Four faculty members of the Annamalai University have received funding to the tune of ₹3.55 crore from the Centre for Applied Research and Development (CARD), NLC India Ltd. (NLCIL).
According to a press note, Prof. C.G. Saravanan, Director of Mining Engineering programme, has been sanctioned ₹96.88 lakh with a focus on undertaking automated monitoring and defect detection system for conveyor belts in mining operations, increasing reliability and efficiency through real time data interpretation and rapid response alerts.
The second recipient, Prof. V. Balasubramanian, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, received ₹99.40 lakh for a study on producing new metals from burnt coal ash using plasma spray technology.
Prof. P. Prem Kumar, Associate Professor of Mining Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, received ₹95.84 lakh for generating renewable hydrogen from biogas using advanced parabolic solar heating.
Prof. A. Gopalakrishnan, Associate Professor of the Centre for Advanced Study in Marine Biology, received ₹63.44 lakh towards the broad objective of studying the effect of lignite derived humic acid on microbial diseases of intrusive brackish water aquaculture systems.
CARD has already been carrying out various Research and Development works on lignite utilization, diversification, product development, wasteland reclamation and energy conservation, and will be implementing the above projects in association with the University.
Published – December 16, 2025 12:26 am IST


