The term ‘Remote Sensing’ was first used in 1961, when a US Naval Project on the ‘Study of Aerial Photographs’ was renamed as ‘Remote Sensing.’ Since then, the technology has enabled mapping, studying, monitoring and management of various natural resources like agriculture, forestry, geology, water, ocean, etc. Remote Sensing or RS has also made it possible to monitor the environment and, thereby, help conservation. Over the last four decades, it has grown as a major tool for collecting information on almost every aspect of the earth. With the availability of very high spatial resolution satellites in the recent years, the RS applications have become manifold.

Development of Remote Sensing in India

   It was in 1969 that the first major Remote Sensing exercise was undertaken in India. It involved an experiment on early detection of coconut root wilt disease employing RS technology from an aerial....