Tag: sustainability

IIT Kharagpur ranked 4th in India in the latest QS World University Rankings 2025

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur ranked 4th in India in the latest QS World University Rankings 2025. The institute jumped ahead 49 places in comparison to its 2024 performance to become the 222nd University in the world. The first and the largest IIT of the country ranked 3rd among all IITs of the country in the QS World University Rankings 2025.

Speaking on the QS World University Rankings 2025, Prof. V K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur remarked, “IIT Kharagpur has upheld the nation’s resolve to excel the standards of globalization with artificial intelligence, advance manufacturing systems and transportation, 5G Network, safety engineering and analytics, quality and reliability, affordable healthcare, precision agriculture, food nutrition and smart infrastructure to contribute towards an Atmanirbhar Bharat.”

The World University Ranking 2025 by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) featured 1503 Universities from all over the world and evaluated 5663 institutions in total. The institute has performed well in parameters like International Research Network, Sustainability and Citations per Faculty.

 As an institute of eminence, IIT Kharagpur’s initiatives on developing Technological Research Parks, Centres of Excellence, start-up incubators, Lab to Market products and Nano Missions are the new ecology for innovation and technological pursuits of the institute. Successful implementation of Vikshit Bharat as instituted by our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi requires participation of several stakeholders including government agencies, public and private enterprises, academic and research organizations. We have to acquire the opportunity in digital economy space and biomedical engineering fostering technological expansions by creating the human-machine synergy that would set the future technology development agenda for the developed India,” Prof. Tewari added.

Many Congratulations to all the Students, Alumni, Faculty and Staff Members!!

KGP ka tempo high hai!

 

 

By : Poulami Mondal, Digital & Creative Media Executive (Creative Writer)
Email: poulami.mondal@iitkgp.ac.in, media@iitkgp.ac.in, Ph. No.: +91-3222-282007

Follow us on: Facebook – IIT Kharagpur; Twitter – @IITKgp;  Instagram – @iit.kgp; LinkedIn – Indian Institute of Technology
For news visit: https://kgpchronicle.iitkgp.ac.in/

IIT Kharagpur Signs MoU with Uneverse Mobilty, a Kolkata based Startup, for the Development & Commercialization of Sodium Ion Batteries in India

These Cost-Effective Batteries Will Boost the Rapid Growth Envisaged For E-Vehicles

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Uneverse Mobility Pvt Ltd, a Kolkata based startup focusing on next generation battery technology and e-mobility segments for commercialization and further development of the Sodium Ion technology.

A team headed by Prof Amreesh Chandra from the Department of Physics at IIT Kharagpur have been working extensively on the development of Sodium-ion based energy solutions. They were amongst the first group of researchers in India who were funded by the Department of Science and Technology under their flagship scheme “Materials for Energy Storage”. The team has the capabilities to develop energy storage solutions starting from materials development, device level integration, recycling to determination of carbon footprint of the complete process.

Advantages of using this technology:

  • The Sodium-ion batteries will be 30 to 40% less expensive compared to lithium-ion technology
  • There will be a 100% indigenous supply chain where import of raw materials will not be required
  • There will be low carbon footprint
  • These products will not be dependent on mining of raw materials for electrodes
  • There will be near zero risk of accidental fires, unlike Lithium. The technology developed already has a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 7 thereby paving the way for industrialization.

“In comparison to Lithium-ion batteries, the sodium-ion batteries will be upto 40% cheaper, much safer and have lower carbon footprint. Sodium-ion batteries address the concerns of geopolitical and supply-chain issues, which are associated with Lithium-ion batteries. The materials, which will be used in such Sodium-ion batteries, have been fabricated inhouse. Hence, the batteries would be a live example of ‘Make in India’ and ‘Make for India’. Many of the Ministries of the Government of India have already started discussions and feasibility studies on the possibility of Sodium-ion based energy storage landscape and the future thus looks promising and exciting”, said Prof. Amreesh Chandra, Department of Physics, IIT Kharagpur.

Uneverse Mobility will be initially setting up MW scale facilities that would lead to commercialization using the home-grown technology, which already has a technology readiness level (TRL) of 7. Uneverse eventually plans set up GWh scale facilities to cater to both domestic and export markets. India is expected to need 220 Gwh of ACC battery by 2030. Current Indigenous ACC production planning & deployment is nowhere close to this requirement and therefore presents huge market opportunity for companies like Uneverse. This joint activity is a perfect example of the changing times in India, where the academia-industry collaboration is becoming the focus of research activities in most of the institutes of national importance.

“India’s current EV sector is characterized by dependency on subsidies, import dependent supply chain & lack of a core indigenous battery technology. For electric mobility to be truly a champion of sustainability, we need the building blocks to be also sustainable. Uneverse is a passionate attempt to create such indigenous building blocks for a sustainable future of e-mobility and clean energy. Uneverse, thus starts its journey by addressing the core of clean energy and e-mobility, that is, Battery Technology. To achieve this grand purpose, we have entered an exclusive MoU with IIT Kharagpur where indigenously developed sodium ion technology, which will have a portfolio of multiple form factors of cells, will be made available for Indian market. The developed technology will find application in not only electric vehicles but also in Drones, Consumer Electronics and Energy Storage. Globally, only a handful of companies have made progress in this technology. Therefore, we are quite upbeat about putting India at the forefront of this game changing battery technology”, said Mr Manohar Bethapudi, Founder & CEO, Uneverse Mobility Pvt. Ltd.

“We would be launching the first set of products manufactured out of West Bengal in the next quarter of the current fiscal. We are looking at a pan India market for our product range and are currently in talks with various channel partners for marketing and product distribution”, said Ms Kamalika Guha, Co – Founder and CMO, Uneverse Mobility Pvt Ltd.

Media coverage :

Telegraph

Statesman

ETV Bharat

Aaj Kal

Ei Samay

E-Vehicle

Times of India

 

     

         Statesman                                               Ei Samay                                                       Aaj Kal 

Inputs by: Prof. Amreesh Chandra, Department of Physics, IIT Kharagpur
Email : amreesh.chandra@gmail.com

By : Poulami Mondal, Digital & Creative Media Executive (Creative Writer)
Email: poulami.mondal@iitkgp.ac.in, media@iitkgp.ac.in, Ph. No.: +91-3222-282007

Follow us on: Facebook – IIT Kharagpur; Twitter – @IITKgp;  Instagram – @iit.kgp; LinkedIn – Indian Institute of Technology
For news visit: https://kgpchronicle.iitkgp.ac.in/ 

Agenda for the future

Natural biopolymers made from silk, chitosan, collagen, gelan gum are now not only used to make scaffolds for tissue engineering, but they can also be used to create a “3D cell culture microenviroment” to investigate the proliferation and migration of cancer cells. The information was given to the audience by Dr Subhas C. Kundu of the University of Minho, Portugal at the International Conference on Advances in Polymer Science and Rubber Technology (APSRT) at IIT Kharagpur held from September 24-27. At another session at the same conference, Prof. Sanjib K. Patra of the Department of Chemistry of IIT Kharagpur explained how a new class of polymers developed by his department could be used to develop cheap and efficient chemical sensors for detecting explosives such as nitroaromatics (NACs).

Inauguration of the International Conference on APSRT

From the use of polymers in life science, to the development of smart materials and composites, novel synthesis and modification process of elastomers to green and sustainable processes and technology for the rubber industry, everything was discussed under the sun at APSRT that saw 250+ delegates from 10 countries, 4 plenary lectures and a cumulative 130 lectures and presentations.

From conventional applications in the field of automobiles, construction, commodity materials and engineering, polymer and rubber materials are finding smart applications in different critical and strategic areas such as defence, microelectronics and the life sciences.

Keeping with the needs, researchers have been developing polymer based composite materials that have unique self-healing and shape-memory properties. But to explore new possibilities, new products and technology, collaboration between industry and research institutions is necessary. In keeping with this objective, APSRT brought together distinguished scientists, faculty members and technologists from the academia and industry the world over.

Prof. Tony McNally of WMG delivering his plenary lecture

“The main objective of this conference is to bring the scientists and technologists working in polymer science and rubber technology under one umbrella to discuss recent advances and innovative technologies…They will discuss the future trends towards 2030,” said Prof. Nikhil K. Singha, Head of the Rubber Technology Centre, which organized the conference.

Sustainability was a predominant issue at the conference, with the speakers not only emphasizing on sustainable technology but also the circular economy within which polymer science and the rubber industry had to root itself. The circular economy approach in fact was driving innovation within the broad sustainability framework, that is through waste prevention, re-use, repair, remanufacture and recycling. Attention was directed at the making of automotive tires from dandelion, the use of biobased products like wood scraps being as substitutes for rubber additive. Sufficient attention was also drawn to recycling technology of not only rubber but also PET bottles, and the use of polymeric materials as sustainable solutions for various applications like architectural coatings, protecting coatings, refrigerants and fire suppressing agents. Prof. Sadhan K. De, retired professor of IIT Kharagpur, who was the Guest of Honor at the inaugural session, stressed on the effective utilization, recycle and reuse of plastics.

Participants at the poster exhibition

An overwhelming number of lectures brought home the novel ways in which polymers are being used for biomedical applications. Attention was drawn to how niche products like fluoropolymers can be used to fabricate nanoengineered 3D printed anatomical models for surgical planning and clinical training, nanogels can be used to target and kill cancer cells preferentially, how hydrogels are already being used to produce polyurethane wound dressings capable of indicating infection, how resilin and silk-based hybrid biomaterials can be used to produce hydrogels for cartilage tissue engineering or how molecules are being developed for long term drug release by controlling hydrophilic-hydrophobic balance of the superstructure of molecules that are designed through urethane linkages and other myriad innovations.

Tea break at the conference

The development of new and smart materials drew as much attention. Take the synthesis of PEEK (polyether ether ketone) polymer and its composites that are already being used in aircraft, Dielectric elastomers that can be used in actuators, sensors or artificial muscle, Nanocomposites with periodic arrangement of nanoparticles that can be used in photonic devices and sensors, or the composite polymer material that can immobilize and catalytically degrade nerve agents.

Novel polymerization techniques and the functionality of polymers were also discussed. Some like Dr Huiqi Zhang of Nankai University, China, suggested controlled radical precipitation polymerization. Others suggested the use of ultrasound or ultrasonic polymerization to synthesize polymer nanoparticles or new ways to do RAFT polymerization, design and synthesis of step-growth polymers, or electrospinning to engineer biomaterials for biomedical research. Prof. Anton Klok of EPFL (École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne), Switzerland, spoke about the bio-application of polymers.

Yoshikuni Teramoto from Kyoto University, Japan

“I am confident that the delegates participating in the Conference will make significant contributions for the development of science and technology and the deliberations by the peer in the field will enthuse the budding scientists to find new directions for further research culminating in sustainable development of rubber science and technology,” said Prof. Sriman Kumar Bhattacharyya, Director, IIT Kharagpur during his inaugural address.

The Chief Guest for the occasion was Prof. Tony McNally of WMG, who also delivered a plenary lecture at the conference. He mentioned that rubber and polymer composites have been one of the main focus of WMG and there are lots opportunity of collaboration in this field with IIT Kharagpur. The American Chemical Society has been associated with the conference and interacted with authors and young scientists on the last day of the conference.

New ways of using science

How important is the skill of listening in research? Plenty. Anyone who attended this week’s International dissemination workshop on ‘Qualitative methods for Research in Socially Inclusive and Sustainable Agricultural Intensification’, organized by the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences of IIT Kharagpur, could not have missed this obvious conclusion.

The workshop was part of the ongoing research project – “Promoting Socially Inclusive and Sustainable Agricultural Intensification in West Bengal and Bangladesh” or ‘SIAGI’ – sponsored by the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), Government of Australia.

Director, IIT KGP, talking to Prof. Christian Roth (right) of CSIRO

But the SIAGI team, drawn from Australia, India and Bangladesh (IIT Kharagpur is an integral part of it), attached a rider. It could not be just listening. It had to be what they called ‘ethical community engagement’ or ECE.

ECE is an overarching engagement strategy that the SIAGI team has developed in order to explore and understand how agricultural intensification affects disadvantaged rural communities in villages of West Bengal and Bangladesh, and how it can enable these people to access the benefits of agricultural intensification.

Some of the other key methods and concepts used by SIAGI, such as Theory of Change, Bio-economic modelling, Integrated Assessment Framework for Evaluating Interventions, Inclusive Agricultural Value Chains, Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture and Social Empowerment, were also introduced to the participants of the workshop by speakers from CSIRO (Dr. Christian Roth, Dr. Lilly Lim-Camacho, Dr. Lucy Carter, Dr. Uday Nidumolu), Australian National University (Dr. Wendy Merritt) and Livelihoods and Natural Resources Management Institute (Dr. V. Ratna Reddy).

But it is ECE that clearly lies at the heart of the SIAGI project, and it is ECE that informs the other concepts in SIAGI’s operational framework. The research project has also adopted another unique approach of disseminating the research outcomes to the academia, policy makers and government agencies and community based organizations.

Prof. Roth taking a question from Prof. Jenia Mukherjee, a participant at the workshop

Ms. Michaela Cosjin of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO, Australia), which is the lead agency of SIAGI, explained ECE while talking about “Community Engagement and Changing Approach to Collection of Primary Data”: “In SIAGI, we have used a participatory approach. This builds on an approach developed in the late 1980s and we pushed it further so that it is much more based on the ethical principles of respect, dignity, inclusion and ensuring that there is equity between all participants.”

Researchers and experts, typically, go about their research using specialized methodologies that treat people as subjects and themselves as especially endowed experts with special qualifications and credentials capable of exploring and authenticating knowledge. Even in Western models of ethical research practice, the relationship between the researcher and the subject continues to mechanically draw from traditional paradigms set within biomedical contexts.

This often does irreparable harm to research partners. “Participation as research subjects rather than partners automatically triggers a risk averse approach to engagement, which impedes rather than empowers,” says a SIAGI report.

The Australian team with Prof. Pulak Mishra (right) at the workshop

Contrary to this, SIAGI holds the conviction that the community has the potential to understand, analyse and interpret dynamics of knowledge transaction as equal partners. It believes that the community can become a decisive partner and co-creator of knowledge and is able to use this knowledge for transforming and empowering themselves and their situation – which is often defined by others and not by themselves. Communities need to be able to identify what makes them, who they are and how they can change themselves from where they are.

But how to achieve this? This is where listening comes in. “At SIAGI we are embarking on a journey of ethical community engagement, where especially the NGO partners are trained to listen and work with households to create their own unique voice,” said Dr. Christian Roth of CSIRO, who heads the SIAGI project.

At the workshop at IIT Kharagpur on September 16-17, Ms Michaela Cosjin reiterated that inclusive engagement demanded specific skills and attitudes integral to the engagement. It  requires non-judgemental listening and very sophisticated interpersonal skills. It also involved employing qualitative methods, such as listening to stories and scenario analysis, careful thinking and careful planning before going to the community with questions. A flexible monitoring and evaluation process, creating circumstances for co-learning and co-creating with the communities involved is also needed.

Participants at the workshop

ECE has brought results. For example, in Uttar Chakuakheti of Alipurduar district of West Bengal, where two faculty members from IIT Kharagpur – Prof. Pulak Mishra  and Prof. Bhagirath Behera, as well as three PhD students have been actively involved in carrying out the research on agricultural intensification. It is observed that despite initial indifference from the community, persistent engagement by the SIAGI team has helped change the attitude of the tribal community of this village in Alipurduar into active participation and collaboration. The community has been able to intensify agriculture and simultaneously claim due entitlements from the government to establish their rights to land. Community engagement has catalysed the inclusion of farmers –men and women belonging to different socio-economic groups.

Working with NGOs, such as CDHI, PRADAN, and Sushilan (Bangladesh), has been able to gradually and systematically, mobilize and bring on board various stakeholders. The most important manifestation of this mutual trust has been the creation of water and silt management committee with visible representation from the community.

Dr. Christian Roth said, “We wish to take the results outside SIAGI and inform other academicians in Australia, India, Bangladesh, and NGOs so that they can replicate the lessons and practices that NGOs working with SIAGI have developed.” Thrilled to introduce to research scholars at IIT Kharagpur the “new way of using science”, he pointed out that “Qualitative methodologies may not be about numbers but they are a rigorous  scientific method and, in my mind, qualitative and quantitative methods complement each other.”

Prof. Jenia Mukherjee of the Department of Humanities and Social Science of IIT Kharagpur, who was a participant at the workshop, said of its efficacy, “The workshop gave us hands-on training on how to go to the field and talk to the community, not only to involve the community but also to engage it. It taught us about what methods can be used in ethical community engagement so that the legacy of the project goes on for a long time. And that is what is required in social science research…so that we can transcend our theoretical research to action research by deeply involving and engaging the community.”

[As part of SIAGI since its inception in 2016, Prof. Pulak Mishra and Prof. Bhagirath Behera and their team of students have been engaged in economic analysis of value chains, model policy implications, and mapping the institutional landscape of West Bengal]