Govt to invest Rs 1,000 cr in nanotech

NEW DELHI: The government is planning to pump Rs 1,000 crore in the next five years to create a nanotechnology industry from the scratch. The ministry of science and technology’s nanotechnology mission that envisages a nanotech industry that would revolutionise the designing of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, textiles and engineering products, is likely to be taken up by the Cabinet in a fortnight, an official told ET.

The proposed mission aims to create a mechanism for funding research in the industry and to build research capacity at various elite research institutions and universities.

The current proposal is to utilise Rs 200 crore during every year of the 11th Five Year Plan. If the mission fructifies, the products that may eventually hit the market may include high-precision drug delivery tools for difficult-to-cure diseases like cancer, long lasting medicated stents for implants, high-end cosmetics and higher quality television screens, besides many engineering products.

For example, nanomedicine is about designing devices which are as small as one billionth of a meter to go into a cell, analyse its contents, and deliver drug molecules and kill elements which cause illness. Global research efforts in this segment focuses on diabetes, cancer and HIV AIDS.

Dr Reddy’s Laboratories and Chennai-based Murugappa Chettiar group have already shown interest in nanotechnology research. Although the government had a Rs 200 crore scheme in the previous fiscal too, it turned out to be a non-starter as the Cabinet did not approve it on time.

Currently, the nanotech activity in India is restricted to a few research projects at academic institutions. The institutes that are venturing into nanotech research include the IISc at Bangalore, IITs at Chennai and Kanpur and Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore.

gireesh.prasad@timesgroup.com