New Delhi, 27 October 2018

 

International Copper Association India (ICA India), its hosted the fourth edition of the India Copper Forum (ICF) in association with Hindalco Industries Ltd & Vedanta Ltd in New Delhi. ICF is the largest non-commercial platform for the copper industry for sharing views on emerging trends, challenges and solutions. The forum witnessed discussions on such disruptive technologies such as electric vehicles, energy infrastructure and energy storage. The event also saw the recognition for industry leaders with Copper Excellence Awards, celebrating forward thinking, initiative and drive. 

 

The event was witness to participation of over 160 delegates from across the copper value chain. India Copper Forum was supported by Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) as Knowledge Partner and pManifold as Engagement Partner.

 

ICA India showcased the latest innovations and applications of copper at the “Innovation Booth” to give a glimpse of the future of the industry to the delegates. The innovation booth showcased interventions made by ICA India across its various programs such as electrical safety, distribution transformer, power cable and motors. The Association’s partners also leveraged the opportunity to showcase their range of copper products and applications such as voltage regulator from Jindal Rectifiers, IE3 efficiency motor and copper motor rotor designed and manufactured by MSME sector, fire survival and solar cable samples, etc. 

 

The inaugural session saw addressed being delivered by Sanjeev Ranjan, Managing Director, International Copper Association India; J C Laddha, CEO, Birla Copper, Hindalco Industries Ltd; P Ramnath, CEO, Sterlite Copper, Vedanta Ltd; Gopal Kabra, MD, R R Global; Jorge Juan Castaneda Mendez, Ambassador – Embassy of the Republic of Peru and Anil Kumar Nayak, Join Secretary – Ministry of Mines, Government of India. 

 

Welcoming the participants Sanjeev Ranjan, Managing Director, International Copper Association India, said, “In India, we have very good standards in place but there is a lack of structured compliance monitoring, we at ICA work closely with the government stakeholders on this. ICA is also at the forefront of the next phase of copper demand and we actively work with our partners to educate the customers both B2B and B2C on these new innovations. Some of the key initiatives that we have worked on in the past year include education and awareness on electrical safety, distribution transformers & low voltage motors. The focus has been enhanced safety, higher efficiency and reliability.”

 

The tone for the copper forum, in the Inaugural Session, was set with an inspirational video message from Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Commerce & Industry & Civil Aviation. He stated, “Copper is a very important element and we have very good production capacity in India with some of the best smelters. Copper will be a significant driver of growth in the world. India should focus on copper related issues. We will encourage copper manufacturing in India to ensure that India becomes a net exporter of finished copper in the future.”

 

Electric vehicle is the future of mobility and a key focus for ICA. The forum witnessed the display of an on road electric vehicle as well as a working charging station and battery. The panel discussed led by Dr Sajid Mubashir, Scientist ‘G’ & Member R&D at National Automotive Board (NAB), Department of Heavy Industry (DH), Department of Science & Technology – Government of India, Technology, Innovation and Transformation, emphasised on the market that is set to grow in a big way owing to plans and initiatives by the government, the electric vehicle segment. The panel members discussed, technological development for batteries in electric vehicles and emerging trends in charging infrastructure for electric vehicles in India. They further deliberated on the use of copper alloy fish cages for aquaculture in Asia.

 

In his keynote address, Anil Kumar Nayak, Joint Secretary – Ministry of Mines, Government of India, stated, “Manufacturing, automotive and consumer sector are providing momentum to the present growth of India and also giving rise to the demand of high grade copper. In the coming years the demand will rise exponentially and hence it becomes even more crucial for us to have our fundamentals right to address the demand. We at the Ministry of Mines are taking important steps for copper exploration and ramping up the production and will continue our efforts. HCL is going to increase its ore mining capacity from existing 3.8 million tonnes to 20 million tonnes.” 

 

The forum also recognised and celebrated the achievements of individuals and organisations in the Indian copper industry through the Industry Recognition Excellence Awards 2018.