PaperTech 2010 articulates agenda for making Indian Pulp & Paper Industry World Class

PaperTech 2010, organized jointly by Confedration of Indian Industry and Indian Paper Manufacturers Association at CII-Godrej GBC, Hyderabad on June 16 &17, 2010 witnessed wide participation from paper industry, trade, technology providers and international consultants.

Crafted on the lines of PowerTech and CemenTech, the objective of the PaperTech program is to identify and share best practices from Indian and Overseas Paper Mills, thrust areas being energy, environment and water.

Launched in the year 2007, PaperTech program has come a long way in view of active participation and interest shown by CEOs of IPMA Member Mills. PaperTech 2010 witnessed the launch of 3rd volume of National Best Practices Manual.

�There has been significant improvement in energy conservation, environmental performance and water conservation at large Indian paper mills over the last 3 to 5 years. We believe sharing of knowledge through PaperTech program will further help in raising the bar of best practices at Indian paper mills �, said Mr K S Kasi Viswanathan, Chairman, PaperTech 2010.

Three separate Working Groups were formed under PaperTech Program each focusing on Agro based Mills, Wood based Mills and Recycle Fibre based Mills. The agenda for Working Groups has been interplant visits, identification of best practices and developing best practices manual. Besides Indian mills, the Working Groups have also visited European Paper Mills and plans are on anvil for visit to China, Thailand and Indonesia before the end of the year 2010 to see some of the well run mills and identify best practices.

Assuring IPMA�s continued support to CII in this venture, Mr. M. L.. Pachisia, President placed on record his appreciation of rich contribution made by Mr. Pradeep Dhobale, Kasi Viswanathan and Team CII & the Working Group for driving PaperTech to an immense success.

First meeting of Development Council for Pulp, Paper and Allied Industries

The first meeting of reconstituted Development Council for Pulp, Paper and Allied Industries took place in New Delhi under the chairmanship of Mr H P Singhania, Managing Director, JK Paper. Besides the Chairman, the Council has five more members from Indian Paper Manufacturers Association (IPMA) viz Mr M L Pachisia (current President of IPMA and Managing Director Orient Paper), Mr Madhukar Mishra (current Vice President of IPMA and Managing Director Star Paper Mills), Mr R R Vaderah (Managing Director BILT), Mr Pradeep Dhobale (Divisional Chief Executive, ITC Paper Boards & Specialty Papers Division) and Mr R C Mall (Executive Advisor, Emami Paper Mills).

Cess Committee on Pulp and Paper Reconstituted

At the first meeting of the Development Council for Pulp, Paper and Allied Industries held on 12th May, the Cess Commiittee on Pulp and Paper was reconstituted. Mr K S Kasi Viswanathan, Deputy Managing Director, Seshasayee Paper & Boards Ltd, Mr. Surajit Ray, Vice President (Tech & Dev), JK Paper Ltd. and Mr R Narayan Moorthy, Secretary General IPMA were inducted to represent IPMA in the reconstituted Cess Committee.

IPMA�s representation to the Development Council

IPMA has made the following representation to the reconstituted Development Council:

IPMA invited to international conference on CleanTech

Taking off from Climate meetings in Copenhagen, Sweden is taking the lead in adoption of clean technologies. Reckoned as the leader in the world as far as greener technologies for Pulp & Paper sector are concerned, Sweden�s thrust now is to share knowledge and long experience with the rest of the world with greater commitment.

The �Green Solutions Week� was organized by SIDA (Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency) at Harnosand during May 17-21, 2010 in order to showcase knowledge, information and inspiration about green, profitable and sustainable long term solutions.

SIDA and Swedish International Cooperation Division, Embassy of Sweden invited Mr R C Mall and Mr R Narayan Moorthy in their capacities as Chairman IPMA Technical & Environment Sub-committee and Secretary General of IPMA to present India perspective at the �Green Solutions Week�.

As expected, the event was marked by lively presentations, talks and panel discussions revolving round profitable green choices to conduct businesses. It was attended by 166 delegates from across the world. Ms Sunita Narain of CSE was the keynote speaker at the EXPO.

IPMA�s presentation on challenges being faced by the paper industry in India in the run up to adoption of green technologies was much appreciated and its views were taken note of. Mr. Mall and Mr. Moorthy, also actively participated in the subsequent Panel Discussion.

IPMA delegation also chose the occasion to hold exclusive discussion at Stockholm with officials of the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency and IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute.

Meanwhile, Ms Sunita Narain also placed on record IPMA�s initiative in environment protection and Member Mills co-operation in successfully completing the green rating exercises.

Biological control of Eucalyptus gall may soon be a reality

A new technology jointly introduced by Indian Paper Manufacturers Association (IPMA) and Bangalore based National Bureau for Agriculturally Important Insects (under ICAR) towards biological control of Eucalyptus gall disease is showing signs of success after one and a half years of naturalisation process.

With chemical therapy not being very effective in curbing the menace of gall disease, the new technology entails eco-friendly and biological control of the Gall wasp (that causes Gall disease) by introducing parasitoids (a parasitic wasp that kills the gall wasps).

In an initiative taken by Indian Paper Manufacturers Association (IPMA), a team of five scientists from National Bureau for Agriculturally Important Insects (NBAII), Bangalore, Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding (IFGTB), Coimbatore and IPMA participated in a Training Workshop in the Biological control of eucalyptus gall wasp at Zvi Volcani center, Israel under the guidance of Prof. Zvi Mendel. Israel has done pioneering research in the combat of eucalyptus gall wasp and has successfully mass reared parasitoids � wasps that kills the gall wasps preventing the spread of gall disease. The research found that biological control by introducing natural enemies of Gall wasp was an effective step towards managing the pest on large scale in plantations.

Two introductions of parasitoids took place from Israel to India one in October 2008 and the other in Feb 2010. The emergence was first recorded in quarantine lab at NBAII and later the plants were kept in cages. Nothing was noticed for a long time and all hopes were lost. But in early May 2010, profusion of parasitoids were noticed and it was decided to distribute the insects.

Two parasitoids Viz., Quadrastichus Mendeli and Megastigmus Spp. have been recently released to control Eucalyptus gall causing insect Leptocybe Invasa. IPMA members and select research institutes are being given eucalyptus live plants with parasite and parasitoids as well as insects in glass bottles for introduction in the respective areas. NBAII is also scheduling a few visits to the IPMA member mills nurseries and plantation sites to oversee the naturalization process. The objective is to spread the insect as far as wide and as quickly as possible in India so that the eucalyptus gall disease is controlled faster.

�For sourcing wood pulp, IPMA member mills have gone in for large scale eucalyptus plantations under Agro-forestry in association with farmers across the country primarily on degraded lands. With threat of gall disease looming large across Euca- plantations, IPMA took it upon itself to join hands with scientific institutions in the country to mitigate. We are hopeful that with biological control experiment succeeding at last we may be able to eventually control the gall epidemic in India and eucalyptus will continue to remain an important fiber resource for the pulp and paper mills in the country�, said Mr M L Pachisia, President, IPMA.

Editor: R Narayan Moorthy     
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