Indian Space Research Organization (Isro), which is to receive the Gandhi Peace Prize on Wednesday for its contribution in many areas to bring about socio-economic transformation in the country , is set to act as a force-multiplier in implementing as many as 170 projects where space technology can be used for a better life.
Details of these projects were discussed during a daylong meeting where PM Narendra Modi on Monday noted how these efforts of Isro would put India on its growth trajectory .
Isro will be aligning itself with as many as 60 minis triesdepartments for 170 identified projects to improve the living conditions of the common man.
Though the space agency had been sharing its cuttingage technology in many sectors, it had recently diversified its `Bhuvan' (geo-spatial platform) application service which can be a key tool to implement India's smart city programme.
This service is currently being used to create database of national highways and toll plazas, develop information systems for decision-making on border management and mapping country-wide ground water among other services besides its primary roles as communication & navigation applications and weather forecasting.
In view of the growing demand for location-based services, Isro has embarked upon developing its own satellite navigation system Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) and GPS-Aided and Geo-Augmented Navigation (Gagan).
The IRNSS is being developed to provide position information services to users in the country and the region extending up to 1500 km from its boundary . Gagan is a satellitebased augmentation system, implemented jointly with the Airports Authority of India, to provide navigation services with accuracy required for civil aviation applications.