

NAGPUR: If all goes as per chief minister Devendra Fadnavis ' plan, Nagpur will play host to a state of the art robotic technology research centre. In a meeting with officials of RTM Nagpur University and Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT) on Tuesday evening in city, the CM expressed interest in academic collaboration with robotic technology giant ASEA Brown Boveri (ABB). To take this initiative forward, the CM will host a second meeting on Wednesday at his Mumbai residence with all stakeholders.

NU vice-chancellor SP Kane said he was confident of implementing the plan. "Things are at preliminary stage, as we came to know about it today only. But from whatever we know now, everything looks doable. NU’s role will be to start a research centre and develop a curriculum in robotic technology at the postgraduate level. But I want to stress on the fact that things shall become clear only after Wednesday’s meeting with ABB officials," said Kane.

ABB representatives from its Bengaluru office will give a presentation to NU and VNIT officials about its requirements. The focus will obviously be on providing skilled manpower to ABB's core business of robotics. Kane said, "ABB will be helping us develop the research centre. Once we understand their requirements completely, we shall be in a better position to frame the plan and timeline." A press release issued by the government mentioned that after the Wednesday meeting with ABB, a report will be prepared on the collaboration.

ABB is a global leader in power and automation technologies. As per its web site it employs 140,000 people and operates in approximately 100 countries. As far its presence in the India subcontinent is concerned, the ABB website says "it has been successfully investing in the Indian subcontinent and has steadily expanded its manufacturing, engineering and R&D footprint. ABB has 12 manufacturing sites on the subcontinent and one of its seven corporate research centres around the world is based in India".