Centre to provide 3.5 lakh free transponders made by ISRO to fishermen for security, business promotion

The government would give 3.5 lakh free two-way communication transponders to fishermen for help in tracking them and promoting their businesses.

In the first phase, one lakh transponders would be installed on boats that are less than 20 metres in length. The project will be carried out under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana.

The transponders will be constructed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and backed by new satellites that will be launched only for this purpose by the space agency. 

Government agencies, including fisheries ministries of state and federal, as well as the National Security Council, are coordinating the project's execution along the coast.

The transponders will not only allow monitoring agencies to track the whereabouts of fishing boats while they are at sea, but they will also allow fishermen to contact agencies from the sea.

The transponders would also allow the authorities to send out alerts about cyclones and other meteorological conditions to the fishermen.

Fishermen would also be able to contact for assistance if they were in difficulty at sea. A pilot operation to install these transponders on sub-20 metre boats began in Tamil Nadu.

The officials said that "The fitment of the two-way communication transponders on the fishing vessels will help in regulating the activities at fishing, harbours, fish, landing centres, fish, landing points and development of a national fisheries application for a one-stop solution towards dissemination of information to fishing communities and regulation of benefits associated with various schemes for the fishing community.”

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.