IIT Bombay 8 2

IRCC NotesIRCC NotesIRCC Notes

Patron: Ashok Misra(Director) r Advisory Board: K C Khilar(Dean R&D) Ø Rangan Banerjee (Associate Dean R&D) Editor: Sandip Roy r Assistant Editor: Padma Satish Ø Prema Prakash r Illustrator: Arun Inamdar

r Cover Design & Production: Archana Upendra

Being situated in the commercial capital of the country, IITBombay has the advantage of being in the midst of the indus-try hub which can readily absorb the technologies developedat the institute. With a large pool of excellent faculty whoseexpertise ranges over many areas of science and engineeringdisciplines, we have persistently promoted effective interac-tion with industry to address their needs. We have for longprovided consultancy for solving short-term problems of theindustry, and have also carried out technology developmentto some extent. However, our current focus is to expand ourinteractions to a multidimensional mode by building strongR&D partnerships with the industry.

Along with sponsored research, our industrial consultan-cy has been growing steadily–both of which have helped cre-ate a variety of advanced R&D facilities at the institute.Spurred by thisexperience, we arenow moving intothe domain of cre-ative and advancedresearch for theindustry in emerg-ing areas. In suchcollaborative R&D,IITB provides facul-ty expertise, infrastructure and advanced facilities, while thepartnering industry provides financial support as well as rele-vant technical support. The aim is to develop technologies ofthe next generation. With the global outlook becoming high-ly competitive, and the new IP regime setting in shortly, theroute to the nation's economic development may lie domi-nantly in knowledge-driven, advanced technology inputs.

Over the recent past we have interacted extensively witha large number of companies through workshops and othermodes, towards establishing roadmaps for collaborativeresearch. An entire array of organizations has participated insuch exercises, including ONGC, Bajaj Auto, GM, HTSL, GE,Cummins India, P&W, Bharat Earth Movers Ltd., Pidilite,

NTPC, MTNL, and TCE. We also encourage small and mediumenterprises (SMEs) in specific business areas to form anindustrial consortium so as to nucleate better R&D interactionwith our faculty and students.

Overall, our experience has yielded valuable lessons onthe issues that the current regime of globalization has precipi-tated for both the industry and academia. One of the key con-cerns of the industry relates to intellectual property generationand ownership. Accordingly, we have initiated various activitiesrelating to IP management. Recently we hosted a national IPRworkshop (details provided in another article in this issue) withparticipation from international experts. Our understanding ofthe relevant issues has been continually enhanced, which hashelped us interact with the industry more effectively.

Adding another new dimension to our efforts, aTechnology Business Incubator (TBI) is being set up at theInstitute with major funding from Department of Science andTechnology (Govt. of India). This is expected to help foundstart-up companies, exploiting IP generated by faculty, stu-dents and alumni. Recently, a Society for Innovation andEntrepreneurship (SINE) at IIT Bombay has also been regis-tered. It will provide a platform for various entrepreneurialactivities: incubation/commercialization of technologiesdeveloped at IIT Bombay, bidding for competitive R&D proj-ects, creation of joint ventures and so on. In essence, SINEwould provide a framework for multiple modes of interactionbetween the industry and faculty.

Empowered by all these initiatives, and collaborativemechanisms that are being established, IIT Bombay hopes tobe an active partner in assisting the Indian Industry tobecome globally competitive.

Office of Dean R&D

Building R&D Partnership with Industry

IIT Bombay and ONGC have recently signed an MoU to helpfoster and enhance Institute - Industry R&D partnership.Two sponsored research projects with multi-crore outlay arebeing supported by ONGC at the initial instance.

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Consultancy Projects

Editorial

Globally, India ranks among the first few countries in foodproduction. Both the so-called green and white revolutionshave propelled us to a food-surplus position. Unfortunately,we have not been able to exploit such gains through betterdistribution, or adoption of new technologies for improvedprocessing, storage and preservation of food. However dimly,images of undernourishment still haunt the nation's con-sciousness. This issue of UPDATE focuses on the road aheadfor our food processing industry, and presents some of the rel-evant technologies that IITB has developed.

We also feature in-depth reviews of two other areas:Collaborative Engineering for advanced manufacturing, andHuman Resource issues that are proving critical in the IT sec-tor today. The use of collaborative engineering for providingend-to-end solutions to design, manufacture, and marketing ofproducts has become popular with many international organ-

izations. Faculty at IITB has been working to establish theconcept locally by allying with several large Indian manufac-turing companies. We review the essence of the approach andIITB's achievements in the area. Parallely, the high-growth ITsector of the country is having to take recourse to innovativeHR strategies in order to perform successfully in the interna-tional business arena. The finding of a team from IITB whichhas researched the issue widely is presented here.

Apart from other features, we review various devel-opments and initiatives underway at the IRCC. As all indica-tions are today, the R&D carried out by our institute is on anupswing and is metamorphosing rapidly through the estab-lishment of newer mechanisms to help move innovationsbeyond the laboratory into the fabric of the larger society.

Sandip Roy, Editor

IIT Bombay 8 3

In BriefIn BriefIn Brief

Prof Sumantra Dutta Roy, Department of ElectricalEngineering, selected for the Indian National Academy ofEngineering Young Engineer Award 2003.

Prof Kartic C Khilar, Department of ChemicalEngineering, elected as Fellow of the Indian National Academyof Engineering, from the year 2004.

Prof R K Shevgaonkar, Department of ElectricalEngineering, elected as Fellow of the Indian National Academyof Engineering, from the year 2004.

Prof G Vishnoi, School of Biosciences and Bioengineering,awarded the AICTE Career Award for Young Teachers for theyear 2003.

Prof S Chaudhuri, Electrical Engineering, has been electeda Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences.

Prof Tarun Kant, Department of Civil Engineering, electedas the Fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences.

Prof V G Ukadgaonker, Department of MechanicalEngineering, elected as a Fellow of the ASME International.

Prof M S Balakrishna, Chemistry, has been elected as aFellow of Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC).

Prof Rinti Banerjee, School of Biosciences &Bioengineering, recipient of the Young Researcher Grant Awardfrom the International Foundation for Science, Sweden.

Prof S C Lakkad, Department of Aerospace Engineering,recipient of Distinguished Alumnus Award of IISc Bangalorefor his outstanding contributions in the area of aerospaceactivities.

Major New Consultancy Projects

Civil EnggElectrical EnggIndustrial Design CentreKReSITMechanical EnggMechanical EnggMechanical EnggMechanical Engg

Seismic Retrofit of a Multistoried Framed StructureDevelopment Contract of S & C Band Printed AntennasEstablishment of Mini Bamboo ClustersInteractive Data Cleaning using Active LearningInstallation of Diesel Generator Exhaust Heat RecoveryRecuperator for Micro Gas TurbineCFD Analysis of Dust Ingress in VehicleDevelopment of Resistance Spot Welding Schedules for Steel

Investigator Department Project Title

oo A Mukherjeeoo G Kumaroo A G Rao oo S Sarawagi oo M V Raneoo M V Rane oo U N Gaitonde oo U D Mallya

Chemistry

ChemistryChemistryCorrosion Science & Engg

Computer Science & Engg

Electrical EnggElectrical Engg

KReSITMet Engg & Mat Science

Transition Metal Complexes Containing Phosphorus Based Ligandsas CatalystsFacility for Isothermal Titration Calorimetry in Biological SystemsNew Biologically Active Peptides of Natural OriginStress Corrosion Cracking Behaviour of Austentic Stainless Steel inPure WaterFramework for National Entrepreneurs Support Programme forInformation TechnologyVirtual View GenerationAdvanced Techniques for Remote Sensing Image Processing (Indo-Italian Collaboration)Enhancing Competency of IT teachers and Industry Professionals.Mirrors for Soft X-rays

Investigator Department Project Title

oo M S Balakrishna

oo N Kishore oo A K Lala oo V S Raja

oo K Ramamritham

oo S Chaudhuri oo S Chaudhuri

oo M U Deshpande oo S Vitta

Major New Sponsored Projects

Select MOUs

April 2003

December 2003

January 2004

February 2004

March 2004

March 2004

Collaboration in Academic and Research Activities

Academic Exchange and Infrastructure Cooperation in Satellitebased Distance Education Programme in Information TechnologyResearch and Development Interaction with Centre for AerospaceSystems Design and EngineeringCollaboration in Education and Research

Promotion of Research and Development in Areas of Generation,Renewable Technology and Environment Issues, CFD andTechnology Development for Cost ReductionCollaboration relating to the Exploitation of India's Hydrocarbonand Unmineable Coal Reserves

Organization Date Signed Scope

oo Technical University of Munchen Germany

oo Goa University

oo Infosys Technologies Limited, Bangalore

oo Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen Germany

oo National Thermal Power Corporation

oo Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited

Awards

IIT Bombay 8 4

ASAN, a low cost Automated TellerMachine (ATM) was launched onDecember 5, 2003. Profs V P Bapat and UA Athavankar of the Industrial DesignCentre designed it, based on a survey ofcurrent and potential users interviewed fortheir views on existing ATMs. ASAN hasseveral advantageous features over the cur-rently deployed ATMs to suit the Indiancustomer and settings.

The attractive new design incorpo-rating elements from traditional Indian architecture departsfrom the current neutral appearance of ATMs. Banks may fur-ther customize it to a limited degree. The small size makes itsuitable for deployment in places with space constraints.ASAN's ergonomic design suits the typical Indian body dimen-sions with respect to the height of the keypad and the inclina-tion of the screen. Additionally, the machine has a provision

for keeping one's personal belongings,and protruding wings for ensuring priva-cy during transactions. A multi-colouredcard reader status indicator guides usersunfamiliar with new technology likesmart DIP card readers.

The machine has NCR-intelligentpower-saving hardware and software. Anintegrated pedestal accommodates a UPS,providing maximum availability duringoutages. The robust engineering design

ensures trouble-free operation in hot, humid and dusty envi-ronments. Additionally, a unique airflow system allows deploy-ment at non-air conditioned sites. Such features make it suit-able for interior locations. Other features include, 40-columngraphics thermal receipt printer, secure encrypting PIN padand a flat panel screen. Contact: Prof U A Athavankar, IDC, email: uaa@idc.iitb.ac.in

ASAN: The Low Cost ATM

Indian manufacturers still use the highlypolluting and inefficient 'pit' method forcharcoal production from wood and non-wood waste. Sponsored by the NationalMission on Bamboo Applications (NMBA),TIFAC, Dept. of Science and Technology, thebiomass research group led by ProfAnuradda Ganesh (Energy SystemsEngineering), has developed a simple tooperate, non-polluting Bio-char Unit (BCU).Although developed for bamboo waste, theunit can be used for other non-powdery bio-mass with minor modifications. The unique-ness of BCU lies in using the otherwise polluting gases as athermal energy source. The gases carry 50% of the energy ofthe biomass used in charcoal making.

Using BCU, a uniform yield of 25% charcoal from bamboowaste, and about 28% charcoal from other woody biomass isobtained, with a consistent calorific value of 28MJ/kg. A batchof 100kg bamboo waste is converted into 25kg charcoal in two

and a half hours. A single person can operatethe unit, which costs Rs. 35,000. A bio-charunit was set up at an activated carbon manu-facturing plant in Hyderabad, where the suit-ability of bamboo charcoal as raw materialwas successfully demonstrated. Another BCUsponsored by KVIC is being put up at a bakeryunit at Yusuf Mehrauli Centre, Tara Village,Maharashtra to demonstrate the use of ther-mal energy from gases for generating charcoalas a by-product. Through NMBA, 15 suchunits at five different locations in Tripura,Meghalaya, Bastar, Amravati and Pune dis-

tricts are being deployed for training and further disseminationof the technology. A 10 kg batch unit was also demonstratedat the VII World Bamboo Congress, New Delhi. The BCU isexpected to help generate rural employment, and ensure vil-lage energy security.

Contact: Prof A Ganesh, Energy Systems Engg, email:aganesh@me.iitb.ac.in

Bio-Char Unit for Charcoal Production

WebROBOT: Internet Based Robotic Assembly Planning System

Globalization has posed many challenges for product designand manufacturing due to shorter product life cycles and fre-quent design revisions. To realize telemanufacturing, collabo-rative CAD/CAM solutions are needed to enable seamlessintegration of distributed physical and knowledge resourcesso as to provide 'anywhere anytime' access. The ComputerAided Manufacturing (CAM) laboratory at IIT Bombay isactively engaged in designing and developing software solu-tions in the area of Product Modeling (Palantir), ProcessPlanning (WebCAPP), CNC Machining (WebNC) andAssembly Automation (WebROBOT).

WebROBOT is an Internet based Assembly PlanningSystem for intelligent task level programming of assemblyrobots. Its Client-Server architecture enables a client to graphi-cally model and synthesize the assembly world. A feature-basedCAD modeler enables the user to create and position solid mod-els of parts to be assembled in the virtual world. Unlike thestandard robot programming systems that need Teach-in orJoint level information, WebROBOT enables the client to spec-ify tasks at assembly (functional) level in a user-friendly man-ner. Robust algorithms have been written to 'understand' andprocess the specified tasks to generate efficient robot control

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IIT Bombay 8 5

programs. Specific issues addressedinclude, grasp planning, motion plan-ning, collision avoidance, operationsequencing, and post processing the pro-grams to suit the controller of the robotin shop. Using this technology, robot pro-grams can be automatically transferredby the client to the remote robot sitethrough the server.

WebROBOT implemented in themodular fashion using Object OrientedProgramming was linked to theMitsubishi Movemaster 5 axis robot in the CAM laboratory, and

was extensively tested from differentlocations through the Intranet. Variousassembly tasks such as, part placement,single and multipart assemblies, and pat-tern-based assemblies were tested.WebROBOT was found to provide an effi-cient web-based solution from client-endvirtual assembly modeling to its execu-tion in the real assembly environments.The software can be customized to suitspecific robot controllers.

Contact: Prof S S Pande, MechanicalEngg Department, email: sspande@me.iitb.ac.in

Pulse Tube Cryo-cooler

With funding from the Board of Research in Nuclear Sciences(BRNS), Prof K G Narayankhedkar,Department of Mechanical Engineering,has developed a state-of-the-art technol-ogy for Stirling type Pulse Tube Cryo-cooler (15 W capacity at 77K). The tech-nology finds applications in re-condensa-tion of nitrogen gas for MRI shield cool-ing, liquefaction of hydrogen and oxy-gen for space applications, and heliumliquefaction for SQUID.

The cooler has a modular com-pressor design, and produces cryogenic temperatures withoutthe use of displacers. Hence, it has no displacer seals, movingcold parts, or vibration, leading to greater reliability and longermean time between maintenance schedules. Additionally, dam-

age to the cold head during operation is eliminated due to theabsence of moving parts.

The novel design combines two majortechnical breakthroughs:

8 Dual opposed pistons driven by moving coil type linear motor using flexure bearings, minimizing compressor vibrations and acoustic noise.

8 Pulse Tube with inheritance tube and reservoir

These features make the Stirling type cryo-cooler more effi-cient than other cryo-coolers.

Contact: Prof K G Narayankhedkar, Mechanical EnggDepartment, email: nkhedkar@me.iitb.ac.in

Rapid Prototyping Facility

A state-of-the-art Rapid Prototyping Facilityhas been recently set up at IIT Bombay withfunds from MHRD under the TechnologyDevelopment Mission. The facility has helpeddiffuse the technology into the Indian industry.Several companies now employ the techniquefor their product development.

Rapid Prototyping (RP) makes the manu-facture of complex 3D objects as easy and sim-ple as printing a letter, drawing or a picture. Infact, RP machines are also called ‘3D Printing’or ‘3D Faxing’ machines! This fairly new andfascinating technology has revolutionized theway products are designed and manufacturedtoday. It enables manufacturing of physicalobjects directly from their CAD models withoutany human intervention or use of any tools, dies, or fixturesspecific to the geometry of the objects being produced. The

object is built in an automated layer-by-layermanner, requiring only a definition of itsgeometry. Rapid Prototyping & Tooling (RP&T) has distinct benefits since the processcompresses the product development cycle,and shortens the tool manufacturing cycleenabling organizations to launch new productswith short lead times.

Objects as large as 25cm x 25cm x 25cmcan be made out of plastics using this facility.Bigger objects can be built in pieces and joinedusing adhesives, or mechanically, or both. Itsmajor uses include: building concept models invarious disciplines of mechanical, aerospace,civil, and bio-medical engineering, and productdesign directly from CAD files.

Contact: Prof K P Karunakaran, Mechanical EnggDepartment, email: karuna@me.iitb.ac.in

Design Registrations: Five designs have been registered with the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs andTrademarks, India, for ‘Key-Lekh’– a keyboard developed at IIT Bombay for text input in Indian languages (The product wasdescribed in the previous issue). Webaddress–http://rnd.ircc.iitb.ac.in/~webadm/update/December03/keyboard.html

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IIT Bombay 8 6

Event HighlightEvent HighlightEvent Highlight

Pan-IIT Workshop on 'Management of IP in Academia' at IIT Bombay

In the current global economic scenario, timely and efficientmanagement of Intellectual Property (IP) in premier academ-ic and research institutions has become critical. Apart fromproducing skilled manpower, institutes such as the IITs aremajor generators of innovative products and services. Most ofthe IITs have already initiated institutional IP managementactivities. For providing a further fillip to such activities, theIPR unit* of IIT Bombay organized a two-day Pan-IIT work-shop on 'Management of Intellectual Property in Academia'.Held on the 26th and 27th of February 2004 at IIT Bombay,the idea of hosting such a workshop was originally conceivedby Prof. Ashok Misra (Director, IIT Bombay), as a sequel to aPan-IIT road show conducted in the US about 6 months ago.

Targeted at all the IITs and other academic institutions ,and the heads of their IPR units, the workshop was unique in thesense that it was made possible by spontaneous and honoraryparticipation of several specialist speakers and professionals. DrRaj Dave (IIT alumnus, and Patent Attorney, Morrison &Foerster, USA) was instrumental in bringing in a delegation ofdistinguished American IP experts and industry representatives,who provided an insight into the current status of IPR issues onan international level. The presentations were followed by live-ly and highly interactive panel discussions, which addressed thedeeper issues of IP protection from the standpoint of innovatorsor creators of IP, and the institution as a whole.

In a succinct speech, the eminent lawyer, Mr. RamJethmalani, who was present during the inauguration of theevent, acknowledged the superiority and the significance ofintellectual property in today's business environment.However, he also put forth a caveat on the importance ofexercising global control of what could turn out to be apotentially lethal tool.

The workshop covered a gamut of issues which included the following:

8 Managing IPR in academia: national and global experience

8 Building Institutional IP Policy for academic institutions: conflicts, critical issues and challenges

8 Valuation and protection of IP in a global context.

8 IP protection in Technology Transfer: price, royalty stru-cctures, other terms and conditions.

New generation communication technologies allow creation ofnovel media products that can serve the community at large.Such products must be robust, and possess simple and univer-sal interfaces. As part of a project fromIL&FS (Infrastructure Leasing &Financial Services Ltd.) Educational &Technology Services, Prof Kirti Trivediof IDC has developed K-Yan, such acompact media product for communityuse. It combines the functions of: a mul-timedia and internet enabled PC, largeformat television, DVD/VCD/CD player,CD writer, video-conference device,LCD data projector, and an audio sys-tem that facilitates shared viewing andparticipation by users. Launched inMarch 2004 at the major event IT.Com held in Bangalore, K-Yan has been demonstrated to several Chief Ministers, and sen-ior state and central government officials.

K-Yan is easy to use, has multilingual facilities, and elim-inates the need for investing in other media hardware. A sin-gle unit can cater to the teaching needs of an entire class, andsubstantially reduce the cost of computerizing schools. Theintegration of various functions not only allows students to

learn how to use a computer, but also other subjects, andcrafts. The product will also be useful in other group learningor information dissemination programs like healthcare, fami-

ly planning, agricultural practices, andcivic awareness drives.

K-Yan is equipped with extra solarenergy-based portable power supplyto enable use in areas with no electric-ity. Mounted on a van, it can also func-tion as a mobile communication cen-tre from remote locations. With aninternet connection and a web-cam-era, it would allow low cost web-con-ferencing from any location–making ituseful in disaster management or proj-ect progress monitoring. The web-con-

ferencing feature will also be useful in e-governance, as it willfacilitate direct communication between various agencies andthe administration.

K-Yan has evoked enthusiastic response and is on theway to becoming a major commercial success.

Contact: Prof K Trivedi, Industrial Design Center

kirti@idc.iitb.ac.in

K-Yan: The Compact Media Centre

L to R: Prof Shishir K Jha, Prof V Kalyanaraman, Judge R Rader,Mr Raghav Saha, Prof Martin Adelman

IIT Bombay 8 7

8 Experimental exemptions in patents/designs dealing with selection of projects, assignment of rights, liabili-ties, and planning research.

8 Case Studies in IPR litigations involving academic institutions

8 Entrepreneurship development and IPR

8 Copyright issues in academics

Several interesting themes emerged from the deliberations;one of these was the need for evolving a strong institutionalIP policy that would clearly address the inherent complexitiesin the creation and dissemination of knowledge. With theoverlap of disciplines and a blurring of boundaries betweenupstream and downstream research, issues concerning multi-ple ownerships can be expected to arise–especially in exter-nally funded research projects, and Technology BusinessIncubation activities. An ideal policy would therefore be onethat successfully protects the interests of the innovator (stu-dent or faculty), the institute, the sponsor, and the society atlarge. Such a policy would also help the institute in develop-ing a coherent philosophy, and in achieving its Vision andMission. As noted by Prof. P Ganguli, "in the present globalframework, IPR has come in at the point of idea generationand the challenge lies in managing it from here up to com-mercial production".

On a national scale, the need of the times is a legislationthat will address ownership issues of externally funded projects,similar to the Bayh-Dole Patent and Trademark LawAmendments Act of the US (1980). Institutions such as the IITscan impress upon the government, the need for such legislations.

Next on the Pan-IIT Board's agenda is the organization ofa National Workshop on IPR with large participation from the

industry. The event would aim to highlight the role of IP innational wealth generation, and inform the industry about theIP management initiatives in the academia. It would alsodwell on the need for evolving an organizational R&D strate-gy in the emerging scenario. The proceedings of the work-shop will be shortly brought out by the institute.

* The IPR Unit at IITB: Prof Karuna Jain (Co-ordinator) andProf Shishir Kumar Jha (Shailesh J Mehta School ofManagement), Prof Prabuddha Ganguli (Advisor, Vision IPR),and Dr Padma Satish (IRCC)

List of speakers

; Judge Randall R Rader, Circuit Judge, United States Court of Appeals, USA

; Prof Martin Adelman, Professor of Law, George Washington University Law School, USA

; Dr Raj Dave, Patent Attorney, Morrison & Foerster, USA

; Mr R S Minisandram, Executive Director of IP, Seagate Technology LLC, USA

; Mr David Simon, Director of IP, Intel Corp. USA

; Mr Paul Stone, VP and Chief Patent Counsel, Symyx Technologies Inc.

; Mr Stephen Durant, Partner, Morrison & Foerster, San Francisco.

; Mr Marc Adler, Chief IP Counsel, Rohm & Haas, USA

; Mr Raghav Saha, Advisor, Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India

; Mr T C James, Deputy Secretary DIPP, Govt. of India

; Mr Manoj Menda , Advocate

; Prof P Ganguli, Advisor, Vision IPR, Mumbai

Zishaan M Hayath*, Department of Civil EngineeringTechfest 2004: A look back

Techfest 2004–Asia's biggest, and IIT Bombay's popular annu-al technological festival is now seven years old and yet new!Held from the 24 - 26 January with a vivid spectrum of eventsranging from competitions to lectures to exhibitions, Techfestattracted the participation of over 15,000 students, faculty,corporate executives and eminent personalities from all overthe world. True to its reputation of doing new things everyyear–be it holding a defense exhibition or showcasing SonyAibo robots playing football–Techfest 2004 introducedCliffhanger, the international rope-climbing machine designcontest, probably the biggest milestone for Techfest yet.About 60 teams out of 400 were short-listed for the event,including three from the 'Rest-of-the-World' category (NTUSingapore, University of Peradeniya Sri Lanka, and Instituteof Engineering, Nepal).

Tech-a-tete, the distinguished lecture series of Techfestpromises the participants rendezvous with the "who's who",and some of the high-profile achievers of our times. This year,Techfest played hosts to Dr Bharat Balasubramanian, VicePresident of 'Engineering Technologies', Daimler Chrysler;Prof Kevin Warwick, Professor of Cybernetics, University of

Reading, UK; Dr Raghuram Rajan, Chief Economist of the IMFand Director of American Finance Association (over videoconference); Prof Yash Pal, India's most popular scientist; ProfAlex Pentland, Founder Director Media Labs Asia; DrNarendra Bhandari, member of the Moon Mission task forceconstituted by Indian Space Research Organisation; Prof Urjit

Students in the Competition Area

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IIT Bombay 8 8

Yajnik (IIT Bombay) and Prof DNarasimha (TIFR, Mumbai).

Competitions have always beenTechfest's mainstay. They enable studentsto construct, destruct, simplify, compli-cate, understand and battle it out in chal-lenges designed to instill the spirit of'striving to achieve the best'. Numerousteams participated in over 25 competi-tions with a total prize of over 6 lakhs. IITBombay clinched the overall trophy forthe second year in a row. Yantriki, therobotics event was a huge success, theother two events in it being Micromouseand Last Man Standing. For the first time,fully autonomous robots built by the par-ticipants solved the maze in Micromouse successfully. IITBombay bagged both the first and second positions. Last Strawstuck to its philosophy of simple but stimulating design prob-lems. The challenge was to make a Crane and Impact-resistingstructure with straws. The participants also made a 21-feethigh tower out of drinking straws to register themselves in the'Limca Book of Records'. Chemsplash came back with rejuve-nated vigour with la porsChe and High Spirits, in which mod-els are made using only chemical power. It also included vari-ous quizzes and modelling competitions like Turbulence andDexter's Den.

A prominent feature of Techfest is the Workshops where theemphasis is not just on 'Learn', but also on 'Do while you learn'.Over the last several years, attractive workshops on Cryptography,Wireless Networking and Forensics have been held; this year'stopics included Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), Aeromodelling,Gaming, Car Technology, GPS/GIS and Smart Materials.

A highlight this year was theIndian Naval Exhibition. Inaugurated byRear Admiral S K K Krishnan, the exhibi-tion showcased technologies used in theNavy. The theme of the exhibition wasbuilt upon the basic functions of a war-ship. The exhibits gave an insight into thecomplex technologies contributing tomaking the ship, a cohesive, self-con-tained fighting unit. Equipment displayeddepicted the four essential functions of awarship–to float, to move, to seek, and todestroy.

The last day of the events coincid-ed with Republic Day. To celebrate thisoccasion, the Aakaash Ganga team of the

Indian Air Force performed a breath-taking feat of para-jumpingon the campus. The event drew a very large body of spectators.

Mr. Ferenc Cako of Cako Studios Hungary (and of SeoulInternational Cartoon & Animation Festival ‘SICAF’ fame), per-formed in India for the first time at Techfest. This very uniqueand novel show involving figurative painting with sand to thesound of music and projected on a screen, was held in the OpenAir Theatre of IIT Bombay before a capacity crowd of 4000! Theattractions at Technoholix included: the Sci-Tech quiz hosted byrenowned quiz master Barry O'Brien, the display of a Formula 3car (from the stables of Tata Racing team), Colosseum–the gam-ing arcade, and the Dirt Track Racing competition.

In all, Techfest provided an enriching and exhilaratingexperience, especially to students who had traveled from var-ious parts of the country to participate in the event.

* Overall Co-coordinator, Techfest 2004

Sanskrit Texts: A Window on Indian Scientific Tradition Prema Prakash

In the popular perception, India's contribution to the developmentof science and technology often appears limited to those achievedover the last century or so. However, the wealth of Sanskrit textsprovides evidence that such contributions have existed over themillennia–the earliest textual source being the Rigveda (believed topre-date 3100 BC). Yet, an awareness of the precise nature of thecontributions has not percolated through our now westernizededucation system. This is partly due to a lack of wider cultivationof Sanskrit, and access to the ancient texts. Nevertheless, attemptsare being made in several academic institutions in India, includingIIT Bombay, to bridge this rift with our heritage by archiving, trans-lating, and digitizing manuscripts for easier access.

Indian Science over the Ages

Archaeological evidence shows that the first 'industrial' revolu-tion had begun as far back as the Mohenjo Daro and Harappancivilizations. The Svetasvatara Upanishad recounts the earliestconflict between religion and science, which ushered in a newintellectual climate during the Second Urbanization (c.600BC)–a period that allowed for the first time, the emergence ofthe 'scientist'. Contrary to the belief that science originated in

Europe pioneered by the Greek sage Thales (76 BC), historian DP Chattopadhyaya demonstrated that it was actually UddalakaAruni from the Indian subcontinent who possibly was the first inhuman history to claim the need for arriving at knowledgethrough experimentation. As is well known today, the rational-ist medicine of ancient India was rich in its empirical content. Itsfounders made use of knowledge not only of anatomy, physiol-ogy and pharmacology, but also digressed into other disciplinesthat later evolved into physics, chemistry, biology, climatologyand mineralogy. Also, scholars have acknowledged that Panini'sgrammar (5th century BC) with its 4000 rules is one of thegreatest intellectual achievements of all time. It represents a uni-versal grammatical and computing system, which anticipatedthe logical framework of modern computing languages.

The period between 4th & 12th centuries AD sawremarkable progress made in the realms of astronomy, math-ematics, medicine, metallurgy and architecture. The oldestmathematical works essentially dealing with geometry werethe Sulvasutras. Mathematics itself developed more as an off-shoot of an enduring preoccupation with astronomy. Some of

Para-jumping by Aakaash Ganga team, IAF

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IIT Bombay 8 9

ManufacturingManufacturingManufacturing

the astronomer-mathematicians like Aryabhatta (born476AD), Brahmagupta (born 598AD), Bhaskaracharya(1114AD), Madhavacharya (c.1340-1425) and NilakanthaSomayaji (c. 1444-1545) had developed methods far ahead oftheir European contemporaries. Bhaskaracharya was theauthor of Siddhanta Shiromani, a compendium comprising:Lilavati on arithmetic, Bijaganita on algebra, Ganitadhyaya,and Goladhyaya on astronomy. His "epicyclic-eccentric" theo-ries of planetary motions were more developed than in theearlier siddhantas. The Chakravala (quadratic equations withtwo unknowns) contained in the Bijaganita gained popularityin 17th century Europe.

The sources for astronomical knowledge are the Jyotish-Vedanga (500BC) and the Panchasiddhantas, ofwhich, the Suryasiddhanta (Varahamihira,578 AD) has had a major influence onIndian astronomical tradition.Similarly, the postulation of atomismin the Nyaya-Vaisheshikas; the exten-sive treatise on coinage and mintingin Kautilya's Arthashastra; and theholistic 'science of life' Ayurvedawith its outstanding texts–theCharaka, Susruta and Ashtanga samhi-tas–are examples of the advanced scien-tific knowledge that was available duringthe medieval period (c.647 - 1526AD)

This worldly vs. otherworldly

Despite such early achievements, in the post-IndustrialRevolution era, India fell behind Europe in developing modernscience and technology. Historian, A Rahman has suggested thatthe reason lay in "a lack of quantification of knowledge andpractice, a lack of development of aids to observation, and thefailure to evolve a perspective of the future and develop a pat-tern of knowledge in relation to it". Others have implicated peri-odic invasions, unfavourable social climate, and the self-seekingpolicies of the colonial power. The Indian education system wasseen to be ritualistic and brahminical, and the subsequent gov-ernment decree in 1844, which officially recognized only stu-dents of the Western education system, led to the decay of tra-ditional Pathshalas. In his well-known book 'Protestant Ethicand the Spirit of Capitalism' the European sociologist Max

Weber observed that the capitalist form of economy employed aform of rationality–a "this worldly attitude"–that fostered west-ern scientific thought; unlike the "otherworldly attitude" of with-drawal and renunciation that was supposedly adopted by east-ern cultures. In short, the exotic and spiritual aspects of Indianintellectual tradition have been unduly exaggerated over itsmore rationalistic and analytical elements.

The Sanskrit Cell at IIT Bombay

The usefulness of Sanskrit texts for modern times can bedemonstrated by demystifying the basic knowledge in theancient texts, and by working out new theories and paradigmsthat can be built on the principles laid down in them. At the sug-gestion of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, IITBombay has set up a 'Cell for Sanskrit in Indian Science andTechnology' (CSIST), with an Advisory Committee constituted

by Profs Amitabha Gupta (Convener) and P R Bhat (Dept ofHumanities and Social Sciences); Profs H Narayanan

and S D Agashe (Dept of ElectricalEngineering); and Prof Pushpak

Bhattacharya (Dept of Computer Science& Engg)

The cell's activities include: initi-ating teaching and research based onSanskrit texts, developing a digital

archive*, and organizing workshops,seminars and lecture series to high-light and disseminate Indian contribu-tion to science and technology. Anelective course has already been

introduced at the 4th year level, andthe texts currently available at the website are Suryasiddhantaand Bijaganita. Verses from the former have been juxtaposedwith their English translation by Rev Ebenezer Burgess(1861). Prof S M Bhave, Head, CSIST has provided the pref-aces to both texts. In the future, the CSIST aims to make moresuch texts readily accessible and help re-evaluation of ideasdormant in them, and so enhance their utility in the on-goingdiscourse on Indian contributions to the founding of science.

Acknowledgement: The author thanks Prof A Gupta and ProfS M Bhave of the Dept of Humanities & Social Sciences for theircomments and suggestions.

*Website: www.csist.hss.iitb.ac.in

Collaborative Engineering for Product Life Cycle ManagementB. Ravi, Department of Mechanical Engineering

To survive and succeed in the global market, manufacturingfirms are churning out innovative products with continualimprovements in price-, quality- and response- competitive-ness. Products now incorporate new features, materials, ortechnologies with: additional functionality, better user inter-face, higher efficiency, or smaller size. Price competitivenessrelies on manufacturing a product within a target cost givenby the target market price, minus desired profit. Quality com-petitiveness involves designing robust products and produc-tion systems to get the quality right–the first time and every

time. Response competitiveness implies faster developmentand introduction of a new product by working proactivelywith respect to customer expectations.

What is Collaborative Engineering?

Aggressive innovation by competing firms is leading to morecomplex products which require specialist teams to handle dif-ferent activities in product lifecycle, such as: concept design,engineering analysis, tooling development, manufacturingplanning, part manufacture, product assembly, delivery, serv-

IIT Bombay 8 10

ice, and disposal. The teams need to work with each other con-currently to optimise the product, and launch it early in themarket. Concurrent engineering is, however, difficult to prac-tise when the specialist teams are located in different parts ofthe world–an increasing trend with globalisation.

The solution lies in connecting the team membersthrough a digital communications network and providingthem appropriate software to create, analyse, and modify avirtual model of the product. The model and results are storedin digital form in a central or distributed server, which may beaccessed by all team members over a local area network orInternet. This approach to product development is referred toas Collaborative Engineering.

Computer-aided Product Development

The virtual product comprises a digital assembly of its partmodels. The parts are modelled in 3D using computer-aideddesign (CAD) programs and saved in standard formats (e.g.IGES and STEP) for exchange between different programs.Computer-aided engineering (CAE) programs enable simulat-ing the product mechanism, and optimising the shape of eachpart under static or dynamic loads by simulating the internalstresses. The part models can be sent to a rapid prototypingsystem for automatic fabrication of a physical replica forform, fit and function testing. The tooling models (moulds,dies, jigs and fixtures) can bequickly developed by modify-ing the corresponding partmodels. Computer-aidedmanufacturing (CAM) pro-grams enable planning, simu-lation and optimisation ofprocess parameters. Finally,computer-aided inspectionsystems enable automaticcomparison of virtual and realparts for quality assurance.

The 3D product-model isthe connecting link betweenthe various computer-aided programs (referred later as CAX-where 'X' could mean design, engineering, manufacturing, orinspection). The programs generate a huge amount of data,which includes the solid models of different iterations and pre-vious versions of products, as well as tooling, materials, processplans, and results of analysis. This necessitates a systematicapproach to data storage, verification, and retrieval–achievedby a product data management (PDM) system.

The PDM systems have rapidly evolved over the lastdecade, and now allow distributed storage and remote accessover Internet. They provide better data translation forexchange among various teams. Security is handled by dataencryption during exchange, and by facilities for setting lim-its of access by non-core team members. Also, some usefulutilities may be provided for collaboration. For example, com-ments or suggestions can be attached to product features.Additionally, two or more team members can synchronisetheir computer displays, point out product features (by anarrow visible to all team members), and discuss improve-ments using a messaging, or videoconferencing facility.

A complete set of computer-aided programs, PDM sys-tem, and collaboration utilities, is now referred to as a-prod-uct lifecycle management (PLM) solution. The set may beoffered entirely by a single vendor (such as Dassault Systems,France; Electronic Data Systems, USA; or ParametricTechnology Corp, USA) or can be put together by integratingthe most suitable program for each application (e.g.SolidWorks for CAD, ANSYS for CAE, Delcam for moulddesign and CAM, MoldFlow for plastic flow simulation andMatrixOne for PDM).

Designing Beyond Functionality

A well-designed product not only satisfies its functionalrequirements, but also is easier to manufacture, maintain,deliver, and dispose off. Often, even minor modifications to anexisting design (such as changing a fillet radius or shifting aboss) may yield significant reduction in costs, defects or lead-time. Such changes are easy and inexpensive for a new prod-uct during its design phase. The same changes during manu-facturing phase would entail redoing the tooling and processplanning, which is several times more expensive and time-consuming. The costs mount further if the products havealready been delivered to customers and have to be recalledto fix a problem that could have been foreseen and preventedby a better design in the first place.

Design for Manufacture (DFM) is influenced by productgeometry, material, andprocess. For example, injec-tion moulded plastic partsneed to be designed with auniform wall thickness to min-imise the production cycletime, and avoid sink marks;metal castings must bedesigned for directional solid-ification for ease of feeding;forged parts must have gener-ous radii of curvature to facil-itate flow of metal; and sheet

metal parts made by blanking operations, must be designedfor efficient nesting and thereby, stock utilisation.

Similar guidelines are also available for improving aproduct design for ease of assembly, service, transportationand environment. Design for Assembly (DFA) guidelinesinclude reduction of number of parts, and number of assemblydirections. Design for Service guidelines include modulardesign, and ease of access. Design for Transportation guide-lines include provision of suitable hooks and handles for liftingthe part. Design for Environment (DFE) guidelines include useof recyclable materials (metals are better than plastics),reduced packaging, and improving the energy efficiency of theproduct. The guidelines (referred later as DFX–where X couldmean manufacture, assembly, service, transportation, or envi-ronment) are distilled from practical experience on previousproducts, and may not be applicable to new materials orprocesses. They may also conflict with each other, but provideno quantitative feedback to resolve such conflicts. Moreover,most designers have little time, interest or knowledge in han-dling product lifecycle issues beyond functionality. One way to

Web-based Product Lifecycle Data Management System

ConceptDesign

ToolingDevelopment

ManufacturingPlanning

Recyclingor Disposal

Serviceor Repair

Shipping &Delivery

Production& Assembly

Collaborative engineering framework

EngineeringAnalysis

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IIT Bombay 8 11

overcome these problems is to invite external experts to eval-uate the design for various design considerations and suggestsuitable improvements. Since the experts are likely to be inac-cessible (in terms of time or distance), a web-based PLM sys-tem greatly facilitates such collaborations.

The collaborative engineering framework also yields animportant by-product: a vast amount of data and informationcaptured in digital form during development of several genera-tions of products. Special data mining tools can be used toprocess the accumulated data and produce new knowledge. Allsuch information and knowledge can be made accessible overthe network, and used in developing future generations ofproducts. Knowledge Management (KM) is in fact, rapidlybecoming an important part of Product Lifecycle Management.

The focus of PLM on engineering data andknowledge, contrasts with enterprise resource plan-ning, supply chain management and customer rela-tionship management, which largely handle busi-ness process data. There is however, an increasingoverlap between the systems and the distinctionsare gradually blurring. In future, it is likely that thesystems will have seamless connections and dataexchanges with each other, and will provide accessto any relevant data through a standard (but cus-tomisable) user interface.

Research Initiatives at IIT Bombay

Our R&D focus is on developing a systematicapproach and software tools for collaborative engi-neering of cast components used in automobile,aerospace, farming, mining, machine tools, electri-cal, consumer, and other products. Over the last onedecade, several elements of a frameworkcode–named WebICE (Web-based IntelligentCollaborative Engineering) have been developedand used for solving industrial problems. Theframework allows product, tooling and manufacturing engi-neers to design, analyse, and improve a casting for lower costand higher quality assurance using software tools and Internet.

The backbone of the system is an XML-based castingdata mark-up language (CDML), which captures over 2000different items of information about a casting project. Theitems range from part geometric parameters to material prop-erties, tooling element designs, process plans, and costingdetails. Other files containing 2D images, 3D models, libraryoptions, and knowledge-bits (if-then rules) related to the cast-ing can be linked to different nodes of the CDML tree. Thedata is stored in a web server, and team members can accessand view it using a standard browser. The large size of solidmodels prevents their real-time exchange over standard net-work connections. To overcome this problem, a special pro-gram has been developed to compress, upload, download,decompress, and display the solid models.

Several programs have been developed to assist theproduct, tooling, and foundry engineers in their respectivetasks, as well as evaluate the product and process. Theseinclude: casting alloy selection, process selection, processplanning, methoding (feeding and gating design), casting

defect prediction, product-process-producer compatibilityanalysis, shape complexity estimation, tooling process selec-tion, cost estimation, feature recognition and DFX checks.Simpler programs are implemented in PHP/Java and execut-ed at the server itself, whereas computation-intensive pro-grams are implemented in C++ and run at client computers,followed by exchange of results over the network.

The system has been used to troubleshoot and optimisemany castings ranging in weight from a few kilograms (e.g.compressor casing and medical equipment housing in alu-minium alloys) to several tons (e.g. hydraulic pumps andpress tool parts in ferrous metals). Such projects are carriedout by active involvement of product, tooling, and manufac-turing engineers, and coupled with continuing education pro-grams to impart the necessary theoretical background.

Our research focuses strongly on different methodolo-gies and software tools for collaborative engineering, includ-ing intelligent CAX, DFX, PLM and KM; these have a directand immediate impact on the competitiveness of manufactur-ing firms. Today, many research laboratories in leading uni-versities, and several journals and conferences are dedicatedto various aspects of collaborative engineering.

Conclusion

Currently the Indian manufacturing industry is in the globallimelight. Just as Japan in 1980s focussed on quality, andChina in 1990s established its price competitiveness, Indiacan stake a claim to response competitiveness. This is possibleby applying information technology–in which we havealready gained world-class experience and reputation–forproduct lifecycle management and collaborative engineering.Because our industry mainly comprises small and mediumsize firms, the solutions must be inexpensive and genuinelyeasy-to-use. This is a challenge that can be addressed only bycollaborative R&D between engineering institutes, the IT sec-tor and the manufacturing industry.

Contact: bravi@me.iitb.ac.in

Browser-based interface of WebICE system

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HR ManagementHRHR ManagementManagement

HR Challenges in the Indian Software IndustryMeenakshi Gupta, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences

Software is a wealth and job creating industry, which has injust a few years, grown to US $ 1 trillion, employing millionsof professionals worldwide. The Indian software industry hasburgeoned, showing a nearly 50% compounded annualgrowth rate over the recent years. Being a knowledge-basedindustry, a high intellectual capital lends competitive advan-tage to a firm. Intellectual capital comprises human capitaland intellectual assets–the latter being any created bit ofknowledge or expertise. With a global explosion in market-opportunities in the IT sector, the shortage of manpower bothin numbers and skills is a prime challenge for HR profession-als. The related issues are varied indeed: recruitment ofworld-class workforce and their retention, compensation andcareer planning, technological obsolescence and employeeturnover. This article presents some of the findings of ourrecent research on the HR challenges posed by the IT sector.

Workforce Retention and Motivation

Retention and motivation of personnel are major HR concernstoday. People–a Gartner group company specializing in man-agement of human capital in IT organizations–has observedthat the average tenure for an IT professional is less thanthree years. Further, the use of new technologies, the supportof learning and training, and a challenging environmentranked higher than competitive pay structures as effectiveretention practices. Our own recent survey of 1028 softwareprofessionals from 14 Indian software companies, showedthat while the professional gave importance to personal andcultural job-fit, HR managers believed that the key to reten-

tion was salary and career satisfaction. Money was a primemotivator for 'starters', but for those into their third or fourthjobs, their value-addition to the organization was moreimportant. Monetarily, offering 'the best salaries in industry' isthe minimum every company is doing, apart from perform-ance-based bonuses, long-service awards, and stock options.Many organizations frequently conduct employee satisfactionand organization climate surveys, and are setting upManpower Allocation Cells (MAC) to assign 'the right projectto the right person'. In fact, some are even helping employeeswith their personal and domestic responsibilities to satisfy &motivate their workforce!

Attracting the Best Talent

In a tight job market, many organizations often experienceprecipitous and simultaneous demands for the same kinds ofprofessionals. In their quest for manpower, they are cajolingtalent around the world. In such a seller's market, softwarecompanies are striving to understand which organizational,job, and reward factors contribute to attracting the best tal-ent–one having the right blend of technical and person-boundskills. This would mean a knowledge of 'the tools of the trade'combined with conceptualization and communication skills,capacity for analytical and logical thinking, leadership andteam building, creativity and innovation. The Indian softwareindustry suffers from a shortage of experienced people suchas systems analysts and project managers, and attractingthem is a key HR challenge.

Compensation and Reward

Increasing demands of technology coupled with a short sup-ply of professionals (with the requisite expertise) hasincreased the costs of delivering the technology. This makesincentive compensation a significant feature, with the resultthat software companies have moved from conventional pay-for-time methods to a combination of pay-for-knowledge andpay-for-performance plans. With the determinants of paybeing profit, performance and value-addition, emphasis isnow on profit sharing (employee stock option plans) or per-formance-based pay, keeping in view the long-term organiza-tional objectives rather than short-term production-basedbonuses. Skills, competencies, and commitment supercedeloyalty, hard work and length of service. This pressurizes HRteams to devise optimized compensation packages, althoughcompensation is not the motivator in this industry.

Being ‘the best place to work with’

As with any other professional, what really matters to soft-ware professionals is selecting 'the best place to workwith'–which is what every company is striving to be. Theglobal nature of this industry, and the 'project-environment'(as opposed to ‘product environment’) has added new cultur-al dimensions to these firms. In a value-driven culture, valuesare determined and shared throughout the organization.Typically, areas in which values are expressed are: perform-ance, competence, competitiveness, innovation, teamwork,quality, customer service, and care and consideration for peo-

“Sir, the ‘FUN LOOK’ of our office has surely helped attract thebest brains! Our next challenge is to get them to work!”

IIT Bombay 8 13

ple. Flat structure, open and informal culture, authority basedon expertise and ability rather than position, and flexi-timingsare some of the norms software firms follow. The idea is tomake the work place a 'fun place' with the hope of increasingloyalty and commitment.

Coping with the Demand-Supply Gap

Shortage of IT professionals is global in nature and not pecu-liar to the Indian software industry alone. W. Strigel, founderof Software Productivity Centre Inc. (1999) has projected theshortage of software professionals to be one million by 2006.In fact, a survey reports that 75 per cent of US companiesplanned to reengineer their applications using newer tech-nologies, but found that 72 per cent of their existing stafflacked the skills needed in these technologies, and 14 per centwere not even re-trainable.

For India, it is predicted that in the year 2004 itself, theIT sector will need 1,95,000 professionals. This trend willcontinue, and in the year 2010 almost 3,70,000 IT profes-sionals will be required (Strategic Review Reports, NASSCOM1996-2001). Consequently, recruitment managers are explor-ing new sources of IT manpower from non-IT professionalsectors, as well fresh, trainable science graduates.

Integrating HR strategy with Business Strategy

The strategic HR role focuses on aligning HR practices with busi-ness strategy. The HR professional is expected to be a strategicpartner contributing to the success of business plans, which to agreat extent depend on HR policies pertaining to recruitment,retention, motivation, and reward. The other major areas of con-cern for HR personnel in this context are, management ofchange, matching resources to future business requirements,organizational effectiveness, and employee development.

Encouraging Quality and Customer focus

Today’s corporate culture needs to actively support qualityand customer orientation. With globalization and rapid tech-nological change, quality is of utmost importance for theIndian companies, which earn most of their revenues throughexports. Hence, the HR professional as a strategic partnerneeds to encourage a culture of superior quality to ensurecustomer satisfaction–the only real measure of quality of aproduct or service.

To be competitive today, an organization needs to be cus-tomer responsive. Responsiveness includes innovation, quickdecision-making, leading an industry in price or value, andeffectively linking with suppliers and vendors to build a valuechain for customers. Employee attitudes correlate highly with

customer attitude. The shift to a customer focus redirectsattention from the firm to the value chain in which it isembedded. HR practices within a firm should consequently beextended to suppliers and customers outside the firm.

Up-gradation of Skills through Re-training

Rapid and unpredictable technological changes, and theincreased emphasis on quality of services are compelling soft-ware businesses to recruit adaptable and competent employ-ees. Software professionals themselves expect their employersprovide them with all the training they may need in order toperform not only in their current projects, but also in relatedones that they may subsequently hold within the organiza-tion. As observed by Watts Humphrey, Fellow of the CarnegieMellon University, "…as software professionals gain compe-tence, they do not necessarily gain motivation. This is becausea creative engineer or scientist who has learned how toaccomplish something has little interest in doing it again.Once they have satisfied their curiosity, they may abruptlylose interest and seek an immediate change". And when therate of technological change is high–may be higher than thetime required to acquire competence in one area–profession-als could undergo psychological turbulence owing to the needto work in a new technology throughout their career. Theywant to gain new knowledge, which will be utilized by theirorganization. On the basis of the new learning they want towork in higher segments of software value chain. Therefore,constant up-gradation of employee skills poses yet anotherchallenge for HR personnel.

In Conclusion

With the advent of a work situation where more and morecompanies are having to concede that their valued employeesare leaving them, a new concept of career and humanresource management is bound to emerge. The focus of thisnew paradigm should not only be to attract, motivate andretain key 'knowledge workers', but also on how to reinventcareers when the loyalty of the employees is to their 'brainware' rather than to the organization.

With lifetime employment in one company not on theagenda of most employees, jobs will become short term. Today'shigh-tech employees desire a continuous up-gradation of skills,and want work to be exciting and entertaining–a trend thatrequires designing work systems that fulfill such expectations.As employees gain greater expertise and control over theircareers, they would reinvest their gain back into their work.

HR practitioners must also play a proactive role in soft-ware industry. As business partners, they need to be aware ofbusiness strategies, and the opportunities and threats facingthe organization. As strategists, HR professionals require toachieve integration and fit to an organization's business strat-egy. As interventionists, they need to adopt an all-embracingapproach to understanding organizational issues, and theireffect on people. Finally, as innovators, they should introducenew processes and procedures, which they believe willincrease organizational effectiveness.

Some of the information in this article is based on the workof Dr N S Rathi, Asst. Placement Officer, IIT Bombay.

Contact: meena@hss.iitb.ac.in

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HR ManagementHRHR ManagementManagement

IIT Bombay 8 14

FocusFocusFocus

Opportunities for the Food Processing Industry in IndiaNarendra Shah, CTARA* & K V Venkatesh, Department of Chemical Engineering

In India agricultural and dairy sectors have achieved remark-able successes over the last three and a half decades. Besidesbeing one of the world's largest producers of food-grains,India ranks second in the world in the production of fruits andvegetables, and first in milk production–providing muchneeded food security to the nation.

The accomplishments of the green and white revolutionshave, however, not been matched by concurrent develop-ments in supply chain management, and in new technologiesfor better processing, preservation, and storage of food.Pockets of shortages and near starvation, substantial wastagesdue to spoilage, quality deficiencies, and inadequate returnsto the farmer are still very much in evidence.

Increased urbanization, improved standards of living,and the convenience needs of dual income families point tomajor market potentialities in the food processing and mar-keting sectors. This is also evident from the presence of sev-eral global foods giants and leading Indian industrial enter-prises in the country's food processing sector, such as: NestleIndia Ltd, Cadbury's India Ltd, Kelloggs India, HindustanLever Ltd, ITC-Agro, Godrej Foods and MTR Foods LtdBesides, in the current globalized milieu, our surplus foodproduction, as well as the increasing preference for Indianfoods (in several regions of the world) need to be leveragedto achieve economic, and strategic objectives through exports.The Food and Agriculture Integrated Development Action(FAIDA) report (1997) prepared by McKinsey has estimatedthat, driven by changing consumer preferences, the annualconsumption of 'value-added' foods alone would grow toRs.225, 000 crores by 2007–larger than the entire manufac-turing sector! A more recent report has stated an absolute rev-enue increase of Rs. 900 billion in food manufacturingbetween 1993 and 2000. This is in contrast with Rs. 150 bil-lion and Rs. 300 billion in the pharmaceutical and IT indus-tries, respectively. Overall, the value of the Indian food indus-try has increased from Rs. 3.09 trillion in 1993-94 to Rs. 3.99trillion in 2000-01. The segments with the largest growthpotential have been identified as dairy, wheat, fruits and veg-etables, and poultry. This report has also identified some ofthe major challenges for the emerging food industry in India(see box).

Challenges in Food Processing

Unprocessed foods are susceptible to spoilage by biochemicalprocesses, microbial attack and infestation. The right post har-vest practices such as good processing techniques, and properpackaging, transportation and storage (of even processedfoods) can play a significant role in reducing spoilage andextending shelf life. The challenges in processing lie in retain-ing the nutritional value, flavour, aroma, and texture of foods,and presenting them in near natural form with added conven-iences. However, such qualities cannot be readily quantifiedand correlated with physico-chemical parameters, sensory eval-uations providing the only means of benchmarking. Besides,processed foods need to be offered to the consumer in hygien-ic and attractive packaging, and at low incremental costs.

The challenges for the food preservation, distribution andprocessing sectors are diverse and demanding, and need to beaddressed on several fronts to derive maximum market bene-fits. Presently, the organizations addressing the educationaland R & D requirements are too few, and there is a pressingneed for supplementing their efforts. In the emerging sce-nario, the Food Engineering professional needs to developsufficient awareness and appreciation of the relevant princi-ples of life sciences, and physical sciences, as well as of a widevariety of other topics including: nutrition, preservation andstorage techniques, processing unit operations, bio-process-ing, waste management, distribution and supply chain man-agement, food laws and regulations and so on. Besides, theprofessional needs to develop an appreciation of R&D andinnovation in critical technology areas such as: newer ornovel process development in preservation and storage tech-niques, rheology, colloids and dispersal systems, packaging-polymers and composites, sensors for detection and processcontrol, bioprocess engineering, and so on.

Food Process Engineering Mission Projects at IITB

IIT Bombay has developed an appreciation of the challenges, aswell as opportunities in this area over the last decade, and hasplayed a leading role in conceptualizing a TechnologyDevelopment Mission Project (funded by MHRD, Govt. ofIndia) on Food Process Engineering with IIT Kharagpur, IISc,Bangalore, and several industry partners. The projectsaddressed four major areas described below:

Supercritical Fluid Extraction (SCFE) process1

SCFE process can help the Indian industry to compete in a fastgrowing international market for value-added natural prod-ucts. Presently, the high cost of imported SCFE equipmentdeters economically viable use of SCFE technology. Our objec-tive has been to develop viable, world-class SCFE technologythrough indigenous design and manufacture of components.The SCFE prototype plant designed and installed at IITBombay has state-of-the-art safety and process control fea-tures of commercial SCFE plants. It is used for technologydemonstration, scale-up studies, test sample (extract) gener-ation, and process optimization. Products extracted using thistechnology have the advantages of purity, high concentrations

Major Challenges for the Indian Food Industry

; Consumer education that processed foods can be more nutritious

; Low price-elasticity for processed food products

; Need for distribution network and cold chain

; Backward-forward integration from farm to consumers

; Development of marketing channels

; Development of linkages between industry, government and institutions

; Taxation in line with other nations

; Streamlining of food laws

IIT Bombay 8 15

and extended shelf life. The process allows flexible operatingconditions for multiple product extraction, and simultaneousfractionation of extract. It also eliminates toxic residues dueto the use of supercritical CO2 as solvent. The technology hasbeen licensed, and SCFE plants based on this technology havebeen sold to industries in India and abroad. More details atwww.iitbombay.com

Controlled Atmosphere (CA) Technology for Long term Storageof food grains 2

CA storage consists of reduction of oxygen by elevating nitro-gen and/or carbon dioxide concentrations in storage units, soas to enable preservation of the quality of food products dur-ing storage. The technique of chemical fumigation that iswidely used for storage, although effective to an extent, is notenvironment friendly. As an alternative, a Pressure SwingAdsorption N2 generator was designed and established at IITBombay. This aids the creation of nitrogen and/or carbondioxide-rich, and oxygen-depleted atmosphere in a storageunit. Bag-stacked items such as, cereal grains, seeds andblack tea have been successfully stored without any infesta-tion, moisture pick-up, and with superior quality maintenancein terms oftaste, color,lustre andaroma. Thechoice of plas-tic films usedas coveringmaterial forthe storedgrains wasbased on theirgas permeabil-ity and water vapour transmission rates. The work has culmi-nated in the transfer of the CA technology. More recentlyanother project on black-tea storage has been executed, andthe resulting technology transferred after filing an interna-tional patent jointly with the industrial partner.

Engine exhaust-fired Truck Refrigeration System (TRS) 3

Proper refrigeration is critical to the transport of perishableitems. A novel technology developed at IIT Bombay, whichutilizes engine exhaust has shown encouraging results withboth prototype testing and full demonstration. The engineexhaust-fired TRS can replace the conventional dedicatedengine-driven vapour compression truck refrigeration system(DEDVCRS) used for transporting fresh fruits, flowers andvegetables, frozen vegetables, fish, meat and ice cream. TheTRS can be slightly modified for use in milk transport trucks.The salient features of the system are: rugged and reliabledesign due to few moving parts, low life-cycle costs due tolower initial and operating costs, and the use of environmentfriendly ammonia as refrigerant.

A similar 'Shipboard Chilling System' for small fishingtrawlers is being transferred to an Indian client for commer-cialization. Using these systems, the cost of co-generatingpower for hot and cold utilities can be 15 to 50% lower thancurrent methods, where a significant amount of heat is lost tothe atmosphere from the engine cooling water and exhaust

gases. Successful implementation of these technologies willhelp reduce fuel consumption, and also save valuable foreignexchange in importing the DEDVCRS, or its components.

Liquid nitrogen based Individual Quick Freezing (IQF) technol-ogy for seafood 4

India has excel-lent potentialfor develop-ment of theseafood indus-try, which hasemerged as animportant for-eign exchangeearner. Theindustry has

recognized the need for IQF technology, which is far superior tothe conventional processes in terms of quicker freezing time, bet-ter flavour and shape retention etc. Compared with the IQFprocess using mechanical refrigeration (currently being used inIndia), the cyrogenic process developed at IIT Bombay uses liq-uid nitrogen as the freezant. The seafood is frozen individually bydirect contact with nitrogen vapours and liquid nitrogen spray.This offers greater convenience to the consumers and adds valueto the products.

IIT Bombay has indigenously designed and developed a cryo-genic tunnel which possesses the following advantageous features:

8 low initial investment.

8 compact unit–allowing mechanization and automation of the production process

8 rapid freezing–ensuring retention of original texture, flavour, and a good marketable appearance.

8 prevention of oxidation of the product due to presence of nitrogen gas during packing.

To summarize, the projects pursued at IIT Bombay have led tonotable contributions. Besides sensitization to the criticalaspects of food processing and preservation, they have helpeddevelop a strong knowledge base, expertise, and important facil-ities in these areas. The Institute has initiated a continuing edu-cation programme series, including courses on 'EngineeringConcepts for Food Industry.' The Ministry of Food ProcessingIndustry (MFPI) has provided first-phase support for the devel-opment of a modern Food-Process Engineering laboratory at IITBombay. The Institute is now well equipped to launch a five-yearDual Degree programme in Food and Bioprocess Engineering(with Chemical Engineering as the core discipline), by employ-ing the institutional strengths in a wide range of related disci-plines such as: Biotechnology and Bioprocess Engineering,Chemical, Mechanical and Post Harvest Engineering,Information Technology and Technology Management.

Contact: 1Prof M Mukhopadhyay (Chemical Engg.) mm@che.iitb.ac.in2Prof N Shah (*Centre for Technology Alternatives for Rural Areas)nshah@iitb.ac.in,; Prof K V Venkatesh (Chemical Engg.)venks@che.iitb.ac.in3Prof M V Rane (Mechanical Engg.) ranemv@me.iitb.ac.in4Prof K G Narayankhedkar (Mechanical Engg.) nkhedkar@me.iitb.ac.in

IQF Tunnel for presevation of Sea Food

CA Storage for palletized stacks of food grains

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