AGARTALA: Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah chaired the 12th meeting of the North Eastern Space Application Centre (NESAC) Society in Agartala, Tripura.
The meeting was attended by Union Minister for the Development of the North Eastern Region Jyotiraditya M. Scindia along with the Chief Ministers of various states: Dr. Manik Saha of Tripura, Himanta Biswa Sharma of Assam, N. Biren Singh of Manipur, Pema Khandu of Arunachal Pradesh, and Prem Singh Tamang of Sikkim.
Other attendees included Union Minister of State for the Development of North Eastern Region Sukanta Majumder; Union Home Secretary Govinda Mohan; Secretary of the Department of Space Dr. S. Somnath; Director of the Intelligence Bureau Tapan Deka; and other senior officials from both the Central and State Governments of the North Eastern region.
In his address, Amit Shah emphasized the remarkable progress of India's space sector over the past decade, attributing it to the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "Under the Prime Minister’s guidance, India’s space sector has seen tremendous growth in the last 10 years," Shah stated.
He highlighted the visible impact of the NESAC Society’s efforts, 25 years after its inception. Shah also stressed the importance of expanding NE-SAC's activities in the northeastern states and urged state governments to take proactive steps to support this expansion.
Shah proposed an initiative to generate interest in space and related technologies among students. “The NESAC Society should take 100 science students from each of the Northeastern states to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) headquarters,” he suggested.
He also urged the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region to contribute 60 percent to this project and called on the North Eastern State Governments to introduce new courses on space technology in their engineering colleges.
Shah also highlighted the need for demographic mapping along the India-Myanmar border, especially in Nagaland, Mizoram, and Manipur, to assist in the construction of a border fence and prevent infiltration. “A comprehensive survey of the border areas is required,” he stated.
Furthermore, Shah urged NE-SAC to focus on the development of forest areas using space science by comparing old and new maps and working with state governments to plant trees where feasible. He also called for the preparation of a flood map for the northeastern states.
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