AP plans Space Innovation Centre at Amaravati.

The Andhra Pradesh Government is planning to set up a Space Innovation Centre at Amaravati capital city, in collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), to encourage young researchers keen on exploring space technology.

Innovation centres will be established as part of the proposal in all universities. Each university will have at least 10 technology-based start-ups to take up innovative research on space science. ISRO has agreed in-principle to provide data free of cost.

This is among the subjects on the agenda, when Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and ISRO Chairman A.S. Kiran Kumar meet here on Monday, said AP State Council of Higher Education Vice-Chairman Prof. P. Vijay Prakash.

Mr. Naidu is scheduled to participate in the valedictory of World Space Week celebrations here and interact with top scientists of ISRO and academicians from various universities.

The Amaravati centre will be the node, to monitor the activities undertaken at various places across the State, all of which will aim to improve the quality of life for citizens using space applications.

Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Vijay Prakash said, “ISRO will offer its expertise and hand-hold the start-ups. In the first phase, innovation centres will be set up at Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, Sri Krishnadevaraya University, Anantapur and JNTU-Kakinada and Anantapur. Later such centres will be established in all other universities.”

A technical support group made up of experts from the universities and ISRO will be constituted to mentor the start-ups and ensure transparency and accountability without giving any scope for duplication or repetition in innovative research and development.

Mr. Vijay Prakash said the ultimate plan was to enable the universities to become centres of excellence in research in space studies and build their own satellites.

THE HINDU