Telecommunication: India uses its communication satellites network - one of the largest in the world- for applications such as land management, water resources management, natural disaster forecasting, radio networking, weather forecasting, meteorological imaging and computer communication.
Resource Management: The IRS (Indian Remote Sensing) satellites have found applications in environmental monitoring, analysing soil erosion and the impact of soil conservation measures, forest management, determining land cover for wildlife sanctuaries, delineating groundwater potential zones, flood inundation mapping, drought monitoring, estimating crop acreage and deriving agricultural production estimates, fisheries monitoring, mining and geological applications such as surveying metal and mineral deposits, and urban planning.
Military: Several satellites provide surveillance and intelligence-related inputs which prove advantageous in combating, navigation,and reconnaissance missions and help ensure national security.
Academic: Many institutions in the country use satellites for educational purposes. The EDUSAT (India’s first thematic satellite dedicated exclusively for educational services) was launched for proliferating education to the interior parts of hinterland.
Telemedicine: ISRO’s telemedicine programme, started in 2001, has been connecting medical colleges, rural hospitals and Mobile Units through the Indian satellites to major specialty hospitals in cities and towns.The Mobile Telemedicine Units cover diverse areas of ophthalmology, cardiology, radiology, diabetology, mammography, general medicine, women and child healthcare.
Cartography: The Cartosat series of satellites, with high resolution optical imaging capabilities, help in large scale urban planning, rural resource and infrastructure development, road-network monitoring, coastal land use and land cover among others.
