Nanotechnology in India

What is Nano Technology?

• Nanotechnology in India is the development and use of techniques to study physical phenomena and develop new devices and material structures in the physical size range of 1-100 nanometres (nm), where 1 nanometre is equal to one billionth or 10^−9 of a meter.
• Nanotechnology is the manipulation of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale with at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometers. 
• On the other hand, the smallest cellular life-forms, the bacteria of the genus Mycoplasma, are around 200 nm in length.
• The concept of Nanotechnology was first discussed in 1959 by renowned physicist Richard Feynman. The term "nano-technology" was first used by Norio Taniguchi in 1974.

Applications of Nano-technology

Nanotechnology impacts all areas of our lives. These include materials and manufacturing, electronics, computers, telecommunication and information technologies, medicine and health, the environment and energy storage, chemical and biological technologies and agriculture.

• Electronics: Cell phones and computers
• Energy: Nanoscale materials such as nanopillars are sometimes used in solar cells.
• Medicine:
  1. Nanorobots to deliver drugs to specific areas.
  2. The development of nano nose to detect cancer by analysing breathing.
  3. Artificial skin is made through nanotechnology that leads to the regeneration of natural skin.
  4. In fact, a bandage made of silver nanoparticles that cure burns is already in the market in India.
• Karnataka has plans to develop a nano park, in collaboration with the Centre.
• Action would also be taken for up-skilling and re-skilling the manpower required for this sunrise industry.
• Agriculture and Food security: Nanoscale nutrients for agricultural applications, food packaging and preservatives, disease mechanisms and regenerative medicine, and nano toxicity.
• It can also be used in water purification, waste management and to combat environmental hazards.
• The impact of nanotechnology on the field of electronics is far-reaching.
• Although advances in silicon technology continue to revolutionize micro/ nanoelectronics, there are cases where non-Si device and component technologies provide superior performance.
• With modern material growth techniques, it is possible to grow and fabricate multilayered nano-structures and devices comprising of different materials with nanoscale thickness.
• Further, nanotechnology-enabled sensors are providing new solutions in physical, chemical and biological sensing that enable increased detection sensitivity, microsystems integration capability and portability for a wide variety of health safety and environmental assessments.
• Electronic structuring of nano-materials is a very crucial area which has immense applications in quantum devices, quantum materials, energy conversion and storage and lots of young people with dynamic ideas are showing keen interest in it

Nano Science & Technology Mission (NSTM), 2007

• The “Nano Science and Technology Initiative” started with a funding of Rs. 60 crores . In 2007, the government launched a 5-year program called Nano Mission with wider objectives and larger funding of USD 250 million.
• The funding spanned multiple areas like basic research in nanotechnology, human resources development, infrastructure development and international collaboration.
• Multiple institutions like the Department of Information Technology, Defence Research and Development Organisation, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and Department of Biotechnology provided the funding to researchers, scholars and projects.
• National Centers for Nanofabrication and Nanoelectronics were started in the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai.
• It is under the Dept of Science and Technology. MoS&T allocated up to 1000 crores to NSTM to fulfil the following objectives
  1. Basic Promotion of Nanotechnology.
  2. Infrastructure Development.
  3. Establishment of R&D in Nanoscience Applications.
  4. Establishment of Development Centre for Nanosciences.
  5. Human Development in Nanotechnology.
  6. International Collaborations.
• Achievements
  1. India published over 23000 papers in nanoscience in the past 5 years.
  2. In 2013, India ranked third in the number of papers published, behind only China and the USA.
  3. There have been 300 patent applications in the Indian Patent Office in 2013, ten times that of 2006. Clearly, this points to the success of the Nano Mission initiative.
  4. It has also led to R&D in the standards for nanotechnology and for laying down a National Regulatory Framework Road-Map for Nanotechnology (NRFR-Nanotech).
• Nano Science and Technology Initiative (NSTI): Started in 2001 to 2006 to create the background and infrastructure for R&D in nano-science & technology. 
• 2nd Phase of NSTM was approved in 1th FYP at Rs. 650 crores. Nano Mission will be steered by a 'Nano Mission Council' chaired by an eminent scientist.
• ICONSAT 2020 (5-7 March, Kolkata)
  1. The International Conference on NanoScience and NanoTechnology (ICONSAT) is a series of biennial international conferences held in India under Nano Mission, DST.
  2. To bring out cutting edge nanotechnology for the development of Physics, Chemistry and material domains.
  3. Integration of 5Ms – Mechanical, Material, Machines, Manufacturing and Manpower with the help of NanoScience and NT.
  4. Integration of NT with Sustainable Development.
  5. Emphasizing the need to create a network of experts in nano-science.

Critical Analysis of Nano Technology in India

• But there is a lot of room for improvement.
• The amount India spends on nanotechnology research is still just a fraction of the research spending of countries like Japan, the USA, France and China.
• The quality of research has shown only a little improvement from the NSTI phase (till 2006) to the nano mission phase (post-2007).
• Only 16 papers from India appeared in the top 1% of the publications in 2011. Also, the number of patents applied from India to the US patent office contributes to only 0.2% of the total applications.
• Though people look at nanoscience and technology very positively, the number of students following undergraduate and graduate degrees in the area is low and career prospects are still extremely limited.
• The number of PhDs awarded in nanoscience and technology is about 150 per year; a very small number compared to the target of producing 10,000 PhD students annually over the next decade articulated by the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
• The contribution of the private sector to nanotechnology research has been minimal. Research from academic institutions has indicated how much impact nanotechnology can have on the needs of the Indian market.
• For example, a team from IIT Madras has used nanotechnology for arsenic decontamination of water. Another team from IIT Delhi has come up with a water-based self-cleaning technology for use in the textile industry.
• It is a matter of concern that, in spite of such enormous potential, the private sector is not investing enough in nanoscience research.

Way Forward and Conclusion

• Nanotechnology holds great potential for India and a multi-pronged approach will ensure that this is fully leveraged.
• Funding should be increased and long term funding that can accommodate coherent research programs with high-impact outcomes is needed.
• Various research centres throughout India must work together so that the collective efforts can lead to better results. A highly equipped central facility should plan and initiate research activities.
• The administrative aspects of new projects should be streamlined.
• Most importantly, remuneration for people trained in the field should increase, to attract a high calibre workforce to join these research facilities.
• The good news is that the Nano Mission has been extended till 2017 as Phase II. Since nanotechnology is an emerging technology and India has an abundant skilled workforce, India can aim to become a global leader in nanotechnology.