The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bhubaneswar, will establish a centre to research coastal and river bank erosion, primarily focusing on research related to the morphological aspects of the coastal landforms, river bank stability, and scour and deposition issues related to various offshore structures.

The centre will be established by Bhubaneswar IIT’s School of Infrastructure under the ‘Fund for Improvement of S&T Infrastructure (FIST)’ scheme of the ministry of science and technology, Government of India.

The Chennai-based NeXHS Renewables Private Limited will provide partial funds towards the procurement of necessary equipment for this centre. IIT Bhubaneswar and NeXHS will work closely to identify areas of mutual interest, establish joint research teams, and facilitate the exchange of knowledge and resources. An MoU was signed by IIT, Bhubaneswar, and NeXHS Renewables Private Limited on Friday.

Director, IIT Bhubaneswar, Prof. Shreepad Karmalkar said: “This collaboration represents a significant step towards our efforts to harness the power of renewable energy technologies for a greener and more sustainable future leveraging our collective expertise and resources to drive impactful research and innovation in this critical domain.”

Head of school of infrastructure, Prof. Sumanta Haldar along with Dr Arindam Sarkar, Dr T. Jothi Saravanan and other faculty members stressed the quantum of cutting-edge research now being carried out at the coastal and river bank erosion centre.