Organisation

Space Applications

OS continued to expand its space applications programme using the two main space systems, INSAT and the Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites, to reach the benefits to the society. The highlights of the applications programme are given in the following paragraphs.

Village Resource Centres (VRCs)
Over the last three decades, satellite based communication and remote sensing technologies have demonstrated their capabilities to provide services related education, healthcare, weather, land and water resources management, mitigation of impact of natural disasters, etc. To reach these space-based services directly to the rural population, establishment of Village Resource Centres (VRC) was launched in 2004 in association with NGOs/Trusts and governmental agencies.

VRCs provide a variety of space based products and services such as tele-education; telemedicine; information on natural resources; interactive advisories on agriculture, fisheries, land and water resources management; livestock management; interactive vocational training towards livelihood support; etc. DOS primarily provides satellite connectivity and bandwidth; telemedicine and tele-education facilities; and customized spatial information on natural resources, along with indigenously developed query tools. The associating agencies provide the facilities for housing, managing and operating VRCs and generating the rest of the contents.

So far 200 VRCs have been set up in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar. Another 100 VRCs are being set up in other states. Around 40 NGOs/Trusts, Institutes, Government Agencies are associated in the VRC programme. VRCs, so far, have provided various services/advisories to the local people in the areas of agriculture, adult and computer literacy; alternate livelihood related vocational training, marketing of agro-products, micro-finance/enterprises, livestock management, healthcare, etc.


Computer aided learning programme at MS Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) VRC network

Disaster Management Support (DMS)
Disaster Management Support (DMS) addresses (i)creation of digital database for facilitating hazard zonation, damage assessment, etc, (ii) monitoring of major natural disasters using satellite and aerial data and development of appropriate techniques/tools, (iii) acquisition of close contour data for hazard prone areas using Air-borne Laser Terrain Mapper,
(iv) strengthening the communication backbone for timely dissemination of information and emergency support, (iv) development of Air-borne Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) towards all-weather monitoring capability, (v) establishment of a Decision Support Centre (DSC) at NRSA as a single-window service provider and (vi) support the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters, as a signatory.

DSC, at NRSA, as the ‘single-window’ for all aerospace-based services for supporting disaster management, has been operational. During the year, monitoring and impact assessment was carried out for (a) 17 flood events in 10 States; and (b) assessment and monitoring of agricultural drought was carried out in 14 States. The Pareechu Lake in the Tibet region (across the Indian border, formed during end-July 2004 due to blockade by landslide) continues to be monitored regularly. The recent IRS image taken in June 2006 has shown that the flow of water is continuous and safe.

Towards providing emergency communication for disaster management activities, a satellite based Virtual Private Network is being set up linking the National Control Room at Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) with DSC at NRSA, important national agencies, key government offices in Delhi and State Control Rooms. Already, 19 video conferencing-cum-information transfer nodes have been established along with an exclusive hub at MHA, New Delhi.
C/X band Air-borne SAR system which is under advanced stages of development, along with real-time processor will be used to conduct aerial surveys for disaster affected areas (including ALTM, Digital Camera and ASAR), as well as, dissemination of the products to users in an expeditious manner.

A National Database for Emergency Management (NDEM) is being established.
Towards the National Tsunami Warning System, being set up by Department of Ocean Development (DOD), DOS is involved in: (a) networking of tide gauges; (b) development of pressure sensor for the DART; and (c) generation of spatial database for vulnerable coastal areas for inundation and storm surge modeling. Also, DOS is assisting: (a) National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) towards their evolving the National Disaster Management Policy; and (b) 2nd Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) towards their working on the policy guidelines for Crises Management.

INSAT Applications

EDUSAT Programme

EDUSAT, launched by Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV-F01) in September 2004, is India’s first thematic satellite dedicated exclusively for educational services. The satellite is specially configured to relay through audio-visual medium, employing multi-media multi-centric system, to create interactive classrooms. EDUSAT has multiple regional beams covering different parts of India – five Ku-band transponders with spot beams covering northern, north-eastern, eastern, southern and western regions of the country, a Ku-band transponder with its footprint covering the Indian mainland region and six C-band transponders with their footprints covering the entire country. EDUSAT is being implemented in three phases, pilot, semi-operational and operational phases. While pilot phase has continued, semi-operational phase has been put into implementation during the year.

EDUSAT is already providing a wide range of educational delivery modes like one-way TV broadcast, interactive TV, video conferencing, computer conferencing, web-based instructions, etc. Regular utilisation of EDUSAT for Visveswaraya Technological University and Rajeev Gandhi Technical University and Y B Chawan Open University pilot networks is continuing.

During the year Rajasthan EDUSAT network and Jammu hub were inaugurated. Installation and commissioning of 135 terminals of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), 84 nodes of CIET and 68 terminals of CEC and 101 terminals of All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and 22 terminals of Vigyan Prasar (DST), and 83 of IDSP in National Beam have also been completed. 982 Receive only Terminals (ROTs) are installed and Commissioned at various schools of Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattishgarh, Rajasthan, Uttaranchal and Jharkhand. The regular transmission of four hours teaching is conducted. Regional networks for J&K (2), Rajasthan, Haryana, Kerala (2), Tamilnadu (2), Karnataka (2), Gujarat have become operational.

So far, nine networks in the national beam and 22 using regional beams have been implemented. In all there are 10,168 terminals in EDUSAT network including 514 SITs and 954 ROTs in national beam, 1290 SITs and 7410 ROTs in regional beams have been Installed and commissioned so far (88 SITs and 900 ROTs in Kerala, 483 SITs in Tamil Nadu, 174 SITs in Punjab, eight SITs in Jharkand, 70 SITs in Jammu and Kashmir, 72 SITs & 168 ROTs in Rajasthan, 46 SITs in Tripura, 20 SITs in Nagaland, 349 SITs in Haryana, 13 SITs in Lakshadweep, 18 SITs and 340 ROTs in West Bengal, 2100 ROTs in Andhra Pradesh (under INSAT-3B), 27 SITs and 1710 ROTs in Gujarat and 2110 ROTs in Karnataka).

GRAMSAT Programme (GP)

The Gramsat Program was initiated to establish SATCOM networks to provide state based connectivity for the rural specific needs. Regular Gramsat/TDCC activities continued during the year and networks have upgraded/converged to cater multiple services like Tele education, Tele medicine and VRC’s etc.

Andaman and Nicobar network was upgraded to counter the degradation due to tertiary coverage of the space segment in the region. The network continued to be used for e-governance and computer education in the region. Besides being used for computer education, ship ticket booking software has been added by A&N administration of existing network.

The establishment of Rajasthan network, funded by Government of Rajasthan, has been established at Jaipur. Teaching end installation is in progress. In West Bengal, setting up full-fledged network for panchayat training is being set up. In Orissa, the TDCC network continued to be operational. The e-governance component up to block level continued to support panchayat e-governance services like panchayat financial transaction, land record, e-mail etc.

Conversion of network to Ku-band is in progress.
With the convergence of technology and networks, it is planned to merge GRAMSAT and TDCC networks with EDUSAT and enable integrated services in the respective application areas.

Training and Development Communication Channel (TDCC)
TDCC activities are now being continued as GRAMSAT Programme (GP) for the states. The state governments of Gujarat, MP, Karnataka and Orissa, and Anna University, Goa University, etc. are regular/major users. The network was used by different agencies for training about 6.6 lakhs participants. The present average TDCC utilisation is about 25-30 days a month with 100-110 Interactive Training Programs (ITPs) with more than six uplinks on air simultaneously. ITPs are conducted mainly in fields of education, Panchayath Raj, engineering, health, water, women and child, medical, transport, industry, forestry and fisheries. The utilisation of the channel over the last three years has indicated a significant growth in terms of ITPs conducted per month, duration of usage, and number of users, etc.

Science Channel
Science Channel is a joint venture of ISRO and Vigyan Prasar under Department of Science and Technology (DST). Till August 2006, sixty episodes have been transmitted. It is proposed to follow this transmission with a 26 part Quiz programme from September 3, 2006.
The programmes are being transmitted on DD-1 as a 30 min capsule on every Sunday. Programmes are aimed at children in the age group 12 to 18. It is planned to add two more weekly programmes, a 26 part health programme ‘Jeete Raho’ for general viewers and a science news magazine ‘Science Watch’ to be telecast on DD-2.

Telemedicine
Telemedicine is an important initiative of DOS to use space technology for societal benefits. While DOS provides the telemedicine systems - software, hardware and communication equipments as well as satellite bandwidth – the state governments and the specialty hospitals have to allocate funds for their part of infrastructure, manpower and maintenance. Technology development, standards and cost effective systems have been evolved in association with various state governments, NGOs, specialty hospitals and industry. DOS interacts with state government and specialty hospitals for bringing an understanding between the parties through an MOU.

At present, there are 186 hospitals in the telemedicine network including 152 in remote and rural areas and 34 super specialty hospitals in major cities as follows:
Andhra Pradesh (3), A & N Islands(4), Bihar (1), West Bengal (6), Chattisgarh (16), Gujarat (1), Himachal Pradesh (1), Haryana (2), Jharkhand (1), Jammu & Kashmir (12), Karnataka (25), Kerala (26), Lakshadweep Islands (5), Madhya Pradesh (1), Maharashtra (4), NE States (21), New Delhi (4), Orissa (3), Punjab (4), Pondicherry (5) Rajasthan (13), Jaipur (2), Ajmer (2), Tamilnadu (13), Uttar Pradesh (3) and Others (12).

DOS also supports Telemedicine national grid activities through Task Force formed by Directorate of Health Services. The second draft of the grid document has been prepared.

A telemedicine consultation in progress

Television
INSAT has been a major catalyst for the expansion of television coverage in India. Satellite television now covers over 65 percent of the Indian landmass and over 90 percent of the population. At present 40 Doordarshan TV channels including news uplinks are operating through C-band transponders of INSAT-3A, INSAT-3C and INSAT-2E (INTELSAT leased). Most of the TV channels are digitised.

The following satellite television services are being operated by Doordarshan:
• National networking service (DD-1), DD News
(DD-2), DD-Sports,DD-Urdu,DD-India DD-Bharti and Digital Satellite News Gathering (DSNG) service.
• Regional services in Kerala, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, UP, Assam, Maharashtra, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tripura, Orissa, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Haryana, Mizoram, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.

At present, 1,397 transmitters of Doordarshan are working in INSAT system out of which 1,133 transmitters (120 High Power Transmitters (HPT), 742 Low Power Transmitters (LPT), 253 Very Low Power Transmitters (VLPT) and 18 transposers) are working in the DD-1 network and 152 TV Transmitters (69 HPTs, 78 LPTs and five VLPTs) are working in the DD-News network. 108 Regional service transmitters (six HPTs, nine LPTS and 93 VLPTs), four HPTs for digital transmissions are also operational in the Doordarshan Network. 47 Private TV channels are operational through four private TV teleports. 10 DTH channels are planned in C-Band for Andaman and Nicobar.

Satellite News Gathering and Dissemination
Satellite News Gathering using INSAT system enables on the spot real-time news coverage. Prasar Bharati has twelve Digital Outdoor-Broadcast DSNG terminals operating through INSAT network in C-band to cover important events in different locations for transmission to a central station at Delhi or to state capitals for rebroadcast over DD channels. Four Ku-band DSNG terminals have been added by DD in INSAT network. Twelve DSNG terminals in Ku-band are in the process of induction and one more is planned. Similarly, seven more DSNGs in C-Band are likely to be introduced in the network.

Four transportable uplink terminals are being utilised by AIR for coverage of events taking place at remote locations and for relay of programmes directly via INSAT. In addition to this, four DSNG terminals are in the process of induction at different AIR stations.These terminals are capable of uplinking CD quality music channel from any remote locations to a central place such as Delhi. In addition, 89 terminals are operational for private DSNG channels.

Radio Networking
Radio Networking (RN) through INSAT provides a reliable high-fidelity programme channels for national as well as regional networking. At present, 235 All India Radio (AIR) stations have been equipped with S-band receive terminals out of which around 207 AIR stations have been upgraded to receive C-band Analogue and Digital RN carriers and rest of the stations are under process of upgradation to receive analogue and digital C-band RN carriers by March 2008.

A total of 84 RN channels are being uplinked at present. Out of these, 41 are operating in CxS and 43 in CxC bands. For this AIR is utilising two S-band transponders and one C-band transponder of INSAT-3C. A total of 90 carriers in CxC band are being envisaged for uplinking by utilising the entire transponder of INSAT-3C.

In AIR network, a total of 28 earth stations are present with facility to uplink in both CxS and CxC band frequency. The Central earth station at Broadcast House, Delhi, has been augmented to up-link 24 RN carriers in CxS and CxC band. New earth stations are being envisaged at AIR Varanasi, Rohtak, Aurangabad and Leh.

Recently AIR has launched 20 radio channels on DTH terminals in Ku-band at Todapur, New Delhi. Efforts are underway to augment this to 30 channels.

Telecommunications
A total of 590 telecommunication terminals of various sizes and capabilities (excluding NICNET, RABMN and private VSAT micro terminals) are operating in INSAT telecommunications network providing 10,070 two-way speech circuits or equivalent to over 492 routes. These include 89 BSNL, 125 for government users and 22 Closed User Group(CUG)/VSAT operators earth stations and 354 BSNL VSATs (239 Multi-Channel Per Carrier (MCPC) VSATs, 57 High speed VSAT Network (HVNET) terminals and 62 VSATs operating under the Remote Area Business Management Network. A total of 55,385 CUG VSATs- both in private and government sectors - are operating through INSAT.

The Bangalore-Delhi digital network with two 34 Mbps streams has been commissioned. Augmentation of existing eight Mbps connectivity amongst four metros is planned by using digital channel multiplying equipment.

Captive satellite-based networks for National Thermal Power Corporation, Gas Authority of India Ltd, Nuclear Power Corporation, Indian Telephone Industries, Oil and Natural Gas Commission, National Fertilisers Limited and Coal India Limited are operational. A Coal India Limited earth station at Poonch has been commissioned. The National Stock Exchange VSAT network in extended C-band is operational. A number of captive government networks are also working with INSAT. More organisations are in the process of implementing their own
captive networks using INSAT. Department of Telecommunications has licensed a few private operators to provide value-added services to the public using the extended C-band.

Mobile Satellite Services
An S-band Mobile Satellite Service (MSS) was added to INSAT system with the launch of INSAT-3C in 2002 and GSAT-2 in 2003. The following two classes of services were identified for MSS:
• A small portable satellite terminal that works with INSAT for voice/data communication has been developed with the participation of Indian industries. The terminal is useful for voice communication especially during disasters when other communication means break down. It can be used from any location in India for emergency communication. Transmit and receive frequencies of the terminal are in S-Band.
• The portable terminal is connected to EPABX at central hub station through satellite channel and hence could be considered as an extension of EPABX and call could be made between any satellite terminals and local phones on EPABX. Central hub station is located at SAC, Ahmedabad.

INSAT Reporting system: This consist of low bit rate one-way reporting service using shared channels with portable and hand-held terminals. This unique one-way messaging from a remote location to user-headquarters operates with the Delhi Earth Station (DES) of DOS as the hub. This is an experimental service. Short messages from user terminals are relayed through the satellite to the hub and are automatically forwarded to the respective user headquarters via Fax or data links. This reporting service is provided using small hand-held terminals. There is a provision to attach a GPS receiver to the reporting terminal for position information.

Meteorology
The meteorological data of INSAT system is processed and disseminated by INSAT Meteorological Data Processing System (IMDPS) of India Meteorological Department (IMD). Upper winds, sea surface temperature and precipitation index data are regularly obtained. The products derived from the image data include: cloud motion vectors, sea surface temperature, outgoing long-wave radiation and quantitative precipitation index. The products are used for weather forecasting, both synoptic and numerical weather prediction.

INSAT-VHRR imageries are used by Doordarshan during news coverage and by newspapers as part of weather reporting. At present, repetitive and synoptic weather system observations over Indian Ocean from geostationary orbit are available only from INSAT system. INSAT VHRR data is available in near real-time at 90 Meteorological Data Dissemination Centres (MDDC) in various parts of the country. With the commissioning of direct satellite service for processed VHRR data, MDDC type of data can be provided at any location in the country.
IMD has installed 100 meteorological Data Collection Platforms (DCPs) and other agencies have installed about 200 DCPs all over the country. One DCP is also installed at Schiramacher, the Indian base station in Antarctica.

DCP services are provided using the Data Relay Transponders of Kalpana-1 and INSAT-3A. A rainfall monitoring system which operates at 300 bits/second has been developed. ISRO has taken up indigenous development of low cost automatic weather station for deployment in the country in large numbers. The data collection is proposed to be carried out in TDMA mode instead of the present random access mode.

For quick dissemination of warnings against impending disaster from approaching cyclones, specially designed receivers have been installed at the vulnerable coastal areas in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, West Bengal and Gujarat for direct transmission of warnings to the officials and public in general using broadcast capability of INSAT. India Meteorological Department’s Area Cyclone Warning Centres generate special warning bulletins and transmit them every hour in local languages to the affected areas. Three hundred and fifty such receiver stations have been installed by IMD. Out of these 100 are Digital CWDS (DCWDS) based on advanced technology. DCWDS has been deployed with acknowledgement transmitters to get confirmation at transmitting station.

A cooperative agreement has been signed with EUMETSAT for using meteorological data from METEOSAT-5 at 63 degree East in exchange for weather pictures collected by INSAT.
Satellite Aided Search and Rescue (SAS&R) India is a member of the international COSPAS-SARSAT programme for providing distress alert and position location service through Low Earth Orbit Search And Rescue (LEOSAR) satellite system. Under this programme, India has established two Local User Terminals (LUTs), one at Lucknow and the other at Bangalore. The Indian Mission Control Centre (INMCC) is located at ISTRAC, Bangalore.

INSAT-3A located at 93.5 deg East is equipped with 406 MHz Search and Rescue payload that picks up and relays alert signals originating from the distress beacons of maritime, aviation and land users. INSAT and GOES systems have become an integral part of the COSPAS-SARSAT system and they complement the LEOSAR system.

Indian LUTs provide coverage to a large part of Indian Ocean region rendering distress alert services to Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Seychelles, Sri Lanka and Tanzania. The operations of INMCC/LUT are funded by the participating agencies, namely, Coast Guard, Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Director General of Shipping and Services.

INSAT GEOSAR Local User Terminal (GEO LUT) is established at ISTRAC, Bangalore and integrated with INMCC. The distress alert messages concerning the Indian service area, detected at INMCC are passed on to Indian Coast Guard and Rescue Coordination Centres at Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi and Chennai. The search and rescue activities are carried out by Coast Guard, Navy and Air Force. INMCC is linked to RCCs and other International MCCs through automatic telex and Aeronautical Fixed Telecommunication Network. The Indian LUTs and MCC provide service round the clock and maintain the database of all 406 MHz registered beacons equipped on Indian ships and aircraft.

During the year, INMCC supported four distress incidents and saved 86 human lives. Details of the real distress incidents supported are:
• Rescue of 22 crew members of Liberia flag vessel “MV Maunakea” by detecting the distress signal on April 29, 2006.
• Rescue of 19 crew members of Indian vessel
“TUG-6,” belonging to Dredging Corporation of India by detecting the distress signal on May 5, 2006.
• Rescue of 15 crew members of Panama Tug vessel “SEA DIAMOND VII” by detecting the distress signal on June 2, 2006.
• Rescue of 30 crew members of a Panama registered ship “Glory Moon” by detecting the distress signal during July 11-15, 2006.
INMCC registered 3,132 beacons at Web-based Beacon Registration and organised uploading of existing Indian beacon data on the website. A low cost beacon is being developed by ISRO.

Standard Time and Frequency Signal Dissemination Services
A Standard Time and Frequency Signal Dissemination Service using a Radio Networking (RN) type CxS carrier on INSAT-3C, is being operated by the National Physical Laboratory. This service is available round-the-clock in a broadcast mode at downlink frequency in S-band and is receivable on a set-up consisting of a 2.4 m diameter antenna, a front-end converter, an FM demodulator and a microprocessor controlled signal decoder. The service consists of a train of 5 kHz bursts signal, which is frequency modulated on the carrier. The time has a precision of better than one microsecond and accuracy of better than 20 microseconds.

Remote Sensing Applications for Natural Resources Management
National Natural Resources Management System (NNRMS), under the aegis of DOS, is aimed at optimum utilisation of the country’s natural resources by systematic inventory using earth observation data in conjunction with conventional techniques. The Planning Committee of NNRMS (PC-NNRMS) provides guidelines for implementation of the system and oversees the remote sensing applications. Ten Standing Committees have been constituted for application of remote sensing in different thematic areas. They are: (i) Agriculture and Soils, (ii) Bio-Resources, (iii) Geology and Mineral Resources, (iv) Water Resources,
(v) Ocean Resources, (vi) Cartography and Mapping, (vii) Urban Management, (viii) Rural Development, (ix) Meteorology and (x) Training and Technology. Each of these Standing Committees is chaired by Secretary of the respective government departments and includes experts from major user departments/agencies.

The remote sensing application projects at national, regional and local levels are carried out through NRSA, Hyderabad, SAC, Ahmedabad, five Regional Remote Sensing Application Centres (RRSSC) located at Bangalore, Dehradun, Jodhpur, Kharagpur, and Nagpur and North-Eastern Space Application Centre (NE-SAC), Shillong. State and central government departments, state remote sensing centres and others are associated in these projects. Some of the major application projects carried out during the year are highlighted in the following paragraphs.

Groundwater Prospects Mapping: Under Rajiv Gandhi National Drinking Water Mission, funded by the Department of Drinking Water Supply of the Ministry of Rural Development, ground water prospects mapping was completed for Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat and Orissa. The work involved preparation of maps on 1:50,000 scale and generation of digital data base pertaining to ground water such as lithology, geomorphology, geological structures and hydrology. The user feedback indicates good success for targeting water. Training workshops have been organised in all the states to demonstrate the utility of these maps for selection of well sites and planning recharge structures. More than two lakh wells have been drilled in seven states with the overall success rate of 90 percent and about 7,000 recharge structures have been constructed. As part of the Phase-III of the mission, ground water prospect mapping for the remaining states of India has been initiated.

Multi-date imageries received from RESOURCESAT-1 showing the progress of paddy growth in Orissa

CAPE and FASAL: Crop Acreage and Production Estimate (CAPE) is a countrywide project funded by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperation and executed by DOS along with various State Remote Sensing Applications Centres, State Departments of Agriculture and Agricultural Universities. Acreage and production estimates for principal crops such as wheat, rice, sorghum, cotton, mustard and groundnut are generated under the project using stratified random sampling approach. Achievements of CAPE include evaluation of multi-date remote sensing data for crop identification, creation of a geo-referenced cadastral data-base for accuracy evaluation, development of yield models using trend and weather data.

The all India wheat area was estimated as 26.46 million hectares and production as 71.55 million tonne for the season 2005-06. Wheat acreage and production forecasts for Madhya Pradesh were 3.91 million hectares and 6.58 million tonne respectively which is 7.4 percent less than last year. The pre-harvest national Kharif rice area was estimated as 36.41 million hectares and production as 72.87 million tonne for 2006-07. The all India potato area was estimated as 1.09 million hectares and production as 22.59 million tonne for 2006-07.

Based on the success of CAPE, Forecasting Agricultural output through Agro-meteorological and Land based observations (FASAL), which envisages phased implementation in collaboration with State Agricultural Statistical Agencies, has been institutionalised. Implementation of FASAL is being carried out in Orissa. The acreage and production of kharif rice was 4.02 million hectares and 6.0 million tonne respectively.

Technology Mission on Cotton: Under the technology mission on Cotton, RESOURCESAT-1 data over Sirsa, Bharuch, Nagpur and Dharwad districts were analysed to derive distribution of cotton crop. The spatial distribution of cotton crop was integrated with the pedo-climatic data like soil and weather information. The acreages of cotton crop under each of the pedo-climatic zones were generated for further analysis in crop modeling for generating cotton yield and aggregate cotton production at district level.

Cropping System Analysis: RESOURCESAT-1 multi-temporal data was used to generate cropping pattern and crop rotation maps for five states of Indo-Gangetic plains. The three seasons cropping patterns were integrated to obtain crop rotation map. The classifications have been completed for all states and the generation of maps is in progress. The results show that, in Trans-Gangetic Plains (TGP), rice occupies 48.26, 53.87 and 35.12 per cent of agricultural area in TGP-1 (foothills of Shiwalik), TGP-2 (Plains) and TGP-3 (Arid), respectively. Wheat covered 64.30, 75.10 and 72.65 percent area respectively in the same region.

Godavari delta as seen by RESOURCESAT-1

The composite products obtained from satellites were used to compute the minimum and maximum greenness, seasonality of vegetation, onset of sowing and harvesting, crop duration, total integrated greenness and skewness in the growing season.

A model to simulate the long-term effects of cropping system on land was validated for all the major cropping systems of Punjab using field experiments with Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana.

Horticulture studies: Mapping of apple orchards was completed for Kulu, Shimla and Mandi districts in Himachal Pradesh. RESOURCESAT-1 data has been used to map the orchards at block level.

Wind vectors superimposed on chlorophyll image for improved PFZ

Potential Fishery Zone (PFZ) Forecasting: An integrated approach for Potential Fishing Zone Forecast,based on chlorophyll and Sea Surface Temperature (SST) derived from OCEANSAT-1, has been developed for use by Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) for operational use. A third parameter, Sea Surface Wind (SSW), which indicates the effect of currents on feeding grounds, has been incorporated resulting in forecasts improvement. Already, 287 nodes have been established under INCOIS, through which PFZ maps are distributed to fishery departments and other government agencies, corporates and fishermen groups.

Feedback indicates 100 percent increase in average Catch Per Unit Effort when fishermen use forecast information. Benefit to cost ratio has increased from 1.25 to 1.45 for bottom trawling and 1.3 to 2.25 for gillnetting. 61.7 percent of the users of forecast got more catch and searching time has reduced by 30 percent to 70 percent. An approach for species specific fishery forecast, based on the food and feeding habit of tuna and preferential temperature range, has been developed.

Biodiversity Characterisation: Initiated jointly by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and DOS, the biodiversity characterisation at landscape level, covers four main biodiversity rich regions of the country - NE Region, Western Himalayas, Western Ghats and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Study in Andaman and Nicobar islands has been completed during the year and the data provided to users like DBT, state forest departments, Ministry of Environment and Forests, subject experts, etc. Under Phase-II, biodiversity characterisation in Central India, Eastern Ghats and Mangroves of east coast has been completed. The digital maps of the vegetation type have been supplemented by the information collated from the 5,000 sample plots. Number of species in the herb, shrub, climber and tree layers have been estimated. The endemic and threatened species are estimated at 145 and 44, respectively. About 374 medicinally important species have been identified. The information is available on IBIN website, launched in August 2006. The work under Phase-III has been initiated to cover parts of Deccan Peninsula, the Gangetic Plains, North Western India, Lakshadweep and the Himalayan cold deserts.

Biodiversity map of ‘Eastern Ghat’

Snow and Glacier Studies: Using data from IRS satellites, forecast on cumulative seasonal (April-May-June) snowmelt run-off from Sutlej river basin up to Bhakra reservoir is provided to Bhakra Beas Management Board by the first week of April every year, based on analysis of daily observed satellite data. The forecast is updated subsequently for reservoir water scheduling. Snowmelt run-off forecast of inflow into Bhakra reservoir during April-May-June 2006 was estimated at 16.0 lakh cusec-days while the actual measured inflows were 15.62 lakh cusec-days, indicating a close match.

Retreat of glacier between 1962 and 2001 as inferred from remote sensing satellite data

Glacier retreat for 236 glaciers in Bhaga, Chandra, Parbati and Baspa basins in Himalayas since 1962 has been estimated and it shows an overall reduction in glacier area from 1,725 sq km to 1,338 sq km, a deglaciation of 22 percent.

Wasteland information system

To monitor snow cover and generate daily maps of snow cover in Himalayan region, an algorithm has been developed. Systematic inventory of the glaciers in the Indus, Ganga and the Brahmaputra basins using IRS imageries is being carried out. Glacier inventory corresponding to 228 maps on 1:50,000 scale has been prepared.

Wastelands Inventory and Information System: Geo-spatial data on 1:50,000 scale generated under phase-II of the wastelands mapping project has been included under the web-enabled GIS portal, Wasteland Information System for use by planners and decision makers. At the behest of Ministry of Rural Development, Wasteland mapping phase-III has been taken up. The project will enable monitoring and evaluation of wasteland reclamation measures taken up by ministries in course of the time.

Archaeological Applications: At the request of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), a study has been undertaken for survey of Nalanda and its environs towards formulating a conceptual plan for integrated development of this sixth century BC ancient site. Data of CARTOSAT-1 and collated data from ASI have been interpreted for features like monasteries, temples, stupas, excavated sites and other land use features. It is found that nine of the ten monasteries and five of the six temples/stupas with their geometric shape and pattern on ASI map are distinctly visible on the imagery obtained from satellites.

Archaeological sites around Nalanda

Watershed Development Projects: ‘Sujala’ watershed development programme has been taken up by Karnataka Watershed Development Department and aided by World Bank in 854 micro watersheds in 77 sub-watersheds falling in five districts (Kolar, Tumkur, Chitradurga, Dharwad and Haveri). Baseline survey has been completed in phase-1 and phase-2 watersheds and nearing completion in phase-3 watersheds. Concurrent monitoring is being carried out in all the watersheds. Various software packages have been developed and are being used for effective monitoring and evaluation. Various thematic reports like soil fertility evaluation, benefits of common property resources, etc, are being regularly generated. The detailed impact assessment of the developmental activities carried out has indicated measurable impacts in crop yield, crop diversity, house hold income, etc.
At the behest of Ministry of Rural Development, a watershed prioritisation project has been taken up for the states of Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and Orissa. The project envisages development of criteria for treating watersheds for drinking water needs, wasteland reclamation and overall improvement in quality of life of villagers. Information on drinking water status, SC/ST population, extent of area under wastelands are compiled and analysed in a GIS environment.

Waterlogging and Salinity Mapping in Command Areas: A project on assessment and monitoring of salinity and waterlogged areas in major and medium commands in the country has been taken up on behalf of Central Water Commission (CWC). The aim is to generate geo-spatial database and to assess the latest condition of about 1,626 irrigation commands of the country in terms of water logging and salt accumulation/manifestation. Subsequent to successful completion of the project for six states, namely, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Haryana, Bihar, Jharkhand and Goa during 2004-05, five more states, namely, Punjab, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh have been completed during year.
Ocean Studies: Chlorophyll images have been generated for part of Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal using data from OCEANSAT-1. Ship cruise was conducted in the Arabian Sea during April 2006 to collect optical measurements along with the data on other biological and chemical parameters. Hyper spectral under water radiometer was used for the first time for collection of the optical data. Chlorophyll and primary productivity climatology generation (July 1999-December 2000) using OCEANSAT-1 data has been completed.

Chhattisgarh State Developmental Planning: At the behest of the Chhattisgarh Infotech and Biotech Promotion Society (CHiPS), a project on state developmental planning using remote sensing and GIS for 20,379 villages covering 1,35,194 sq km has been taken up. The objectives include establishment of natural resources database, geo-referencing of village maps and development of land information system and development of road information system.

After creation of comprehensive database for all 16 districts, the same is being used for generation of land and water resources action plans, identification of suitable sites for industry development, horticulture, etc. Many other projects like inputs for preparation of forest management information system, delimitation of assembly constituencies, etc, have been carried out for Chhattisgarh.

Assessment of Irrigation Potential: A pilot project has been completed for Upper Krishna Project (UKP) and Teesta as part of the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme (AIBP) of the government, which is aimed at speeding up implementation of on-going irrigation/multi-purpose projects. DOS has demonstrated the utility of high-resolution satellite data for monitoring the progress of on going irrigation projects and also to look at the existing irrigation infrastructure. Based on the study, all 140 irrigation projects across India are being assessed for their irrigation potential using CARTOSAT-1 data.

Identification of Hazardous Waste Dumpsites:
A pilot study for identification and mapping of waste dumpsites at two sites of Taloja, Thane and Tarapur industrial area has been carried out using high resolution satellite data.
Exploring Shallow Gas Zones: Identification of potential zones suitable for occurrence of shallow gas in Anakaleshwar, Olpad and Kosambiwas has been carried out using satellite data calibrated with ground data. The ground data samples collected for 34 different locations have revealed mineral abundance of the area.

Hydropower Sites Investigation: In order to identify potential areas for setting up of hydropower infrastructure at Pinder river catchment (a tributary of Alkananda located in Chamoli district, Uttaranchal), CARTOSAT-1 data has been processed for baseline information and digital elevation model. Sixteen prospective locations for hydropower development have been identified with power potential varying from 1 to 16 MW. These locations have been recommended for detailed site-specific studies for the geotechnical and sub-surface geological characteristics.

Natural Resources Repository (NRR): DOS has initiated the generation of natural resources repository for the country comprising mainly remote sensing based data/information. This repository comprises a spatial data base of seven key natural resources information – land use/land cover, soil, geomorphology, vegetation, snow/glacier, land degradation and wetlands – on 1:50,000 scale and land use/land cover maps (cropping season wise) on 1:250,000 scale, a spatial database of large scale base information on 1:10,000 scale and a cadastral referenced database of selected states. The services of NRR is planned to be provided through NNRMS Portal, which is already operational. The repository will be able to serve the needs of government, business and citizens at large.

Natural Resources Census: The Natural Resources (NR) census is aimed to provide a snap-shot of the status of natural resources of the country. The project uses IRS data to prepare natural resources information at 1:50,000 scale and land use/land cover both at 1:50,000 and 1:250,000 scale for periodic monitoring of natural resources. Mapping at 1:250,000 scale land use/land cover has been completed for Kharif, Rabi and Zaid seasons of 2004-2005 and the first land use/land cover map of the country has been generated. Classification and analysis for 2005-2006 Kharif has been completed.

Large Scale Mapping (LSM): Bringing out large-scale maps at 1:10,000 using high-resolution satellite remote sensing data has been taken up. Under the pilot phase, 74 sites covering an area of 12,000 sq km have been taken up. The mapping for 28 sites has been completed and the final product is available in GIS database. For the remaining sites, work is progressing at different stage. Operational phase of the activity using CARTOSAT–1 data is progressing well.
Cadastral Referencing Database: Digital cadastral referenced database, which can be used for generating cadastral/village referencing of spatial information, has been taken up for Karnataka and Gujarat under NNRMS.

Natural Resources Data Base (NRDB): NRDB aims at organising and maintaining standardised database of different themes. It is tied through common standards and accessible by a common search engine over a secured network. The project will help create a GIS repository for the country made available through the NNRMS Portal to enable initiation of national level projects for development. The proto-type version has been completed and the operational system is under development.

The development of indigenous Geographic Information System (IGIS) has been taken up to cater the needs of NNRMS Portal and NRDB functions. Some of the tasks planned include development of GIS solutions for user service through NNRMS Portal, application show-case solutions for Natural Resources Management, indigenous GIS to meet the core GIS functions, etc. IGIS solution will also enable Web access, Web browsing, Web applications for Portal and application show-cases to meet the requirements of developing various land, water and socio-economic development plans in an automated way. Test and evaluation of core module of GIS developed is under progress.

Portal providing information on NNRMS and metadata of the projects carried out so far has been opened on the internet for disseminating the information to user community.
CartoDEM: The Objective of this project is to develop Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and Digital Ortho Imagery, which will provide a level of details and accuracy highly suitable for medium to large-scale mapping and analysis. Indigenously developed software package is being used for generating DEM and 65 percent of the national land coverage has been processed so far to generate a 100 m grid DEM and a large number of triangulated control points.

Satellite Photogrammetry Software: Satellite photogrammetry processing software for CARTOSAT-1 to generate digital elevation models and ortho-images has been developed and beta testing version released to target users.

Aerial Survey
During the year, aerial survey of Maldives Islands was carried out to generate map on 1:40,000 scale and further, map16 selected islands on 1:6,000 scale.
A primary GPS network on WGS-84 datum for the entire country was established. A remote sensing centre was also established at Male, the capital and the manpower were trained in remote sensing and Photogrammetry as follow up.

A total of 166 hours of flying was conducted during the year for aerial surveys over – Bhatkal, Abujmad, Tapovan, Loharinag-pala, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, Nizamabad, Bodhan, Banswada, Yellareddy, Armur, Kamareddy, Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. ALTM-DC survey over Garland canal in Karnataka has been carried out. 3D digital topographic data base was generated for Visakhapatnam and Kolkata Municipal Corporation areas using aerial photographs.