Karnataka, central govts to set up nanoscience institute in Bangalore

Groundwork for institution has started with initial investment of Rs. 1 billion

The government has given 14 acres of land to set up the institution.

By Nandita Raman and Mowna Ravikumar

BANGALORE (Dec. 2)—The Karnataka state government and the central government are building an Indian Institute of Nanoscience in the model of Indian Institute of Science near Tumkur Road.

“We have given 14 acres of land to set up this institute in the north of Bangalore, as this part of the city is the center of research and development,” said M.N. Vidyashankar, principal secretary to the government, at the state Information technology, Bio-technology and Science and Technology Department.

With an initial investment of Rs. 1 billion, the groundwork for the institute has already begun. The government is also allocating 25 acres of land near the institute for the industries to set up shop.

China has most nanotech firms

In the last few years, nanoscience has developed tremendously, with a lot of countries investing in this area.
China is the leader in the number of nanotechnology companies set up. The other leading countries are the United States, Japan, China and Germany.

“It is not quantity, but it is the quality that is needed,” said C.N.R. Rao, founder-chairman of Jawaharlal Nehru Center for Advanced Scientific Research.

According to a report by The Energy and Resources Institute, the emergence of nanotechnology in India has witnessed the engagement of a diverse set of players, each with their own agenda and role.

Nanotechnology in India is a government-led initiative. Industry participation has only very recently begun.

“Nano is very big in all sense. It has done extremely well since 2004 when the nano mission came in place. The output and yield has increased substantially. But India is yet to catch up in the industrial sector,” said Ajay. K. Sood, a professor at the Indian Institute of Science.

Chart showing the number of nano products in various countries.

This is the reason why the Karnataka government is promoting this sector by allocating land to encourage more industries.

Rao told The SoftCopy: “Nanoscience sector has huge scope and it is predicted to be a few trillion dollar industry and if India capitalizes, it can get a good share.”

Nano products predicted to boom in India

He also predicts that in the next four to five years, nano products will be very popular. India already has three products in this sector: nano-enabled products, nano evolutionary technology and nano revolutionary technology.

The sectors which use these products are textile, polymer, defense, electronic, oil and gas and coating.

“The disadvantage is that it is expensive and hence it is not very popular yet,” said Puneet Mehrotra, director of the Nanoscience and Technology Consortium.

Few institutions teach nanoscience

In India, there are only few institutions that have nanoscience courses. Many students are also not fully aware of the scope and opportunities in the field.

“I am interested in science and want to do something different but people say there is not much scope in India,” said Ruchitha. R, a student of Bishop Cottons Girls School. “Nanoscience is something new, so I am very excited to explore.”

The government of Karnataka is setting up tutorials for students to create awareness about the course during the Bangalore Nano event scheduled to take place in the second week of December.