Begumpet to house ISRO’s pilot project on agri trade

Postman pics can find buyers for farmers

New Delhi: If everything falls in place, the Begumpet Airport of Hyderabad will act as a platform that can enable a farmer to sell his produce directly to buyers through a novel method being developed by the famed Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

As the plan, a postman can visit a farm, click the picture of the farm and produce and then upload them on a platform. “This can serve as a place where a farmer can sell his product directly to the seller,” said Dr Y V N Krishna Murthy, Scientific Secretary, Indian Space Research Organisation.

The Department of Space is in talks with the Department of Posts to see if this could be worked out. If this becomes a reality, the move will not only help in weeding out the middleman, but also generate more income to farmers for their produce. “A postman is well-versed with an area he is allocated and is still a vital link in many rural parts.

The Ministry is already working the DoP and has prepared a mobile app. It has also helped the DoP tag all the post offices in India. With this, information pertaining to any post office and services it offers is gathered. Now, with this, it would be possible to track the movements of a postman.

In future, this can help people track their packages,” Jitendra Singh, Minister of State in Prime Minister's Office which looks after the Department of Space said. “You never know. In times ahead, you could also have your parcels delivered with the help of drones,” A S Kiran Kumar, Secretary, Department of Space said.

Singh added that the DoS had also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) under which the ISRO would develop 3D models which help in better planning for doing in any construction at the airport. ISRO's another top official V K Dadhwal, who is also the Director of National Remote Sensing Centre, said they had chosen the Begumpet airport of Hyderabad and Port Blair as a pilot project.

Following this, it will be replicated in other 46 airports across the country. “AAI will help in providing scientific parameters for airports construction. It will also provide data on the landscape around the airports,” Singh said. DoS would also sign MoU with Postal Department where the space technology would be helpful in tracking the movement of a parcel.

ISRO would take postal service in India to a new level, thus enabling the recipient to track the parcel and also decide the delivery time, Singh said. Elaborating on the role of space technology in various Ministries, the Minister said the Department of Space had already signed an MoU with the Ministry of Urban Development.