ROURKELA: The National Institute of Technology-Rourkela (NIT-R) and IIT(ISM)-Dhanbad have joined hands to run a Centre of Excellence (CoE) to bring transformation in the mining sector with innovation in automation, cyber physical system and digital technologies.
The initiative with multi-layered collaborations seeks to modernise mining operations and build a more sustainable, safe and efficient mining ecosystem for India.
The CoE would be run by the Foundation for Technology and Business Incubation (FTBI) of NIT-R and non-profit PSU tech company TEXMiN of the Department of Science and Technology (DoST) at IIT(ISM)-Dhanbad.
The CoE, supported by DoST, was jointly inaugurated by NIT-R director Prof K Umamaheshwar Rao and IIT(ISM)-Dhanbad director Prof Sukumar Mishra at the FTBI on June 20.
Prof Rao emphasised the significance of digital innovation in modern mining. Prof Mishra highlighted the role of applied research in creating scalable and sustainable technologies.
In a release, NIT-R said the CoE would focus on developing deep-tech solutions to address critical challenges in mining and allied sectors. The CoE would also award projects and fellowships in next four years, enabling selected innovators and researchers access to the state-of-the-art infrastructure and mentoring support.
Traditional mining practices suffer from poor safety standards, low productivity, fragmented data systems and environmental degradation. Manual exploration methods and lack of real-time monitoring further hinder efficiency and regulatory compliance.
The new CoE seeks to address these systemic issues through cutting-edge CPS, the release added.