SRINAGAR: The Government today informed Parliament that a series of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) projects are underway to boost satellite-based communication, remote sensing and disaster management in Ladakh, with an advanced optical telescope being set up at Hanle for tracking objects in geostationary orbit.
Replying to a Lok Sabha question on space projects in the Union Territory, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh said the telescope forms part of ISRO’s NETRA (Network for Space Object Tracking and Analysis) initiative and will strengthen India’s capability to monitor satellites and space debris from the strategically significant Himalayan region.
Singh said that data from India’s operational remote sensing satellites such as Cartosat-2 series, Cartosat-3, Resourcesat-2 and 2A, RISAT-1A, Oceansat-3 and NISAR are already available for Ladakh. Twelve communication satellites currently cover the Union Territory, while services from ten foreign satellites and three low and medium earth orbit constellations have also been authorised for use in the region, he told the House.
In terms of upcoming missions, the minister said ISRO is realising Resourcesat-3 & 3A, Resourcesat-3S and 3SA, HRSAT, G20 Satellite and TRISHNA Satellite by 2027-28 to improve remote sensing observations nationwide, which will also benefit Ladakh.
Ladakh has also been the focus of a series of dedicated remote sensing application projects. Singh listed the Ladakh Specific Modelling and Space Applications (LAMA) project, which developed a customised geoportal for assessing natural resources, environment and climate change in the region, and the Geo-Ladakh spatial data infrastructure, which supports bio-resource expansion, agriculture and horticulture planning, artificial glacier sites, water conservation, solar and wind energy potential and flood hazard assessment.
Other initiatives include AMRUT-1.0 and AMRUT-2.0 for Leh and Kargil towns, which used high-resolution satellite data to prepare geospatial master plans and waterbody information systems; as well as a Land Use and Land Cover Change Analysis for Ladakh at a 1:50,000 scale between 2020-21 and 2025-26.
For disaster management, Singh said ISRO’s Disaster Management Support Programme (DMSP) provides satellite data inputs for natural hazards, covering the Himalayan belt, including Ladakh. The space agency has already carried out Mountain Ecosystem Studies of the North-west Himalaya, including Ladakh, to track natural resources, hazards and geodynamics.
“The strategic and geographical importance of Ladakh makes it central to India’s expanding space applications, both for national development and for security-related monitoring,” Singh said.
