Energy-efficient technology need of the hour, say experts

Gurvinder Singh

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, February 19

The industry needs to adopt energy-efficient technologies to lower the bad impact on the environment. This was stated by officials from the Ministry of Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO).

They said the industry must adopt schemes that facilitated the adoption of energy-efficient techniques.

Debajit Das, National Project Coordinator, UNIDO, said saving energy and resources was the need of the hour. He said energy saved also meant the reduction in the cost of production and reduction of carbon footprint.

“The industrialists usually resist such technologies because they cost more. The concept of revolving grant has been introduced to facilitate the implementation of these technologies,” he said.

For this purpose, the Global Environment Fund gives a grant to the UNIDO which gives it to government agencies in different countries. In India, the grant is given to Energy Efficinecy Services Limited, under the Ministry of Power, which gives the grant to the industrial clusters through the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.

“The cluster doesn’t have to pay anything for the adoption of the energy-efficient technologies, but have to return the amount in installments out of the savings the industry makes due to the use of these technologies,” he said.

SN Tripathi, Additional Secretary and Development, Commissioner (MSME), said the industry needed to come forward to save energy. He said it was imperative that all industry units should reduce their energy consumption to the minimum, while scaling production.

Need to implement lean manufacturing

The industry must adopt lean-manufacturing technologies for saving cost and making the production process more efficient. This was recently stated by Kamal Singh, Deputy Director, MSME Development Institute, at a seminar organised during the MachAuto Expo. He said the government gave grant to clusters under the Lean Manufacturing Scheme and the industry must take benefit of the scheme for making the production faster, simpler and cost efficient. "There are around 44 clusters in the state and more such clusters must come to the fore for adopting lean manufacturing," he said.

Laser-marking technologies showcased

Ludhiana: Laser-marking and laser-cutting technology for metal and other materials is rapidly gaining popularity in industrial processes and for branding purposes. Several exhibitors at MachAuto Expo had showcased the laser machines for marking and cutting. Abhay Mishra from Gujarat-based firm SLTL said the laser-marking technology has become popular as one could print small pictures and words onto metals within seconds using laser.

‘Prevent pollution, use paddy stubble as boiler fuel’ 

Ludhiana: Paddy and wheat stubble burning has become a nuisance and a cause of pollution. However, there exists a probable solution which can be beneficial for the industry and farmers. Santokh Singh from Steamax, who had such a boiler on display at the GMMSA Expo at Dana Mandi near Jalandhar Bypass, said wheat and paddy straw and husk could become fuel for boilers used in several industries. He said the use of boilers for various industrial functions was common and the use of smaller boilers for smaller-scale businesses was increasing. He said the wheat straw and husk could become a fuel for the boilers. Small-sized ‘baby boilers’ were being used on small scale. He said even sweet manufacturers were using these boilers. The steam generated by them could be used for cooking purposes. He said while several gas cylinders were being used for cooking, the steam from boilers could provide several cooking points simultaneously, which was more cost effective. He said boilers were already being used for several industrial operations and works, including dying mills, plywood, paper mills and power generation. He said there was a need to create awareness about not burning the stubble, but instead using it as a fuel. This fuel would be cheaper than other fuels being used for boilers, he said. Pradeep Jain, an industrialist, said boilers were commonly used in the industry. He said if paddy and wheat straw was used as a fuel, it could be a source of income for the farmers. The government and the industry must create awareness and a mechanism must be evolved for collecting this straw from farms to industrial units and boilers, he added. —TNS