SIEMA's Former President Passed Away
N. Duraiswamy, one of the founder members and former president of the Southern India Engineering Manufacturers’ Association, passed away here on Monday after a brief illness. He was 86. Duraiswamy headed the association for 17 years from 1969 to 1985. As the senior vice-president of the association in 1969, he played an important role in persuading the government to drop its proposal to levy 20 per cent excise duty on power-driven pumps. He was also instrumental in construction of a building for the association on Race Course Road.
According to Jayakumar Ramdass, who is the president of the association now, “Duraiswamy was one of the pioneers in pump manufacturing. He was a visionary in reaching out to several micro and small industries here and strengthening the technical capabilities of the association.” Duraiswamy is survived by his wife and two daughters.
