Centers of Excellence in Nanoelectronics

Nanoelectronics Centres at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. Mumbai and Indian Institute of Science, Bangaluru

A joint project for setting of two Nanaoelectronics Centers at Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and Indian Institute of Science Bangalore was initiated with a cost of ` 100 Crores in the year 2006 as a Phase I. This project has been unique in the manner in which two top level academic organizations in India have come together with an MOU between them to take up an R&D project of this magnitude. The objectives of these Centers have been:

Embark on R&D activities in the areas of nanoelectronics including materials, devices and sensors, nanosystems and their characterization and modeling.
Networking with other agencies, institutions, national labs and industry working in the area of nanoelectronics and create a nanofabrication facility accessible to all researchers.
Generate trained human resources suitable for nanoelectronics research, engineering and manufacturing.
Demonstrate that the nanofab facilities created and human resources generated can be used to develop socially relevant systems with nanostructured materials and systems.
The deliverables at the Center of Excellence at IIT Bombay included development and establishment of sub 100 nanometer CMOS process, development of nanosystems for Healthcare and environmental monitoring, development of organic and biopolymer devices, GaN devices, and characterization, modeling and simulation of nanoelectronic devices.
The deliverables at IISc included magnetic materials for LC resonator, acoustic sensors, ferroelectrics for Ferratic RAMs (FRAMs) and phase shifters, rare earth metal oxides for MOS gate dielectrics, molecular rectifiers based on organic thin films.

Centres of Excellence in Nanoelectronics Phase I

The first phase has been very successful in establishing major nanofabrication facilities of international standards at the two institutions and providing a catalyst for ambitious research initiatives in the area of nanoelectronics. Within a short span of five years, state-of-the-art facilities in nanoelectronics have been set up and used by a large number of faculty and students at the two Institutes as well as researchers from other institutions under the satellite “Indian Nanoelectronics Users’ Programme”. Significant research output as well as training of manpower has been accomplished in this project during a relatively very short span of time. These centres have attracted international attention and talent (as faculty) to these institutions and have become “Centres of Excellence in Nanoelectronics”. This project has provided confidence that academic organizations can take up large R&D projects effectively and has become a model project for funding of large R&D projects by other Government departments and organizations at academic institutions.

Centres of Excellence in Nanoelectronics Phase II

Based on the experience and success of the phase I project, the phase II project at a cost of Rs. 146.91 Cr was initiated in December 2011 for execution by IIT Bombay and IISc over a period of 5 years. While the previous project was largely focused on infrastructure creation for nanoelectronics research, the Phase II project focuses on research in frontier areas of nanoelectronics, technology generation, closer interaction with industries for commercialization and scaled up effort in high quality R&D manpower generation.

Nanoelectronics Centres at IIT Delhi, IIT Madras and IIT Kharagpur

Inspired by the success of the Nanoelectronics Centres project at IIT Bombay and IISc, setting up of 3 more Nanoelectronics centres has been taken up by the Department of IT at IIT Delhi, IIT Madras, Chennai and IIT Kharagpur on different aspects of Nanoelectronics.

R&D Projects

In addition to establishing Centres, several small and medium scale projects have also been initiated for capacity building for R&D in the areas of nano materials, nano devices, nano subsystem and nano systems at various institutions across India including Indian Institutes of Technology at New Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Kanpur, Kharagpur and Roorkee, IISc Bangalore, C-MET Pune, CEERI Pilani, CSIO Chandigarh, Jadavpur University Kolkata, Jamia Milia Islamia, Visvevaraya Institute of Technology Nagpur etc. The specific R&D areas included Nano silver oxide, nano-particles of noble and transition medals, nano-sized metals/metal oxide/metal nitrides, nanocrystalline silicon MEMS Pressure Sensor, technology for quantum structures, organic thin film transistors, quantum-well infrared photodetectors, Carbon Nano Tubes (CNTs) for targeted drug delivery, tin oxide powder and tin oxide thin films for gas sensing, CNTs for field emission devices, simulation of Nanoscale MOSFETs, Nanosized SiC based quantum structures, Quantum-semiconductor-glass-nanocomposites, porous silicon for sensing of gas and biological spices, simulation of nano-devices, oxide based functional thin film nano-structures for Spintronics and quantum informatics, GaN, InGaN based quantum dots for LEDs, Nano silver oxide doped/ mixed with gold and copper for ultra high density storage devices, III/ V compound semiconductor based quantum dots technology, wide band gap semiconductors nanostructured materials and devices, semiconducting Single Wall Carbon Nano Tubes (SWCNTs), CNTs based Gas sensor and Multi-functional magnetic nano particulates for cancer therapy.

Nanometrology

In order to implement the Nanoelectronics development program successfully, nanometrology (science of measurement at nanoscales) is also an requirement. The general trend towards increased miniaturization in manufacturing to micro to nano is not simply a scale problem, but involves facing new physics.

A project has been taken up at National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi to address the issues of nanometrology by establishing a National nanometorlogy laboratory. This laboratory provides calibration and traceability for physical dimensions like linewidth, step height, surface texture and calibration of electrical parameters like low voltages in nanovolts, low currents in picoamperes, electric charge in femtocoulombs (fC). It is expected to cater to the nanoscale measurements for various industrial applications including automotive, biomedical and semiconductor industry.

Indian Nanoelectronics User Program

The Indian Nanoelectronics User Program (INUP) has been conceived and initiated by the Department of IT to facilitate and support generation in India of expertise and knowledge in nanoelectronics through participation and utilization of the facilities established at the Centres of Excellence in Nanoelectronics at IISc, Bangaluru and IIT Bombay, Mumbai by external users from academia, R&D institutions and Industry. The INUP program aims to:

Impart hands-on training in nanoelectronics to researchers from other institutions in the country and help train researchers in Nanoelectronics. Users from academic, research and industrial R&D institutions are trained through this project at three levels.
- Short-term workshops to disseminate the outcome of the research activities. These workshops are also expected to provide exposure and awareness.

- Hands-on training for selected researchers.

- Execution of collaborative research projects by external users by providing support for fabrication and expert guidance.

Assist in the initiation of research in nanoelectronics at various institutions in the country by enabling the execution of the work of external users at these centres.
Collaborate with research teams at various Indian organizations and develop joint projects in nanoelectronics.
Provide a platform for researchers in Naoelectronics to come together and benefit from complementary expertise.
To generate more than 750 trained students, professional scientists and engineers etc., at various levels and take up about 40 research projects in Nanoelectronics.

The INUP has been utilized by researchers and engineers from academia, R&D organizations and industry. More than 110 R&D projects from more than 100 external organizations across the country have been taken up so far under INUP. About 1150 researchers and students from across India have been trained through INUP.

Patents, Publications

More than 500 articles have been published and more than 20 patents have been filed in the projects initiated under this programme.

Industry Participation and Commercialization

While initiatives have already been taken for establishing the R&D infrastructure for Nanoelectronics, the focus of programme is now progressively leaning to technology transfer, product development and commercialization. A startup company viz. Nanosniff has been incubated at IIT Bombay for product development. A mechanism for incubation of startup companies and commercialization of technologies is being contemplated by the Department of IT in collaboration with other organizations.

*inputs from the Ministry of Communications & Information Technology, Department of Information Technology.

Delhi,,

The Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Shri RPN Singh informed that IOC is proposing to set up LNG import terminal at Ennore Port with storage and regasification facilities of 5 MMTPA capacity at an estimated capital cost of Rs 4320 Crore Responding to a question  he said that, IOC has entered into Momerandum of Understanding (MoU) and subsequently Heads of Agreement (HoA) with Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) for partnering in the project.

In addition, the Minister said, that M/s Indian Oil Petronas Pvt. Ltd., a joint venture Co. of Indian Oil Corporation Limited IOCL) and Petronas Malayasia is setting up LPG Import/Export terminal at Ennore Port with a tankage capacity of 30,600 Metric Tonne and the construction is in progress. The estimated cost of the project is about Rs 497.83 crore.

Delhi,,

The Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) has informed that water is lost from urban water supply systems due to leakages, categorized as physical and revenue leakages or technical and non-technical losses. The losses are due to water actually leaked out, theft, illegal connections and water that is not properly accounted for due to non-metering or incorrect metering. Several studies for these water losses, commonly called non-revenue water (NRW) indicate that it varies from 30 to 50% etc. The results of the pilot study in 28 cities of India in 2008-09 indicate the average NRW as 39%.

Urban water supply is the responsibility of the State Governments/Local bodies. However, MoUD is providing technical guidance to them in reducing water leakages through guidance notes and roll-out of service level benchmarks. Under the service level benchmarking programme initiated by the MoUD since 2008, the water supply providers are required to measure and quantify their service delivery performances, including reporting on NRW. These service level benchmarks have also been recognized by the 13th Finance Commission as one of the conditions for the Cities/ States to draw performance grants.

This information was given by the Minister of Water Resources & Parliamentary Affairs Shri Pawan Kumar Bansal.

Delhi,,

The Joint Admission Board (JAB) has taken the following decisions which have been implemented successfully in the Indian Institute of Technology – Joint Entrance Examination (IIT-JEE) 2012.

1. Female candidates were exempted from paying application fees.
2. The category-wise absolute cut-off marks in each subjects and aggregate for ranking the candidates were declared well in advance allowing them to maximize the aggregate marks, after ensuring the minimum marks in individual subjects.
3. Candidates were given carbonless copy paper based answer sheets (optical response sheets) as records of their performance.
4. Before announcement of the results, answer sheets were displayed in the web alongwith the correct answer choice(s) and machine-read responses (ORS), allowing the candidates the opportunity to submit revision request in case of any perceived error in the ORS.
5. Candidates who accept seats in the earlier rounds(s) are allowed to withdraw their acceptance before the final round of seat allocation.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Shri E. Ahamed.

Delhi,,

The Union Cabinet today approved the proposal of the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas to permit GA1L( India) Limited to sign the Gas Sale & Purchase Agreement (GSPA) with TurrnenGas, Turkmenistan`s national oil company, for the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) Gas Pipeline Project.

The TAPI Gas Pipeline is envisaged to be 1680 Km in length (144 Km in Turkmenistan, 735 Kin in Afghanistan & 800 Km in Pakistan) with a capacity of 90 MMSCMD of gas, with 38 MMSCMD each for India and Pakistan and the remaining 14 MMSCMD for Afghanistan. The Pipeline is expected to be operational in 2018 and supply gas over a 30 years period.

The source of the gas is the South Yoiotan Osman field, recently renamed Galkynysh, which has been certified by a reputed international consultant to be holding proven recoverable gas reserves of 16 trillion cubic metres.

The provisions of the GSPA have been structured to protect India`s commercial interests as India is at the tail end of the pipeline. Afghanistan and Pakistan have committed to the safety and security of the pipeline through the Inter-Governmental Agreement and the Gas Purchase Framework Agreement signed among the four countries in December, 2010.

Delhi,,

The Government has asked all the Ministries and Departments to submit the final report on filling up of the backlog reserved vacancies through Special Recruitment Drive by 21st of this month. Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions and Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Shri V.Narayanasamy said that the final status from various Ministries and Departments is being received in this regard. said  Sabha today that whether DoPT has asked to submit a status report on 60,000-odd reserved vacancies in Government jobs, including for the OBCs have been filled. The Minister said that the Special Recruitment Drive, 2008 was reviewed and the Government had re-launched the Drive on 26.07.2012 and all the Central Ministries/Departments were requested to fill up the backlog reserved vacancies by 31st March, 2012. Shri Narayanasamy said, some reserved vacancies remain vacant for reasons like non-availability of suitable candidates, gap between arising of a vacancy and its filling up etc and therefore it may not be possible to fix any time line for filling up of all reserved vacancies. He, however added that all efforts are being made to fill up the backlog reserved vacancies and instructions already exist that if sufficient numbers of SC/ST/OBC candidates do not become available to fill up vacancies reserved for them in the first attempt of recruitment, a second attempt should be made for recruiting suitable candidates belonging to the category concerned in the same recruitment year, as early as possible, before the next recruitment. The Minister also informed that Special Recruitment Drives are launched from time to time for filling up of the backlog vacancies.

Delhi,,

The Minister of Steel, Shri Beni Prasad Verma has said that the prices of steel items in the domestic market have been fluctuating in accordance with the market conditions such as demand supply scenario, trend of international steel prices, cost of raw materials and other inputs.  A table indicating monthly price movement in respect of representative category of steel items including those used for building purposes in retail market in four main regions – Kolkata, Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai during the last three years (2009-10, 2010-11 and  2011-12) is  annexed at Annexure I to III.

 Verma said, Steel is a deregulated sector.  Accordingly, prices of various steel items are decided by the individual producers based on market conditions including demand supply scenario, trend of international steel prices, cost of raw materials and other inputs, etc.  Government has no direct role in fixation of steel prices.  However, Government intervenes through fiscal measures, as and when need arises, to maintain steady supply position in the domestic market and to boost steel production in the country.

Delhi,,

A team from the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) today visited the coal mining areas of Jaintia Hills in Meghalaya to review the child labour situation.

The delegation will meet the Chief Secretary, Secretary of Labour and Employment and Social Welfare Department, Government of Meghalaya, and other senior officers of Education, Home and Health Departments to discuss and review the child labour in Jaintia Hills and look into the complaints received from the Meghalaya State.

“We will visit the coal mining areas to assess the child labour situation in those areas,’’ said Dr Yogesh Dube, Member, NCPCR. The discussion will also be on the inordinate delay in receipt of reports from the state of Meghalaya.

The team will also meet representatives of a number of NGOs working in this area tomorrow.

The team comprises Dr. Yogesh Dube, Shri Vinod Kumar Tikoo, Members, NCPCR and other officers of NCPCR.

Delhi,,

Shimla,,

Prof. Prem Kumar Dhumal, Chief Minister released a ‘Practical Handbook on Public Health Engineering’ authored by Shimla based engineer, Shri G.S.Bajwa, here today. Practical Handbook on Public Health Engineering is the first book on fascinating subject ‘Water’ the most precious gift of nature and elixir of life is based on long experience of the author who is well versed with the world’s one of the oldest water supply system developed for Shimla centuries ago.

Chief Minister congratulated Shri G.S.Bajwa for bringing out the handbook. He said that Shimla Water Supply system was developed in the year 1888 and a 10 lakh litre capacity water tank constructed on the historic Ridge. The history revealed that even the vehicle of Viceroy was not allowed to be driven over the water tanks on the Ridge. He said that Shimla Water Supply happened to be one of the four world’s oldest water supply systems while the water supply system of Peshawar, in Pakistan, had been rated best in Asia. He said that Shimla Water Supply Scheme happened to be the highest head in entire Asia and had a number of unique features. He said that historic town of Shimla was being fed by Cherot, Cheir, Gumma and Ashwani Khad water. He said that history revealed that last water supply for Shimla was completed by Britishers in year 1923, constructed with imported pipes and other equipments. He said that Shimla Water Supply contained dynamic head of 1400 meters, which was highest in Asia.

Chief Minister said that availability of water for different purposes was one of the biggest challenge facing modern day planners. He said that it was evident that most of the civilizations the world over had developed around the rivers and water had been apprehended as the cause of next World War which speak volumes over the importance of water for sustenance of all living beings.

Chief Minister revealed that the State Department of Tourism and Civil Aviation would be taking advantage of vast experience of Shri G.S. Bajwa in bringing out its fourth publication on ‘Water Heritage of Shimla’ to acquaint readers of the engineering wonder and to satisfy their curiosity on updating their knowledge about historic Shimla town. He said that Shimla Water Supply had been the life line of the historic town and was likely to be the next heritage point for the city. He complimented Shri G.S.Bajwa for sharing his knowledge with the readers through the publication which would go a long way in smoothening the road for future planners and executioners in effecting economies in time, money and for hassle free supply of water in the State.

Mumbai,,

                           Shemaroo Entertainment, one of the leading content houses launches the much awaited super hit movie on Home Video – ‘Kahaani’ at Diesel Store in Juhu. The occasion was graced by the sensational leading lady – Vidya Balan.

    After setting the Box Office on fire with her breathtaking performance in The Dirty Picture, Vidya Balan is back again with Kahaani. The film has an unusual story line of a pregnant woman, who flies from London to Kolkata, in search of her missing husband. A mysterious story line and a stupendous performance by Vidya Balan makes the movie a must watch for the audience. The success of Kahaani proves that good content is always appreciated and does not need the support of stars to make a success.

    Hiren Gada, Director, Shemaroo Entertainment shares his thoughts, “Kahaani is our third film, after Ishqiya and The Dirty Picture, featuring Vidya Balan in the main lead. It is needless to say that all her movies have not only been appreciated by the audience but are also critically acclaimed. We are pleased to bring her films to our audience on home video. In fact the DVD of the film will be a prized possession in one’s DVD collection”

Delhi,,

                 It is an old Ayurveda saying that one should not eat curd in the night. In all pathy consensus organized by Heart Care Foundation of India in association with All India Radio in a panel discussion, experts felt that one should not consume fermented foods alone after sunset. Items like Dosa, Idali, Dhokla etc. should not be eaten after the sunset.

The programme was moderated by Padmashri & Dr. B.C. Roy National Awardee,  Dr. KK Aggarwal.

The experts were Dr.Anupam Sethi & Dr Aditya Kaushikfrom Homeopathy, Dr. B N Sinha from Ayurved, Dr. Shakir Jamil from Unani and Dr S N Yadav from Naturopathy.The experts further said that even alcohol is an evening drink and evening means before sunset. Studies all over the world which shows beneficial effects of alcohol when alcohol is served between 4pm to 6 pm. The all pathy experts further said that food of plant in origin contains no cholesterol and balanced diet comprises of seven colours and six tastes.

The experts further said that anything which is bitter and green has antidiabetic and antiobesity features.

सोनी पिक्चर्स इंडिया की फिल्म ‘मेन इन ब्लैक ३’ जल्दी ही रिलीज़ होने वाली है. थ्री डी में बनी यह फिल्म हिंदी, अंग्रेजी, तमिल और तेलगु भाषा में भी रिलीज़ हो रही है. इस फिल्म के निर्देशक हैं बैरी सोनेनफील्ड और फिल्म में काम किया है लोकप्रिय अभिनेता विल स्मिथ, टॉमी ली जोंस और जोश ब्रोलिन ने.

इस फिल्म की पिछली दोनों सीरीज में भी थे अभिनेता विल स्मिथ. और अब दस साल बाद रिलीज़ होने वाली तीसरी सीरीज में भी दो बार के अकेडेमी अवार्ड से नामांकित विल स्मिथ अपने अभिनय से प्रशंसकों के दिलों पर जादू फैलाएगें.

लेकिन इस फिल्म की तीसरी सीरीज यानि ‘मेन इन ब्लैक ३’ को रिलीज़ होने में १० वर्ष का समय लगने पर विल स्मिथ कहते हैं कि, ‘जब दर्शक यह तीसरी सीरीज देखेगे तो उन्हें महसूस होगा कि यह फिल्म पिछली दोनों सीरीज से कितनी आगे है वैसे तो पुरानी फ़िल्में भी बहुत ही अच्छी थी लेकिन शायद यह सबसे अच्छी है और यह तो सब जानते हैं कि अच्छी फिल्म बनाने में वक्त तो लगता ही है.’

इस फिल्म “मेन इन ब्लैक ३” में दर्शकों को नया क्या देखने को मिलेगा ? पूछने पर विल कहते हैं, “मै सोचता हूँ कि फिल्म “मेन इन ब्लैक ३ ” का कांसेप्ट ही बिलकुल अलग है जो कि इस फिल्म को बाकी सारी फिल्मों से अलग बनाए रखता है. फिल्म में सीक्रेट एजेंट्स का ग्रुप है, एलियन हैं, एक्शन है, हास्य ,है कुछ अलग ग्रह और पृथ्वी है. इतना कुछ है इस फिल्म “मेन इन ब्लैक ३ ” में, जिसकी आप किसी भी दूसरी फिल्म से तुलना नही कर सकते हैं.”

क्या आज की पीढ़ी फिल्म “मेन इन ब्लैक ३” को पसंद करेगी ? के जवाब में विल स्मिथ का कहना है, “हाँ क्यों नही जरुर देखगे युवा दर्शक इस फिल्म को. क्योंकि उनको पसंद आने वाली सारी चीजे हैं इस फिल्म में. उच्च तकनीक, भरपूर हास्य है. जिन दर्शकों ने पुरानी दोनों सीरीज देखी है वो यह फिल्म देखगें. और जो नए दर्शक जो पहली ही बार इस फिल्म को देखेगे वो भी इस फिल्म का आनंद लेगें.यह मैं पता है.”

फिल्म “मेन इन ब्लैक ३” के बारे में बताते हुए विल ने कहा कि, “अगर आप फिल्म के फ्रेम से फ्रेम में जायेगें तो आपको चुटकुले और राजनीतिक व्यंग्य मिलेगें. फिल्म में इसके अलावा सबसे ज्यादा मज़ा आएगा रेट्रो एलियंस को देखने में. 60 के दशक के समय के मुताबिक डिजाइन किए गए हैं सभी एलियंस. आप जानते हैं रे ब्राडबर्री, इसाक असिमोव “स्टार ट्रेक” सीरियल वाले, जैसे उस सीरियल में एलियंस के सिर कांच के गेंद जैसा होता था. वैसा ही कुछ इस फिल्म में भी दर्शकों को देखने को मिलेगा. यह सब निर्देशक बैरी सोनेन फिल्ड की वजह से ही है इन सभी एलियंस को तैयार किया है मेकअप कलाकार रिक बेकर ने.”

इस फिल्म की विशेषता बताते हुए विल ने कहा कि, “ सबसे बड़ी विशेषता यह है कि यह है इस फिल्म की यह फिल्म थ्री डी में है.थ्री डी का जादू तो हर किसी पर छाया है आप सभी जानते हैं.” टॉमी ली जोंस के साथ तो आपने पहले भी काम किया है इसमें जोश के साथ काम करना कैसा रहा ? “बहुत ही अच्छा, हम सबने सेट पर बहुत ही एन्जॉय किया, अच्छा अभिनेता है जोश” बताया विल ने.