On Monday night, a crucial meeting took place between Assam’s Minister of Science and Technology, Keshab Mahanta, and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman Dr. V. Narayanan at the Chief Minister’s Office in Lok Sewa Bhawan in Guwahati’s Dispur.

The discussions focused on Assam’s first indigenous satellite, 'AsamSat,' including its design, development, approval process, and eventual launch.

Senior officials from the Assam government, including Additional Chief Secretary of Environment and Forests M.K. Yadav, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister K.K. Dwivedi, Principal Secretary of the Revenue Department G.D. Tripathi, Secretary of the Science and Technology Department Pallav Gopal Jha, Director of the Assam State Space Application Centre (ASSAC) P.L.N. Raju, and Director of the Assam Science Technology and Environment Council (ASTEC) Dr. Joydeep Baruah, were present at the meeting.

Key officials from ISRO, including Director of ISRO Telemetry, Tracking & Command Network (ISTRAC) Dr. A.K. Anil Kumar, Director of Earth Observation Applications & Disaster Management Support Programme Office (EDPO) Dr. J.V. Thomas, and Director of the North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC) Dr. S.P. Agarwal, also participated in the discussions.

During the meeting, ISRO Chairman Dr. V. Narayanan assured full technical and logistical support to Assam for the development and launch of 'AsamSat.' He said that ISRO would extend scientific guidance and technological collaboration in various sectors, including agriculture and forestry monitoring, disaster management, land administration, water resource management, wetland conservation, and urban planning.

Additionally, ISRO pledged to provide a platform for knowledge exchange by facilitating visits for 100 students from Assam and 800 students from the Northeast to ISRO’s major centers and projects.

Minister Keshab Mahanta, Principal Secretary K.K. Dwivedi, and ASSAC Director P.L.N. Raju briefed the ISRO Chairman on Assam’s commitment to leveraging space technology for public welfare and development. The Assam government highlighted its vision of utilizing space-based data for better governance and rapid development, reaffirming its decision to launch 'AsamSat' to enhance technological capabilities in the state.

Agencies