Dealing with Risk
Safety and Risk Management today is a high-order science that relies on extremely sophisticated computational tools. Modern risk analysis requires advanced 2D and 3D simulation software based on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), capable of running millions of simulations to quantify risk under a wide range of operating and accident scenarios. Such tools have been developed by a handful of technologically advanced countries, involving teams of highly qualified scientists working continuously over several years.
Validation of these tools through full-scale experimental testing further adds to their complexity and cost. The acquisition and use of these imported software systems is expensive and imposes a heavy financial burden on both large and small Indian companies. Annual Renewal License fees are prohibitively expensive and sometimes amount to nearly the cost of the base software itself.
In addition, operating these tools requires extensive training, often running into several months, adding further cost and dependency. As a result, India today lacks indigenous software tools for comprehensive risk analysis, as well as advanced AI-driven training facilities using Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR). This dependence has become a strategic vulnerability. Increasingly frequent technology sanctions and restrictions imposed by advanced countries ~ even on Indian engineering and defence organizations ~ have disrupted access to critical safety and risk-analysis tools, directly affecting operational continuity.
This is particularly alarming given that India hosts some of the world’s largest and most complex industrial facilities, including refineries, petrochemical complexes, fertilizer plants, offshore and onshore oil and gas installations, and other high-risk process industries. Any major accident in these sectors can result in catastrophic loss of life, large scale destruction of assets, severe environmental damage, and long-term reputational harm to both the company and the nation.
At the same time, India is rapidly expanding into new and advanced energy domains such as green hydrogen, bio-ethanol, sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), nuclear energy,........
