Lok Sabha Question No. 1907 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-03-09
Subject: Good Governance
Ministry: SPACE
Asked by: NANABHAU FALGUNRAO PATOLE

## 1907.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## DEPARTMENT OF SPACE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1907

## TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, MARCH 9, 2016

## GOOD GOVERNANCE

- SHRI NANA PATOLE:

Will the PRIME MINISTER be pleased to state:

- the
- (a) whether the Prime Minister recently stressed on maximum use of space technology for good Governance;
- (b) if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the manner in which space technologies are being utilized by various departments of the Government; and
- (d) the steps being taken to further integrate space technologies  with  the  working  of  Government  to  achieve good Governance?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PERSONNEL, PG &

## PENSIONS AND IN THE PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE

(DR. JITENDRA SINGH):

- Yes Madam.
- (a)
- (b) A one day National Meet on 'Promoting Space Technology based tools and Applications in Governance & Development'  was  organized  on  September  07,  2015  at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi with the participation of Central Ministries/Departments and State Governments. Secretaries

of  58  Ministries/  Departments  have  presented  the  action plans jointly prepared with Indian Space Research Organisation  (ISRO)  to  enhance  functional  effectiveness, facilitate planning and decision making.

While  addressing  during  the  special  session,  the  Prime Minister  emphasized  on  the  need  for  new  initiatives  for governance and development, using space technology applications.

- (c) Space technology is being used by various Ministries/Departments in planning, monitoring and evaluation  of  developmental  activities  in  various  sectors, which  include  agriculture,  forestry  &  environment,  water resources, urban planning, infrastructure development, asset mapping, mineral prospecting, ocean resources, meteorology, satellite communication, location based services, tele-education, Tele-medicine and disaster management support.  Some of the important applications being carried out by the Ministries/Departments are given in Annexure-I.
- (d) The steps taken by ISRO to further integrate space technologies with the working of the Government to enable good governance include:
- i) Formation  of  expert  working  groups  in  ISRO  to  have regular interaction with the departments
- ii) Preparation  of  joint  action  plan  for  short  term  &  long term space technology applications
- iii)
- Conduct of Proof of Concept or Pilot projects
- iv) Development of customised tools and applications
- v) Institutionalisation  of  space  applications  and  enabling formation  of  space  technology  cells  in  the  Ministries  / Departments
- vi) Capacity building of the officials of Ministries / Departments.
- *****

## Annexure-I

| Ministry/ Department                                        | Ministry/ Department                                        | Application                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   |
|-------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| M/o Agriculture & Farmers Welfare                           | M/o Agriculture & Farmers Welfare                           | Crop Acreage Estimation & Production Forecasting Agricultural Drought Assessment Inventory and Management of Horticulture crops                                                                                                               |
| M/o Forests Change                                          | Environment & Climate                                       | Biennial Forest Cover Mapping Monitoring Snow & Glaciers and Snow-Melt Runoff in Himalayan Region Coastal Zone Monitoring                                                                                                                     |
| M/o Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation | M/o Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation | Command Area Development and Assessment of Irrigation Potential Repair, Renovation and Restoration of Water Bodies Reservoir sedimentation assessment                                                                                         |
| M/o Urban Development                                       | M/o Urban Development                                       | National Urban Information System Enabling Master plan preparation for 500 cities / towns                                                                                                                                                     |
| M/o Culture                                                 | M/o Culture                                                 | Inventory and site management plans for 4000 heritage enabling ease of business                                                                                                                                                               |
| M/o Drinking Water and Sanitation                           | M/o Drinking Water and Sanitation                           | Ground Water Prospects Zones and Suitable sites for constructing recharge structures                                                                                                                                                          |
| M/o Civil Aviation                                          | M/o Civil Aviation                                          | Dedicated Satellite Communication Network (DSCN), linking several operational airports for exchange of voice and data for various services GAGAN (GPS Aided GEO Augmented Navigation) for safety of life applications and en-route navigation |
| D/o Post                                                    | D/o Post                                                    | Geo-tagging of post offices Postman beat maps                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
| M/o Earth Sciences                                          | M/o Earth Sciences                                          | Space derived inputs for operational weather forecast, tropical cyclone tracking & Ocean State Forecast                                                                                                                                       |

| Ministry/ Department             | Application                                                                                                                       |
|----------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|                                  | Potential Fishing Zone Advisory                                                                                                   |
| M/o Petroleum & Natural Gas      | Planning pipeline corridor                                                                                                        |
| M/o Rural Development            | Wasteland change monitoring Monitoring & Evaluation of Watershed development                                                      |
| M/o Information and Broadcasting | Satellite based communication services for broadcasting                                                                           |
| M/o Power                        | Environmental impact assessment of Power projects                                                                                 |
| M/o Panchayati Raj               | Space Based Information Support for Decentralized Planning at Panchayat level SATCOM centres at every block for training.         |
| M/o Tribal Affairs               | Potential Pond Identification for developing fish culture in village ponds. Identifying sites for new ponds for harvesting runoff |
| D/o Health & Family Welfare      | Telemedicine Centres at pilgrimage sites and remote areas                                                                         |