Indo-Australian Science Projects Get Funding 

Introduction

Using robotic tools, Indo-Australian scientists will undertake an in-depth study to assess the changing features of the Indian Ocean — which has a bearing on the Indian monsoon as well as its marine life and vegetation.

Similarly, they will model environmental changes in the world that is getting warmer, especially in semi-arid areas.

These are a few of the 15 innovative research projects that will be launched soon jointly by Indian and Australian scientists, under the Australia-India Strategic Research Fund (AISRF).

Out of a total Australian commitment of Rs 365.5 crore (AUD 64 million), the Australian Government has given Rs 28.1 crore (AUD 5.06 million) to these initiatives. The Government of India will fund the Indian teams’ participation.

Participating institutions from India include the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore; IIT Bombay; National Institute of Oceanography; Punjab Agricultural University; International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology; and Christian Medical College, Vellore.

From the Australian side, the partner institutions include the University of New South Wales; The University of Melbourne; The University of Sydney; Macquarie University; Queensland University of Technology; CSIRO; and Deakin University.

Patrick Suckling, Australia’s High Commissioner to India, says “We are supporting a diverse array of work — from using new diving robots to better understand the Indian Ocean — to research on a hybrid canola crop to increase yields; we are also supporting a project on using cloud computing to help with disaster management.”

Under the AISRF, the other projects supported are in fields of renewable energy, food and water security, biomedical devices and implants, nanotechnology, bioremediation and astronomy and astrophysics.

Source

The Hindu Business , September 03, 2013