Guwahati, Sep 21 (PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday said the state will soon emerge as a focal point in India's efforts to track space debris. After laying the foundation stone of the ISRO's Advanced Radar Research Centre at Chandrapur near here, Sarma said the facility will enable the space agency to track debris and help protect the country's critical space assets."This facility will make Assam an important player in the national space ecosystem and adds to a list of industries across various verticals that are setting up their base in our state --semiconductor, food manufacturing, healthcare, hospitality, coach overhauling, among others," Sarma said.He said the state government was not just bringing in industriesbut also creating an ecosystem where our youth have an opportunity to be part of this transformation.Sarma said two decades ago, Assam was a completely different state, characterised by agitations, dharnas, bandhs, and the activities of militant outfits like ULFA and NDFB.

During the last 10 years, due to the untiring efforts of the Assam's people, the state has completely transformed with many institutions of national importance, including AIIMS, IIT and IIM, along with central universities being set up.The state, however, had been lacking in the area of space science, with no space-related organisation having been set up, he said."A Small Space Centre is being developed with IIT to provide a platform to students and promote scientific temperament across colleges," Sarma said."Assam's tryst with space has just begun. With the ASSAMSAT project progressing steadily, we are taking a giant leap in this direction, which will help us map weather, rainfall, forests and other factors for better resource planning," he said.''In a few years, you will witness how the space setup in Chandrapur will get the same place as ISRO in Bengaluru due to its immense contribution towards research and development, which will go a long way in disseminating knowledge in space technology,'' the CM said.''We hope that Assam will soon emerge as a big name in space research,'' he said.

He expressed his gratitude to  Prime Minister Narendra Modi and ISRO for choosing Assam as the destination for this Advanced Radar Research Centre, which will firmly place the state in space research domain.  Earlier in the day, the chief minister, in a social media post, said the setting up of the centre was a "landmark moment for Assam" and that it was deeply satisfying that the state is set to become a home to such cutting-edge national infrastructure"A landmark moment for Assam. Today, we will lay the foundation stone of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s Advanced Radar Research Centre at Chandrapur, Assam," Sarma said in a post on X on Monday.As part of Project NETRA, this facility will strengthen India's ability to track objects in space and protect the country's vital space assets, he said"For a state once considered far from India's major centres of technology, it is deeply satisfying to see Assam today becoming home to such cutting-edge national infrastructure," he said."My deepest gratitude to Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi Ji for considering Assam for this strategic project," Sarma saidThe Assam government has allotted around 6.61 acres for the project.