Govt sets up taskforce on introducing geospatial tech courses

Updated on: Monday, October 25, 2010

Recognising the growing utility of geospatial technology in everyday life, the Indian government has decided to constitute a task force under chairmanship of K. Kasturirangan to evolve a strategy for introducing related education programmes at various levels in the country.
    
The 15-member team will go into various aspects of framing the programme as the expanding scope of the technology has resulted in creating demand for a large number of professionals with different skill sets, said an official in the HRD Ministry.
    
The technology, he said, is finding increased relevance in almost every walk of life in domains like infrastructure, utilities and banking.
    
The task force headed by Kasturirangan, Member-Planning Commission, shall submit its report and recommendations by 31st March next year.
    
The terms and reference of the committee would include preparing a national strategy for geospatial education in the country and recommendations for implementation of education programmes at desired levels.
    
It would seek to identify and assess the overall requirements of human resources in growing geospatial industry and develop and design geospatial oriented educational
programmes for technical and non-technical institutions.
    
Besides, it would provide overall guiding framework for development and  implementation of National Geospatial education strategy and recommend on such matters that may be relevant for the implementation of national geospatial
education strategy, the official said.
    
UGC Chairman Sukhdeo Thorat, acting chairman of AICTE S.S. Mantha, director of IIT Kanpur Sanjay Govind Dhande, director of IIIT Bangalore S.Sadagopan, Director, Indian Institute of Survey and Mapping Mah.Gen.B.Nagrajan are among the members of the committee.
   
Joint Secretary in the Department of Higher Education Amit Khare would be the member secretary of the committee.

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