Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute (CGCRI), one of the foremost laboratories in the family of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research was formally inaugurated on August 26, 1950 by Dr. B.C. Ray, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal in presence of eminent personalities : Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Prof. C.V. Raman, Dr. Meghnad Saha and others. Dr. S.S. Bhatnagar was then Director-General of CSIR while Dr. Atma Ram was Director of the Institute. CGCRI, initially conceived as Central Glass and Silicate Research Institute along with NPL-New Delhi, NCL-Pune and CFRI-Dhanbad (now CIMFR) is among the first four CSIR laboratories planned in the pre-independence era.