Kerala has made a strong pitch for three major projects in the science and technology sector, urging the Central government for assistance to establish a research and development park for biomedical devices; a technology development institute for critical minerals; and an oceanarium and marine biological research laboratory in the State.
The project proposals were placed before Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Science, Technology and Earth Sciences, here on Sunday. Suresh Das, Executive vice-president, Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment, said the proposed park for biomedical devices was aimed at tapping the booming global market worth $2.5 billion. The facility, he said, would network research institutions such as the Regional Cancer Centre, Sri Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Science and Technology, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, and CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology with investors and relevant industries.
Dr. Das said the park would have plug-and-play facilities for small units and incubation centres for start-ups besides testing facilities. The Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation, he said, was willing to provide 10 acres of land for the project on the campus of the Life Sciences Park in Thiruvananthapuram.
The project was designed to become self-sustaining after running on government support for five years. Dr. Das said the Technology Development Institute for Critical Minerals was aimed at achieving global standards in processing critical minerals such as ilmenite, rutile, zircon, and monazite found in Kerala.
The proposed institute would provide an interface between government departments, research centres such as the National Centre for Earth Science Studies, and CSIR-NIIST and industrial units.
V.N. Sanjeevan, former Director, Centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology, said the fifth-generation oceanarium was conceived as a PPP project to come up in 10 acres at Puthuvype. A marine biological research laboratory and Indian ocean marime museum were part of the project.
