Programs and Events

Shri Vivek Bharadwaj, Secretary, Ministry of Mines, Government of India, was warmly welcomed by Director, JNARDDC, along with all the personnel, on his maiden visit to JNARDDC Nagpur on on 6th December 2022. Shri Bharadwaj inaugurated three new lab facilities (i) GEO-Analytical Lab equipped with carbon Sulphur analyzer, direct mercury analyzer & TCLP (ii) Reference Materials for the Analysis of Aluminum and Aluminum Alloys and (iii) Unit for AlF3 and Silica (SiO2) recovery from coal fly ash. He also participated in the plantation program and during the review meeting, Shri Bharadwaj, interacted at length with the scientists and other personnel of JNARDDC and urged all to focus on commercialization of research projects.

The second edition of the three-day National conclave, "MINCON 2022 - MINES. MINERALS. METALS," is being held from 14-16 October 2022 at Chitnavis Center in Nagpur. It's co-organized by the Maharashtra State Mining Corporation Ltd. (MSMC), Vidarbha Economic Development Council (VED) and MM Activ Sci-Tech Communications Pvt. Ltd.
MINCON, India’s leading event devoted to the mining, minerals, and metals industry, will provide a platform for business leaders, CEOs, consultants, senior government officials, decision-makers, and trade delegations to network, share ideas, showcase their technology, and create lasting business relationships.
The national conclave will highlight India’s rich mineral resources in order to attract investments in the mining and processing sectors, provide a platform for engagement between government, stakeholders, and users, and to deliberate on opportunities to maximise value addition. It will present a fantastic opportunity for networking with influential figures from practically every region of India and overseas, as well as to help to promote business and support the growth and development of the nation's mines, minerals, and metals.
JNARDDC has showcased its various innovative R&D products and process. Shri Pralhad Venkatesh Joshi, Hon'ble Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Coal and Mines visited the JNARDDC stall and interacted with the scientists and staff. Shri Joshi was briefed about the various achievements of JNARDDC in the field of bauxite, alumina, aluminum and diversification as Metal Recycling Authority and Referee lab for third party coal sample analysis.
The conclave will provide an ideal platform to establish collaboration among the various stakeholders, all working towards a common goal, and to air their grievances, which can be used to formulate policies in the future.

Training programme on “Alumina making process” for NALCO operators was successfully conducted at JNARDDC from 18th -20th July 2022 and 12th – 14th October 2022 in two batches. Total of 33 operators attended this programme and the lectures were delivered in the areas of alumina making process (Bauxite Characteristics, Desilication, Digestion, Settling and Washing, Precipitation in Bayer process, Available alumina and Reactive silica determination, Advances in Alumina Technology, Special alumina, Alumina smelting etc.). Operators also visited different laboratories during their 3 days training programme. The operators from NALCO expressed that the theoretical knowledge gained will certainly help them in discharging their duties more efficiently and in turn improve the productivity and quality in the plant.

Dr Anupam Agnihotri, Director, JNARDDC participated and delivered the keynote lecture on “Framework to Drive Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy in Indian Aluminium Sector” during the 40th International Conference and Exhibition, ICSOBA 2022. It was organized by The International Committee for Study of Bauxite, Alumina & Aluminium during 10 – 14th Oct 2022 at Athens, Greece.

JNARDDC is happy to announce about its new venture as Reference Material Producer (RMP) for producing CRMs used for spectro-chemical analysis of aluminium alloys on spark OES. Any RMP must be ISO 17034 accreditation is a must for RMP and currently JNARDDC is in its final stage of accreditation process. In this regard, Ms Sanchita Bhattacharya from Consultrain Management Services (CMS), Kolkata visited JNARDDC to impart awareness training about quality management system requirements as per ISO 17034 in accordance with which reference materials shall be produced. During the training program, all the general requirements for the competence and consistent operation of reference material producers as specified in the ISO 17034 were discussed with all the personnel involved in RMP activities.

Mr.Sushim Banerjee, CEO and Dr.Dhruba Bhaduri, Senior Executive from Indian Iron & Steel Sector Skill Council (IISSSC) visited JNARDDC on 9th September 2022 for discussion regarding "Skill Gap Study for Aluminum & other Non-ferrous Metals. Subsequently JNARDDC and IISSSC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on 30th September 2022, to establish a collaboration for imparting employable skill trainings in several occupations related to technical development in Non-Ferrous Metal Sector. JNARDDC will provide training in the areas of Operations Management, Quality, Reliability and Maintenance, Ergonomics and Safety, Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Productivity Enhancement Studies, Industry 4.0 job roles, and Skill Gap Analysis Study in Non-ferrous metal sectors viz. aluminium, copper, zinc and lead. This initiative will give an impetus to the "Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana" (PMKVY) and enable a large number of Indian youth to take up industry-relevant skill training.

JNARDDC officials attended 73rd annual meeting & symposium of the International Committee for Coal & Organic Petrology (ICCP-2022), during 18th to 25th September 2022, at New Delhi to attain exposure to new & emerging techniques and to interact with the coal petrologists around the globe who attend this conference. With the symposium's theme, "Recent trends on coal utilization for sustainable development and energy security“, talks were focused on current issues surrounding the use of coal for the steel and power industries.

Metal Recycling Authority (JNARDDC), Ministry of Mines, organized a “One day Brainstorming session on Non-Ferrous Metal Recycling” on 17th September 2022 at Courtyard by Marriott, Raipur (CG) to bring all the stakeholders of NF Metal Recycling together on a common platform for meaningful interactions, exchange of ideas etc. This event is a part of the initiative to boost scrap recycling by spreading awareness of government’s agenda on Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy to make the non-ferrous metal industry sustainable and providing opportunity to the stakeholder industry to present their views. Shri Ved Prakash Mishra from MoEF&CC was the Chief Guest and during his address, he highlighted the importance of circular economy and aluminium recycling. Several representatives of MRAI (Material Recycling Authority of India), Bureau of Indian Standards, ASI and leading aluminium, copper, lead and zinc recycling companies participated and had intensive discussions on this industry's present status and future. The event observed distinguished deliberations from both the central & state government as well as representatives from non-ferrous metal recycling industry and industry associations. The event also witnessed participation of OEMs, equipment suppliers, service providers, students & faculty from National Institute of Technology Raipur. Mr R N Chouhan, HoD, Downstream briefed about the inception of Metal Recycling Authority, JNARDDC and its proposed action plans. Dr Anupam Agnihotri, Director, JNARDDC presented briefly about the national non-ferrous metal scrap recycling framework which includes the responsibilities of various stakeholders, standardisation, databank, recycling zones, urban mines, etc.

The 10th IBAAS conference, co-organized by JNARDDC was held at Raipur during 14th – 17th September 2022 and was inaugurated by Mr Bibhu Prasad Mishra, President & Head, Manufacturing Centre of Excellence, Hindalco Industries. Dr Anupam Agnihotri, Director, JNARDDC, Ms Marieke van der Mijn, Director of Partnerships, Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) and Ms Lavanya Kugaswaran, Environment Program Manager, International Aluminium Institute (IAI), London were also present during the inauguration as guests of honour. About 200 delegates representing the bauxite, alumina and aluminium industry, research organizations, technology/equipment suppliers, service providers, and academic institutes participated in this conference. Dr Ashok Nandi, Convener of the Conference highlighted the journey, growth and contribution of IBAAS to the Aluminium industry.. The 3-day conference was devoted to a series of technical papers in 3 parallel sessions covering topics related to bauxite, non-metallurgical bauxite-alumina and red-mud, alumina and aluminium smelting and downstream. About 50 high-quality technical papers were presented by engineers / scientists of leading primary aluminium producers, R&D institutes, and technology and equipment suppliers. An essential addition to this conference is the workshop by Aluminium Stewardship Initiative (ASI) on 16th September, which was held for the first time in India. Several interested delegates of India's primary and secondary aluminium producers participated in this workshop to discuss about the ASI certification program in detail, and the benefits for responsible aluminium producers. A technical paper titled "Synthesis of 3N Pure Alpha Nano-alumina from Aluminium Foil” presented by the team from JNARDDC was selected as best paper for the sessions on non-metallurgical bauxite-alumina and red-mud.

Employees of JNARDDC were given training on 1SO/IEC 17025: 2017 from 7th to 10th September 2022, by Dr. K N Udpa in an effort to provide in-depth knowledge about laboratory practices for testing. Dr. K. N. Udpa is a former employee of Tata Steel and a NABL assessor with extensive understanding in the area of chemical analysis and coal & other solid fuel testing. JNARDDC has undergone the evaluation and assessment required by NABL 1SO/IEC 17025: 2017 for the extension of the accreditation's scope to include the coal, mechanical, and chemical disciplines.

JNARDDC and the CSIR-Advanced Materials and Processes Research Institute (CSIR-AMPRI) in Bhopal signed a memorandum of understanding on 2nd September 2022, for cooperation in the development of non-toxic, lead-free gamma ray shielding material using alumina industry waste (red mud). JNARDDC will source red mud and analyse its physico-chemical properties, and CSIR-AMPRI will convert this hazardous by-product into green and economically viable gamma ray shielding bricks. The MoU was signed in the presence of Dr. Avanish Kumar Srivastava, Director, CSIR-AMPRI, and Dr. Anupam Agnihotri, Director, JNARDDC, Nagpur, along with officials from both organizations. Dr. Atul Narayan Vaidya, Director, CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, Nagpur, present on the occasion, opined that the project outcome is expected to solve the problems associated with the environment and society, leading to a circular economy.

Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Development & Design Centre (JNARDDC), Nagpur undertook a mass plantation program as a part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM) iconic week celebration of Ministry of Mines. AKAM is an initiative of the Government to celebrate and commemorate 75 years of independence and the glorious history of it's people, culture and achievements to enable Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of activating India 2.0, fuelled by the spirit of Aatmanirbhar Bharat. The official journey of AKAM commenced on 12th March 2021 and will end post a year on 15th August 2023. All the organizations of Ministry of Mines have undertaken different events during this Iconic week from 11th to 17th July. The iconic week mass plantation program of JNARDDC on 15th July 2022 was inaugurated at the hands of Chief Guest - Ms Nirupama Kotru, IRS, Joint Secretary & Financial Advisor, Ministry of Coal & Mines. She also inaugurated the cement road of JNARDDC and new facilities of coal sample preparation lab. She appreciated the technical assignments being undertaken by JNARDDC for NITI Aayog, Ministry of Mines, aluminium industry, power sector (Bureau of Energy Efficiency), coal sector as the referee lab for third party coal sampling and as Metal Recycling Authority (MRA). She applauded the efforts of JNARDDC and the Social forestry division in making JNARDDC campus evergreen with regular plantation programs. Dr Anupam Agnihotri, Director, JNARDDC stated that JNARDDC would scale new heights in scientific research activities and surpass its revenue generation targets. Mr Laxmikant M Padole, Director, Neem Research & Technology Development Centre, Kalmeshwar, Nagpur showcased a brief film about the benefits of organic farming and mass plantation program for sustaining the environment for the future generations. All the employees and staff planted around 150 saplings in JNARDDC campus. The program was compered by Ms R Vishakha, Admin Officer and vote of thanks was proposed by Mr R Srinivasan, Sr Admin Officer.

The 26th International Conference on Non ferrous Metals (ICNFM-2022) was held at hotel Radisson Blu, Nagpur on 8-9 July 2022. The conference was organized by Corporate Monitor in Association with Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Development and Design Centre (JNARDDC) with Material Recycling Association of India(MRAI), Aluminium Association of India (AAI) and supported by Ministry of Mines, Govt of India. The Conference was inaugurated by Dr Anupam Agnihotri, Director JNARDDC, Shri Naveen Sharma, Director MRAI, Shri Bibhu Mishra, Head (MCoE), HINDALCO, Shri Rohit Pathak, CEO -Copper Business, HINDALCO, Shri Arun Mishra , CEO Hindustan Zinc and Shri Leeladhar Patidar, COO, Sterlite Copper. Dr Agnihotri focussed on the contribution of non-ferrous sector to the Indian economy in his inaugural speech. He highlighted the role of JNARDDC as the nominated Metal Recycling Authority (MRA), as stipulated in National Non-Ferrous Metal Scrap Recycling Framework, 2020. Shri Navin Sharma, Director, MRAI emphasized the contribution of recycling industry for accelerated growth of the metal industry. The heads of the non-ferrous industries look forward to harmonious co-existence of both primary and secondary sector for the sustainable development of the non-ferrous sector. Scientific excellence awards were given to Dr. B.K. Satpathy (Visiting faculty, IIT Bhubaneshwar), Dr Upendra Singh (Head, Analytical, JNARDDC), Shri Rohit Pathak (HINDALCO) and Dr Bhavin Desai (Aditya Birla). Around 35 technical papers, 5 international technical papers and around 14 posters will be presented at the conference. 125 delegates from India and abroad participated in the conference. The event was compered by Mrs R Vishakha, Admin Officer, JNARDDC and vote of thanks was proposed by Shri R.N. Chouhan, HoD(DSP), JNARDDC

Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Development & Design Centre, JNARDDC, Nagpur an autonomous body of Ministry of Mines celebrated 8th International Yoga day on 21st June 2022.

Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Development & Design Centre, JNARDDC, Nagpur an autonomous body of Ministry of Mines celebrated its 33rd Foundation day on 25th May 2022. The event was inaugurated Chief Guest, Dr. Ashok Kumar Singh, Chief Scientist & HORG, CSIR, CIMFR, Dhanbad, Guest of Honour Shri Anil Kumar, DGM( FM), NTPC, Noida and Dr Anupam Agnihotri, Director, JNARDDC. Dr Ashok Kumar Singh, a renowned scientist and recipient of several national and international awards including the CSIR Technology awards commended JNARDDC for its achievements in the last 33 years. He also congratulated JNARDDC for being one of the top most coal referee lab for third party sampling. Similarly, Shri Anil Kumar of NTPC shared his experiences about fuel management and briefed the audience about the current coal shortage situation in India. He stated that JNARDDC can play a key role by undertaking greater number of pending samples. Director, JNARDDC felicitated the employees for their technical achievements in patent, publication and projects. Shri R.N. Chouhan, Sr Principal Scientist, Dr Upendra Singh, Sr Principal Scientist and Mrs Jyoti Pendam, Junior Scientist were awarded the employee of the year for 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22 respectively. The inaugural session was followed by a panel discussion on “Resource Efficiency in Non-Ferrous metal sector” by Directors of Metal Recycling Association of Indian (MRAI), Dr Kishore Rajpurohit on Aluminium, Shri Navin Sharma on Lead and Shri Jines Shah on Copper. Dr Anupam Agnihotri highlighted the benefits of recycled products. The dignitaries participated in a plantation program. The event was attended by ex-employees and delegates from IBM, GSI, VNIT, CIMFR, MRSAC, AMD, BMPL etc. Shri R N Chouhan, HoD (Downstream) was the overall co-ordinator of the event and the compering was done by Mrs. R Vishakha, Admin Officer.

Shri Sanjay Lohiya, IAS Additional Secretary (Mines), Govt of India visited JNARDDC and reviewed the activities of the Centre. He inaugurated the Coal Lab (Sample Conditioning) which was followed by lab visit. He appreciated the well maintained office environment and encouraged scientists and staff to continue their innovative technical contribution to the metal sector. He also undertook plantation program in the JNARDDC premises.

Bauxite Miner’s Meet (BMM-2021)-Virtual Organized on September 29, 2021

25th International Conference on Nonferrous Metals-2021 was organized by Corporate Monitor in association with JNARDDC, Aluminium association of India (AAI) and Material Recycling authority of India (MRAI) at New Delhi on 3-4th September 2021 for promoting environmental-friendly technologies for primary & secondary metal extraction
The event was inaugurated by Mr Sanjay Lohiya (IAS), additional Secretary, Ministry of Mines in the presence of the chiefs of public and private sector organization dealing with nonferrous metals. Four research papers were also presented by JNARDDC during the event.
The event also provided an excellent platform to bring together the Indian non-ferrous industry with the international metal world and provided an opportunity to discuss the best practices, benchmarks, technological advancement, innovations and the opportunities of collective empowerment, to promote the overall development of nonferrous industry, all of which will culminate to inspire the aim for “Atmanirbhar Bharat”.
NALCO, Hindustan Copper, IIT BHU, CSIR-NML, Aditya Birla group, Vedanta group who are dealing with nonferrous metals participated in the conference.

“National Extruders Meet” organised on 30th April 2021 received overwhelming response from the stakeholders. The event witnessed participation of around 80 attendees and experts including 35 extruders, 15 equipment suppliers, 201 researchers and academicians, 5 billet casters and others from all over the country.

Dr Anupam Agnihotri, Director, JNARDDC delivered the welcome address and also inaugurated the programme. He stressed upon the need for developing new aluminium alloys and extruded profiles for building and construction, automobile and also for strategic applications for growing needs of the country. Other experts emphasised on best practices to achieve quality and productivity, emerging needs of aluminium extrusions in India, developments and requirements of aluminium extrusions for aerospace applications, new energy saving or green technologies.

R N Chouhan, Head Downstream Division and VNSU Viswanath Ammu, Extrusion Facility In-charge jointly anchored the online meet. Scientists from Downstream Division of JNARDDC Dr P Mondi, Dr Anas, R Anil Kumar and I Raju coordinated the Video conferencing and staff member Pravin Waghmare , Suman Mukherjee, Dilip Dhanpale Prabhakar Hedaoo, Yogesh Dhuwadhappar coordinated the live demonstration of Extrusion Press.

The International Yoga Day was celebrated by JNARDDC on 21.06.2021 wherein employees joined live online Yoga training sequence of Janardanswami Yogabhyasi Mandal, Nagpur from 7.00 AM daily since 14th June 2021. While some staff performed the yoga sequence in the office canteen by following COVID-19 protocols of social distancing, several others joined virtually from their homes along with their family for practicing and propagating the benefits of Yoga. The very heart of yoga practice is ‘abyhasa’ – steady effort in the direction you want to go.

The International symposium Non-ferrous Minerals & Metals (ICNFMM-2020) webinar series is being conducted by JNARDDC and Corporate Monitor from Sept 2020. The final event will culminate in March 2021

JNARDDC in collaboration with IBAAS, Nagpur successfully organized the International Bauxite, Alumina and Aluminium Society (IBAAS-2020) webinar from 4-6 Nov 2020. Over 400 participants from all over world interacted and shared their R&D ideas during the webinar. JNARDDC provided the ultimate IT infrastructure for smoothly conducting the webinar.

Scientists of JNARDDC presented papers in the 38th International Conference and Exhibition of ICSOBA which will be held on virtual platform from 16 to 18 November 2020.

The Ministry of Mines successfully conducted the 20th PERC (Project Evaluation & Review Committee) meeting held under the Chairmanship of Shri Satendra Singh, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Mines during 23-25 Nov 2020 through VC. JNARDDC played the host role by organizing 3 virtual meeting rooms for

• Mining
• Mineral Processing
• Metallurgy

The excellent IT infrastructure of JNARDDC provided the ideal platform for smooth review of around 140 projects by connecting the committee members and around 140 Project Investigators from all over India. A special feature of this year is that a new portal dedicated to the scheme, viz. SATYABHAMA portal (research.mines.gov.in), was launched by Hon’ble Minister of Mines and the new project proposals were received through this portal. A total number of 383 project proposals were received online on the portal. After screening, 102 proposals covering five areas, namely

• Geosciences and Exploration
• Mining
• Mineral Processing & recovery from waste
• Metal Extraction (Metallurgical processes)
• Alloys, specialty materials and product

were short listed for further review in the second stage. These 102 project proposals were presented by the respective Principal Investigators (PIs) and evaluated by the committee during the VC meeting held on 23-25 Nov 2020. The projects recommended by PERC shall be taken up by the SSAG for final approval.

The Ministry of Mines(MoM), Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEFCC), Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Development & Design Centre (JNARDDC), European Union(EU) and European Union for Resource Efficient India (EUREI) with GIZ (German Society for International Cooperation), New Delhi will be conducting the 2nd phase of Red Mud Meeting 2019 on 19th Sept. 2019 at New Delhi. The same is being supported by the primary aluminium producers namely, NALCO, HINDALCO AND VEDANTA. This meet will involve participation from international members in the relevant field to evolve a global solution for the bauxite residue (red mud)

Two and half day “Capacity Building and Awareness Programme on Aluminium”, being held in Hotel MAYFAIR Lagoon Bhubaneswar organized by Ministry of Mines and NITI Aayog together with Jawaharlal Nehru Aluminium Research Development and Design Centre (JNARDDC) Aluminium Association of India (AAI), Material Recycling Association of India (MRAI) and Aluminium Secondary Manufacturers Association (ASMA) was inaugurated by Mr Ratan P Watal, Member Secretary, EAC-PM, GoI in presence of distinguished dignitaries Dr Anupam Agnihotri (Director, JNARDDC), Dr B N Satpathy (Sr. Consultant, Office of Principal Scientific Advisor to GoI), Mr Amit Saran (Director, Ministry of Mines), Mr Bibhu Mishra (MCoE, HINDALCO), Mr Sharanan Chaudhuri (Executive Director, Mines, NALCO), Mr Kishore Rajpurohit (Vice President, MRAI) and host of participants. In his inaugural speech Mr Watal stressed the need for circular economy (in which resources are kept in use for as long as possible, the maximum value is extracted from them whilst in use, the products and materials are recovered and regenerated at the end of each product life) and resource efficiency in view of depleting natural resources in global competition. For sustainable development, Auminium Resource Efficiency is key element necessitating great attention at waste materials such as bauxite residue (red mud), fly ash, spent pot lining (SPL), dross and recycling of aluminium. Dr Agnihotri affirmed the commitment of JNARDDC to contribute in every possible way in achieving resource efficiency in aluminium industry which can become zero waste industry and carbon neutral by 2030-35 with concerted efforts of everybody involved. Dr Agnihotri advocated the establishment of regulatory authority (on similar lines like Bureau of Energy Efficiency –BEE- under Ministry of Power) which will help in conserving the resources enhancing cost competiveness etc
The programme has received widespread participation from all three primary aluminium producing companies (NALCO, VEDANTA & HINDALCO), MRAI, ASMA, Secondary aluminium industries, representatives from Govt organisations (NITI Aayog, Ministry of Environment and Climate Change, CPCB, SPCB, BARC, IBM, Ministry and BIS etc) as well as from technology providers, young entrepreneurs, academicians and students etc. Deliberation in next two and half days will focus on following aspects of Resource efficiency in Aluminium.
Specific uses of waste generated by the Primary and Secondary Aluminium Industry Processing of the waste into value added products Recycling of aluminium - Areas of concern Best available technologies Deliberations, interactions during this programme will not only enlighten the participants but will help in better understanding and implementing the desired goals of resource efficiency in the interest of industry and nation.