A TRIP TO SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY AND DEPARTMENT Submitted By: Divya Goyal Submitted To: Ashok Sir

Firstly, we went to a place named Malori and learnt about how the raw material is useful for making household items such as sanitary napkins, pots, leather stuffs etc. We learnt about the gap between technology and society and the secretary of the Science and technology department introduced us about the purpose of the department and showed us the procedure followed in making useful items and its future implications. He also introduced us the projects and studies that are done at STD, while covering a wide range focus on rural and urban poor. Technology development and adaptation for rural and urban-poor receive particular attention. A variety of projects has been implemented by STD with the support from the governmental departments and organizations. Then moving on to a place, i.e. another 2 hour journey from Mandi we went to a place at some height and having tropical climate. The person concerned took a session and explained about various crops, fruits and vegetables and taught us about their reproduction and the favorable climate needed to grow these. It was an interactive session and we learnt about various juices, powders, jams, squash, carbonated drinks, oils etc. We were shown the chambers and the various instruments used for the purpose. Various activities are coordinated at these STD departments and products are produced at small scale. This paragraph discusses about the various activities that were shown to us. Leather sector has the comprehensive support from DST in technical collaboration with CLRI. The leather is derived from Sheep. Not only the leather is an animal product but also, bone is utilized by converting it into a powder in technical collaboration with CLRI which is then used for making sugar or whitening the products. The organization is aiming at providing betterquality of life to women in terms of health and income generation by involving them in the production of low-cost sanitary napkins. Clay-pottery is another area of focus in STD which can be made either through the mold or through the wheel like rotating thing used for this purpose. A diversified range of products can be made in the STD departments. The organization has established viable Science and Technology based systems for low-cost processing and preservation of fruits and vegetables. The fruits and vegetable processing unit exists in three block of Himachal Pradesh namely Shimla, Nahan and Mandi. Several new techniques are now available in this sector, chiefly among them being Mini-green house, High-humidity chamber etc. Many environment-friendly construction materials are also prepared at such departments. Even the bricks are prepared at small scale in these departments. There has been focus on building roofing tiles. These tiles can easily replace slates for roofing purpose as they are more economical, easy to make, and can resist all weathering effects. The organization is diversifying honey products such as ginger honey drink and honey appetizer. The plant for the production of Carbonated Fruit Drink was also shown to us. The fruit drinks of plum, rhodo, orange, lemon and honey have been produced till now. The fruit drinks are either in form of juice or squash. All the juices were pasteurized and can last up to 1 year. We purchased a few of these. Apples were used in creating chips and were stored in air-tight packets which can then be used later. The chambers were made using the mud block technology. The oil was extracted from plant species and that oil was then useful in preparing massage oil for new born babies. The oil was also produced for old-aged people aiming at reducing bone joints pain. The whole trip turned out to be a great trip.