The President of India Smart Grid Forum (ISGF), Mr. Reji Kumar Pillai, recently announced that the forum is seeking talented graduates from top Institutes like IITs and IISc for carrying out research work on Smart Grid technologies. Smart Grid, which is a hot buzz these days in energy sector has immense potential to transform the entire power sector into the next big technological hotspot. The term Smart Grid is subscribed to combination of various technologies that in essence will make the electric grid smarter by reacting to various events as per the local needs, which not only will make the energy efficient but also will reduce the carbon footprint. Overall making our planet and livelihood more sustainable. Check out the following links to learn more about Smart Grid.
The adoption of Smart Grid in developed countries is primarily driven by making the future more sustainable, the same is not the case for India, "It is not a luxury but a necessity", said, P.Uma Shankar, Secretary, Power Ministry of India. Smart Grid in India will focus on resolving Indian problems and so it will have following priorities.
1) Smart Grid will be based on Indian model and will be indigenous
2) Focused towards Power Shortages
3) Prevent theft and other losses
4) Provides power in rural areas
5) Development of alternative power sources
6) Affordable and enables sustainable production of power
To manage the development and implementation of Smart Grid, Government
of India (GOI) has formed two entities India Smart Grid Task Force and
India Smart Grid Forum with complimentary role and responsibilities. The Smart Grid Task Force is an inter ministerial group and serves as Government’s focal point for activities related to “Smart Grid” whereas, The India Smart Grid Forum is a non-profit voluntary consortium of
public and private stakeholders with the prime objective of accelerating
development of Smart Grid technologies in the Indian power sector.The forum has an extensive membership from the industry. In order to ensure effective governance and functioning of the forum, it has been divided into 8 working groups: 1) Advanced Transmission, 2) Advanced Distribution, 3) Communications, 4) Metering, 5) Consumption and Load Control, 6) Policy and Regulations, 7) Architecture and Design, and 8) Pilot and Business Model. All the working groups have been represented by the leaders in the respective field.
ISGF Management
1. Chairman: Sanjeev Kumar (nominee of Ministry of Power)
2. President & CEO: Reji Kumar Pillai (Individual)
3. Secretary & Convenor: Sivakumaran Govindarajan (Schneider Electric, India)
4. Treasurer: V.K.Shah (Power Finance Corporation)
According to Mr. Reji Kumar Pillai, the president ISGF, they are seeking highly motivated and talented students with Bachelors, Masters or PhD background (Preferably Masters and/or PhD) who wish to spend at least 9 months to 1 year in working on some of the most interesting and challenging areas of Smart Grid. The candidate will work on areas like cyber security, indigenous smart meter, sensors, and other relevant technologies. It is indeed a great opportunity for talented students, who wish to make difference by contributing their time and efforts in nation's next big technological endeavor. The students will immensely benefit from this opportunity as the Smart Grid is going to be one of the game changing technology in the coming decade. It is set to play similar role wireless played in communication field to the energy industry. Additionally, working under the guidance of nation's top body along with top researchers in the field will provide the biggest break in their career.
The candidates are likely to work on projects in collaboration with IIT-Mumbai or the Central Power Research Institute (CPRI), Bangalore. For more details regarding the research programme, please write to at indiasmartgridforum@gmail.com or smartgridindia@gmail.com. Interested candidates are requested to submit their resume and cover letter by email at smartgridindia@gmail.com or indiasmartgridforum@gmail.com
with contribution from Pratik Sonthalia, IIT Roorkie
