Durgapur: Dr. R. N. Behera, Member of Parliament from Jajpur and a member of the Consultative Committee of the Ministry of Steel, participated in the recent Consultative Committee meeting held in Durgapur, West Bengal.
The meeting was chaired by the Union Minister for Steel, Shri H. D. Kumaraswamy. Minister of State for Steel Shri Bhupathi Raju Srinivasa Varma and the Union Steel Secretary, Shri Sandip Poundarik graced the occasion.
During the session, Dr. Behera raised several key proposals aimed at advancing the domestic steel sector and upgrading human resource capabilities. He formally urged the Ministry of Steel to elevate the Biju Patnaik National Steel Institute (BPNSI), located in Sukinda, into a National Centre of Excellence.
His proposal highlighted the need to introduce advanced training modules, enhanced research infrastructure, and modern skill development systems. Dr. Behera strongly advocated for incorporating contemporary technologies, including Artificial Intelligence, into the human resource framework to meet global industry benchmarks.
Additionally, Dr. Behera extended his gratitude to the Union Steel Minister and the Union Steel Secretary for their recent administrative steps to restart operations at BPNSI Sukinda. This restart follows persistent requests from the senior lawmaker and is being executed with collaborative support from the Government of Odisha.
The Biju Patnaik National Steel Institute was originally constituted by the Ministry of Steel, Government of India, and registered as an autonomous society in September 2001.
The institute was established with a primary mandate to function as a specialized center providing technology and trained technical manpower to the iron and steel industries, with a particular focus on the secondary steel sector.
Over the years, BPNSI has focused on training, re-skilling, and up-skilling engineering graduates and working professionals in areas like iron and steel manufacturing, mechanical systems, and industrial automation to align academic training with modern manufacturing requirements.