Si’Tarc develops slurry pump system to reduce imports

In a development that is expected to strengthen India’s pump manufacturing ecosystem, the design of an indigenous submersible slurry pump system has been registered under the Designs Act, marking a key step towards reducing import dependence of these pumps.

A press release from the Scientific and Industrial Testing And Research Centre (Si’Tarc), Coimbatore, on Friday said submersible slurry pumps are critical equipment in mining, thermal power generation, and slurry-handling industries, and are largely imported. The Ministry of Heavy Industries supported a ₹12.84 crore project called “Augmentation of Existing Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Pumps – Development of Submersible Slurry Pumps” by providing ₹10.27 crore as grant and the project was executed by Si’Tarc.

A project closure meeting was held on January 7 to review the technical and financial outcomes of the indigenously designed and developed pump.

The press release said the project sought to develop indigenous design, testing, and validation capabilities, enabling Indian manufacturers to enter a specialised and technology-intensive market segment.

The project completion report has been structured as a manufacturing-ready technical document, detailing design philosophy, development methodology, testing protocols, and validation results. The objective is to enable pump manufacturers to directly adopt the developed designs and commence production, accelerate commercialisation and shortening time-to-market.

The project chairman, K. V. Karthik, said the Indian pump industry, with an estimated turnover exceeding ₹23,000 crore, needs to expand into higher-value and specialised products to enhance global competitiveness. “Indigenous development of slurry pumps opens up opportunities for import substitution and exports in mining and energy markets,” he said.

R. Karthikeyan, president of Si’Tarc, said the project demonstrates how focused Government support, combined with institutional capability, can create scalable industrial outcomes.