Meet Dr. Seema Paroha: First Female Director Of India's Only Sugar Institute

 At the heart of Kanpur, the National Sugar Institute, a cornerstone in India's sugar industry, proudly unveils a momentous occasion. Dr. Seema Paroha, a revered figure at the institute for her academic prowess since 2014, now assumes the prestigious role of director, marking a groundbreaking departure from tradition. For 88 years, the helm has been occupied solely by men,  but Dr. Paroha's appointment as the first woman to serve the role, the institution's twentieth, speaks louder than administrative change.

Dr. Seema Paroha- First Female Director of NSI

The National Sugar Institute was established in 1936 and is the only sugar institute in the country. This institute has had 19 directors before, but this is the first time a woman has held the role. Dr. Seema Paroha, who was born in Madhya Pradesh, began her academic career in Indore and got her PhD in Jabalpur.

Dr. Paroha completed her MSc. in Biochemistry from Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya in Indore. She began as an assistant professor at Jawaharlal Nehru Krishi Vishwavidyalaya in Jabalpur before moving on to the National Sugar Institute in Kanpur as a professor and head of the biochemistry department in 2014.She transformed the department by establishing the nanobrewery, and distillation unit, and modernizing the laboratory. She played a key role in establishing NABL-accredited testing facilities at the institute. Her expertise covers a wide  range of topics, including alcoholic fermentation and ethanol production from alternative feedstocks such as sugar beet, sweet sorghum, cassava, and maize.

National Sugar Institute

The Indian Sugar Committee was established as a result of the British Indian Government's encouragement of the sugar industry in India due to the country's climate and cultivated acreage. In 1920, the aforementioned committee proposed the establishment of an All India Institute to research sugarcane and sugar production. This recommendation was subsequently supported by the Tariff Board in 1930 and the Royal Commission in 1928.

The institute offers postgraduate diploma programs in industrial fermentation and alcohol technology (DIFAT, diploma in industrial fermentation and alcohol technology), sugar engineering (ANSI (SE) Associateship of the National Sugar Institute in Sugar Engineering), and sugar technology (ANSI (ST) Associateship of the National Sugar Institute in Sugar Technology).

Furthermore, there is a post-diploma sugar engineering course (SECC, sugar engineering certificate course) available.