The Hindu Business Line : Empowered panel okays IIT Kharagpur steel research centre

New Delhi, Aug. 17 The Empowered Committee of the Steel Ministry headed by the Steel Secretary, Mr R.S. Pandey, has approved the setting up of a Steel Research Centre at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur. The centre is expected to address skill shortage in the steel sector.

“The total cost of the project is estimated to be around Rs 20.34 crore against the earlier estimate of Rs 30.14 crore, which the committee has approved. Out of the total funds required, 20 per cent would be given by the Department of Science and Technology, while the rest would come from the Steel Development Fund,” an industry source told Business Line.

The objectives of the centre are to encourage faculty members to offer more courses on iron and steel so that students at the under-graduate and post-graduate levels can take up these subjects as electives.

“With the infrastructure sector developing so fast andthe public sector as well as private sector steel companies expanding their capacities or going in for greenfield projects, there is severe crunch of manpower in the sector and this is only expected to increase in the future. So to address this issue, the Steel Research Centre is being set up,” the official said.

More specifically, the centre is expected to address issues relating to mineral exploration, mineralogy, beneficiation, extraction, iron-making and steel-making.

“Apart from fabrication, product development – physical and mechanical metallurgy, application, automation and control, the centre would also take up modelling and simulation and environmental issues.”

Two-tier structure

Speaking about the structure of the proposed centre, the official said: “The Steel Technology Centre shall be run according to the rules and regulations applicable to similar centres already existing at IIT Kharagpur. In addition, the centre will have a two-tier structure for management – an apex committee for the overall supervision and a technical monitoring committee for routine review, maintenance and management.”.

The centre will also network with the existing infrastructural facilities in the R&D laboratories and steel industries.

More Stories on : Steel | Research & Development | Education

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page