Paper on creating master plan to make India top provider of data from satellites released

The paper on earth observation (EO) data from Indian satellite missions has been brought out by Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre in association with ISRO

Bengaluru: A consultation paper outlining a plan to make India a leading provider of data observed by its various existing and future satellites, with applications in weather forecasting, defence and more, has been released by the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre.

The paper on earth observation (EO) data from Indian satellite missions has been brought out by Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) in association with ISRO.

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Data from India’s various remote sensing satellites have applications in numerous fields, including defence and monitoring, location services, urban planning, weather forecasting, agriculture, fisheries, and forestry and biodiversity, among others.

The objective of the paper is to jointly prepare a master plan for EO data to engage Indian Non-Government entities (NGE) in manufacturing remote sensing satellites to meet future data requirements, IN-SPACe said on Friday.

With a vision of attaining self-reliance in EO sector in the country and positioning India as a leading global geospatial service provider, an analysis of the availability of the datasets from Indian satellite missions was carried out by IN-SPACe and ISRO and this consultation paper is published, it said.

According to IN-SPACe, the EO sector has evolved significantly in the recent decades. Insights derived from high-resolution satellite data provide a comprehensive understanding of the earth and its dynamic processes.

ISRO has led technological advancements in optical, microwave, stereo and hyperspectral satellite missions and its applications, through its fleet of Indian Remote Sensing Satellites ranging from series of IRS, Resourcesat, Cartosat, Oceansat & RISAT satellites.

“This consultation paper describes the present state of the EO data from Indian Missions, the likely data demand and future requirements and a plan to realise additional satellite constellations,” an IN-SPACe statement said.

“The stakeholders are requested to share their thoughts and feedback on the EO consultation paper by visiting the IN-SPACe Digital Platform latest by 31 August 2023”.
IN-SPACe is an autonomous nodal agency under the Department of Space (DOS), Government of India, formed in 2020 to promote, enable, authorise and supervise NGEs to undertake space activities.

These activities include manufacturing of launch vehicles and satellites, providing space-based services, establishing a ground station, sharing of space infrastructure & facilities; and establishing new facilities under DOS, it was noted.