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The Government of India has formed a new agency, the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC). NRSC uses people and assets from the old National Remote Sensing Agency run by the Department of Space. The move was announced on 1 September. The NRSC will be one of the centres of the Indian Space Research Organisation.

The agency can trace its history back to the Department of Science & Technology, which in 1974 set up an organisation to facilitate remote sensing activities in India. It was transferred to the Department of Space during the early 1980s with the growth of indigenous efforts in space-borne remote sensing.

It is expected that NRSC will work closely with other parts of ISRO in the development and operations of the ground segment of India’s large constellation of remote sensing satellites. It will also take a bigger role during the R&D phase of the program.

Dr V Jayaraman has been appointed the Centre’s inaugural director in Hyderabad.

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