By Partnering With ISRO, Telangana Shows The Way With Innovative Governance Methods
On 28 September, the Telangana government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to improve the services of its educational channel, Mana TV.
Praising Telangana for embarking on a noble programme to use space technology, Director of ISRO's Development & Educational Communication Unit (DECU), Virender Kumar, said this would greatly contribute to the overall development of the state.
IT Minister K T Rama Rao said this arrangement would help the channel start coaching classes from 1 October for those appearing for Group II services examination of the Telangana Public Service Commission (TPSC).
The minister further added that Mana TV will also launch similar coaching programmes for the students preparing for EAMCET, the common entrance test for admissions to engineering and medical courses, Indian Administrative Service, Indian Police Service and other competitive examinations. He said:
Our ultimate goal is to ensure that Mana TV reaches all 90 lakh houses in the state and students from schools to colleges and universities, and also those seeking jobs and preparing for various competitive exams…
He announced that with the help of ISRO, 6,000 schools in the state will launch digital classes from 14 October. The minister claimed the government is planning to use satellite technology to benefit all sections of people, saying:
We may launch more channels to cater to various sections as was done in Gujarat.
This is not the first time that the Telangana government has entered into an agreement with the space agency. The Irrigation Department had signed an MoU with the National Remote Sensing Centre of ISRO to use space technology for real-time monitoring of all water resources in the state last month (August 2016).
Rama Rao, who is also Minister for Municipal Administration, said the government also planned to use ISRO's satellite technology for flood management and to solve other urban issues.
By adopting such innovative programmes, Telangana government seems to be displaying novel methods of governance that other states can learn from.