Dedicated R&D Department Needed in CEA, Says R.K. Singh

Only way of improving life and system is questioning. This is the spirit I look for in my system, he added.

R.K. Singh, Union Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy, has stressed upon the need of a dedicated R&D department in CEA to coordinate the research in power sector.

The Union Minister has inaugurated the two-day conference – ‘International R&D Conclave’ on Emerging Opportunities and Challenges of R&D in Indian Power Sector, which was organized by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA).

In his inaugural address, the Minister asked the concerned departments to make an effort to implement the ideas emerging from this Conference.

Also, Singh said that those research papers presented during the Conference that are remarkably good, must be rewarded to encourage the researchers who have put in efforts for improving the system.

He further added that, every Central Public Sector Undertaking (CPSU) needs to create an ecosystem that encourages young officers to come up with new ideas and instills a spirit of enquiry in their minds.

“Only way of improving life and system is questioning. This is the spirit I look for in my system,” he added.

The Minister has also emphasized on indigenous R&D and said that, we need to get out of the habit of downgrading everything indigenous. It is possible that solutions given by our engineers are better.

For the paper presentation in the conference, around 100 entries were received, out of which 45 papers have been identified for presentation, including the papers from Germany and Japan.

The sessions in the conference will focus on R&D activities in Thermal Generation, Hydro Generation, Renewable Energy, Transmission, Grid Operation, Distribution, Trading, Marketing and Tariff.