Delivery of technology on time and in good quality is very important. And technology transfer to benefit the common masses is going to be one of the major challenges for the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology during the 10th five-year plan, according to Dr K V Raghavan, Director of the Institute. He was speaking at the Founder's Day lecture in memory of Dr Hasain Zaheer, former Director-General of CSIR and Founder-Director of IICT.

The lecture was instituted in the year 1981 and IICT had been organising the lecture every year since then. This year's lecture was delivered by Dr M H Mehta, Vice-Chancellor, Gujarat Agricultural University.

Tracing the history of the Institute, Dr Raghavan said IICT had its origin in the Central Laboratories for Scientific and Industrial Research (CLSIR) established in the year 1944 by the then government of Hyderabad State. After the integration of Hyderabad State into the Indian Union, the laboratory came under CSIR in 1956 and was renamed the Regional Research Laboratory, Hyderabad (RRL-H). RRL-H was rechristened as Indian Institute of Chemical Technology in 1989, recognising the multi-disciplinary activities and the expertise developed by the Institute in the area of chemical technology.

Originally the Institute focused on agro-chemicals, which was followed by organic chemicals of industrial importance. Now IICT offers globally competitive and environment-friendly technologies for drugs & pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, agro-chemicals, organic & inorganic chemicals, catalysis, polymer coatings, adhesives, oils and many other technologies.

Listing its role in the development of drugs & pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, Dr Raghavan said IICT had been given the job of setting up India's first Biotechnology Incubator at the Shapooji Pallonji Biotech Park in Hyderabad. IICT had already evolved a blueprint for the Incubator and the project would cost nearly Rs 30-35 crore. The basic objective of the Incubator was technology upgradation in the drugs and pharmaceutical industry based on biotechnology. The project would also help transfer from process development to product development. Dr Raghavan said the infrastructure facilities were excellent at the Institute, which had spent Rs 50 crore in the last five to six years for this purpose.

Delivering the Founder's lecture on “The new role of technologists in creating knowledge societies at village level,” Dr Mehta described Dr Husain Zaheer as the Homi Bhabha of chemical technology. He said economic development of third world countries was dependent on the growth of the agricultural sector. This was because more than 75 per cent of the population was involved in agriculture, he said.

Describing agriculture as our future, Dr Mehta called for technology development in farming, harvesting, storage and food processing. He said post-harvest losses of food grains, fruits and vegetables were more than 30 per cent in India.

Dr Mehta said value addition to agricultural products would bring about the next Green Revolution. For example, he says India tops in castor oil production overtaking Brazil. With value addition castor oil, which sells at Rs 20-25 per litre, could be sold at Rs 300-350 per litre in the world market. Water shortage would be a perennial problem for agriculture. But there were several plants, which could grow using sea water. IICT should develop technologies for value addition to agricultural and aqua products, Dr Mehta said.

Scientists from Russia, France and Nigeria were present at the lecture. Project performance awards for the year 2001-02 were also given away to IICT scientists on the occasion, which coincided with the Diamond Jubilee Year of CSIR, of which IICT is a leading constituent.