The Executive Committee of The All India Glass Manufacturers’ Federation (AIGMF) met recently at the Jaipur Marriott Hotel.
An interactive session with the Hon Minister of Industry, Mr. Gajendra Singh was organized, which provided an opportunity to debate on use of glass containers as responsible and safe packaging for clean India campaign and use of glass as eco-friendly building material for smart cities.
Mr. Singh applauded advanced production techniques used by the Industry to manufacture light weight glass bottles and jars with no loss of safety or quality. This benefits not only consumers but also the environment. He was of the view that bottled water be made available in glass bottles as also done in European and other countries as Glass being 100% recyclable, will unlikely pollute the environment or affect human health.
Mr. Singh emphasized use of more solar and flat glass for building smart cities. He appreciated Glass Industry’s commitment towards ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan’ & ‘Smart Cities’ and offered support to the Industry with regard to investments in State of Rajasthan.
Mr. C K Somany, Former AIGMF President / Former CAPEXIL Chairman and Chairman of HNG Group gifted 500 glass water bottles (specially manufactured by Hindustan National Glass and Industries Ltd.) to the Hon Minister for use in ‘Sachivalaya’ which carried a logo of Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan enabling people demand responsible and safe packaging.
Mr. Sanjay Ganjoo, President, AIGMF stated that there is a spectacular rise in use of glass in buildings, as is evident from trend of glass buildings coming up in country as well as in Jaipur. Mr. Ganjoo said that use of glass in buildings will make smart cities look more elegant, beautiful and eye-catching. Glass application will not only help buildings lit with natural and solar light but will also lead to huge monetary and energy savings for the economy. He also stated that there is an urgent need for regulations on use of glass in buildings to ensure human and fire safety in tune with Smart Cities vision of the Indian Government.
Mr. Ganjoo informed that in the present scenario, options for glazing in buildings are enormous such as curtain walling, structure glazing, bolt glazing or spider glazing, fin supported glazing, cable glazing, suspended glazing etc. To create confidence and provide technical know how to ensure human and fire safety while using glass in buildings, AIGMF took the cognizance of the issue and sponsored project to Confederation of Construction Products and Services (CCPS), a not for profit organization in 2007 to bring out the Guidelines on Use of Glass in Buildings: Human Safety**.As per the recommendations and norms of the CCPS guidelines, it is suggested how to regulate glass in relation to human safety either by restricting use of glass or specifying use of Safety Glass at critical locations where chances of injury due to glass breakage are high.
While in Jaipur, AIGMF members visited select glass façade buildings to showcase its commitment for the uninterrupted supply of glass as a vital building material for Smart Cities.
As Corporate Social Responsibility, Mr. Sanjay Ganjoo, President, AIGMF gifted 200 glass water bottles (specially manufactured by Hindustan National Glass and Industries Ltd.) to Jaipur Marriot Hotel and 50 bottles to lotus shaped glass façade building of Motisons Jewellers, which carried a logo of Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan enabling people demand responsible and safe packaging.
Mr. Arun Kumar Dukkipati, Sr. Vice President, AIGMF said, Glass is the trusted and proven packaging for health, taste and the environment. He assured uninterrupted supply of glass containers for packaging drug formulations, food products or beverages, which is directly linked to Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan. He shared some of the main characteristics of glass:
•Glass is 100% recyclable and can be recycled endlessly without loss in quality or purity
•Glass is nonporous and impermeable, so there are no interactions between glass packaging and products to affect the flavor of food and beverages. No nasty after taste – ever
•Glass has an almost zero rate of chemical interactions, ensuring that the products inside a glass bottle keep their strength, aroma, and flavour
•When consumers choose foods or beverages that are packaged in glass, they avoid potential risks while enjoying a number of benefits
Mr. Dukkipati congratulated Jaipur Marriott Hotel and Motisons Jewellers for adopting use of glass bottles, which is a step forward towards clean environment.
Mr. Dukkipati mentioned that use of glass bottles supplements Prime Ministers’ vision of Swachh Bharat Mission (Clean India Campaign) as waste from other packaging material are usually found in streets, drains, rivers, etc., with people having the tendency to litter anywhere. On the other hand, Glass being 100% recyclable mostly reaches junk seller for recycling and adds to clean environment.
The Executive Committee acknowledged the support of Mr. Nirmal Mundra of Nirmal Glasstech Industries, an Affiliate Member of AIGMF (who manufactures Spare Parts for I.S. 2008 Glass Container forming Machines and associated equipment’s) for hosting Executive Committee Meeting at Jaipur Marriott, arranging site visits and dinner reception in honour of visiting delegates.