Researchers at <keyword id="642435" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="IIT-Mandi">IIT Mandi</keyword> claim to have developed a technology for making high efficiency masks using waste pet bottles that are not only more breathable than commercially available masks but also can be washed and reused up to 30 times. The team at the Indian Institute of Technology Mandi has also filed a patent for the <keyword id="6076375" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Waste-Plastic-Bottles">waste plastic bottles</keyword> derived filter membrane technology based on electrospinning. The researchers shredded waste plastic bottles and dissolved the pieces using a combination of solvents and extruded nanofibres from the solution. According to Sumit Sinha Ray, Assistant Professor, IIT Mandi, the team used waste plastic bottles to develop a single thin layer of nano-nonwoven membrane that provides desirable particle filtration efficiency, at par with N95 respirator and a medical mask. "The first concern that comes to mind when we hear that something is made of plastic is whether it is safe to use. These nanofibres meet the safety requirements of the user by excluding the bacteria and infectious components. The breathability in the developed masks is better than the commercially available masks. "At the laboratory scale, the material cost for the mask was around Rs 25 per piece. However, during the commercial manufacturing stage, its cost will be nearly halved. The mask can be washed and reused up to 30 times," Ray told . "Nanofibres can do wonders for masks. Air-borne particulate and pollutant removal efficiency and breathability are the two main criteria for efficient masks. Commercially available melt blown fabric-based masks can be efficient at a cost of high breathing resistance, whereas generic three-ply surgical masks are breathable but have meagre efficiency. Nanofibres based masks can filter out small particles effectively despite being comfortably breathable," he explained. The team claimed that the masks will not require any separate protocol to be followed for their disposal than the standard hygiene measures. Ashish Kakoria, a research scholar at the institute and one of the team members, said, "These ultrafine fibres allow less resistance in airflow due to a unique phenomenon called 'slip flow' which improves breathability. Moreover, the thrown away PET bottles can be put to good use using this technique." The coronavirus pandemic has mandated the use of masks by people to avoid contracting the infection. India registered its highest single-day spike of COVID-19 cases for the fifth consecutive day on Sunday, with 9,971 new infections taking the country's tally to 2,46,628, while the death toll rose to 6,929, according to the Union Health Ministry. The country registered 287 deaths in the last 24 hours since Saturday morning. India had raced past Spain on Saturday to become the fifth worst-hit nation by the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, only the US, Brazil, Russia and the UK are ahead of it. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/with-233-fresh-cases-bihars-covid-19-tally-rises-to-4831/articleshow/76238545.cms">Bihar registers 233 new coronavirus cases with its overall tally rising to 4.831</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/noida-21-new-covid-19-cases-tally-591/articleshow/76238339.cms">Noida’s total coronavirus cases hit 591 with 21 new cases detected in the past 24 hours</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/342-new-coronavirus-cases-in-pune-district-six-deaths/articleshow/76239001.cms">Six more people die of coronavirus in Pune with 342 fresh cases</a>

IIT researchers are creating face masks from waste plastic bottles that more breathable and can be reused up to 30 times

<ul><li>A new study by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi recommends that the lockdown restrictions should stay in place for eight Indian states where coronavirus cases are expected to increase in the short-term.</li><li>This includes Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh where their forecast predicts that the states will move to the red zone.</li><li>States like Kerala and Karnataka, which had a high incidence of coronavirus cases in the past, will likely be on the downtrend. </li></ul>Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi have recommended that lockdown shouldn’t be lifted on May 3 in eight of India’s states. This includes Maharashtra, Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu. Their study, <a href="https://www.preprints.org/manuscript/202004.0491/v1">which is yet to be peer-reviewed</a>, forecasts that these eight states will be the most-affected in the coming days. “Maharashtra is likely to be the most affected states with around 9787.24 cumulative cases by 1 May 2020,” it says. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="75453118" title="Finally, millions of India’s stranded migrants can get a transport home — but conditions apply" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> States like Kerala and Karnataka, which had a high incidence of coronavirus cases in the past, will likely be on the downtrend. These states will shift from the red zone to blue. Whereas, states like Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh show the opposite trajectory of moving to the red zone “While states in green and light green zones, namely, Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Uttrakhand, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Sikkim, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya show very less growth in the infected cases till 1 May, therefore, lockdown may be uplifted there,” concludes the study. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="74669748" title="Coronavirus cases in India state wise soar to 31,332— with 1,007 dead and 7,695 recovered" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> Here’s a list of the eight states where the lockdown should not be lifted and the predicted increase in cases by May 1: <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none;"><colgroup></colgroup><col /><col /><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">State </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-right:solid #000000 0.7421872500000001pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Forecast for infected cases </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Maharashtra </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">9768.91 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Delhi </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">3768.39 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Gujarat </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">3562.28 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Rajasthan </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2978.53 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Uttar Pradesh </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2569.51 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Madhya Pradesh </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2301.68 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Tamil Nadu </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2158.51 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Telangana </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">1424.42 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Karnataka </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">602.05 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Kerala </td><td style="border-left:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-right:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-bottom:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;border-top:solid #cccccc 0.7421872500000001pt;vertical-align:bottom;padding:2pt 2pt 2pt 2pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">451.67 </td></tr></tbody></table> In order to make their estimates, IIT-Mandi’s Sarita Azad and Neeraj Poonia used Holt’s second-order exponential smoothing method and autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model. The study recommends that the government should impose extra precautions in these states since cases will significantly rise in the coming days. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/list-of-red-zones-and-containment-areas-in-rajasthan/articleshow/75451317.cms">List of red zones and containment areas in Rajasthan’s Udaipur, Kota, and Jaipur — no relaxations even after lockdown ends on May 3</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/coronavirus-red-zones-areas-in-chennai-coimbatore-tiruppur-kottayam-idukki-tamilnadu/articleshow/75428158.cms">List of red zones in Tamil Nadu from Chennai to Coimbatore to Tiruppur as Kottayam and Idukki join the ranks</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/punjab-cm-extends-curfew-till-may-17-but-relaxes-it-for-4-hours-between-7-11-am/articleshow/75449539.cms">Punjab CM extends curfew till May 17 but relaxes it for 4 hours between 7-11 am</a>

IIT-Mandi lists out eight states where the lockdown should not be lifted — including Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh

New Delhi, Jun 19 () Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi have developed a herbal infusion technology as a sustainable means of income for local marginal farmers in the mid-Himalayan region. The team at the institute's Botanical Garden and Medicinal Plant Lab analysed various herbs growing in the mid-Himalayan region in and around the villages surrounding IIT Mandi, Kamand region for developing value-added products in the form of herbal infusions known for their health benefits (mainly rich in anti-oxidants). According to the team, the technology is ready for licensing for potential industries who are keen to work with EWOK (a rural incubator at IIT Mandi) in the interest of uplifting the Kamand Valley farmers. "The research and scientific analysis allowed the team to employ various herbs growing in the mid-Himalayan region in and around the villages surrounding IIT Mandi, Kamand region for developing value-added products in the form of herbal infusions known for their health benefits (mainly rich in anti-oxidants). "Till now, the team has successfully formulated nine different herbal infusions with constituents such as tulsi, mint, rose, amla, bayleaf, turmeric, rhododendron and lemongrass," said Shyam K Masakapalli, Associate Professor, IIT Mandi. "The goal is to create 100 Kamand Valley Infusion formulations and establish an farmer-academia-industry-NGO network for buy-back and sustainable market linkages. Vacuum drying process is optimised for each herb for maintaining quality," he added. The incubator has also received funding from NABARD to establish three framer producer companies (FPCs). "One FPC is mainly focusing on aromatic and medicinal plant farming, value-addition and market linkages. The lab is training local farmers in collaboration with EWOK with regards to farming of herbals, processing, packaging and marketing of the infusions. It is anticipated that this FPC will support about 200 farmers in within the next few years," Masakapalli said. GJS KJ

IIT Mandi team develops infusion technology for herbs in mid-Himalayan region to help farmers

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/56372055.cms" />As the first phase of placements at IITs comes to a close, trends highlight a lot about how India's premier institutes fared in this recruitment season. 
 
While several big ticket companies stayed off campuses and international offers took a hit this time, the younger IITs had the last laugh as they fared much better than the older ones in terms of salaries and international offers to students. A lot of other interesting points came out. 
 
Here's all you need to know about the IIT placements that just concluded: 
 
Number of job offers dwindled 
These are mostly the older IITs like Kharagpur and Kanpur which have registered a significant slump in recruitments. At IIT-Kharagpur, the number of offers came down to 1,080 from 1,300 in 2016 while IIT-Kanpur saw the number fall to 725 from 800. IIT Roorkee made an exception - the number of recruiters visiting the campus was up to 243 from last year's 180 while the total number of offers were almost the same as last year, at about 680. The reason for this is being seen as: 
 
Offers per company saw a decline At IIT-Mumbai, Madras and Guwahati, the number of total offers went up, but offers per company were fewer than previous years. Large recruiters like Coal India, <keyword id="10387" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Microsoft">Microsoft</keyword> and <keyword id="6361649" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Goldman-Sachs">Goldman Sachs</keyword> were particularly conservative in handing out letters. At <keyword id="57604" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="iit-delhi">IIT Delhi</keyword>, average number of offers from each recruiter was down by about 15 per cent compared to last year. 
 
Many companies like Boston Consultancy Group, Goldman Sachs and Microsoft, which had hired in huge numbers from the campus last year, radically cut the number of recruits. Several opted for pre-placement offers instead of coming to the campus and holding interviews. Those students who had already joined them as interns were given full-time placement offers. 
 
Top recruiters stayed off IIT campuses At IIT Roorkee, officials blamed the absence of bigtime recruiter <keyword id="6355629" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Google">Google</keyword> for the total number of offers going down to 700 from 2015's 740. Google chose to hire off-campus. <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword>, after its strained relations with IITs for deferring campus offers in the previous placements, was nowhere to be seen this time around. <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword> stayed off-campus too. 
 
Top offers not too high Not many croreplus packages were handed out this time. The number fell by more than 50 per cent since 2014. Plunging international offers from US firms and the likes of <keyword id="6354576" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Facebook">Facebook</keyword> and Google going off-campus is being seen as the reason behind this. Moreover, Cost to company among the international offers made by companies like Oracle barely crossed Rs 1.2 crore this year (inclusive of bonuses and stock options) compared to Rs 2 crore-plus in 2014. 
 
Newer IITs had the last laugh Newer IITs saw an increase in top as well as average salaries. <keyword id="666989" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="IIT-Indore">IIT Indore</keyword>, Ropar and Mandi received their first international offers this year, with salaries touching as high as Rs 40 lakh a year. At IIT Hyderabad, there were 16 offers for international positions. At <keyword id="642435" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="IIT-Mandi">IIT Mandi</keyword>, four students got international offers from a Japanese company. An IIT student Patna bagged an international offer of Rs 35 lakh. The highest salary at IIT Indore increased from Rs 28 lakh last year to more than Rs 30 lakh, at Hyderabad it increased by Rs 4 lakh to Rs 38 lakh. Also, one of the big recruiters at IITs, Amazon, was seen visiting 17 IITs including the young ones in Indore, Jodhpur and Bhubaneswar this year. 
 
PSUs made a stunning comeback 
Public sector units returned to the IITs post the ban on PSU hiring from campuses was lifted. Companies like Coal India, Indian Oil Corporation Limited, and Bharat Petroleum visited colleges early in the placement season. For the first time, IIT Delhi, Madras and Roorkee gave day 1 slots to PSUs and the companies obliged by offering double digit salaries to students in the first two weeks of placements.

Top offers not too high; number of jobs dwindled: Here's all that happened at IITs as they wrap up first phase of placements

Come January, tourists in Manali will be able to get adrenaline rush riding a giant swing backed by Artificial Intelligence (AI), which has been built by a start up incubated at Indian Institute of Technology (<keyword id="6354859" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="IIT" source="Orion">IIT</keyword>), Mandi and is claimed to be the first-of-its kind in the world. Founded by four childhood adventure enthusiast friends who are engineers and certified rock climbers and mountaineers, the start up called 'ManaliSwing', has completed its human jump trials and is in process of filing five patents for the concept and design. The team claims it has already been approached by Dubai government to launch the swing in the country and is in conversation with interested agencies in Switzerland too. "We will offer one of the world's most creative and safe giant swing like bungy jumping but instead of going down on rubber bungy cord, here one freefall followed by giant swing on dual dynamic ropes with over 100 possible jump styles allowing one to experience the adrenaline of 70m free fall with AI promising impeccable safety like never before," Utsav Soni, one of the founders, told PTI. "The plan is to launch in Manali on new year. The tourists will have to pay Rs 3,000 for each jump. The cost will include transportation from a certain point and professional photography and videography service," he added. The start up conducted a full-scale trial of 1,000 dummy jumps followed by successful Human Jumps under the special presence of IRATA experts at IIT Hyderabad. "The AI will also help track participants and jump master’s performance across millions of data points and deliver optimized approvals for jumping. Having a really intelligent AI will be an edge for a Jump Master and his team making sure no injury, incident, or causality can happen on the site. For example, AI will not approve the jump if there is anything wrong with the followed jump protocol or international standards. "This will be one of the best intersections of technology, innovation and adventure sport of this decade which has potential to disrupt the whole adventure tourism industry. The good part is that we don’t need to have some special hi-tech cameras and expensive setups to do this. This can be franchised anywhere in the world with an existing standard hi-res CCTV security camera feed,” he added. The team has plans to launch the second similar swing in Goa and then take the technology to other countries. "India, despite been world’s youngest country with 50 per cent population below 25, stands at 96th position in global Adventure Tourism Competitive Index (ATDI) 2020. That too is consistently decreasing since last 4 years. India ranks much lower than its neighbours, Bhutan (14th), and Nepal (67th). Especially, when there is a 178 per cent increase in demand of adventure activity in last 3 years. "Somewhere, India has failed to cultivate the culture of innovation in extreme adventure tourism. It’s Incredible India but not innovative India in terms of adventure tourism compared to its global potential. We already have been approached by Dubai government and talks are on at Switzerland too but plan is to launch in India first," Soni said. The project which was conceptualised five years back was commercially registered last year as a start up. "We approached IIT Mandi with the idea and three months later we were an incorporated company with firs working prototype," he added. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/apple-watch-detects-pregnancy-before-clinical-test-report/articleshow/94738384.cms">Apple Watch detects pregnancy before clinical test: Report</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/google-pixel-7-and-pixel-7-pro-with-tensor-g2-chipset-launched-in-india-starting-at-59999/articleshow/94696867.cms">Google Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro with Tensor G2 chipset launched in India starting at ₹59,999</a>

This giant swing in Manali runs on AI

There has been a rising spate of heart attacks in India, particularly post Covid-19 pandemic. While some blame vaccines for triggering heart issues, health experts have allayed such fears, citing no evidence to prove that vaccines can cause heart attacks. According to the Global Burden of Disease, nearly a quarter (24.8 per cent) of all deaths in India is due to cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Recent reports showed many young celebrities, artistes, athletes, sportspersons -- who usually remain fit and have no history of CVD -- face heart attacks, while some also succumbed to it. "The increase in heart attacks is best explained by the fact that almost everyone has had <keyword id="8764262" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="covid" source="Orion">Covid</keyword>, some people multiple times," Dr Anurag Agrawal, Dean, Biosciences and Health Research, Trivedi School of Biosciences, Ashoka University, told IANS. "The risk of cardiovascular complications including heart attacks, is increased in individuals who have acute <keyword id="8764728" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="covid-19" source="Orion">Covid 19</keyword>," added Dr <keyword id="1979580" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="vivekanand-jha" source="Orion">Vivekanand Jha</keyword>, Executive Director, George Institute India. Several studies have added evidence that Covid infection is behind the rising heart attacks. Research has shown that Covid has the potential to unmask silent cardiac symptoms among people with previously undiagnosed heart disease. A study by the British Heart Foundation has found that Covid can cause heart and kidney inflammation along with systemic body inflammation. Another study of nearly 160,000 people published in Cardiovascular Research, a journal of the European Society of Cardiology, early this year showed that Covid is associated with higher risks of cardiovascular disease and death in the short-and long-term. Compared to uninfected individuals, the likelihood of Covid patients dying was up to 81 times higher in the first three weeks of infection and remained five times higher up to 18 months later. Even a mild case of Covid can increase a person's risk of cardiovascular problems for at least a year after diagnosis, according to a study published in the journal Nature Medicine, last year. Researchers found that rates of many conditions, such as heart failure and stroke, were substantially higher in people who had recovered from Covid than in similar people who hadn't had the disease. However, some also flagged concerns with Covid vaccines. According to the CDC, evidence from multiple monitoring systems in the US and around the globe support a causal association between mRNA COVID-19 vaccines (i.e., <keyword id="4912868" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="moderna" source="Orion">Moderna</keyword> or Pfizer-BioNTech) and myocarditis and pericarditis. Media reports have also cited that the Oxford-AstraZeneca's jab, administered in India as Covishield, is linked with increasing clotting tendency leading to occlusion of arteries or veins. Recently, eminent British-Indian Cardiologist Dr Aseem <keyword id="35" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="malhotra" source="Orion">Malhotra</keyword> said that it was even "worse" in terms of cardiovascular effects, heart attacks and strokes. "The rise in heart attacks is not directly linked with the Covid vaccine but with covid infection mainly as there are lots of things that Covid can do with the cardiovascular system. There are reports of increased blood stickiness too in Covid infected people," Dr Amit Prasad, Associate Professor, School of Biosciences and Bioengineering, IIT Mandi, told IANS. "Even before vaccination started, such a link between Covid and an increase in future heart attacks could be seen. This observation is from 2020 data and thus clearly shows that the risk of increase in heart attacks started before vaccination started," added Agrawal. Dr. Vivekanand Jha, Executive Director, George Institute India said: "There is no evidence to suggest that heart attacks are linked to Covid vaccines." "The risk of cardiovascular complications including heart attacks, is increased in individuals who have acute Covid 19." Meanwhile, taking note of the rising heart attacks, Union Health Minister <keyword id="2607815" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="mansukh-mandaviya" source="Orion">Mansukh Mandaviya</keyword> said earlier this week that the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has started a research on the sudden rise in cardiac events after Covid-19. The results are expected in the next two months. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/rbi-revises-indias-fy24-growth-outlook-expects-softer-inflation-on-the-back-of-lower-commodity-prices/articleshow/99290005.cms">RBI revises India’s FY24 growth outlook, expects softer inflation on the back of lower commodity prices</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/finance/news/rbis-monetary-policy-committee-keeps-repo-rate-unchanged-at-6-5/articleshow/99284354.cms">RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee keeps repo rate unchanged at 6.5%, for now</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/after-the-ides-of-march-analysts-pick-best-stocks-that-can-be-bought-on-dips/articleshow/99272438.cms">After the Ides of March, analysts pick best stocks that can be bought on dips</a>

Experts allay fears: It is Covid that triggers heart attacks, not vaccines

New Delhi, Feb 4 () India and Norway on Tuesday signed four MoUs in the field of research and higher education to strengthen their bilateral partnership.
The agreements were signed here during the visit of a delegation of prominent education and research institutions from Norway led by Director-General, Anne Line Wold, Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research.
One agreement was inked between the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and UiT, The Arctic University of Norway, for cooperation in fields such as bio-photonics, health and diagnostic tools, nanotechnology, water management and renewable energy.
Another MoU was signed between the Indraprastha Institute of Information Technology and UiT, The Arctic University of Norway, to facilitate exchange of students and staff and consolidate joint efforts towards project initiatives in national and EU arena.
The other agreements were signed between IIT Jammu and Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and IIT Mandi and Norwegian University of Science and Technology with special focus on activities in landslides, tunnels, water management, hydropower, project-based learning, student and researchers mobility and cold region technologies.
The agreement signing was witnessed by Norwegian Ambassador to India Hans Jacob Frydenlund and the head of the delegation.
"The visiting delegation from Norway has had fruitful meetings with their Indian counterparts to discuss increased student mobility between Norway and India," Frydenlund said on the occasion.
"As a part of the Norwegian government's India Strategy 2030, research cooperation and higher education are of high importance in our bilateral relationship," he said.
This visit is a key step towards achieving the goals of a stronger and deeper bilateral relationship with India in the field of higher education, Frydenlund said.
Wold said India is an important strategic partner for Norway within higher education and research.
"For Norway, exploring potential partners and connecting researchers and institutions with their counterparts in India is extremely crucial. During this visit, we have had an excellent dialogue with the Indian authorities and found several areas of common interest that will benefit both countries," she said. ASK ASK ABH
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India, Norway ink 4 MoUs in field of research, higher education

<ul><li>The Indian government has launched Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (<keyword id="147664" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="SPARC">SPARC</keyword>) pushing for more research initiatives globally. </li><li>This includes joint research in several domains including Science, Technology, Social Science and Humanities. </li><li><keyword id="6746850" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="the-human-resource">The Human Resource</keyword> Ministry recently accredited funds worth ₹4.18 billion, accepting 600 research proposals. </li></ul>The Indian government has said it will fund joint research projects at foreign labs for students at Indian universities. Under the programme called Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration or SPARC <a href="https://sparc.iitkgp.ac.in/">launched</a> late last year to improve the research ecosystem in India’s higher education, it will offer students a chance to work in at least 28 global universities. The programme will include research in several domains including science, technology, social science and humanities. However, the funding is limited to joint research with foreign universities. The government is now reportedly infusing funds for the joint research programs. The Human Resource Ministry recently accredited funds <a href="http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=187147">worth ₹4.18 billion</a>, accepting 600 research proposals from Indian institutes and global universities. Of the total approved projects, several projects are on food processing optimisation, seed testing procedures, enabling smart cities via IoT technologies from institutes across New Zealand, India and Australia. How does it work? The scheme reportedly aims to aid Indian students at the most advanced stage in Science — clinical research structural genomics and evolutionary biology, <keyword id="107950" type="TECHNOLOGY" weightage="20" keywordseo="artificial-intelligence">artificial intelligence</keyword> and electronics and communication, cognitive science, <keyword id="2900331" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="digital-humanities">digital humanities</keyword>. Indian institutes can partner with foreign universities that have been listed on the top 500 <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/here-are-the-top-10-indian-universities-to-build-tech-skills/articleshow/68776861.cms">QS World University Rankings</a>. It also allows the researchers from foreign institutes, who have partnered for the project to look in on the Indian institutes and conduct workshops to cater the tertiary students in their niche subject,<a href="https://www.hindustantimes.com/education/new-scheme-kicks-off-gives-indian-students-a-chance-to-work-in-labs-abroad/story-zvFZW7SldZYTJtOgv7WxmL.html"> according to</a> Shyam Kumar Masakapalli, assistant professor at IIT-Mandi who’s project fetched ₹4.6 million under the SPARC scheme. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indian-universities-lag-many-countries-in-social-impact-rankings-survey/articleshow/68737387.cms">Indian universities lag many countries in ‘social impact’ rankings: Survey</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/ibm-watson-to-mentor-indian-women-in-emerging-tech/articleshow/68385820.cms">IBM’s AI platform Watson to mentor over a million Indian women for ‘new collar’ jobs</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/iit-delhi-campus-placements-exceeded-1000-in-electrical-chemical-civil-mechanical-and-it-engineering/articleshow/68297555.cms">These core subjects are the biggest winners in IIT-Delhi's record campus placement season</a>

Indian university students looking to pursue research abroad can now get funding from the government

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/48095633.cms" />It seems that the <keyword id="530930" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="new-IITs">new IITs</keyword> have a long way to go in attracting candidates as they are often compared with the old ones. 
 Among the 10 new IITs, including <keyword id="222212" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="IIT-Ropar">IIT Ropar</keyword>, IIT Mandi, IIT Gandhinagar, <keyword id="922152" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="IIT-Hyderabad">IIT Hyderabad</keyword> is popular but only 20 students were roped in out of top 1,000 rank holders. 
 
Some heads have the opinion that the new ones will be compared to the old IITs and it would at least take then four to five years to be able to compete with old ones. 
 
"The new IITs need more time for anyone to judge them. Institutes take decades and even centuries to become globally established," IIT Ropar director Sarit K Das told Economic Times. 
 
Meanwhile, after Hyderabad, IIT Indore was preferred by students as 15 students enrolled out of top 2,000 rank holders. 
 
IIT Ropar got 11 and Mandi and Gandhinagar and the Indian School of Mines Dhanbad got one each. 
 
“Our students prefer the old IITs and then the established NITs (National Institutes of Technology) to the new IITs," Aakash Chaudhry, director of Aakash Education Services, a coaching institute that trains students for the JEE and other engineering entrance exams, told ET. 
 
While the JEE (Advanced) is taken by candidates seeking admission to the IITs, JEE (Main) is for entry into the NITs and other technical institutions funded by the central and state governments.

New IITs have few takers, IIT Hyderabad gets only 20 candidates out of top 1000 rank holders

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/48524616.cms" /><a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=IIT">Indian Institutes of Technology</a> (IITs) are adopting different methods and ways to attract creamy layer of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=students">students</a> and also to stand out from other IITs. 
 
Several IITs like Gandhinagar, Mandi, Patna, Indore etc are breaking away from the old-school method of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=teaching">teaching</a> and disciplining students. 
 
For instance, IIT Gandhinagar is not policing students and have given freedom to pupils to define their own limitations. 
 
“IIT Gandhinagar believes in giving freedom to its students by treating them like adults. There is no policing on campus. Our students are allowed to define their own limitations. We do not keep tabs on their movements within the campus; neither do we track their attendance," director, SK Jain, told Economic Times. 
 
IITs, which were mostly built after 2008, are engaged in brand-building to click with potential students. 
 While, <keyword id="666989" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="IIT-Indore">IIT Indore</keyword> has revamped its <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=B+Tech">BTech curriculum</a> to give its students more time for research projects, IIT Patna and Mandi are trying to integrate some of their courses with the heritage and culture of Bihar and Himachal Pradesh, respectively. 
 
"IIT Patna will take seriously its original charter of focusing on interdisciplinary research," Ajay Chowdhary, chairman - board of governors, told ET. 
 Meanwhile, <keyword id="6356755" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="IIT-Madras">IIT Madras</keyword> will 'serious' tag to the <keyword id="530930" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="new-IITs">new IITs</keyword> - Palakkad and Tirupati. 
 
IIT Ropar is giving unlimited access to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=internet">internet</a> to students, which is not the case in many IITs. 
 
IITs, which will begin with first academic session soon, are also getting retired professors. 
 
"Retired faculty is around 50% of total faculty at these two institutes. The remaining will come from IIT Madras. It is the faculty that defines an institute and we want to ensure that Tirupati and Palakkad have the best," IIT Madras director, Bhaskar Ramamurthi, told ET. 
 
IIT Indore too is tapping overseas talent and IIT Mandi too is aligning some of its courses and research with the Himalayan region.

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Top offers not too high; number of jobs dwindled: Here's all that happened at IITs as they wrap up first phase of placements

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Experts allay fears: It is Covid that triggers heart attacks, not vaccines

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India, Norway ink 4 MoUs in field of research, higher education

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