India’s First SAPIEN 3 Ultra RESILIA Valve

Context: Recently, India’s first implantation of the Edwards SAPIEN 3 Ultra RESILIA transcatheter aortic valve (TAVI) was performed at Apollo Hospitals, Chennai.

Edwards SAPIEN 3 Ultra RESILIA

• It is a fifth-generation, transcatheter heart valve designed to replace failing aortic heart valves without open-heart surgery. 
  • "Transcatheter" refers to minimally invasive medical procedures, such as Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement (TAVR), where a device or medication is delivered to the heart or other areas through a thin, flexible tube (catheter) inserted into a blood vessel and guided using imaging, avoiding open surgery.
  • Transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is a minimally invasive procedure that replaces a diseased or non-functioning aortic valve with a new one using a catheter.
• Case Background: A 70-year-old patient with severe calcific tricuspid aortic stenosis and a prior stent implantation was deemed high-risk for open-heart surgery.
• Technology Provider: The valve is manufactured by Edwards Lifesciences and is the latest fifth generation of the SAPIEN family of balloon-expandable THVs.
• RESILIA Tissue Technology: It uses bovine (cow) pericardial tissue treated with an anti-calcification process to reduce calcium build-up, thereby enhancing valve durability and longevity

How does it work?

• The SAPIEN 3 Transcatheter Heart Valve (THV) is crimped onto a balloon catheter, which is inserted through the femoral vein and directed across the vascular system to the diseased aortic valve.
• The balloon is expanded, which expands the new valve so that it attaches to the failed valve. Once in place, the new valve does a better job of opening and closing and keeps blood flowing in the right direction. 

Key Features of the Edwards SAPIEN 3 Ultra RESILIA Valve

• Low Risk: Minimally invasive procedure, avoiding open-heart surgery.
• Durability: Designed to resist calcification and extend the life of the replacement valve.
• Longevity: It reduces the need for repeat procedures thereby improving long-term patient outcomes.
• Safer Alternative: It provides a safer option for high-risk patients with severe aortic stenosis.

Methandienone Long-Term Metabolite (LTM)

Context: India develops a rare high-purity reference material, Methandienone LTM, for enhanced global anti-doping testing in sports.

Reference Material

• Reference Materials (RMs) are highly purified, well-characterized forms of drug substances or their metabolites, used as standards to ensure accuracy in analytical drug testing.
• They are crucial in anti-doping testing for the detection of over 450 substances that are currently prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

About Methandienone Long-Term Metabolite (LTM)

• Methandienone is an anabolic steroid often misused by athletes which has a long-term metabolite (LTM) that persists in urine for extended periods, enabling effective retrospective detection of doping.
• The National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER) Guwahati and the National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) synthesised Methandienone LTM, which is currently unavailable commercially worldwide.
• These metabolites help in identify athletes who used Methandienone, even if they stopped usage months or years before testing.

Significance of Methandienone Long-Term Metabolite (LTM)

• LTM enhances the detection of doping even months or years after substance use.
• LTM strengthens global anti-doping mechanisms in alignment with World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) standards.
• It contributes to fair play by protecting clean athletes and deterring steroid misuse.
• It establishes India as a key contributor to the limited global supply of reference materials.

HUID-Based Hallmarking for Silver Jewellery and Articles

Context: The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution has announced the launch of Hallmarking Unique Identification-based (HUID) hallmarking for silver jewellery and articles on a voluntary basis, effective from 1 September, 2025.

More on the News

• This decision aims to help consumers ensure the purity of silver while making purchases.
• The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) introduced voluntary silver jewellery hallmarking in October 2005 under IS 2112. The standards have since been revised, with IS 2112:2025 replacing IS 2112:2014.
• The new system introduces HUID-based hallmarking, enhancing traceability and aligning silver hallmarking with the gold hallmarking system.
• At present, around 230 BIS-recognised Assaying and Hallmarking Centres (AHCs) are operational across 87 districts in India.

Hallmarking Features

• Under IS 2112:2025, the hallmark consists of three components:
  • BIS Standard Mark with the word “SILVER”
  • Purity Grade
  • HUID Code
• Silver jewellery can now be hallmarked in seven purity grades: 800, 835, 900, 925, 958, 970, 990, and 999 (958 and 999 are newly added).
• Consumers can verify details of hallmarked silver articles through the BIS Care App, including:
  • Article type
  • Purity grade/fineness
  • Date of hallmarking (first point of sale)
  • Assaying & Hallmarking Centre (AHC) details – recognition number, name, and address
  • Jeweller’s registration number

India’s First Indigenous-Chip Telecom System Certified by TEC

Context: In a significant development, a telecom system powered by domestically manufactured chips has received Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC) certification.

About TEC Certification

• Certification is issued by the Telecommunication Engineering Centre (TEC) under the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Ministry of Communications.
• It serves as an official approval for telecom products and systems, confirming compliance with stringent quality, safety, and performance standards.
• It ensures reliable deployment of telecom equipment in India and strengths trust in domestically developed telecom and semiconductor-based systems.

Significance of the Development

• First of its kind: A telecom system running on Made in India chips cleared TEC standards.
• Technological Self-Reliance: Strengthens India’s push to reduce dependency on imported semiconductor technology.
• Global Positioning: Establishes India as a credible player in the global telecom and electronics ecosystem.
• Boost to Semiconductor Mission: Encourages confidence in India’s capacity to design, test, and certify chip-based systems.

India’s first port-based Green Hydrogen Pilot Project

Context: Recently, the Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) inaugurated India’s first port-based Green Hydrogen Pilot Project at V.O. Chidambaranar (VOC) Port, marking a major step in India’s clean energy transition.

About VOC Port based Green Hydrogen Project

• O. Chidambaranar Port is located at Thoothukudi (Tuticorin) in Tamil Nadu and is one of India’s 13 major ports and a strategic maritime hub on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal.
• Formerly known as Tuticorin Port; renamed in 2011 in honour of V.O. Chidambaranar.
• It is a 10 Nm³/hr pilot green hydrogen facility, built at a cost of ₹3.87 crore and has been set up at VOC Port.
• The plant will power streetlights and an EV charging station in the port colony, making VOC Port the first port in India to produce green hydrogen.
• Minister also laid the foundation for a pilot green methanol bunkering and refuelling facility

Significance of the Project

• The project is in line with India’s aim to be among the world’s top 10 shipbuilding nations by 2030 and top five by 2047.
• The initiative is expected to position VOC Port as a key green bunkering hub in south India.

About V.O. Chidambaranar

• O. Chidambaram Pillai was a prominent Indian freedom fighter, lawyer, and businessman, popularly called the “Kappalottiya Tamizhan” (The Tamil Helmsman).
• He joined the Indian National Congress and was a staunch supporter of the Swadeshi movement.
• He founded the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company in 1906 to challenge the British monopoly on shipping between Tuticorin (in British India) and Colombo (Sri Lanka).