In a major boost to the science education in the country, the Union Government will develop the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) into a world-class university on the lines of Harvard and Oxford. This will be with funds over and above the Rs 150 crore announced by the Finance Minister P Chidambaram while presenting the Budget with an objective to make the Institute as a global facility.

The Institute received Rs 82 crore for non-planned expenditure for the period 2004-2005. The ministry of human resources development granted Rs 27 crore for planned expenditure and Rs 42 crore as project funds.

Dr. Goverdhan Mehta, director IISc said that the funding came in as a surprise and he appreciated the gesture by the Union Government in giving such a massive grant to the institute. "The announcement which came on the National Science Day, February 28, made it all the more significant."

When asked what IISc proposed to do with the Rs 100 crore, Dr. Mehta stated that it would be used to improve the infrastructure which included laboratories and library. Research will be given a new fillip and dynamism by increasing the number of subjects as well as enhancing the scope of the on-going research work, which includes areas of nanosciences and Genomics.

With the Pharma-biotech R&D activities on an upswing at IISc as at least half a dozen companies have set up their research wings here, Dr. Mehta expressed that it was vital for the institute to utilise a portion of the funds for testing drugs which were mostly done abroad on account of the high cost of research in the country. "There are certain research areas which are sub-optimal when compared to the costs but now we would be able to take up some of them," he added.

Currently, around 1,500 students are pursuing doctoral programmes which are monitored by 400 faculty members.

The IISc is one of the country's oldest and premier institutes which was established by the legendry Jamshedji Tata in 1909. It has over 2,00 active researchers working in almost all frontier areas.

The Society for Innovation and Development (SID), which collaborates with the pharma industry for joint research and development, has been negotiating with a number of companies for research in the areas of drug development and several memorandum of understanding have been signed up with leading industries, said Dr. Mehta.

Sir Dorabji Tata Centre for Research in Tropical Diseases, a first-of- its-kind in the country for medical research, has a state-of-the-art lab for medical scientists from all over the world to undertake collaborative research between clinicians and basic scientists.