UN report cites ISRO efforts in assisting Indian government to contain COVID19 pandemic
United Nations: A report by the United Nations has cited efforts by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to leverage its geospatial tools in assisting the central and state governments towards containing the COVID-19 pandemic and supporting sustainable development projects in the country.
The UN report Geospatial Practices for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific 2020' cites the role being played by 'BHUVAN', the national geo-portal developed and hosted by ISRO comprising of geo spatial data, services and tools for analysis, in combating COVID-19.
The Government of India and its state governments have taken several steps to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. ISRO has assisted in this by providing and leveraging geospatial tools, in particular BHUVAN the Indian Geo-Platform, the report said.
It added that the geospatial information platform provided service in six aspects: tracking, identifying hotspots, vegetable markets, food needed, home isolation and pollution.
Additionally, as India needed a dashboard to better understand the current circumstances in the country, ISRO customised the Geo-portal and developed Bhuvan- COVID-19' at a national level to track the pandemic and update the public on the current situation, the report said.
The report, released on Wednesday by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), showcases examples from the region's countries employing applications of space technology to advance sustainable development.
It said that Asian and Pacific nations are increasingly leveraging space technology and geospatial information to respond to challenges on the ground, including in their efforts to contain the spread and mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The report also said that India has been making significant progress in responding to the demands of today's cities by incorporating robust space technologies and GIS (geographic information system) into the urban planning, transport management and traffic navigation techniques.
It said the development of Road Asset Management system for National Highways (NHs) is a flagship project by the National Highways Authority of India in association with the Indian Space Research Organisation and the World Bank.
Bringing both public and private funded roads under one umbrella, the main objective of this project is to assist in accurate and scientific maintenance planning, enhance road safety measures and plan the development of the NH network in India, the report said.
The report also noted that ESCAP, with the support of India, regularly facilitates young professional officials from developing countries in the region to join a nine month post-graduate course on remote sensing and the Global Navigation Satellite Systems at the Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia Pacific, in Dehradun.
Some of the other practices undertaken by countries in the region and cited in the report include Night-light' satellite images monitoring the impact of lockdowns, heatmaps' to chart out communities vulnerable to the pandemic and its socio-economic consequences, real-time situational analysis, and dashboards integrating a wide gamut of critical information to support decisions are some of the practices cited.
The examples, according to the report, show how space applications and geospatial data have played an important role in providing essential location-based and temporal data to make an overall data map and snapshots on the COVID-19 pandemic for policymakers and the public.
In addition, combining spatial data from contact tracing, quarantining, and social distancing with digital solutions and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven risk analytics can help enhance community resilience.
Such applications can also help in the recovery phase to build back better, by providing an evidence base for decisions on the easing of lockdown and the resumption of economic and social activities, the report added.
The effective integration of geospatial data, with existing statistics and ground-based information, will be key to delivering the timely data needed for governments, businesses, communities and citizens to make evidenced-based decisions, Executive Secretary of ESCAP Armida Salsiah Alisjahjabana said.
The report, issued two years after Asian and Pacific countries endorsed an ambitious plan of action on use of space technologies to support sustainable development also provides a baseline for assessing future progress in the region.
In addition to presenting an overview of the status along thematic areas such as disaster risk, natural resource management, connectivity, social development, energy, and climate change, the report also highlights the importance of multi-stakeholder partnerships.
Many regional and country-based efforts are sparking innovations that attract both public and private capital, supporting start-ups and spinoffs from space applications research and pilots, said ESCAP.
The report outlined seven key recommendations for policymakers to integrate applications of geospatial information into their planning and actions towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
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Hyderabad, May 19: Prabhsimran Singh set the tone with a quickfire fifty before skipper Jitesh Sharma finished it off in style to lift Punjab Kings to an imposing 214/5 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL, here on Sunday.
The new look opening pair of Prabhsimran and Vidarbha's Atharva Taide put on 97 runs from 55 balls as PBKS did well to see through the power play without losing a wicket after opting to bat.
Prabhsimran smashed seven fours and four sixes for his 45-ball 71, while Taide will regret missing out on a fifty after being dismissed for a well-made 46 off just 27 balls.
Taide smashed five fours and two sixes and after his departure, Prabhsimran got the company of Rilee Rossouw as the duo put together 54 off 32 balls to keep the momentum going in the middle overs.
It looked a one-way traffic at 151/1 in 14 overs when leg-spinner Vijayakanth Viyaskanth dismissed the set batter Prabhsimran off a quicker delivery that took a faint edge and Heinrich Klaasen did well to take a one-handed catch behind the stumps.
Cummins (1/36) ended his spell taking the wicket Rossouw one run shy of a half-century in the 18th over that left two new batters at the crease -- Jitesh Sharma and Ashutosh Sharma.
T Natarajan (2/33) then did well to remove the inform Ashutosh Sharma in the penultimate over.
PBKS went on to lose four wickets for 44 runs in five overs before the stand-in skipper Jitesh's last over assault took them to a fighting total.
Jitesh (32 not out from 15 balls; 2x4, 2x6) finished with two sixes against Nitish Kumar Reddy in a 20-run final over.
It was a fearless batting display by the Punjab Kings who had nothing to lose and playing the last match of the season.
There was no Jonny Bairstow or Liam Livingstone -- the English duo who have left home for national duty -- but PBKS batters never felt their absence after they opted to bat.
Following a tidy start by Pat Cummins and Bhuvneshwar Kumar where the duo conceded just 12 runs, Prabhsimran took on the veteran Indian seamer slamming him for consecutive boundaries.
The lefthander Taide then got into the act in Natarajan's opening over, when he dragged one from outside off to through mid-on and followed it up with a mighty pull.
The diminutive Punjab batter Prabhsimran added to their misery, hammering a 145kph delivery from Cummins over deep square leg with sheer timing.
Taide also matched his senior partner Prabhsimran and took on Bhuvneshwar with a six and four, as PBKS cruised to 61 for no loss in the power play and the home side looked desperate in search of a breakthrough.
Natarajan finally broke the opening partnership in the 10th over with a short and widish delivery to dismiss a well set Taide.
But Prabhsimran continued his belligerent batting in the company of Rossouw and raced to a 34-ball fifty, his second this season in the 11th over.
His big assault came in Nitish Reddy's next over when the duo spanked him for 20 runs two sixes and one four as there was no stopping PBKS.
