Need to formalise Corrosion Standards: US Embassy, New Delhi
Corrosion can cost us the future: CII
On an average corrosion eats into about 5 per cent of a country’s GDP. One way of looking at it is the negative effect this has on the economy’s exchequer, affecting growth and sustainability.
Another downside is that these figures reflect only the direct cost of corrosion i.e. materials, equipment and activities of maintenance. What gets left out is the implication on environment, wastage of resources, lost production and injury of personnel resulting from corrosion.
As an inspiration from our Prime Minister, Shri. Narendra Modi’s clarion call much is being done on ‘Zero Defect, Zero Effect.’ Looking at Zero Effect in terms of manufacturing processes is something that the Indian Industry is striving to achieve.
Consequent to the elevated India-US dialogue, the Government of India has taken up Corrosion Management as a National Priority and the Ministry of Chemicals and Petrochemicals has been appointed as the nodal Ministry for the National Mission on Corrosion Management.
Shri Surjit Kumar Chaudhary, Secretary, Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers, during the inaugural address announced that the much required National Chemical Policy is at the verge of implementation. All necessary groundwork is complete.
He emphasized the importance of education and skill development in the Chemical sector which could be of much importance for having professional who are equipped with the requisite skills for mitigating corrosion. Re-skilling and up-skilling would be an important aspect of this skilling programme.
Dr. Baldev Raj, Chairman, CII – Corrosion Management Committee & Director, National Institute of Advanced Studies put forth the industry a very powerful target. He inspired all to work together for the common cause. As a 10 year target we should focus at lowering losses incurred due to corrosion down to 1 per cent of GDP as compared to current losses pinned at a high of 6 per cent of the GDP. There is a need to move from systematic procedures to systemic plans and standardization to be able to achieve this target.
Mr. John McCaslin, Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs, U.S. Embassy – New Delhi exhorted the Indian Government and Indian industry to urgently formalize the National Standards for mitigating corrosion. Much information and expertise on corrosion related issues is available in the country, however, it is confined to certain pockets and areas of the industry. Government-Industry partnership could be a good solution for sustaining benefits of anti-corrosion technologies being propagated through training and certification programmes.
An MoU between Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and NACE International Gateway India Section (NIGIS) was also signed in the presence of Secretary, Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers.
A set of 14 booklets were also released during the inaugural ceremony. The books are a ready reckoner for the industry professionals including the Dos and Don’ts, FAQ series etc.
Continues growth and progress in the industry is expected as new developments are encouraged in the arena of corrosion control. CII has been actively taking up the task of corrosion mitigation for about a decade now. The focus of CII’s mission is to protect people, assets and environment from the effects of corrosion. There is a need to convince all stakeholders that controlling corrosion would not only save money, but also have a positive impact on environment.
New Delhi
September 3, 2015