Tata Steel today observed the 162nd birth anniversary of Pramatha Nath Bose (P N Bose) to commemorate his invaluable contribution towards the setting up of Tata Steel, India’s first integrated steel plant at Sakchi.

The occasion was marked with the garlanding of the statue of P N Bose by the Chief Guest, Mr Rajeev Singhal, Vice President, Raw Materials, Tata Steel, Mr R Ravi Prasad, President, Tata Workers’ Union, the Guest of Honour, Mr.Sunil Bhaskaran, Vice President Corporate Services, Tata Steel  and Mr Suresh Kumar. Vice President, Shared Services, Tata Steel. Also present were other senior officials, union office bearers, employees of Tata Steel.

Speaking on the occasion Mr Singhal said ‘ Not only did Mr Bose explore industrial minerals but he was also one of those few people who saw the usefulness of minerals, convinced Mr JN Tata and asked him to put it to economic use  in the form of a Steel plant. His pioneering spirit has continued to motivate Tata Steel. I feel very proud to say that our mines are one of the most explored mines in the country. People like Mr PN Bose will continue to motivate us to explore more and more minerals and to increase the mineral resource of the country.’

Recalling P.N.Bose’s contributions, Mr Ravi Prasad lauded the efforts of Mr Bose in identifying the mineral deposit regions in the surrounding areas of Jamshedpur. He stressed on the fact that the Steel plant and the city of Jamshedpur is all because of the immense contribution of Late Mr Bose.

On the occasion a narrative on the legendary man’s life and contributions was also shown. A special brochure was made to commemorate the event.

Born on May 12, 1855 in a remote village of Gaipur, in 24 Parganas district, West Bengal, Geologist Late P. N. Bose graduated in Science from London University and passed out from the Royal School of Mines in 1878. During his years as geologist, he discovered iron ore mines in Dhulli and Rajhara in Madhya Pradesh. The most outstanding achievement of his life was the discovery of iron ore deposits in the hills of Gorumahisani in the state of Mayurbhanj. Following the discovery, Late P N Bose wrote a letter to J N Tata on February 24, 1904 which led to the establishment of Tata Iron and Steel Company at Sakchi.

Bose has several firsts to his credit. He was the first Indian graduate in science from a British University; first to discover petroleum in Assam; first to set up a soap factory in India and also the first to introduce micro sections as an aid to petrological work. He was also the first Indian to hold a graded position in the Geological Survey of India where he served with distinction. As a man of science, he had constantly taken up the cause of technical education in the country. His efforts also catalysed the foundation of the Bengal Technical Institute which is better known as the Jadavpur University today of which Bose was the first honorary Principal