Centre to promote nano, gives Rs. 1,000 crore for research

BANGALORE, INDIA: The central government has decided to make a budgetary provision of Rs. 1,000 crore for nano research in the country. This fund would be utilized over the next four to five years. This initiative would help the industry to tap the growing potential of nanoscience and technology in the country. The nanotechnology market over the world is estimated to grow beyond $1 trillion by 2015 from the current market of around $15 billion.

Prof. C.N.R. Rao, chairman, Science Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, said that a part of the fund would be used to set up six nano researh institutes across India. These institutes would be formed within a period of next five years. The fund will also be used to set up nanotechnology innovation centres, which will be situated in NCBS Bangalore and IIT Madras, Chennai.

He added: “Fund is not the basic problem for us. Having the right capability is more important. We believe that several hundred people would be recruited in next few years in the nano field in India. We would start doing the research at the upcoming nano research centers without waiting for the buildings to come up,”

M.N. Vidyashankar, secretary to the Government, Department of IT, Biotechnology and Science& Technology, added: “The nano centre will be driven by the industry and focus more on nano applications. These centres would operate as total autonomous bodies.”

The Nano Science and Technology Initiative (NSTI) in India is funding about 100 basic science projects till date and about Rs. 20 crores of the total fund (about Rs. 60 crores) has gone toward setting up the six centers for nanoscience at leading science and technology institutes in the country, such as IISc., Bangalore and the various IITs. These centers are focusing at producing a product or device within a certain time frame. A total of 14 national institutions, including some top universities and IITs, have been supported under the NSTI.

India growing in nano space

“Though the country is in its nascent stages in nanoscience and technology, Indian laboratories, especially from Bangalore, have been contributing well in the space of new nano materials. We, in India, know the technology, but we have not been making any products. This is the right time for us to tap the potentials of this technology,” said Prof. Rao. The important discovery of Y-juction nanotubes is a significant contribution from C.N.R. Rao’s group at the JNCASR.

Globally, nanotechnology has already created a revolution. In the US, nanotechnology projects have attracted more than $800mn in public funds. It is the largest research project since the Apollo moon landing.

The European Union is also committed to an ensuring balanced approach in developing the nanotechnology. Japan is the largest after the US in terms of government investment in nanotechnology.  South Korea and China as well have improved their national initiatives. India happens to be the latest in the list to take initiatives to promote nanotechnology projects in the country.

Bangalore, which is already emerged as the hub of IT and biotechnology, has taken the first step toward creating a business environment for the development of nanotech industry by planning the Bangalore Nano 2007 in December. The event has already received positive responses from the industry as well as the scientists.