A programme was held in New Delhi on Thursday, marking the culmination of landmark Golden Jubilee celebrations of Indianoil R&D. Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas & Housing and Urban Affairs Shri Hardeep S Puri was the Chief Guest on the occasion. The event was also graced by Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas & Labour and Employment, Rameshwar Teli, Padma Vibhushan Dr. R.A Mashelkar, Padma Vibhushan Dr. Anil Kakodkar, Secretary, MoPNG Pankaj Jain, Indian Oil Chairman S.M.Vaidya, IndianOil's Director (R&D) Dr. SSV Ramakumar, Manju Kumar, CPMG, and captains of Indian industry.
On the occasion, a special commemorative postal MyStamp was released. An innovative solar cooktop - Surya Nutan - was also launched on the occasion. Citation of 1501 patents of IOC R&D, was unveiled. The Minister also spoke to the beneficiaries of solar cooktop about their experiences of the new product. The Minister gave away prizes to the winners of Indianoil R&D Golden Jubilee National Essay Competition in which over 1500 entries were received.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Hardeep S Puri said that 50 years of pioneering research to make energy secure and accessible in India is truly an enormous achievement. He said that recognised as the apex organisation for research and innovation in the sector, IOC R&D has transcended to the gold standard for industry innovation.
The Minister said that IOCL R&D has had glittering success in developing consumer-focused products such as high-performance fuel, mini-LPG cylinders, world-class automobile lubricants, automation of retail outlets, and LPG distributorships. It is also developing innovative technologies for the mass rollout of Biofuels, EVs, FCEVs and Green Hydrogen - the future of India's energy security paradigm.
Talking about the solar cooktop launched today, Shri Puri said that it could be a path-breaking innovation for the average Indian consumer. Urging the IOCL to popularize it on a large scale in reasonable period of time, he said that this could bring empowerment to millions of households, especially to women.
Lauding the IOCL R&D for developing and commercialising 53 indigenous technologies and new products, and filing more than 1,500 patents in that process in the last ten years alone, the Minister wondered how many Fortune 500 companies-or for that matter, even research institutions-produce such high-quality output in their field.
He said that this Golden Jubilee is not just a celebration of the sustained success of IOCL R&D, but also of its increasing relevance in the Indian innovation ecosystem.
Puri said that India today is considered a global hub of scientific research.
"However, we need to be doing much more to achieve our national and global targets. We need to continue to ramp up our scientific research to accomplish a technological breakthrough that could fast-track our economic growth. I believe that cutting-edge R&D-which aims to produce equitable, sustainable and large-scale innovations-will be at the forefront of change in the coming years, particularly in dynamic areas such as the energy sector."
Puri said that India is undergoing a period of transition in the energy sector where India is trying to become energy-secure even as it moves towards renewable energy.