Another science research hub for Bangalore

BANGALORE: The International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS) of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai, will soon have a campus in Bangalore, at Hessaraghatta.
A five-day event — Science without boundaries — being held at the Indian Institute of Science till December 31 marked the foundation-laying ceremony of the ICTS campus.National research professor CNR Rao said the intention is to further enhance the image of Bangalore as the country's science capital.
Nobel laureate David Gross, director, Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, USA, said he's pleased about changes in the Indian science scene. ICTS has been functioning since September 2007, and has already conducted 21 programmes with 1,200 participants (400 from abroad). Seventeen more programmes are planned in the near future in fields like material science and astronomy.
The campus, to be built over 17 acres at a cost of Rs 80 crore, is expected to be ready by 2012. ICTS director Spenta R Wadia said the centre will have a faculty of around 30 professors in the next 15 years. "By 2015, we will have ten permanent faculty. This apart, we will have several scientists and students visiting from abroad," he said.
The centre envisages to converge not only science research in various fields, but also give students a broader spectrum by integrating humanities and arts, conceiving of writer-in-residence programmes, lectures, workshops, etc. It will facilitate rapid response short-term workshops, sabbaticals, short-term programmes.
The Tata Institute campus in Mumbai has reached saturation in terms of space. Hence a 200-acre site in Hyderabad has been chosen, which will be developed soon.
MEETING POWER DEMAND
Atomic Energy Commission chairman S Banerjee said the country will need 6 lakh MW of power by 2032. "Nuclear power will be able to supply only 10% of this — 60,000 MW. That is better than the 3% we are able to supply now," he said. Emphasizing that the road map in terms of atomic power cannot be changed but only modified, Banerjee, who took over recently from Anil Kakodkar, said the commission will set up nuclear reactors and energy parks with foreign-made reactors. Each of these parks will have up to six reactors, each with a capacity of 1,000 to 1,650 MW.