The Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that Scientists play a key role in providing data and should focus on the requirements of the common man, more importantly of the farmer, and help in formulating strategies for better Governance. He was addressing the Scientists and Researchers at the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), in Hyderabad today. The Chairman, ISRO, Dr. K. Shivan and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.The Vice President said that ISRO with its state-of-the-art facilities has been harnessing space technology for rural and urban development. He further said that ISRO maintains one of the largest fleet of communication and remote sensing satellites with the versatile workhorse, Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) becoming a favoured carrier. After making every Indian proud with the success of Chandrayaan-1 and Mars Orbiter Spacecraft, now ISRO is gearing up for the launch of Chandrayaan-2 early next year, he added.
The Vice President said that rural development is vital for the country’s growth and several national flagship programmes are being implemented in the country for the same. For effective implementation of those schemes, there is a need for optimal utilisation of satellite data for mapping and monitoring the resources and also take up impact assessment studies, he added.Saying that India is committed to accord high priority to water conservation and its management through Watershed Development Component of Kisan Sinchaayi Yojana, the Vice President said that satellite data is being used to verify the execution of works under watershed development programme and also to assess the impact in terms of additional crop area.While lauding ISRO for its innumerable achievements, the Vice President asked the prestigious organisation to take up futuristic, innovative projects for societal benefits.The Vice President said that in view of the increasing demand for citizen centric services NRSC has to play an important role in providing Satellite Data and expand its technical interactions with various states for capacity building. Based on its expertise and capability, he was confident that NRSC will intensify its efforts to come up with innovative citizen-centric applications for national flagship programmes, he added.