The Karnataka government has allocated 14 acres of land to set up the Indian Institute of Nano Science and Technology (IINST) scheduled to come up on Tumkur Road in Bangalore.



The IINST will see Bangalore emerge as a nanotech hub and that will give a major boost to the growth of nanotechnology. In fact it was Prof CNR Rao. National Research Professor and Linus Pauling, Research Professor, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) and head of Vision Group on Nanotechnology who have been pursuing for a dedicated institute to carry out research and training.



Bangalore is already the hub of several advanced life sciences research initiatives. It is home to three internationally recognized research institutes: Indian Institute of Science, National Centre for Biological Sciences and the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research. In order to set up the IINST, the Central government has chipped in Rs.100 crore to pursue the setting up the Institute. The new Institute will a big boost for the scientific activities in the field of nanotechnology, Prof Rao said.



As a science, nanotechnology provides significant benefits to a country like India. The country has the existing expertise in information technology and biotechnology which would allow it to have a natural shift towards nanotechnology, he added.



Nanotechnology is capital intensive in terms of research and requires advanced and high tech instrumentation. Being innovation driven, the nano science requires long gestation period too. From novel drug delivery and medical devices, use of nanotechnology will allow development of kits which are efficient and economical in the long run, said Prof. Rao.

With third edition of the 2-day Bangalore Nano 2010, to commence from December 8 will see a large congregation of international experts deliberate with the Indian researchers to take the pharma and medical sciences to look at nano particles and nano materials to speed up diagnosis and provide faster treatment options. The setting up of the IINST will give an impetus to the scores of nano biotech products under development. Currently, the work in nanotechnology is happening in the labs and are being up-scaled into the start-up companies, said Prof. Rao.



According to a section of experts, US accounts for 65 per cent of the nanotechnology market, followed by Europe with 20 per cent and the remaining with the rest of the world.