Ocimum Biosolutions’ founder and CEO Ms Anuradha Acharya has been honored as a 2011 Young Global Leader (YGL) by the World Economic Forum. The honor, bestowed annually since its inception in 2004, acknowledges 100-200 excellent young leaders from across the globe for their professional achievements, commitment to society at large and prospective contribution to shaping the global future.

Ms Acharya is now a member of the Forum of Young Global Leaders that works in tandem with the World Economic Forum towards discovering innovative solutions to current global challenges while building the next-generation leadership community. On receiving the award, Ms Acharya said, “I am honored and thrilled to be part of the Young Global Leaders community of the World Economic Forum. The YGL platform is a powerful peer group that will enable us to contribute more effectively to the future of the world. I am looking forward to being actively involved in YGL”

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Voice your concerns to the new BT secretary
Mr MN Vidyashankar has taken additional charge as principal secretary of Information Technology, Biotechnology and Science & Technology, Karnataka since March 8, 2011. This is in addition to his responsibilities at the Department of Personnel & Administrative Reforms (DPAR).  Mr Vidyashankar had held the same position for a brief period three years ago. He succeeds Mr Ashok Kumar Manoli, who has moved on as principal secretary, revenue. After a recently concluded Vision Group meeting held under the leadership of Dr Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw at Biocon, Mr MN Vidyashankar met up with the members of India’s leading biotech industry association – Association of Biotechnology-led Enterprise. His objective was to interact with the industry and understand the areas of concern and roadblocks that need to be addressed.

With a progressive policy in place in Karnataka the key now is smooth execution. And there certainly are challenges to be met – most important of these include creating awareness about the policy and bridging communication gaps that exists between various government departments involved in executing this.

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Unraveling bacterial genetics
A prodigy as a youth, Dr Lederberg was 33 when he won the Nobel for Physiology or Medicine for discovering that bacteria can mate and exchange genes. He was one of the youngest Nobelists, sharing the 1958 prize with Mr Edward L Tatum and Mr George Beadle for their discovery at Stanford in the 1940s that genes act by regulating specific chemical processes. Dr Lederberg’s discovery that bacteria engage in sex created new understandings of how bacteria evolve and acquire new traits. A founder of molecular biology, he helped lay the foundations for many biological revolutions, including biotechnology.