Prof V S Ramamurthy, Chairman, Board of Governors, IIT, urged the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) to set up a center for Nano technology application partnering with Government and R&D institutions. He was addressing the Nanotechnology Conclave 2007, organised by the CII, Department of Science and Technology and the Government of India, alongside the International Engineering and Technology Trade Fair.
Prof Ramamurthy said that at present, there is a gap between industry and research labs and we have to bring them closer. Converting lab ideas into successful business proposition is the challenge for us today. The missing link in the country is the absence of enabling environment for innovation and entrepreneurship. Technology incubators linked with vibrant R&D labs, good mentor base and venture finance access can bridge the gap. Also, there is an urgent need for proper infrastructure facilities and human resource development initiatives through public private partnership in the field of nano science, he added.
Vidyasagar, Executive Vice President and Head—Advanced Technology Center, TATA Consultancy services, focused on the convergence of Bio—Info—Nano technologies. There is no single nanotechnology but many, it is multidisciplinary and nano materials could be used to futher the strength, rigidity, lubrication besides others, he said.
Nano storage is 100 times more efficient storage device and completely reversible, he mentioned. Today we are in a mobile world and we need to have nanotech-based storage on mobile devices, he said. Nano technology and biotechnology can used for diagonostic purpose, human genome has 3.3 billion symbols and any two individuals differ only in about 3 million places i.e. 0.1%, he mentioned. Use of nano fluid and nano chemistry to determine genotype would help us in working out the preventive healthcare model. Healthcare will be transformed beyond imagination and preventive healthcare will thrive, Vidyasagar pointed out.
Collin Wyatt, Director of Business Development, Imperial College London, said that Nano technology is emerging fast. The emphasis is on the importance of science-based research in industry. Industry body like CII will have to play a crucial role to leverage talents going forward.
Earlier in her welcome address, Rama Mukherjee President R&D, Dabur Research Foundation said that Nanotechnology is all about small things making a big world. It is going to be a miracle and would make a difference in common man's life. There has been a paradigm shift in healthcare and life sciences and some of the killer diseases like cancer could be addressed by nanotechnology, she pointed out.
Y S Rajan, Principal Advisor, CII, sought the industry help in taking up application and commercialisation of nanotechnology in a well-considered way. "Nano technology has not only emerged but has started shining already", he said in his concluding remarks.
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