ICONSAT 2020

• 06 Mar 2020

Why in News

The International Conference on NanoScience and NanoTechnology (ICONSAT) 2020 is being organized during 5^th-7^th March at Kolkata (West Bengal).

• ICONSAT is the series of biennial international conferences held in India under the aegis of Nano Mission, Department of Science and Technology (DST).

Key Points

• The conference intends to bring out cutting-edge developments in the domain of physical, chemical, materials as well as biological sciences with the help of nanotechnology.
• The event emphasised on 5Ms – Mechanical, Material, Machines, Manufacturing and Manpower, and integration of these 5 Ms with nano-science and technology.
• It also aimed to integrate nanotechnology with sustainable development and new technology (machine learning, artificial intelligence and so on).
• It emphasized the need to create a network of experts in nano-science and to collaborate the knowledge across sectors like energy, agriculture, transport, health and so on.
• It also aims to provide a potential platform for young researchers and students from within the country and abroad to keep pace with the latest development in the emerging areas of Nano Science and Technology.

Nano Mission

• The Government of India launched the Nano Mission in 2007 as an "umbrella capacity-building programme".
• It is being implemented by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) under the Ministry of Science and Technology.
• The objectives of the mission are:
  
  • Basic research promotion
  • Infrastructure development
  • Nano applications and technology development
  • Human Resource development
  • International collaborations
• As a result of the efforts led by the Nano Mission, today, India is amongst the top five nations in the world in terms of scientific publications in nanoscience and technology (moving from 4^th to the 3^rd position).
• The Nano Mission has established national dialogues to promote R&D in the development of standards for nanotechnology and for laying down a National Regulatory Framework Road-Map for Nanotechnology (NRFR-Nanotech).

Source: PIB