PN Bose’s foresightedness gave birth to India’s first integrated steel plant: Tata Steel VP

Tata Steel pays homage to pioneering geologist on his 170^th birth anniversary

Jamshedpur, May 12: Tata Steel paid homage to the pioneering geologist, Pramatha Nath Bose (popularly known as P N Bose) today on his 170^th Birth Anniversary.

D B Sundara Ramam, Vice-President (Corporate Services), Tata Steel graced the occasion as Chief Guest along with Sanjeev Kumar Choudhary, President, Tata Workers’ Union as Guest of Honour respectively. khouri Bishwapriya, Dy Director General State Unit Jharkhand, Geological Survey of India graced the occasion as Special Guest on the occasion. The event was organised by Natural Resources Division (NRD) in collaboration with Centre for Excellence.

Sandeep Kumar, Vice President (Raw Materials), Tata Steel, Shailesh Kumar Singh, Deputy President, Tata Workers’ Union, Chief’s from NRD, officers from Tata Steel and Office Bearers of Tata Workers’ Union were present on the occasion.

Speaking on the occasion Sandeep Kumar, Vice President (Raw Materials), Tata Steel said, “P N Bose paved the way for a self-reliant India in the areas of mines and metals. It was his foresightedness and commitment to national purpose that gave birth to India’s first integrated steel plant. At Tata Steel, we not only remember his achievements but also rededicate ourselves to the spirit of innovation that would be a fitting tribute to PN Bose on his 170^th Birth Anniversary”.

The day started with homage in the morning, where the senior management of Tata Steel and employees paid homage to P N Bose near Armoury Ground. Digital homage was also planned for Tata Steel employees across all locations.

Natural Resources Division of Tata Steel also organised the P N Bose Memorial Lecture at the Centre for Excellence. The guest speaker for the lecture was Akhouri Bishwapriya, Dy Director General State Unit Jharkhand, Geological Survey of India. The lecture session was on the topic “Overview on Geology of Jharkhand and Status of Critical and Strategic Mineral (CSM) Exploration: Challenges and Opportunities.” More than 70 individuals attended the session from NRD of Tata Steel. The Vote of Thanks was given by Manoj Kumar, Chief Geologist (Coal), Tata Steel.

Born on May 12, 1855 in a remote village West Bengal, geologist P N Bose graduated in Science from London University and passed out from the Royal School of Mines in 1878. During his years as geologist, he discovered iron ore mines in Dhulli and Rajhara in Madhya Pradesh. The most outstanding achievement of his life was the discovery of iron ore deposits in the hills of Gorumahisani in the state of Mayurbhanj. Following the discovery, P N Bose wrote a letter to J N Tata (Founder of Tata Steel) on February 24, 1904 which led to the establishment of Tata Iron and Steel Company at Sakchi on August 26, 1907.

P N Bose has several firsts to his credit. He was the first Indian graduate in science from a British University; first to discover petroleum in Assam; first to set up a soap factory in India and also the first to introduce micro sections as an aid to petrological work. He was also the first Indian to hold a graded position in the Geological Survey of India where he served with distinction. As a man of science, he had constantly taken up the cause of technical education in the country. His efforts also catalysed the foundation of the Bengal Technical Institute, which is better known as the Jadavpur University today of which Bose was the first honorary Principal.