PN Bose: The noted geologist who channelized Jamsetji’s industrial vision of India’s first steel industry to Jamshedpur

May 12 is 168^th birth anniversary of pioneering geologist P N Bose.

Jamshedpur, May 11: Pramatha Nath Bose (also known as P N Bose) was born on May 12, 1855 at Gaipur, a village in the district of Nadia, West Bengal. 

In 1874, P N Bose appeared for a competitive examination and won the Gilchrist Scholarship. He stayed in London for six years and pursued the study of Chemistry, Botany, Zoology, Geology, Physical Geography and Logic.

P N Bose joined the Geological Survey of India on May 13, 1880 as a graded officer and married Kamala Dutt on June 24,1882.

In 1886, P N Bose suggested that a ‘Society for the Development of Indian Industries’ should be formedand it was his efforts that led to an Industrial Conference, organised for the first time in 1891.

During his tenure at the Geological Survey of India, P N Bose reported the manganese deposits in Jabalpur district, coal in Darjeeling, copper in Sikkim and Petroleum in Assam. He was the first person to introduce into the Geological survey of India the study of micro-sections as an aid to petrological work and to give accounts of micro-sections in Progress Reports. He contributed one memoir and thirteen papers to the publications of the Geological Survey.

After leaving the Geological Survey of India, P N Bose joined the service of Mayurbhanj State. In 1904, he informed J N Tata through a letter regarding the large deposits of iron ore he had discovered at the Gorumahisani Hills of the Mayurbhanj District. This letter brought an end to Tata’s quest for raw material which led to the establishment of Tata Iron and Steel Limited (TISCO) in 1907.

PN Bose’s discoveries helped Tata Steel to set up first steel mill in this region of the country.

Tatas honoured P N Bose by getting a bust of P N Bose set up in Jamshedpur on March 13, 1938. The P N Bose Memorial is situated near the Armoury Ground.