Minister for MoP&NG launches IndianOil Surya Nutan Solar Cooktop, releases IndianOil R&D Golden Jubilee Commemorative Postal Stamp

Mar 23,2022

In a momentous occasion, marking the grand finale of Golden Jubilee celebrations of IndianOil R&D; the Union Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Housing & Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri, launched an innovative solar cooktop – IndianOil Surya Nutan and released a commemorative customsied postal stamp of IndianOil R&D, in a function held in Vigyan Bhavan yesterday.

Union Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Labour & Employment, Rameshwar Teli; Padma Vibhushan Dr R A Mashelkar; Padma Vibhushan Dr Anil Kakodkar; Pankaj Jain, Secretary, MoPNG; S M Vaidya, Chairman (IndianOil); Dr SSV Ramakumar, Director (R&D)-IndianOil; Ms Manju Kumar, Chief Postmaster General – Delhi Circle, India Post; were present on the occasion.

On this occasion, a special citation of 1501 patents of IndianOil R&D, was presented to the Hon’ble Minister by IndianOil’s Chairman and Director (R&D) as a symbol of intellectual wealth created by the institution over the last 50 years. Addressing the gathering, Puri said that IndianOil Surya Nutan solar cooktop could be a path-breaking innovation for the average Indian consumer. Urging IndianOil to expand it reach and usage on a large scale in a reasonable period of time, he said that this could empower millions of households, especially the women. Hardeep Singh Puri also interacted with the customers of IndianOil Surya Nutan solar cooktop regarding their experiences of the new product.

Puri also said, “Fifty years of pioneering research to make energy secure and accessible in India is truly an enormous achievement. As the apex organization for research and innovation in the sector, IndianOil R&D has transcended to the gold standard for industry innovation. However, we need to be doing much more to achieve our national and global targets. I believe that cutting-edge R&D—which aims to produce equitable, sustainable and large-scale innovations—will be at the forefront of change in the coming years, particularly in dynamic areas such as the energy sector”.

Calling IndianOil R&D ‘Young at 50”, MoS, MoP&NG said that the institution has worked to make India Aatamnirbhar, by developing low-cost, environmentally-benign and customer-friendly solutions and products. He called upon IndianOil to continue playing a meaningful role in achieving the Prime Minister’s vision of $5 trillion economy in shortest possible time.

Secretary, MOPNG, Pankaj Jain complimented IndianOil R&D on the scale & speed of research work and said, “Even before the ink had dried on the 1501 patent citation, the milestone had been crossed and the figure was outdated. He said that the research at IndianOil R&D is not only cutting-edge but also has direct customer connect.

Chairman, IndianOil, S M Vaidya said that over the last 50 years, IndianOil R&D has worked to enhance the self-sufficiency index of the country and had contributed to ‘Urja Aatmanirbharta’. A healthy figure of patents and the rate of commercialization is testimony to the commercial focus of research happening at IndianOil”, he added.

Dr R A Mashelkar said that IndianOil R&D has a remarkable contribution to Aatmanirbhar Bharat and is leading from the forefront with its flagship lubricants and cutting-edge technologies. Dr. Anil Kakodhar said that IndianOil R&D is expeditiously meeting the clean energy needs of the consumers in net-zero scenarios.

Earlier, welcoming the gathering, Dr Ramakumar spoke about the golden journey of IndianOil R&D that has been full of challenges, setting benchmarks, creating brands, and making them iconic.  He shared that all along R&D has been committed to powering self-reliance in the downstream petroleum sector and today it has emerged as an apex energy research institute of the nation.  He also added, “IndianOil R&D has the largest patent portfolio among the oil & gas PSU companies and our 56 indigenously developed technologies are fully proven and commercialized and also  licensable globally”.

On the occasion, the Minister gave also away cash prizes to the 12 winners of IndianOil R&D Golden Jubilee National Essay Competition in which over 1500 entries were received.

The high-profile grand event was also graced by IndianOil’s Directors – Ranjan Kumar Mohapatra, Director (HR); Sandeep Sharma, Director (Finance); V Satish Kumar, Director (Marketing); D S Nanaware, Director (Pipelines); Ms Sukla Mistry, Director (Refineries); Sujoy Choudhary, Director (P&BD) and Anant Kumar Singh, CVO IndianOil. The captains of Indian industry, senior officials from IndianOil, academia, oil & gas industry were present on the occasion.