Bangalore: C N R Rao, chairman of the science advisory council to the prime minister, was in discussions with the central government to increase funding to enhance research output, Planning Commission member and space scientist K Kasturirangan said here yesterday.
“Rao is currently in talks with the government to increase funding to boost research output, which in turn will play a major role in driving innovation in science and technology,” Kasturirangan, a former Indian Space Research Organisation chief, said at a nanotechnology event here.
As a scientific advisor, Rao is also working with state governments across the country to enhance research work in collaboration with international institutions in new areas of science, especially nanotechnology, which has become applicable in agriculture, environment, healthcare and medicine.
“With the efforts of Rao, we have been able to enrich science education and research. The plan panel has recommended special funds for research in nanotechnology, in which India has recently climbed to sixth position from ninth though our contribution to global research work is still around three percent,” Kasturirangan said at the fifth edition of ‘Bangalore Nano’ event.
Noting that nanotechnology had a crucial role in achieving sustainable growth due to its applications in every sphere, he said the nanotechnology vision was to help the country grow faster and increase the contribution of science and technology to the GDP (gross domestic product) by two percent, with one percent each coming from state-run research institutes and the private sector.
IANS
