Bengal: 12 IAS officers receive ham radio training

KOLKATA: Twelve IAS officers of 2022 batch, hailing from different states of the country received training on handling ham radio at the B R Ambedkar Institute of Panchayats and Rural Development (BRAIRPD) at Kalyani in Nadia district on Sunday.

West Bengal Radio Club (WBRC) — an organisation of ham radio enthusiasts in the state — conducted the training programme on the request of the institute that functions under the aegis of the state Panchayats and Rural Development (P&RD) department.

According to Ambarish Nag Biswas, general secretary and custodian of WBRC, the IAS officers’ training was not similar to that of the WBCS officers, police or disaster management personnel, considering the fact that they will be at the helm of administrative affairs.

“Our special emphasis was on the various legal aspects of ham radio — who is entitled to sell such radios, from whom can the radio be purchased and the various licenses associated with operation of ham radio etc,” Nag Biswas said.

The subject of the training was — ‘Scope and challenges in operation of Ham radio in Disaster Management’.

Issues like how connectivity can be developed through ham radio, how still pictures and video footage can be sent with the help of radio stations even if there is no internet, how can amateur radio establish contact in places where normal connectivity is a challenge were covered during the training.

Previously, state police, teachers, Panchayat officials, state doctors and nurses and officers working in civil service received training in handling ham radio.

“This is perhaps for the first time in the state that IAS officers from states like Punjab, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh were trained by us. They are all slated to join the state administration,” Nag Biswas added.

The ham radio training is an integral part of the ongoing training of these bureaucrats at BRAIRPD that began on September 11. The training, particularly on Panchayat and rural development -current situation and role of administration, will be held till September 22.

Representatives from Indian Academy of Communication and Disaster Management were also present during the training.