புதிய அறிமுகம்

An entirely Indian touch to INS Vikramaditya

Six dosa-making and three idli-making machines 

have been installed on the aircraft carrier.     

Even as aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya, 

formerly Admiral Gorshkov,

 is getting ready for pre-induction trials, 
it has seen the successful demonstration of a product 
that is exclusively Indian. 
For, a group of engineers from Eskay Enterprises, Bangalore 
 has installed six dosa-making machines and
 three idli-making machines on board 
INS Vikramaditya and just returned from 
Arkhangelsk region in Russia 
where the ship was docked.
 It will help serve traditional Indian delicacies
 to the Indian crew once the ship is commissioned. 
The automated dosa and idli making technology was
 developed by Mysore-based 
Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI)
 and Eskay Enterprises is one of the
 licensees authorised to manufacture 
the automated machines. 
Sources told The Hindu that
 initially CFTRI was contacted by
 the Defence authorities with a request
 to install the machines on board 
Admiral Gorshkov which was being overhauled and 
retrofitted with modern equipment 
to emerge in its new avatar as INS Vikramaditya. 
“But CFTRI being a research institute does not have
 the mandate for bulk manufacturing of products
 though it develops the technology. 
Hence, we asked the Defence Ministry to contact 
one of our licensees in Bangalore
 who participated in the bid and 
was chosen for installation,” the sources said. 
S. Krishna Murthy, who owns Eskay Enterprises, 
said that he obtained the technology from CFTRI 
and upgraded it for commercial viability 
before releasing it the market. 
Both the dosa-making and idli-making machinery
 have been installed in 
12 ships of the Indian Navy so far. 
“But installing it on board the INS Vikramaditya
 was privileged work. 
We have just returned from Russia , 
and the automated dosa and idli-making machines
 will be fine-tuned 
once the ship is handed over to India in December,
” Mr. Krishna Murthy said. 
The automated technology will enable 
assembly-line production of 400 dosas and
 1,000 idlis an hour on each machine
 and will cater to the nearly 2,000 crew members 
who will be on board the ship.
 Mr. Krishna Murthy said that eight wet grinders
 have also been installed for grinding rice
 and other ingredients for batter. 
The technology was developed by the CFTRI in 1998 
and since then has proved to be 
popular in major industries
 where catering for a large workforce
 requires mass production. 
The machines have been so designed 
that they take care of all operations pertaining
 to making a dosa such as spreading batter 
to the requisite size, oiling, cooking 
and even dispensing curry and chutney. 
The automated technology also ensures 
that hygienic norms are observed in the kitchen
 as it obviates manual labour 
during mass production of idlis and dosas of uniform taste.