The nanotech movement in India is still in nascent stages and there is a clear lack of cohesive effort to encash on the potential opportunity lying therein. As a consequence, India is missing out the nanoscience boom, as it missed out the microelectronic revolutions of the 1970-80s. Developed countries like the US, Japan and UK have on an average spend $13 billion on nanotech research and development, while developing countries like China have invested more than $200 million for supporting research, development and commercialization of nanotechnology. There are more than 100 established nanotech research centers in the US, about 90 in Japan and around 35 in the UK. But, India is still scouting for able government funded labs to support the nanotech initiative. Unlike Indian scientists who have about 100 international publications to their credit, Chinese scientists have more than 200 international publications every year to their credit in the field of nanotechnology. Most of the research conducted in India is relatively small scale and it would require significant ramp up if India wishes to make its mark on the global nanotechnology map.
Some of the prominent factors obstructing the progress of nanotech and Nanobiotech effort in India are:
#. Limited pool of trained scientists to conduct research and development within the nanotech and nano-biotech domain
#. Lack of desired infrastructure across different academic institutes for conduct of nanotech scale research, which warrants specialized equipment like atomic force microscopes, X-ray machines, optical tweezers and others
#. Absence of academic centers of excellence to impart relevant teaching and training to budding scientists
#. Complete apathy from the industry for making investments and fostering commercialization of nanotech and nanobiotechnology.
As research and development in nanotechnology is gradually gaining momentum, Bangalore, the country's IT and biotech hub, has once again gained the first mover advantage in the field of nanotechnology. The Center has proposed to set up an international nano center for material sciences research at the Jawaharlal Nehru Center for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR). The proposed nano-lab would primarily focus on energy research especially super-capacitors and nano-structures for sensors and photovoltaic cells. It would also collaborate with other organizations for development of nano products. JNCASR already houses first of its kind lab called the Veeco-India Nanotechnology Laboratory, which is a collaboration between Veeco Instruments, the world's leading supplier of instrumentations to the global nanoscience community and JNCASR. The lab is equipped with state-of-the art instruments like Atomic Force Microscope (AFM), Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM) and other advanced nanotechnology applications. The lab would support nanotech based research and development activities of customers worldwide and would enable easy access to cutting edge technologies for Indian scientists.
Future Outlook
Nanotechnology as a science offers tremendous potential for devising cost-effective cutting edge technologies across critical domains, including energy, water supply, drug discovery and medicine. The nanotech and nanobiotechnology surely have a revolutionary impact upon the future of developing countries like India. No doubt, India has a strong base of world-class research institutes and well-trained scientists. Although significant additional investments need to be made in manpower and infrastructure development, there is a definite trickle of promising research, concerted efforts from the government and the industry, which give rise to hope that it is only a matter of time before India could make its mark on the global nanotechnology map in the future.
(The author is senior industry analyst, Biotech & Life Sciences, Frost & Sullivan - South Asia & Middle East)