'Lack of workers affecting rubber industry'

He was speaking at the inauguration of the ‘Fifth national conference on plastic and rubber technology - Polycon 2011’ organised by the Department of Polymer Science and Technology, Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering (SJCE), here on Monday.

Observing that the automobile industry would form 10 per cent of GDP by 2016, Dr R Mukhopadhyay said that it would generate revenue of around $145 billion and provide additional jobs to 25 million.

While indicating that the demand for rubber technology would also increase rapidly due to the growth of the automobile industry, Dr Mukhopadhyay bemoaned that only a few educational institutions are catering to the manpower required by the burgeoning industry.

Stressing on the need for changing the curriculum, he said that the present day engineers are out of touch with the needs of the society. He emphasised on including practical aspects in engineering courses.

Furthermore, he said that while conducting research it was essential to keep in mind aspects such as sustainable development and social responsibility. Inaugurating ‘Polycon 2011’, Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) Registrar Dr S A Kori said that polymer products applications in all sphere - whether at home or in industries.

He said that polymers had greatly reduced the dependency of metals due to their reduced cost, easy availability and affordability.

Mentioning that many cities are planning to ban the use of plastic, Dr Kori said that nanotechnology can be used to reduce the percentage of non-degradable material. With the advent of this technology, he said that it can be used for miniaturisation and reduction in size of larger products. This would help ease the pressure on resource utilisation, he added.

Today’s events

Beginning at 9 am, Defence Food Research Laboratory (DFRL) Director Dr A S Bawa will deliver a lecture on ‘Recent trends in the development of food packaging materials for defence applications’, followed by a talk on ‘Metal matrix composites - An overview’ by VTU Registrar Dr S A Kori.

Technical sessions will be held from 10.45 am onwards with the valedictory at 4.30 pm.