Royal Charter - A Bequest in Centennial IEI

Royal Charter A Bequest in Centennial IEI L V Muralikrishna Reddy, PhD Former President The Institution of Engineers (India) Learned Society Initiatives Royal Charter A Bequest in Centennial IEI L V Muralikrishna Reddy, PhD FIE, FIET(UK), FIIChE, FISTE, FIIPE, IEEE-HKN, IntPE, CEng(UK) Former President, The Institution of Engineers (India) President, Indian Technology Congress Association [email protected] +91 98452 24134 © 2018 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or by any other means without permission from the Author and Publisher. Authored and Edited by Contributors Dr. L.V. Muralikrishna Reddy Dr. Enti Ranga Reddy Former President, The Institution of Engineers (India) President, Indian Technology Congress Association #3, 4th Floor, First Main, BDA Layout, Kodihalli, HAL 2nd Stage, Bangalore - 560008, INDIA +91 80 65592501/ 4850 8380 [email protected] www.itca.org.in/lsipublications Dr. K. Gopalakrishnan Er. D.V. Nagabhushan Er. D.V. Pichamuthu Dr. S.K. Prasad Prof. R.M. Vasagam Dr. Wooday P. Krishna Published by Foundation for Education Excellence Publishing Organization for Indian Technology Congress Association The Royal Charter Incorporating Indian Engineering was granted on 13 August 1935. This publication is released in Bangalore, India on 13 August 2018 to commemorate this momentous occasion. ITCA is envisaged to be a platform for Technologists (Researchers and Professionals), Entrepreneurs, Academia, and Investors to identify contemporary and emerging technology issues and develop best practices. This collaborative platform will foster a culture of innovation, progress, and excellence with an emphasis on continuous improvement. To facilitate the collective growth of the engineering profession, ITCA will endeavor to stimulate interdisciplinary research, promote knowledge transfer to the member fraternity, profession, and build effective cross-disciplinary synergies. ITCA would also conceptualize and promote activities that would progress the interests of the technology profession. ITCA intends to bring out publications on the Royal Charter and Engineering Outreach under the Learned Society Initiatives. This publication is SECOND in the series. The first publication is available at: http://itca.org.in/assets/Pbct/Legendary Charter Progression of Indian Engineering.pdf https://www.academia.edu/36040929/Legendary_Charter_Progression_of_Indian_Engineering Alternatively, you may write to the author at <[email protected]> Note The cover page image is designed to symbolize and epitomize the contribution of Royal Charters to the collective growth of the engineering profession. The images on the cover pages (front and back) of this publication depict the Chartered Organizations that have played a stellar role in growing the engineering profession in their regional geographies. The copyright holders of these images are gratefully acknowledged. Printed at: JAP Systems, Bangalore 1 Royal Charter: A Bequest in Centennial IEI Royal Charter A Bequest in Centennial IEI Over the past century, exponential growth in industrial practices, global mobility, built & modernization of structures and technology advancements have given a new dimension to the noble engineering profession. The progression of the Indian engineering, the origin of IEI and its Royal Charter lineage are intertwined with the prevailing socioeconomic fabric of the country. The rigor, breadth, and farsightedness of the Charter led to its contribution to the framework of the nascent engineering profession in India, and this structure helped in benchmarking Indian engineering with other comparable global professions. The cross-border presence of contemporary best practices and expertise in the nation also donated to the establishment of a unique engineering education system that again headed to the significant rise of engineers in and outside the country. Indeed, the development of engineering in the country over the last one century is analogous with IEI’s presence, and undoubtedly, the acclaimed Royal Charter has made an impact on professionalization. However, there is a need to audit the influence of IEI and its Royal Charter to the promotion of the Chartered Engineer certification which has seen a series of flip-flops in the midst of engineering circles. The publication will assess the diverse landscape of India’s core engineering, the genesis of IEI, the impressions of its Royal Charter, the offerings of the Chartered Engineering and its limitations, the growth of the engineering profession, and the way forward to sustain IEI’s legacy for future generations. Royal Charter: A bequest in Centennial IEI 2 Engineering in India - The Professional path Nature’s genius is manifested in engineering. Perhaps the continuous R&D efforts carried for 3.8 billion years since life first appeared on earth, credited to current engineering abode. Engineering emerged as a strategic enabler for the foundation of sustainable human civilization, and the technological progression to the advancement of society commencing from the prehistoric period to the contemporary era. Over the epochs, engineering has refined, shaped, and evolved as the choice of the social mandate to emerge as the icon of the societal development across centuries and the harbinger of progress in future. The paramount marvels of engineering are witnesses all-through from the ancient world, the medieval period and modern times. Engineering corroborated professions have been practiced over 2000 years, and the etymology of the term reflects a vintage of nearly 800 years. In the middle of the 8th and the 18th-century several forts, churches, palaces, dams, tombs, temples, and tanks were built, and a lot of them are representing exclusivity with remarkable engineering ingenuity. From the ages, this penchant for innovation, invention, and discovery, integrated with the core principles of observation, reflection, and experimentation have inculcated a new order of engineering professionalism. The incessant demands of the society across the livelihood sectors including food, shelter, energy, clothing, infrastructure, and industry have compelled the engineering profession to boost its competencies and eventually to arise as a credible and widely acceptable profession. The prime inspiration of modern-day 3 Royal Charter: A Bequest in Centennial IEI engineering is to address the evolving set of needs centered on the prevailing societal paradigm for aspirational global vision. Over centuries engineers invigorated tools and devices, built roads and bridges, developed mass manufacturing systems, and in doing so, transformed an agrarian civilization to a mechanized and industrialized society. The Germans in the sixteenth, the Dutch in the seventeenth, and the French in eighteenth-century dominated the industrial landscape and were at the forefront of engineering know-how and knowledge base. The United Kingdom imparted the engineering expertise from these technologically advanced nations to progress industrialization in the British monarchy. It is perhaps for this reason that Britain did not boast of radical advancements in engineering during the 19th century and was contented with the incremental expansion of the manufacturing sector through the allied industrial modernization. America, on the other hand, reigned supremacy in two-thirds of the twentieth century by contributing to global innovation by emphatically propelling on the acquisition of knowledge, research spread, and expansion of the frontiers of engineering across all sectors. In the absence of real novelty in British engineering, the engineers in the United Kingdom, have struggled with relatively low eminence throughout the 18th and 19th century. The foundation for present-day marvels in engineering has strongly credited to the realization of remarkable technological advances in metallurgical novelties precisely with the iron Royal Charter: A bequest in Centennial IEI 4 fabrication, the science of concrete production, refinements in locomotive engineering, railway erection, canal engineering and the mastery of electric power supply. These triumphant advancements created pathways for healthy industrialization and in the process engineers have turned out to be custodians of the world's repository of technology know-how. India's industrial morphology is diversified and replete with a fantastic imprint of entrepreneurial zeal and trade expertise in the 17th and 18th century. From the 1850s to early 1900s railways, canals, built environment and industries have been commissioned are enabled fostering the growth and maturity of the engineering workforce. The industries established in the said period were mostly around agricultural based produce like cotton, jute, oils and have transformed India from being a country blended with agriculture and manufacture into agriculture-based industrial capitalism. The first World War (WW1, 1914-18) paved the way for new engineering breakthroughs resulted in mass manufacturing in the industrialized world, enhanced mobility through transportation, the realm of communications for social change, revolutions in electricity utilization, urbanization for improved livelihood, and advanced machinery for variety of applications are being some of the prominent outcomes. This augmentation resulted in the development of an array of technologies that brought to fore the amply of possibilities to ensued the contribution of engineering. These expansions further inspired engineers to participate in the progression of the profession by 5 Royal Charter: A Bequest in Centennial IEI fostering hi-tech products, solutions, and systems. Well conversant with the benefits of industrialization, the British Monarchy conceptualized industrial development policies to transform the most significant chunk of the agrarian economy to the industrialized economy in the country. After about century and a half in which mountainous fortunes have been enjoyed through agriculture, British India ventured into a new facet of Industrialization. This led to the foundation of modern industry, and the establishment of large-scale manufacturing facilities across the country. Science, engineering, and technology are vital driving forces in the industrialization movement of the nation and engineers are the imperative facilitators in the process. The vision and mission of industrial expansion were primarily conditioned by the ensemble of qualified or practicing personnel in engineering. India fortunate have such a beacon of engineering excellence, talent and competencies to drive industrialization. Since then, the journey of engineering in the country is a striking testimony to the human imagination and furthermore a sterling illustration for the world of engineering. Today the fascinating Indian landscape is dotted with engineering wonders showcasing the nation’s eternal infrastructural accomplishments. The technologies essential to building the much-admired and highly visible marvels including industry, bridges, dams, and other edifices in the country are perhaps credited to engineering breakthroughs of that years and are of innumerable archaeological fascinations. Royal Charter: A bequest in Centennial IEI 6 Engineers contributed to the construction of massive dams for irrigation, canals for transport, power plants for the industry, drinking water and sanitation systems, extraction of mines and mineral processing tools, industries for productization amongst others were amid the most visible signs of economic development in the pre-independence era in India’s growth melange. Engineers at that time were very passionate to acquire up-to-date knowledge from the Western world and adapt these acquaintances to develop engineering elucidations for India development requirements. The heritage of Indian engineering can be easily traced to the last two hundred years from the time when British colonies were established in the country. Engineers in this pivotal period were acknowledged as agents of technological change and acted as a vital force for building human resources. The accomplishment of proficiency through the constructive actions of the practitioners is a necessary characteristic for the development and evolution of any profession, and the engineering profession also emerged as well in similar lines. Engineering is a unique profession, where engineers are expected to adjust their work roles in line with evolving technical, organizational and managerial necessities. Engineers continue to transform across these roles and in the process, gain considerable knowledge and expertise, thereby emerging as noteworthy professionals. This constant exertion and enthusiasm 7 Royal Charter: A Bequest in Centennial IEI among the engineers are driving the expansion of engineering as a legitimate profession alongside law, medicine, and others. The context of engineering transformation under British India can be related to three underlying circumstances, i.e., colonial domination, internal hierarchical arrangement, and institutionalization of the profession. The pre-eminent situations of widespread industry practices across the world and predominantly in British ruled commonwealth countries have effectively set a firm basis for the engineering profession in the nation. Following independence, the new India emphasized on the upsurge in infrastructure for the overall development of the country through the industry, agriculture, science, and technology, etc. The intended growth and expansion would only be possible through mastery of technology over the vehicle of all-encompassing engineering education and practice. The Indian government has given an adequate emphasis on engineering by enhancing human competencies through education and infrastructure capabilities thereby facilitating strong professional practices. These optimistic capacity-edifices, forward-looking epitomes, and augmented forecastings have considerably backed the restructuring process of the Indian engineering. Engineering education has a symbiotic relationship with society while acting as the nucleus of knowledge supremacy ; it has transformed, expanded, and revolutionized the path towards a newly formed independent India and eventually aimed at a net surplus of Royal Charter: A bequest in Centennial IEI 8 knowledge in engineering. Contributing to the societal progress, infrastructure development, and economic growth, engineering has been cherished as an intellectual discipline in the country. Since ages, professional bodies have been established and rendered operations all over the world to foster the respective professions. These bodies are playing a significant role in promoting synergy between the society and the occupation. Professional organizations are valuable in assisting to build robust ideals, excellent acquiescence, sound governance, and responsible ethical practices in addition to advocating subject familiarity. These bodies are committed to the advancement of the knowledge; the practice of businesses by developing, supporting, regulating and promoting rigorous standards; and to emphasize the ethical competence of the particular profession. Similarly, professional bodies as well established in engineering with the expectations for enlightening the society directly by developing and edifying the performance of human paradigms. The first Professional body for engineering was founded in the early ’s to corroborate the competency and to validate the efficacy of the profession. Successively, numerous professional organizations have been formed to heighten the engineering profession, and some of them are praiseworthy and exemplary in performing their designated obligations. The primary concern of professional organizations governing engineering is that the outcomes should benefit the public at 9 Royal Charter: A Bequest in Centennial IEI large by providing superior quality services and ultimately enhance the credibility among all concerned stakeholders. Some of the reputed and recognized bodies facilitating various professions have been acclaimed as learned societies through incorporation by the British Royal Charter and are referred as Chartered ”odies. Chartered bodies amalgamated through Royal patronage will articulate and highlight the magnificence & comprehensiveness of the professional qualifications besides the endeavours of their members. Many of these institutions have made use of the rewarded title Chartered to standardize the profession and universalized the best practices by encapsulating them in the form of knowledge acquaintance. The members enrolled in such organizations are rightly gratifying the profession by mandating to advance the society using an epistemological mix of design and practice to engineering. The exceptional contributions and performance of engineers, who sign on with Chartered bodies have shaped the engineering as a new order profession for global requirements. The treasured achievements of engineers have enhanced the reputation of the engineering fraternity resulting in becoming a sought-after profession in the contemporary period. Numerous Chartered bodies are functioning and endorsing Chartered Engineer licenses to qualified individuals for practicing various engineering specializations. The empowered Chartered Engineer authorization is considered a foremost accreditation of the Royal Charter: A bequest in Centennial IEI 10 engineering profession and highlights the exceptional knowledge of specialization that an individual holds. Engineering education and the profession are two sides of the coin working in tandem responsible for preceding, current and future generations contributing to addressing the ever-growing public needs. This extraordinary double-whammy alliance of professional development and educational advancement is a unique synergy and can be reckoned as a peerless partnership in the annals of engineering advancement. The professional identity of engineers undoubtedly emerged in the eighteenth century with the establishment of Ecole Polytechnique in France and the underpinning of professional engineering societies in England. In India, the confluence of engineering professionalism originated from British established first-generation institutions in connotation with the presence of London based Royal Chartered bodies in the country during the 1850s. These professional societies can be considered as bringing into being the Golden era of engineering in India with the convergence of institutions and organizations in those early years and started nurturing engineering steadily for the coming generations. Innovation as a central theme, engineering dynamically established its supremacy in the country and has transformed to adjust to the needs of the present-day society. In India, with this positive outlook and much-admired professional pride, the engineering has grown into the most sought-after career choice among millennium generations in addition to its time-honored public esteem. 11 Royal Charter: A Bequest in Centennial IEI Conferring the Charter to Indian Engineering India-development agenda in the early years of the 20th century has resulted in transforming the agrarian economy to the industrialized economy for which the fundamental drivers are technology, infrastructure, and competent human-capital. This prerequisite had triggered and compelled to measure the nation’s strengths for the Indian-industrialization ambition. It has further prevailed in mapping the competencies across the sectors and has conveyed the visible imprint on demand-supply gaps of professional requirements. This painstaking framework also abetted to unlock the full potential of the professional capabilities of the country and position them for restructuring the business practices and even industrial establishments. The foreign origin professional bodies have enormously facilitated in strengthening the respective professions and standardizing their practices in the country during the formative years. In India at the beginning of 1900s law, medicine and engineering careers have had their place in the matching classification of elite, rewarding, well-paid and prestigious professions. These professions have been deemed eminent and considered as intellectually superior among other work-related occupations and practices. The above referred credential-based professions immensely contributed to the development of the nation, and in the process, engineering emerged as an exceptional gratifying vocation. Engineering centric crusade is a tactical enabler to elucidate the challenges the country generally Royal Charter: A bequest in Centennial IEI 12 experiencing. Engineers continuously developing an optimistic mindset by acquiring critical competencies to thrive in the progressive pivotal profession to address those never-ending challenges. From the beginning, Indian engineers have had a highly respected role in the development of infrastructure, economy, trade, and industry. To further enhance the reliability of engineering for the professed industrial economy, the government envisioned to institute an all-discipline organization to govern engineering profession. The intended body of engineers was eventually expected to emerge as a leading contributor to the national developmental trajectory and participate in enduring global collaborations. To realize this laudable objective, the first Indian Industrial Commission (191618) also emphasized positioning engineering as a facilitator for robust industrialization leading to the economic growth of the nation. To sustain this effort, the Commission recommended establishing a professional association covering all the branches of engineering for the development of the industry and growth of science and technology in India jurisdiction. The Commission furthermore proposed the intended professional body is to synchronize the Indian developmental schema for creating a standard engineering education system; improving the efficiency of executing projects, and stimulating interaction between public and private establishments. The journey of architecting the Commission’s vision of a promising profession was 13 Royal Charter: A Bequest in Centennial IEI authenticated by the government, and then the Institution of Engineers, India (IEI) was established in ’s under the ambit of Company’s Act 1913. Since then, IEI commended the prominence in engineering growth path and engaged in a remarkable voyage for the development of whole industrialization movement in India. This credence influenced in facilitating and positioning IEI with a distinctive identity synonymous with engineering in India and become an envoy to all branches from the same engineering tree. Engineers elected to IEI are identified as highly competent, and their acumen further enhanced the role and accountability to engineering-centric projects. To meet the humungous interdisciplinary requirements of the industry and sustainable growth of the nation, IEI led engineering has gradually emerged as a key influencer. IEI has eventually become a guardian for the India engineering profession and immensely assisted to the country’s progress. Indian engineering has further turned out to be a greatly venerated and coveted profession en route to the growth track following incorporation by the Royal Charter in 1935. With the euphoria of success in serving the engineering fraternity for a decade and a half by addressing the national needs, international obligations, and society desires, the IEI has reckoned the importance of the profession and felt to accelerate its incorporation under the auspicious of the time-tested medieval instrument the Royal Charter. India being part of Royal Charter: A bequest in Centennial IEI 14 British dominion perceptibly inspired, engrossed and fascinated for an inkling of Charter hegemony. To augment this standing, IEI approached Privy Council of the British monarchy in 1934 to grant the authority of the Royal Charter by incorporating with specific privileges. The kingdom approved the Charter in August 1935 with the primary objective of providing leadership to the engineering society across all disciplines of engineering in India, and enable its corporate members earning the title Chartered Engineer India for embarking on to the practice. Conferment of the Royal Charter by Privy Council on 13 August 1935 through an executive order distinguishing IEI as a body corporate comprehending a grant in the form of Letters Patent dated 9 September 1935, with articulated eleven enlightening objectives. By the way, precisely in the same year in August, the British Parliament enacted the Government of India Act 1935 with substantial additional powers for greater autonomy to the country. This Act perhaps considered significant legislation that the British government passed before the nation’s freedom and served as a part of the constitutional foundation for independent India. To implement the Royal Charter promulgation, the Bye-laws have to be derived from Charter with the accord of corporate members of the institution and affirmed by the Privy Council. It was the process by which the first Bye-laws were adopted on 31 October 1937 almost after two years of its incorporation. The journey of Royal Charter in India that began then has led to IEI becoming a learned society and has also commanded to the 15 Royal Charter: A Bequest in Centennial IEI alignment of Indian engineering with global benchmark standards. IEI Charter is a resounding mandate represents the massive prospects in the country consisting of both educating the engineers and professionalizing the engineering. The Charter is a vital deed encapsulating IEI’s distinctive structure and articulates the framework for Indian engineers to showcase their professional capabilities. During the pre-Charter years, the command of the IEI was to create an intellectual society for engineers with a typical enthusiasm in the demonstration, presentation, and discussion of progressive engineering efforts besides strengthening engineers’ competencies. Subsequently, by the incorporation of the Charter, the objectives of the institution were extended to include regulatory functions, codifying standards for engineers to practice and leading its examination for admission of individuals to the corporate membership along with crediting Charter Engineer licenses. The incorporated instrument of the IEI Charter, while leading in engineering endeavours, executing its defined objectives and governing its own affairs, is duty-bound first and foremost on public concerns. With the declaration of Royal Charter, the IEI transformed its primary accountability to public interests rather its members requirements by consolidating its professional status in the society dedicated to its principal responsibilities as mandated through the Charter deed. Royal Charter: A bequest in Centennial IEI 16 The pinnacle of the Royal Charter is an elaborate regulation, coordinated with statutes, strategic delineating authority, and established validity from a global angle. The Charter’s powers, purpose, intents, objectives, and framework will provide a wideranging structure for capitalizing engineering for public acumen. Although the IEI Charter status has been sporadically recapitulated, it has always played the leading role in being the public face of Indian engineering in the pre and postindependence and has set the benchmark standards for intellectual integrity, independence, and interdisciplinary focus for a broad cross-section of the country. The Professional bodies confirmed by Royal Charter will adhere to a set of standards, values, and ideals on which the engineers practice and perform. The IEI Charter honestly fulfilled its obligations to protect the interests of the public and to the Indian engineers who are enrolled as members in the country’s dominion. The exceptional prospects of the IEI Charter symbolize a standing stature, distinguish the esteemed profession and embodies the spirit of collaboration between diverse branches of engineering besides turning out to be a force of social order. Seeing the value and significance, many established professional bodies of engineering at that time chose to amalgamate with IEI; to name, Mysore Engineers Association, Bombay Engineering Congress, and Punjab Engineering Congress. This consolidation further reinforced and unified the nation’s engineering agenda, and consequently, IEI demonstrated a very Indian way of engineering federalism. With 17 Royal Charter: A Bequest in Centennial IEI the status of the Royal Charter, individuals chronicled with IEI were seen as those acclaimed for the exclusive repertoire of skills, continuous learning competencies, and demonstrating the paramount moral & ethical conduct. The chartered status is perceived by Indian engineering fraternity as pragmatic, realistic, logical, and it is a manifest of attainment into the fantastic profession with an additional mark of quality reassurance. Post Charter incorporation, engineers registered with IEI have played a focal role in country’s edifice, and their contributions are testified in numerous success stories. Some of the noteworthy accomplishments include the restoration plans of Taj Mahal; establishing the Bureau of Indian Standards (Indian Standards Institution); advisory services to government and industry; expanding the knowledge base through publications; contemporary conferences including the Indian Engineering Congress; excellence in Design and Research amongst other testimonies. The Imperial inherited, and widely accredited Chartership exhibited the wisdom of Indian engineers and presented their abilities to the world of ingenuity which in turn received laurels to Indian engineering. This global recognition validated the engineer's professional competencies which in turn created an opportunity to execute copious international projects and allied assignments. Royal Charter: A bequest in Centennial IEI 18 The Legal Standing of Chartership Following Charter assimilation, IEI thoughtfully and dispassionately leveraged its position as a learned society by adapting global engineering epitomes to meet the local needs distinctively and cohesively. In addition to its intellectual society tag inherited from the inception, IEI supplemented with new eminence as learned society is a momentous and a symbol of hope for engineering excellence. However, the implementation of Chartership is not an easy task for IEI considering the intricacies of governance and constitutional complexity in the country. IEI in its incredible journey had to surmount numerous challenges to retain her supremacy inbred from the Royal Charter in the pre to post-independence to the present-day contemporary period. With high optimism, IEI formulated its Charter implementation strategies and guidelines to Indian engineering, immediately after its grand inaugural in October 1937. The first impediment in the path was the declaration of World War II (WWII) in 1939 and the involvement of most of the progressive nation’s who committed their economic, industrial and scientific capabilities to the war effort. On 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland, and Britain & France declared war against Germany which led to the commencement of WWII. Engineering enabler sectors like railways, transport, food & agriculture, irrigation, public works, trade & commerce, heavy industry amongst others were severely wedged all-through the war times. With the result infrastructure 19 Royal Charter: A Bequest in Centennial IEI resources and associated workforce are annexed to meet the needs of military engagements during the war period. Consequently, the imperceptible engineering professionally slackened its headway in large arenas and mostly delimited to war desires. However, on a positive note, WWII heralded new signs of growth rendering the ambitious Indian industrial paradigm primarily in the sectors of chemical, metallurgical, aeronautics, automotive and core engineering to back the critical military and interagency operations as force-enabling systems. The war efforts accelerated the evolution of the new phase of manufacturing and India poised on the beginning of an innovative era of engineering expansion. Subsequently, post-war these know-hows wired entrepreneur zeal and enormously backed the pulsating engineering. Give rise to a new trend of broadening horizons of manufacturing besides setting-up nuclei of industries in many parts of the country. Nevertheless, the influence of WWII resulted in an overall catastrophic loss to technological progression and also created an imbalance in the Indian economy. This enormous domestic, political, social and economic consequences of WWII are remained accountable for the slow-down of impending engineering sectors. During the period, the fruition of engineering is insignificant, and the growth of industry & manufacturing was severely impacted in the country. Under the concealment of Charter, the IEI agonized in war demonstration Royal Charter: A bequest in Centennial IEI 20 up until 1945, ended with a limited contribution in upholding the engineering profession. After independence, British India was partitioned and emerged into two distinct entities, India and Pakistan. The Indian Independence Act 1947 emanated after India attained freedom on 15 August 1947, and this was reinforced by the declaration of the Republic and the adoption of the Constitution of India effectively from 26 January 1950 substituting existing provincial laws and legislative acts. In the intervening twenty-nine months between independence and the proclamation of Republic, India was a self-governing dominion in the British Commonwealth of nations with the standing of full sovereignty with the Governor– General of India as the Head of State. The key driving factors during this entangled period were that the government adopted Government of India “ct as interim constitution with all British colonial acts, deeds, and provisions are under the course of alteration, amendment, modification or abolition to adapt and align with the requirements of the evolving new Indian Constitution. These constitutional obligations compelled specific amendments to IEI’s legal and governing structure to align with the prevailing laws of the nation. The newly formed country, the laws of the land and its progressive state of affairs forced an intertwined situation for IEI to enact the validity of Royal Charter. The legal requirements of the Royal Charter explicitly stated that the IEI must obtain the approval of Privy Council for any additions, 21 Royal Charter: A Bequest in Centennial IEI amendments or revocation in the Charter and in the Bye-laws. Further, the effort of modifications of the Royal Charter was to be prompted by the Chartered body itself, i.e., IEI, and not by the Privy Council or any other authority. At this juncture, the lawful status of Charter was comprehensively examined by IEI and resolved that no organization or institution in India would take the position of Privy Council in the matter of Charter amendments, including the Supreme Court of India, an equivalent body in the country. With this in the background, IEI approached the Ministry of Law, Government of India for its contemplation and consideration to override the situation on whether the Royal Charter should be surrendered, and a bill was introduced in the parliament to incorporate the institution as a statutory corporate body. Nevertheless, no authentic opinion, interpretation or solution was arrived by the Government on the status of IEI in India. This situation created an ample disruption to IEI and continued to be in the state of ambivalent. It is a fact that during the historical transition period of independence, once again the IEI Royal Charter could not contribute much to engineering progression due to its pounding constitutional anxieties. Post-independence, policymakers, engineering organizations, industrial associations, scientific bodies among others considering various possibilities to bolster the profile of Indian engineering for the economic progression of the country. Nation imagined industrial development was a key facilitator amidst the Royal Charter: A bequest in Centennial IEI 22 growth agenda of the country as manifested through Industrial Policies in 1948. The envision policies foresee the requirements of strengthening the engineering on the broader perspective for industrialized India. At the same time, the government also conceptualizing various plans, programmes, and strategies for the enlightened growth of the nation. To accomplish such a progression will require multiple approaches including underpinning of the professions in practice for different trades and businesses. To realize this, the government intended to create controlling mechanisms with substantial autonomy to copious practicing professions including medical, engineering, accountancy, law and among others. The Government strongly contemplated that the IEI should play a significant role in augmenting the engineering profession, nevertheless having reservations on its constitutional status. Conceivably, on this context, Government of India, during 1948-49 sent a draft bill of Registration of Engineers to IEI for opinion, with the bill to be slated for being tabled in the parliament. It is interesting that the proposed legislation had a provision to constitute a Council or Board with IEI as a lead institution that would have the power to determine whether a particular qualification is recognized or not for the purpose of registration as an engineer in the country. Beyond doubt, IEI had reservations on the anticipated bill, particularly on specific clauses that could possibly jeopardize its tactical position derived from the Royal Charter. IEI also had apprehensions of the proposed legislation, particularly on the recommended 23 Royal Charter: A Bequest in Centennial IEI admissibility to register as engineers, independent to membership affiliating criteria of IEI which at that time was mandatory to earn exemption from Associate Membership Examination(Section A and Section B) of the institution. IEI leadership of that epoch could not give a collective view on the intended policy as perhaps a question of its existence under Royal Charter, and ambiguity of its scope in the bill would have persisted without any resolution. Taking perception from the proposed bill, IEI pondered to represent the government that a single combined bill may be conscripted with the arrangement of Registration of Engineers and incorporating all-purpose Membership, Chartership & Examination functions of IEI. If the government had agreed, this could have been a perfect situation to IEI by positioning as a body for registration of engineers in addition to continuing with the bona fide objectives ingrained from the Royal Charter and paving the way to lawful constitutional status. This could be alongside in the lines of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) established through an act of parliament in July 1949, as a statutory body for practicing professional accountancy in the country. For the matter of fact, ICAI is not a body inherited by the Royal Charter through Privy Council. The title Chartered “ccountant is already existing brand-name in the UK for practicing accountancy is imitated through an act in India. Today ICAI, an autonomous institution arises as the only accrediting cum regulatory body of the financial appraisal & accountancy profession in India working closely with Royal Charter: A bequest in Centennial IEI 24 government in cognizance of the Reserve Bank of India and is responsible for creating the standards in audit & financial declarations. With the divergence viewpoints of IEI and outlook of the Government, the proposed correlated bill for Registration of Engineers could not materialize in any definitive form. On the other hand, during the transition period of independence, few professions were fortunate to have triumphant with own statutory acts and to label, for nursing in 1947, for pharmacy in 1948, for dentistry in 1948, and for accountancy in 1949. Somehow the engineering profession was not privileged to have this success with either the act of Registration of Engineers or similar policy to become a reality even after seventy-two years of independent India. Throughout the intervening period of independence, abstruseness continued for IEI without any conclusive alternatives in hand on the constitutional standing and no respite from the Government of India or by the Privy Council for the Charter amendments or any other substitute status. Even during post republic, the matter remains lingering without any relief and incessant in the present-day with a total inarticulacy. Yet again, the Chartered IEI could not do much for the progression of engineering during this entangled period. The legalization of IEI and its alignment with prevalent constitutional provisions in republic India was a constant and primary concern for the Council at that point of the interval. 25 Royal Charter: A Bequest in Centennial IEI Constitutionalizing IEI’s position as per the Indian statutory requirements being the focus, the leadership made numerous attempts to regularise, amend or surrender the reign of the Royal Charter by approaching both Indian and UK governments. IEI’s consistent efforts to rationalize its constitutional position could not yield any respite before India turn out to be a republic is honest anxiety. At this stage of elusiveness, IEI passed a resolution at the Annual General Meeting on 31 January 1950 held at Patna which quoted this general body authorizes the Council to approach the government of India or any other legal authority to obtain a fresh Charter from any competent body in India and carry out all the consequential changes in the Bye-laws and to print them in the journal of the institution. With this resolution in place, the Council approached once again the Government of India and also the Privy Council for the attainment of appropriate perpetual body corporate status to IEI as per prevailing constitutional provisions and permanent relief to the Royal Charter position. IEI frequently represented and persistently pursued with the government for long-lasting respite to its lawful status either through new act or amendments to the existing Charter, but without any success. Meanwhile, in mid-1951, Privy Council, responded with approval of IEI’s amended Bye-laws as submitted in the last instance during the year 1950. On the other hand, IEI has hesitations about the validity of the Privy Council’s decision on approval and Royal Charter: A bequest in Centennial IEI 26 therefore maintained its incessant follow-up with the Government of India for a permanent way-out for its unquestionable status. IEI while continuing its persuasion with various departments of the government, in the meantime also approached the honorable President of India for his intervention on this matter. A special Council Meeting held on 9 January 1952 at the premises of Parliament House in the presence of some key government functionaries to deliberate on the government directive followed by the President of India reflections that the institution should only approach the Privy Council to revise the Charter and the Bye-laws. Consequently, in the absence of no immediate alternatives, the Council decided to adopt the Byelaws as approved by the Privy Council in 1951 till such time the recognition of lawful status was granted to the institution by an appropriate act of the Parliament in India. While ambiguity continued to persist on the IEI status in India, the amended Bye-laws as already approved by the Privy Council was adopted with effect from 1 March 1952. It was the last instant that the IEI appropriated the General Body passed Byelaws, as upheld by the Privy Council. The cogency of the Privy Council’s decision on the Bye-law amendments has baffled the legal authorities’ even today, since the power of the Privy Council completely ceased to exist after India became a republic in January 1950. Today, the supremacy of the IEI’s Royal Charter is in the chaotic devastation of no definitive legal status and remains to be a mere symbol of inadequacy. 27 Royal Charter: A Bequest in Centennial IEI A Charter was a grant of individual autonomy to a particular class of society to behave in a specific way. A Royal Charter is a mode of incorporating a body and these days given to professional organizations of eminence representing a field of activity which is unique and not covered by other professional agencies. The Charter is a legally binding document, do not require parliamentary approval, but the limitations are that it cannot be exercised contrary to the public good or in violation of common law. IEI’s Royal Charter is an incredible document and intangible asset to Indian engineering with distinctive physiognomies. This pronounced bequest of IEI Charter with decades of service to the nation is in the midst of severe identity crises. Charter and Bye-laws & regulations are characterized as a legal instrument (documents) serving different purposes with different content. Incorporation of Charter brings an organization into existence in a country as per the statutory requirements, defines ownership and grants rights and authority of the organization. Bye-laws and regulations are a set of selfregulatory documents for the internal governance of the organization include administrative structure, executive functioning, accounting and book-keeping arrangement, and rules of day-to-day orderly operations. Precisely British monarchy incorporated IEI Charter from which the Bye-laws are drawn with the approval of the Privy Council establishes the degree of the control that the Bye-laws will Royal Charter: A bequest in Centennial IEI 28 exercise. Convincingly the powers of IEI Bye-laws and regulations are granted or delegated by the Charter. Stringently and also in principle, any alterations to Bye-laws and regulations of IEI must be authorized from the powers of Charter as accredited by Privy Council or an equivalent body in Indian jurisdiction. Under the current beguiling state of affairs, the legal validity of Charter itself is ambiguous and indeterminate its position in Indian constitutional framework. Therefore the timeto-time amended Bye-laws and regulations of IEI at General Meetings do not have any bearing on Charter mandate, and indeed IEI has not been successful in having validated these modifications through any competent higher authority. For that reason the contemporaneous IEI Bye-laws and its regulations evidently inadequate in the Indian legal structure. The Charter and Bye-laws & regulations are essentially IEI’s identity paradigms reflecting the profound socio-legal concerns, will be addressed in cognizance with the appropriate authority. It is an established fact that IEI could not succeed in fulfilling at least a fraction of its ambitions as specified in the objectives of the Charter, thereby bestowing credence for India engineering. It's once again apparent that the IEI unsuccessful in exemplifying its command en route to all-purpose engineering, perhaps attributed with its chaotic tactic in resolving the entangled status of Charter. It is inconsequential to articulate the professed accomplishments of IEI in the absence of adequate criterion that the Royal Charter gave to the institution. 29 Royal Charter: A Bequest in Centennial IEI The fundamental questions, the citizens of the country continuously rising, whether the IEI’s Royal Charter incorporated in 1935 to Indian engineering is valid? Is IEI currently a legitimate entity in the Country? Has the Royal Charter been altered, repealed or amended by a competent legislature or authority under the Constitution of India?. Who is the appropriate body to address these questions, is it IEI? or is it the Government of India? or is it British monarchy?. These quintessential questions have remained unreciprocated by IEI or any authority since independence. Time-to-time internationally acclaimed Chartered organizations have amended their Charter Agreements to reflect the needs and necessities of the contemporary socio-economic-engineering ecosystem by appropriating with constitutional provisions of the respective nations. Conceivably from the beginning the IEI’s Charter has not been modernized to complement the presentday requirement of the nation’s engineering. For instance from the last seventy-one years, the Charter and the Bye-laws have not been rationalized by any lawful authority in India. The IEI’s constitutionally unclear, inadequate and controversial statues are aimlessly wandering around the engineering profession ever since independence is a blatant reality. However, wanting success, IEI made several attempts to regularise and legalize the status as per the prevailing requirements of the social order, the statutory provision of the country and the professional necessities is also the truth. Royal Charter: A bequest in Centennial IEI 30 On numerous occasions wherein the Bye-laws and regulations have been revised by the esteemed Council and approved at General Meetings of IEI, but these have never contented by any authority as per the Charter mandate. The current Charter, the Bye-laws, and the regulations do not have any legal significance if IEI desires to own the Royal Charter legacy without instituting any authority. It is well understood that Royal Charters are usually granted to those who ask for, and are not forced upon or thrust on any society or association if it does not have the dire need. IEI providentially had this honored credit, appreciations to the brilliant thought leadership of that time. The currently overemphasized IEI Charter limiting the institution to consolidate engineering profession with prevailing statutory provisions of the nation. IEI needs a significant respiratory command to preserve and endure this extraordinary bequest. The Charter losing the charm in attracting promising engineers to enroll IEI based on its guiding principle perfected in centuries time-frame. It emphasis a pressing need to revisit the archaic Charter by recasting the dated objectives on which the contemporary Bye-laws and regulations were unjustly adopted. It is a matter fact that, any entity, industry, institute or professional body in the country should have an existential base to do their business operations. The legal arrangements in India to establish, operate and function as a professional entity is only through a Society, Trust, Company or through an Act of 31 Royal Charter: A Bequest in Centennial IEI parliament. The bodies incorporated before Indian independence via British Charters and Acts are subsequently subsumed into any of one of the categories of legal provisions in force in the country. Perhaps IEI is the only professional body missing in the league and still pitching the Bye-laws and regulations from the primitive Charter without any valid authorization and endorsement from the appropriate constitutional authority. In the year 1958, Sri M C Setalvad, the renowned legal luminary of earlier years and constitutional expert gave a historical opinion to the institution on Royal Charter appropriateness in India. To get to the context, during 1957, Sri Setalvad, the first Attorney General of India(1950-63) and Chairman, the first Law Commission(1955-58) has given a comprehensive report on British Statutes applicable to India. The report is absolutely silent on British Monarchy incorporated Royal Charters in Indian dominion and offers no definitive or substantive reference on the destiny of Chartered bodies including IEI. Sri Setalvad in his opinion to IEI has interpreted more on the status of the institution as Body Corporate vis-a-vis Royal Charter under Indian constitutional structure. It is an irony that based on a lone legal opinion, the IEI has been imagining, surviving and further thriving on the benefits that have been inherited from the grandold British Royal Charter. For the lucidity, IEI is a Body Corporate even before incorporation of Royal Charter, when it was created under the Companies Act of 1913, which was eventually struck-off from the Registry of Companies and Royal Charter: A bequest in Centennial IEI 32 dissolved on 24 April 1961 through the Government of India Gazette. After long haggard fruitless endeavors during 1947-52 to attain right constitutional statues to IEI for upholding Charter supremacy, once again the institution followed with similar attempts during the years 1958-64. This time the efforts were conceived towards complete revamping of Bye-laws as necessitated when the government has planned with a series of fresh regulatory bills to be placed in the parliament for rationalization of the engineering profession. Various other persistent concerns like a heave of other professional bodies shadowing IEI legal position, its constraint to embrace all branches of engineering, pressure from corporate members and fissiparous tendencies in the country to form splinter societies of engineers particularly in the smaller branches of engineering have further amplified the chaos and forewarned. Perhaps the urgency created in the minds of IEI leadership to amend the Byelaws could be from the initiation of the Ministry of Scientific Research and Culture Affairs, that the Government of India intends to form a joint Council for the profession by which all engineering societies were given equal representation irrespective of their size and historical presence. The encouragement on the status of IEI through the highest legal opinion from Sri. Setalvad provided a further boost in its efforts. Considering all these veracities and legitimacies, IEI strongly believed in reformed Bye-laws by complementing to 33 Royal Charter: A Bequest in Centennial IEI accommodate diversified engineering branches with greater autonomy. To this effect, the revised Bye-laws approved at Annual General Meeting held in November 1960 at Jaipur were expeditiously submitted to Government for consideration and endorsement. IEI anticipated that Sri Setalvad’s view would be unquestionable and expected to get a favorable government decision. After a prolonged silence of nearly two years, the government responded with similar ripostes resembling 1952, saying no other body can replace Privy Council to appropriate the same in India. Conversely, on the positive side, the government also viewed that quoted IEI doesn't prevent to from amendments to its Bye-laws and that such amendments if made by its own rules were valid and binding as if they had been approved by the Privy Council. Not satisfied with government’s ruling, IEI pursued legal remedies on clues of Royal Charter questioning who should take the position and powers of the Privy Council in India. With the absence of no definitive legal bearing, IEI prevailing upon the most-recently modified Bye-laws as endorsed by General Body in November 1960, was placed again to the Council in August 1962 for approval. Without all over again going back to the General Meetings, the Bye-laws were adopted with immediate effect from 12 August 1962. Royal Charter: A bequest in Centennial IEI 34 This up-and-coming effort straightaway triggered legal tangle through an interim injunction brought by some corporate members. A position had been created by the circumstance by which neither the old Bye-laws or the new Bye-laws remained valid. This situation brought complete anarchy in administrative operations of IEI since no Bye-laws were in place in this interim period. However, with legal advice, for the first time in the history of IEI, the Institution operated directly under the provisions of the Royal Charter, during the transitional period to address the regular day-to-day executive tasks. While this mix-up is continuing, yet again for the first time, the following Council meeting and 43rd Annual General Meeting at ”angalore held under clues of Royal Charter, vesting all the powers of the institution in the council and exercisable by the council. To end with, in May 1963, the legal fight was decided in favor of implementing new Bye-laws. Meanwhile demanding anomalies surfaced in newly adopted Bye-laws, which were logically improper, therefore subsequently underwent a succession of revisions and finally passed in next General Meeting held in 1964. After two noteworthy attempts during 1947-52 and again 195864 to resolve IEI legal position, there were no visible efforts made in later years by the institution to strengthen its constitutional status, except minuscule exertions appeared whenever crises occurred otherwise the status-quo approach continued. 35 Royal Charter: A Bequest in Centennial IEI It is obligatory that many of the sustained Chartered bodies existing in the world have from time-to-time rationalized their Charters and have amended their Bye-laws and regulations or equivalent documents to suit the contemporary needs and necessities of the profession in practice. Most of the Charter incorporated organizations, including professional bodies, righteously fulfill the legal entity status as per the constitutional requirements of the respective nation. In present circumstances, mending the IEI legal status was the foremost centrally focused facet for building effective congruence amid engineering and stakeholders. IEI has to change it's in growth apathy or status-quo mindset to resolve constitutional issues with openness for the prosperity of the engineering profession. The IEI should break its comfort-zones by exploring forward-thinking elucidations to fortify the legal status to serve the engineering community for another century. It's only that the members of IEI are severely offended by those obsolete practices which are evident from serious of failures in recent past and unanswerable questions which have been raised from all quarters. The law of the land should be valued to acquire further credibility of the government or else IEI will be in a competitive disadvantage in engaging new projects, missions, and edifices. Now the stakes have been raised higher in the level playing field of engineering with more and more professional bodies being established, strengthening their presence and expanding the footprint in the country. Throughout the world, industry, trade bodies and professional institutions are rapidly Royal Charter: A bequest in Centennial IEI 36 altering their core philosophy, outlook and evolving new business models to address the dynamically changing society. IEI has to learn from similar objective professional bodies for serving engineering better and sustain for future generations. IEI more often dwindling into a distrustful situation in defending its position in cutting-edge engineering paradigms is undoubtedly cause of concern. Indeed, to address the anxieties, first and foremost the IEI must retrospect its current position, strengthen its fundamental base by streamlining the legal statutes, frame a prodigious vision and foster the implementable mission. Unless IEI establishes its decisive role for the engineering profession and builds confidence in government, industry, leading-edge professional bodies, besides most precisely for its own members, there is no point of endearment for future generations. Inadequacies in Charter Implementation It is a fact that, the IEI made a perfect reflection in shaping the engineering as a vibrant profession in the country, and the march is chronicled in its legacy on the centennial trajectory. It is true that IEI honestly attempted to ensure fulfilling its obligations of Chartership, but the aspirations of Royal patronage to Indian engineering is not wholly redeemed. Before proclamation of Royal Charter (prior 1935), IEI had coped its well-defined commitments to engineering as envisioned by Indian Industrial Commission, which includes steadily supporting membership endeavors, judiciously backing the 37 Royal Charter: A Bequest in Centennial IEI government for developing effective public policy, and competently structuring and overseeing the education system. From the time of its commencement, IEI followed demanding and dynamic strategies in the conscription of membership affiliation, engaging with the public, creating standards for engineering schemes, fostering the engineering skills, amongst others in conformity with the objectives for which the institution was founded. With this profounding demonstration in the very short span of first fifteen years of existence, the seamlessly wellorganized and exhilarated IEI rightly proceeded for the Royal Charter bandwagon, for further elevating its member's esteem and the firming embryonic engineering profession. In the medieval to the contemporary period, the term Chartered was valued as a distinguished, competent and illustrious reverence for a chosen profession. Individuals who had such credentials were considered worthy and capable of being enrolled by professional bodies incorporated by Royal Charter. World over, many professional organizations inspiring engineering are fused to the Royal Charter for abetting its members and the society. IEI, the professional body fostered under Royal Charter for a unique purpose of addressing the needs of an all-encompassing engineering ecosystem. It is pronounced accomplishment for Indian engineering, and the recognition was of immense significance for enrolled members who are also Chartered Engineers by virtue of Royal patronage adorned to IEI. Royal Charter: A bequest in Centennial IEI 38 The principle on which the IEI was granted the Royal Charter was to promote and coordinate with the public on the development of the science, practice, and business of engineering; and influence engineering for the promotion of industry, commerce, and the inclusive economy to align with foreseeable technology intrusions. Even today, eighty years after the Royal Charter incorporation, the well-defined scope of IEI holds worthy to contemporary desires of engineering. Nevertheless, IEI needs to leverage its classy time-honored position in the right perspective to the advancement of engineering by broadening its goals and functions in the years ahead. Granting of the Charter to IEI was a momentous occasion, symbolized the acceptance in Indian mainland, and reflected the engineering monopoly under the colonial rule. The belief and the conviction of conferring the chartered status by the Crown were perceived as equivalent to granting the present-day intellectual property right or patent right on engineering practices in the country. This single exceptional affirmation indeed facilitated engineers to establish their authority in whittling the engineering to a grander scale. Since the beginning, amongst the citizens of the country, engineers are incredibly pleased with the dignity and self-esteem bestowed by the Charter. IEI adherents proudly relished the tangible and elusive benefits the nomenclature Chartered Engineer gave them in society and at the workplace. Resulting nuance, perseverance, and purpose of the celebrated 39 Royal Charter: A Bequest in Centennial IEI bequest of IEI’s Royal Charter were also well-regarded by the scientific, industrial and technological fraternity. The membership of the globally renowned Charter institutions ensures exceptional reverence in the society, besides equated and benchmarked with high yardsticks. To prevent any professional anomalies, these Charter bodies have formulated stringent requirements for membership enrolment including prescribed qualifications, cited associated experience, entry evaluation criteria, and continued training & skill enhancement. In the same way, IEI established comparable benchmarking guidelines for its membership admittances. Because of the most remarkable quality standards adopted, IEI penetrated with deep roots in Indian engineering endeavor, and its extended history has been entangled with the dominant socio-economic progression of the nation. From the inception to attaining the Charter to the acumens of the present period, the IEI has transformed into an incredible institution, this could be for a reason that of its strong pedigree, resilient foundation, and robust organizational structure during its formative years. IEI has inherited this firm steadiness from similar objective global Chartered institutions and has infused these ideals for electing the members. Without any hesitation, these cherished, proven, and time-tested principles have been derived primarily from the three London-based Chartered institutions namely The Institution of Civil Engineers, The Institution of Electrical Engineers (now the Institution of Royal Charter: A bequest in Centennial IEI 40 Engineering Technology) and The Institution of Mechanical Engineers. The strong foundation in initial years helped the IEI to assist the engineering profession relentlessly expanding to magnificent pinnacles. This formidable crusade in the direction of the centenary is a significant bequest for the succeeding generations. The Charter of IEI legalized by Privy Council is a distinct and incontrovertible manifestation during the years between 1937 to in the annals of IEI’s centennial timeframe during the years of centenary(1920-2020). The stated Charter continued to govern the institution even after India became independent in 1947 with promulgated laws and effective constitutional changes. On the other hand, from the study of times past, it is flawless that the IEI’s Royal Charter is an undeniable reality, undisputed and lawfully veracious in only the first ten years of its existence. Considering the slow pace of engineering growth during the WWII extending to six years(1939-45), the Royal Charter admirably has been dynamic, lively and vibrant for just four years (two years before and two years after the WWII) in its entire official ten-year(1937-47) of existence during preindependence and perchance in its whole lifecycle. The voyage of IEI after confirming the Royal Charter is pretty impressive, fascinating, intertwined and multifarious in the archives of the countries engineering expansion all-through to the contemporary period. During the early years following the grant of Charter, the foreseen aspirations of the engineers are to 41 Royal Charter: A Bequest in Centennial IEI build sustained society through vibrant industry ecosystem primarily with the intermediation of government. The impediment of WWII resulted in slackened developments which are deprived the dreams of the engineers for the steady industry in the country at that period. Perhaps IEI commanded engineering contributions are insignificant, less relevance and meager acceptance during the pre-independence war-period for the growth of the manufacturing sector. Once again, postindependence, India development needs are captivating bursting requirements of resilient engineering for large-scale industry and infrastructural growth for which IEI assisted modestly. This trend of IEI slant continued even during the Planning Commission's successive five-year plans, in the annals of reforms in engineering education and in the course of economic liberalization regime. The rapid advancement in technology dominion on the whole in the era of digital transformation and with the widespread availability of modern-day tools and systems, the outlook of engineering practices has to be wholly reoriented and expanded exponentially for a wide verity of application. Internationally, numerous professional bodies are fast migrating their approaches to meet the necessities and needs of the current years of engineering. On the other hand, IEI’s prevailing wisdom is inadequately equipped to sustain in the modern-day engineering realm unless it transforms its approach in alignment with Charter ideals. It is indispensable that legally and constitutionally assessed IEI’s Royal Charter has to reorient Royal Charter: A bequest in Centennial IEI 42 its strategy to fit to synchronize its goals in adopting current day rapidly changing engineering requirements. It is evident that even though the profile of Indian engineering is diverse and a state of flux with rapid technology diffusion at the workplace, the engineers associated with IEI invariably outshined in their performance. From the protracted period since inception, the members of IEI are adequately competent engineers with substantial experience in performing their duties with pronounced commitment and strong ethical practices at the workplace. In this long-cherished journey, IEI Charter has been recognized and endorsed for its proficiency, aptitude, and mastery in a chosen engineering discipline. With its enormous optimistic outlook, on the other hand, deprived of constitutional backing, is the IEI Chartership sustainable, relevant and respected in the country in the current landscape of the profession?. The answer to this question is ambiguous, possibly perplexing and perhaps enigmatic. India is engendering millions of engineers annually to the global workforce. Not many of the contemporary engineers are aware of the bonded Royal Charter to IEI, its legacy, and its relevance. With the result, the eminence of Chartered Engineer credentials and the other comparable Professional Engineer titles are not in demand in addition to having shallow perception, recognition, and brand value. To add fuel to this volatile situation, IEI lately modified its policies on issuing of chartered engineering licenses, completely contradicting the Charter mandate. From the existing 43 Royal Charter: A Bequest in Centennial IEI guidelines, even the newly passed-out engineers are eligible to become corporate members of IEI with the designated tag of Chartered Engineer. This inaptness further highlights the declining standards and is possibly led to a significant systemic failure in pursuing the Charter philosophy. This is a signal of the degree to which the precise characterization of Charter has been denigrated, and IEI’s standing of professional licensing has fallen into disrepute among the eyes of practitioners in the government and the industry. The Engineering Regulator and Chartership In the course of pre and post-independence, IEI attained a distinct admiration and garnered glorious respect in the industry, government, and public for its legendary contributions in fostering the engineering to greater heights. The government attempted on several occasions to bring regulatory mechanism for the engineering profession in harmonization with IEI’s philosophy, and by emphasizing the Charter patronage. The Government had always wanted a single central authority in the country to monitor the profession by preserving the unity and effective coordination among different branches of engineering. In certain occasions, the government had even willing to recognize IEI as a lead organization provided the institution prepared to take along all other professional agencies in the proposed system. History reveals that the IEI in its acumen persuaded government on various instances to withdraw the proposed bills for governing engineering profession and was Royal Charter: A bequest in Centennial IEI 44 firm in its position while continuously emphasized on getting its legal status appropriated. The Registration of Engineers Bill (1949); Indian Chartered Engineers Bill (1958); National Council of Engineers Bill (1959); National Engineers Registration and Licensing Board (2004); and the Engineers Bill (2010) are among some of the policies considered by the government to place before Indian parliamentary system, but were ultimately grounded on IEI’s intervention. IEI’s point of view is that government envisioned laws may not be required or relevant for Indian engineers since IEI is already playing such a role over and above as enshrined by the Royal Charter. This could be perhaps presumptuous by IEI that its Royal Charter suffices the need and requirements to act as a regulator for Indian engineers. It is conspicuous that, on numerous occasions, the government had taken a compassionate stand on IEI locus and articulated its concerns to give prime status while constituting an appropriate authority for regulating the engineering profession. IEI should have taken advantage of this benediction to legalize its status, elevated its original Charter position, besides serving the countries engineering profession passionately and exaltedly. The limitations in the anticipated bills have not realized as Acts may perhaps be attributed to two critical factors, i.e., accepting legal status of IEI as body corporate and accommodating representation of other engineering professional societies in the proposed regulatory system by giving proportionate and justifiable role. This continuing chaos and flux of the engineering profession not having a regulatory system analogous to other 45 Royal Charter: A Bequest in Centennial IEI professions is detrimental and responsible for stagnation in the progression of Indian engineering. Neither the government established such an authorized body, nor the IEI self-operated as a statutory organization to govern the profession. The IEI lost its momentum to pursue the government and the stakeholders to rationalize engineering profession is a stumbling setback and pathetic illustration even after seventy years of independence. On the other hand, this ghastly coalesce reflected with a poor impression on the Indian engineering endeavor and also somewhat stalled the progression & expansion of engineering as a progressive & responsive profession. Perhaps IEI mislaid the opportunity to become a central authority for Registration of Engineers and virtually should have emerged as the statutory regulator for the engineering profession. That could have been a boon in IEI’s account if acted pragmatically with farsightedness in each of the said prospective instances. It's an irony that IEI has neither epitomized as a regulatory body by creating a registry of engineers nor has the government endorsed any formulation to do the same, and this imbroglio has left a vacuum in the professional arena of engineering. It is a dark state of affairs that India went without any statutory regulator for engineering even after seventy-two years of independence, and it is pushing practicing engineers in an utterly chaotic and confused state. To recap, regulatory bodies are established under the provisions of Indian constitution for most of the recognized professions, and perhaps only engineering missing in this crusade. Royal Charter: A bequest in Centennial IEI 46 To control, govern and standardize various professions, regulatory authorities are enacted through the parliamentary system. To be precise for practicing medicine, Medical Council of India (old Act 1933, repealed with new Act 1956); for pharmacy, Pharmacy Council of India (1948), for architecture, Council of Archecture (1972); to practice law and legal education, Bar Council of India (1961); for practicing accountancy, The Institute of Charterd Acountents (1949); for cost accounting, the Institute of Cost Accountants India (1977); and for company secretaries, the Institution of Company Secretaries of India(1968) are established and are making commendable contributions to respective professions, competently leading and ensuring the progress & growth of the respective professions. While carefully and dispassionately introspecting the public perception, it is perceived that the current direction-less position for engineering profession can be conclusively traced back to the IEI’s nonaccountable outlook. IEI utterly failed in convincing the successive governments to institute such a regulatory system by conglomerating all stakeholders. Eventually, IEI’s definitive enacts in governing engineering profession, and wished-for citizenry concerns as proclaimed from the Charter are scattered aimlessly. Is IEI overemphasizing its position of highpoint or is it unable to perform its defined functions for the benefit of engineers?. Is the Royal Charter a restraint to regulate engineering in India?. Is IEI protecting the title Engineer ?. These questions in the minds of every concerned citizen will get answers only if IEI applies its collective wisdom with openness. 47 Royal Charter: A Bequest in Centennial IEI At least now, when IEI is marching towards its centenary, must switch from an un-enlightened status-quo ethos to address the incessant regulatory concerns collaboratively with government and other stakeholders. This action will enable engineers to facilitate in reinforcing economic and technological vitality, by creating an ecosystem for an inclusively developed India by 2022 when it turns 75 years of independence, and that will shape the new world order for Indian engineering and to the IEI. It is a fact that on no occasion, the legal provisions of Indian Constitution permitted any respite to IEI Charter to regulate, authorize and standardize the Indian engineering. Benevolently from the provisions of IEI Charter 1935, it cannot enforce the usage of title Engineer, and it can only issue an authorization the Chartered Engineer as a credential for those who are corporate members of the institution for practicing purposes. At the same time, the government is not enacted any regulatory mechanism to protect Engineer title. Therefore it is evident that the usage of Engineer title in the country is not controlled and legalized by any authority. For recapitulation, the mandate of the IEI Charter can only govern and monitor the affairs of its members, who are certified as Chartered Engineers. Ever since the institution was inaugurated, the membership was offered to highly experienced and qualified individuals who are associated with engineering developments, projects, and missions. Various categories of these memberships have been elected through the stringent evaluation process, vigorous and Royal Charter: A bequest in Centennial IEI 48 considered extremely uncompromising. Corporate members of the institution relied upon showcasing their achievements of professional eminence by attaining a certificate of a distinction as a Member or Associate Member. For the matter of fact, only Member and Associate Member affiliations were offered by IEI in the first fifty years of its existence, and during the 1970s the grade of Fellowship was introduced. At that period, these memberships are highly esteemed in engineering ecosystem and confidently considered while allocating engineering assignments by government and industry. Although IEI strived to elevate the status of corporate members by electing qualified individuals into its membership, based on years of experience and exceptional competencies. For this reason, the exceptional trustworthiness associated with IEI membership, and in-turn the Charter-mandated that the elected members of the institution automatically earn the credentials of a Chartered Engineer. That’s the reason, the persons having with Chartered Engineer testimonials are considered and distinguished as accomplished engineers with professional eminence. First, eighty years of this credential based edict, the IEI’s Chartered Engineer certification has significantly substantiated the additional value to engineers having Bachelor of Engineering degrees and equivalent. The standing of this time-tested Chartered Engineer licensing is highly respected in international forums besides prevalent in government and private 49 Royal Charter: A Bequest in Centennial IEI establishments in the country. The highly privileged Chartered value plunge-down when the Council of IEI made a historical error in 2013 by giving Chartered Engineer certification to freshly passed-out engineering students who have not enjoyed any working acquaintance. IEI should have taken into consideration the fact that graduation is just one first step to be entitled as an engineer. The newly mint graduates utterly negate any professional experience and embargo in competencies required to be a Chartered Engineer to address the real engineering challenges. Chartered Engineer certification is a license given to qualified and experienced engineers with expectations of adequate professional knowledge with additional learning gained in the chosen occupation. This damaging turn of IEI created commotion among the entranced clienteles who are benefitting from this professional Chartered engineering services. As well created jeopardy in the minds of experienced Chartered engineers who are already in practice. The question of whole quality of services that the clientele will get through this unsolicited modifications is the leading concern among the stakeholders and eventually steered to an uproar in the entire system of Chartered engineering paradigm. Ultimately this hasty proposition on highly acclaimed licensing and priced Charter certification is in a disadvantageous position and landed into the enduring destruction. Since then the dynamics of the Chartered Engineer licensing has been viewed deleteriously and negatively by the government, businesses, and beneficiaries. With the result, the brand of IEI Chartered Engineer started Royal Charter: A bequest in Centennial IEI 50 soaring adversely and fast diminishing its image with sizeable outrage among the stakeholders. Further, it is foreseen that the IEI’s commitment to the profession and to the society has inherited from the Royal Charter for engaging engineers will turn out to be obsolete in the days to come. Chartered Engineer endorsements are predominantly prominent in Commonwealth countries and are usually given to individuals who are degree-qualified or equivalent, have strong professional competencies through training, continuously monitored their specialized experience and over and done with the constant peer-reviewed evaluation process. World over, the Chartered licenses are bestowed to competent engineers based on rigorous assessment and on a periodical evaluation of their continuity in practice with a specified period of validity and certainly not on perpetuity basis or under the lifetime category. Unlike the other chartered professional bodies, IEI’s Chartered engineering testimonials are analogous to corporate membership and co-terminus with their affiliation. Explicitly a corporate member of IEI will automatically turn out to be a Chartered Engineer as per the 1935 Charter provisions which are the guiding factors even today for succeeding to earn these licenses. To accord an IEI Chartered engineering license, no prerequisite norms are prescribed; no mandatory assessment for competency, and proficiency; and no continuous professional attainments are obligatory. More ever the IEI Chartered licenses are perpetually valid for an individual’s lifetime as long as one’s corporate 51 Royal Charter: A Bequest in Centennial IEI membership is active, are permanently in-force and practically irrevocable except on ethical grounds. The other constraint or weakness of IEI Chartered certification is its broader scope spreads to complete gamut of engineering and not circumscribed to any explicit specialization. That means the IEI’s commissioned certificates are carried with the nomenclature of Chartered Engineer and devoid of any prescribed terms and conditions to practice or manifest to execute for a particular specialization. Supposedly, a corporate member of IEI elected to civil engineering discipline automatically will become Chartered Engineer and can practice and certify the designs or valuations of any branch of engineering including electronics, mechanical, chemical, marine, electronics, etc. The doctrine of expertise, competency, and proficiency in dealing with specific real-world engineering challenges are entirely ignored in the existing IEI Chartered structure. In the context of IEI compromising the quality and credibility of the Chartered engineering licenses, some self-proclaimed organizations are entering into this certification as a business. Regrettably, IEI is not able to protect and protest such inadmissible licensing operations perhaps given the legal indistinctness, deficiencies in its services and questions on the validity of the Royal Charter in the country. With so many inconsistencies attached to Indian Chartered engineer licenses, international professional organizations and global business clienteles are sceptical about recognizing the Royal Charter: A bequest in Centennial IEI 52 Charter Engineer certificates issued by IEI to equivalence for practice in their respective countries. The comparable or similar organizations including the Engineering Council UK, European Federation of National Engineering Associations, National Society of Professional Engineers of the USA amongst others are not endorsing IEI issued Charter Engineer certifications as equivalent to practice in their respective jurisdictions. This incompatibility arises because of the primitive IEI Charter (since incorporation, the grant is not restructured), not complying with the contemporary engineering requirements, fragile Bye-laws & regulations adopted from the primitive Charter, and deprived of any authority vested or endorsed on its statutes. Under no circumstances, IEI Charter synchronizes with present-day inevitabilities of engineering, and the situation has only become precarious in the context of its present legal standing in the country. Today the Chartered licenses acquired from the IEI are fanciful and command a lesser reverence for its competencies. The prodigiously gifted asset the Chartership from Royal patronage has slowly become futile and irrelevant in professional engineering circles. In the recent past, the mere appearance attached to the Chartership licenses and the admiration of IEI Charter certification lowered in the eyes of all stakeholders including industry, government, and service sectors. The legacy of IEI Chartered Engineer certification sustained such an extended period without much resistance is 53 Royal Charter: A Bequest in Centennial IEI for the reason that no other equivalent or legalized licensing mechanism exist and are overriding in India. In the current state of affairs, many enthusiasts of IEI’s Charter are gradually incredulous about its legitimacy, significance, and applicability. Because of these long-drawn-out limitations, ambitious Indian engineers are exploring alternative possibilities including an overseas-centric certificate of practicing licenses such as Chartered Engineers (CEng), Professional Engineers (PEng or PE), European Engineer(EUR ING) and another equivalent. In the UK, where the Chartered ideology originated, has experienced continuous and dynamic improvements in its outline, stated objectives, and perspective for these credentials as per the contemporary requirements of the society. The significance of the certification is so often reinforced in the UK by renowned respective Chartered bodies of engineering. With the collective astuteness of numerous Chartered engineering bodies conglomerated for the common goal have fostered an organization named as Engineering Council UK(EC-UK) to the moderation of the engineering profession in that country. EC-UK itself is a Chartered body conspicuously endorsed by the government, the industry, the user groups and the public in that country. The Charter credentials to individual engineers are permitted, monitored, scrutinized, authenticated and periodically reviewed by respective professional bodies and also validated by EC-UK. Royal Charter: A bequest in Centennial IEI 54 In a paradox, there is no monitoring and validating mechanism for IEI’s Chartered licenses, distant from issuing these credentials on perpetuity basis which is an outright travesty. The label of Chartered is originated in the UK, the country itself has departed from early practices by radically and dynamically transforming the said licensing to address modern-day needs. The institutional dominated self-regulating model of Chartered engineering is being replaced it with a new state-mediated body EC-UK, to break the inherited monopoly of the institutions. It is unfortunate that the IEI is still stuck with hoary Chartered engineering mandate which is entirely redundant in the globalization and digital era. Nevertheless, through hundred years of IEI’s manifestation, the integration and unification of the engineering profession into one entity is a prodigious insignia. However, the harsh reality is that the IEI’s putative credit of spearheading the Indian engineering profession remains a vision generally attributed to its Royal Charter status impasses. The vision for the Future… As India voyages through the 21st century, advancement of engineering will engross the strategic challenges that include tackling the combined issues of energy, water, and climate change; the nexus of agriculture-food-hunger; access to affordable healthcare; addressing the sanitation and clean drinking water glitches; disaster mitigations, natural resource management, among numerous others. Emphasis will also be on 55 Royal Charter: A Bequest in Centennial IEI creating new abilities and upskilling the workforce by focusing on future career paths grounded in contemporary requirements. Worldwide, technologies are proliferating across the developmental sectors by reshaping the professions to complement the future talent landscape, and in the process, without any disinclination, the engineering enormously influencing these growth trajectories. A confluence of external factors will drive those envisioned transformations, and in the path, professional bodies like IEI will play a grander role. India is a new economic powerhouse with determined ingenious engineers will immensely patronaging to national needs and worldly desires. There is no hesitation in accepting IEI is an avant-garde organization at the beginning, has progressively grown in the centennial journey and rightly positioned as a leading entity in the country’s engineering profession. It is also a fact that the institution attained repute as a doer of engineering programmes and emerged as a live-wire for common purposes of the society. IEI has been emerged as a powerful instrument in sculpting Indian engineering by reforming, transforming and nurturing aspirations of engineers. India is in the course of a huge demographic transition, emerging as a young country with half of its citizen are under the age of twenty-five years and likely to have a billion strong workforce by 2027. A nation with the fastest emergent economy in the world hopes to gain from the demographic dividend, and the engineering will be a representative herald in the crusade. Royal Charter: A bequest in Centennial IEI 56 The digital revolution, technological innovations, economic competitiveness, social wellbeing, etc. are influencing the prospects of engineering competence, with the result, the nature of the engineering profession also rapidly changing. While IEI sustained in its efforts for enumerating the engineering in the last century will have to build an eloquent platform for future engineering while addressing the emerging national needs and providing improved social comforts. IEI will have to embrace the much-talked Industry 4.0 technologies at a much faster pace than it did for the last ten decades and turn out to be inspirational & relevant for current & future engineers. Nevertheless, IEI’s impressions have been minuscule compared to engineering obligations of the country, undoubtedly, the proclaimed Royal Charter has added historical contributions in accomplishing the landmark glory of putting Indian engineers on the global map. While many optimistic contributions are complementing Chartered IEI, some rebuffs are also attached to its role in the progression of Indian engineering. The legal status of IEI; The Charter and its primeval objectives; emerging engineering inevitabilities; and sprouting technology interventions for new social order are some of the impediments in its long crusade to the centenary. IEI has to embark upon its continued triumph and to be relevant to impending engineering in the globalization world, should also join forces with government and the industry besides being depending on its entrancing imprinted brand. 57 Royal Charter: A Bequest in Centennial IEI Unquestionably most of the incorporated Chartered bodies currently operational have demonstrated a paramount role in maintaining and upholding their commitment to competency, professional excellence, and pledge to ethical practices. The most critical illustration to substantiate this datum is EC-UK. Whereas the legacy of IEI’s Charter is undergone with ups and downs all through its lifespan, resulted in hindrance to its full-potential realization and consequently, its contributions are also not extraordinarily acknowledged by engineering fraternity. IEI has to abridge the past depictions and prepare for the future by resolving the uncertainties, and need to develop a clear, actionable vision and direction to inspire confidence that the Royal Charter will deliver value to the future generations and millennials. Although its existence, IEI made remarkable reflexions in educating engineers through its flagship programmes besides professionalizing the engineering. However, the education and professionalization gaps that are widening in engineering should be comprehensively addressed by the IEI in collaboration with government and other stakeholders to match the demand-supply paradigm. IEI should further contribute to enhance, build a robust and world-class engineering education ecosystem for future needs of the country with its century-old experience inherited from Charter wisdom. The IEI should shift its tectonic focus from its passive observer outlook and its status-quo standpoint on engineering Royal Charter: A bequest in Centennial IEI 58 professional issues to dynamically driven approaches for spearheading the contemporaneous tasks of engineering. It must be proactive to adopt pro-perspective strategies to align with the current and futuristic transformations taking place in society due to engineering and technological advancements. In the new millennium, IEI should emerge as a professional body addressing aspirations of new generation engineers to make them as contributory citizens for the nation and to the world workforce. While it is true that the Chartered Engineer credentials were accepted and renowned in governmental systems, its value of recognition diminished once fresh graduates were designated with equal privileges by granting the license since 2013. This imprudent directive had better be abrogated to reclaim Charter bequest. To embark on its past legacy, IEI has to address the Charter Engineer predicament passionately and professionally by adopting the best practices from other professional bodies similar to EC-UK. It is factual that IEI’s Royal patronage empowers to bestowing the Chartered Engineer honors to its members, and those adherents may be engaged in engineering projects as per the requirements. IEI cannot enforce its perspective on any engineering projects or mandate the missions to adopt the Charter philosophy. In the absence of regulatory authority for the engineering profession, it is not obligatory on the government and other stakeholders to position these IEI certified 59 Royal Charter: A Bequest in Centennial IEI engineers, and hence the value of these IEI licenses & contributions are not considered seriously. IEI should address these challenges single-mindedly to build robust perceptibility to engineering through regulatory mechanisms. In the absence of the Engineers’ Bill or Registration of Engineers Act to regulate Indian Engineering, the ambiguity about IEI’s Royal Charter has only deepened the confusion between the use of the title Engineer and Chartered Engineer. It will be further challenging for pristine institutions like IEI to attain tangible world-class status if its hypothetical culture is pursued with restrictions, indistinctness, and limitations imposed by its legal status. IEI is caught in this web of imperfection and will need to resolve all the intricacies at the earliest to be a leader in the engineering profession. The institution inhabits a distinct niche in the edifice of Indian Engineering. IEI over the century timeline is presumed to have nurtured and developed eminent global leaders in engineering as an education provider, and as a contributor to the development of globally accepted professional practices. Establishment of the IEI should result in being recognized as an acclaimed, accomplished and exemplified institution with no vulnerability or uncertainty in its status. The aspiration of every stakeholder associated with IEI is that it should attain the dignity as one of the leading and worthiest professional institutions for the global engineering profession. IEI should take care to avoid a situation where it might severely impact its glory, achievements, Royal Charter: A bequest in Centennial IEI 60 and contributions attained till date, and looking forward on realizing the golden era of Indian engineering education movement. The interventions required for Engineering to flourish in the country will include a combination of IEI’s self-proclamation, political strategies, and mechanisms that will accelerate the adoption of new practices for new paradigms. IEI has a chequered history of ninety-eight years witnessed several turns and tides and positioned itself well to meet the changing demands of engineering and society. IEI has transient on the incredible journey of a century with diverse results and to ripe the reflections, to survive and thrive for another hundred years, will need a radical shift in its consciousness and actions. The relentless endeavor of the legendary institution is to remain relevant and successful in engineering pursuits. Engineering with Charter envisions the creation of an equitable world that allows succeeding generations to live with dignity. The sequel to this publication will dwell on the contributions of the Royal Charter made to educational platforms of IEI including AMIE programme. This envisioned publication is scheduled for release during October’18 61 Royal Charter: A Bequest in Centennial IEI L V Muralikrishna Reddy, PhD Dr. Reddy was the President of the Institution of Engineers (India) for the session 2014-2015. He has the singular distinction of attaining multiple credentials recognizing highest professional engineering achievements – International Professional Engineers (IntPE), Charter Engineer (India) and Chartered Engineer (CEng, UK). He has been inducted into the IEEE Eta Kappa Nu (IEEE-HKN), that recognizes individual excellence in education and meritorious work in professional practice. He has been elected Fellow of the World Academy of Productivity Sciences (WAPS), in recognition of his commitment and contribution to the discipline of Productivity Science across the globe. Learned Society Initiatives Learned Society Initiatives of the Indian Technology Congress Association (ITCA) emphasizes excellence and innovation in the technology domain through publication of scholarly artefacts on a plethora of technology and allied subjects. Learned Society Initiatives of the ITCA endeavors to set and maintain high standards of engineering and technology publishing by identifying and sourcing contemporary research, and structuring frameworks for comprehensive and best-in-class peer reviews. These publications will foster a culture of collaboration and networking, a prime driver for the advancement of interdisciplinary Technology progression. Foundation for Education Excellence (Publishing Organization for) Indian Technology Congress Association Bengaluru [email protected] www.itca.org.in/lsip