BV Mahalakshmi Nanotechnology, the manipulation of matter at the scale of atoms and molecules, seems to be the buzzword among the Indian public sector, private enterprises and the research community these days. Research is in top gear at over 100-odd companies in the public and private domain and there are 50 universities to harness the potential of this technology. Areas of applications with immediate impact could be seen in the areas of drug delivery to treat tumour or cancer, solar energy, display technologies, opto-electronic devices and semiconductor devices in nanoelectronics. Research and development is in top gear at public sector major Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) in its endeavour to become an all-inclusive engineering enterprise. Aiding these initiatives is its R&D arm which is consolidating its knowledge base using emerging technologies such as nano materials. Nano science is one of those frontier technologies which is used across many verticals such as pharma, textiles, paints, cement etc and is primarily used for enhancement of capacities. It is now in power plants as well. Nano materials exhibit novel properties and its applications can be used in power systems and develop applications for product and systems. BHEL is setting up a dedicated facility, the Centre for Nano Technology, at its corporate R&D centre in Hyderabad.