Nanobiotechnology getting little importance in India: Dr Sastry

Thane, Jan 6: Nanobiotechnology is getting little importance in India, according to Dr Murali Sastry, one of the world's top Nanobiotechnoligists.

Dr Sastry was speaking at a national conference on 'Latest Trends in Nanotechnology' today. The conference was organised by Vidya Prasarak Mandal's Polytechnic and was inaugurated by Mr M Mathew, a scientist from M&M. As many as 200 researchers, students and scholars from the country attended the conference.

Dr Sastry, giving details regarding the latest in Nanobiotechnology, said that the technology will totally reform the world and revolutionise the present century. He said that no one wants to invest in Nanotechnology due to the risk involved in it. ''It is very sad that not much is being done to spread this technology, which is going to be the future of the world,'' he added.

Dr Sastry appealed to the younger generation to take entreprenuership, adopt Nanobiotechnology and take it to new heights. Only this technology can earn a name for the country, he said.

Dr Sastry added that the Government alone cannot do much to spread this technology, the entrepreneurs should come forward and take a lead. Big industries are also reluctant to spend on this, as they are busy spending on IT, he said.

Young researchers and scientists should carry out research in this field and should be prepared to take risk, Dr Sastry suggested.

He informed that Nanobiotechnology is presently used in various applications, specially in household products and cosmetics. ''After the use of Nanobiotechnology, the colour of gold will not be restricted to yellow, it can be anything else, even fluorescent,'' he said. Mr Mathew said that maximum commercial application of the technology is the need of the hour, instead of its fundamental applications.

UNI