IIT Roorkee Development Foundation (IITRDF) and Shah Paper Mills Limited signed an MoU for Establishing Research Laboratory and Skill Development Training Program

Roorkee : Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT Roorkee) is launching a project to develop Advanced Packaging Research Laboratory and skill development program at the Department of Paper Technology, Saharanpur Campus under the aegis of Shah Paper Mills Limited.
IIT Roorkee is fostering collaboration with Paper Industries from India with focus providing cutting edge innovation research and skill development to have impact on communities at large. IIT Roorkee Development Foundation (IITRDF) is bridging the gap between industry and academia to promote R&D on specific requirements of industries with the help of globally renowned faculties of IIT Roorkee. In this direction, Shah Paper Mills Limited is a leading paper Manufacturer based in Wapi, Gujarat. It has production of two standalone units with state-of-the-art manufacturing machinery with an integrated pulping and drinking facility. Shah Paper mill manufactures the paper by recycling the waste paper using the latest two-stage deinking process hence contributing a lot towards environment preservation. Shah Paper Mills has a production capacity of 500 MT per day, wherein it recycles about 550 MT of waste paper per day.

This is a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative of Shah Paper Mills Limited, as delineated in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). MoU signing event held on 15th December 2022 at IIT Roorkee was graced by the presence of Mr. Pritesh Shah, Joint Managing Director of Shah Paper Mills Limited, Shri Kanu Mehra representative on behalf of President Gujarat Paper Mill Association, Shreyas Bahety Executive Director Shah Paper Mills, Board of Directors IITRDF – Prof. K. K. Pant, Prof. Akshay Dvivedi, Prof. Bhola Ram Gurjar, Prof. Manish Shrikhande, DORA office representatives, Santosh Kumar (Chief Executive Officer IITRDF), Prof. Sanjay Palsule (Acting Dean Saharanpur campus), Prof. Dharm Dutt (Head Paper Technology) and Prof. Millie Pant. IIT Roorkee Development Foundation is a Section-8 Company (not-for-profit) of IIT Roorkee established on 12th May 2021.
Gujarat Paper Mills Association is a representative body of Paper Manufacturers based in the State of Gujarat. It aims to provide a collective platform to achieve excellence in paper manufacturing and solve issues related to its member paper mills. On this occasion, Gujarat Paper Mills Association also felicitated Dr. Dharm Dutt (Head Paper Technology) with a memento and a cash prize of Rs. 1.50 lakhs for his relentless service to the paper manufacturing industries in Gujarat. This recognition of Prof. Dharam Dutt by Gujarat Paper Mills Association for his contributions; augmenting skills of workforce with latest technology understanding is paving the path of skill development. As mandated by GOI, with this project, Shah Paper Mills along with IIT Roorkee will be help youths aspiring to grab employment by showcasing their skill empowered with the training provided by IIT Roorkee.

This Corporate Social Responsibility Program, under UN SDG Goal 4: Quality Education and Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure will help science graduates coming from rural and remote areas in the vicinity of industries. Students will be prepared as testers in paper effluent testing. This skill development training will help students get absorbed in the paper and pulp industries. Food loss and waste prevention strategies are among the sustainable development goals to prevent and or reduce wastage effectively. This program will encourage and train the students to integrate knowledge with awareness and pinpoint where along the food chain, for which foods and in which areas the greatest losses are produced and how to target efforts in the most effective way for waste prevention.

Prof. K. K. Pant, Director, IIT Roorkee, said, ‘’IITRDF will enable the Institute’s pursuit of excellence by serving as a liaison between the Institute and donors. Our partnership with Shah Paper Mills Limited is a second such partnership in this direction. The vision shared by Joint Managing Director shows a strong commitment of the Company towards sustainability by implementing best practices of circular economy and sensitivity towards the environment. With IITRDF as an Industry-Academia partnership arm of IIT Roorkee, we are looking forward to creating and nurturing more such partnerships to meet global aspirations of Corporate Social Responsibility.’’

Pritesh Shah, Joint Managing Director, Shah Paper Mills Limited, highlights, “As a part of our strong commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Shah Paper Mills Ltd. is delighted that both IIT Roorkee and students from the region will benefit from this program. With the growing potential of paper and pulp industries to absorb the young workforce, this initiative will prove fruitful for the region. Shah Paper Mills. is looking forward to working closely with IITRDF to pave out new potential collaboration opportunities to strengthen our partnership further. Collaboration with IIT Roorkee will help industries to solve technical problems by engaging students and faculties known for their technical acumen in India.’’
Santosh Kumar, Chief Executive Officer, IIT Roorkee Development Foundation, said,
“This MoU signing event has opened avenues for strategic partnership between IIT Roorkee Development Foundation and Shah Paper Mills Limited. The mandate of IITRDF is to raise funds to meet the growth aspirations and promote scientific and engineering innovation at IIT Roorkee. IITRDF will closely work with our donors to build and nurture relationships to make a positive impact on IIT Roorkee and society. Our association with Gujarat Paper Mills is the strategic beginning of a new era to build an ecosystem to utilize the know-how of IIT Roorkee in the best interest of industries and academia partnerships for paper industries of Gujarat.”