K'taka announces steps to give fillip to nanotechnology sector

B D Narayankar

Press Trust of India

Bangalore, Dec 8: Announcing several measures to
give a boost to the nanotechnology sector in Karnataka,
Science and Technology Minister Anand V Asnotikar today said
the government is mulling a policy for promotion of this
rapidly developing field in the state.
    The government is also on the verge of introducing a
policy on animation and gaming to give a boost to the
promising sector, he said, reading out from Chief Minister D V
Sadananda Gowda's speech copy at the Fourth Bangalore Nano
Conference here.
    The government proposes to set up a state-of-the-art Nano
Park near the Bangalore International Airport and an
Expression of Interest has already been invited for
development of the park on a public-private partnership basis,
the minister said.
    "This initiative will give a major fillip to the
nanotechnology sector in the state," Asnotikar said.
    The government is also providing an acre of land for the
establishment of a nanotechnology lab under the Jawaharlal
Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research on the
neighbouring premises of the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Rural
Energy and Development at Jakkur.
    Moreover, the government has taken up civil works for the
Indian Institute of Nano Science and Technology coming up on
Tumkur Road, Asnotikar said. "We have already alloted 14 acres
on Tumkur Road for setting up the Rs 100 crore institute," he
said.
    The state government is committed to providing enhanced
budgetary support for nano initiatives, such as those of the
Vision Group on Science and Technology, in the coming 2012-13
Budget session, he said.