Successful chemistry

The National Chemical Laboratory in Pune, an advanced centre of research in chemistry and allied areas, completes 50 years of achievement.

"The establishment of the National Chemical Laboratory is an event of considerable importance for the development of scientific research in India. Original work in chemistry is the foundation of national industrial progress and I hope that the new ins titution will make its full contribution to the development of our material resources."

- Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, 1950.

THE National Chemical Laboratory (NCL), Pune, which is celebrating its golden jubilee, has had a remarkable history. It has had as its Directors a long line of distinguished scientists, and many of its research projects have achieved international recogn ition. The NCL was established on January 3, 1950, but the idea of setting up such an institution had come up in the pre-Independence days. In 1941, Dr. Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar, who headed the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, submitted a plan to start a chain of 11 national laboratories specialising in various disciplines, including chemistry. The proposal was approved in July 1943 when Sir A. Ramaswamy Mudaliar was the Member for Industry and Commerce in the Privy Council. Bhatnagar h ad advocated the constitution of a National Planning Committee for each of the proposed laboratories. The committee for the NCL was appointed soon thereafter under the chairmanship of Sir Ardeshir Dalal. When Dalal was made Member for Planning and Develo pment in the Government of India in October 1944, Dr. John Matthai assumed the chairmanship of the committee.

Although the committee finalised the plans in good time, the establishment of the NCL was delayed because, to quote Dr. Bhatnagar, "it was inherent in the nature of the subject which (was to be) studied at the laboratory."

In the minds of laypersons, chemistry was, rightly or wrongly, associated with stinks and odours. The prejudice was so deep-rooted that objections were raised by the staff of the Governor of the Bombay province as they feared that "the perfumed bouquets of the chemical laboratory would pollute the salubrious atmosphere of Poona (Pune)." However, the Tatas came forward with a handsome donation of Rs.8.3 lakhs for the establishment of the laboratory on the condition that it would be set up in Pune. B.G. K her, Prime Minister of the Province, convinced the Governor that the apprehension that the laboratory would cause pollution was unfounded.

But the difficulties were far from over. The site chosen for the laboratory belonged to the Army. The military authorities objected to the transfer of about 450 acres (180 hectares) to the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). But Sardar Baldev Singh, who later became the Defence Minister, overruled the objections and paved the way for the handing over of the land.

Meanwhile, the National Planning Committee drew up a tentative scheme and it was circulated among a large number of scientific organisations. The mandate set for the NCL stated:

"The developmental work in the National Chemical Laboratory may take the form of improving old processes in the light of new scientific knowledge of discovering new processes.

"The development of new processes will be carried out to the pilot plant stage in the laboratory. When a successful process has been passed on to the industry, the National Chemical Laboratory will remain in touch, and any difficulties or problems that m ay arise in the large-scale manufacture of the product will be brought back to the laboratory for solution. In addition to the processes developed in the National Chemical Laboratory other problems of industry which fall within the scope of investigation s of the National Chemical Laboratory may be taken up...

"...the link between the National Chemical Laboratory and the industry will be living and vital, and so will be its link with universities and other scientific institutes in the country where fundamental scientific research work is being pursued....

"...for the successful solution of a problem, the co-operation of experts from different fields of science is necessary. The National Chemical Laboratory will, therefore, embrace not only chemistry, but also physics, mineralogy, engineering and biology i nsofar as they relate to chemical problems and the chemical utilisation of national resources.

"...in modern applied research concerted team work is becoming more and more essential. The day of the individual research worker is nearly passing away. ...It is, therefore, essential that the National Chemical Laboratory, while embracing a large number of subjects and experts in different fields, should be able to work as a team.

"...the functions of the National Chemical Laboratory will include the training of research workers in specialised fields of chemistry and technology with particular reference to those for which no provision has been made in the existing scientific labor atories of the country."

Armed with such a lucid mandate and a grant of Rs.25 lakhs from the Government of India, Prof. Bashir Ahmed, who was appointed Director of Administration and Secretary to the Planning Committee, embarked upon the task of establishing the laboratory. He h ad an unenviable task on hand. On the one hand he had to engage in protracted negotiations for the acquisition of land and on the other he had to prepare detailed plans for building and equipping the laboratory.

As Director of the CSIR, Bhatnagar himself took part in the negotiations and secured help from leaders who held important positions in the provincial and national governments. He also constituted a local planning committee to assist in resolving minor pr oblems. This was a shrewd move as it at once helped win the cooperation of the local people and absorb their aspirations into the mandate. The combined effort bore fruit: the foundation stone for the building was laid on April 6, 1947 by B.G. Kher. The b uilding was formally inaugurated by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who was also President of the CSIR, in 1950.

Even as the construction of the building was going on, the chemical section of the CSIR laboratory, which functioned in Delhi, was formally merged with the NCL. Thus the biochemistry division of the NCL started functioning even before the institution was inaugurated.

The inauguration was a grand affair, at which a number of eminent scientists from all over the world were present. They included Sir Robert Robinson, president of the Royal Society, Dr. Arthur Compton, Dr. Irene Joliot-Curie, Prof.J.D. Bernal, Prof. Herm ann Mark, Dr.E.U. Condon, Prof.P. Augurs, Prof. O.E.H. Rydbeck and Sir C.V. Raman.

THE scientific work of the laboratory was carried out in seven divisions: biochemistry, chemical engineering, inorganic chemistry, organic chemistry, physical chemistry, plastics and polymers and survey and information.

The first Director, Prof. J.W. McBain, was an American. He was chosen for the post because the government wanted a person who had a thorough grounding in theoretical chemistry, which could be applied to solve the problems of the chemical industry. At the time of his appointment, McBain was Professor of Chemistry at Stanford University. Although he realised quite early that the main role of the NCL was that of a service institution, he did not minimise the importance of basic research. Thus the NCL began handling problems of immediate interest to industry. Under his leadership, it turned into an advanced centre of chemical research. Particular importance was given to research in the organic chemistry of essential oils, under the leadership of Dr.S.C. Bh attacharya.

The research activities continued to be along these lines in the 1950s and 1960s. The first two review committees expressed general satisfaction about the work, stating that the activities were in consonance with the mandate set by the National Planning Committee. However, the third review committee, headed by Sir Ramaswamy Mudaliar, was critical of the NCL's drift towards fundamental research. The committee felt that not enough attention was being paid to developing technologies and processes that coul d be harnessed profitably by industry.

The committee's report was made available in the mid-1960s, and Dr. B.D. Tilak was appointed Joint Director and a year later Director. He set about changing the orientation of the research activities. A number of steps were taken to restructure and reori ent research activities. Research work was initiated in new areas such as dyestuffs, drug intermediates, heterocyclics, pharmaceuticals and pesticides.

Chemical engineering got a boost as it was realised that expertise in that area was crucial for the development of commercial-grade technologies. This resulted in the development of a number of technologies, which were then transferred to small-scale pri vate sector companies. Then came the first major breakthrough in the technology for the manufacture of endosulphan. Its transfer was not an easy process: despite proven pilot plant studies and assurances of performance backed by bank guarantees, industry was reluctant to accept it. After considerable effort, the technology was commercialised. That plant continues to work very profitably.

By the time the NCL completed 25 years, the number of clients using the know-how it developed had grown from 18 in 1965 to 61. Likewise, the number of units to which know-how had been transferred but where production had not commenced had risen to 93. Th e number of processes in production was 46, with the value of production estimated at Rs.650 lakhs.

Buoyed by this, steps were taken in the late 1970s and early 1980s to strengthen certain niche areas and initiate research in areas that were likely to take centre stage in the years to come. Research in catalysis, polymer sciences, chemical reaction eng ineering and biotechnology was strengthened. New industrial catalysts were developed, and technologies for their production and utilisation were transferred to the chemical industry both in India and abroad.

In the early 1990s, with the process of economic liberalisation set in motion, the NCL took the first steps towards the globalisation of its activities. This resulted in international industrial enterprises approaching it either for contract research or technology development in increasing numbers.

The flow of technologies from the NCL to industry and the consequent flow of revenue to the NCL, often in hard currencies, have kept on rising. So has the profile of the NCL.