Kolkata: For the last few years, the CSIR-Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute (CSIR-CGCRI) Institute in Kolkata's Jadavpur has been supplying optical glass to space researcher ISRO.
Earlier, the glass had to be imported from Germany and ISRO had to be at the discretion of the European nation for it, shouldering a huge import cost. CSIR-CGCRI has been manufacturing five varieties of specialised glass, assisting ISRO in spacefaring.
"ISRO needs state-of-the-art optical glasses which were imported from Germany which had a monopoly in the sector. The Germans charged exorbitant amounts from ISRO. We were instructed to manufacture optical glass from 2018-19 by ISRO which shared the prototypes of the glasses with us. Following the instructions, we have been manufacturing the glasses and a Rs 20-crore order was awarded to us," Atiar Rahman Molla, principal scientist (speciality glass division) of CSIR-CGCRI, said.
Apart from this, CSIR-CGCRI is engaged with various technological and environmental inventions and will be hosting the 27th International Congress On Glass (ICG), themed 'Glass: A Smart and Sustainable Material', at the Biswa Bangla Convention Centre from January 20 to 24. Delhi had hosted the 14th ICG in 1986.
"The conference aims to address the present challenges with promise and cooperate with prestigious institutions to zero in on the global research, development and future application of the glass and ceramic technology," Dr Sitendu Mondal, president of ICG, said.
The conference will be inaugurated by Union Science and Technology and Earth Science Jitendra Sing and will host 12 seminars on glass technology. Delegates from 20 countries including 550 representatives, 11 plenary speakers, 22 keynote speakers and 94 invited speakers will attend the ceremony.
About 15 exhibitors will be present at the event showcasing the transformative potential of the rising application of glass technology.
