India has made significant progress in space technology which is also used in various fields such as like defense, medicine, agriculture, water conservation and weather forecasting. Satellite sensors provide valuable database to arrive at suitable decisions in maintaining productive capabilities of agro ecosystems. Remote sensing and INSAT satellite images are useful for various agricultural purposes.
Pre-harvest crop acreage and production estimation: Ministry of Agriculture is supporting this programme which is a remote sensing based nation-wide project to provide crop statistics with reasonable accuracy.
Analysis of cropping system: Satellites provides valuable inputs for diversification and intensification of crops.
Watershed development: Satellite imageries are useful for correct planning and mid-course improvement of watershed development projects.
Mapping and monitoring of wastelands: Mapping and monitoring of wastelands is being carried out for entire country, using remote sensing. This is useful for planning and implementation of various reclamation activities. -Mapping of sodic and usar soils: Remote sensing satellite data with high resolution can be used for mapping of various saline and Usar soils in the country for reclamation measures .
Forecasting of potential fishery zone: Potential Fishery Zones (PFZ) are demarcated on the basis of presence of chlorophyll and sea- surface temperature data obtained from remote sensing satellites. Based on this, advisories are issued to fishermen.
Assessing the Impact of droughts and floods: By virtue of the unique combination of Indian Remote Sensing Satellites and contemporary microwave satellites, the space segment in the country has been providing periodic database to monitor droughts and floods in the country.
Weather forecasting and monsoon prediction: Indian Meteorological Department uses data from the INSAT system of satellites for local as well as general weather forecasting and for nearly accurate prediction of monsoon.
According to a study ,the Amazon River originated as a transcontinental river around 11 million years ago and took its present shape approximately 2.4 million years ago.
