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RR RUEHAST RUEHHM RUEHLN RUEHMA RUEHPB RUEHPOD RUEHTM
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RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 NEW DELHI 002295 
 
STATE FOR OES/PCI, OES/STC, OES/SAT, OES/EGC, AND SCA/INS 
STATE FOR STAS 
STATE PASS TO NSF FOR INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS 
HHS PASS TO NIH 
STATE PASS TO USAID 
STATE FOR SCA, OES (STAS FEDOROFF), OES/PCI STEWART; OES/IHB MURPHY 
PASS TO HHS/OGHA (STEIGER/ABDOO/VALDEZ), CDC (BLOUNT/FARRELL), 
NIH/FIC (GLASS/MAMPILLY/HANDLEY), FDA (LUMPKIN/WELSCH, GENEVA FOR 
HOFMAN) 
PASS TO MAS/DAS/JESTRADA 
PASS TO MAC/DAS/HVINEYARD 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: TBIO SENV AMED CASC KSCA ECON ETRD BEXP EINV PGOV
SUBJECT: NEW DELHI BI-WEEKLY ESTH REPORT: AUGUST 2008 THIRD WEEK 
 
REF A: NEW DELHI 2278 
REF B: STATE 61046 
 
NEW DELHI 00002295  001.2 OF 005 
 
 
 
¶1.  (U) SUMMARY:  This edition of the New Delhi ESTH biweekly 
includes an S&T section update on the new Indo-US collaboration in 
Engineering Education, exploring opportunities for US-India 
collaboration in space and solar energy, India's plans to set up its 
largest solar telescope and a report on increase in numbers of 
international students in India's Universities.  The health section 
includes information about the visit of Health Attach to Pakistan 
in support of Secretary Michael O. Leavitt's visit and an update on 
CDC Avian Influenza (AI) Coordinator's visit to Cairo for the 
Influenza Division's international cooperative agreement meeting. 
The section also includes updates on preparations for the workshop 
on Good Clinical Practices (GCP)/ Clinical Research Inspection, 
polio and the problem of improper biomedical waste disposal in 
India.  Also discussed in the health section is the assessment of 
National Reference Laboratories (NRL) and the visit by the US Naval 
Health Research Center delegation from Hawaii for the President's 
Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Department of Defense (DOD) 
visioning exercise.  END SUMMARY 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
Indo-U.S. Collaboration in Engineering Education Moving Forward 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶2.  (U) Following the visit in June 2007 by the American Society of 
Engineering Education (ASEE) Delegation with the objective of 
reengaging with India after almost forty five years, it was decided 
that the most productive approach would be to launch the Faculty 
Leadership Institute (FLI).  This initiative would address the most 
challenging problem of engineering education in India - severe 
shortage of qualified faculty.  Funding has been provided by private 
sector companies, Infosys in India and Jupiter Networks in the U.S. 
Under this initiative, U.S. faculty from renowned institutions will 
be training senior Indian faculty (mostly from tier 2 and 3 
engineering schools) using latest tools of effective teaching and 
learning.  The Indian faculty in turn will take the lead and conduct 
similar training workshops for junior faculty in their respective 
regions and colleges in fundamentals and content.  Wide ranging 
research collaborations are expected to originate from the networks 
formed between Indian and U.S. faculty. 
 
¶3.  (U) The first FLI workshop was held from 26 May to July 18 at 
the Infosys Training Center in Mysore.  About 30 U.S. faculty and 
600 Indian faculty participated over the 6 week period.  Indian 
faculty was mostly from colleges in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil 
Nadu, Maharashtra and Gujarat.  SciCouns, who is a member of the 
Executive Committee of FLI, was an invited speaker at the Leadership 
Track. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
While Preparing for the Moon Mission 'Chandrayaan I', US and India 
Exploring Future Collaborations 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
¶4.  (U) As reported earlier, India's unmanned moon mission 
"Chandrayaan I" planned for launch in mid September has been 
postponed.  The next available launch window is expected to be after 
October 15, 2008. 
 
¶5.  (U) During a recent visit to Indian Space Research Organization 
(ISRO) in Bangalore, SciCouns met with Mr. Annadurai, Project 
Director for 'Chandrayaan I' and observed the integration process of 
the two US instruments on the spacecraft.  Discussions were also 
 
NEW DELHI 00002295  002.2 OF 005 
 
 
held regarding possible collaboration on 'Chandrayaan II'.  NASA is 
considering sending an advanced RTG (Radioisotope Thermoelectric 
Generator) power source (generates power from a 238 Plutonium heat 
source) aboard 'Chandrayaan II'.  This could be mission 
enabling/enhancing for 'Chandrayaan II'.  Because the advanced RTG 
has moving parts, NASA is seeking a flight opportunity to qualify it 
prior to its use on long duration outer planetary missions.  India 
has also recently joined eight nations (US, Canada, Germany, Italy, 
Japan, South Korea, France and England) to develop new technologies 
for exploratory robotic manned missions to the moon. 
 
¶6.  (U) NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Director Dr. Charles 
Elachi visited ISRO on August 20 with the objective of exploring 
collaborations on planetary missions.  Mission will forward the 
readout from this meeting. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
Exploring Opportunities for US-India Collaboration in the Area of 
Solar Energy 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶7.  (U) SciOffs had a series of meetings with the officials from 
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) including the new 
Secretary Mr. Deepak Gupta to discuss areas of mutual interest for 
collaboration.  SciOffs also had meetings with Government of India 
(GOI) labs and private companies including Solar Energy Center 
(SEC),Gurgaon, National Physical Laboratory (NPL), New Delhi, Moser 
Baer Photo Voltaics (MBPV), Greater Noida (near New Delhi) and 
Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL), Gurgaon (near New Delhi) 
working on solar energy based technologies.  The GOI is looking for 
collaborations with the US in both R&D and commercial spheres (see 
Reftel A).  During the course of these meetings it was learned that 
GOI is still in the process of finalizing the organizing team and 
venue for the International Renewable Energy conference in 2010 to 
be held in India, a follow on conference to the Washington 
International Renewable Energy Conference (WIREC) 2008 (Reftel B). 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
India Plans To Set Up It's Largest Solar Telescope 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶8.  (U) The Department of Science and Technology is soon expected to 
approve a proposal for the setting up of India's largest solar 
telescope.  The Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bangalore, 
the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), 
Pune, and the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational 
Sciences (ARIOS), Nainital, plan to jointly develop this solar 
telescope.  The high resolution two-meter class solar telescope is 
to be built at a cost of USD 35 million and  operational by 2013. 
It is expected to be located in one of the following three places 
namely Leh or Hanle in Ladakh region or in Devasthal near Nainital, 
Uttaranchal. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
Indian Universities Gear up for Foreign Students 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
¶9.  (U) A survey by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) 
found that Indian universities enrolled over 14,456  international 
students in the year 2006-2007, a 10 percent  increase from the 
previous year.  The top five universities were Indira Gandhi 
National Open University (3000), University of Pune (2455), Manipal 
University (1417), University of Delhi (1055) and Birla Institute of 
Technology and Science, Pilani (912).  The added incentive for 
Indian Universities to admit international students is that they can 
 
NEW DELHI 00002295  003.2 OF 005 
 
 
charge a higher fee and also the intake could be increased by 15% 
above the official sanctioned strength.  Most of the international 
students who come to India join undergraduate programs.  Manipal 
University is the preferred destination for many US students for 
studying medicine.  Many private universities seem to be taking 
initiatives to have collaboration with US universities and offer 
joint programs so that students could carry out one half the 
programs in India and the other half in US.  This helps reduce cost 
for the students and at the same time help the Indian university to 
not only attract international students but also raise its standards 
through its collaboration with a foreign university. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
Secretary Michael O. Leavitt's visit to Pakistan 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
¶10.  (U) Health Attach Dr. Altaf Lal visited Pakistan from 14-21 
August in support of the visit of Department of Health and Human 
Services (DHHS) Secretary Michael O. Leavitt's visit to Pakistan. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
Influenza Division's International Cooperative Agreement meeting 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
¶11.  (U) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Avian 
Influenza (AI) Coordinator Program in India Dr. Renu Lal visited 
Cairo from 12-16 August 2008.  Dr. Renu Lal was in Cairo to attend 
an Influenza Division's International Cooperative Agreement meeting 
from Aug 13-15, 2008.  A total of 140 participants (cooperative 
agreement partners and WHO regional staff) representing 25 countries 
attended a 3 day workshop in Cairo.  Dr. A. C. Mishra, Director, 
National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, Principal Investigator 
of the HHS/CDC cooperative agreement with ICMR, along with Dr. M. 
Chadha, NIV, Pune, Dr. Harpreet Kaur, ICMR HQ, and Dr. S. Broor, 
Prof of Microbiology, AIIMS, New Delhi attended the meeting. 
 
¶12.  (U) The workshop focused on Virologic surveillance for 
Influenza, laboratory aspects of Influenza surveillance, 
coordination and cross cutting of surveillance activities across 
regions including plans to develop guidelines for pandemic influenza 
surveillance, and regional training and capacity building.  Other 
issues discussed included basics of cooperative agreement management 
and payment systems which were very useful for partners who have 
recently been granted cooperative agreements.  Overall plans are to 
develop unified guidelines for surveillance and disease burden 
studies around the globe so that unified data can be generated.  The 
meeting also opened channel of communications among various 
participants, and clearly identified certain regional needs.  For 
instance, it was identified that there is need for training in 
Influenza isolation and characterization techniques.  NIV, Pune has 
plans to conduct a training workshop in November, 2008 for their own 
network members and also open up participation from other 
international sites. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
Update on preparations for the US-Indo joint workshop on Good 
Clinical Practice (GCP)/Clinical Research Inspection 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶13.  (U) As reported in the previous ESTH Report, the U.S. Food and 
Drug Administration (USFDA) will engage with the Ministry of Health 
Drug Controller General's (DCGI) Office in a joint basic workshop on 
Good Clinical Practice (GCP)/Clinical Research Inspection from 2-5 
September 2008 in New Delhi.  These workshop dates have received 
approval from Secretary Health Mr. Naresh Dayal.  The USFDA 
delegation of Dr. David Lepay and Dr. Jean Toth-Allen will be expert 
faculty for the GCP training program for DCGI officials and 
 
NEW DELHI 00002295  004.2 OF 005 
 
 
nominated State Drug Controllers engaged in Good Clinical Practices. 
 Dr. Beverly Corey, USFDA Senior Science Advisor will also join the 
delegation.  The GCP workshop will include a site visit to an 
industry.  This is first of a three-part series of 
"train-the-trainer"workshops to develop knowledge and skills in 
inspecting clinical trial sites, implementing a GCP inspection 
program and training future GCP/inspectors/staff. 
 
¶14.  (U) HHS Office is assigned by CDC to assist the organization of 
the CDC/IEIP Regional Training-of-Trainer Workshop on Respiratory 
Infection Control in Healthcare Facilities in Bangkok, Thailand, 1-5 
September 2008.  HHS/CDC continues to support joint workshops on 
issues related to AI and Influenza. 
 
¶15.  (U) HHS Office supported the Indo-U.S. workshop 'Medical 
Countermeasures for Radiation Injury: Current and Evolving 
Technologies.'  This Workshop held in New Delhi from 17-20 August 
2008 is jointly organized by the U.S. National Institutes of Health 
(NIH) National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) 
and the Indian Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences 
(INMAS), Defense Research and Development Organization, Ministry of 
Defense, Government of India.  First of its kind, this workshop aims 
to explore mutual research interests related to detection and 
treatment of injuries associated with intentional or accidental 
radiation exposure and lead to scientific collaborations in this 
important focus area.  A/DCM George Deikun delivered opening remarks 
on behalf of the USG at the inaugural session of the Workshop on 17 
August 2008. 
 
----------------- 
Polio Update 
----------------- 
 
¶16.  (U) As reported in the Indian print media, the resurgence of 
poliovirus in western Uttar Pradesh has rung alarm bells in the 
Health Ministry.  This was predicted by the India Experts Advisory 
Group (IEAG) in May this year.  The IEAG, which includes 
representatives from tHe WHO, UNICEF and HHS/CDC, had warned the 
Indian Government that cases of P1 poliovirus may occur.  It had 
advised that an intensive program be launched to deal with the 
situation.  "While the end of wild poliovirus is in sight, the IEAG 
strongly warns against getting complacent.  Cases of both Wild Polio 
Virus Type P1 and P3 may still occur during the high season in 2008 
and these cases will require an immediate response," the IEAG had 
said in May.  Uttar Pradesh didn't report any P1 case till June this 
year and the officials had started concentrating on P3 virus.  Since 
June 2008, five P1 cases have been reported from the area.  Health 
Ministry officials involved in the project have now started 
epidemiological investigation and genetic sequencing of the virus 
reported from Badaun, Uttar Pradesh to check if the virus has been 
reintroduced into western UP from outside or is a continuation of 
transmission from the last year.  As of Tuesday, 19 August the total 
polio cases stands at 359 (P1=13 and P3=346). 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
Biomedical Waste Disposal - A Mess in India's Capital New Delhi 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶17.  (U) Delhi based NGO 'Vatavaran' led by Dr. Iqbal Malik has 
reported on the waste disposal mechanism at several hospitals in the 
city.  The findings indicate that the treatment and disposal of 
biomedical waste is a cause for concern.  According to the report 
most hospitals are not dealing with their waste according to the set 
guidelines and a substantial part of the waste such as syringes find 
their way back into the market sans treatment posing a serious 
 
NEW DELHI 00002295  005.2 OF 005 
 
 
public health hazard. 
 
¶18.  (U) In New Delhi, of the 425,000 syringes discarded daily in 
its hospitals, only 30-40 percent were incinerated or destroyed. 
The rest are back in circulation and sold in the city's markets. 
All India Needle and Syringe Manufacturers Association President 
Rajiv Nath said "It is clear that there are several loopholes in the 
system".  For gloves, of the 15,640 discarded daily, only 10 percent 
are autoclaved and then shredded.  The remaining 90 percent are 
washed, repacked and sold to small nursing homes or for household 
use.  The Report also studied the waste disposal system at the 
prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).  The 
findings are damaging.  AIIMS generates 500-600 bags of hospital 
waste daily.  These are color coded, yellow for infectious waste 
accounting for 100 per day, 200 blue bags for syringes and needles 
and another 300 black bags for non-infectious waste.  The Report has 
stated that the incinerator area meant for yellow bags maintained 
the temperature for incineration at 580 degrees Celsius against the 
mandatory 900 degrees Celsius.  At the autoclave, meant for 
shredding, people were sorting out waste like syringes and gloves. 
AIIMS Medical Superintendent Dr. D.K. Sharma said "We strictly 
follow the rules of biomedical waste management.  We have three 
color coded dustbins in the campus for the same.  As far as syringes 
are concerned, they are sterilized in an autoclave, shredded and 
then the plastic waste sold".  (Note:  There is an ongoing debate in 
the Indian Parliament and the Ministry of Health on this issue.  End 
Note.) 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
HHS/CDC Lab Quality Assessment of HIV National Reference 
Laboratories (NRL) - Follow up actions 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶19.  (U) The NRL assessment report carried out for 13 HIV testing 
laboratories in India by CDC, was submitted to the National AIDS 
Control Organization (NACO) on July 30.  This report was further 
shared with Health Secretary Naresh Dayal. He has officially shared 
the report with all NRLs and called them for a follow-up meeting in 
early September to draft a plan that will prepare the NRLs to meet 
the minimum standards (80% score) by the end of this calendar year. 
CDC will assist NACO and NRLs in this process.  This is the first 
time ever that an external assessment of lab quality has been 
conducted.  The planned meeting of all key lab Directors with NACO 
presents a unique opportunity for the Mission to highlight USG/MOHFW 
collaboration on strengthening this essential component of the 
public health systems in India. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Department of 
Defense (DOD) Visioning Exercise 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
¶20.  (U) A five-member team delegation from the Naval Health 
Research Center, US Pacific Command and Center of Excellence, 
Hawaii, was in New Delhi August 11-14, 2008 to participate in the 
visioning and future direction of the PEPFAR DOD program for India 
with the Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS). HHS/CDC and USAID 
participated in this review and program re-alignment.  US DOD 
engagement with Indian AFMS led to establishment of the first 
immunodeficiency center for HIV at Army Hospital in New Delhi (US 
funds and equipment provided by PEPFAR/DOD.)  The review team also 
highlighted two technical areas (Lab strengthening and 
surveillance/data analysis) for collaboration between CDC and DOD. 
 
MULFORD