Development of Nanotechnology in India: A Review

Nanotechnology today is regarded as a revolutionary technology that can help address key needs relating to energy, environment, health, agriculture, electronics, textiles, construction, water treatment, food processing and cosmetics in developing countries. Most of these applications are very much relevant for a developing country like India. The government of India has been investing in nanotechnologies since 2001.Nanotechnology development in India is at a initial stage with policy initiatives directed towards promoting research and development. It is largely a government led initiative and industry participation is still emerging. This discussion paper attempts to capture the nanotechnology development in India by stressing the various initiatives taken by the government to promote basic R&D in it including global trends, the major factors involved and the state of regulatory framework existing in the country. the major challenges facing the adoption and diffusion of nanotechnology.