MoS HRD Sanjay Dhotre inaugurates the exhibition on clean air technologies at IIT Delhi
New Delhi: Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development Shri Sanjay Dhotre inaugurated the exhibition on clean air technologies organised by Centre of Excellence for Research in Clean Air (CERCA) at Indian Institute of Technology Delhi today.
The exhibition showcased clean air technologies developed by IIT Bombay, IIT Ropar, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad and IIT Delhi. IIT Delhi showcased the work it had carried out in the area of clean air through start-ups incubated at IIT Delhi namely Aerogram and Kriya Labs.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Sanjay Dhotre emphasised that in an age of environmental concerns, the need is to accord highest priority to civic awareness regarding clean environment. He said that the government is entirely committed to the cause of fighting the rising air pollution levels in the country and is taking all possible measures to spread awareness on clean air issues and providing all possible support for the development and promotion of clean air technologies in the country.
He assured that the Government of India is making serious efforts to drastically reduce pollution levels in the country on a continuous basis and is determined to deal with this problem in its totality. He further said that it is important for every citizen and every organization to make concerted efforts by joining in the national effort to fight the rising air pollution in our country, be it through legislations, implementation of policy measures, enforcement of pollution laws, awareness campaigns and by leveraging the power of low cost indigenous clean air technologies developed by our research institutions such as the IITs. The Government of India is committed towards technology development, technology industrialization, global cooperation and investment in Research and Development. Shri Dhotre also highlighted the need for preventive steps before we are left with no choice other than finding solutions.
He emphasised that such exhibitions provided opportunities for showcasing the high calibre research being carried out at our institutions of national importance in critical areas such as Air Pollution and also provided excellent platforms for collaboration between various stakeholders in this important area so that the benefits could be reaped by the country as a whole.
Speaking on the occasion, Prof V. Ramgopal Rao, Director, IIT Delhi appreciated the effort being put in by the young scientists in developing prototypes for air pollution monitoring and control. Low cost air pollution monitors developed in IITD will be used in vehicles and in different places to improve the extent of monitoring, as monitoring is the first step towards finding solution to the problem of air pollution. He said that IIT Delhi is aiming to become a zero-waste campus, meaning that no waste will be sent to the dumping site from the IITD campus. The water used up in IITD campus is now being recycled for gardening and other purposes leading to zero-waste. Three MW electricity is being generated from rooftop solar panels in the campus. Household waste is being used to run biogas based vehicle. IIT Delhi will lead the way in showing the path for zero waste campus, which other institutions are expected to follow.