Each year, 14th November, which is the birthday of India’s first Prime Minister Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru, is a notable day in the calendar of the metallurgical industry of India. It signifies the National Metallurgists’ Day (NMD). The NMD Celebrations that began in Jamshedpur under the joint auspices of the Indian Institute of Metals (IIM) and Tata Steel Ltd. continued on 14th November.

Dr. Akhilesh Das, Minister of State for Steel, Government of India, was the Chief Guest and Dr. R A Mashelkar, Director General, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), was the Guest of Honour in the opening ceremony. Both these luminaries delivered thought provoking addresses in which the future of the Indian economy, and particularly that of the steel industry, was discussed in detail. The Hon’ble Minister said that Jamshedpur was the holy pilgrimage for Metallurgists from across the world and it was apt that the NMD Celebrations were being held in the Steel City. Dr Mashlekar emphasized that eventually India will emerge as global leader riding on its youth capital.

Around nine hundred delegates and guests attended the opening ceremony, in which Mr. B Muthuraman, Managing Director of Tata Steel Limited and the President of IIM, delivered the presidential address touching upon the role of the younger generation in shaping the future of Indian industry. He went on to highlight how IIM would play its role in involving the younger generation of technologists, including those who are still studying in engineering colleges. Mr. Muthuraman spoke on the role and relevance of steel industry for India’s future and identified few key issues and challenges for the industry, such as, technology and research, indigenous design capabilities, raw materials security and infrastructure, specially the availability of land.

NMD Awards
The opening ceremony also included the distribution of several Steel Ministry and IIM Awards to individuals as well as organisations. The Life-time Achievement Award was bestowed upon Prof. CV Sundaram, The Platinum Medal, the highest award of IIM, was presented to Mr. V Gujral. Many other metallurgical professionals, including school and college students, received awards, all of which were in the form of a scroll of honour and sums of money.

In the post-lunch session at the Tata Auditorium, the major award winners of the forenoon session made short responses. The Dayaswarup Memorial Lecture and the NP Gandhi Memorial Lecture were delivered by Dr. Amit Chatterjee and Prof. SP Mehrotra, respectively.

IIM Diamond Jubilee
In view of the fact, that 2006 is IIM’s diamond jubilee year, a special Diamond Jubilee Session then followed, in which five senior dignitaries connected with the metallurgical profession in industry/research/education reminisced about their association with IIM and their professional organisations. Dr. PL Agarwal, Dr. VS Arunachalam, Prof. P Rama Rao, Prof. EG Ramachandran and Mr. AC Wadhawan enumerated their experiences in this session.

Like on 13th November, the day ended by the delegates enjoying the dance performance by Tanushree Shankar and her troupe at BOC Pavilion.