Smt. Sudha Pillai, IAS, Secretary, Ministry of Labour & Employment was the Chief Guest of the function held in Mirza Ghalib Chamber, SCOPE Convention Centre, Lodi Road, New Delhi to re-launch the Delhi Chapter of NSC on 6^th July, 07. The function was attended by about 120 persons comprising members of NSC from the Delhi Chapter jurisdiction, invitees from the Central Govt. and State Govt. of NCT of Delhi, autonomous and professional bodies working in the area of SHE,  central organizations of employers and workers, industry associations, public and private sector units and international bodies such as ILO and European Community.

In her Inaugural Address, Smt. Sudha Pillai mentioned that the three main aspects  which have made NSC a progressive institution are- a) participative management structure with stake holders’ representation on its Board of Governors, b) its non-profit mandate and c) its success in becoming financially self-sustaining. Tracing the genesis of NSC she said that setting up of this national institution was indeed a forward looking decision on the part of the Government and over the years it has emerged as one of the best known institutions in the country providing a wide range of services on safety, health and environment. Emphasizing the self-regulatory and self-compliance approaches, the Labour Secretary urged the Delhi Chapter to increase the membership and provide low-cost services suitable to small scale units  and to extend its services to the construction sector, which will go a long way in supplementing the enforcement of the statutes.

Earlier, at its 133^rd meeting held on 18^th April 07, the NSC Board of Governors approved the 13-Member Ad-hoc Executive Committee, set up under the chairmanship of Shri R.C. Shrivastav, Director (HR), NTPC. The other office bearers include-Shri H. Mahadevan, Dy. Gen. Secretary, AITUC and Shri K. K. Gupta, E D (SHE), IOCL as Vice Chairmen representing workers and employers, respectively; Shri J. Mohapatra, ED (R&R, Safety & SCR), NTPC as Secretary; Shri S. S. Mongia, Head of Safety, Delhi Productivity Council as Treasurer and Shri A. K. Tripathy, DGM (Safety), L&T, ECC Division and Shri P. Chinna Rao, Sr. Manager (Safety), NTPC as Jt. Secretaries.

Shri K. C. Gupta, DG, NSC delivered the Keynote Address. He briefly outlined the experiences regarding basic challenges involved in developing institutions like NSC in taking forward the voluntary movement on OSH in the country. He mentioned that NSC is covering 22 States and one UT through its 16 Chapters including the Delhi Chapter being re-launched, thus covering about 80 % of the geographical area of the country. DG stated that one of the challenges before NSC is to further extend the outreach of its services across the country. He urged the members, especially Corporates and Trade Unions and Govt. nominees on the Board of Governors to inculcate a sense of ownership in order to continually help up-grading the services of NSC, to create a pool of experts at the Chapter level, and to make the services available to the grass root level.

Shri H. Mahadevan, Vice Chairman (Workers) made introductory remarks about the importance of OSH and the need to create safety awareness. Shri R. C. Shrivastav,  Chairman of the Delhi Chapter presided over the function.

Earlier, Shri P. M. Rao, Dy. Director General, NSC welcomed Smt. Sudha Pillai, the Chief Guest, invitees and NSC members from the Delhi Chapter jurisdiction. Shri K. K. Gupta, Vice Chairman (Employers) proposed vote of thanks.

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