India to sign pact with EU to participate in FAIR project
India will sign a pact with the European Union to participate in the Facility for Anti-Proton and Ion Research (FAIR) project, which will aim to understand the tiniest particles in the universe. The Expression of Interest document will be signed by India and the EU at the first ever meeting of EU and India Science Ministers on 7 February. 'India's contribution to the project would be to the tune of 80 million dollars [€61.5 million],' said Kapil Sibal, the Indian Minister for Science and Technology and Earth Sciences. The total cost of the project will add up to just over €2 billion, with Germany picking up a 75% stake. The remaining 25% will be shared between eight countries, reports the Press Trust of India. FAIR is an international accelerator facility based on existing innovations, as well as new technological concepts. To be constructed in Darmstadt, Germany, the facility will be used to study the building blocks of universe, namely the matter at the level of atoms, atomic nuclei, protons and neutrons. The EU-India Ministerial Conference on Science will discuss ways to strengthen the scope and quality of scientific co-operation with India, within the context of the continued development of a European Research Area. It will be co-chaired by Kapil Sibal, Annette Schavan, the German Federal Minister of Science, and European Science and Research Commissioner, Janez Potocnik. 'India and the EU have much to learn from each other in the field of science' said Commissioner Potocnik before his departure. 'We have both recognised that our people, and their knowledge, are our best resource. We are working together in major projects such as the GEANT network, Galileo satellite system and ITER fusion energy project. I hope that my visit, and especially the EU-India Ministerial Meeting, will give added impetus to an already flourishing relationship,' he added. Between 2002 and 2006 more than 75 projects were funded involving Indian researchers and new opportunities are opening up with the advent of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), which has a structure that is more open to international partnerships than its predecessors. A highlight of the conference will be the participation of 15 science icons, three Nobel laureates and top scientists from Europe, who will also interact with 500 PhD scholars from across the country.
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