We started with Aditya a medium sized pulsed copper machine. It taught us many of the rudimentary plasma technologies like vacuum, pulsed power, winding of large electromagnets, plasma diagnostics etc. With beginner’s luck we even broke into the exclusive club of fusion physicists by discovering intermittency and structures in Tokamak edge turbulence. In the mid nineties our ambitions soared and we started preparing for SST, a steady state superconducting tokamak. New technologies were involved. Winding and operating superconducting magnets of NbTi, cooling them with liquid helium and surrounding them with liquid Nitrogen thermal shields in a cryostat, steady state RF and neutral beam technologies. We raced through a fast learning phase but did not realize how unforgiving such machines are towards indifferent quality of manufacture. SST1 was put together by 2005 but did not function properly. A mission team went meticulously through each aspect of manufacture, identified the problems and rectified them. SST1 is nearly operational today after a thorough refurbishment … it has been like building two machines instead of one. SST1 has taught us many things. Firstly, there is no substitute for hard amd meticulous work, there are no short cuts. Secondly, when you fail at something you must pull yourself together and start all over. No one else can teach you. Others can sell you stuff so you become dependent on them nut no one out there will teach you technology. You got to fend for yourself and if you have faith in yourself like our mission team had, you can solve any problem.

SST and associated technology development also brought us to the notice of our international partners and facilitated our entry into ITER. ITER partnership has been a great boon for our fusion program. For the first time we are working with systems which have sizes of relevance to fusion reactors producing electricity. If we had been working alone, several decades would have elapsed before we would have reached this stage. We have been able to leapfrog and have started to work on reactor relevant technologies. The packages that we are scheduled to deliver to ITER constitute 10% of reactor technologies which our industries will be building to the quality specifications of ITER. We have started on a massive program of indigenous prototype development for the technologies related to the balance of ITER in our 11th, 12th and 13th plans. This involves collaboration with instiatutions like BARC, IGCAR etc and covers key areas like magnets, cryosystems, blankets, shields, tritium handling, divertors and first walls, fusion materials, neutronics, remote handling etc. Thus ITER and sister institutes like BARC and IGCAR are providing us with the right atmosphere for getting started in new areas of fusion reactor technologies with confidence.

We can now see the broad contours of a program for development of fusion reactors producing electricity. In about 20 years time we shall have done with physics experiments on SST1 and mastered enough reactor technologies that we can build our own version of an ITER size reactor … a new DT device SST2, which may be a hybrid reactor which uses fusion neutrons to produce Uranium 233 from Thorium 232 and thus produce the fuel for an accelerated fission program. Thereafter we shall target the DEMO, a demonstration fusion reactor producing electricity by the middle of the century. This will require more people (5-7 times the number today), a commensurate increase of budget and a new campus. All these three factors are a part of our collective vision for the Institute and are being pursued vigorously. Note that the hazy dream of 1980’s has got converted into a desirable and doable program of work which has to be implemented by you and your successors. Just to spur you on, our competitors like China, South Korea and Europe are planning this size programs already in 203-40time frame.

What is the most precious resource we need for this development? The most important element is the human resource, i.e. you. For a massive program of fuion reactor development, we shall need a few thousand fusion scientists and engineers which is a factor of 5-7 larger than our number today. Today people will have to be trained by you. You must realize that each one of you is unique in India in the fact that you have gotten trained in something unique which only you (and may be a few others) know. You are the repository of this knowledge and it is your responsibility to mentor a few people like you. In training you, the country has created intellectual capital, which will lead to Fusion electricity and also to new discoveries, new technologies and new applications etc. in other areas. It is for this reason that IPR strongly supports fundamental plasma experiments, industrial applications of plasmas and even strategic applications. Thus I am proud of what we have contributed to exotic plasmas like dusty plasmas, quark gluon plasma, non neutral plasmas etc. What we are beginning to contribute to the LIGO India project where we shall be making a vacuum envelope of 10,000 meter cube at a base pressure of 10^-9 in the form of an L shaped tube with 4 Kms length in each arm to observe gravitational waves with Michelson interferometer. I am proud of FCIPT, which has contributed many plasma based processes to Indian industry and also of the two groups which were moved to other labs where they are contributing to strategic programs of the country. Thus while most of you have your nose on the wheel of fusion reactors there can be some free thinkers amongst you who are driven by these motives. Only sky is the limit and IPR offers opportunity as well as freedom but assumes that you will work with dedication and responsibility in whatever you choose to do. Wish you all the best!!

30 years ago we started with a handful of people. Today, we are like a large joint family, with patriarchs and great grand children rubbing shoulders while running the show. Time has come for the patriarchs to dissociate themselves from management affairs.

Dhiraj is our new director. He will carry the Institute forward and is sure to bring all his professional skills into action. I wish him the very best and invite him to present his speech.