Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh on Sunday inaugurated the latest upgraded state-of-the-art Doppler Weather Radar (DWR) and indigenous GPS based Pilot Sonde at Indian Meteorological Department in Jammu.

Speaking on the occasion, the minister said that Jammu has become a part of India's giant scientific leaps under Prime Minister Narendra Modi and referred to several new scientific establishments set up in the region during the last few years under the Modi government.

"The X-Band DWR 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," he stated.

"Besides providing real-time monitoring, the X-Band DWR will provide improved weather services to the people of Jammu and Kashmir and input to numerical weather prediction models for generating better weather forecasts," he added.

Referring to the Prime Minister's decision to "unlock" India's space technology and other sectors to private players for the first time after independence, Singh said that this will not only bring "ease of living" for people and "ease of environment" for private players but will also boost the scientific innovative environment in the country.

He added that the PM gives the highest priority to scientific developments by providing the 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.

Referring to the PM's priority to clean and green energy, the minister mentioned the PM's announcement of Hydrogen Mission a fortnight ago during the 75th Independence Day Speech from the ramparts of the Red Fort.

Speaking about the country's first DNA-based Covid-19 vaccine, Singh said, "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) in Faridabad.”

“Like other parts of the country, Jammu has become a part of India’s giant scientific leaps under Prime Minister Narendra Modi,” Singh said and referred to several new scientific establishments set up in the region during the last few years, a release from the Ministry of Science and Technology said.

These include north India’s first Biotech Industrial Park at Kathua, the first ISRO Centre at a 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, and High-Altitude Radio Relay Station at Patnitop etc.

“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 said and appealed to the media persons to report on what he called the “monuments of new Jammu”.

IMD’s Director General (Meteorology) Dr M Mohapatra, Jammu & Kashmir’s Principal Secretary, Science & Technology, Alok Kumar, Divisional Commissioner, Jammu, Raghav Langar, and IMD’s Head, Regional Meteorological Centre, Delhi, Charan Singh and Head, Upper Instruments Division, K.C. Saikrishnan were also present during the inauguration.

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