BHUBANESWAR: National Institute of Technology Rourkela (NIT Rourkela) has entered into a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Tea Board India (TBI) to pursue collaborative research on AI-driven geospatial technologies for tea plantation management.
The agreement was signed at the Regional Remote Sensing Centre (RRSC-East), NRSC, in Kolkata under the initiative titled ‘CHAYANKAN: Comprehensive AI-based Geospatial Data Analytics for Tea Plantation Monitoring.’
Key Highlights of the Initiative:
- Duration & Scope: The three-year project, which launched in April 2026, aims to develop geospatial and artificial intelligence solutions for tea plantation mapping, yield estimation, and disease detection.
- Technology Integration: Research will blend satellite images, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) remote sensing data, and ground-level observations using machine learning models.
The signing featured participation from NRSC Director Dr. Prakash Chauhan, NIT Rourkela Director Prof. K. Umamaheshwar Rao, and Tea Board India Director S. Soundararajan. The project is led by Principal Investigator Dr. Arati Paul (RRSC-East) alongside Co-Principal Investigators Dr. Anima Biswal, J. Nalini, and Dr. Anup Nandy from NIT Rourkela.
By leveraging remote sensing and artificial intelligence, the initiative aims to enhance health and productivity assessments for tea crops while providing early warnings for pest and disease outbreaks.