innovation in nanotechnology an asia-pacific perspective - apctt

VI. NEPAL 9
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A. Background
Nepal is a beautiful country situated in the mid-Himalayan Mountain section of Asia. It
borders Tibet on the north and India on the east, south and west. It is a landlocked
country situated at a distance of about 1120 km from the nearest sea, the Bay of
Bengal. The country extends from 26° 22' N to 30° 27' N latitude and 80° 4' E to 88° 12'
E longitude. Nepal has a total land area of 147,181 km 2 . Altitudinal variation ranging
from 55 m to almost 9,000 m has contributed to the occurrence of sub-tropical,
temperate, alpine and arctic climate and vegetation within the country. Topographically,
Nepal is divided into three zones: (1) the snow-capped high Himalayas; (2) the
mountainous region, including long terraces and fertile slopes; and (3) sub-tropical
plain Terai region. Mountains lay on 35 per cent of the total land area and 7.8 per cent
of the total population, hills with 42 per cent of total land area and 45.2 per cent of total
population and plains in the south with 23 per cent of the land area and 47 per cent of
total population.
The population of the country is 27.15 million and growing at a rate of 2.3 per cent per
annum. Estimated per capita GNP for the year 2008 was US$470. Nepal is one of the
least developed countries in the world. Nepal’s economy is based on agriculture and
66 per cent of the total gainfully employed population is engaged in the primary sector,
including agriculture, forestry and fishery. The composition of Nepalese economy can
be broadly divided as agriculture (40 per cent), commercial sector (10 per cent), industry
sector (10 per cent – out of which small and cottage industries account for nearly 90
per cent) and service sector and others (40 per cent). Literacy of the population in
2001 was 54.1 per cent. More than 86 per cent of the total population still lives in rural
areas. Nepal’s per capita income is about US$470 (2008).
B. Status of nanotechnology in Nepal
The knowledge of advancement of nanotechnology and its impact to different facets of
society are yet to be well established among the Nepalese scientific community. The
available national policy and strategies do not reflect anything for the promotion of
nanotechnology. However, some researchers and scientists who were educated abroad
and have some familiarity with nanotechnology are doing research works on their own
and providing research guidance to students at various departments of the Tribhuvan
University. For instance, the central department of chemistry of the university is working
on:
� Polymer-based nanotechnology such as synthesis and functionalization of
nanoparticles;
� Study on the effect of filler loading on various physical properties of polymeric
materials; and
� Amphiphilic polymers that self-assemble to form periodic nanostructures – such
polymers can be used as templates for preparing nano-objects.
9 This paper was presented by Mr. Ramesh Singh Pradhan, Executive Director, Research
Centre for Applied Science and Technology (RECAST), Nepal.