Ministry of Steel presents the National Metallurgist Award 2022 to recognize the excellence and contribution of Metallurgists in Iron and Steel Sector

Addressing the participants at the ceremony of the National Metallurgist Award (NMA) 2022 on 22 November 2023, Shri Faggan Singh Kulaste, Union Minister of State for Steel & Rural Development, Government of India congratulated the five distinguished metallurgists for being conferred with coveted NMA 2022 in four categories. Sh. Nagendra Nath Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Steel along with other dignitaries also graced the occasion of the NMA 2022 ceremony.

The Minister expressed confidence that their research and innovation will help the industry in reducing carbon emissions, increasing productivity, reducing costs and will pave the way for the use of green hydrogen in future in the Steel Sector.

The illustrious awardees and the categories are mentioned below: –

1. Dr Kamachi Mudali Uthandi – Lifetime Achievement Award
2. Dr Debashish Bhattacharjee – National Metallurgist Award
3. Dr Rameshwar Sah – R&D in the Iron & Steel Sector
4. Dr Niloy Kundu – Young Metallurgist (Environment) Award
5. Agilan Muthumanickam – Award Young Metallurgist (Metal Science) Award

Sh. Faggan Singh Kulaste said that India has achieved the status of 2nd largest steel producer globally and is self-reliant in producing almost all grades of steel due to stellar contributions and innovations by engineers, steel metallurgists, and academicians both from the public sector and private sector. However, we should not rest on our laurels. The world is changing rapidly, and we must continue to adapt and evolve to remain competitive. The steel industry is an established industry; hence we need to study the nature and demand of the market. “Therefore, there is a need to work on the methods of expansion and production of the steel industry”, he added.

The Minister apprised the audience that India’s production and consumption of steel during April – October 2023 YoY have grown by 15% to about 82 million tonnes and 75.8 million tonnes respectively. India’s growth rate of Steel Production is the highest amongst the top steel-producing countries of the world. He expressed optimism that the production and consumption of crude steel in the current financial year will be close to 140 million tonnes.

Speaking at the ceremony of NMA 2022, Sh. Nagendra Nath Sinha, Secretary, of the Ministry of Steel mentioned that the Indian Institute of Metals brings together the nation’s most innovative metallurgists and material engineers every year for the exchange of information and views about their recent work with an intention to learn from each other. “By bestowing appropriate awards, the Ministry of Steel encourages high standards of endeavour and focuses the attention of peers and the public alike on the accomplishments and careers of its most talented members”, he said.

He also drew attention towards creating a culture for continuous refinement and improvement of metal and material making in the country and urged the metallurgists to continue their relentless pursuit of excellence for the betterment of the industry and the nation. 

He further drew attention towards the Industry 4.0 technologies, greater interaction between ferrous and non-ferrous metal sectors, having collaborative research platforms, working on the issues common to all steel makers, and utilisation of the Manthan platform by the members, among others. It is also noteworthy that these awardees did not differentiate between the awardees’ accomplishments in the ferrous or non-ferrous metallurgy sectors.  He further urged the academia to ensure the supply of trained manpower for process metallurgy.

There was an overwhelming response to the Ministry of Steel’s  NMA 2022 notification and only after an intensive process of scrutiny & due diligence, the awardees for the National Metallurgist Awards were selected.

Disclaimer: This is an official press release by Pib.