National Programme on Nano Science and Technology (Nano Mission)

What is the National Programme on Nano Science and Technology?

The National Programme on Nano Science and Technology is the Department of Science & Technology's umbrella programme for nano science and nanotechnology research in India. It is the successor to the Nano Mission, which the Government of India launched in May 2007 as a capacity-building umbrella programme with DST as the nodal agency.

According to the DST programme page, the Union Cabinet approved continuation of the Nano Mission in Phase-II during the 12th Plan period, and the National Mission on Nano Science and Technology stood completed as on 31 March 2017. It was then converted into a National Programme. No new projects are supported under the Nano Mission itself, although existing projects remain under monitoring and DST continues to issue calls for proposals under the National Programme.

This is a research funding programme, not a citizen welfare scheme. Money flows to institutions and research groups against peer-reviewed proposals.

Key objectives

• Build fundamental understanding of matter that enables control and manipulation at the nanoscale.
• Create a national chain of shared, sophisticated nano-characterisation and fabrication facilities.
• Develop skilled human resources in nano science and nanotechnology.
• Translate nano research into applications in energy, health, water, electronics and materials.

The four programme components

1. Basic research promotion; funding basic research by individual scientists and groups of scientists, and creating centres of excellence.
2. Infrastructure development: establishing a chain of shared facilities across the country with the sophisticated equipment nano research needs.
3. Human resource development: education, fellowships and training to build skilled manpower in nanotechnology.
4. International collaboration, collaborative research, education and training links with institutions abroad.

Who is eligible for the National Programme on Nano Science and Technology?

Who can apply:

• Regular faculty members and scientists in universities, deemed universities, degree-awarding academic institutions, national laboratories and recognised R&D institutions in India.
• Research groups proposing work in the thematic areas announced in a live DST call, for example, the six Advanced Materials verticals in the recent call.
• Institutions proposing to host or upgrade a shared nano facility under the infrastructure component, where the call permits.
• Applicants whose host institution will endorse the proposal and take custody of the equipment created from the grant.

Who cannot apply:

• Members of the public cannot apply. There is no personal grant, subsidy, pension or scholarship for a citizen under this programme, and no individual benefit application form exists.
• Individuals without an institutional affiliation are not eligible — the proposal must be routed through and endorsed by a recognised host institution.
• Companies seeking a manufacturing subsidy are not eligible; industrial incentives for electronics and semiconductors sit with MeitY schemes, not with this programme.
• Proposals outside the thematic scope announced in the live call are not considered.
• Proposals already funded by another agency, or duplicating an existing sanction, are not eligible.
• New proposals cannot be submitted under the Nano Mission as such, since the Mission was completed on 31 March 2017.

What documents are required for a proposal under this programme?

How to apply under the National Programme on Nano Science and Technology

1. Watch dst.gov.in and the DST e-PMS portal at onlinedst.gov.in for a live call for proposals under the programme; submissions are accepted only against an announced call.
2. Download the Information Brochure and proposal format published with that call and confirm that your research falls within the announced thematic verticals.
3. Register or log in on onlinedst.gov.in with your institutional details and create the proposal entry.
4. Prepare and submit a five-page pre-proposal first, where the call uses a two-stage process: recent calls such as the Advanced Materials call under NPNST screen a short pre-proposal before inviting shortlisted teams to submit the full proposal.
5. Prepare the full technical proposal: objectives, review of national and international status, methodology, work plan with milestones, expected outcomes and a justified budget covering equipment, consumables, manpower and travel.
6. Obtain the endorsement of the Head of the host Institution, sign the DST Policy on Conflict of Interest declaration and the undertaking against duplicate funding.
7. Upload the proposal and all annexures in the prescribed format within the file-size limit stated in the call.
8. Preview every entry, then submit before the last date in the call notice, after which the submission link is disabled automatically.
9. Await peer review. Proposals are evaluated by expert committees constituted by DST, and shortlisted teams may be asked to present before the committee.

What does the programme fund?

The programme funds institutional research rather than individual benefit. Under the basic research component, DST supports research projects by individual scientists and by groups, and has created centres of excellence in nano science. Under the infrastructure component, DST has supported a chain of shared facilities carrying sophisticated instrumentation for nano characterisation and fabrication, intended to be used across the scientific community rather than by a single department.

Human resource development covers education, fellowships and training so that students and young researchers can build careers in nanotechnology, and the international collaboration component supports joint research, education and training with partners abroad.

DST has not published a single fixed per-project ceiling for the programme; budgets are decided call by call and proposal by proposal on the recommendation of the expert committee. If you see a specific rupee ceiling quoted on a non-government website, verify it against the live call notice on dst.gov.in before relying on it.

What research areas are currently in scope?

A recent call under the National Programme on Nano Science and Technology focused on Advanced Materials and specified six thematic research verticals:

• Affordable and sustainable materials processing.
• Engineered low-dimensional materials for optical and electronic applications.
• Structural materials for mobility applications.
• Bio-inspired materials for sensing and diagnostics.
• High-performance materials for energy conversion.
• Theory and computational design of materials.

Thematic scope changes from call to call, so the live advertisement on dst.gov.in is the only reliable statement of what is currently fundable.

Common reasons proposals are rejected

• Proposal outside the thematic scope announced in the call.
• No institutional endorsement, or an applicant without a recognised host institution.
• Duplicate funding. The same work already sanctioned by another agency.
• Weak methodology or milestones, with equipment sought that the work plan does not justify.
• Wrong format: proposals not submitted in the exact format published with the call.
• Late submission, after the portal link is disabled.

Help and contact

• Technology Mission Division, DST: 011-26590207 (Head, Nano Science and Technology programme)
• Address: Department of Science & Technology, Technology Bhawan, New Mehrauli Road, New Delhi 110016
• Proposal portal: onlinedst.gov.in
• Programme page: dst.gov.in

The DST programme page lists scientists handling the programme along with their official phone numbers and email addresses; use those for queries specific to an ongoing project or a live call.