Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers
Dr Mansukh Mandaviya calls for strengthening greater industry-academia partnerships to boost research and innovation in the country
Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya inaugurates a seminar “Industry Connect 2022”: Industry and Academia Synergy
Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Chemicals & Fertilizers inaugurated the seminar on “Industry Connect 2022”: Industry and Academia Synergy in presence of Shri Bhagwanth Khuba, Minister of State,  here today. Smt Aarti Ahuja,Secretary ; Dr Shishir Sinha, DG, CIPET; Shri Kashi Nath Jha; Joint Secretary, Department of Chemicals & Petro-Chemicals and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion Shri Mandaviya said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, India has effectively managed the COVID 19 pandemic. He further said that the Prime Minister extended all the support to the scientific and medical community, which ensured India walked shoulder to shoulder with other advanced countries in vaccine research.
He stressed on the importance of innovation & technology for the progress of the nation and called for greater industry-academia partnerships which will give a boost to research, innovation & learning.
The Minister also said that innovative zeal and manufacturing quality products at scale will help in realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Make in India, Make for the World. Indian products of top quality will travel far & wide and will contribute towards an Aatmanirbhar Bharat & economic prosperity of India, he further added. Shri Mandaviya expressed his confidence that this seminar will deliberate on creating a roadmap toward achieving this goal.
While addressing the participants Shri Khuba said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat is not only about being self-reliant but also catering to the expectations of the global community. He also said that chemical and petrochemical industry also stands uniquely poised to contribute to this vision by not only fulfilling domestic requirements but also by boosting exports and catering to global demand and CIPET has to play an important role in this.
Smt Arti Ahuja said that lot of start-ups need technical support in the sector and CIPET can support them. Industry should engage more with CIPET to ensure better results for the sector. She said that further the growth potential is immense and now is the time for innovation as the world is changing with disruptions and we need to be ready to turn them into our advantage.
Mr Prabh Das, Chairman, FICCI Petrochemicals Committee and MD & CEO, HPCL-Mittal Energy Limited said that we need to adopt more of digitization and stay ahead of the curve. Focussed attention on this will certainly increase the efficiency and productivity in companies, he added.
Mr Rajesh Kumar Pathak, Secretary, Technology Development Board, Department of Science and Technology urged the industry to take initiatives for import substitution and technology development board will promote them. He further assured all possible help to industry including funding support.
Prof  Shishir Sinha, Director General, CIPET while highlighting the importance of CIPET said that the idea behind organizing Industry Connect 2022 is to establish synergy between the CIPET and industry. He described in detail, the support for skilling and technical support available at CIPET for the industry.
Mr Kamal Nanavaty, President, CPMA stressed on the need to bridge the skill gap in the sector. He also presented the industry 4.0 creating requirement of skilled manpower in the plastic processing industry with changing skill set in plastics processing; sustainable products and innovative designing; technology prospects for future and new growth drivers/sub sectors/ catalyst.
Shri Kashi Nath Jha, Joint Secretary , Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals, Govt of India, in his opening remarks stated that India can become world leader in the field of industry ready skilled workforce especially in Petrochemical sector where CIPET can play a key role.
The Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Government of India in association with Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering & Technology  and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry  is organized a seminar “Industry Connect 2022”: Industry and Academia Synergy today.
During the Seminar, “Industry Connect 2022”, the two technical sessions were organised. These technical sessions witnessed the presence of officials from the CIPET, TDB  and various industry associations to deliberate on the key issues of the sector.
The broad objectives of the seminar are to focus on R&D - Laboratory to Industry, Skill Gap Analysis for the Human Capital in Petrochemicals Sector, Support Aatmanirbhar Bharat by providing Indigenous Technology, Aatmanirbhar CIPET with the help of Industry Connect, Support of Technology with the help of TDB  to establish synergy between industry and academia for the sector.