Union government has set aside Rs.100 crore to establish the country’s first-ever Institute of Nano Science and Technology at Mohali in Punjab. A similar Institute at a cost of Rs.100 crore is also cleared and slated for Bengaluru at Dabaspet Industrial Area on the Peenya-Tumkur Road.

In addition, the Centre through the Department of Science and Technology (DST) has pumped in Rs.80 crore to strengthen the nanotechnology infrastructure across the country. To this effect, for setting up the Centres for Nanotechnology or Computational Materials Science (CN/CMS) Karnataka received Rs.25 crore each for the facility at Indian Institute of Science(IISc) and the JNCASR (Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research). Similar facilities are also underway at Kolkata and Pune.

The CN/CMS would focus on the product or device oriented development but not on basic research only to speed up technology commercialisation. This indicates that India has a come a long way in nanotechnology, stated Prof. CNR Rao, FRS, National Research Professor; Linus Pauling Research Professor; Honorary President, Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) and chairman, government of India’s Nano Mission Council and Karnataka Vision Group on Nanotechnology.

The country is ranked fifth globally in nanotechnology R&D with a similar ranking in terms of peer review submissions. Bengaluru has been a pivotal point of action in nanotechnology after Mumbai’s Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Powai, he added.

For the Institute of Nano Science and Technology, Bengaluru with a Nano Park, the state government has already allocated the land. “Now we need to get the funds from the Centre and in next three to four months and construction will start,” Dr Rao said.

The government of India is looking at the Institute of Nano Science and Technology as specialized centre of excellence to promote the growth of R&D in the areas of nanomaterials, nanometrology, nano-bio pharma, nano-medicine and nano R&D relevant for food and agriculture.

The key objective is to transfer intellectual capital in a bid to maximize the application potential in nanotechnology. Therefore a critical component of the Institute of Nano Science and Technology is human resource development. “We need young scientists with interests in nanotechnology to develop viable products. Start-up companies in India are engaged in designing unique products but what needs to be ensured is feasibility to commercialize the same,” said Dr Rao.

In 2007, government of India spearheaded the Nano Mission only to develop products which have the potential to benefit the country. The technical programmes of the Nano Mission are carried out by the: Nano Science Advisory Group (NSAG) and the Nano Applications and Technology Advisory Group (NATAG).

“The technologically competitive nano science requires ample number of high-quality researchers and therefore the focus of the Nano Mission is to ensure providing valuable education and training in areas of nano-scale science and nano engineering. This is where the Union government’s funding for national institutes and centres will provide the much-needed impetus for growth,” he said.