Tag: Women

IIT Kharagpur Alumni and their Families Set up Over ₹ 2 Crore Student Grant

IIT Kharagpur has instituted eight new student grants for the upcoming Autumn semester scheduled to begin in August 2021. The Institute has received generous grants from eight alumni and their families who have come forward to support the students on merit-cum-means scholarships and merit-based awards towards their academics and research. 

The grants are collectively valued at around ₹ 2.25 crore for funding of undergraduate and postgraduate students across the departments of Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Civil Engineering, Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering, Healthcare, Mechanical Engineering, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering.

A virtual MoU was signed with the donating alumni and their families for instituting the student aids and grants in a recently concluded event. 

The donors envisioned a range of dynamic ideas which motivated them to contribute towards these scholarships and awards and inspiring the spirit of giving back to society for the greater good while instilling some traits which are very own to IIT Kharagpur. 

Thanking the donors for the generous contributions Prof. V K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur appreciated their proactive zeal towards the Institute and for keeping its welfare in their hearts. He further spoke of the uniqueness of the vast plethora of disciplines taught at IIT Kharagpur and how benchmarking is being done for them to collectively compete against the world’s topmost universities. He welcomed the alumni to contribute towards this initiative through participation in the global outreach programs and thrust area-specific activities of the Institute. Director Tewari further affirmed starting new initiatives under the NEP 2020 and the holistic and fast-moving developments that are underway at IIT Kharagpur.

A unique feature of these grants is the allocation of over ₹ 65 Lakh exclusively for undergraduate female students for a period of 15 years. IIT Kharagpur has been setting up various avenues to reach out to larger sections of girl students, their teachers and parents through counseling, outreach initiatives as well as financial aid to encourage more girls to aim for IIT education as well as facilitating those taking admission at IIT Kharagpur in particular.

Dean, Alumni Affairs, Prof. Subrata Chattopadhyay remarked, “now that we are an Institute of Eminence and guided by the New Education Policy, we are committed to bringing up the ratio of our undergraduate girl students much higher. We have the mandate to cross the 20% threshold at the soonest.”

In the last few years, IITs have been consistently increasing the strength of girl undergraduate students through the supernumerary quota for women introduced in 2018. From the initial target of 17% which has been fulfilled, the IITs are set to increase the quota to 20% in accordance with a decision by the IIT Council. At IIT Kharagpur the overall ratio of male and female students is already 1:5 while in some research-based programs and Master’s level programs, even a higher ratio can be observed.

The Institute has a few dedicated grants for women funded by various agencies such as DRDO Scholarship for Girl Through AR&DB, Indian Women’s Association, BONN Scholarship etc. A travel grant was also set up Smt. Sudha Murthy, Chairman, Infosys Foundation to facilitate the participation of women research scholars in international conferences. The alumni have also supported the up-gradation of facilities at the girls’ hostels. Further, the Institute conducts several women-specific research work on women’s health, gender violence and crimes against women, gendering the smart cities and experience of migrant women. The Institute also supports the KIRAN IPR Women Scientists program.

About the Donor & MoU
Mr. Chandrasen Gajria is an alumnus of the 1970 Batch from the Chemistry department of IIT Kharagpur. He has set up an MCM scholarship named Sobhraj And Krishna Gajria Scholarship in the memory of his parents Mr. Sobhraj Gajira and Mrs. Krishna Gajria which will provide annual support to the needy yet meritorious students of the Chemistry Department of the Institute.
Mr.Peeyush Ranjan is an alumnus of the 1995 batch from the Computer Science department He has set up the Dr. R R Verma Prize for Best Masters Thesis in Healthcare Technology in the memory of his late father Dr. R. R. Verma for the best M.Tech thesis on Healthcare technology across all the Departments, Centers and Schools of the Institute with an annual prize.
Mrs. Suprabha Sur has set up the Late Shri Saradindu Sur Scholarship in the fond memories of her husband Late Shri Saradindu Sur who is an alumnus of 1956 batch from the Mechanical Engineering Department and was the resident of Nehru Hall, to support the needy yet meritorious students of the Mechanical Dept. of the Institute with a yearly MCM scholarship.
Dr. R.P.Sahu is an alumnus of the 1970 batch from Metallurgical and Materials Engineering Dept. He has set up the Brundabana Sahu Student Award in memory of his maternal grandfather Shri Brundabana Sahu to help a 1st-year B.Tech student with a yearly MCM-based award to address any special needs of the awardee.
Mrs. Banani Som, the wife of Late Prof. Sankar Kumar Som, who is a proud alumnus as well as the Ex-director of IIT Kharagpur, has set up the Prof. Sankar Kumar Som Memorial Award in the fond memories of her late husband to recognize the best M.Tech thesis in the field of Thermal Science from the Department of Mechanical Engineering Department of the Institute with an annual award.
Mr. Indranil Basu is an alumnus of the 1987 batch from the Electronics and Electrical Communication Engg. Dept. Neil has set up the Pradip Kumar Basu Memorial Student Scholarship in memory of his late father Shri Pradip Kumar Basu, who was an aircraft maintenance engineer, to support a 2nd-year female student of IIT Kharagpur till her graduation with an annual scholarship based on MCM criteria.
Mrs. Napina Vangipuram, the wife of Late Dr. V. V. Dhruvanarayana, who is an alumnus of the 1955 batch from the Civil Engineering Department, has set up the V V Dhruva Narayana Memorial Student Award to recognize a 2nd-year B.Tech student of Civil Engineering Dept with an annual award as per the MCM criteria.
Mr. Debashis Chakraborty is an alumnus of the 1981 batch from the Chemical Engineering Department. He set up the Late Smt. Gopa Chakraborty Scholarship for Female Students in the fond memories of his late wife Smt. Gopa Chakraborty. This Scholarship aims towards supporting female students of IIT Kharagpur across all the departments, Schools, Centres and Academics with a special emphasis on the chemistry and chemical engineering department, by providing them yearly Scholarships based on MCM criteria. However, the Scholarship amount will be increased after every 4 years to cope up with the inflation rate.

Contact: deanaa@hijli.iitkgp.ac.in; media@iitkgp.ac.in

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For the Women By the Women – Celebration of International Women’s Day

International Women’s Day was observed around the globe to celebrate women’s empowerment. At IIT Kharagpur a three-day program was organized to bring to light the achievements and talents of the ladies on campus who have been icons for other women on the campus. Several of them have adopted various self-employment professions or pursued their hobbies to become financially independent, others have been instrumental in offering their services for social upliftment, while there have been another group of ladies who promote healthy living and support the campus community. 

To highlight their flair in diverse areas a range of events were organized. The events started on March 6 with a short film on the life journey of women residing on campus. This was followed by a debate in the context of chauvinistic attitude and chivalrous behaviour towards women, titled “Chivalry and Chauvinism are two sides of the same coin” culminating in the unanimous verdict of gender-neutral approaches to life.

‘Health and fitness’ events drew enthusiastic participation on March 7 with women both on campus as well as women staff members participating in Yoga camp, athletics & fun game competitions, followed by cultural programs by campus women. 

The event day of March 8 started with a photography and painting exhibition cum competition. A video collage was also presented featuring twelve first-year female undergraduate students, who have never visited the campus before, talked about their life experience in closing the gender gap at IITs which typically suffers from a skewed gender ratio, both among students and staff members including faculty. 

This unique program was inspired by Director, Prof. Virendra K Tewari’s vision to create meaningful engagements for the women force on campus. He further aims to a women’s welfare organization to empower and facilitate social initiatives and ventures led by the women on campus for the welfare of women in and around the campus.

A key event in the program was the panel discussion on “Combating anemia in women: from adolescence to senescence”. A mix of clinical doctors and medical researchers Dr. Rashmi Sinha, Prof. Sangeeta Das Bhattacharyya, Dr. Indranath Banerjee and Prof. Koel Chaudhury (moderator)  from the Institute came together to deliberate on the crucial challenge posed by anemia and create awareness among larger groups of women.

According to the National Family Health Survey, about 50% of Indian women and nearly 60% of children under the age of 5 years are suffering from anemia. The experts underlined the various causes of anemia such as iron deficiency anemia, vitamin B12 deficiency anemia, folate deficiency anemia, out of which nutritional deficiency anemia was suggested to be the most common type encountered amongst women and children. The doctors pointed out the presence of anemia even among men to the extent of 38% in Eastern India.

The panelists also discussed the association between anemia and worm infection. They pondered on the finding that intestinal worms can cause rashes, respiratory and gastrointestinal problems causing regular loss of blood eventually leading to iron deficiency anemia.

They further pointed out that nearly 50% of Indian pregnant women are anemic and the adverse effect persists shortly before, during, and immediately after childbirth. Early marriage and early childbearing age were suggested to be the major factors contributing towards anemia during the course of pregnancy.

Chronic hemolytic anemia, with special emphasis on beta-thalassemia, was another important topic of discussion. The effect of the pandemic on maternal and child health was also deliberated upon. An overwhelming number of maternal and child deaths have been reported during the pandemic due to disruption in regular visits to maternal health and antenatal clinics for routine check-ups. Also, with the closure of schools during this period, midday meal schemes have been disrupted. This is a matter of concern, they said, as the health and well-being of a large number of deprived children may have been adversely affected. 

While they assured beta-thalassemia can be cured, the importance of screening the general population through awareness programs, premarital and prenatal screening, screening and counseling of target families were highlighted. To reduce the burden of this disease, the experts, while opining on healthy dietary intake, supplements, improved sanitation and awareness programs, they also referred to traditional habits and practices such as switching to iron-made utensils instead of steel or Teflon coated ones. 

The audience actively participated throughout the session and urged to hold more such awareness programs so that together we can fight the disease.  

Organizing Body:

Prof. Debjani Chakraborty, Dept. of Mathematics (Chairperson), Prof. Haimati Banerji, Dept. of Architecture and Regional Planning (Secretary), Dr. Sunita Mishra, Dept. of Mining Engineering (Jt. Secretary), Dr. Debarati Sen, G.S. Sanyal School of Telecommunication (Treasurer), Members: Prof. Sudhesna Sarkar, Dept. Computer Science and Engineering, Prof. Padmavati Manchikanti, Rajiv Gandhi School of Intellectual Property Law, Prof. Karabi Das, Dept. of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Dr. Gayatri Mukherjee, School of Medical Science and Technology, Dr. Mahasweta Chaudhuri, B.C. Roy Technology Hospital, Ms. Priyanka Singh, Technology Student Gymkhana

Associate Members: Publicity: Ms. Shreyoshi Ghosh, Executive Officer, Film Unit: Mr. Arnab Moitra, Executive, OAA (Film-making), Ms. Satarupa Sen Bhattacharya (Script), Ms. Koushiki Mukherjee, Executive, OIR (Voice-over)

Honorary Guest Member: Smt. Lakshmi Tewari

Digging Deeper: Parama’s Story

Parama Mukhopadhyay tries to answer why women lagging behind in the mining sector in India

“What is your department?”

“Mining Engineering”

“Mining? Are girls even allowed in Mining Engineering? Will you get any job in mining after you finish your study? Why mining? Is it suitable for girls?”

These questions – that come with raised eyebrows – are common for us while discussing our subject area with others. Us – the WOMEN in Mining in India! The above-mentioned questions are well-justified if we consider the number of women and job opportunities for them in the mining sector, not only in India, but worldwide. 

Let’s focus on the Indian scenario. Our country has different types of mineral reserves, and the mining industry contributes a sizeable amount to the country’s economy and generates a good number of employment opportunities every year. Unfortunately, since historical times, this sector is highly male-dominated and even hostile towards women. Though mineral production and overall employment generated by the sector have gone up exponentially, involvement of women has fallen further. In FY18, the country produced minerals worth Rs 1.13 lakh crore, registering an increase of 13 per cent over the previous fiscal. Compare this with the other figure. Women are said to account for only 4.4% (24,294 females) of the total mining workforce, which is considerably less compared to women labor force participation rate (22.5%) in India.Not only the numbers, but the job quality and salary amount is significantly poor for women compared to their male co-workers. Women labourers are paid less than males and this is because jobs that require technical skills are never offered to women with an assumption that they are not suitable for this.

Where are we going wrong??

What could be the possible reasons of such tragic situation of women in mining sector? Discriminating laws, historical patriarchal myths, issues with clothing suitable for mine works, so-called masculine- not-suitable-for women-job, lack of proper safety and security, lack of basic facilities including toilets, lack of technical skills are the primary reasons prohibiting females to join this industry. Laws in our country had always prohibited girls to take up jobs in mining sector. According to Mines Act, 1952, women were restricted to be employed in opencast mines during night shifts (7 pm to 6 am) and totally barred from working in underground mines. Later females were permitted to work in mines only in day shifts (6 am to 7 pm). 

In February 2019, the labour ministry of Central Government allowed female workers to work in open cast mines round the clock and also in underground mines even in night shifts. The implementation of this rule has to strictly follow few rules for underground mines that include safety and security of female workers. According to this new law, the deployment of female workers in night shift (7 pm to 6 am) can only be done for technical, supervisory and managerial work that does not need continuous presence. She should be in a group of not less than three. Owner of the mine should have a written consent from that woman and adequate occupational safety, security and health benefits has to be provided. Also this deployment will be subject to the framing and implantation of Standard Operating Procedures that will follow the guidelines issued by Chief Inspector of Mines at regular intervals. 

Execution of this new rule will undoubtedly bring more gender equality and more job opportunities for females in mining sector. But, still women are restricted to choose their favourite job type in underground mines, as they can only participate in “technical, supervisory and managerial work”.  We still have the Coal Mines Regulations, 1957 that states no adolescent or woman will descend or ascend a shaft in a cage or other means of conveyance unless accompanied by one or more adult males. It clearly implies that working in underground mines for women will depend on the availability of male workers. This surely make women less favourable as a candidate for underground mine jobs and they have to restrict themselves to choose option in office jobs above ground or be involved in opencast mines. 

But, at least changes have begun!

Why are women lacking skills to work for mining industry? This is because, not many courses or workshops are being offered to girls/women that can help develop required skills to work in mine exploration areas. Currently, three IIT’s – IIT KGP, IIT BHU and IIT(ISM) Dhanbad are offering admissions to girl students in Mining Engineering in B.Tech. M.Tech. and PhD. [Lucky to be part of IIT Kharagpur!]. Also, in 2015, Anna University allowed the same. But, even after offering courses, due to the lack of awareness among girls about job prospects for mining and about recent changes in laws in favour of women, mining is still not on the preferred list of courses for girls. 

What to do now? Changes in laws that create more jobs, assurance on safety and security, suitable courses to develop skills and spreading awareness among girls to encourage them to consider mining as a prospective industry for career. Changing process will take time, but surely will succeed. 

I would like to end my article by narrating the inspiring story of Dr. Chandrani Prasad Verma, India’s first female mining engineer and currently holding the position of Principal Scientist at the Central Institute of Mining and Fuel research at Nagpur. Dr. Chandrani Verma qualified her B.Tech. as a mining engineer at 1999. Her qualifying year clearly indicates that she started her journey at this field years before the amendment of laws were implemented and institutes started opening their doors for female students in mining courses. 

Being passionate about pursuing a career in this field, she had to fight a case in court for one year just to be enrolled in a college to study Bachelor’s degree in Mining. In 1996, she was admitted in Mining Engineering as ‘special case’ in Ramdeobaba Engineering College in Nagpur and in 1999, she graduated and became India’s first female mining engineer. Even after graduating successfully, doors for jobs in mines did not open for her, but her determination helped her to continue her work in this field. Besides working as a lecturer in college, she completed her M.Tech. in 2006 and completed Ph.D. on Web Pillar design in Highwall Mining from Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT), Nagpur in 2015. She was the only woman candidate during her interview at CSIR – Central Institute of Mining & Fuel Research. Her interviews were hesitating to select her, as her job will require regular visit to underground mines, but her passion for mining impressed them and she was selected as a scientist. We are proud of her. She opened the doors for many other girls to choose the dream of pursuing a career in mining.  

Finally, we, the women in mining, are hopeful that the administrations, lawmakers, educationists, professors and our society will come forward together to end the long-prevailing gender discrimination in this particular field and support us to become more and more successful in this field.

 

Parama Mukhopadhyay (16MI91R05)

Research Scholar, Mining Engineering Department,

IIT, Kharagpur

 

Digging Deep

Changes like that occurring at the Mining Engineering Department of IIT Kharagpur could lead to momentous changes for women in mining in India

Could the historically male-dominated mining industry be inching towards greater gender parity? The answer from IIT Kharagpur’s Department of Mining Engineering is yes. The department has seen a sharp rise in the number of female students in the undergraduate studies  – from a trickle of one or two in a year to 18 in the year 2019.

All the centrally funded technical institutes in India are mandated to increase the number of women graduating from these institutes. The number of female students admitted at IIT Kharagpur stood at 15% (with supernumerary seats created to make up the shortfall through JEE) in the year 2018, and 20% presently,  even including the Mining Engineering departments. In a matter of three years, these female students will be knocking on the doors of the mining companies for opportunities to work and to contribute to the safety, profitability and productivity of the industries.

In India, women were not permitted to work underground and even in surface mines, they were not allowed to work at night. Interestingly, coinciding with the change of decision in the female participation in undergraduate studies in mining engineering, the Ministry of Labour and Directorate General of Mines Safety which is a constituent body of the Ministry opened up through Gazette notification in 2019, hitherto unimaginable opportunities for underground employment for women. These opportunities cut across not only supervisory work but all types of activities of the mining profession.

According to the Directorate General of Mines Safety, the average daily employment of women in mines in 2011-12 accounted for 4.4% (24,294 females) of the total mining workforce which is considerably less compared to women labour force participation rate (22.5%) in India. The key occupations of engagement in the mining sector for women were reported as miners (mainly in the extraction of Iron, Gypsum, Magnesite and limestone), loaders and clerical and supervisory (Deloitte study on Human Resource & Skill Requirement Study for Indian Mining Sector, 2016).

Given that mining relies heavily on engineering talent, and women have proved that they can be capable engineers, the industry could gain a lot from greater diversity in its workforce and by having women in leadership roles. But the perception that mining is a ‘man’s job’, given the demanding nature of mining activity, has been a major contributing factor to the poor gender ratio. 

In modern day mining, where automation is the key, physical capabilities should not be a determining factor. Besides, there can be little doubts about the correlation between business growth and diversity. Companies with more women, specifically with women on their boards, have shown overall better performance: more efficiency, greater sustainability and higher profit margins.

Quite obviously, perceptions need to change, and at every level. At IIT Kharagpur, things changed in 2002-03, when the Department of Mining Engineering opened its doors to women at the undergraduate level.

Prof. Ashis Bhattacharjee, Professor at the Department of Mining Engineering, who was then Vice-Chairman of JEE, recalls the move. “We convinced the Joint Implementation Committee, the Senate approved the move and IIT Kharagpur, together with IIT BHU, began to offer Mining Engineering program to women.”

Things did not change overnight. The inflow of students at the undergraduate level remained a trickle.

“There were some exceptionally committed students though. One, B. Niharika of the 2012 batch worked in a top Australian mining company, before relocating to Hyderabad,” says Prof. Bhattacharjee. 

Perceptions also needed to change at a more fundamental level. And that seems to be happening now with more girls taking up mining.

“Before taking up Mining Engineering, I hardly knew what it was. But now I feel quite interested. There are so many facets to it,” says Samiksha Sharma, a 2nd year BTech Mining Engineering student, who has taken up Oil and Gas belt Testing and Enhanced Oil Recovery as her additional subjects. “Dual degree students can also specialize in Petroleum Engineering,” she reminds.

Like Samiksha, Niveditha Adari, a fourth year student, is also interested in the many opportunities that the Mining Engineering course at IIT Kharagpur leads to. She is interested in finance and management and as a Dual Degree student, she has ‘Financial Engineering’ as her specialization.

“I could go into operations research, which is an important part of mine planning. Or be part of finance planning for mining companies, where I could use my mining engineering knowledge.” 

Given the focus of the Mining Engineering Department of IIT Kharagpur, which is into interdisciplinary fields such as environment, health and safety, and so on, and the advantage of the varied specializations (Safety Engineering, Petroleum Engineering, Financial Engineering) women graduating from the Department will be open to varied roles both within the Mining sector and elsewhere. But what has also changed substantially for them is the government opening up to what is believed to be the “new realities” of society. Taking these realities into account, the Union government in 2019 lifted the restrictions of the Mines Act of 1952 and allowed women to work in underground mines and also in opencast or above ground workings of the mine during night hours.

“Somehow we need to prove ourselves,” says Samiksha, “About 20-30 years ago, when women were not common in Mechanical Engineering, if some of the women had not proved themselves, then others would not have followed in their path.”

Some, like Parama Mukhopadhyay, a PhD scholar at the Department of Mining Engineering, believe that the regulation is not enough and there are still enough restrictions in place to stall women’s full participation in hands-on mining (Read her story here).

“It is not about where women have greater scope. The idea should be that they can work everywhere,” says Prof. Sunita Mishra, who joined the Department in February 2020 and is the first lady to join the Mining Engineering faculty at IIT Kharagpur and probably in the country as well. A Mechanical Engineer, Prof. Mishra did her Masters in Tunnel Engineering from Mining Engineering from ISM Dhanbad and PhD in the area of Rock Dynamics from the Department of Civil Engineering at the IIT Delhi. Prof. Mishra, who is teaching Rock dynamics and mining machinery in the lab, is already a role model for students in the Department. 

As she exemplifies, and the girls of the Department are beginning to understand, proven skill and expertise will take them places. Samiksha’s worry is that if the industry will come around and change itself as fast as the changes are taking place with women and mining. “Rest assured,” say her professors, “This is just a transition, and things will fall in place.”