IIT Kharagpur professor Surjya K Pal awarded prestigious ANRF J C Bose Grant for AI-driven smart manufacturing research
Times of India | 30 July 2026
KOLKATA: IIT Kharagpur professor Surjya K. Pal, also dean (Research & Development), has been awarded the J. C. Bose Grant by the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), Government of India.
The ANRF J. C. Bose Grant is among India’s most distinguished research recognitions for active senior scientists.
It is conferred upon researchers who have demonstrated exceptional scientific contributions through sustained excellence and supports them in pursuing frontier research through highly competitive, investigator-driven funding.
A renowned expert in advanced manufacturing and smart manufacturing systems, Pal has been awarded a five-year grant for his research on a universal AI-driven platform for real-time weld quality control, with the objective of enabling zero-defect smart manufacturing.
The research is expected to contribute significantly to next-generation intelligent manufacturing technologies, enhancing productivity, precision, and quality in industrial applications,” said IIT Kharagpur statement, adding “his research has consistently bridged academia and industry, leading to technological innovations that have found successful industrial applications.”
Pal serves as the Dean (Research & Development) at IIT Kharagpur and is the founding Chairperson of the Centre of Excellence in Advanced Manufacturing Technology.
Over the course of his distinguished academic career, he has supervised more than 30 doctoral scholars, published over 230 research papers in leading international journals, and received more than 12,000 citations on Google Scholar, with an h-index of 64.
His outstanding contributions to engineering research have earned him election as a Fellow of the National Academy of Engineering (FNAE) and the National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI).
He currently holds the Prof. N. K. Roy Chair Professorship and previously served as the Lord Kumar Bhattacharyya Chair Professor.