page_title: Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute
section_title: Achievements
hierarchical_section_title: Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute / Achievements
caption_attribution_description: English: CSIR's Solar Tree
context_page_description: The Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute is a public engineering research and development institution in Durgapur, West Bengal, India. It is a constituent laboratory of the Indian Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. This institute is the only national level research institute in the field of mechanical engineering in India.
  The CMERI was founded in February 1958 under the endorsement of the CSIR. It was founded to develop national mechanical engineering technology, particularly in order to help Indian industries. During its first decade, the CMERI mainly focused its efforts towards national technology and import substitution. Currently, the Institute is making R&D efforts in the front-line areas of research such as Robotics, Mechatronics, Microsystem, Cybernetics, Manufacturing, Precision agriculture, Embedded system, Near net shape manufacturing and Biomimetics. Besides conducting research, the Institute works towards different R&D based mission mode programs of country to provide suitable technological solutions for poverty alleviation, societal improvement, energy security, food security, aerospace, mining, automobile and defense.
context_section_description: The CMERI has developed as many as many products and processes, out of which 26 have been awarded prestigious national awards. The CMERI has filed more than 100 patents. Over 120 licensees have learned from the institute's products and processes for commercial exploitation.
  During 1956-1962, Man Mohan Suri, the then Director of CMERI, has developed a novel concept of an integrated power pack involving reverse-governing techniques for the diesel engine superimposed on a hydro-mechanical transmission called Suri-Transmission. This has resulted in substantially increasing the efficiency of diesel locomotives. Suri-Transmission and its improvements are covered by 36 patents in 11 major countries.
  In the mid-sixties, the Green Revolution triggered large-scale tractor usage in India. To meet this growing demand in 1965, CMERI initiated a project for design and development of 35 HP tractor based on indigenous know how. The developed tractor technology has been named as Swaraj by Indira Gandhi (the then Prime Minister of India). 
  Recently, the institute  developed the Soleckshaw electric rickshaw under the CSIR-800 community project program, with the aim of reducing the carbon footprint of the city and simultaneously mitigating the drudgery of the manual rickshaw puller. The institute in collaboration of West Bengal Renewable Energy Development Agency (WBREDA), also developed a smart card based prepaid energy meter for use with renewal energy sources. Scientists of the institute have developed India's first cricket-ball stitching machine to bring uniformity in cricket balls and repeatability in performance.
  The institute is one of the nodal points of National Knowledge Network connectivity program under multi-gigabit pan-India network to share intellectual property and knowledge-base among premier R&D labs/institutes/universities of the country.
caption: CMERI designed Solar Power Tree
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