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Dr. M N Dastur : A pioneer of engineering consultancy in India 

Dr. Minu Nariman Dastur (18.03.1916 - 05.01.2004), Founder Chairman and Managing Director of M. N. Dastur and Company (P) Limited, Consulting Engineers,was born on March 18, 1916.

Dr. Dastur Completed his graduation in Electrical and Mechanical Engineering from the Banaras Hindu University in 1938, and started his career with the Tata Iron & Steel Company at Jamshedpur where he worked for seven years. He was then awarded the J. N. Tata Endowment for Higher Education of Indians Abroad Scholarship, and obtained his Doctorate in Metallurgy (Sc.D) from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the USA in 1948, specialising in Principles of Steelmaking, under the tutelage of the legendary metallurgist, Dr. John Chipman. On completion of his Doctorate, Dr. Dastur worked in the USA for the next seven years with renowned steel plant consulting firms like H. A. Brassert & Company (the pioneer of Consulting Engineering) and Ramseyer and Miller Incorporated in various responsible positions on the design and construction of steel plants in various parts of the world including USA, Latin America, Europe etc. His intention of gaining 'works' experience in the U.S before returning to India remained unfulfilled, but he discovered his true location. Recently, he completed a 'four-stage modernisation' of Tata Steel to the great satisfaction of his staff and client and was also an emotional high point in his career.

Technologist

It was in 1954 that Dr. Dastur visited India as a consulting steel plant expert from the USA to the Bhadravati Iron & Steel Works Ltd at the behest of the United States Government. During this visit to India, he came in close contact with the then Prime Minister, Pandit Jawarharlal Nehru, who requested him to return to India in view of his steel plant expertise and the massive steel development programme that the country was soon to embark upon. Dr. Dastur, therefore, returned to India the following year and started M. N. Dastur & Company (P) Limited, Consulting Engineers, , popularly known as Dasturco, which was the first "retainer consultant" on steel to the government of India and Planning Commission, started operations on May 31, 1955.

Dr. Dastur was one of the earliest metallurgists to have worked on the development of iron-ore pelletising and gas based direct reduction in shaft furnaces. These processes have since been proven and now find wide commercial acceptance the world over. After his return to India, he continued working in these areas with indigeneous raw materials and Dasturco was subsequently appointed as consultant for the first coal-based direct reduction plant in India.

Dr Dastur was an old hand in steel, yet was tuned to changing times: virtually every steel company in the country that navigated through the regime of price control to global competition did so with M. N. Dastur & Company, the post in dependence giant among engineering consultants.

Right from the beginning, it was Dasturco's philosophy to utilise local skills and expertise, and to raise them to international standards. The fact that Dasturco has been successful in putting Indian skills on the world consultancy and engineering services map was also acknowledged by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) which was projected it as a model for design and consultancy firms in the developing countries. It is also because of Dasturco's pioneering efforts as Consultants that India was able to produce high quality alloy steels in the Sixties that were hitherto imported at a much higher cost. The company has inroduced new technologies in India since the last four decades. These include : Ferro alloys smelting; continuous casting; direct reduction; ladle metallurgy; thin slab casting strip rolling etc. Incidentally, the company also introduced computerised monitoring systems for project implementation for the first time in India and is also a leading exporter of technical services.

It is under Dr. Dastur's stewardship that Dasturco has become nationally synonymous with self-reliance in steel plant engineering and steel development. The company was the first Indian "retainer consultant" on steel to the Government of India and has worked closely with the Planning Commission of the Government of India in the early sixties on the Long-term Perspective Plan for Steel Development. Incidentally, Dasturco also has to its credit the building of India's first coast-based steel plant at Visakhapatnam as Principal Consultants alongwith a host of other projects in India and Abroad.

Under his guidance, Dasturco had prepared detailed steel development plans for several countries of Asia, Latin America, the Arab World and Africa. It still continues to provide to provide consulting engineering services on a number of steel and allied projects in these countries.

Dr. Dastur had served on a number of Indian Steel Missions and Committees sent by the Government of India, including the first Steel Missions to the USSR (1955) and China (1959). He was a member of the National Committee on Science and Technology from 1977-1980 and the Science Advisory Committee on Science and Technology to the Government of India from 1981-1983.

His expertise had received international recognition and he had been apponited as Consultant to UNIDO, Vienna. Known for his erudition in the field of Metallurgy, Dr. Dastur has authored and published several papers on technology and industry both in India and abroad. He was also a long-standing member of several national and international engineering organisations and academic institutions.

Educationist

Dr. Dastur was intimately associated with Dr. Dara P. Antia, a pioneer in metallurgical education in India, immediately after independence when it was evident that metallurgy as a profession seemed to take a backseat as compared to other branches of engineering. It was here that Dr. Dastur extended total support to Dr. Antia in building up the Indian Institute of Metals (IIM).

Dr. Dastur took upon himself the herculean task to train and equip young persons who did not have the opportunity of advanced metallurgical training to meet the requirements of a rapidly changing environment in post-independent India. It is heartening to note that today the IIM has come to be accepted as an institution of international repute. The IIM apart, Dr. Dastur has been intimately associated with a number of premier Indian educational institutions and continues to support them regularly. In fact, it is due to his understanding of the needs of a vast country like India that the Bengal Engineering College now has the M. N. Dastur Advaned Materials Research Centre - the first of its kind in Eastern India.

Dr. Dastur was the source of encouragement for all connected with the growth of Indian steel sector and even in his 87 years of age he never stopped to serve the steel sector of the country. He laid the foundation stone of the modern day steel industry and his demise not stop the industry from following his footsteps in the days ahead.

Awards and Honours

It was in recognition of his vast contributions towards the development of the Indian iron & steel industry and the advancement of engineering technology that Dr. Dastur was awarded :

1. The J. N. Tata Endowment for Higher Education of Indians Abroad Scholarship. 2. The Banaras Hindu University conferred the D. Sc Honoris Causa in 1980. 3. The prestigious JRD Tata Gold Medal by the Indian Institute of Metals (IIM) in 1982. 4. The IIM Platinum Medal in 1987 for his outstanding contribution to the metallurgical profession. 5. The Honorary membership of the American Iron & Steel Institute. 6. Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Society for Metals (ASM). 7. The Scroll of Honour by the Institution of Engineers (India). 8. The Plaque of Honour by the National Metallurgical Laboratory. 9. The American Recognition of Efficiency Award given by the Business Initiative Directive, Texas. 10. The Certificate of Honour by the European Market Research Centre, Brussels. 11. The Lifetime Achievement Award of the Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BCCI). 12. Past President and a Patron Member of the Indian Institute of Metals.