By IANS
Bangalore : Having triggered the growth of IT and biotechnology, this silicon city of India is set to spearhead development of nano-science and nano-technology in the country.
Inaugurating “Bangalore Nano 2007” here Thursday, Karnataka Governor Rameshwar Thakur said the state government was collaborating with Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) to foster nano-science and nano-technology, leveraging the rich talent pool and science and technology (S&T) resources in the state.
“The state government has taken a lead in exploring priority areas of nano-scientific research and technology. A modest beginning was made last year and in the current fiscal (2007-08), budgetary support has been made to promote nano-technology,” Thakur told about 500 delegates participating in the two-day event.
With nano-technology becoming a talking point in the scientific community, Thakur said developments in the emerging field herald multiple opportunities.
“As an inter-disciplinary field touching all aspects of life, nano-science will herald a new world order. Applications of nano-technology in diverse products are estimated to be $15 billion,” Thakur pointed out.
“The sunrise sector holds huge opportunities as its increased usage and wider application have the potential to generate new business valued at $1 trillion over the next decade,” he added.
In recognition of eminent scientist C.N.R. Rao’s contributions to the development of nano-technology, the governor presented him the first Bangalore Nano national award, instituted by the state government as part of the event.
Rao, chairman of science advisory council to the prime minister and president of JNCASR, heads the vision group on nano-technology in Karnataka.
The Bangalore “nano” convention is being positioned as an ideal forum for researchers and industrialists to interact and explore possibilities of applications of nano-technology in electronics, bio-pharmaceuticals and engineering.
As chief mentor of the event, Rao said nano-technology cuts across all disciplines and appeals to everyone, especially scientists, engineers, industrialists, investors and governments.
“India has made a beginning in nano-technology and Bangalore ‘Nano’ is the first event to bring all stakeholders in the field to discuss ideas and envision a roadmap for the country in such an exciting field,” Rao noted.
State science and technology secretary M.N. Vidyashankar said the central government has granted Rs.1 billion to Karnataka, out of the Rs.10-billion fund created to promote nano-science and nano-technology in the 11th five-year plan (2007-12), to set up a “nano” centre on the outskirts of the city.
“The centre has selected three cities – Bangalore, Mohali near Chandigarh and Kolkata – for setting up the Institute of Nano Science and Technology. We have earmarked 14 acres of land as the state’s contribution to locate the institute under the guidance of Rao,” Vidyashankar added.
Nano-science is the study of phenomena on the scale of about 1-100 nanometre (one billionth of a metre).
Nano-technology is the ability to create and control objects on the same scale with the object of preparing novel materials having specific properties and functions.