Foundation for ITCO-Ocean laid
Hyderabad, Jan 4 (INN): Union Minister of State for Science & Technology Y.S. Chowdhary laid the foundation stone for the building complex of the International Training Centre for Operational Oceanography (ITCO-Ocean) at Pragathi Nagar here on Monday.
Malkajgiri MP Malla Reddy, CCMB & NGRI Director Dr. Ch. Mohan Rao, INCOIS Director Satheesh Shenoi and other officials were present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion, the Union Minister informed that the International Training Centre for Operational Oceanography is being setup by Ministry of Earth Sciences, Govt. of India as a commitment of Govt. of India in helping the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC)/United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in their efforts in capacity building in areas of Operational Oceanography.
Chowdhary informed that the Government of India wants to promote Operational Oceanography since it plays an important role in translating the benefits of science for the common public; a few examples being Potential Fishing Zones advisories to fishermen, Ocean State Forecasts for mariners, Tsunami & Storm Surge Early warnings, etc. Since INCOIS has already been at the forefront of providing such operational services, Govt of India chose to establish ITCO Ocean at INCOIS, Hyderabad.
Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has also signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with IOC/UNESCO on July 4, 2013 to cooperate in the capacity development programmes. He also remarked that this shows the confidence of international community in the achievements of India, especially in the field of operational oceanography. Towards this, Govt of India has already allocated Rs.100 crores over a period of 5 years. He mentioned that the ITCOocean building complex will comprise of the Academic block with an area of 80,000 Sq ft and an International Hostel with an area of 40,000 Sq ft. to be built at a cost of about 50 Cr.
The new building complex is expected to be ready in about 18 months and will impart training programmes on operational oceanography to participants coming from all over the world and will also contribute in improving the local economy and employment opportunities. He also mentioned that the facility should be developed as an 'area of interest' for students/visitors from all over the country so that public interest is generated in this important area.
Currently operating from the interim facility at INCOIS, ITCOocean has so far conducted six international and seven national training programmes by training more than 360 researchers, university students, state and central government officials from 22 countries - Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Comoros, Ghana, Iran, Italy, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Nigeria, Oman, Romania, Seychelles, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Togo, Yemen. A state-of-art 48 seater E-class room has been made operational in early 2014, with the facility to link different centers, organizations, and participants across the globe.
News Posted: 4 January, 2016
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