Punjab govt inks MoU with Industrial associations, GNDEC Ludhiana to promote research

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 of the state on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Guru Nanak Dev Engineering College (GNDEC), Ludhiana and leading Industrial Associations of stary fitting cluster, steel re-rolling mill and sewing machine parts manufacturers.

"This initiative was taken to jointly address the issues of state importance pertaining to the environment, climate change and public health to achieve the overall goal and objectives of the newly launched Mission Tandurust Punjab 2.0," Principal Secretary Science, Technology and Environment, Rakesh Verma said.

"This step would further promote research and innovation ecosystem in the state to enhance competitiveness, boost economic growth and create quality jobs," he added.

During the event, Verma informed that research and innovation culture in MSMEs was need of the hour to remain competitive in the market.

Further, 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, he added.

Verma said that this initiative would undertake state-specific collaborative programs for new and innovative research in the areas of manufacturing, energy and environment.

The MoU was signed by Principal Secretary Science, Technology and Environment - Rakesh Verma, Principal GNDECL - Dr Sehijpal Singh, President All India Steel Re-rollers Association (AISRA) - Vinod Vashisht, Director Mohali Hitech Metal Cluster (MHMC) - B. S. Anand and Chairman United Sewing Machine & Parts Manufacturers Association (USMPMA) - Dalbir Singh.

( With inputs from ANI )