Mangaluru: The Indian Institute of Skill Development and Research (IISDR), organised the Industry Safety Meet 2026 at Ocean Pearl, Mangaluru on 25.09.2026, bringing together more than 100 participants from various industries, government departments, professional institutions and other stakeholder organisations. The programme was organised in partnership with the Department of Factories, Boilers, Industrial Safety & Health, Mangaluru Division; District Industries Centre (DIC), Mangaluru; Mangalore Management Association (MMA); and Kanara Industries Association (KIA). The Meet was held on the theme “Building Emergency-Ready Industries: Strengthening Safety, Preparedness & Resilience.”
Shri Nandakumar V. Pillai, Director – Refinery, MRPL, Mangaluru, who was the Chief Guest, emphasised the importance of developing a strong and sustainable safety culture within industries. In his address, he highlighted the need for industries to give continuous attention to safety, preparedness and responsible practices at the workplace. He stressed that industrial safety should be viewed as an integral part of organisational functioning rather than as a responsibility limited to a particular department or group of personnel. His address underlined the importance of collective responsibility, preparedness and active participation of employees in maintaining safe workplaces. He also brought the industry perspective to the discussions on emergency preparedness and organisational resilience, emphasising the need for industries to remain prepared to deal with risks and unexpected situations while ensuring the safety and well-being of their workforce.
Delivering the keynote address, Shri K. G. Nanjappa, Director – Factories, Boilers, Industrial Safety & Health, Government of Karnataka, spoke on “Building Emergency-Ready Industries: Strengthening Safety, Preparedness & Resilience.” He highlighted the importance of preparedness, prevention and compliance in industrial establishments and emphasised the need for industries to strengthen their systems for identifying and mitigating workplace risks. His address focused on the regulatory perspective of industrial safety and the emerging challenges faced by industries in ensuring safe working environments.
Shri Nanjappa stressed that emergency preparedness should be an integral part of industrial safety management. Industries need to have appropriate systems, trained personnel and coordinated mechanisms to anticipate, prevent and respond effectively to workplace emergencies and critical incidents. He also emphasised the importance of moving towards a proactive safety culture in which safety is treated as a shared responsibility and employees at different levels are actively involved in maintaining workplace safety. His address reinforced the significance of compliance, preparedness and continuous improvement in building resilient industrial organisations.
Dr. Hari Mahalingam, Professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, NITK, Surathkal, brought an academic and technical perspective to the deliberations, contributing to the discussions on industrial safety, risk management and the integration of technical knowledge with practical safety measures.
Shri Amit Tuteja, SPO, UNDP and Former Senior Consultant, NDMA, spoke on emergency response and crisis management, focusing on the importance of preparedness and coordinated mechanisms for managing critical situations. Shared couple of cases studies with practical approaches may be adopted during the emergency situations.
Shri Adika Ratna Sekhar, Former Chairman and Managing Director of Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd, spoke on social security and employee welfare, highlighting the importance of welfare and social security measures in ensuring the well-being and security of employees with recent enactments along with other compensation benefits.
Inspector Shanthi Lal Jathia from NDRF – INDIA, currently serving as District In charge, Disaster Management, Dakshina Kannada (KA) shared valuable practical insights on emergency preparedness and response, drawing from his extensive experience in handling emergency situations at different locations. He demonstrated the importance of timely intervention, basic life-saving techniques and effective response during the critical initial minutes of an emergency. His real-life experiences and practical examples provided participants with valuable lessons on responding confidently and effectively during medical and other emergency situations.
Shri Sandeep SP, Former HR Head of Pratt & Whitney and HR Consultant, dealt with the human resource dimension of workplace safety, highlighting the role of employees and organisational practices in creating a strong safety culture. Where he moderated the panel session on Building a Safety Culture & Industry Best Practices. The panel comprised of Shri Rajesh Mishrikoti, Deputy Director of Factories, Mangaluru; Shri C. Munikrishna., Chief General Manager (HR), KIOCL; Dr. K. Yogisha, JGM – Medical Services, PPL, Mangaluru; and Shri Atul K. Bhongle, General Manager – F&S, MRPL.
The panel discussion emphasised that emergency preparedness must go beyond documented procedures and compliance, with organisations focusing on regular drills, hazard identification, near-miss reporting, leadership accountability, employee competency, effective communication and coordination with regulators, emergency services, hospitals and neighbouring industries. The panel also highlighted the importance of integrating safety into HR practices, strengthening medical and first-response capabilities, leveraging technology and simulation, and converting lessons from incidents and drills into measurable improvements. The session concluded with a strong call for industries to develop a proactive safety culture and continuously build organisational and community resilience through collaboration, preparedness and learning.
More than 100 participants from various industries attended the Meet, making it an important platform for interaction and exchange of experiences on contemporary workplace safety challenges. The programme also emphasised the need to make every employee an active stakeholder in workplace safety and to strengthen organisational systems for risk identification, prevention, emergency response and recovery.
The event was supported by Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL) as the Title Sponsor, with GMPL, HAL and Tissan Incorp as Event Partners, whose support contributed to the successful conduct of the programme.
The programme was organised under the leadership of Dr. Steevan Pinto, Programme Chair, IISDR, with the active coordination and support of the IISDR team and its partner organisations. Mr. Shekhar Pujari, Mr. P A Jose, Mr. P Suresh, Mr. Shamlal Yermal, Dr. Laxmish Rai – Advisors of IISDR, were present during the occasion. Dr. Ronald Sequeira, Executive Director – IISDR, Ms. Arundati Hegde – Dy. Director – IISDR and Shri Rakesh Lobo, Lead – IR, IISDR co-ordinated the program.
