Diamonds, made in a lab: IIT Madras gets Rs 242 cr from Budget for project, calls it ‘historic’

While India is known for its diamond processing and cutting units, in terms of production, it is still far behind.

 

 “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,” Sitharaman had said in her budget speech.

This is indeed the right time to set up a diamond factory in India, given that diamonds have thermal and electrical properties making it superior to contemporary technologies like silicon, silicon carbide and gallium nitride,” professor V. Kamakoti, director, IIT Madras, said in a press statement Thursday.

Kamakoti added: “IIT Madras will work towards producing diamond wafers suitable for electronic applications. It is a historic moment for IIT Madras for being selected for implementation of such an important project, output of which will be a crucial component of Atmanirbhar Bharat.”

InCent-LGD has nearly two decades of work experience in diamond research. M.S. Ramachandra Rao, a professor at IIT Madras’ Department of Physics who will be the principal investigator (he will head the research) for this initiative, told ThePrint that the institute had been in conversation with various ministries for over six months, planning and discussing the LGD initiative.

As the name suggests, lab-grown diamonds are man-made, produced using technology that replicates the natural process which results in the formation of original diamonds. LGDs are chemically, physically, and optically similar to natural diamonds.