IIT Madras to receive 242 Cr grant for undertaking research on Lab Grown Diamonds

chennai: indian institute of technology madras (iit madras) will be provided a grant of rs. 242 crore over a period of five years to undertake research on lab grown diamonds (lgd). this research will be focused on driving indigenization of the lgd manufacturing process. presenting the budget 2023 on wednesday (1st feb 2023), nirmala sitharaman, finance minister, government of india, said, “lab grown diamonds (lgd) is a technology and innovation-driven emerging sector with high employment potential. these environment-friendly diamonds have optically and chemically the same properties as natural diamonds. to encourage indigenous production of lgd seeds and machines and to reduce import dependency, a research and development grant will be provided to one of the iits for five years.”as per a recommendation made by department of commerce, the research grant of rs. 242 crore over a period of five years to iit madras has been approved. the research grants will go towards various departments and research groups of the institute that are involved in this field. iit madras has a rich history of undertaking cutting-edge and translational research with significant applications in industry and society. the global diamond market demands bigger and high pure lab-grown diamond crystals for commercial and electronic applications. there is a need for research and development to conduct systematic studies to optimize the process parameters to grow high pure large-volume and scalable diamond crystals, which will help india to become the world leader in lab-grown diamonds. the core faculty from physics, mechanical engineering and electrical engineering departments of iit madras also have a good number of core researchers with expertise in various requirements listed above.