The National Awards have two components: (i) to the industrial concern, which has successfully commercialized indigenous technology and (ii) to the developer / provider of such technology. Each component carries a cash Award of Rs. 10.00 lakhs along with the Trophy. In addition to this Technology Development Board (TDB) has introduced cash Award of Rs. 5.00 lakhs to be given to maximum three SSI units which have successfully commercialized a technology based product.

The National Awards of Rs. 10.00 lakhs for the year 2011 was awarded to Reliance Industries Limited, Hazira manufacturing Unit, Surat, Gujrat for indigenous development and commercialization of Advanced Donor RELD1000 Technology for High Performance Raffia Grade Polypropylene Production.

Award to SSI units 2011 of Rs. 5.00 lakhs each was awarded to two companies, Top Gear Transmission, Addl. MIDC, Satara, Maharashtra and NUMAC, MIDC, Hingna, Nagpur, Maharashtra for developing and commercialization of product. Apart from these awards DST, DSIR and DBT awards were also presented. The award for the best technology business Incubator was given to Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, IIM, Ahmedabad. Dr. Kalam also e-launched the product of the companies.

On the occasion, The Union Minister of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Shri Pawan Kumar Bansal said that Technology Development Board has developed fruitful partnerships with the private sector. This needs to be further strengthened. He said, greater participation of Indian industry in R&D and development of new technologies is a must. The Government would encourage public-private partnerships as a catalyst for achieving this objective.

Shri Bansal emphasized that there is a need to motivate and incentivize our youth to focus on research activities. The development of advanced technology is not a one-off event, nor can it be achieved in a day. An integrated approach to building a broad base of scientific talent, production capacities and a long-term vision are key elements to success, the minister said.

The Minister said, we are gaining self reliance in technologies in certain areas such as information Technologies, Pharma, Automobile, Power, Agriculture etc. through innovative technologies and believe that the continuous innovative thought process is the only key to make India a developed Nation by 2020- a goal repeatedly emphasized by Dr. Kalam.

The following is the list of the companies/products which received the awards.

(i) (a) Company Profile – Kritikal Secure Scan Pvt. Ltd., Noida (U.P.) – Kritikal Secure Scan a technology product development company which provides high security and surveillance based product in critical areas like Airport, VIP Zone, and Hotels through computer vision and image processing.

(b) Product Profile – Zen Scan^® hold the distinction of being completely developed in-house and is an under vehicle scanner system that incorporate the latest security and scanning technology complemented by the largest installation base in India.

(ii) (a) Company Profile – Neurosynaptic Communication Pvt. Ltd., Bangalore – The company got “Technology Pioneer – 2008” Award in the healthcare area for ReMeDi by the World Economic Forum. It is the only Indian company to receive this recognition in 2008 at World Economic Forum.

(b) Product Profile – The company has a indigenously developed a tele-medicine solution called ReMeDi, in collaboration with T-Net Group of IIT, Madras and has developed medical equipment that can record physical and clinical parameter for the diagnosis of a patient remotely by a Doctor. This helps a rural population gain access to quality health care.

(iii) (a) Company Profile – Aurora Integrated Systems Private Limited, Bangalore, incorporated in 2006, is promoted by a team of young entrepreneurs graduated from IIT with an objective to develop and manufacture small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) primarily for civil and defence markets. The team has expertise in embedded systems, computer vision solutions, aircraft design, network solutions and guidance & control systems.

(b) Product Profile – Unmanned Arial Vehicle (UAV) is designed for over-the-hill reconnaissance to provide image intelligence in real time. It is hand launched with very long capability that is ideal for providing increased situational awareness. UAV is equipped with payloads, including front and side locked electric optic camera(s) with zoom and forward looking infrared. The UAV weigh upto 2 kg with endurance of 1 hour, flying range of 10 km and cruise speed of 55 kmphr. The product is ready for commercialization.

(iv) (a) Company Profile – M/s Veejay Lakshmi Engineering Works Limited, Coimbatore, incorporated in 1974, is in the business of manufacturing textile machineries. The main products being manufactured, with significant market stake, are Two-for-One (TFO) twisting machine and Automatic Cone Winding machine (ACW). The company is presently the only manufacturer of the ACW machine in the country.

(b) Product Profile – The company has indigenously developed a new generation Automatic Cone Winding Machine incorporating latest technology in mechatronics and information technology. The Automatic Cone Winder is used in Textile Spinning Mills for post spinning operation for winding yarn from bobbins to cones and the yarn faults are also identified and eliminated by both Electronic Yarn Clearer and Splicer. All the new Electronic Yarn Clearers can be integrated with the new machine.

The Minister of State for Science & Technology, Earth Sciences, Ministry of Planning & Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, Shri Ashwani Kumar and the Secretary, Ministry of Science and Technology, Shri T. Ramasami also addressed the function.

Earlier in the day, a Symposium on “Changing India” was held in which the following Padma Shri Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Shri Suhas Gopinath and Ms. Chhavi Rajawat, were the speakers.

The national awards have two components: (i) to the industrial concern, which has successfully commercialized indigenous technology and (ii) to the developer / provider of such technology. Each component carries a cash award of Rs. 10.00 lakhs along with the trophy.

In addition to this Technology Development Board (TDB) has introduced cash Award of Rs. 5.00 lakhs to be given to maximum three SSI units, which have successfully commercialized a technology-based product.

The national awards of Rs. 10.00 lakhs for the year 2011 was awarded to Reliance Industries Limited, Hazira manufacturing Unit, Surat, Gujrat for indigenous development and commercialization of advanced donor RELD1000 technology for high performance raffia grade polypropylene production.

Award to SSI units 2011 of Rs. 5.00 lakhs each was awarded to two companies, Top Gear Transmission, Addl. MIDC, Satara, Maharashtra and NUMAC, MIDC, Hingna, Nagpur, Maharashtra for developing and commercialization of product.

Apart from these awards DST, DSIR and DBT awards were also presented. The award for the best technology business Incubator was given to Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, IIM, Ahmedabad.

Dr. Kalam also e-launched the product of the companies.

Technology Day is celebrated as a symbol of quest for scientific inquiry and technological creativity and the translation of that quest in the integration of science, society and industry from 1998.

He asked scientists to identify key gaps in the innovation infrastructure that need to be filled.

"It is essential that we motivate and incentivise our youth to focus on research activities... I would urge all of you assembled here today to think big and to act with strong sense of self belief, nationalistic spirit and the desire to excel," Bansal said.

Earlier, former President A P J Abdul Kalam gave away Technology Day Awards to companies and individuals who have developed and commercialised innovative indigenous technologies.

Among the awardees were: Kritikal Secure Scan which developed the under vehicle scanner system; Neurosynaptic Communication which developed a device that enables a doctor to remotely record physical and clinical parameter for diagnosis of a patient.

Aurora Integrated Systems bagged the award for designing an unmanned aerial vehicle for over-the-hill reconnaissance to provide images in real time and Veejay Lakshmi Engineering Works was recognised for its automatic cone winder used in textile spinning mills.

Reliance Industries Limited, Hazira Manufacturing Unit received the National Award for Successful Commercialisation of Indigenous Technology for its Advanced Donor Technology for High Performance Raffia Grade Polypropylene Production.

Small scale unit TopGear Transmissions received the award for developing and commercialising planetary gear boxes and a number of custom built gear boxes.

NUMAC got the award in the SSI category for developing and commercialising rotary vane assembly and body liners for coal mills to prevent frequent damages of the assembly and avoid outages and downtime of mills.

Gyeltshen is one of the five police personnel taking down the details of the vehicles plying the Chunzom checkpost, a confluence where the highways of Thimphu, Paro, Chukha and Haa meet.

He had been at the job for the last 13 years.

When his notepad runs out of space, he hands it over to another constable seated nearby with a register on the table in front. The details are transferred into the register. “This isn’t an easy job,” said Gyeltshen, pointing at the 16 huge registers filled with names and numbers of the cars, stacked neatly in the office nearby.

“We start from about 5:00 am, stand on our feet till late night, receive cutting remarks from some drivers, and hardly have time to eat properly,” he said.

Another constable seconds Gyeltshen, saying the task was definitely not a piece of cake, when about 3,000 vehicles had to be registered daily. “It’s worse when we have to attend cars in cold winters and windy summers,” he said.

But here is good news for Gyeltshen and his friends minding the check-post. All the laborious acts they endure might soon come to an end.

The royal Bhutan police is looking at the possibility of introducing a technology that will capture the license plate number and the image of the driver automatically without having to register manually.

Known as a vehicle license plate recognition system (VLPR), it is an automated video recorder fitted near the road from different angles. It automatically records the details in a database.

The road safety and transport authority will provide all the car registration numbers to the police, who will then install it in a VLPR database.

Besides conveniently maintaining records, the technology will also come handy in assisting the police trace stolen cars.

“If a stolen car’s number is stored in the database, and it passes the check post, an alarm automatically alerts the police,” said a VLPR developer from KritiKal SecureScan Private Limited.

The technology also bears a unique feature of recognising the private, government and VIP vehicles separately.

The chief of police, brigadier Kipchu Namgyel, said that, if everything worked as per the plan, then the system would minimise the work pressure on his men.

“Plus it’ll be very public-friendly,” he said, adding that people won’t feel harassed, having to wait in a lone queue.

Although there are plans to fit the system in all the crucial check-posts, mostly the border areas, a pilot run will be carried out in Chunzom.

“But first we have to submit budget proposals to the government,” he said. “If the government approves it, we will have to standardise the size and the font of the numbers and number plates.

“This technology is flawless but we’ll take time to get used to it,” he said.

What this means is that, with VLPR, motorist will not have to stop, quite often annoyingly for a long time, to register the car number, name of the owner, license number so on and so forth.

The VLPR system is designed to capture and recognize the number plate in any language of moving vehicles and store it in the entry and exit database on real time basis.

According to the chief of police, Brigadier Kipchu Namgyel, with VLPR installed, all the entry and exit data are captured automatic by the system without the need for any vehicle to stop at the checkpoint even during the peak hours.

“The system can also identify and alert movements of restricted vehicles like stolen cars,” he said. “Another important feature useful for the police from this system is that it can capture the images of drivers”.

The system will also reduce the deployment of police personnel and the use of equipment. For example, about 20 police personnel are required to man the Chunzom checkpoint.

Tandin Wangyel, a police constable who notes down the car numbers at Chunzom, told Bhutan TODAY that VLPR will be a blessing for those manning the checkpoints all over Bhutan.

“Standing at the side of the road from morning to evening is very difficult and people speak back so rudely at times when we ask them to provide information?” he said.

But it will benefit the public the most, added another constable.

“From time to time, the police at the checkpoint are accused and blamed for harassment,” he said, “but if such a system is stalled it will be better for us and also for the public”.

The face of 32-year old truck driver Sonam Dorji lighted up with excitement when told of the technology. It heralds an end to providing time-consuming details and arguments with the police, he said.

“It will really benefit us,” he added.

Representatives of stakeholders like the Road Safety and Transport and Authority (RSTA), the department of immigration, who attended the testing at Chunzom yesterday are, equally excited.

If the system proves flawless, the Royal Bhutan Police will submit a proposal to the government to allocate the budget and install VLPR in many parts of the country.

A presentation on how the VLPR works was made by three representatives of KritiKal SecureScan Private Ltd., a company which is introducing the technology in Bhutan.

Most hotels use an inclined mirror to search for items hidden under the vehicle. Given the low flexibility of the manually-held mirror such an inspection, however does not allow an elaborate view of the entire undercarriage. So this inspection system is susceptible to human errors.

Kapil Bardeja and Anoop Prabhu, founders of the Delhi-based KritiKal SecureScan Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of KritiKal Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (and Indian Institute of Technology - Delhi incubated company), have come up with a state-of-the-art under vehicle scanner "ZenScan^®" which can either embedded in or mounted on the ground.

ZenScan^® - Advanced Vehicle Scanner System - is computer vision based. It uses a high-end electromechanical and camera-based assembly to image the underbelly of the moving vehicle at the entrance of any high security installation.

As a vehicle passes over this scanner, the camera sees through a small slit and captures line-by-line images, and stitches them together to form a composite undervehicle image without the need for stopping it at the entrance. This helps in detecting bombs, explosives, and contraband. The image gets displayed on the guard's monitor in real time.

The scanner comes with an option of two or three additional auxiliary cameras to capture hard-to-view angles such as the suspension area and the space between tyres.

If the driver image is needed, there is another optional side-view camera, which clicks the right-side of the vehicle and captures his or her photograph. And, there is a frontal camera that not only detects the number plate but also reads and tags it with all other details captured. These cameras also record the date and time of the vehicle crossing the security checkpoint.

ZenScan^® has been designed with a fully automated surveillance and access control system covering the vehicle, passenger and driver, Mr. Bardeja says. There are additional software database management modules to help in quick storage and retrieval of images as well as related data captured. It requires 7-10 days to install the embedded version, while the surface-mounted version needs three or four days.

Kapil Bardeja, an alumnus of IIT Delhi, formed KritiKal SecureScan Pvt. Ltd., a company that conducts research on security solutions. They have come up with a far more sophisticated solution: a state-of-the-art under vehicle scanner (called ZenScan^®) that can either be embedded in or mount on, the ground. Explains Bardeja, "The ZenScan^® system is an automated camera based-system that monitors the underbelly of the vehicle accurately and comprehensively". And a seamless and composite under vehicle image is displayed on the guards' monitor in real time."

ZenScan^® works on the principle of line-by-line image stitched together to get a complete mosaic of the underside of a vehicle. "As a vehicle passes over our unit, the camera fixed inside the unit sees through a small slit and captures line-by-line images, which stitch themselves together to form a detailed composite under-vehicle image. The vehicle need not even stop for surveillance," adds Bardeja.

Apart from this, there are several optional features that can opt for, based on the level of surveillance required and the budget. Explains Bardeja, "We also provide the option of two or three additional auxiliary cameras that are placed in such an angle that they capture hard-to-view areas like the suspension area, the region between the tyres etc".

Also if the driver image is needed, there is another optional side view camera, which clicks the right side of the vehicle and captures the driver's photo-graph. And we have a frontal camera that not only detects the number-plate of the vehicle but also reads it out and tags it with all the other details secured about the vehicle."

These camera record the date and time of the vehicle crossing the security check point and the auxiliary cameras provide the option of having a video recording of the underside of vehicles.

Bardeja explains that ZenScan^® counters the manual scanning done by security guards on multiple counts. "Firstly the manual scan is time consuming and if there's a queue of vehicles waiting to enter, it could result in a jam. Secondly manual scanning is considered intrusive and passenger feel insulted on being made to wait while there vehicle is scanned. Finally, the manual scan provides a restricted idea of the underside of vehicles and often leads to negligence as it's dependent on the human eye," explains Bardeja.

The machine, like the one installed at the chief Minister's official residence 'Anugrha' is a device which will scan the inside and boot of approaching vehicle for security risks. If found suspect,the reception desk will be alerted to block entry of the vehicles.

It is learnt, besides the photograph of the people inside the vehicle, the number plate etc will also flash on the monitor connected to the scanner.

At present the monitor and other device are installed inside a glass enclosure. "Once the high security block, which is being constructed opposite Devaraj Urs" statue completed, they will be shifted there sources said.

The scanner machine, installed by the Kritikal SecureScan Private Limited, a Noida based company, is said to be useful for a four wheelers. However, it can not scan two wheelers.In due course, such machines are proposed to be installed at all the entrance to Vidhan Soudha and legislator's home besides Raj Bhavan.

The system to be installed at a cost of around Rs 70 lakh, will be installed at a two entrances-the main gate on Madam Cama Road and Garden Gate, near Aakashwani. Manufactured by Godrej, the system will replace the old practice where policemen had to place hand-held mirrors under the vehicle to check it.

The system is equipped with data of the parts of all vehicles running on the roads today, a senior official of the state home department said. All vehicles entering the Mantralaya have to drive over the system fitted on the ground to be checked. Any suspicious object will be detected immediately, alarming security men posted at the Mantralaya entrance he added.

The system was recently installed at the Vidhan Bhavan, another highly-protected area at Back bay Reclamation.

According to sources, the system, fitted in a 2*6 ft trench, is being installed with funds available for police modernisation.

Kapil Bardeja and Anoop Prabhu have developed Zen-Scan, a smart scan security system that can examine the underside of a vehicle with utmost accuracy. The scan-system can be installed at premises that faces high security threats and is adept at detecting unwanted substances like bombs, explosives and contrabands.

"It uses high end electro-mechanical and camera based assembly," Bardeja said. Triple cameras capture several images as a car passes through the system embedded in the floor. The images are bundled up together as a composite whole and then calibrated with the use of multiple sensors to fit the required size. The image can also be enlarged up to 16 times in order to get a bigger and clearer picture.

"Right now mirrors are used to detect threats coming by way of vehicles, which involves manual labour and is a tedious and inaccurate process," said Bardeja.

"This will not just smoothen checking but is reliable, fast and efficient," he added. The device can store more than one lakh entries and records other relevant data like time, date and the make of the vehicle. The data can then be used for further investigations if the need arises.

The two techies formed KritiKal SecureScan Private Limited, which works towards building vehicle security systems. The company is a subsidiary of a team called KritiKal Solutions Private limited that was formed as part of the Incubation Program at IIT-Delhi in 2002.

"This system could be installed at any premises that faces high security threat", added Bardeja. "The video grabbed by the system is stitched to form a composite image of the underside of the vehicle. Potential applications include inspection of vehicle underside for presence and detection of unwanted substances like bombs, explosives, contraband things, etc."

"The image is displayed on a monitor. It can be controlled by the operator to change the appearance of the image or zoom into selected areas to examine in more details" he said.

Using hand-held mirror is the most common method to search for hidden items under a vehicle at present. Bardeja, stressing that it's completely unfair to compare the "ZenScan^®" system to the mirror system, pointed out that the mirror system consumed a lot of time and large man-power was required for that.

But "ZenScan^®" system scans a moving vehicle up to a speed of 30km/h and the visuals and details obtained through the scanning could be stored for desired duration, he noted.Bardeja also noted that the technology of their invention was purely indigenous and it had gotten a good reception in India. "We are basically targeting the developing countries", he further said.

The KSPL hopes to launch this product in the third week of February, according to Bardeja.

In a week's time from now, when a car enters "Krishna" security guards would know in seconds whether the vehicle is carrying any explosives €“ with the help of a hi tech security device. The under vehicle search scanner will be used for the purpose.

Said to be one of the most technically advanced system, it incorporates color composite image, variable speed playback, Imaging of all size vehicles, full database access, automatic license plate reading.

The first step in the security update is to detect cars not authorized to enter the place. The car would pass through a frame where scanners on the entrance will ensure that there are no threats like explosives under it," sources said. Beside a sophisticated police control unit would be set up.

A police man manning the gates of the high profile place said " More than 200 vehicles pass through the gate when the CM is in town, this kind of system is needed to check unauthorized cars entering the place". In addition, a "boom barrier" is also being installed so that only one car can enter at a time.