S Krishnan, Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), marked a significant milestone by inaugurating the SWASTHA project and the state-of-the-art ISO 5 and 6 clean room facilities at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati's Centre for Nanotechnology on Friday, February 9, states ANI.
SWASTHA (Smart Wearable Advanced NanoSensing Technologies in Healthcare ASICs), aims to transform healthcare through cutting-edge nanoelectronic theranostic devices. The project is committed to delivering top-notch products and prototypes in micro/nanoelectronics and nanomaterials, with a special focus on healthcare and energy applications, as per a press release from IIT Guwahati, reports ANI.
Speaking during the event, Krishnan said, "The successful establishment of the clean room facilities and the implementation of the SWASTHA Centre for Excellence is an epoch-making event in the North-Eastern region because the young human resources can now utilise these world-class high-end facilities available at their doorstep to pursue their lofty scientific and technological dreams."
The ISO 5 and 6 clean room facilities, the first of their kind in North-East India, are dedicated to promoting awareness and training in micro/nano electronic fabrication, fostering industrial research and development, and supporting the Indian Nanoelectronics Users Programme (INUP), the release mentioned.
"In short, this has been a phenomenal start to this pioneering centre in North-East India, which has set a new benchmark for all such activities to follow not only in this region but also in the country," Krishnan added.
According to the ANI report, the project and facilities are tailored towards achieving high technology readiness levels (TRL), fostering deep-tech innovation and invention, providing support for start-ups and entrepreneurship, ensuring long-term sustainability, capacity building, revenue generation, and collaboration with experts in India and abroad for both academia and industry professionals, it added.
He commended IIT Guwahati's ongoing contributions to supporting the Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India initiatives of the Government of India by cultivating a robust ecosystem for multidisciplinary research, development, and commercialisation.