Haryana Space Application Centre (HARSAC), which is using remote sensing technology to provide necessary inputs for developing viable plans for different departments in the State, has so far completed 18 projects of different user departments and organisations during the last two years.
The HARSAC is presently working on 30 other projects, said a spokesman of the Department of Science and Technology.
He said that apart from this, the Centre for Plant Biotechnology (CPB), Hisar, which boasts of well-equipped plant tissue-culture laboratories, is engaged in multiplication of elite germ plasm of several crops through tissue culture techniques for Guava, Aloe Vera, Sarpgandha, Stevia, Banana, Bamboo and Eucalyptus. The Centre has produced about 30,000 plants of different varieties through tissue culture technique from October, 2014 till date.
With a view to promote science and technology and science education among the youth of the state and encourage research in key areas, Haryana Government has so far released about Rs two crore to more than 400 science students under various scholarship schemes.
He said that the Haryana State Innovation Council, which was constituted with the objective of promoting innovation, innovators and encouraging innovation in the governance and public service delivery in the state, is supporting District Innovation funds through grants from Central Finance Commission.
The project proposals of all the districts amounting to about Rs20.26 crore were sanctioned by the Science and Technology Department after the approval of High level Monitoring Committee (HlMC), and about Rs16.48 crore have been released to the districts till date for implementation of these projects, he added.
Apart from this, the Department confers the Haryana Vigyan Ratna and Yuva Vigyan Ratna Awards on eminent scientists from the state, who have made outstanding contributions in the field of Science and Technology. Nominations for these awards for the years 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2014-15 were invited from October, 2014 till date. A meeting of Selection Committee chaired by the Chief Secretary for finalisation of these awards was held on October 4, 2016 and the recommendations of the committee have been submitted to the Government for approval. The nominations for 2015-16 and 2016-17 have also been invited up to November 30, 2016, he added.
Among the facilities being run by the Department, Kalpana Chawla Memorial Planetarium (KCMP) at Kurukshetra is imparting non-formal education on astronomy and astrophysics to students and the masses by organising shows on various programmes on astronomy. About 2.61 lakh tourists visited the KCMP, and revenue of about Rs56.56 lakh has been generated by the Planetarium from October, 2014 till date, he added.