Educational satellite to be launched in June

The Government of India, in association with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), expects to launch 'Edusat', a satellite dedicated exclusively for educational purposes, in June 2004.

The satellite launch is aimed at educating the nation across age groups, regions, professions, and people from all walks of life, officials said.

Inaugurating the first regional consultation on Edusat in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, Vallabhbhai Kathiria, Union minister of state for human resources development, said, "The growing population was once considered to be a burden on the country, but at present, it is the assets of the country as Indians have the best brains. We can boast of having the best manpower in the world. EduSat is an initiative taken by the government in association with the Indian Space Research Organisation and will be dedicated to the people of the nation soon."

B S Bhatia, director, development and educational communication unit (DECU) of ISRO, said, "ISRO has persuaded the utilisation of space technology for education and development. These efforts started with the Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE) and have continued more recently with the Jhabua Development Communications Project (JDCP) and Training Development Communication Channel (TDCC)."

Bhatia said, "To effectively utilise communication capabilities that Edusat can offer, substantial planning and preparation would have to be invested in. It would require several educational agencies to come together, pool their expertise and resources and make contributions to this endeavour."

The second regional consultation on Edusat will be held at Chennai in association with the Anna University at the end of this month, while the third regional consultation for the eastern region on Edusat will be held in Kharagpur in West Bengal.