Rahul was selected as one of the top 20 innovators in India at Best Able India, a competition held in Bangalore in 2012. He also represented his university at the ‘Best Entrepreneurship Workshop in 2013. The event was organised by Department of Biotechnology, Government of India for developing ‘Chitosan Nano Particle Based Polyherbal Wound Healing Spray’.  This is a natural spray that helps healing of diabetic wounds, burn wounds, electrocution wounds and normal injuries in a short period of time and is also reasonably priced.

He won the third prize at InnovationExpo organised by the National Research Development Corporation, Ministry of Science and Technology, for developing the waste management and energy generation strategy, ‘Waste oil to Biodiesel’.

“I had decided to take up biotechnology as a career when I was in school itself. I always wanted to apply biology for applicative purposes, specifically targeting the environmental sector,” he says. He presented a paper at the 12th Japan-China-Korea Joint Symposium on Enzyme Engineering held at Kanazawa, Japan in 2012. The Development Commission, MSME (Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises), Government of India, funded some projects which Rahul worked on. He has also received innovation fund support from KIIT-Technology Business Incubator. Rahul is currently laying the foundations for establishing a firm named Indian Food and Beverage Company, at Bhubaneswar. This is his first entrepreneurial venture aimed towards providing nutrition to the masses and to make eating healthier and tastier in India. The company would focus on creating innovative packaging systems for food products and beverages, to deliver quality food with higher nutritional value to the consumers. Rahul is also part of the project Indian Bio-Energy Company, which aims at producing clean and green biofuels (solid/liquid) using biotechnology at affordable costs. ‘Need rather than greed’ would be the agenda of this firm, catering to the demand for clean energy.

He believes that northeast has ample talent and a lot of scope to develop. Rahul intends on investing his knowledge, innovation and money in contributing to the development of the region as well as the country at large.

“My parents, who have taught me the art of ethical living and mentors who guided me to enrich the skills I have acquired today, have been my source of inspiration,” says Rahul.

Touted to be first-of-its-kind project in the state, MBG plans to conduct a detailed exploration and identification of lichens from different parts of the state, spanning over a period of three years, and subsequently establish a conservation repository of lichens in the garden. Officials said that the proposal to establish a lichen house assumed significance from the fact that, till date no substantial documentation had been carried out on lichens from the entire Kerala region.

“An exhaustive survey through various ecosystems in the state will definitely  identify more number of species from Kerala. Hence, it is necessary to explore the unexplored and under-explored areas to know the diversity and to develop suitable conservation measures,” MBG director R Prakashkumar said.

Further, he noted that a detailed study on the medicinal uses of lichen was inevitable, as the wonder group was known for the treatment of even some deadly diseases.

In the proposed project, investigations will be carried out in various phases, which include taxonomy, distribution and establishment of lichen conservatory by transplantation method.

Besides, the centre will also focus on the conservation of rare, endemic and endangered lichen species.

The Council has also announced six fellowships for science writers. The annual grant for P T Bhaskara Panicker Fellowship for Science Writing and Communication, Senior Fellowships for Science Writing and Communication and Junior Fellowship for Science Writing and Communication will be Rs 25,000, 20,000 and 16,000 respectively. In addition, a traineeship in science journalism is also available.

The Kerala Biotechnology Commission under KSCSTE has also invited applications from eligible young researchers in six subjects under biotechnology stream and for a Post Doctoral Fellowship in biochemistry.

The various subjects include Young Investigators Programme for Biotechnology (YIPB), Industry-Linked Biotechnology Research Scheme (IBRS), Biotechnology Innovation for Rural Development (BIRD), Biotechnology Training and Workshop (BTW), Biotechnology for Young Entrepreneurs (BYE) and Kerala Biotechnology Re-entry Fellowship (K-BIREF).

With an aim to attract more women to Women Science Development researches, KSCSTE has announced financial assistance for projects like Back to Lab project, Vocational Skill-oriented Reinstate Training (VSORT) and assistance for awareness programmes.

Moreover, the Council has introduced projects like Student Talent and Aptitude for Research in Science (STAR) and Students’ Programme in Excellence in Experimental Design (SPEED) with an objective to support and encourage students in science investigations and to make them aware of the possibilities of science education.

The last date to apply for Prathiba Scholarships for the winners of higher secondary examination is September 30.

Applications are also invited from candidates who are willing to apply for Selective Augmentation of Research and Development (SARD) Scheme. As per the scheme, candidates get an average of Rs 40 lakh for three years. The amount thus granted must be utilised to buy science equipment and for renovations of labs. Post-graduates in teaching and researchers can apply for financial assistance under the SARD scheme. Applications for these projects must reach the council on or before July 31. For more details visit: wwww.kscste.kerala.gov.in.