VISAKHAPATNAM: “The Indian space programmes has made significant contributions to national development, directly or indirectly benefiting 1.3 billion people in the country,” said Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) Chancellor Dr BN Suresh.
Dr Suresh, an aerospace scientist and engineer, made this observation while delivering the 11th Dr V Bhujanga Rao Endowment lecture on ‘Usage of Space Technologies for the Benefit of Common Man’ at GITAM Deemed to be University in Visakhapatnam, on Tuesday.
He highlighted the progress made by the Indian space department in building state-of-the-art spacecraft to meet various application areas such as remote sensing, communication, navigation, disaster management, and weather monitoring. He noted that India has the largest constellation of active spacecraft in the sky, particularly for the Asia-Pacific region.
“The Indian space programme, started by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) in the early 1960s, has made outstanding contributions to national development,” Dr Suresh said.
He mentioned that ISRO has commissioned Geo-Portal Bhuvan, which serves as a gateway to Indian earth observation. “India has also established regional navigation with the Indian constellation (NAVIC), which is being used in various applications like vehicle location and tracking, smartphones, real-time train information systems, and satellite-based fishery services,” he noted.
He expressed hope that the government-approved Gaganyaan programme, slated for launch in the next two to three years, will increase the success rate of ISRO. The event was jointly organised by the Mechanical Engineering Department of GITAM, which is considered a university, and the Condition Monitoring Society of India (CMSI). DRDO former Director General and distinguished defence scientist Dr V Bhujanga Rao, GITAM In-Charge V-C Y Gowtam Rao, and CMSI President Dr PVS Ganesh Kumar also spoke on the occasion.