The operational communication satellites are used to provide applications like television broadcasting, DTH television, telecommunication, Very Small Aperture Terminal (VSAT) services, radio networking, Headend In The Sky (HITS), Digital Satellite News Gathering (DSNG), societal applications (like tele-education, tele-medicine and disaster management) in West Bengal which support flagship initiatives like Digital India. The Department of Fisheries with the technology developed by ISRO using NavIC and communication satellite has rolled out the Vessel Communication and Support System (VCSS) project under Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) to provide safety-of-life and disaster alerts to fishermen. This project is implemented in coastal states including West Bengal. BharatNet Programme also aims to provide broadband connectivity to Gram Panchayats. ISRO’s Bhuvan Geoportal provides online services of remote sensing data, thematic maps and geotagging support, facilitating rural planning in line with Digital India needs.

Roof-top Photo Voltaic (PV) potential assessment was done for 98 smart cities using space inputs, including four cities in West Bengal.

Towards agricultural monitoring, Jute Crop Information System is developed to address crop acreage, surveillance of crop condition and production estimate using geospatial approach. Production forecast for Potato, an important cash crop in West Bengal and Crop Area Estimation for Groundnuts is done through remote sensing based methods. Bangla Shasya Bima Scheme, a crop insurance mechanism involving geospatial approach is implemented in association with private insurance provider and technology partner.

 

Indian Space Research Organisation has collaborated with academic institutions through various programmes for the promotion of research and development in the areas of space technology, space science and space applications. Programmes such as Space Technology Cells (STC) established in premier institutions like IIT’s, region wise programmes, which are leading to advance cutting edge research in the country. These collaborations are key to build a strong academia-industry ecosystem, accelerating technology, indigenous development and strengthening India’s space ecosystem. ISRO has taken various steps to promote research in space science & technology through academia programmes across West Bengal by setting up-

• Space Technology Cell (STC) in IIT Kharagpur.
• Regional Academic Centre for space (RAC-S) in NIT Patna where it covers the state of West Bengal.
• Space Technology Incubation Centre (STIC) in NIT Rourkela where it covers the state of West Bengal.
• Training programmes & workshops are carried out by ISRO/ DoS, addressing remote sensing and geospatial applications for officials from Indian Audit & Accounts Department (IA&AD), Tea board India, Jute Corporation of India Ltd. and various academia.
• Carbon Exchange studies on Jute crop is done in collaboration with ICAR-CRIJAF Barrackpore.
• In addition to this, ISRO Sponsored Research Projects are also allotted to Universities/ Colleges in the state of West Bengal.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions and Prime Minister’s Office Dr. Jitendra Singh in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

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