ebruary 19, 2002

‘13’

    Anti-corrosion treatment of various construction and building materials can lead to a direct saving of 5 percent of GDP amounting to about Rs. 15000 crore per annum. The indirect saving could be much more than this apart from saving of precious human lives. This was stated by the Director of the Central Electro-Chemical Research Institute of the CSIR Dr. M. Raghavan while addressing a press conference here today on the International Congress on Emerging Corrosion Control Strategies for the new millennium –GLOCORR 2002, beginning tomorrow. About 200 delegates from India and abroad including USA, Canada, France, China and Korea will take part in the Congress to share knowledge on corrosion and its control and bringing about a synergy between manufacturers and users of anti-corrosion and allied products.

    Dr. Raghavan said that much more than the technology and anti-corrosion methods what is more important is bringing about an awareness on the essentiality of anti-corrosion measures in various sectors of the industry and the society as a whole. Though India has a global edge in anti-corrosion technology/treatment, its wider application is yet to pick up momentum especially in the civilian sector. The Institute has so far developed 75 anti-corrosion processes and products for a variety of applications covering different zones where the severity of corrosion differs due to salinity in atmosphere. Indian anti-corrosion technologies and treatment are not only durable and time saving but also cost-effective. Anti-corrosion also has a greater role to play in strategic and non-civilian sectors. He also emphasised the need for a national regulation on anti-corrosion to make it universal. Referring to the recent earthquake in Gujarat, Dr. Raghavan said the buildings built with CPWD norms did not collapse.