Indian scientists helped rewrite a 50-year-old biological rule

• Indian researchers at Bose Institute, Kolkata (with Rutgers University collaborators) overturned the ~50-year-old "σ (sigma) cycle" model of bacterial transcription, showing it is not universal across bacteria.
• Significance for UPSC: a flagship DST-funded basic-science breakthrough with downstream applications in antibiotic design, anti-TB drugs, and industrial microbiology (biofuels, bioplastics, therapeutics).