Govt inks MoU with industries, GNDEC

Ludhiana, October 25

In a bid to give further impetus to promote research and innovation in the state through collaborative efforts, the Department of Science, Technology and Environment, Punjab, has signed an MoU with Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College (GNDEC), Ludhiana and leading industrial associations of sanitary fitting cluster, steel re-rolling mill and sewing machine parts manufacturers.

The MoU was signed by Rakesh Verma, principal secretary, Science, Technology and Environment; Sehijpal Singh, principal, GNDEC; Vinod Vashisht, president, All-India Steel Re-rollers Association (AISRA), Mandi Gobindgarh; BS Anand, director, Mohali Hitech Metal Cluster (MHMC), Mohali; and Dalbir Singh, chairman, United Sewing Machine and Parts Manufacturers Association (USMPMA), Ludhiana.

This initiative was taken to jointly address the issues of state importance pertaining to environment, climate change and public health to achieve the goal and objectives of Mission Tandrust Punjab 2.0.

Verma said:“Research and innovation culture in MSMEs is the need of the hour to remain competitive in the market. There is a dire need to bring the ecosystem of industry –academia linkage in order to provide the technical support to MSMEs in the state. The focus areas for collaboration with industrial associations included R&D support for new product development, advanced manufacturing, industry 4.0, energy efficiency, waste minimisation and capacity building. This initiative will undertake state specific collaborative programmes for new and innovative research in the areas of manufacturing, energy and environment. —TNS