The Central Arecanut and Cocoa Marketing and Processing Cooperative Limited (CAMPCO) has welcomed the proposed ‘Prof U. R. Rao Advanced Science Centre’ in Udupi, calling it an important step towards promoting science, innovation, and research in the coastal region.
The science centre is proposed to be developed on a five-acre campus at an estimated cost of around Rs. 6.2 crore. It is expected to include an Aero-Space Gallery and several science-based attractions aimed at encouraging students and young researchers to take an interest in space technology, innovation, and scientific studies.
Industry experts believe the centre could also support agro-based industries connected to CAMPCO, especially cocoa and arecanut farming, by encouraging technology-driven research and innovation in agriculture.
S R Sathishchandra, President of CAMPCO, said the project would become a major milestone for scientific education and research in the region once implemented.
He also recalled that former CAMPCO President A Kishore Kumar Kodgi had submitted a proposal to PM Modi in 2023 seeking the establishment of an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) laboratory unit in Udupi district.
The proposal aimed to honour scientists associated with India’s Chandrayaan missions and recognise the contributions of scientists from Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts to India’s space programme. It also advocated setting up a scientific institution in memory of late Udupi Ramachandra Rao, the renowned space scientist from Udupi who played a key role in strengthening India’s space research efforts.
Sathishchandra expressed hope that more such scientific and research institutions would come up in the coastal region in the future.