From technology to filter out harmful chemicals in water to the potential of tilting the balance in the battle against cancer, the 8th edition of Bangalore India Nano started on Thursday with the hope of attracting nano-tech start-ups to the city.
With an aim of encouraging the creation of 2,000 companies by the end of the next year through the State’s start-up policy, S.R. Patil, State Minister for Information Technology, Biotechnology and Science, said most of these will be in ‘high-end’ technology fields of IT and nano-tech.
Missed opportunities
“There is a large gap between research and industry, which has led to discoveries in India missing the train in terms of manufacturing,” said Bharat Ratna C.N.R. Rao, who chairs the Vision Group on Nanotechnology and Science & Technology.
“We don’t need large facilities and start-ups. The progress in nanotechnology is fast. Hence, the gap between the discovery of a nano-tech material in a lab and its manufacture should be small,” he added.
For instance, though the first scientific paper suggesting the use of graphene in super-capacitors came from his lab in Bengaluru, its manufacture is taking place in the U.K., he said.
The three-day conference is expected to see the participation of over 600 delegates from nine countries.
V. Ramagopal Rao, Professor in Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, was presented the ‘Prof. C.N.R. Rao Bangalore India Nano Science Award’ for his contribution in the nano electronics space.
