Gujarat to upgrade technology in industrial clusters

Gujarat has initiated technology upgradation through research and development (R&D) in various industrial clusters in the state under the special cluster development programme.

"Research and development activities in the state usually involve low value addition. But for a large number of small and medium sector units, showing an incremental development in the existing products and processes helps achieve appropriate quality at minimum cost," said Chandan Chatterjee, general manager, Industrial Extension Bureau (Indext), a state government enterprise.

The technology upgradation initiative of the Industries Commissionerate includes identifying 10 major sectors with the active involvement of the R&D institutes of the state.

The proposed areas for technology upgradation include the fabrication industry in Mehsana, Ahmedabad and Vallabh Vidyanagar in Anand district with the help of the National Small Industries Corporation; dyes and dye intermediates in Vapi, Ankleshwar and Panoli with the help of National Power Corporation; oil mills of Dhortaji, Gondal and Rajkot with the help of Small Industries Service Institute; Spectacle Frames in Vadodara through help of Small Industries Service Institute and machine tools of Rajkot district with the help of Entreprenuership Development Institute of India (EDI).

Indextb, the industrial promotion body of the state government, has prepared a directory of in-house R&D activities, listing over seventy six R&D, testing institutes, district wise and sectorwise along with their field of specialisation. It aims to create a linkages on various need-based services provided by various institutions to the industry.

According to the R&D directory prepared by Indextb, the majority of industrial sectors and their requirement are covered through the existing testing centres and institutions.

However, a districtwise classification shows that Ahmedabad and Vadodara are the main centres for R&D and testing facilities in the state. In contrast, an industrially developed place like Surat does not possess a sound platform for testing and R&D activities.

"Overall, the Gujarat government is playing an active role in developing and implementing need-based R&D activities through inter-linkages between industries, institutes and universities. However, a lot is yet to be done." said Chatterjee.