New Delhi, Jan 6 (IANS): The CISF has taken over the security of Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS), Dehradun, an arm of the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), an official said on Saturday.

With a sanctioned strength of 63, a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) unit headed by an Assistant Commandant took over the security of the institute on Friday.

With this, a total of 340 units are under CISF security cover, CISF Assistant Inspector General Hemendra Singh told IANS.

The IIRS is a premier training and educational institute set up for developing trained professionals in the field of remote sensing, geo-informatics and Global Positioning System (GPS) technology for natural resources, environmental and disaster management.

"The institute is listed in the schedule 4(b) of The Central Educational Institutions (Reservations in Admission) Act, 2006 as one of the institutions of excellence, research institutions, institutions of national and strategic importance.

"In the light of the increased threat perception to the Department of Space Installations situated across the country, IIRS is inherently vulnerable to threats from anti-nationals and may be a potential target. Hence, the government us the opportunity to protect the institute," Singh said.

The official said that the IIRS campus also housed the headquarters of the Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific, affiliated to the UN and first of its kind established in the region in 1995.

The headquarters of Indian Society of Remote Sensing (ISRS), the largest non-governmental scientific society in the country, is also located in the Institute campus, he added.