Earth Observation

The Indian Remote sensing programme is driven by the user needs. In fact, the first remote sensing based pilot project was carried out to identify coconut root-wilt disease in Kerala way back in 1970. This pilot project led the development of Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites. Varieties of instruments have been flown onboard the IRS satellites to provide necessary data in a diversified spatial, spectral and temporal resolutions to cater to different user requirements in the country and for global usage.

These IRS satellites observe the planet Earth from space and provide us periodically synoptic and systematic information pertaining to land, ocean and atmosphere and several aspects of environment. This information is a key ingredient in the programmes of the government at the Centre and State towards ensuring food and water security, sustaining our environment and eco-system, understanding weather and climate, monitoring and management of natural resources, planning and monitoring of developmental activities, support to management and mitigation during disaster events, and information for better governance.