FICCI, in partnership with Ministry of Science and Technology organizes India R & D Conferences, on annual basis. The previous India R&D Conferences held on the themes "India as World's Knowledge Hub of the Future" (2005), "Commercialization of Innovation: Mind to Market" (2006) and "Innovation - Advantage India" (2007) met with incredible success in terms of sensitizing the industry, R&D institutes and investors on various issues influencing the growth of India's Science and Technology.

Carrying forward its earnest efforts, FICCI is now holding a series of India R&D Conferences with sectoral focus to allow formulation of sector-specific action plans and recommendations for industry, investors and policy makers. The first Conference in the Series "India R & D 2008: Nanotechnology - The Science of the Future" is scheduled on 5th September 2008 at FICCI, Federation House, New Delhi.

Through this Conference, FICCI aims to generate an environment of informed enthusiasm for Nanotechnology amongst various stakeholders, especially industry players.

Nanotechnology has the potential to address various concerns of humanity by providing comprehensive solutions for sustainable development (such as drug delivery, water remediation, agricultural productivity, etc.). Indian nanotechnology industry is in its infancy and projected to grow many folds. India acknowledged this importance by setting up Nano Science and Technology Mission and Vision Group to develop national nanotechnology policy which intends to address regulatory, safety, infrastructure & human resource development issues. However, considerable fillip is required to increase commercialisation efforts and enthusiasm of the industry.

FICCI R & D Conferences have objective to espouse the diverse Indian approach to innovation, invention and creativity, as they tend to opt for cost effective innovation and also to convince the world on the benefits that would be generated by collaborating and investing in R&D. India in the last few decades has added a number of 'most preferred' tags to itself- from being a favored IT hub, to becoming the back office of the world and now, the knowledge center of the world. India is quickly moving up the value chain by becoming a global R&D hub providing cutting-edge research and development. India is also moving ahead in the R&D value chain, with the country increasingly attracting investments in high-end R&D.

• India is the only developing country and sixth worldwide to manufacture and launch its own satellites in a geo-stationary orbit and has also launched satellites for foreign customers such as Germany and Korea. Now it is planning a moon mission in 2008.
  
• According to Department of Biotechnology, about 165 institutions in the country are engaged in genetic engineering research, comprising 55 in transgenic work, 25 in therapeutics and 85 in basic research
  
• India is one of the few countries that have developed stem cell lines as part of the stem cell network worldwide
  
• In the pharmaceutical sector, India has the largest number of FDA approved plants after the US. According to the Accelerator Group Outlook, the contract research organization (CRO) market is set grow to US$ 1 billion by 2010.
  
• Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has developed the world's first nano-material based water purifier.
  

The Indian advances in space technology, nuclear science, IT, computers, Automobiles, pharmacy, manufacturing, biotechnology, energy, nanotechnology, defence automobiles, aviation, theoretical physics, and statistics etc., have repeatedly shown that invention in India is becoming an important part of the economic activity. It is estimated that 225 Fortune 500 companies have R&D centers in India. According to the Global Competitiveness Report 2005-06, India Ranks 1 in the availability of Scientists and Engineers in the World. India boasts of 350000 Engineers, 25000 medical Doctors, 12000 PhDs. Thus when we speak of "Advantage India", we speak of

• Rich intellectual resource base
  
• Steady growth of the Economy at the rate of 8-9% and with low recession expectations
  
• Strong capital markets, essential for innovation
  
• Cost effective research services
  
• TRIPs compliant IPR regime
  
• Proactive and positive policy initiatives of the government to encourage Innovation
  
• Conducive legal framework

The R&D activities in India have been escalated due to the change in the government attitude and approaches. To address the technological innovations, formulation of comprehensive Government policies is a prerequisite. In the recent years, Indian Government has devised various innovative and investor friendly policies to promote the country's economic development. Some such policies include the SEZ Act, Broadcasting Service Regulation Bill, the Telecom Policy 1999, etc. One of the emphasis has been towards development of highly educated, technology oriented manpower that can be a source to pursue technology based economic development.