ISRO – The Indian Space Research Organization will establish a Regional Academic Centre for Space at IIT-Varanasi for facilitating short and long term projects at the institute. ISRO and the Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) signed a on January 20, 2021 and with this, BHU can help propel the culture of research and development among students said the statement.

Statement reads: "The Regional Academic Space Center (RAC-S) will be opened at the institutes under these agreements." Short-term projects are also included for B-Tech and M-Tech Students from BHU and associated institutes.

The statement included the following - "Long term R&D projects leading to the PhD programme will also be offered. Capacity building programmes like conferences, exhibitions and short courses will be organized to strengthen the knowledge base in the field.”

The MoU was signed by IIT (BHU) director Prof Pramod Kumar Jain on behalf of the institute and P V Venkatakrishnan, the director of Capacity Building Programme Office (CBPO), ISRO headquarters. ISRO scientific secretary R Umamaheswaran gave the inaugural address.

Jain said the Regional Academic Centre for Space (RAC-S) of ISRO will act as a major facilitator for promoting space technology activities in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

Jain added, “IIT (BHU) will act as a catalyst for capacity building, awareness creation and R&D activities of ISRO. The activities of RAC-S will be directed to maximize the utilization of research potential, infrastructure and expertise available at ISRO and IIT (BHU).”