TIRUPATI: Tirupati is likely to get a new Sophisticated Analytical and Technical Help Institute (Sathi) soon, according to MP Dr Maddila Gurumurthy. The institutes are being set up by the Union department of science and technology (DST) to build professionally managed and strong science and technology infrastructures.
The Sathi is expceted to be accessible to academia, start-ups, manufacturing units, industries and research and development (R&D) labs and will come up in major educational hubs. They will be equipped with analytical instruments and advanced manufacturing facilities, which is usually not available at institutes or organisations, according to the DST plans.
It is considered to be more useful in cities like Tirupati, which have reputed national institutes like IIT and IISER, along with several other universities.
With an aim to make Tirupati a R&D cluster, Dr Gurumurthy sought the support of Dr Jitendra Singh, Union minister of state for DST, to establish a Sathi and a National Institute for Sustainable Chemistry in the Tirupati parliament constituency.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, Dr Gurumurthy claimed that Dr Singh had responded positively. The letters for approval had been forwarded and Tirupati would have a Sathi soon, the MP said.
The MP said Tirupati required capital equipment and operating facilities, sectoral experts, business planning support, access to seed capital, industry partnerships, training and other components. According to him, Sathi will have facilities for fabrication work, rapid prototyping, material testing, characterisation, device fabrication and smart manufacturing facilities among others. These were designed to attract and help R&D labs, medium, small and micro enterprises (MSMEs), incubators and start-ups.
Sathi will organise short-term courses, workshops and hands-on training programmes on the use and application of various instruments, it was stated.
