India Shares Saarc Satellite Concept with Regional Nations

Background:

• SAARC Satellite is a proposed communication-cum-meteorology satellite by Indian Space Research Organisation(ISRO) for the SAARC region. Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi mooted the idea of a satellite serving the needs of SAARC member nations. In his a visit to Nepal in August 2014, Narendra Modi announced developing a satellite to assist India’s neighbors
• SAARC region has got a fairly long coastline (12,000 kms) and real time scientific data are the need of the hour for preventing natural disasters. For centuries, the region has been ravaged by three major natural disasters: earthquakes, landslides and drought. A SAARC satellite will go a long way in addressing these needs.

Now, the news:

• Stepping up efforts to launch a dedicated satellite for the region, India has shared a concept note for a SAARC orbiter.
• This orbiter is  being proposed to bring telemedicine, emergency communication and even television services to cooperation partners.
• India is proposing that the satellite be controlled from ISRO facilities at Hassan or Bhopal and be managed by an inter-governmental space cooperation consortium .
• Major roles of the SAARC satellite would include providing tele medicine links within member nations as well as setting up of e-classrooms for skill development.
• Among the other tasks planned are enabling emergency communication for disaster situations and enabling inter-governmental networks.