Govt seeks tech upgradation in foundry sector

Chandigarh, Feb 11 (PTI) Union Minister for ParliamentaryAffairs, Science and Technology and Earth Sciences Pawan KumarBansal today stressed upon the need for technology upgradationand skill development in the foundry sector in the country, tomake it more competitive in the international markets.

Bansal was speaking at the inauguration of the 59thIndian Foundry Congress in Panchkula today.

The three-day Congress, which is being attended by nearly250 delegates from India and abroad, has been organised by theInstitute of Indian Foundrymen (IIF), which is also organisingthe IFEX 2011 (Indian Foundry Exposition) along with thisCongress.

Stating that the foundry industry was the backbone of theentire industrial sector, Bansal emphasised that in order tohave a larger share in the global production, the Indianfoundry industry needs to benchmark various operations withrespect to major global competitors.

He also pointed out towards the need for more efficientuse of energy as well for a sustainable and meaningful growth.

With regards to energy, the government, he informed, has setup a Solar Energy Mission which has the target of producing20,000 MW of solar energy per year by 2020.

Hoping that IIF would continue to play a pivotal role asan enabler for the industry, he promised to ask the Councilfor Scientific