Remote-sensing Technology Gaining Popularity

1.7 Million Hectares and Growing: Remote Sensing in India's Environmental Policy

The 2023 “India State of Forest Report,” based on remote sensing data, revealed a troubling detail: while 1.7 million hectares of forest cover have been lost to non-forest use since 2001, compensatory afforestation has only replaced a fraction of this. This stark data point underscores both the instrumental role remote sensing plays in tracking land-use changes and its growing criticality in governance. But the story of remote sensing is no longer confined to forests or ecosystems. Its application now spans everything from agriculture to national security, reflecting a paradigm shift in how India monitors and governs its resources.

Why Remote Sensing Has Crossed Tipping Point

India’s turn to remote sensing has deepened as the nation grapples with the complexity of managing vast, heterogeneous landscapes and burgeoning urban sprawls. The launch of Cartosat-3 in 2019, touted as India’s highest-resolution earth observation satellite, marked a watershed moment in this trajectory. Capable of imaging objects as small as 25 cm, it positioned India among an elite group of countries with similar capabilities.

More importantly, the market for geospatial technologies, including remote sensing, is surging. According to a 2025 NITI Aayog projection, India’s geospatial economy is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.8%, reaching ₹63,000 crore by 2030. The Indian Space Policy, rolled out in 2023, explicitly seeks private sector participation in satellite-based applications, further broadening the scope.

The break from past practice is striking. Earlier, remote sensing was an activity tightly controlled by state-run institutions such as the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Today, it is a far more democratized tool, with private satellite data vendors playing a visible role. For instance, under the Digital India initiative, even district-level authorities now integrate satellite imagery into planning processes, be it for tracking illegal mining or identifying groundwater recharge zones.

The Machinery Driving India’s Remote-Sensing Revolution

India’s technical push for remote sensing is underpinned by an impressive institutional machinery. The National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), a constituent of ISRO, serves as the primary repository for geospatial data and provides disaster support services. Meanwhile, the Forest Survey of India (FSI) utilizes remote sensing imagery to publish biennial forest reports, a critical resource for ecological policy.

Equally significant are policy instruments. The Indian Space Policy 2023 now permits private sector players to build, own, and operate satellites—a notable departure from earlier public-sector monopolies. Similarly, the Geospatial Data Guidelines, 2021, relaxed restrictions on access to high-resolution satellite imagery, emphasizing open access while reserving certain datasets for national security purposes. Initiatives like GAGAN (GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation) extend its usage into military and border surveillance. Yet, foundational Acts like the Environmental Protection Act 1986 and Disaster Management Act 2005 lay the legal groundwork for applying such technical data in real-world governance.

With ISRO’s legacy in developing and deploying satellites such as IRS, Cartosat, and Oceansat, the hardware no longer poses a bottleneck. But bottlenecks lie elsewhere.

Data Claims vs. Ground Realities

Central and state authorities trumpet satellite-backed initiatives as harbingers of efficiency and objectivity. For instance, Chandrapur district in Maharashtra recently piloted a scheme using drones to measure crop insurance claims, claiming higher accuracy and efficiency. Similarly, during Cyclone Biparjoy (2023), satellite mapping ostensibly aided early evacuation and damage mitigation strategies.

But the claim that India is rapidly leveraging high-resolution data warrants a cautious pause. Despite ISRO's capabilities, India still imports a significant proportion of high-resolution imagery from foreign satellites. A case in point—many infrastructure projects under Bharatmala Pariyojana continue to rely on commercial imagery sourced from American entities like Maxar Technologies. The logistical and regulatory hurdles to creating an indigenously secured geospatial ecosystem remain significant.

Moreover, the integration between satellite data and traditional ground-based methods often fails during execution. A Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report in 2022 flagged discrepancies in groundwater identification projects, where satellite-generated maps were poorly calibrated against field verifications, resulting in suboptimal resource allocation.

Uncomfortable Questions About Dependence and Capacity

India’s remote sensing achievements come with structural limitations that policymakers must confront. First, the elephant in the room is capacity. Advanced geospatial technologies require trained personnel—not just to interpret data but also to translate it into actionable governance. Currently, expertise is concentrated in ISRO and select urban research hubs, leaving much of rural India underserved. The ambitious Skilling India Missions in geospatial analytics are still in nascent stages, with negligible rural penetration.

Second, there is a persistent tension between open access to satellite data and national security concerns. This is most visible in regions like Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh, where granular imaging data is often classified, hobbling efforts to engage local communities using geospatial tools. The irony is that while India cements its global position as one of the world’s largest Earth Observation data producers, public-sector usage of this data for real-time governance remains patchy and inconsistent.

Lastly, there is a looming question of financial sustainability. With Indian Space Association (ISpA) lobbying for privatization, concerns remain over whether datasets emerging from private satellites will remain affordable for state ministries and district administrators. Lessons should be drawn from the United States, where unregulated privatization has driven up imagery costs, limiting access for non-profits and smaller government bodies.

Learning From Japan’s Advanced Adoption

A pointed international comparison underscores India’s gaps. Japan, leveraging its Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) program, integrates remote sensing into disaster resilience strategies at a more granular level. For example, ALOS data automatically feeds into municipal earthquake readiness programs—a striking contrast to India, where such pipelines between remote sensing datasets and local governments remain fragmented. Japan’s approach also emphasizes local institutional capacity: community-level officers are trained in interpreting satellite data directly, avoiding bureaucratic bottlenecks.

For India, replicating such a model would require improving the depth and accessibility of geospatial training far beyond central-level programs and easing state adoption of these technologies.

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