Using robotic tools, Indian and Australian scientists will undertake more in-depth studies to assess the changing features of the  Indian Ocean, which have a bearing on the Indian monsoon as well as its marine life and vegetation. Similarly, they will model environmental changes in a world that is getting warmer, especially of semi-arid areas.

  These are a few of the 15 innovative research projects to be taken up under the Australia-India Strategic Research Fund (AISRF).

  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 team’s participation.

The participating institutions from India include the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore;  IIT Bombay; the National Institute of Oceanography; the Punjab Agricultural University; the 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; the Queensland University of Technology; CSIRO and Deakin University.

Australia’s High Commissioner to India, Patrick Suckling said: “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 — even a project on how to use cloud computing to help with disaster management.”

The AISRF will also support projects in the fields of renewable energy, food and water security, biomedical devices and implants, nanotechnology, bioremediation and astronomy and astrophysics.

   Somasekhar.m@thehindu.co.in

    

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