IIT Madras to set up factory for manufacturing lab diamonds

2 mins readUpdated on Feb 6, 2023 18:42 IST
IIT Madras Director Professor V Kamakoti while talking to Shiksha.com revealed that the diamond factory to undertake research on lab-grown diamonds is being planned on Discovery campus, which is 25 km away from the current campus. He also talks about the importance of lab-grown diamonds and how they are planning to implement the project.

IIT Madras Director Professor V Kamakoti while talking to Shiksha.com revealed that the diamond factory to undertake research on lab-grown diamonds is being planned on Discovery campus, which is 25 km away from the current campus. He also talks about the importance of lab-grown diamonds and how they are planning to implement the project. 

The India Centre for Lab Grown Diamonds (InCent-LGD) at IIT Madras has been identified for the project based on its two decades of experience in diamond research.

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras is planning to set up a diamond factory on its Discovery campus, which is 25 km away from the current campus, wherein research in the field of lab-grown diamonds (LGDs) will be undertaken, IIT Madras Director Professor V Kamakoti told Shiksha.com. 

The institute has been selected for the grant of INR 242 crore over a period of five years. The research on LGDs was announced during the Union Budget 2023. The India Centre for Lab Grown Diamonds (InCent-LGD) at IIT Madras has been identified for the project based on its two decades of experience in diamond research. The research will lay emphasis on driving the indigenous manufacturing of LGDs.  

Q:   What are the facilities provided by IIT Madras?
A:

IIT Madras provides modern amenities with state-of-the-art infrastructure to its students. IIT Madras is spread over an area of 617 acre and provides various facilities. Some of the facilities include The Centre for Innovation (CFI), hospitals, central library, sports, open air theatre, place to worship, banks, canteens, transport, hostels, etc.

Q:   What is the seat intake for BTech at IIT Madras?
A:

The total seat intake for IIT Madras BTech course is 994. Candidates can check out the IIT Madras specialisation-wise seat intake for a few BTech courses in the table given below: 

MTech SpecialisationSeat Intake
Mechanical Engineering215
Electrical Engineering154
Civil Engineering127
Chemical Engineering117
Computer Science and Engineering87
Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering78
Metallurgical and Materials Engineering68
Aerospace Engineering63
Biological Engineering43
Engineering Physics42

 

Q:   Does IIT Madras provide hostel facility?
A:
IIT Madras provides hostel facility both for boys and girls. It has 19 hostels, out of which four are for girls and 15 are for boys. The facilities of the hostel include sports, music rooms, tech rooms, and a TV room. It also has a garden and a library.

Shiksha.com talked to IIT Madras Director Professor V Kamkoti wherein he talked about the importance of LGDs and how they are planning to implement the project. 

He said, “Lab-grown diamonds are becoming extremely important today. These have very good thermal and electronic properties. These will be used in electronic applications in a very big way, including all 5G/6G technologies that are coming up. Diamonds have much better electrical and thermal properties than the conventional semiconductors and other materials like silicon, silicon carbide and gallium nitride which are currently used for making chips.” 

He went on to add, “We are setting up a diamond factory on our Discovery Campus, which is around 25 km away from our current campus. We will be buying advanced equipment and everything that is required for the purpose. We will be working on diamond wafers specifically for electronic applications and mainly looking for gem-quality diamonds.” 

Interdisciplinary project  

On being asked whether the institute will be hiring additional manpower for the purpose, Prof Kamakoti said, “It is an interdisciplinary project. A group of 4-5 faculty will be involved in this project. Professor MS Ramachandra Rao from the Department of Physics will be the principal investigator for this initiative. We have to budget the equipment, etc. In one year, we should have a full-fledged roadmap.” 

Q:   Is there any canteen facility available at IIT Madras?
A:

Yes, the IIT Madras provides canteen facility for day scholars and hostellers looking for something different to eat.

The following are the food joints available on IIT Madras Campus:

Eateries

Opening time

Closing time

Bachelors Restaurant FFT

9:00

21:00

Coolbiz-Girls SFC

9:00

0:00

Grama Bhojanam-FFT

9:00

21:00

Café Coffee Day (CCD)

10:00

0:00

Kannan Catering Services-FFT

9:00

21:00

Leo Fortune

7:00

23:45

Student Tea Stall

12:00

4:00

Indian Coffee House

9:00

18:00

Stud Dosa-Girls SFC

17:00

0:00

Usha Café-Girls SFC

9:00

4:00

Woss-FFT

9:00

21:00

Wow Momo-FFT

9:00

21:00

Anjappar Chettinad Rest.

9:00

22:30

IIT Madras Director welcomes increased allocation for institute 

The IIT Madras Director welcomed the increased allocation for the institute. He said, “We are very pleased that like every year, the allocation of funds to the institute has been increased. Though the break-up is yet to come, we are happy with whatever has been allocated. We are also given rise in salary on yearly basis. That’s an increment.”  

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. Lab-grown diamonds are often addressed as man-made diamonds. These take 15-30 days to create in a laboratory. The only difference between lab-grown diamond and natural diamond is that instead of digging the earth, it is created in a lab under a machine. 

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