A webinar on: Post COVID 19: Resurgence of Indian Industries and R&D

The pandemic in the form of Covid-19 has shaken the entire world and is believed to re-shape the economy, industrial strategies in a post-Covid situation. SRM AP conducted a webinar with eminent personalities to discuss the Post-Covid 19: Resurgence of Indian Industries and R&D. The panelists were Dr. V K Saraswat, Hon’ble member, NITI AAYOG, Chairman, Prof. D Narayana Rao, Pro VC, SRM AP, moderator and convener, Dr. G Satheesh Reddy, Chairman, DRDO, Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwalaa, Institute Professor, IIT Madras, Dr. K Varaprasad Reddy, Chairman Emeritus, Shanta Biotechnics, Ltd, Prof. Prasant Mohapatra, VC Research, UC Davis, USA, Prof. Damodar Acharya, Ex- Director, IIT Kharagpur, Prof. V.S. Rao, President, NIIT University, Prof. B.S. Murty, Director, IIT Hyderabad, DR. Akhilesh Gupta, Adviser/Scientist-G, DST, Prof. Rakesh K Khandal, President R&D and Business Development, India Glycols LTD.

While welcoming the panelists and the participants of the webinar, Prof. D Narayana Rao, Pro Vice Chancellor, SRM University, AP, moderator and convener, says, “COVID 19 has disrupted the world and the world is struggling against the Virus. At the same time, COVID 19 is giving an unenvisaged opportunity in building a new India. It is inevitable that the world will shift from China to India for imports. India emerges as an alternative source to countries like the US, Japan, Singapore, and Taiwan. More than 300 MNCs will export via India instead of China. India needs to utilize this opportunity by building taskforce, infrastructure, and dedicated industrial fast track clearances. Further He said that India should develop the future Workforce for the World.”

Dr. V K Saraswat, Hon’ble member, NITI AAYOG, Chairman has talked about the capability of our scientific community in mitigating the crisis through epidemiological studies, stimulation and gene concepts. He further says, “The commitment of scientific community, institutions, DST, ICMR, DRDO, IITs, and pharmaceutical industries have been incredible in the battle against this raging pandemic.”

However, according to Dr. V K Saraswat, India exhibited delays in setting up of test centers, and supply chain problems require revamping and correction. He suggests, “Bringing down the interest rate, funding to industry R&D consortia, setting up R&D centers/labs, development of robotics embedded with IoT, tax breaks to Indian companies outside India, and upgrading testing labs is crucial. India centric epidemic preparedness, vibrant electronic device manufacturing ecosystem, medical devices, E-commerce, genetically modified crops, cybersecurity should also be implemented and improved to thrive in a post Covid-19 situation. “

He informs that Apron and textiles, automobile sector, Tourism and aviation, building construction, food and agriculture, finance, education, retail, and MSMEs alone with 30% of GDP contribution and providing employment to 140 million employees, will be most affected. “Understanding sector-wise business imperative and developing appropriate policy support to unconventional strategies will be the pivotal point for the revival of Indian economy.”, says Dr. V K Saraswat.

Dr. G Satheesh Reddy applauded the response of the country to fight against Covid-19. He says, “PPE, Masks, and Ventilator production has increased exponentially. Various industries are coming forward to submit designs for ventilators which were minimally used till the outbreak of coronavirus. The onus is to produce 60k ventilators in the coming days.” He further suggests, “We should have collaborations with industries abroad, acquire technical know-how, and become self-reliant eventually “.

Prof. Prasant Mohapatra says, “Higher education needs to focus more on innovation and creativity. Whereas South Korea invests 5%of GDP on R&D, India only invests 0.85%, exhibiting a huge opportunity for investment on R&D. Indians have high intellectual capital and focusing on high-quality education system will improve the R&D results of the country”. Dr. Akhilesh Gupta spoke of the extramural R&D. He says, “India needs to quadruple present full-time researchers to increase R&D spending to 2%”.

Dr. K Varaprasad Reddy believes that MNC’s should be compelled to share the research knowledge inferred in our land. Also, he instructs, “We need to reorient ourselves to combat against plausible bio attacks in the future”. Prof. B.S. Murty identifies that Internet and network connectivity with good speed and bandwidth should be provided to everyone at affordable price, as education is likely to get digitized in the future and the world has recognized its benefits during the outbreak of COVID 19. Meanwhile, Rakesh Khandal says, “Technology status appraisal should be prepared to identify the capabilities we have today in India. Also, funding to universities on R&D should be based on real content.” He further claims, “Traditional health systems like Ayurveda should be used to improve immunity and combat COVID”.

Dr. V K Saraswat concluded by saying, “India should be competitive in terms of quality, quantity, and cost effective by standardizing the products and settling for larger value addition.” The webinar highlighted the reversal of brain drain during this pandemic as intellectuals and workers have moved back to their hometown. Further, Young entrepreneurs who have mastered modern tools and are more connected to the world should be working with the academy and industry as they come up with solutions and develop technology rapidly. At the same time, it is vital to identify that we might need to live with Covid-19 for a long time, which requires self-sanitized logistics and public transport, robotics in hospitals, developing social distancing equipment, and drugs to improve immunity.

Remarkable research of Dr. Tousif Khan N is honoured with APJ Abdul Kalam Memorial International Travel Award

SRM University AP, Andhra Pradesh faculty, Dr. Tousif Khan N, Assistant Professor and Head of the Department, Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, is to present a paper “Laguerre Neural Network Driven Adaptive Control of DC-DC Step Down Converter” in the renowned International Federation for Automatic Control (IFAC) World Congress to be held in Germany during July 12-17, 2020. Further this research article is also selected for the prestigious APJ Abdul Kalam Memorial International Travel Award by the Automatic Control and Dynamic Optimization Society (ACDOS) chaired by Professor Ravi Gudi of Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.

The research work of Dr. Tousif proposes a novel Laguerre neural network estimation technique for the approximation of unknown and uncertain load function, followed by its subsequent compensation in the adaptive backstepping controller. A detailed design of the proposed estimator and adaptive backstepping controller along with closed loop asymptotic stability have been presented. Further, the proposed control mechanism is evaluated through extensive numerical simulations while subjecting the converter to input voltage, reference voltage, and load resistance perturbations. Furthermore, the results are verified by testing the proposed controller on a laboratory prototype with DSP based TM320F240 controller board. The analysis of results reveals that the proposed control methodology for DC-DC step down converter offers a faster transient output voltage tracking with smooth and satisfactory inductor current response over a wide operating range. Dr. Tousif informs, “Under the class of DC-DC converters, the dynamics of DC-DC step down converter are nonlinear in nature and are largely influenced by both parametric and unanticipated external perturbations. In its closed loop operation, obtaining a precise output voltage tracking besides satisfactorily inductor current response is a challenging control objective. Hence, in this regard, this article proposes a solution.”

Electric power supply is the principal entity behind any electrical circuits and systems. Irrespective of their function in the digital domain, these circuits necessarily require a reliable and efficient energy source for their operations. Among the two existing forms of electrical energy, namely, the direct current (DC) and the alternating current (AC), the DC power finds wide use in numerous applications in the field of telecommunication, instrumentation, medical electronics, aerospace, defence and power transmission.

Ever since the fundamental innovations in DC systems by Thomas Alva Edison in 1880, DC rectification, and modulation method have remained central to various utilities. During the initial years, DC power conversion primarily resorted to the use of vacuum tube technology in delivering a desirable level of voltage from an AC source. The rectification stage was subsequently followed by filtering of the voltage at the output end. Nonetheless, the vacuum tube technology supported very low current density and featured a high ripple content in the DC voltage. Additionally, the output voltage was inconsistent or rather unregulated, making it inappropriate for DC power operated electrical and electronic systems. Much later in 1967, integrated series regulators were developed which eventually became popular as linear power supplies (LPS). Such a classical DC power generation method involved an AC transformer, AC-DC rectifier, and a voltage regulator in its assembly. The transistors in LPS operate under active region and dissipate large amounts of heat due to the voltage drop while high current flows through the collector-emitter junction, thereby causing substantial power loss and a very low energy efficiency. Even though they characterize the low level of noise and find better suitability in audio applications, yet their critical limitations of huge size, heavy weight and high cost make them infeasible for use in portable electronic devices.

In tandem to these aforementioned developments, the advancements in power semiconductor technology led to the invention of low cost reliable power switches exhibiting fast switching response. This proved to be instrumental in building an energy efficient switched mode power supply which gradually gained popularity. “Its impact on electrical technology was phenomenal, replacing conventional linear voltage supplies with switched mode power supplies giving rise to enhanced efficiency, light weight, compactness, and comparably lower cost. Such a modern DC conversion system primarily includes DC-DC converters, wherein the rectified input voltage is fed to the DC-DC converter circuits for obtaining specific voltage levels. The primary objective in DC-DC converters is to transfer the energy among different DC circuits functioning at a specific voltage and current levels. This process of energy transfer is performed by temporarily storing the energy from the input source in an operating mode, followed by releasing it in the other operational mode of the converter. Thus, one level of DC input voltage is converted to another level of average DC output voltage at the load end. Meanwhile, the converter being ideal is expected to consume no energy. Any consumption of energy in the converter interface amounts to direct power loss in the overall supply system. Typically, converters render high input-output conversion.”, enlightens Dr. Tousif Khan N. His notable research work offers to mitigate these issues, leading to the venerated APJ Abdul Kalam Memorial International Travel Award. Advancing his work in the future, Dr. Tousif will be closely working on the society’s activities with ACDOS as a member for mutual benefit.

Using spices, SRM AP student creates a life-size painting to win the Guinness World Record title

Tatineni Sreya, a first year Electronics and Communication Engineering student of SRM University AP, Andhra Pradesh, became the cynosure of all eyes at the Tech Fest held at the university campus in September 2019.

Life-size painting using spicesCoinciding with the valedictory session of a two-day Tech Fest hosted by the university’s management at the campus, Sreya attracted eyeballs by painting on a 588 square feet canvas in a span of 4 hours and 15 minutes using spices (turmeric powder and vermilion). The feat was recorded in the presence of a panel of jury to claim a place for Sreya in the Guinness Book of World Records. On Wednesday, her painting reached the pinnacle when the Guinness World Records Committee sent an e-mail to the university ownership announcing that the title has been awarded to Sreya. The Cherian Committee has broadcasted that the World Records will be awarded in recognition of the wellbeing of the student. The World Record title certificate will be issued soon.

Sreya started the painting of a little girl standing on a cliff and absorbing in the beauty of the rising sun, at 11.30 a.m. and concluded the act exactly at 3.45 p.m. “The painting is about a girl rejoicing freedom mimicking my emotion after I was done with my stressful high school days. While dealing with the pressure at school, I wanted to prove that zeal and passion can steer one to achieve monumental achievements. “, explains Sreya.

Sreya working on the painting

Sreya applied to Guinness Book of World Records in January when she was preparing for her high school finals and was searching for a UG college to get into. Sreya narrates, “I finally got into SRM AP in June and was adjusting to the new surroundings and environment when we had a Tech Fest meeting. We were asked to speak about ourselves. I informed my fellow students and the professors regarding my application to Guinness Book of World Records and knack for painting. It was proposed by one of the faculty members during a meeting that I should attempt on the painting during the Tech Fest. Although it was challenging to balance academics, Tech Fest activities, and other club activities, along with gearing up for the attempt, I was able to build upon the planning in a short span of time with my parents and friends supporting me.”

On the culminating day, Architect T. Ramakrishna, after measuring the exact size of the painting and other aspects stipulated by the Record Book, recorded the ‘surveyor’s statement.’ K. Manohar from Vijayawada Food Testing Laboratory analyzed and certified the products used in the painting while Police Officials P.V.R.K. Prasad and Ravi, Chartered Accountant Krishna Reddy and Advocate Rami Reddy, sat through to witness the act and made their observations.

Sreya’s successful attempt Immediately after she finished the painting, Sreya’s friends greeted her with cheers and lifted her on their shoulders. On Wednesday, the Tech Fest Committee 2019 proudly declared, “One of our committee member Sreya Tatineni’s attempt for Guinness World record is successful. She won the Guinness world record in Largest Spice painting.” Dr. Sathyanarayanan, the President of the University, Prof. Narayana Rao, Pro Vice-Chancellor, and Dr. D. Gunasekaran, Registrar congratulated Sreya for this efficacious attempt. Dr. D Gunasekaran applauds Sreya saying. “Ms Sreya Tatineni has secured an immaculate place in the Guinness World Records for the largest spice painting done during the Techfest 2019. Special thanks to her parents. SRMAP is proud of Sreya. Thanks to the Techfest Organizing Committee 2019 for making this happen.”

Sreya says “I was in happy tears after my attempt was done as I got the picture that I planned of. My family, friends, and my professors at SRM AP were very supportive and encouraged me in all the phases related to this attempt. To be honest, receiving this humongous award from Guinness Book of World Records is the proudest and happiest moment of my life till date. Getting into Guinness Book of World Records is never a small thing. It will be one of the biggest days in my life that I will cherish forever. In the future, I hope to make an attempt at something different.”

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SRM student spices up painting

During the unprecedented crisis, when the world is slowly falling into despair, the talented students of SRM University- AP are using the time for brainstorming and innovation. Attesting the signs of a true researcher, P. Mohan Aditya, a 2nd – year Mechanical Engineering student, represents the future generation well by developing a highly useful face shield that costs less than a plate of snacks.

Aditya with his ‘Face Shield 2.0’Mr Aditya has named it “Face Shield 2.0”. The face shield is very lightweight, easy to wear, comfortable yet durable. It protects a person’s entire face from hazards with a thin layer of transparent plastic film that serves as an outer defence. It is a protective equipment to guard the face against exposure to the potentially infectious materials. This face shield is biodegradable as the headband is made of cardboard(paper) which is 100% degradable material and the plastic can be reused. The Face Shield comes only at a price of INR 15.

The Face Shield 2.0 was manufactured using the CNC (Computer Numerical Controlled) machine through which Aditya designed a headband, and the shape of the transparent plastic film was created using CAD (Computer-Aided Design) software. “I gave this CAD model as an input to the CNC machine. Now the CNC machine software analysed the CAD model and started to cut the cardboard and transparent sheet according to the drawing provided as an input. Thus, I managed to bring down the production time for manufacturing and assembling the Face shield in less than 2minutes,” explained Aditya. A 3 Ply Corrugated Cardboard Sheet had been used in making the headband so that the headband becomes durable, comfortable and lightweight. The Bursting Strength of the Cardboard sheet is 16kg/sq.cm. A thick 175-micron transparent plastic sheet has been placed over the headband to protect the person against the virus. This also forms a barrier that keeps people from easily touching their faces. The transparent film also helps in allowing the visibility of facial expressions and lip movements for speech perception.

CNC Machine

The other innovative features of the face shield are – a cushioning type of structure has been attached to the headband so that the person wearing it for a long time does not get strained. This structure helps the person to wear the face shield comfortably. By providing the elastic band to this face shield, any person with different head circumferences can wear it easily.

Wearing this ‘Face Shield 2.0’ will help the police, medical personnel, municipal workers, people working in sanitizing department, people working in the essential goods sector by not getting infected by the virus. It can also be used by virus-infected patients so that the chance of spreading the virus to a healthy person can be decreased. Moreover, several lakhs of students of schools, colleges and universities could use the Face Shield 2.0 when they come back to the educational institutions after the lockdown is lifted.

Machine processing a cardboard Mohan Aditya always wanted to make a difference. So, when he read in many articles and newspapers that there is a huge shortage of the PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) in the world, the idea of making a face shield crossed his mind. “I thought to make a face shield which is 100% biodegradable, low in cost and also gives protection to the facial area and associated mucous membranes (Eyes, Nose, Mouth) which are the possible entries for a virus to infect people,” said Aditya.

Mohan Aditya wants to be a successful engineer in life. He is very passionate about making useful gadgets. His previous endeavour with his team successfully ended up in making an Electric bicycle by using a 24V 250Watt DC motor powered a 12V and 12Ah battery. At present, they are working on the retrofit of an old IC Bike into brand new Electric Bike. Our young engineer P. Mohan Aditya truly one of those people whom the future world can rely upon.

The unprecedented local, national, and global disruptions of 2020 have turned normal life and assumptions, upside down. However, as the new academic year approaches, students also need to look to their future and what decisions they should make to ensure that it is as bright, secure, and successful as possible.

After the completion of schooling, the first steps towards a university education are among the most significant decisions in any young person’s adult life: What degree subjects to study? Where to Study? These decisions will shape their future so they must make it very carefully. As regular, well-paid professional jobs become more competitive and less secure, higher studies in Business Management and Entrepreneurship are becoming more necessary than ever.

To provide our young generation with the knowledge that will help them to achieve success in life, SRM University-AP is focused on designing practical courses with a cutting-edge curriculum. Professor Michael J. Barnes, Dean of the School of Management at SRM University-AP, has taken the initiative to introduce the newly upgraded BBA (Hons.) Programme for the latest intake of students of Business Administration. He connected online recently with prospective business students, and their parents through a ‘Webinar’ hosted on April 29th, 2020. The Dean introduced prospective undergraduate students to the new BBA (Hons) programme at SRM University and presented its fundamental and innovative features.

According to the advice given by Professor Barnes, during the current worldwide health crisis what high school graduates must do now is to invest in themselves, and in their further education. No matter how gloomy the world looks, there is no better time than now to invest in oneself and reap the benefits later. “Education has always been the best means and the best investment for people to get ahead in life. Choosing a bachelor’s degree programme is most important, as this is the first major decision for young adults to make. This will have a lifelong impact in shaping your career and future. Joining a course of one’s choice in a highly reputed institution like SRM University-AP is the first step towards success,” opined Dean Michael Barnes.

People may think, as the economy is going into global recession this year in almost all major countries: what is the point of studying if job opportunities are going to be less? The Dean of Management strongly disagrees with that view. Professor Barnes argues that if economic recession or even depression is going to happen in the immediate future, it could be for one year or even two. By the time of full economic recovery our BBA (Hons) students will be graduating when the situation should be much stronger, more stable, and with a very positive outlook for India. There will then be a huge requirement and pent-up demand for talented and qualified professional managers. For those ambitious individuals who want to be managers and leaders of the future, the BBA (Honours) degree- awarded by SRM University-AP – is an obvious choice: SRM-AP offers a tremendous opportunity for advancement, with its state-of-the-art infrastructure and innovative BBA (Hons.) curriculum.

To be a successful manager or entrepreneur, it is crucial to have a fully-rounded knowledge in business studies and management practices Current hiring trends indicate that it is chiefly engineers who benefit most from a postgraduate degree (MBA) in business administration. But for non-engineers and non-scientists, it is always highly advantageous to gain a degree in the BBA (Hons.) programme before full-time employment or pursuing further studies at home and abroad.

SRM University-AP is now open for admissions to its new BBA (Hons.) programme in September 2020. Dean Barnes lays great emphasis on the word “HONOURS” as it reflects an enhancement of the previous BBA general degree programme. The three-year BBA (Hons.) course comprises 140 credits of study: One credit is equivalent to one hour per week for a fifteen-week semester. Most of the courses are worth four credits, which translates to four hours per week per subject (6) per semester of direct teaching and learning (excluding homework assignments!).

It is of the utmost necessity for future management consultants, supervisors, professional managers, and individual entrepreneurs to have both a wide and deep knowledge across the entire business domain. They also need to have a global perspective. It is necessary to have global awareness because even if one is focused on domestic business, he/she is still going to be connected with the world through some means; be it international employers, suppliers, customers, competitors, partners, or even regulators. It is crucial to be familiar with world financial markets, foreign trade trends, practices and procedures, and foreign exchange market volatility, in order to fully appreciate business opportunities, and sometimes the risks and threats of over-dependence on the tightly-knit global supply chain of products and services.

The major pillars, and basic knowledge foundations of our BBA (Hons.) programme are:
1. Financial Management, Markets & Institutions
2. Marketing Management (Product & Services)
3. Human Resources Management & Organizational Behaviour
4. Accounting (Financial & Cost Accounting)
5. Economics (Microeconomics & Macroeconomics)
6. Information Technology and
7. Operations Management

SRM University undergraduates are exposed to all these required foundational subjects in their first two semesters of study. In the second semester, students get to choose their specialisations which they will commence in their second year. In this way, every student is given a choice of the functional domain to which they are most attracted – after getting familiar with all the major courses in the first year of their studies. Students will know the subjects with which they are most comfortable, and able to decide among alternative ‘portfolios’ the direction that their careers are most likely to take.

As an example, if someone chooses Marketing as their specialisation, he or she will learn more about Retail Marketing, Sales and Distribution, Consumer Behaviour, Brand Management, Advertising, Digital Marketing etc. Finance & Accounting specialists will be learning more about Budgeting, Financial Modelling, Investment Portfolio Management, Financial Derivatives and Risk Management, and Strategic Finance. In Human Resource Management, emphasis will be given to HR Analytics, Leadership and Team Management, HR Development, Managing Diversity, and Industrial Relations.

Another important feature of the teaching-learning process at SRMAP is the “Action Learning. Programs” (ALPs): ‘Action Learning’ is the practical and ‘hands-on’ experience of working in a company environment, though it is quite different from an internship. Action Learning is an integrated strategic group learning process, where students work in a real business environment, on real live projects, and most importantly, in teams.

Action Learning has several benefits which are essential for the students to be successful in their career and professional life, namely:

1. It improves business communication skills.
2. Enhances the individual ability to work in teams.
3. Builds leadership confidence and capabilities.
4. Creates global awareness.

In addition to the core courses and specialisations, The SRM University School of Management BBA (Hons.) programme also includes courses in Business Law and Taxation, Supply Chain Management, Environmental Studies, Waste and Water Management, Big Data and Machine Learning, and Entrepreneurship & Family Business. These courses are included, keeping in mind the practical requirements of India in today’s technology-driven business world, and making our students knowledgeable in every aspect of business. Every student must successfully complete 35 courses (140 credits) to graduate with the BBA (Hons.) degree. During the final semester, students will prepare a business dissertation or plan. Throughout the three-year degree programme, BBA (Hons.) students are provided with training in ‘soft-skills’ development to enhance their employability after graduation. As Professor Barnes observed from his own life experience, every true professional should develop the following important qualities in his or her character:

1. Staying POSITIVE,
2. Being PREPARED;
3. Always being PERSISTENT yet remaining
4. PATIENT;
5. Being PRECISE in words and calculations.
6. Being POLITE to everybody, and (at least trying) to be always
7. PUNCTUAL on every occasion.

SRM University- AP provides students with an integrated and holistic learning experience to prepare them for life and to be ‘job-ready’. The safe and secure campus enthusiastic location, world-class faculty, state-of-the-art infrastructure, highly supportive staff, and a cutting-edge and innovative curriculum, with strong links to industry, make SRMAP the most ‘preferred destination’ for students to pursue their university degree studies in business. Dean Barnes wishes all the students the best of luck and good judgement in their choice of university and degree subject decision-making. He hopes to see many of the audience on campus in September 2020 when the first semester commences.

The SRM University Webinar concluded with a Q&A session where Professor Barnes answered various queries from the audience. Dr Barnes also shared his e-mail id with the students and their parents who attended the BBA (Hons.) Webinar in case they have any more questions: They are always welcome to send emails directly to him at dean.mgmt@srmap.edu.in

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The Industry Readiness Webinar Series- 4

SRM University- AP is hosting a Webinar on “Challenges & opportunities in critical sectors and long term strategic direction to deal with uncertainty within and across nations” as a process of preparing the students for the forthcoming Placement Season. Our guest for the evening Dr Bade Simhachalam, has obtained his MTech & PhD degrees from IITM in Design Engineering/Vehicle Safety. He has a PG Diploma in Business Administration from ICFAI University. His areas of expertise in Automotive, Aerospace, Heavy engineering, IT domains include:

· Engineering service operations management

· Product development, R&D, Technology Management,

· Project Management & Program Management,

· Quality Improvement using Six Sigma/TQM,

· People Development, Competency development and Skill Development

· Working in Multidisciplinary area – Connecting People, Technology, and Manufacturing Management and Society

· Software development related to Automotive/Aerospace/Heavy engineering/IT.

Dr Simhachalam has over 24 years of professional experience and currently working as the Sr. General Manager, Corporate Technology Center, Tube Investments of India, Murugappa Group, Chennai (Since 2008). He is also a part of BITS faculty selection committee, and a reviewer of International Journals/Technical Papers from SAGE, SAE, Elsevier etc. Dr Simhachalam is presently engaged in developing, leading and coordinating product development & research teams related to Automotive components, e-bike, EV and Railway components. He is also mentoring interns from premier institutes to explore organizational research objectives. He enjoys representing the team with Auto OEMs and external research organizations like IITs, BITS, VIT, PSG, ARAI, SAE India and contributing to People’s development, team building and TQM.

Dr Simhachalam has previous professional experience with Mahindra & Mahindra Design & Development Center, GE Transportation development Center and L&T Technology Center, Infotech Enterprises, Bharat Heavy Plate and Vessels Limited (BHEL). He has Contributed to Product Development best practices and process improvement using Six Sigma. He is also an invited speakers in Industry, Technology and Education forums across India to improve the working culture in Product development, R&D and innovation.

The webinar series includes a wider reach and ability to share knowledge and inherent opportunities to reach out many industrial experts, thereby getting the knowledge imparted from the industry and accessing the general requirement of the industry, which may be very much useful at the time of their campus recruitment.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unprecedented global crisis and has infected more than 3 million people in more than 200 countries. Even before the onset of this pandemic, the global economy was confronting turbulence on account of disruptions in trade flows and attenuated growth. The situation has now been very much aggravated by the demand, supply, and liquidity shocks that COVID -19 has inflicted on many economies, including the Indian economy. However, it is expected that the course of economic recovery in India could be smoother and faster than that of many other advanced countries.

Thus, under the auspices of SRM University – AP, a webinar “Post COVID-19 Resurgence of Indian industry and R & D” is being organised on Friday, 15th May 2020 at 11.30 a.m. The main objectives of the webinar are- (i) to discuss the resurgence of the Indian industry, post-COVID-19, and (ii) to discuss the possible slowdown of R & D and the strategies/measures for the resurgence of R & D in the country.

SRM University- AP is honoured to have Dr V K Saraswat, Hon’ble Member, NITI AAYOG who has kindly agreed to chair the above webinar. Dr G Sateesh Reddy, Chairman, DRDO, Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Institute Professor, IIT- Madras, Dr K Varaprasada Reddy, Chairman Emeritus, Shantha Biotech, and other distinguished experts will grace the event by sharing their views and opinions.

Prof D Narayana Rao, Pro Vice Chancellor, SRM University – AP acts as the moderator for the webinar.

The webinar is a wonderful opportunity for everyone to listen to the views of such eminent dignitaries and to acquaint oneself with the turn, the Post COVID-19, could offer great opportunities for Indian industries, exports and other sectors. .

SRM University- AP will be profoundly grateful to have your kind participation in the webinar. Please click on the following link to register yourself for the webinar.

Register Yourself here: https://srmap.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJcvcO-pqT4qH9SfOvGg9i24bYlyLhb5fCMW

Webinar Brochure: Resurgence of Indian industries and R&D in a Post COVID-19 Scenario