13-Mar-2022: Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar reviews Gallium Nitride Technology center - GEECI, Bengaluru.

Union Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Rajeev Chandrasekhar visited the Gallium Nitride Ecosystem Enabling Centre and Incubator ( GEECI ) facility at the prestigious Indian Institute of Sciences (IISc), Bengaluru. The facility has been jointly set up by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and IISc Bengaluru aimed at establishing GaN based Development Line Foundry facility, especially for RF and power applications, including strategic applications.

The Minister after reviewing the progress of the Project and after inspecting the facility, highlighted its importance by stating that “The next 2 to 3 years offers a window of opportunity for Gallium Nitride (GaN) to play a key role in enabling e-vehicles and wireless communication”. Minister also saw the GaN transistors fabricated in the IISc CeNSE fab.

Creating strategic capabilities in emerging technologies is one of the core objectives of the Digital India Programme launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the year 2015. To achieve these objectives, the Ministry of Electronics and IT has drawn MeiTY vision 1000 days which includes HiTech/Strategic Tech as an important component.  Gallium Nitride Technology is of strategic importance with its application to 5G, space and defense application.

The Minister spoke about the recently experienced Covid induced disruptions in the Global Supply Chains and how the Government, led by PM Narendra Modi, is committed to capitalise on this narrow window of opportunity that is presented to India - as the world is looking for a new and trusted supply chain partner.

“There is tremendous opportunity in the electronics manufacturing & in the field of electronics and semiconductor design”, said Mr. Rajeev Chandrasekhar as he mentioned about the recently announced $10 billion  incentive package for setting up Semi-Conductor fab units in India and to make India a global hub for Electronics systems design and manufacturing (ESDM).

“Research, technology development, education and training in our institutes like IISc and IITs in the area of semiconductor manufacturing is essential to realise the dream of Digital India and fabs in the nation” added Mr Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

The fab model in IISc will be a state of the art incubation to promote indigenous development of technology, and thereby encourage final deployment into cellular infrastructure, and strategic technologies.

Along with PLI and DLI schemes, GaN ecosystem will drive the innovation and encourage startups and entrepreneurs to look into business and technology seriously in next two years. AGNIT Semiconductors Pvt. Ltd. the first startup has already been incubated in TBI-InCeNSE an incubator of SID, IISc. It has raised its first round of angel funding. This will be the first startup to leverage the infrastructure created by GEECI.

10-Jun-2021: Instrumentation facility at IISc Bangalore can accurately trace toxic metals at very low concentrations

A multi-instrument facility established at IISc, Bangalore can determine concentrations of metals and metalloids spanning a concentration range of ≥100 ppm to 10 ppt (9 orders of magnitude). This Water analysis facility will be key in tracing sources of pollution, quantifying reactive-transport pathways of toxic metals, and assessing the efficiency of remediation methods.

Facilities for accurate and precise determination of major, minor, and trace element concentration from natural water samples is critical for quality environmental and geochemical research. This multi-user facility will serve as an open access center for characterization of dissolved metals and metalloids for environmental and geochemical researchers from across the country.

The facility set up at the Indian Institute of Science (IISC), Bangalore under a multi-institutional project consists of combination of the two instruments which allows for accurate and precise determination of concentration for metals and metalloids from 100 ppm to 10 ppt (9 orders of magnitude).

The project ‘Fast Forward to SGD6: Acceptable and affordable water in secondary Indian cities (4WARD)’ under its Urban Water Systems programme, awarded to a cluster of institutions (IIT Bombay, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, and IISc) and led by IIT Kharagpur, supported by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) focuses on identification and alleviation of water quality and quantity related challenges faced by Tier-II Indian cities.

The instrumentation includes a Quadrupole Inductively Couple Plasma Mass Spectrometer fitted with collision reaction cell (QQQ-ICP-MS) and an Inductively Couple Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometer with dual detection capability (ICP-OES).

At this analytical facility detection limits for key environmental toxins (viz. Cr, Fe, Ni, Cu, As, Se, Pb) are all less than 5 ppt. However, the ICP-OES is efficient in determining concentration between the range of 100s of ppm (mg/L) to less than 100 ppb (µg/L) level.  The QQQ-ICP-MS, equipped with multiple reaction and collision gases, is efficient across six orders of concentration values going down to less than 10 ppt (ng/L).

12-Mar-2022: Space technology will open new vistas for start-ups and innovation in Jammu region: Dr. Jitendra Singh

While inaugurating North India’s first-ever Space Centre in Jammu today, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh described this as a historic decision and said that most of space technology institutes were in the past confined to Southern States and the only-of-its-kind Indian Institute of Space and Technology imparting Engineering, Aeronautics and other streams was located in Thiruvananthapuram. The opening of the Space Centre and the India's second-of-its-kind Space Training Institutes in Jammu & Kashmir in 75th years of independence simultaneously marks the march of space journey from Kerala to Kashmir under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and at the same time naming it as Satish Dhawan Centre is befitting tribute to one of the founding-fathers of India's Space programme who hails from Jammu & Kashmir but ironically not a single institute in J&K was named after it.

The Minister said that the future of the world will hugely depend on the upcoming space economy, space collaboration and space diplomacy. Referring to the space economy, he mentioned that India is already receiving revenue worth millions of European Euros and US Dollars through the launching of foreign satellites. Referring to space collaboration, he cited the example of the SAARC satellite which was visualized and developed on the instructions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which caters to needs of most of the neighbouring countries including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, etc.

The Minister said the credit entirely goes to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for unlocking space technology and opening it to private players.

Dr. Singh also said that India is entering into an era when it is going to play a pivotal role in space technology with India already having taken a lead in the world as far as space technology is concerned. He also said that the twenty five years from here would be crucial for the country as said by the Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi. Dr. Singh maintained that the ascent of India as a frontline nation of the world has already started through the medium of space.

Dr. Singh stressed that today is a historical day for the entire North India with the inauguration of Satish Dhawan Centre for Space Sciences at Central University of Jammu & a conference on ‘Frontiers of Space Technology and Applications for Humanity' in collaboration with Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), Thiruvananthapuram.

Dr. Singh said that most of the space technology from the last seventy years has been confined to South India mostly to the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala which was an anomaly in the spread of space technology in the country. Dr. Singh maintained that this government is steadfast to take space technology to the remote corners of the country which is evident today with the inauguration of Satish Dhawan Centre for Space Sciences at Central University of Jammu and the other Space Centre has already been established at Agartala Tripura with the support of Prime Minister of India who is himself a space technology enthusiast.

Addressing the conference on ‘Frontiers of Space Technology and Applications for Humanity' at CUJ, Dr. Singh said that the space technology in the country is advanced to the stage that the premier space institutes like NASA requests for the footage of many space adventures brought about by ISRO. The Minister further said that the space technology has been given prime importance by this government and the results are before us with the discovery of water by Chandrayaan not being done even by premier space technology nations showing that India has already taken a lead.

Dr. Jitendra Singh said that sixty students will be taken in the course of B. Tech in Aviation and Aeronautics through this institute through JEE in order to build this institute into one of the premier institutes in the country. Dr. Singh also said that the students after studying Aviation and Aeronautics from here would be able to find a career in space technology not only in India but in space institutes like NASA as space technology has huge career opportunities available.

Dr. Singh emphasized that this institute would be an institution for startups in space technology as well especially in J&K and people from this region should use this enormous opportunity as provided by the government to shape their future and get rid of the yesteryear mindset of depending on a government job. Dr. Singh added that the Ministry of Science and Technology will start the awareness programs related to Startups across the country from the next month.

Dr. Singh said that the startups and the sustainable startups are linked to livelihood, the Jammu being the birth place of Aroma Mission with people earning in lakhs with these startups& Jammu has a great Dairy and Agriculture potential which needs to be explored.

Paying rich tributes to Satish Dhawan, Dr. Singh said that Satish Dhawan being the son of the soil & the doyen of space technology in India was to be celebrated much earlier in J&K but it took us seventy years to celebrate his contribution today in the form of this institution at Central University of Jammu. The minister added that the actual is restored today what actually belongs to J&K and will now connect Kashmir to Kanyakumari.

Dr. Jitendra Singh said, ever since Narendra Modi took over as Prime Minister, India’s Space Technology is being applied in diverse fields and sectors to bring “ease of living” for common man. He said, Space and satellite technology is today being extensively used in railways, road and bridge construction, agriculture, soils, water resources, forestry and ecology, housing, tele-medicine, disaster management and accurate weather forecast to name a few.

Former Chairman, ISRO, Dr. K Radhakrishnan in his address said that when India has become a role model for the rest of the world in terms of Space Technology, Satish Dhawan is a reverential role model for the students. Dr. Radhakrishnan wished that this institution would be the prestigious institution in years to come all over the country like the other premier space institutes.

Chairman ISRO, Sh. Somnath S said that space technology now is an integral part of life and safety and security of this nation will depend on how strong the nation is going to be in space sector. The chairman further said that the communication revolution which is important in many ways like in the growth of industries, space has to be behind it.

Dr. Sam Dayala Dev, Director, IIST, Dr. Y V.N Krishnamurthy, Registrar, IIST, Sh. Sudheer Kumar N, Director, CBPO, Sh. Prakash Chauhan, Director, IIRS, Dr. Kuruvella Joseph, Dr. Amit Kumar Patra, Prof. Sanjeev Jain, Vice Chancellor, Central University Jammu besides other scientists and staff were present in the conference.

4-Aug-2021: Cabinet approves Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Indian Institute of Space science and Technology (IIST) and The Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), the Netherlands for research collaboration

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Indian Institute of Space science and Technology (IIST) and The Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), for carrying out the Academic programmes and Research activities involving students and faculty members in each institution signed on April 09, 2021 and May 17, 2021 at respective institutes and exchanged by email.

Details of MoU:

1. Students exchange programme: The Parties may exchange students at undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral level. The Parties will mutually discuss and decide the areas of studies and credits to be pursued under the scheme.  Both parties agree the Practicum exchange programme for degree training should follow the educational system and regulations of the hosting partner.
2. Dual Degree/Double Degree programme: The Parties may develop specialized curriculum to be pursued by students for award of either undergraduate of postgraduate degree, which will be in addition to the initial degree to be awarded by the home Institute.
3. Internships and project work: The Parties may design and develop research of engineering project assignments which will be pursued by students during their stay both short term and long term, in the partner institute.
4. Faculty exchange: The Partiers may consider Faculty exchange programme during which their faculty member will offer courses in the partner institute, for which the course contents will be developed jointly.
5. Joint Research: The faculty members of both parties may identify the joint research programme in common areas of interest with defined duration.

Benefits:

Signing of this Agreement shall enable pursuing the following potential interest areas of cooperation such as, exchange of faculty members, students and researchers, scientific materials, publications and information. Joint research meeting, PhD program, Dual Degree/Double Degree programme.         

Cooperation with the EWI, TU Delft, The Netherlands an oldest and largest Dutch public Technological University through this Agreement would lead to develop a joint activity in research in the area of Science and Technology.  Thus, all sections and regions of the country will get benefited.         

The signed Agreement will provide impetus to explore newer research activities and application possibilities in the field of Science and Technology.