RGIPT: Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology

The Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology (RGIPT) was established as an “Institute of National Importance” by enacting the RGIPT Act passed by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.

In collaboration with the Oil Industry Development Board, six eminent Public Sector Units co-promote the Institute as an energy-specific institute. These PSUs are:

• ONGC Ltd,
• Indian Oil Corporation Limited,
• Oil India Limited,
• GAIL (India) Limited,
• Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, and
• Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited

The Institute encourages interest in learning more broadly among the nation’s young for the oil and gas industry and the energy sectors. The Institute serves as a breeding ground for world-class human capital capable of becoming future leaders in technology and innovation in India and globally. To achieve this goal, the whole hydrocarbon value chain functions through world-class research, teaching, and consulting. The Institute has MoUs or partnerships with several national and international institutions/universities for academic engagement and cooperation.

Functions of RGIPT

The Institute will carry out the following functions:

• Encourage high standards of excellence in research and education in the field of petroleum and hydrocarbons
• Offer UG/PG programmes, diploma courses and research projects leading to the awarding of bachelor’s, master’s, and Doctoral degrees in management, engineering and technology, sciences and the arts in the field of petroleum and hydrocarbons
• Grant candidates who have attained the required standard of proficiency as determined by examination or based on any other basis of testing and establish fellowships, scholarships
• Encourage and promote the integration of education and research to advance research and development for the benefit of the oil, gas and petrochemical industries.
• Collaborate with academic and research organisations anywhere in the world that share all or some of the same goals as the Institute by exchanging faculty members, conducting joint research, accepting funded research and consulting projects etc.
• Create and oversee student houses, dormitories, health facilities, hostels and other fields.
• Create statutes and ordinances, amend, repeal, or modify them.
• Accept bequests, contributions, grants and transfers of movable or immovable property from testators, donors, transferors, alumnus, businesspeople or anyone else;
• To receive gifts, donations, grants, or benefactions from the federal and state governments.
• Incorporating new technologies into the classroom that supports student-centred learning methodologies and the formation of a learning attitude.
• Create and maintain a knowledge repository of printed and digital materials encompassing the whole hydrocarbon value chain and other closely connected fields of science and technology in the petroleum sector.

What is the power of boards under the RGIPT Act?

• The Board will be in charge of overall supervision, direction and control of the Institute’s business and will have complete authority.
• Without affecting the rules under section 10(1) of the RGIPT Act, the Board shall-
  • Decide on matters of policy of the management and operation of the Institute.
  • Establish guidelines for the Institute’s awarding of various distinctions, the length of its courses and the names of its degrees.
  • Establish study programmes, competency requirements and other academic honours for the Institute’s course offerings.
  • Establish guidelines for the cadre structure, qualifications, method of hiring and terms of employment of the Institute’s teaching and research faculty and other staff.
  • Guide the Institute’s resource mobilisation and establish investment policies.
  • Evaluate and accept requests for loans for Institute purposes, either with or without Institute property pledged as security.
  • Create statutes and amend, repeal, or modify them.
  • To consider and adopt resolutions regarding the annual report, the annual accounts, and the Institute’s budget estimates for the upcoming fiscal year, along with a declaration of its development goals.
• The Board shall have the power to establish such committees as it deems necessary to discharge its functions under this Act.
• The Board shall have the ability to set up academic and campus centres either in or outside of India
• Despite the clause stated in section 4, the Board shall not dispose of any of the Institute’s movable property without first receiving permission from the Central Government
• The President, Director, any officer, or any authority of the Institute may receive any of the Board’s powers and duties through a formal resolution. Still, the Board must reserve the right to examine any actions taken while exercising such delegated authority.

Role and functions of the general council

The general council consists of the secretary of the ministry of oil and natural gas in the central government. It has a chairman, managing Director, director general, additional secretary and executive Director.

The General Council has the following powers and functions:

• Periodically assess the Institute’s major policies and programmes and provide recommendations for their development and improvement.
• Take into account the annual statement of accounts, which includes a balance sheet, the audit report thereon and the Board of Governors’ opinions thereon and make suggestions for improving the Institute’s financial management.
• Examine and assess the Institute’s overall effectiveness and quality, recommend actions to boost performance and foster trust between the Institute and its stakeholders.
• Offer the Institute credibility, aura, connectedness and contacts, particularly concerning student placement and resource mobilisation.
• Provide advice to the Institute and its Board on any other topic that the Board may refer to for advice on, including any advanced technological areas in the petroleum sector that include the whole hydrocarbon value chain.

Powers and duties of officers under section 13 of RGIPT Act

• The Director shall have the authority to incur expenditures under the procedure as may be established from time to time.
• The Director has the power to accumulate money for the various elements that make up the recurring budget subject to any financial caps that the Board may from time to time impose.
• Any overpayment made to a staff member not discovered within twenty-four months of payment up to a certain amount may be waived by the Director.
• Director has the authority to deduct both irrecoverable losses and the value of lost store items.
• The Director will have the power to hire technicians and labourers to get paid from contingencies with payments that do not exceed the daily wage rates the Central Government sets.
• The Director has the authority to approve remission.
• The Director may grant the Deputy Director the authority to approve advances for travel expenses, unforeseen expenses and staff members’ medical care while he is away from the office, to countersign bills on his behalf and to exercise the Director’s authority in those areas.
• The Director may assign any of the tasks and powers granted to him by the Act with the Board’s consent.
• The Director must take whatever action he believes necessary when something needs to be done right away and then communicate what he did to the appropriate authority.

Conclusion

The Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology (RGIPT) plays a crucial role in India’s energy-related educational, research, and development activities. It is an institute offering managerial and technical training, and it has the status of Institute of National Importance and a governance structure resembling that of IITs, NITs, etc.

The Institute’s primary goal is to deliver the best education, training, and research to develop effective human resources to satisfy the expanding needs of the petroleum and energy sector. Its objective is to transform India into a major source of manpower for the whole petroleum and energy industries.

Numerous Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes, postgraduate diploma courses, and doctoral programmes in Petroleum Technology and Management are all offered in phases by RGIPT.