Students in India Launch Satellites to Help Farmers, Fisherman, and the Environment

Over the next few years, India is likely to witness launch of around 20 to 25 student satellites that are specifically dedicated to environment and development in the coming decade. In last one year alone four student satellites were launched into space.

The satellites StudSat, a picosatellite conceived and created by students of Hyderabad and Bengaluru institutions, Anusat, which was launched by Madras Institute of Technology and three other satellites were launched with the aim of "environmental surveillance and early warning of disaster" such as "assessing pollution levels in the atmosphere by monitoring green house gases, carbon dioxide and water vapor.
Jugnu, a remote sensing satellite "provides data for agriculture and disaster monitoring. It can help farmers in planning crops in such way that minimizes losses and improves earnings. It has been developed by students of Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur.
Pratham, a microsatellite, is "focused on building advanced tsunami warning systems to help poor fishermen along India‟s vast coastline.

Implications from SFG:
"Student satellites underline not only technological competence of young Indians but also their concern for environment and its implications for farmers and fishing communities who are among the poorest people. The poor and middle income groups do not have resources to foresee and secure their future. The student satellites
could act as a tool to look over potential man-made and natural
environmental threats. With government support, currently 20-25
such projects can be foreseen. If foundations, international universities and private sector players collaborate, their number, quality and capacity can go up significantly, enabling them to cover almost the entire country, and neighboring countries such as Bangladesh and Pakistan, as beneficiaries."

Implications from IFTF:
Domestic innovation and aid is important in fostering regional self-esteem