The Energy Resources Institute (TERI) is planning to set up Common Facility Center (CFC) for the flourishing pump industry at Rajkot. This centre will facilitate testing of raw materials, besides aiding research and development. The move is aimed at helping the small units of pump industry.
“We are planning CFC in Rajkot as the pump industry is seeing a fast paced growth. The CFC will provide R&D and testing facility to the small manufacturers of pump. We have started the process, beginning with a Detail Project Report (DPR) from the Gujarat Industrial and Technical Consultancy Organisation Limited (GITCO),” said Bharat Dawada, Cluster Manager of TERI.
Dawda said, “To start a CFC, we need to form a co-operative or a private limited company, which run as an NGO. While the total project cost is of Rs 4 crore, 70 per cent of it will be funded by the government and the remaining will be sourced from the industry.”
“At present, the pump industry in Rajkot has to avail certificates from Vadodara and Gandhinagar-based private research centres or government agencies. It is a time-consuming procedure, resulting in high cost of pump manufacture. The CFC will ease the burden and will further help manufacturers to get certificates from Bureau of Indian Standard and Bureau of Energy Efficiency,” said Kamlesh Sakaria, Networking Export of TERI.
Rajkot pump industry, which is well-known for agriculture pumps, has more than 300 pump manufacturers. Over 90 per cent units are small scale. Counted among the top five pump industries in India, the total turnover of the industry was about Rs 300 crore last year and the industry export is Rs 50 crore.
TERI is working on foundry and pump industries under the project of cluster development in association with CIDBI and Rajkot Engineering Association since 1.5 years.