Lok Sabha Question No. 2941 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-08-02
Subject: Nano Technology
Ministry: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Tejpratap Singh,Yadav

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2941 TO BE ANSWERED ON 2/08/2017

## NANO TECHNOLOGY

## 2941. SHRI TEJ PRATAP SINGH YADAV:

Will the Minister of SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY òãðìððÐð ¡ðøÜ ÑßðøÌðð÷ò±ð¨îó  Ùðüëðó be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  nano  Technology  has  varied  applications  and  has  far  reaching  impact  and  implications  in prominent sectors;
- (b) if  so,  whether  the  Government  has  launched  Nano  Mission  to  promote  R&D  in  Nano  Science  and Technology;
- (c) if so, the details thereof including funds allocated, R&D projects undertaken and their output during the last three years;
- (d) the  details  of  steps  taken  to  develop  physical  and  human  infrastructure  in  nano  technology  sector  in India;

(e)

whether there is urgent need to formulate national level regulatory framework for nano technology; and

- (f) if so, the steps being taken by the Government for the development of nano technology in the country?

## ANSWER

MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  SCIENCE  AND  TECHNOLOGY  AND  MINISTER  OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES

(SHRI Y.S. CHOWDHARY)

òãðìððÐð ¡ðøÜ ÑßðøÌðð÷ò±ð¨îó ÙðüëððâðÚð Ùð÷ü Üð¸Úð Ùðüëðó +ÉÉè® ÑðöÆãðó òãðìððÐð ÙðüëððâðÚð Ùð÷ü Üð¸Úð Ùðüëðó

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- (a) Yes, Madam. Nano Science is a knowledge-intensive area of  research and  that  nano  technology is  an 'enabling technology' which has applications in materials, electronics, medicine and healthcare, sensors, energy storage, textiles, water purification, food storage, etc. It can influence wide range of products and processes with far reaching implications for national economy and national development.
- (b) The Govt. of India launched Nano Science and Technology Initiative (NSTI) in October 2001 to promote Research & Development (R&D) in Nano Science and Technology (NS&T). NSTI was a modest programme. On 3 rd May  2007,  the  Government  of  India  launched  the  Nano  Mission,  as  a  major  "umbrella  capacity-building programme", anchored in DST. Its objectives can be broadly classified as follows:
-  Basic Research Promotion.
-  Infrastructure Development for Nano Science & Technology Research.
-  Nano Applications & Technology Development Programmes.
-  Human Resource Development.
-  International Collaborations.

Nano Mission has completed its Phase-I & II and in the current 14 th Financial Cycle extended till 2020.

- (c) Details of funds allocated and utilized by Nano Mission during the last three years is given Table No. 1. The number of R&D projects funded during the said period is given in Table No 2.

Table No. 1 Funds allocated and utilized during last three years

|   Sr. No. | Financial Year   |   Funds Allocated (Rs. in crore) |   Funds Utilized (Rs. in crore) |
|-----------|------------------|----------------------------------|---------------------------------|
|         1 | 2014-15          |                               65 |                           64.75 |
|         2 | 2015-16          |                               85 |                           83.6  |
|         3 | 2016-17          |                              125 |                          123.66 |
|         4 | Total            |                              275 |                          272.01 |

## Table No. 2 Number of R&D projects funded

|   Sr. No | Financial Year   |   Number of projects |
|----------|------------------|----------------------|
|        1 | 2014-15          |                   38 |
|        2 | 2015-16          |                   56 |
|        3 | 2016-17          |                   67 |
|        4 | Total            |                  161 |

The duration of most of the projects is 3-years, and for a few major projects, it is 5-years. The projects start  giving  outputs  from  the  2 nd year  onwards  after  the  R&D  work  advances  to  some  extent.  Output  from projects funded during 2014-15 will, therefore, start showing growth from 2017-18 onwards. However, the output from these projects recorded so far is as follows- 8 PhDs produced/ ongoing; 138 technical personnel trained; 550 research papers published and 17 patent filed.

Some of the important research results from these projects are given below:

-  Continuous  microreactor  based  platform  for  the  synthesis  of  polymeric  nanoparticles  based  on  the principle  of  nano  precipitation  and  solvent  emulsification  has  been  developed.  A library  of  polymeric nanoparticle  using  Poly  lactic-co-glycolic  acid  (PLGA)  and  Poly  methyl  methacrylated  (PMMA)  of different sizes having uniform dispersity have been synthesized.
-  MoO3 prepared via sonochemical method shows very good lithium ion battery performances. Copper doped TiO2 nanomaterials prepared via sonochemical method showed good hydgrogen generation via photocatalytic water splitting reaction using solar light as a source.
-  In a study progress has been made towards physical understanding of charge transfer.  Advances made towards understanding charge transfer on the nanoscale. Silver nano rods have been synthesised  using a soft template based structure copying method.
-  Sunscreen with high sun protection factor (SPF) and less chemical sunscreen ingredient concentration with  bioactive-dendrimer  complex  has  been  developed  and  is  ready  for  preclinical  evaluations  of dendrimeric sunscreen screams.
-  In  a  study  for  development  of  titania  aerogel  photo  anode  for  dye  sensitized  solar  cell  (DSSC) application,  Titania  aerogel  based  DSSC  achieved  efficiency  of  4-4.5%  which  is  better  compared  to standard powder.
-  New  borohydride  synthesis  technique  have  been  developed  which  has  the  inherent  advantage  for forming porous zirconia nanopowders and the porous nature which are stable up to 800 o C.

(d) For the development of physical and human infrastructure in Nano Technology, the Nano Mission has supported a variety of programmes such as individual scientist centric projects, Units on Nano Science, Centres of  Nano  Technology,  Thematic  Units  of  Excellence,  Centre  for  Computational  Materials  Science,  Thematic Projects in Frontiers of Nano Science & Technology,  Joint -Institute-Industry linked projects, Post Graduate programmes  and  Post  Doctoral  Fellowship  in  Nano  Science  and  Technology,  Visiting  Associateships  and Overseas Visiting Fellowships international collaborations, etc to promote novel research and innovation in nano science and technology.

As a result of the lead taken by the Nano Mission, India has very good research facilities for pursuing research  in  nano  science  and  technology  and  India  today  is  placed  3 rd in  the  world  in  terms  of  scientific publications.

- (e) Studies  on  harmful  effects  of  nano  particles  on  human  are  being  carried  out  both  nationally  and internationally. There are no specific regulatory frameworks for nanotechnology globally as of today. In keeping with the global trends, various agencies of the Government are promoting studies on toxicity of various kinds of nanoparticles,  development  of  standards  and  policy  frameworks  for  laying  down  a  regulatory  framework roadmap for nanotechnology in India. In the meantime, various nano-enabled products are being governed by their parent regulations like those for drugs, chemicals, pesticides etc. A set of safety guidelines for workers in

laboratories has been developed and posted on the Nano Mission website www.nanomission.gov.in. (f) To  foster  development  of  nano  technology  in  the  country,  the  Mission  has  been  supporting  Joint  -

- Institute-Industry linked projects (JIIP) and Proof-of-Concept Projects (POC). In the last three years 14 projects have been initiated.

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