GeNext doesn't care too much for heavy metal

KOLKATA: The country may face a dearth of qualified metallurgists in the wake of the growing economy as well as growth in the metal and materials sector, said B Muthuraman, md of Tata Steel and the newly appointed president of The Indian Institute of Metals (TIIM).

“We will require over 20,000-30,000 metallurgists in the next 10 years and for this it is important to shape the minds of young people to take up the profession,” Mr Muthuraman said on the sidelines of the 60th annual general meeting of TIIM .

Any large country has to depend on manufacturing sector for creation of wealth and India is no exception, he added. “To accelerate economic growth, we need a large number of metallurgists to set up new plants and create new companies in the metals sector,” he added.

The new generation is more interested in jobs concerning IT and management. It is important to ensure that more youngsters take interest in the metals and materials industry.

“The kind of growth India is witnessing in the manufacturing sector driven by demand for ferrous and non-ferrous metal sector, makes it important to shape young minds to enable them to take up the profession of metals and materials which will also provide stable income,” Mr Muthuraman said.

Currently, India’s per capita consumption of steel is only 30 kg per person and there is no reason to believe that the consumption will not grow to 330 kg per person in line with the developed countries. “There would always be problems and deterrents but we should be ready to overcome the problems and aim to reach that level of consumption,” he said.

During his tenure as president of the institute, Mr Muthuraman said he intends to draw a roadmap for India’s standing in the metals industry 10 years from now. Bringing in new talents will also be a focus area, he said.

TIIM’s outgoing president Baldev Raj said, the institute, through its 52 chapters, three divisions and membership of over 8,500, is trying to bring academia, industry and researchers to one platform. “The focus will now be to attract young minds to metal and metallurgical sector.

We also intend to publish books for young students as well as for advanced studies at a reasonable price,” Mr Raj said. The institute has decided to organise a host of programmes, including a conference on minerals, metals, metallurgy & materials at 6th International Trade Exhibition at Pragati Maidan to be held from September 11-13.