60 an hour to £10 on 1 government said the increase is worth £2,500 for an eligible full-time 16 and 17-year-olds, the National Minimum Wage rose from £6.40 an hour to £7.55, an 18% separate apprentice rate, which applies to eligible people under 19 - or those over 19 in the first year of an apprenticeship increased by the same amount. The NI Businesses from the DBT 1. Property Management Services NI Limited in Belfast - 414 employees owed an average £136 per worker2. Elliot's auto engineering in North Antrim - 1 employee owed over £17,0003. Winemark in North Belfast - 186 employees owed over £844. Benedicts in south Belfast - 391 employees owed £375. Philip Russell Limited in Belfast - 111 employees owed £946. Regency Hotel in Belfast - 201 employees owed £997. Wine Inns Ltd in Belfast - 103 employees owed £908. Building Blocks Day nursery in Mid ulster - 45 employees owed £1239. City Office NI Ltd - 2 employees owed £1,80010. Whistledown Hotel in South Down - 46 employees owed £4611. RJ Ferguson in Mid Ulster - 3 employees owed £67012. CPM Electrical in Fermanagh- 4 employees owed £48413. The Village store in West Tyrone - 1 employee owed £172514. Spice restaurant in Lagan Valley - 3 employees owed £55215. R Loughlin Electrical in west Tyrone - 3 employees owed £51416. Annavale Joinery Works - 4 employees owed £36617. Colemans Garden Centre - 35 employees owed £4118. McAleer and McGarrity in Mid Ulster - 2 employees owed £60319. Trinity Park Nursery - 17 employees owed £6020. Birdies Day nursery - 8 employees owed £10221. The Sooty Olive in Derry - 33 employees owed £2422. Kids Korner nurseries in Belfast - 23 employees owed £3323. Safe Gas NI Ltd - 1 employee owed £63924. Kanto Stranmillis Ltd - 1 employee owed £59025. Happy Children Nursery in Strangford - 12 employees owed £4726. Euro Hand car wash - 7 employees owed £7627. Ardmore Pre-cast concrete Ltd - 1 employee owed £52528. Timberquay Ltd in Derry - 14 employees owed £16
