Jamshedpur : National Metallurgical Laboratory (NML) is all set to celebrate the 73rd CSIR foundation tomorrow. Dr. T Ramasami, formerly secretary, Dept. of Science & Technology (DST), Govt. of India will be the chief guest of the function.
The Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) � the premier industrial R&D organization in India was established on 26 September 1942 as an autonomous body funded by the Govt. of India. During its inception, CSIR had defined its functions as promotion, guidance and co-ordination of scientific and industrial research, and setting up laboratories to spur R&D for the growth of industry. Then, the industrial scenario in India was limited to agro-based industries like sugar, oils jute, and so on, which were largely driven by foreign-based technology.
Today, the state of affairs in the science and technology sector has undergone a sea change, and as a consequence, CSIR has grown into one of the largest science and industrial research enterprises in the world over these 72 years.
Now, it is also prime technology source for a majority of Industries. Besides, CSIR offers solutions to several problems that are uniquely Indian, and has thus contributed specifically to India�s socio-economic transformation.
CSIR has evolved more than 3,350 technologies with about 7800 clients using them. 70 percent of agro-chemicals and insecticides produced in India are based on CSIR technology.
CSIR pervades all aspects � social, economic and quality life. The very facts that CSIR has been associated with a variety of tasks � from manufacturing baby food (Amul) to brining out the non�steroid contraceptive (Saheli); from extracting poly�metallic nodules from the entrails of the Indian ocean to flying Light Combat Aircraft in the Indian skies; from defining the genetic configuration of cholera bacterium to providing recipes for instant gulab jamoon, sambar, idli and dosa�speaks volumes about how the institution touches Indian lives, with regularity.
CSIR, currently with its 38 laboratories and 39 field stations, spread all across the country. Manned by around 3634 highly qualified scientists and engineers, and 9924 technical / supporting personnel, these world�class research establishments of CSIR provide globally competitive R&D inputs and high�quality science�based services.
Many problems of industry, and even of pure science, are multi�disciplinary in character, and require for their solutions the knowledge and techniques of more than one branch of science and call for teamwork. CSIR laboratories provide facilities for such teamwork.
CSIR today symbolizes a culture that links science with society through technology and industrial manufacture. As the nation�s largest holder of intellectual property rights (IPR) on patents, CSIR leads the way for protecting traditional knowledge while adding to the new IPR capital.