NEC launches SBIK for Northeast region

Dimapur, Sep. 16 (EMN): Secretary of North Eastern Council (NEC), Ram Muivah, has inaugurated the Space Based Information Kiosk (SBIK) in its Secretariat on September 12 in the presence of Planning Advisor NEC, CH Kharshiing; Director of North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC), Dr. PLN Raju; and other senior officials of NEC and NESAC. Space Based Information Kiosk (SBIK) programme is one of the unique initiatives of NEC executed by NESAC in close collaboration with State Remote Sensing Applications Centres of North Eastern Region to showcase the capability of space technology inputs for developmental planning activity through single window system. The programme was launched with an objective to strengthen the planning and monitoring mechanisms of the projects funded by NEC and other organisations of Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region and various central government departments in the NER. SBIK contains information on land use land cover (LULC), wetlands, wastelands, forest working plan, land degradation map (LDM), roads, drainages and settlements, soil map on each states, ground water prospect map, wetlands infrastructures, inputs for disaster managements support programme etc. derived from using space technology inputs for satellite data coupled with intense ground truth for different periods and scales. It is installed in a ‘Touch Screen Based System’ and allows users to get live weather updated from MOSDAC site of ISRO and Bhuvan Satellite and Base Data. It is also linked with the Geoportal – North Eastern District Resources Plan developed by NESAC. SBIK has become one of the important tools for a large number of line departments of North eastern region. Large number of installation and demonstration takes place in the offices of chief secretaries and line departments including state/ central agencies covering entire NE region. NEC press release stated that SBIK will be installed in all the line departments in the NER for maximum utilisation of space technology inputs for developmental planning activity.