Gujarat to get India's first chemical engineering and technology institute

The country's first Central Institute of Chemical Engineering and Technology (CICET) will be set up in Gujarat to give boost to the chemical industry, Union minister Mansukh Mandaviya said. The CICET will come up either at Ahmedabad or Surat. "The state has a significant presence of chemical industry, especially in Vapi, Ankleshwar and Vatva in Valsad, Bharuch, and Ahmedabad districts, and the first-of-its-kind institute will facilitate the chemical industry with research and innovations," he said.

"The proposed CICET will help the chemical industry with research and innovations," he said. The Minister of State for Chemical and Fertilisers also announced setting up of another campus of the Central Institute of Plastic Engineering & Technology (CIPET) in Valsad at the cost of Rs 54 crore for the benefit of tribal students and the plastic industry.

"Plastic has become the indispensable part of our day-to-day life, but it is one of the main causes of rising pollution. Thus, research in plastic engineering technology is the need of the hour," he said. The Union minister, who also holds Shipping portfolio, was talking to reporters after inaugurating the CIPET hostel built at the cost of Rs 31 crore.

The hostel can provide accommodation facility to 150 girls and 575 boys. The Central government is also planning to set up a Plastic Waste Management Centre in Ahmedabad to find out solutions to systematic segregation and recycling of plastic waste.