The Hindu Business Line : NID plans specialised auto, jewellery design centres

THE National Institute of Design (NID) plans to spread its wings by opening specialised design education centres for the booming automobile, jewellery and animation sectors.

"We are working with both the industry and Government to cater to these sectors, each of which individually accounts for more than Rs 2,000 crore in sales annually. Although design touches all aspects of our every day life, it is these sectors that are the biggest consumers of design inputs," the NID Executive Director, Dr Darlie O Koshy, told newspersons.

For the auto sector, the institute is in talks with the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) and the Ministry of Heavy Industry and Public Enterprises for funding of the proposed institute.

"We have projected a funds' requirement of Rs 5 crore annually for at least three years to support the proposed centre. Physical infrastructure is not a problem and the centre can be located anywhere the industry demands. But we need to have adequate funds to attract good quality faculty," Dr Koshy said.

"Indian auto companies have to realise that it is not worthwhile to run to Turin every time they want a new design. With the growth in the auto sector, it makes sense for the industry to invest in nurturing design talent in the country. But if we are not able to tie up funding either from the Government or the industry, we would like to make a small beginning at our Gandhinagar centre in the near future," he said.

The institute was discussing with the Kinfra IT Park in Thiruvananthapuram for a similar facility for animation design and with the jewellery industry for another centre dedicated to the sector, Dr Koshi added.

"South Korea generates 3.5 per cent of its Gross Domestic Product from design and we guess time has come for a comprehensive national design policy for our country as well. We should target at least $11 billion annually from design by 2020, which would constitute 1 per cent of our GDP then," he said, adding that a proposal for such a policy was before the central Government.

Sharing details about the 25th convocation of the premier design institute, Dr Koshi said that the President, Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, would address the students on January 5. The President would also dedicate the new design vision centre at NID. The centre, set up at a cost of Rs 5 crore, uses high-performance computers to help designers develop products and carry out research.