Whither R&D?
Dr. Jacob Chandapillai, Director, Fluid Control Research Institute, Palakkad
Q. Where does R&D figure in our national agenda?
The New government has emphasized the need to give priority to R&D in the National agenda. There is certainly a need for intensifying research in the country. IIT’s, premiere govt. and academic institutions are doing research. But they are mainly centered around emerging topics. Research has also to address burning problems encountered by the common man and evolve lasting solutions. Research is mostly about generating and analyzing Data and evolving knowledge ultimately. The problem with us is that we do not have authentic data on which we can base the research upon. Even IIT’s rely on data collected from advanced countries in certain important/ specific cases. And for this we have to start from scratch, establishing the most crucial data and then work on it. National R & D efforts should lead us to knowledge and ultimately to wisdom.
Q. As a premier R&D organization what are your recent achievements?
Frankly we do more applied research and not much fundamental research. What we do is ‘problem solving’. We undertake sponsored projectsassigned by various sectors like defence, water supply, irrigation, chemical, Power to name a few. Most are related to flow measurement and control. We are known for our credibility and reliability. Our work is markedly transparent. Both the assigner as well as the end-user can witness the experiments on flow products as they progress and get beneficial results which is scientific and authentic.
Q. What’s latest at your end?
The latest at FCRI is the project assigned by KBJNL(Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam Ltd.), Karnataka for Automated and Integrated Gates for measurement and optimal control water flow into open canals feeding water for irrigation. The measurement& control is achieved by ultrasonic meters in close conduits. The high end imported gates will be assessed for its performance. We are proud to be associated with this project which is the first of its kind in the country, and expected to enhance agricultural productivity.
Water flow laboratory diverter system
Q. Future thrust and expansion plans?
Currently we have a locational disadvantage in the sense the customers have difficulty in reaching Palakkad. We have plans to branch out to otherlocations somewhere in the North to start with. Quality of the Human resource is our major strength. We need more people with a high caliber to meet the increasing demands. Besides having the right academic background, they need to be dedicated and highly committed to contribute. So currently we are trying to attract the right talent to meet future challenges. Ambitious Expansion plans can be executed then. All our Facilities need Capacity augmentation and demand driven expansion will get priority.
FCRI, Palakkad
Fluid Control Research Institute (FCRI), Palakkad, India, a specialized facility for design and development of flow products/flow measurement techniques, is the first of its kind in south Asia. Established by the Ministry of Industry, Government of India with the active support of UNIDO, and dedicated to the Nation by the then President of India in 1989, the institute represents the first serious attempt to provide a frame of reference and standardization to critical aspects of Fluid Flow Measurement and Control in Industrial process and distribution systems. What makes it more special is the fact that the entire facility was created by concerted internal effort rather than importing technology from outside and installing it as such here. Valuable advice from UNIDO experts were transformed to suit Indian conditions and cost-effective infrastructure was built by FCRI engineers and their team with telling results. International inter-comparisons have established the competence and worthiness of its indigenous laboratory beyond anydoubts.
Today the institute provides infrastructural facilities for applied research projects in the area of fluid flow. It also acts as a National Certifying Authority for testing and calibration of all types of flow products and related measuring instruments. Through in-house R&D efforts, FCRI has successfully developed and transferred technical knowhow for a variety of products, viz. cone flowmeter, thermal mass flowmeter, etc. More than 1500 organisations, spread all over India, has benefited from FCRI’s consultancy services so far. This includes design evaluation, quality improvement, establishment of appropriate flow measurement and control technology, etc. Invaluable site calibration assistance is also being provided by FCRI to needy industries, justifying its role as a “Resource to Industry”
