in Boribunder in Bombay, and Gorachand Road in Park Circus, Calcutta, with a total intake of 50 students (20 at Bombay and 30 at Calcutta). The institute moved into new facilities in Taratala Road in 1953 and Lower Parel in 1966. The new building in Calcutta was inaugurated as the Marine Engineering College on December 14, 1953 by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, with the Transport Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri in attendance. J.S.H. Stephenson assumed Directorship in Calcutta. S. Kasthuri was Deputy Director at Calcutta and T.K.T. Srisailam was appointed Deputy Director at Bombay. K.S. Subramaniam, Motee L. Jagtianie and B.D. Merchant were appointed as officers in the Calcutta branch. Students trained at marine workshops during the day and attended classes by at night for the three years of the program. The fourth year was devoted fully to classroom instruction at Calcutta. In August 1958, the intake was increased to 60 students and to 100 in the subsequent year. In 1962, an all-India entrance examination was introduced to streamline the standard of the incoming class. In 1982, the Institute of Engineers (India) started recognizing DMET graduates with a First Class (Motor or Steam) licence as equivalent to a graduate engineer, with the right to be called a Chartered Engineer and use "C. Eng (I)" after their names. In 1975, the Indian shipping industry for the first time felt the requirement for graduate mechanical engineers. Since then, graduate mechanical engineers from institutions like NITs, Punjab Engineering College (PEC), UIET (Chandigarh), College of Engineering Pune and state government colleges have been passing out from MERI (DMET), Bombay. Initially, the course was for six months and was named as Post-Graduate Course in Marine Engineering issued by Govt. of India. Later the course gained its recognition as Post-Graduate Diploma in Marine Engineering (PGDME) issued by IMU. In 1977–78, an expert committee nominated by the government of India, headed by Prof. Shankar Lal, ex-Director of IIT Kharagpur, recommended changes in the DMET course curriculum, mainly pertaining to class contact hours and practical training. The incorporation of these changes led to the recognition of the graduation certificate of the four-year course at DMET, as being equivalent to a first degree in Marine Engineering, by the Government of India, starting in 1983. As part of a revamp of the marine engineering training process in India, in October 1991, the government of India appointed a Committee on Maritime Education