Uttarakhand State Council for Science & Technology (UCOST) & National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) haved signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the establishment of INR 173 Crore Science City in Jhajhra area of Dehradun.
Objective – To Advance the Scientific Culture of India
- The Central Government will provide INR 88 Crore for the project whereas Uttarakhand Government will provide INR 85 Crore for the project which will take 4 years to complete.
- The agreement was signed by Samarendra Kumar, Director of NCSM & Rajendra Dobhal, Director of UCOST.
- The Science city will be a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Science Communication and will benefit the Students & Youths.
i.The facility is expected to benefit around 7-8 Lakh people every year.
ii.It is set to be developed as a facility for science and technology communication, popularisation and innovation among students, teachers, citizens and tourists.
iii.The Science City will have galleries on Astronomy and Space Sciences, Robotics, Science and Technology heritage, geological life, climate change, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) & others.
- It will also have a space theatre/planetarium, outdoor science park, butterfly park, biodome, fossil park, Convention Centre & Exhibition hall.
National Council of Science Museums (NCSM):
It is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Culture and is responsible for development of Science Cities, Science Centres, Innovation Hubs and Mobile Science Exhibitions throughout India.
Recent Related News:
i.On January 18, 2021 Assam Chief Minister (CM) Sarbananda Sonowal laid the foundation stone of Science City at Tepesia, Assam. The total expenditure to build this science city is INR 184 crore.
About National Council of Science Museums (NCSM):
Director General – A D Choudhury
Headquarters – Kolkata, West Bengal
About Uttarakhand:
RAMSAR Site – Asan Conservation Reserve
Major Tribes – Bhotias (also known as Shaukas), Tharus, Buxas, Jaunsaris
