Hughes Wins Rs. 246Mn EDUSAT Project for Government of Punjab

28 January 2013

Hughes Communications India, Ltd.  has been contracted by the government of Punjab to supply and operate a comprehensive, satellite-based network to deliver quality education content to students in educational institutions throughout the state using the INSAT-4CR satellite. The win marks the largest ever in India for a satellite-based education network by any VSAT service provider.  

Hughes will provision the satellite-based network to connect approximately 2960 schools with educational content and lectures either pre-recorded or set up as live telecasts from studios based in Mohali and broadcast across Punjab. 

Kahan Singh Pannu , director general of school education and secretary and project director for the EDUSAT project, Punjab Government, said, "The state government is committed to providing the necessary infrastructure and facilities required for the promotion of education that will enable the teaching faculty to give their best to the students. This will supplement curriculum-based teaching training, provide greater community participation, increase access, strengthen education efforts and provide access to new technologies. The EDUSAT project initiated by the Punjab Government will prove an asset in providing teaching and imparting a quality education at the school level. The education officers in all the districts of Punjab are directed to make all the preparations and ask the school heads to inform the students about this course, so that more and more students can benefit from this initiative."

Shivaji Chatterjee , vice president at Hughes India, said, "We are proud that the Punjab Government has chosen Hughes for this very worthy EDUSAT project. India holds a strong position in the knowledge economy today, in large part due to its major investment in education over the years. In this program we'll leverage best-of-breed technology and project management practices to ensure the most rapid and economical solution to help close the digital divide across the state."

This important development emphasizes HCIL's capability to provide high quality and secure satellite networking solutions using its award winning technology and services. HCIL is also implementing strategic projects with other state governments including Kerala, Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Andaman, Lakshadweep, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, J&K and Orissa.