India, Kazakhstan expected to conclude new deals during PM Modi's visit

During Prime Minister Modi's visit to Kazakhstan, new agreements are expected to be signed.

They could include one for the supply of uranium and deals linked to energy and defence. The Cambridge University spin-off CamCool Ltd. and Salwan Media Ventures have announced the launch a global technological initiative led by Indian and Kazakh experts that will focus on harnessing the potential of quantum technologies (QT).

Focusing on the diverse possibilities of quantum effects in physics at the atomic- and molecular-level, this new platform, CamKazInd fund, aims to bring together - Kazakhstan's access to rare-earth elements and mineral wealth; India's human capital; and the expertise of Cambridge scientists in developing a range of the latest technologies - to catalyze the third industrial revolution.

"The possibilities offered by our Cambridge-Kazakhstan-India new quantum technologies (QT) platform are limitless scientifically, commercially, and also in terms of providing a strategy to unlock access to advanced technologies and expertise that have so far been hidden away in the ivory towers of Western institutions," said Dr. Siddharth Saxena, a senior research scientist from Cavendish Laboratory, while talking about the purpose of this partnership,

Dr. Saxena also chairs the Cambridge Central Asia Forum (CCAF) and serves as the Director of Cambridge Kazakhstan Centre for Peace and Accord.

Dr. Saxena, who is a highly decorated physicist, political analyst and science policy expert, is credited with discovering four new superconductors, including the first ferromagnetic superconductor. He has been awarded with a presidential medal of honour from Kazakhstan in 2011 and a medal for service to education in Kazakhstan in 2009.

Chokan Laumulin, who has co-authored the book 'The Kazakhs: Children of the Steppes', said the new technological initiative supports and emphasizes on the importance of Kazakhstan to join the BRICS Alliance as a natural partner.

"New materials are the key bottleneck in progress of electronics, manufacturing drill-bits for oil-rigs, facilitating development of energy efficient construction, and even developing new and more effective drug-delivery systems in healthcare," added Laumulin, who has launched two national TV stations and served as the Chief Editor of KontinenT Magazine, a major Kazakh publication reporting on political and economic issues.

The latest quantum technologies now offer novel uses for Kazakhstan's wealth in rare-earth elements and minerals, for use in whole new areas of industry. For example, manipulation of quantum spins can produce refrigeration that no longer requires cumbersome compressors or use of environmentally damaging gases such as CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) and HCFCs (hydrochlorofluorocarbons) like R-12 or R-22. Such technologies have the potential to power our computers, keep our food fresh and bring our mobile phone bills down.

Serial entrepreneur Harjiv Singh, Founder and CEO of Salwan Media Ventures, that envisions creating a 21st-century knowledge economy in India and South Asia through the confluence of media, technology and education, said Kazakhstan's potential must be viewed in a much broader league than just fuelling India's energy needs.

"By coupling Kazakhstan's rich mineral and financial resources, powered by the world's most advanced tech know-how in new-age quantum technologies from leading researchers such as Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge, and India's ability to produce for a global scale, Kazakhstan can play a role comparable to, if not bigger than, what Western corporates did in delivering Indian IT potential to world," said Singh.

"This next-generation partnership can entirely revolutionize the way we live, and help solve the most complex problems facing humankind, in terms of fast-depleting precious resources, and worsening environmental conditions," he added.

Prime Minister Modi will reach Kazakhstan on July 7.