The 12th Meeting of the Society of North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC), Department of Space, Government of India was held on 21st December, 2024 at Agartala, Tripura. The Meeting was Presided over by the Hon’ble Union Minister for Home and Cooperation Shri Amit Shah Ji and was attended by Hon’ble Union Minister of Ministry of DoNER, Shri Jyotiraditya M. Scindia Ji, Hon’ble Minister of State for Ministry of DoNER Dr Sukanta Majumdar, Hon’ble Chief Ministers from Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Sikkim, and Tripura, Secretary to the Home Ministry, Dept. of Space, Ministry of DoNER, NEC, Chief Secretaries from NE states, and other distinguished members and invitees.
Secretary, Dept. of Space (DoS) and Chairman, ISRO Dr S Somanath, who is also the Vice-president of NESAC Society and Chairman of NESAC Governing Council, welcomed President, Members, and all invitees to the meeting and felicitated the guests. He assured that ISRO/DoS would provide continued support in every possible way to assist the states in their development and governance efforts. This was followed by a technical presentation by Dr S P Aggarwal, Director, NESAC and Secretary of the Society on the major achievements and scientific activities of the centre during last one year.
Hon’ble Home Minister applauded NESAC for its diverse and extensive contributions across all states and affirmed that the center is on course to support the accelerated development of the North Eastern region of India.
He urged NESAC to broaden its scope and enhance its range of activities to address the region’s specific needs more effectively. He expressed satisfaction that 109 departments from the eight northeastern states were utilizing NESAC’s services and encouraged the organization to proactively engage with more departments. He also urged NESAC to brainstorm on how the best practices of utilizing the space technology can be integrated with the existing systems in NER to address the major problems faced by the region and submit related proposals to the Ministry of Home affairs. He suggested planning for preparation of high-resolution digital elevation models, space-based support for minerals, oil, and coal reserves in the NE states, extensive space technology-based outreach and training activities covering the students, women, and tribal population of NER.
The Chief Ministers attending the meeting praised NESAC for its technical support to user departments through state-level space application and remote sensing centers. They also provided an update on the progress and outcomes of the large number of projects undertaken as part of the Plan of Action activities. They also requested the initiation of new projects in areas such as natural resource management, disaster management support, infrastructure planning, and other areas relevant to their respective states.
