Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurates Doppler Weather Radar & Indigenous GPS based Pilot Sonde at IMD, Jammu

Jammu: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh today inaugurated the latest upgraded state-of-the-art Doppler Weather Radar (DWR) & Indigenous GPS based Pilot Sonde at Indian Meteorological Office in Jammu, and said, like other parts of the country, Jammu has become a part of India’s giant scientific leaps under Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In addition to DWR system installed today, Dr Jitendra Singh referred to several new scientific establishments set up in the region during the last few years under the Modi government which included North India’s first Biotech Industrial Park at Kathua, North India’s first Space/ISRO Centre at Central University, India’s lavender led Purple Revolution and first Cannabis Medicinal Plant launched by IIIM Jammu, the first -ever National Institute of High Altitude Medicine at Bhaderwah, the first- ever Mega -quintal Seed Processing Plant at Kathua, latest Weather forecast instrument installed at SanjhiChhat for convenience of Vaishano Devi pilgrims, high altitude Radio Relay Station at Patnitop,etc and said, these are all monuments of New Jammu.

The Minister appealed to media persons to kindly spare a few moments to cover these monuments also so that the information could reach the stakeholders who include students, Start-Ups, self – livelihood seekers, farmers, travellers and the common citizen who would find Ease of Living from these hi-tech facilities. He reminded that even the media is a stakeholder because the media telecast today heavily depended on modern tools of technology like Satellite communication. There are also huge career prospects and employment avenues for youth in Space Technology, Aroma farming, Atomic Energy, Meteorology etc. which they can avail only if they are informed about these developments through different mediums, he added.

Dr. Jitendra Singh said, the X-Band Doppler Weather Radar installed today will help in providing real-time monitoring and reporting of weather events affecting Jammu region and will be helpful in providing weather forecasts in different sectors including agriculture and tourism forecast especially for the pilgrims of Mata Vaishno Devi.

Besides providing real-time monitoring, the X-Band Doppler Weather Radar stationed at Jammu will provide improved weather services to the people of J&K and an input to numerical weather prediction models for generating better weather forecasts, the Minister added.

Dr. M Mohapatra, DG Meteorology, IMD, Alok Kumar, Principal Secretary, Science & Technology, UT of J&K, RaghavLangar, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Charan Singh, Head, Regional Meteorological Centre, Delhi and K.C. Saikrishnan, Head Upper Instruments Division, IMD were also present during the inauguration.

Referring to Prime Minister’s revolutionary decision to “unlock” India’s Space Technology and other sectors to private players for the first time after independence, Dr Jitendra Singh said that this will not only bring ‘ease of living’ for people and ‘ease of environment’ for private players but will boost the scientific innovative environment in the country. The Minister further said, while India began its Space journey much late, but today the country has been in a position to provide inputs from Mangalyaan and Chandrayaan to the premier space institutions of the world like the NASA of USA.

Acknowledging contribution of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for these giant scientific leaps from the last 7 years, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that the PM gives highest priority to scientific developments by providing highest budgetary allocations to the Ministry and Departments of Science and has removed the taboos which have been the impediments to the development of science and technology in the country.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has accorded highest priority to clean and green energy and accordingly announced Hydrogen Mission a fortnight ago during the 75th Independence Day Speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort.

Referring to the making of first DNA based Covid19 vaccine in the country, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that India granted use authorization to the world’s first and India’s indigenously developed DNA-based vaccine for COVID-19 which is a great milestone achieved by the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), Faridabad.

Dr Jitendra Singh further said that India today is the “Cue Master” in science to the rest of the world as the quality of our scientific human resource is far more superior and many scientific advanced nations are taking cues from India as being advanced in many areas of science today.

Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for encouraging application of science in developmental activities, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that it is the result of this that science today has virtually entered every sector and every household in India in one form or the other be that the digital technology, information technology in the form of e-offices, online education etc. which is an indication now that hereafter the entire growth will be science based, technology based.

On the Meteorological Development in India, Dr. Jitendra Singh said that since only 2014, 12 Doppler Weather Radars have been installed across the country under PM Narendra Modi, before that only 15 weather radars have been installed which indicates that more emphasis now is laid on technological development.

Prior to mention that the IMD office at Jammu is the nodal meteorological observatory equipped with all the latest meteorological instruments, radiation instruments and seismological instruments.