India's scientific institutions among world's best: Minister

Kolkata, Jan 1 : Describing the country's scientific and research institutions as comparable with the best in the world, Union Minister of Science and Technology Harsh Vardhan on Monday said India ranks third in the world in the field of nanotechnology.

"In terms of scientific publications, we are on the fifth spot and we have become third in nanotechnology in the world... among the government-funded institutions in scientific research, our Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has become ninth in the list of 1,200 institutions in the whole world," he said.

"We are already comparable with the best in the world," he said addressing the curtain raiser ceremony of Prof. S.N. Bose's 125th birth anniversary celebrations at the S.N. Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences here.

Vardhan urged scientists and researchers to use scientific gains to solve the unresolved issues of the millions of people in India.

Referring to Bose, the minister said his memory and fundamental science theory would inspire future generations.