Three students of Indian Institute of Crop Processing Technology (IICPT) here will be sent to Canada as part of a six-month exchange programme under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between IICPT and University of Manitoba. The students will study on pulses under the programme.
Ravi Kanth Lakka Palli, from Andhra Pradesh and B. Sravanthi from Andhra Pradesh who are now doing M.Tech at IICPT and Tito Anand, workshop engineer at IICPT, who is now doing M. Tech course have been selected for the visit.
Presenting the students to presspersons, Alagu Sundaram, Director of IICPT and Digvir S.Jayas, Vice-President, (Research), University of Manitoba told on Thursday that the students will gain global competence after their visit.
Mr. Sundaram said that the aim of IICPT was to create Indian manpower with global competence. Mr. Jayas said that University of Manitoba was one of the comprehensive universities in Canada that offers multiple programmes. The University offers more than 80 programmes. Agriculture and food processing is a major faculty. The University is a world renowned institution in the area of grain storing. Through the MoU signed with IICPT, both institutions will stand to gain a lot as IICPT is also working on enhancing food security and food availability. Each student will be paid 1000 US dollars by the Province of Manitoba during their stay .
Storage loss is heavy in India when compared to Canada. While the loss is one to two percent in Canada, it is 20 to 30 per cent in India. Technologies to minimise storage loss such as “Innovative drying system” is transferred from the University of Manitoba to India. The system is used to dry grains without any detrimental effects. Carbon dioxide is used instead of chemicals to kill insects in grains. Thermal imaging is yet another innovative technology that can be used to detect hidden infestation. Tito Anand would work on thermal imaging.
