Satellite being designed to connect villages: ISRO

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) is in the process of designing a satellite for providing connectivity to villages, ISRO Chairman Dr G Madhavan Nair said today.

"We have plans to use multiple spot beams for the satellite, which is expected to be launched in another two and a half years time," Nair told reporters here.

There are about 600,000 villages in the country of which at least 50,000 have no connectivity, he said.

On the abrupt end of India's maiden moon mission Chandrayaan I, he said "we had anticipated some problems at the beginning and wanted to complete important experiments much earlier. About 95 per cent of data collection has been completed and analysis will take another six months to two years."

Stating that the space agency had no immediate plans for a manned mission to moon, he said that ISRO was concentrating currently on developing a 'man capsule' by 2015 to take man to circumnavigate the earth. "Only five to six years after this mission, a manned mission to moon will be planned," he said.

No conclusive evidence of water has been found on moon from the data collected by Chandrayaan I, he said adding that ISRO was conducting a joint study with NASA in this regard. The ISRO Chairman said 1000 Automatic Weather Stations (AWS) would be set up in the country in a year's time. Already 400 such stations have been set up in various states. A network of 75 AWS has been established in Kerala covering all districts, he said.

Earlier delivering the K R Narayanan Memorial lecture-II, after receiving the award instituted in memory of the former President, Nair said the successful launch of Chandrayaan 1 had given 'tremendous opportunity' to explore earth's natural satellite. The mission contributed a great deal in upgrading India's technological capabilities, he said.

'We have to focus on how technology can be used to solve the problems of people in the villages. In the space programme, we have focused on how these technologies can be used for development of people.' Through Telemedicine and Tele education, many in rural India were being benefited, he said.

Responding to a suggestion by Kerala High Court Chief Justice S R Bannurmath that courts should be connected by a satellite, he said networking of courts can be seriously considered by ISRO. 'ISRO can take it up,' he said.

Referring to Kerala, he said there is need to devise a strategy for natural resources development and their sustainable utilization with support from appropriate technologies.

Nair said setting up of Village Resource Centres (VRC)s in association with various agencies working at grassroots is yet another important initiative to provide the benefits of space and other IT enabled services directly to the common man.

CRCs are acting as Single Window delivery mechanism of need based services in the areas of education, health, nutrition, agriculture, water and weather. So far around 473 VRCs have been set up in various parts of the country, including 21 in Kerala, he added.