INTRODUCTION

Department of Small Scale Industries Agro and Rural Industries under the Ministry of Industry, Government of India have launched various schemes for TamilNadu like Integrated Infrastructural Development Scheme, Upgradation of Industrial Estates under additional central assistance scheme, Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme, Setting up of Techno parks and Design Innovation Incubators.

I. INTEGRATED INFRASTRUCTURAL DEVELOPMENT SCHEME

Pursuant of policy measures for promoting and strengthening small, tiny and village enterprises, Ministry of Industry, Department of Small Scale Industries Agro and Rural Industries, Government of India have launched Integrated Infrastructural Development Scheme (IID) in March 1994 for Small Scale Industries in Rural and Backward areas. Under this scheme, Central Government and SIDBI will provide an amount not exceeding Rs.500 lakhs as grant and loan (by SIDBI) in the ration 2:3 respectively to each centre (Industrial Estate) to undertake development of land / plots and to create infrastructure facilities like construction of road, drainage, water supply, power distribution network, effluent treatment, common facilities / amenities, etc. The cost in excess of Rs.500 lakhs will be met by the implementing agencies. The implementing agency can implement the Scheme from their own funds also and in such cases the 40% grant will be disbursed to the implementing agency directly. Government of India have now modified the scheme to the effect that the 50% of the IID centres sanctioned should be in backward and rural area and 50% of plots should be allotted to tiny industries.

TANSIDCO has obtained sanction for formation of the following six new Industrial Estates:

Sl.No.	Name of the Project	Project Cost sanctioned (Rs.inlakhs)
1	MAHIA (Urangampatti)	444
2	Thirumudivakkam (Kancheepuram Dist.)	560
3	Vichoor (Thiruvallur District)	200
4	Thirumuallivoyal (Thiruvallur District)	475
5	Valavanthankottai	615
6	Karuppur (Salem)	13

Further Government of India is now sanctioning assistance under IID schemes for strengthening and upgrading the infrastructure of existing Industrial Estates. The following two Industrial Estates have been taken up by TANSIDCO under this scheme.
Rs. in lakhs
1. Guindy Industrial Estate 1002.24
2. Hosur Industrial Estate 62

II. ADDITIONAL CENTRAL ASSISTANCE SCHEME

The Government have now sanctioned Rs.200 lakhs under Additional Central Assistance Scheme for the year 2003-2004 under the head 'Upgradation of Industrial Estates' for upgradation of infrastructure in four Industrial Estates of TANSIDCO.

Under this scheme, the beneficiaries i.e. unit holders of the Industrial Estate / SSI Association have to contribute 40% of such project cost in instalments with reasonable initial payment. After having discussion with the Manufacturers' Association of the concerned Industrial Estates, the following four Industrial Estates have been taken up for upgradation by TANSIDCO under this scheme.

Sl.No.	Name of the Industrial Estate	Scheme Cost	Contribution by Beneficiaries	Funds available under ACA
1	Kappalur	120	48	72
2	Pettai	24	9.60	14.40
3	Kakkalur	65	20	45
4	Ranipettai	110	44s	66

III. INDUSTRIAL INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADATION SCHEME

The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Government of India has introduced in the 10th Five Year Plan, a new scheme called Industrial Cluster Development Scheme for upgradation of Industrial Clusters. Now, the above Scheme has been renamed as Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme (IIUS).

Objective
The Primary objective of the IIUS scheme is to improve international competitiveness of the domestic industry by strategic interventions to provide quality infrastructure by encouraging public-private partnership in infrastructure development to all sectors of the industry and secure improvements in performance against a set of competitiveness indicators to be developed in consultation with the each industrial group.

Eligible activities:
i) Upgradation of physical infrastructure-transport, road, water, power (captive generating units, transmission and distribution) Communication, Common effluent treatment plant and conveyance and solid waste management.
ii) Upgradation of HRD facilities including skill upgradation
iii) Strengthening of R and D Infrastructure
iv) Common tool room
v) Information / Marketing infrastructure
vi) Financial infrastructure

Funding pattern
The funding pattern envisaged in the scheme is that Central Assistance per cluster / location wil be restricted to 75% of the project cost subject to a ceiling of Rs.50 crore. The remaining 25% will be financed by other stake holders of the respective cluster/location with minimum industry contribution of 15% of total project cost and Government funding will be confined only to creation of durable assets and activities relating to productivity enhancement and no recurring expenditure will be funded from Government contribution.

Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV)
SPV as envisaged in the scheme for leveraging the funds, will be a Corporate Body/Association with certain minimum contribution from the industry and it will ensure sustainability of assets created by appropriate user charges/revenue generation mechanism.
Hence SPV should be formed under Companies/Societies Act.

At present, TANSIDCO participate in the following IIUS in Tamilnadu:

1) Cluster of Auto ancillary units
It is proposed to implement Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme for the cluster of Auto Components Manufacturing units located at Ambattur, Thirumudivakkam and Thirumazhisai Industrial Estates in association with Automobile Component Manufacturers functioning inside / outside Industrial Estates and the vehicle manufacturers at a total project cost of about Rs.51.50 crores. As regards providing physical infrastructure under the scheme, the major thrust is proposed for upgradation of the above Industrial Estates.

2) Pharmaceutical Cluster
It is proposed to implement the Industrial Infrastructure Upgradation Scheme for the cluster of Pharmaceutical units located at TANSIDCO Industrial Estate, Alathur and other pharmaceutical units in Tamil Nadu at a total project cost of about Rs.20 crores.

3) Pumps & Motors Cluster
TANSIDCO associates in the proposal for the cluster of Pumps & Motors manufacturing which is being prepared by CODISSIA, at a total project cost of about Rs.66 crores at Coimbatore. The proposal also includes the upgradation of infrastructure of TANSIDCO Industrial Estate at Kurichi, Coimbatore.

4) Engineering & Technical Cluster
TANSIDCO also participate in the project of cluster covering Engineering industries at Tiruchy which is being prepared by BHELSSIA at a clost of about Rs.65 crores. The project covers the Engineering industries located in Tiruchy District and include the upgradation of the physical infrastructure of Industrial Estates under the control of SIDCO namely Thuvakudi, Thiruverambur and Ariyamangalam.

IV) SETTING UP OF TECHNO PARKS

TANSIDCO also contemplate for formation of Techno Parks i.e. micro industrial estates with necessary common service facilities at the following places in the State:
1. Vinnamangalam (Vellore District)
2. Mayiladuthurai (NagapattinamDistrict)
3. Vadaveeranaickenpatti, Theni (Theni District)
4. Kumbakudy (TiruchyDistrict)
5. Rasapalayam (Namakkal District)
Necessary steps are taken to get land at these places for setting up of Techno Parks.

V. DESIGN INNOVATION INCUBATOR

Over a period of time, the strategy of yester years developed and implemented promoting new entrepreneurial ventures is found to be short of meeting the current requirements for promoting new technology-based ventures, mainly in the information-communication-technology enabled services. The Department of Science and Technology (DST) of the Government of India, duly recognizing this, has sponsored a proposal to establish a "Design Innovation Incubator" at Tiruchy for providing common hardware and software facilities to new start-up industries in particular and to existing industry also, mainly in CAD/CAM/CAE/GIS Disgitisation areas. The project outlay is Rs.1.73 crores and the incubator is expected to go on stream during 2004-05.

Irrigated Agriculture Modernisation and Water Resources Management Project

The Project for all river basin in Tamil Nadu called Irrigated Agriculture Modernisation and Water Resources Management Project at a cost of about Rs. 2547 Crores is a multi-disciplinary perspective expanding upon the successful of the Hanuman nadhi sub basin Pilot Project. The Proposed Project objective is to improve the sustainable productivity of water in irrigated agriculture and to build a frame work of effective water resources management in Tamil Nadu.
http://iamwarm.org

Two Russian State Corporations Sign Nanotechnology Cooperation Accord

The directors of the state-owned corporations Rosatom (nuclear power generation) and Rosnanotekh (nanotechnology) have signed a cooperation agreement in the field of nanotechnology, nanomaterials, scientific-technological forecasting and promising markets.

The document was inked by Rosatom director general Sergei Kiriyenko and Rosnanotekh director general Leonid Melamed.

The directors noted that their cooperation would be developing in four main spheres. Kiriyenko said these are, in the first place, materials sciences and medicine.

He reminded that Russian President Vladimir Putin had set the task "to develop radiological medicine, based on the potential of nuclear technologies."

According to him, Russia has a perspective in this sphere both on the domestic and the world market, where it has been "a raw-materials appendage" for a long time. Now it is time to begin to supply finished products.

"For its part, Rosatom is ready for cooperation from the point of view of contractor and project collaborator," Kiriyenko emphasized.

He also noted that the key task for both corporations is "to make their products competitive on world markets."

The products jointly produced by the state corporations will also be in demand on the domestic market. For example, Rosatom needs materials sciences for implementing a large program to build new reactors in Russia.

For his part, Melamed added "super conductivity, in its practical application, and membranes for the "Pure Water" project are a among his corporation's priority directions in cooperation. Melamed said the fact that "Rosnanotekh began cooperation with Rostaom is the acknowledgement of Rosatom as one of the most high-tech enterprises."

At present, work has begun on a number of large projects, whose joint implementation will help create the necessary conditions for successful promotion of the two corporations' high-tech products on the domestic and international markets

Source: http://www.nanowerk.com/news/newsid=4818.php

Nanotech Strategy

Prioritizing federal efforts for studying health and safety of nanomaterials evolves

Ever since manufacturers began using engineered nanomaterials in industrial processes and commercial products, some observers have raised concerns about the potential for these materials to be hazardous to human health or the environment. These worries prompted the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI), the consortium of federal agencies that study or regulate nanomaterials, to devise a research strategy to answer questions about potential environmental, health, and safety (EHS) consequences of this new technology.

HIDDEN IMPACT The health effects that might come from exposure to carbon nanotubes are among the issues the federal research strategy is trying to address.

The latest report by NNI's Nanotechnology Environmental & Health Implications (NEHI) working group—established to monitor the federal research in the field and to set agency priorities—does just that. Although the report offers a more focused framework of research needs and priorities than have some past efforts, some in the field say the report overstates how much EHS research is going on, particularly when it comes to human exposure studies.

Clayton Teague, director of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office, is more upbeat. "This research strategy is the result of a terrific team effort led by the NEHI working group," he says. "It reflects a strong consensus and commitment among the NNI member agencies on the roles they will assume to move the federal efforts in nanotechnology-related EHS research forward. The quality of the document demonstrates that the NNI is working hard to understand nano EHS issues in a systematic and coordinated fashion."

On the basis of estimates provided by the relevant federal agencies, the government will spend nearly $1.5 billion on nanotechnology projects in 2008, with $58.6 million devoted to EHS research. In its study, however, NEHI compiled a database of all federally funded nanotech research and found that $67.8 million was spent in 2006 on 246 EHS-related research projects at seven agencies. This amount includes all projects that have an EHS component of any kind.

To help agencies spend their money wisely, the NEHI strategy focuses on five major research areas: instrumentation and analytical methods, nanomaterials and human health, nanomaterials and the environment, human exposure assessment, and risk management methods. Much of the report, titled "Strategy for Nanotechnology-Related Environmental Health and Safety Research," is devoted to descriptions of current research activities in each of these categories.

For example, the majority of the research funds, and the greatest number of projects, are in the first two categories. Work in those areas tends to be heavy in basic research on the characteristics of the nanomaterials rather than on exposure studies and risk management protocols.

The revised strategy recognizes that more work is needed in some areas and makes specific recommendations for each of the broad categories. These include improved analytical methods for identifying and measuring nanomaterials, development of a database of nanomaterial properties, development of methods for quantifying human responses to exposures, and characterizing the health of exposed persons and the environment.

Critics of NEHI's proposed strategy for EHS research point out that relatively little research attention has been paid to the measurement of actual human exposures. Some critics also complain that the government has used too generous a definition in considering what constitutes an environmental or health study and that, as a result, the new report gives an inflated view of the government's effort.

"The truth is that while the NEHI has made significant strides in this latest effort to present an improved nanotechnology risk research strategy, only about five of the more than 240 identified research projects focus on exposure assessment—which directly affects workers," claims David Rejeski, director of the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, in Washington, D.C. "These are the people who are on the front line and most likely to be exposed to potentially hazardous nanomaterials."

The criticism is echoed by the environmental community. Richard A. Denison, senior scientist with the group Environmental Defense, says the government needs to devote more resources to exposure assessments. We have hundreds of nanoproducts on the market, and many clearly pose direct exposure risks, such as cosmetics and some food packaging. We know very little about the hazard from long-term exposure to these materials," Denison says.

One reason for this unbalanced research focus is the political makeup of the nanotech consortium, Denison says. "The odd distribution of environmental and health projects we see may have to do with the established research priorities of the agencies in NNI," he says. For example, the National Science Foundation funds a lot of the projects yet it is seen as emphasizing the applications for nanotechnology. The National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health, on the other hand, gets much less research funding than NSF but should be getting more for nanotech exposure studies, Denison says.

The NNI research priorities do have support from the research community. "These priorities are absolutely the areas where the environmental and health communities say that research needs to be done soon," says Kristen Kulinowski, executive director of the Center for Biological & Environmental Nanotechnology at Rice University and director of the International Council on Nanotechnology.

The NNI strategy is a useful tool for organizing a very complex problem, she says, and it allows researchers in the field to see where the federal investments in nanotech are going to go. "We need to do a lot of groundwork before we can say if these nanomaterials are going to have any impact," Kulinowski says, noting that much of the research that has to be done should focus on the nanoparticles themselves and not the materials containing them. "It's all about the chemistry," she says.

National Nanotechnology Initiative

Nano Spending Most nanotech health and safety research funds go for analytical methods.

"While it may not look like some of the research being done will help us understand environmental problems, it is critical to understand what is out there," Kulinowski says. "Basic research tools, such as particle detection and characterization, are very relevant and without them we would have no quality control or any way to compare lab data to bench results." She says that the various federal agencies involved in this research are going to have to work together to achieve the quickest results, but some have done this before. "We have to remember that so much of what needs to be done is still in the discovery stage," she adds. As the field moves forward, Denison raises another concern regarding the ability of the various agencies involved in the research program to work together. "I see that there may actually be an internal conflict among the agencies at NNI between those that promote and develop this technology and those that are supposed to regulate the possible environmental and health impacts," he says. "Because of this, we need an independent review of the research priorities."

That review should be done by the National Academy of Sciences, Denison says. "A wide number of stakeholders in this issue believe that the federal government needs help in developing a true strategy," he says. An NAS review should include recommendations for how much money should go to various research areas and ways to monitor the results of the research. He adds that Congress appropriated funds for the Environmental Protection Agency to contract with NAS this year to develop such a strategy, but there has been no action by EPA yet.

Source: http://pubs.acs.org/cen/government/86/8609gov2.html?sa_campaign=rss/cen_mag/estnews/2008-03-05/gov2

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