Indian Earth Observation System – An Overview

The Presentation will cover the salient aspects of the Indian Earth Observation Programme starting from the initial days in 1970s till today. The EO satellite programme started with Bhaskara-1 satellite in 1978 have expanded into thematic series such as Resourcesats, Cartosats, Oceansats etc. Currently India is operating 9 satellites specifically for resource monitoring, Ocean observations, Cartographic applications, and weather monitoring. Current plan includes realization of 12 Earth observation satellites. The objective of Indian EO programme was societal development, and hence a host of applications have been developed and operationalized in various themes such as Agriculture, Water resources, renewable energy, and weather monitoring to support socio-economic security, sustainable development, Governance and Disaster Risk reduction. The presentation will cover glimpses of major application programs, which are being operationally carried out in India. Indian EO programme is also pursuing a vibrant International collaboration with various space agencies. The presentation will also cover the mechanisms for tailoring the space programs as per the user requirement and the recent reforms in space sector and associated changes being effected in the programme.