Kanpur, November 23, 2022: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur hosted a day-long BIS-Academia Workshop on Standardization of Mechanical Testing and Powder Metallurgical Processes & Products on 22nd November 2022 under the aegis of the Advanced Centre of Materials Science (ACMS) and Bureau of Indian Standards. The event was attended by about 100 participants that includes faculty and staff members, research scholars and students.

The Advanced Centre for Materials Science was created at IIT Kanpur in 1978 with a view to make major materials preparation and characterization facilities available under one-roof. With state-of-the-art research facilities, the Centre has been providing consultancy and testing services to the materials community for decades. This workshop was in line with the Centre’s relentless efforts in sensitizing the materials community, and provided detailed deliberations on standardization processes.

Professor Anish Upadhyaya, Head, ACMS and Workshop Coordinator, in his introductory remarks, outlined the need for academia and industries to appreciate and understand the role of standard formulation for processes and products, whereas, Prof. Kallol Mondal, Head MSE Department, welcomed the invited speakers from BIS.

In his inaugural address, Mr. Sanjiv Maini, Head of Metallurgical Division (MTD) described the activities of the Bureau of Indian standards (BIS), and its journey as the National standards body since independence. He shed light upon how the Bureau has been undertaking the work of formulation of standards on a range of materials (both in raw and finished form), products and processes, with specific reference to the various recent initiatives taken by BIS for standard formulation, certification, and online training on standards. He also pressed upon the need of academia to participate in the Standardization activity.

The workshop attendees were introduced to the BIS Care App which can be freely downloaded and used to check the authenticity of any BIS standard marked/hallmarked product purchased by consumer. As one of its remits, BIS has taken up the initiative of reaching out to academia and conducting guest lecture for apprising the students, research scholars, staff and faculty colleagues about the ongoing standardization efforts and procedures.

The activities of BIS is spread over several divisions, with Metallurgical Division (MTD) being one of them. Each division has several sub-committees that are responsible for framing and reviewing the standards pertaining to their area. In their invited talks, Mr. G. Ram Sai Kumar and Mr. Vishal Kumar Rana, Member Secretaries of MTD sectional committee on Powder Metallurgy (MTD25) and Mechanical Testing (MTD03) presented a detailed overview of Indian Standards in their respective committees. The lectures were followed by a visit to Advanced Centre of Materials Science (ACMS) in the post-lunch session and discussions.

About IIT Kanpur:

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur was established on 2nd November 1959 by an Act of Parliament. The institute has a sprawling campus spread over 1055 acres with large pool of academic and research resources spanning across 19 departments, 22 centres, and 3 Interdisciplinary programs in engineering, science, design, humanities, and management disciplines with 527 full-time faculty members and approximately 9000 students. In addition to formal undergraduate and postgraduate courses, the institute has been active in research and development in areas of value to both industry and government.

For more information, visit www.iitk.ac.in.