India, Sept. 21 -- Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Monday laid the foundation stone of Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro)'s advanced radar research facility in Chandrapur near Guwahati, the first of its kind in the northeast for space surveillance. Isro Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) will build the facility.

"It is a landmark day for Assam. Until two decades ago, our state was known for strikes, violence and insurgency. That has changed in the last decade, and now we have IIT [Indian Institute of Technology], IIM [Indian Institute of Management], AIIMS [All India Institute of Medical Sciences] and central universities in Assam," said Sarma.

He added there was a vacuum in space science. "With the Chan...