Key Facts

Key highlights of the CSIR-SINTEF partnership:

• Bilateral Dialogue: Held in New Delhi under the overarching India-Norway Task Force on Blue Economy and Sustainable Development.
• Target Materials: Utilising massive industrial by-products including blast furnace steel slag, copper smelting slag, coal combustion fly ash, and construction & demolition (C&D) waste.
• Green Infrastructure Applications: Development of ultra-durable geo-polymer concrete, carbon-cured prefabricated blocks, and bituminous road base layers that reduce river sand and crushed granite extraction.
• Decarbonisation Goal: Supports India's commitment to achieve Net Zero carbon emissions by 2070 by curbing the high carbon footprint of conventional Portland cement manufacturing.

GK Context

• Cement production accounts for approximately 7% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
• Utilizing industrial pozzolanic materials and slag as Supplementary Cementitious Materials (SCMs) directly reduces clinker factor, conserving limestone reserves and energy.

Static GK

• The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) was established in September 1942 as an autonomous society under the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR), Ministry of Science and Technology.
• Founded by Sir Arcot Ramasamy Mudaliar and Dr. Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar, the Prime Minister of India serves as the ex-officio President of CSIR.

UPSC Mains Framework

GS Paper III (Environment & Ecological Conservation / Science and Technology): Analyze the potential of industrial symbiosis and circular economy models in mitigating construction sector emissions in developing nations like India.