Recognized as one of the UN-ESCAP Centers of Excellence, The National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD) is an apex body engaged in building capacities of rural development functionaries, government officials, NGOs and other stakeholders through inter-related activities of training, research and consultancy. The Institute is located in the historic city of Hyderabad in the Telangana State.
Under the peripheries of NIRD, thrives the Centre for Geo-informatics Application in Rural Development (CGARD) which aims to design and develop geospatial technology applications for the rural development sector and develop skill and knowledge levels of functionaries at different levels such as project directors, policy level officials from the government, non-government, SIRDs, national and international agencies and others. Established in 2002, the Centre has been actively engaged in capacity building for geo-informatics applications for the last 18 years.
Inculcating Real-life Competence with Trimble Products
Professionals coming to CGARD are trained on geo-informatics technology applications in planning, monitoring, modelling, and decision support systems, used in varied areas such as watershed, MGNREGA, agriculture development, environmental impact assessment, conservation practices, resources planning, infrastructure development and village planning.
Along with gaining sound theoretical knowledge, as part of the program, the professionals are trained on using different types of geospatial equipment. Gaining on-ground competence remains an important part of the training. Professionals are trained to use most widely used geospatial equipment such as Trimble Total Stations, hand-held GPS, DGPS etc.
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It is a well-known fact that Trimble’s geospatial products and solutions allow professionals to benefit from high-quality, productive workflows and information exchange. The company’s products and technologies enable surveyors, engineers, GIS service companies, governments, utilities and transportation authorities to come out with high-quality outcomes with enhanced time and cost efficiency. By getting trained in these products and technologies through various CGARD programs, the professionals become better prepared for handling high-valued projects.
As mentioned by Dr. N.S.R. Prasad, Associate Professor in NIRD, “Trimble’s technological marvels have been enabling NIRD to train the Indian as well as international participants efficiently, because of their flexibility, user friendliness and compactness.”
Going Beyond Training
Trimble products are also used by CGARD while carrying out some government projects. For instance, it is currently engaged in a project which involves monitoring the roads of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, wherein Trimble products are playing an important role in surveying and monitoring.
While sharing his thoughts on NIRD’s association with Trimble, Dr. Prasad excitedly says, “Trimble products help in acquiring highly accurate imagery and these products are not much expensive as well. We have been associated with Trimble for the last 18 years. We are very happy with their products as well as the technical support provided by the company whenever we have required.”
Trimble is a well-known name in the realm of geospatial industrial applications, and it is fascinating to discover that it is contributing towards capacity building as well. Through its association with the CGARD in NIRD, the leader is playing a crucial role in building the geospatial workforce of today and tomorrow. Kudos!
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