Gujar Mal Modi award for Innovative Science & Technology is presented every year on the birth anniversary of late Rai Bahadur Gujar Mal Modi, Founder of Modi Group of Industries. This year, the award which comprises of a Cash Prize of Rs 2 lakhs and one thousand, a silver shield and a scroll of honour will be conferred to Professor Palle Rama Rao at an award ceremony to be held at the Kamani Auditorium, 1 Copernicus Marg, New Delhi on 9th August at 6:30 pm.

Professor Palle Rama Rao is an internationally renowned scientist and is a recipient of the prestigious Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awards. He has been selected for the Gujar Mal Modi award for Innovative Science & Technology for his outstanding contribution in the field of metallurgy.

Profile of P Rama Rao

Professor Palle Rama Rao, presently Chairman, Governing Council, ARCI, Hyderabad, obtained his Ph.D. degree in Physics-Metallurgy from Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi, India in 1964. He was a post-doctoral research associate during 1966-67 at the University of Pennsylvania. He started his career as a faculty member of the Department of Metallurgy at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore in 1960 and then moved to BHU in 1962 as a Lecturer.

For the next 9 years he served as Director, Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory (DMRL), Hyderabad. In 1991 Professor Rao was appointed   Secretary to Government of India, Department of Science and Technology, a position he held till 1995. Additionally, he held charge as Secretary, Department of Ocean Development. Subsequently, during 1996-99, he served as Chairman, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, Government of India and as Vice-Chancellor, University of Hyderabad during 1999-2002. He was appointed a Member of the Atomic Energy Commission, Government of India in 2004. He was awarded a distinguished Professorship by the Indian Space Research Organization which he held during 2002-07.

Prof Rama Rao is sharing his experiences with indiacurrentaffairs.org in an online interview. The following are the excerpts of the interview.

Qn. 1    What is metallurgy?  What are the emerging trends in the field?

Ans. Metallurgy is a subject that covers a wide spectrum of fields from winning of metals from ores to processing them, thereafter treating and shaping them into useful products.  From cradle to coffin, humans from time immemorial have had to contend with demand for materials.  From what was regarded as a craft at one time, modern metallurgy impinges on physics, chemistry and biology (e.g. biomimetics) of materials on the one side and, on another, on several engineering systems whose performance depends upon materials usage.  Whether it is a bridge, an automobile, an aircraft or a space vehicle, engineering design is intimately related to properties of metallurgical materials – iron, steel, aluminum, magnesium, titanium and so on.  And in steel alone, there are hundreds of varieties.  The way such varieties of metals and alloys are designed, made and characterized defines one kind of emerging trend.  Yet another emerging trend is developing metals and alloys with specific properties such as higher strength at lighter weights.

A fundamental contribution of advanced metal sciences is the finding that materials properties, their processing to shapes as well as product performance are controlled by their internal structure referred to as microstructure.  This principle led to metamorphosis of metallurgy into materials science.  As a result, different types of materials, metallic and non-metallic materials, like glass and ceramics, can now be combined into composites with new properties.  Developments in this area define another trend.  With the dawn of the nano age, the field is brimming with hitherto unimagined possibilities.

Qn. 2    What is the industry status today both in India and globally with an emphasis on the effects of this economic slowdown?

Ans. India’s GDP has consistently grown at 7-8% in recent years and the country promises to maintain and possibly exceed these growth rates.  Compared to the present levels of consumption, it is projected that India’s demand for commodity materials, e.g. steel, aluminium, copper, zinc, nickel and lead, could triple within the next ten years. China’s record of production figures in these materials fifteen years ago was comparable to where India stands to-day. However, China’s consumption levels since then have resulted in phenomenal rise in materials production figures. India is also considered to be suited to fulfill the well-recognized prerequisites for such growth.

Keeping in view the infrastructure requirement of India, the Ministry of Steel has declared in its recent Steel Policy that country will produce 250 million tones of steel by the year 2020 and all the steel industries in the country are gearing up to meet the target.  The Indian industries have also started playing a global role by acquiring metallurgical industries abroad.  This includes Tata’s acquiring the Corus in Europe.  The metallurgical industries like the steel, aluminium, titanium, recycling, sheet manufacturing are turning around despite the recent set-back.

While this indicates the prospects for growth in metallurgical industry, there is as yet untapped potential in the making of new materials and their products as is happening at present in all industrially advanced countries.

Qn. 3 What is your take on current generation scientists from India?

Ans. India has a tradition of naturally nurturing bright minds.  At least in my own field of research I am coming across frequently a number of young scientists who I consider are brighter than me.  A lot more latent talent than what we have unearthed so far resides in the younger generation of scientists.  The country as a whole needs to enlarge opportunities for them.

Qn. 4 We all know that India has produced many great scientists over the years but whether we have the facility and infrastructure to explore new things in our country itself? Currently, what is the kind of support from our Government to our Indian Scientists – in terms of funding, grooming, encouragement etc.?

Ans. Thanks largely to the benevolence of the Government agencies, extensive modern and       sophisticated experimental facilities have been funded and have been installed in the laboratories of the Defence Research & Development Organization, the Department of Atomic Energy and the Department of Space.  Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, Department of Science & Technology and the Department of Bio Technology, to name a few, have several laboratories under their purview which also house advanced experimental facilities.  Thanks to extramural funding, particularly of the Department of Science & Technology and the Department of Bio Technology, substantial funding has been provided for setting up facilities in academic institutions, notably the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore; the IITs and the Central Universities.

The number of researchers employed in R&D in our country is very much less than 200,000.  This number should witness large-scale growth and new challenges have to be offered to our scientists.  This can happen if industry in the public sector and in the private sector promotes in-house R&D to a substantially greater extent.  This is the need of the hour.

Qn. 5 How is your research and achievements useful to our country?

Ans. I spent more than ten years in the Defence Research & Development Organisation and three years in the Department of Atomic Energy.  During my tenure at both these strategic departments, I was involved in setting up two institutions – one, a manufacturing plant for producing anti-tank ammunition which is now an ordnance factory at Tiruchirapalli and, the other, a Safety Research Institute which is located in the campus of Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam. These can be regarded as important national assets.

Qn. 6    Describe your journey so far and where do you see the industry in next five years?

Ans. It has been an exciting journey for me so far.  I have thoroughly enjoyed the challenges encountered on the way along the positions I was fortunate to hold in a University, in Defence Research and Development Organization and in the Department of Atomic Energy – more importantly, the good luck I have had in my association with some of the best professionals in the country during the course of my career.

As brought out in answers above, I foresee a thriving and successful future for the metallurgical and materials industry in the country.

About Gujar Mal Modi Innovative Science and Technology Award

Gujar Mal Modi Innovative Science and Technology Award is among the highest cash awards in the country in the field of Science and Technology. The award was instituted in 1988 in the memory of the great industrialist of India, late Rai Bahadur Gujar Mal Modi of Modinagar. It will be given each year to a person who has demonstrated the qualities of excellence and innovation through outstanding research and in providing leadership in the development and promotion of Science and Technology in India.