On an average Corrosion eats into about five 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, notes a press release from the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
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 at the 3rd Corrosion Management Summit held in New Delhi, September 3 – 4, 2015, announced that the much required National Chemical Policy is at the verge of implementation. All the necessary groundwork is complete, he said.
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 program.
Dr Baldev Raj, Chairman, CII – Corrosion Management Committee and 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 programs.
An MoU between the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) represented by Mr R. Narayanan, Head – CII – Avantha Centre for Competitiveness for SMEs and NACE International Gateway India Section (NIGIS) represented by Dr Samir Degan, Trustee, was signed in the presence of Shri Surjit Kumar Chaudhary, Secretary, Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers, John McCaslin, Minister Counselor for Commercial Affairs, U.S. Embassy – New Delhi and Dr Baldev Raj, Chairman, CII – Corrosion Management Committee and Director, National Institute of Advanced Studies and other dignitaries on the occasion.
Both the organizations will work together to complement each other’s strength to work towards corrosion mitigation in India. The following activities will be looked as joint initiatives and reference point:
Form a task force to bring in white paper on corrosion and approach Government of India
Collaborate to bring in Corrosion Standards in India
Conducting sector specific training and awareness sessions on corrosion.
CII and NIGIS can jointly bring in technology providers and industry together.
Research and development plays a vital role in developing new technologies and it should be a continuous endeavor on the part of the industry to adopt better corrosion control and mitigation measures in order to save huge direct and indirect corrosion-related expenditures
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.
Continuous 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, the press release concludes.
