The Hindu Business Line : Jindal Stainless institutes industry chair at NID

JINDAL Stainless Ltd and the National Institute of Design (NID) have instituted an industry chair at the NID's Industrial Design Faculty at Ahmedabad, to take forward design and product innovation in stainless steel.

Announcing the chair, the NID's Executive Director, Dr Darlie O. Koshy, said that there were several firsts in this venture. For NID, it was the very first time that the institute had instituted an industry chair, and for academia, it was the first time that a chair had been instituted exclusively to research the aspect of design and product innovation.

He said that this venture would also be seen as collaboration between business and academia and creates intellectual property rights that could benefit not only the two organisations, but also the country as a whole.

The Rs 2,500-crore Jindal Stainless is already involved in research into applications that stainless steel can be put to. One of the top 15 producers of stainless steel in the world, 40 per cent of its revenue comes from exports.

The material's demand in India is growing at a rate of 8 to 9 per cent per annum.

And with design and product innovation, there are expectations of its increase in leaps and bounds.

Jindal Stainless' architecture division and lifestyle products division have already taken several initiatives that are being seen as breakthroughs in the material.

The company has recently set up road furniture such as benches and dust-bins in Mumbai's Walkeshwar area and soon will be setting up signages, bus shelters to showcase the potential of the material "that is 100 per cent recyclable and does not rust, tarnish, oxidise or corrode," said Mr N.C. Mathur, Director, Jindal Stainless Ltd, while he reveals that currently stainless steel is being used much more extensively in building and construction and can be used in any kind of buildings, including airports, shopping malls, rail coaches and so on.

The industry chair, instituted for a period of six years, has meant an initial investment of Rs 52 lakh by Jindal and an equal sum by NID, though the institutes' contribution will be in kind, along with lab and infrastructure usage.

The period of the first chair will be for two years from 2004 to 2006, while the candidates' selection will be done by a jury headed by Mr Hasmukh Shah, Governing Council of NID.

The members will include Ms Deepika Jindal, Chairperson-Art d'inox, the Lifestyle Product Division of the company, Prof Ravi Hazra, IIT, Mumbai, Prof K.B. Jain, Director, School of Architecture, Ahmedabad, Mr Koshy and Mr Mathur.

The chair will soon be advertised and both the organisations are in search of someone whose "passion for stainless steel" can create wonders.

More Stories on : Research & Development | Steel

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