Chief Secretary inaugurates State level meet of HPSCSTE& ISRO
Vijyender Sharma
SHIMLA---- Chief Secretary V.C. Pharka inaugurated one day State level meet organised by Himachal Pradesh Remote Sensing Cell (HPRSC) under HP State Council for Science Technology and Environment (HPSCSTE) in association with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) at HP Secretariat, here today. The State level meet with line departments of the State was a follow-up of the National Meet which was held on 7th September, 2015 at New Delhi.
Shri Pharka said that the meet was held to promote the enhanced utilization of space technology in governance and development in the State. He said that the State meet would be beneficial in identifying the requirements of Space Technology (Remote Sensing), GIS (Geographic Information System), GPS (Global Positioning System) and Communication technology in natural resources management, disaster management, development planning and better governance.
He said that the meet would provide an opportunity to different Government departments to prepare action plan for securing benefits of space technology in the development of the State to make optimum use of modern technology.
Shri Pharka said that the State Government would deliberate upon future use of space technology in the nine theme based parallel technical sessions. The nine important themes are agriculture, land resources planning, environment and energy, infrastructure planning, water resources, health and education, weather and disaster management, developmental planning, technology diffusion, communication and navigation.
He said that the main objective of the meet was to harness the benefits of Space Technology in planning and development process, preserving eco-system, better managing and conserving State's natural resources. He urged the concerned departments to work in union to enhance the efficacy of State missions and schemes which were targeted towards food and water security, infrastructure building in rural and other sectors like urban areas, health, education and livelihood.
Chief Secretary emphasised on enhancement of space technology absorption which would lead to institutionalization and internalization within the departments. He said that space technology would help in facilitating various departments by building State level geospatial data repository and delivering specific applications.
He said that the space technology would improve disaster management support through synergy of remote sensing, communication and navigation based solutions. He also emphasised on promoting space applications in the academia and research institutions to generate new ideas for addressing future challenges.
Shri Pharka said that thrust areas must be identified where Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS) can provide capacity building and training so that collaborative research among the State Departments or agencies could be done.
He said that it was vital to analyse the past and present use of space application and GIS in various user requirement in departments of Himachal Pradesh.
In the meet the technical sessions were moderated by the subject experts from ISRO and HPRSC who provided success stories regarding use of space technology & GIS in various specific fields and by other State Governments in the country.
Various State Departments gave presentation on their programme and activities in the meet.
Shri Tarun Sridhar, Additional Chief Secretary, Personal, Power and Revenue also spoke on the occasion.
Shri Tarun Kapur Principal Secretary, Environment Science & Technology gave detailed information about the space technology used by H.P. Science and Technology Department.
Shri A. S. Kiran Kumar, Chairman ISRO addressed the meet through video conferencing. He said that Himachal Pradesh was the pioneer in space technology and many opportunities could be explored in the State. He said that Himachal being the "Apple State" of the country, it was essential to map the area in order to monitor production of the apples in the State. He said that Himachal Pradesh being part of Himalayas has tough terrain and difficult road connectivity, which could also be mapped for disaster management and mitigation.
Shri Kiran Kumar assured that ISRO to provide technical support to Himachal Pradesh in every sphere.
Dr. Vinod Bothale, Group Director, NRSC, Hyderabad also spoke on applications of Geospatial Technology for regional planning and governance.
Dr. R.S. Thapa, Principal Scientific Officer, HPRSC, HPSCTE gave proposed vote of thanks.
Shri Dinesh Malhotra, Managing Director, HPTDC and Director Information & Public Relations, about 40 Departments of Himachal Pradesh, State functionaries, Scientists, National and State level experts from ISRO, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, National Remote Sensing Centre, senior officers of various department and other concerned stakeholders participated in the meet.
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