The new rocket launched today by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) comes with three satellites and costs Rs 230 crores. One of the satellites - the ResourceSat-2 will help map forests glaciers, and monitor crop yields.
But is this what India really needs? Experts point out that India already has the largest constellation of 10 civilian remote sensing satellites in the world. And the government's auditor has reported that almost 90% of the photographs and images delivered by ISRO's satellites are not used. Many of these images are needed both by the government and private sector especially for development of infra-structure like roads, airports and town planning.
The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) highlights that despite the abundance of data available via satellite images, a wasteland mapping project undertaken by ISRO had been delayed by 14 years. The project was to help in rural development.
The auditor has also found that the place where data from the satellites is processed - the National Remote Sensing Center in Hyderabad - is showing worrying levels of inefficiency as images are not being processed fast enough.
At a press conference today, ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan admitted that `the findings of the CAG were one hundred percent correct.'
The criticism directed at ISRO is boosted by a comparison to two similar American remote-sending satellites - Geoeye and Digital Globe - both of which use as much 90% of all the images they collect.
But is this what India really needs? Experts point out that India already has the largest constellation of 10 civilian remote sensing satellites in the world. And the government's auditor has reported that almost 90% of the photographs and images delivered by ISRO's satellites are not used. Many of these images are needed both by the government and private sector especially for development of infra-structure like roads, airports and town planning.
The report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) highlights that despite the abundance of data available via satellite images, a wasteland mapping project undertaken by ISRO had been delayed by 14 years. The project was to help in rural development.
The auditor has also found that the place where data from the satellites is processed - the National Remote Sensing Center in Hyderabad - is showing worrying levels of inefficiency as images are not being processed fast enough.
At a press conference today, ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan admitted that `the findings of the CAG were one hundred percent correct.'
The criticism directed at ISRO is boosted by a comparison to two similar American remote-sending satellites - Geoeye and Digital Globe - both of which use as much 90% of all the images they collect.
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