Jamshedpur: Tata Steel commemorated the 168th birth anniversary of the distinguished geologist, Pramatha Nath Bose, also known as P N Bose, on May 12th, 2023. The day began with a morning homage paid by the senior management and employees of Tata Steel near Armoury Ground, where they remembered the pioneering geologist. The Vice-President Iron Making of Tata Steel, Uttam Singh, and the President of Tata Workers’ Union, Sanjeev Kumar Choudhary, were the chief guest and guest of honour, respectively. Other notable attendees included D B Sundara Ramam, the Vice-President of Raw Materials at Tata Steel, senior office bearers of Tata Workers’ Union, and Tata Steel employees. A digital homage was also planned for Tata Steel employees across all locations.
The Natural Resources Division of Tata Steel organized the 5th P N Bose Memorial Lecture at the Centre for Excellence, which featured Prof. Sunil Kumar Singh, Director of the National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, as the guest speaker.
Pramatha Nath Bose was born on May 12th, 1855, in a remote village in West Bengal. After graduating in Science from the London University and passing out from the Royal School of Mines in 1878, he became a geologist and made significant contributions to the field. Bose’s notable achievements include discovering iron ore mines in Dhulli and Rajhara in Madhya Pradesh and, most notably, the iron ore deposits in the hills of Gorumahisani in the state of Mayurbhanj. It was his letter to J N Tata, the founder of Tata Steel, on February 24th, 1904, regarding the discovery that led to the establishment of Tata Iron and Steel Company at Sakchi on August 26th, 1907.
Bose had many firsts to his credit. He was the first Indian to graduate in science from a British University, discover petroleum in Assam, set up a soap factory in India, and 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 was passionate about technical education in the country and played a crucial role in the founding of the Bengal Technical Institute, which is now known as the Jadavpur University, where Bose served as the first honorary principal.