Germany to invest in Sustainability Centre

CHENNAI: Germany would contribute over 12 million euros for the Indo-German Centre for Sustainability (IGCS) in Chennai to boost research in energy, land-use, waste management and water, according to Thomas Rachel, parliamentary state secretary, Ministry of Education and Research.

Addressing a press conference after the inauguration of the centre here on Monday, Rachel said Germany would invest 3.7 million euros every year for the next four years to develop sustainability research with the objective of developing cross-cutting problem - solving approaches that are consistent with balancing the needs of economic development, ecological resilience and social accountability.

The centre, first of its kind in India, is supported by IIT-M, the Department of Science and Technology and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) under the initiative, ‘A New Passage to India’, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, Germany.

Director of the Indian Institute of Technology - Madras and co-chairman of IGCS advisory board Dr M S Ananth said Union Minister for Human Resources Development Kapil Sibal had agreed to provide a grant matching the German package.

He also said the new building for IGCS would be ready by next year.

Earlier, delivering the inaugural address, Rachel said while India’s growth would continue for the next 20 years, it would face challenges like rise in greenhouse gas emissions and proper distribution of land and water resources.

“With 80 per cent of India yet to be developed the focus will be on development of sustainable power generation and innovative technology,” he said.

Noted Indian scientist and Rajya Sabha MP M S Swaminathan stressed the need for developing and Indo-German patent bank for sustainable development.

He said the centre should not only develop new technology but also stick to social inclusion in access to technology.

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