Mumbai: The Nano Mission Council Thursday said
the country will soon have a Nanotechnology Regulatory Board
to regulate the industrial nanotech products that are used in
day-to-day life.
"We are in the process of forming a regulatory body for
the nanotechnology and this will be called Nanotechnology
Regulatory Board," Nano Mission Council chairman C N R Rao
said on the sidelines of a three-day International conference
on Nano science and Technology that began at IIT.
The Board will be formed most probably next month, Rao
said.
"Indian industries are coming out with various
nanotechnological products including water filters, biomedical
products, several chemicals, cosmetics and paints. Therefore,
we are in the process of formulating guidelines to regulate
the products for the safety and benefit of the society,"
Rao, who is also the chairman of Scientific Advisory Council
to the prime minister, said.
Asked whether the guidelines have been formulated, Rao
said, "Not yet, we are in the process of formulating the
guidelines."
The Centre launched a Mission on Nano Science and
Technology (Nano Mission) in May 2007. An allocation of Rs
1,000 crore for five years has been made towards it. The
Department of Science and Technology is the nodal implementing
agency of the Mission, DST director Praveen Asthana said at
the inauguration.
The DST had sanctioned USD 20 million from 2002 to 2007
and the steep increase in the allocation speaks volumes on the
importance given by the government to nanoscience and
technology, Asthana said.
AEC chairman and Bhabha Atomic Research centre director
Srikumar Banerjee said in western India, TIFR, IIT , BARC and
the University of Mumbai are working together on complementing
aspects of research and development in nanotechnology.
Chairman of Board of Governors of IIT-Mumbai Anil
Kakodkar said Nano Mission is a great opportunity for India to
make affordable and appropriate solutions for different
problems of society.
"For students and entrepreneurs, this is a great chance
and we need to strengthen the facilities in the country,"
Kakodkar said.
The deliberation of the three-day conference include
Functional Materials, Novel Synthetic Methods, Hybrids,
Fabrication and Devices, Electronics, Magnetics and
Photonics, Technology of Medicine (drug delivery system),
Materials for Energy and Materials for Food and Environment,
conference convenor Dhirendra Bahadur said.
Over 615 delegates, including 70 from abroad, are
participating in the conference, he said.
The technical programmes of the Nano Mission are also
being guided by two advisory groups, the Nano Science Advisory
Group (NSAG) and the Nano Applications and Technology Advisory
Group (NATAG), Asthana said.
The Mission is focusing on providing effective education
and training to researchers and professionals in diversified
fields so that a genuine interdisciplinary culture for
nanoscale science, engineering and technology can emerge.
It has launched MSc and M Tech programmes in some of the
institutions in the country as part of the human resource
development.
As part of the international collaboration, the Mission
encourages exploratory visits of scientists, organisation of
joint workshops and conferences and joint research projects.
The Mission is also planning to facilitate access to
sophisticated research facilities abroad, establish joint
centres of excellence and forge academia-industry partnerships
at the international level wherever required and desirable,
Asthana said.
PTI
