British in India; this time for Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology has become integral part of high technology references in India. In the last week of September a high level delegation from United Kingdom visited India to explore possibilities of collaboration. The delegation comprising of government officials, academic experts, industry representatives visited various research institutes and industry in New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. The highlight of the visit is the occurrences of nanotechnology advancements happening in India silently. The areas range from novel drug delivery systems, ceramic materials for sensors, nano magnetic materials and so on. The few highlights include the following. A visit to Jamia Hamdard showed the deep understanding of our ancestors in using nano based materials in traditional medicine. The university is now looking at ways to couple up the traditional knowledge and the scientific advancements to develop better drug and delivery systems. Similarly the interests of Dabur Research Foundation matched the delegation in many respects on cancer drug research. The preservation of endangered plants of medicinal use by Dabur is worthy enough initiative to be notified. Ranbaxy laboratories and Indian Institute of Bombay provided more food for thought. It was wonderful to watch the lab scale experiments of nano electronic equipment to measure concentration differences in a solution in action. There were few industry institute collaborations from our side to showcase. Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and a private company to develop multi layered disc and Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and Applied Materials Inc. to set up exclusive lab are the examples. As the rain lashed out in Kolkata, the delegation relentlessly visited Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Indian Association of Cultivation of Science and Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute. There were many more meeting and many more possibilities for collaboration. India has certainly grown in high technology areas modestly over time. It is time for us to reap the benefits through collaborations. CII is working closely with the Government of India on Nanotechnology Working Group of the India-UK Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO). As part of the working group a high level delegation from UK visited India during 18th-24 September 2007. The objective of the visit was to forge collaborations with research institutes and industry. UKTI joined hands with CII to organise the visits. Indian delegation is visiting UK and participates in the UK NanoForum 2007 on 26-30 November 2007. |
