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REPORT NO.

312

PARLIAMENT OF

DEPARTMENT-RELATED PARLIAMENTARY STANDING COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, ENVIRONMENT & FORESTS

THREE HUNDRED TWELFTH REPORT

DEMANDS FOR GRANTS (2018-2019) OF THE (DEMAND NO. 91)

th (Presented to the Rajya Sabha on 13 March, 2018) (Laid on the Table of on 13th March, 2018)

(Presented to the Rajya Sabha on ______, 2013) (Laid on the Table of Lok Sabha on ______, 2013)

Rajya Sabha Secretariat, New Delhi March, 2018, Phalguna, 1939 (Saka)

Web site: http://rajyasabha.nic.in E-Mail : [email protected]

Hindi version of this publication is also available

PARLIAMENT OF INDIA RAJYA SABHA

DEPARTMENT-RELATED PARLIAMENTARY STANDING COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, ENVIRONMENT & FORESTS

THREE HUNDRED TWELFTH REPORT

DEMANDS FOR GRANTS (2018-2019) OF THE DEPARTMENT OF SPACE (DEMAND NO. 91)

(Presented to the Rajya Sabha on 13th March, 2018) (Laid on the Table of the Lok Sabha on 13th March, 2018)

Rajya Sabha Secretariat, New Delhi March, 2018/ Phalguna, 1939 (Saka)

C O N T E N T S

PAGES 1. COMPOSITION OF THE COMMITTEE (i)

2. INTRODUCTION (ii)

*3. ACRONYMS

4. REPORT

*5. RECOMMENDATIONS/OBSERVATIONS-AT A GLANCE

*6. MINUTES

______

* To be appended at printing stage

COMPOSITION OF THE COMMITTEE (2017-18) (Constituted on 1st September, 2017) ------

1. Shri Anand Sharma –– Chairman RAJYA SABHA 2. Shri Prasanna Acharya 3. Shri S.R. Balasubramoniyan 4. Shrimati Renuka Chowdhury 5. Shri Rajkumar Dhoot 6. Shri C.P. Narayanan 7. Shri Parimal Nathwani 8. Shri Sharad Pawar 9. Dr. T. Subbarami Reddy 10. Shri Bhupender Yadav

LOK SABHA

11. Maulana Badruddin Ajmal 12. Shri Muzaffar Hussain Baig 13. Shri E.T. Mohammed Basheer 14. Shri Pankaj Chaudhary 15. Shri P.P. Chauhan 16. Kumari Sushmita Dev 17. Shri Ninong Ering 18. Shri Laxman Giluwa 19. Dr. K. Gopal 20. Shrimati Vasanthi M. 21. Shri Daddan Mishra 22. Shri Prabhubhai Nagarbhai Vasava 23. Shri Chirag Paswan 24. Shri Shivaji A. Patil 25. Shri Harinarayan Rajbhar 26. Shrimati Sandhya Roy 27. Shri Kirti Vardhan Singh 28. Shri Nagendra Singh 29. Shri Vikram Usendi 130. Vacant 231. Vacant ______SECRETARIAT Smt. Sunita Sekaran, Director Shri T.N. Pandey, Director Shri S. Rangarajan, Additional Director Shri Mohd. Salamuddin, Additional Director Shri Rajiv Saxena, Under Secretary

1 Shri Nagendra Kumar Pradhan ceased to be a member of the Committee w.e.f. 12th December, 2017 2 Shri Nana Patole ceased to be a member of the Committee consequent upon his resignation from the Lok Sabha w.e.f. 14th December, 2017.

INTRODUCTION

I, the Chairman of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science & Technology, Environment & Forests, having been authorised by the Committee to present the Report on its behalf, present this Three Hundred Twelfth Report of the Committee. This Report deals with the detailed Demands for Grants (2018-2019) of the Department of Space (Demand No. 91).

2. In the meeting of the Committee held on the 19th February, 2018, the Secretary and other officers of the Department of Space gave an overview of the various activities of the Department and the Members sought clarifications on various aspects of the performance of the Department to enable it to scrutinise the Demands for Grants.

3. The Committee expresses its thanks to the officers of the Department for replying to the clarifications sought by the Members and placing before it the required material to enable the Committee to scrutinise the Demands for Grants of the Department of Space.

4. The Committee considered and adopted the Report in its meeting held on the 6th March, 2018.

NEW DELHI; (ANAND SHARMA) March 6, 2018 Chairman 15 Phalguna 1939 Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science & Technology, Environment & Forests, Rajya Sabha.

REPORT ORGANISATION 1.1 Space activities in the country were initiated with the setting up of Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) in 1962. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was established in August 1969. The has set up the Space Commission and the Department of Space (DoS) in 1972. The DoS is responsible for implementing the policies framed by the Space Commission. These are carried out through the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Grant-in-aid institutions viz., Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NARL), North-Eastern Space Applications Centre (NE-SAC), Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL) and Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST). 1.2 The Secretariat of the Department of Space and the Headquarters of ISRO are located in Bengaluru. The Programme Offices at ISRO Headquarters co-ordinate the overall programmes like satellite communication, satellite navigation, observation, launch vehicle, space science, atmospheric science, space industry development, disaster management support, National Natural Resources Management System (NNRMS), international co-operation, publications and public relations, budget and economic analysis and human resources development. 1.3 The major Centres, Units and establishments of DoS/ISRO, responsible for carrying out research and development activities as well as for undertaking various projects and programmes, are given below: (a) Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram, provides the technology base for the country’s indigenous launch vehicle (rocket) development; (b) Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), with its facilities located at Bengaluru and Thiruvananthapuram is responsible for development of liquid propulsion and cryogenic propulsion systems for satellite and launch vehicles; (c) ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC) located at Mahendragiri has the responsibility for assembly, integration and testing of storable and cryogenic liquid rocket engines and stages, spacecraft thrusters testing in sea level and high altitude conditions, storage of liquid and cryogenic propellants and production of liquid hydrogen etc. (d) Space Centre (SDSC-SHAR) at , , is the spaceport of India providing launch base to indigenously built launch vehicles. Also, it provides the facilities for processing of solid rocket motors; (e) ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC), Bengaluru, is entrusted with the prime responsibility for development of satellites; (f) The Laboratory for Electro-Optics Systems (LEOS), Bengaluru has the responsibility for development and productionisation of electro optical sensors for satellites; (g) Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad, carries out research and development in space applications as well as development of application payloads; (h) Development and Educational Communication Unit (DECU), Ahmedabad, is involved in the conception, definition, planning and socio/techno-economic evaluation of development communication programmes; (i) National Centre (NRSC), Hyderabad is responsible for satellite data acquisition and processing, data dissemination, aerial remote sensing and decision support for disaster management. (j) Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS), Dehradun is a premier training and educational institute set up for developing trained professionals in the field of Remote Sensing, Geo-informatics and GPS Technology for Natural Resources, Environmental and Disaster Management. (k) ISRO Telemetry, Tracking & Command Network (ISTRAC), with its ground stations at Bengaluru, Sriharikota, Lucknow, Bearslake, Biak (Indonesia), Brunei and provides the telemetry, tracking and command support and spacecraft mission management for the Indian remote sensing satellite missions, space science missions and programmes; (l) (MCF) with its main facility at Hassan, Karnataka and backup facility at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh has the responsibility for control and operation of INSAT/GSAT/METSAT satellites; (m) ISRO Inertial Systems Unit (IISU), Thiruvananthapuram, carries out research and development in the area of inertial systems for satellites and launch vehicles. Organisations receiving Grants-in-aid: (a) Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad, an autonomous institution supported mainly by the Department of Space, carries out research in space sciences. (b) The National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NARL) set up at Gadanki near Tirupati, conducts atmospheric research. (c) The North-Eastern Space Applications Centre (NE-SAC), Shillong established as an autonomous body under the Department of Space provides space technology inputs for developmental activities in the North-Eastern Region. (d) The Semi-conductor Laboratory (SCL) located at Chandigarh is a research and development society and is entrusted with the design and development of Very Large Scale Integrated Circuit (VLSI) devices and development of micro-electronic systems to meet the strategic needs of the country. (e) The Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), Thiruvananthapuram is an autonomous body under the Department with the objective of creating quality human resources tuned to suit the requirements of state-of-art space research programme. The Institute offers graduate, post-graduate and doctoral programmes in the area of space science, technology and applications. The annual intake of the Institute is about 150-200 students. 1.4 Apart from this, RESPOND programme of ISRO supports sponsored research activity in space science, space applications and space technology in various national academic/research institutions and Space Technology Cells in premier technological institutes of the country through grants-in-aid. 1.5 Limited 1.6 Antrix Corporation Limited (ACL), Bengaluru is a wholly owned Government of India Company under the administrative control of the Department of Space. Antrix Corporation Limited was incorporated as a private limited company owned by Government of India in September 1992 as a marketing arm of ISRO for promotion and commercial exploitation of space products, technical consultancy services and transfer of technologies developed by ISRO, thus completing 25 years of service. 1.7 As the commercial and marketing arm of ISRO, Antrix is engaged in providing Space products and services to international customers worldwide as well as sale of products and services from ISRO and Indian Industries to the national and international customers. With fully equipped state-of-the-art facilities, Antrix provides end-to-end solution for many of the space products, ranging from supply of hardware and software including simple subsystems to a complex spacecraft, for varied applications covering communications, earth observation and scientific missions; space related services including remote sensing data service, Transponder lease service; Launch services through the operational launch vehicles (PSLV and GSLV); Mission support services; and a host of consultancy and training services. 1.8 Antrix makes use of the expertise and infrastructure of ISRO as well as Indian industry for its business. For execution of each of the customer order, Antrix enters into a formal arrangement with the concerned ISRO Centre/Unit, specifying the scope of work, time schedule and cost. 1.9 The Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science & Technology, Environment & Forests considered the Demands for Grants 2018-19 of the Department of Space in its meeting held on the 19th February 2018.

2. BUDGET ALLOCATION FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 2018-19 2.1 The following table presents the budgetary allocation made in favour of the Department of Space for the year 2018-19:- (Rupees in crore) Sl. No. Programme/Project/Centre/Unit Budget 2018-19 I Establishment Expenditure 1. Secretariat - Economic Services (DoS) 30.00 2. ISRO Headquarters 1169.55 Total - Establishment Expenditure (I) 1199.55 II Central Sector Schemes 3. Space Technology 6576.02 4. Space Applications 1746.25 5. Space Sciences 230.10 6. INSAT Satellite Systems 411.60 Total - Central Sector Schemes (II) 8963.97 III Other Central Expenditure (a) Autonomous Bodies 7. Indian Institute of Space Science & Tech. (IIST) 110.00 8. Semi-conductor Laboratory (SCL) 250.00 9. North-Eastern Space Applications Centre (NE-SAC) 35.00 10. National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NARL) 40.00 11. Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) 180.00 Total-Autonomous Bodies (III.a) 615.00 (b) Others 12. International Co-operation 4.90 Total - Other Central Expenditure (III) 619.90 Grand Total 10783.42 2.2 The Committee sought to know the total projected demand made by the Department for BE 2018-19 and whether the funds allocated in BE 2018-19 are sufficient to carry out the various programmes/projects/schemes of the Department. The Department, in written reply, submitted that the Department had made a projection of Rs.16569.91 crore for BE 2018-19 against which an amount of Rs.10783.42 crore has been allocated. Accordingly, the Department has re- prioritised its projects/programmes/schemes in order to comply with the ceilings communicated by the Ministry of Finance. Informing the Committee about the impact of the reduction, the Department submitted that the major reductions are effected in the following projects/programmes/schemes: a) Yet to be approved projects/programmes such as PSLV Continuation (Phase-6), GSLV Mk III Continuation, GSAT follow-on missions, Semicryo stage development, Advanced Launch Vehicle development, etc. (Rs.1787 crore); b) On-going missions such as PSLV – C36 to C50, -3, RISAT-1A, Oceansat-3 series, Resourcesat-3 series, NISAR, HRSAT, GSAT-20, GSAT-22/23/24 etc. (Rs.1217 crore); c) Facility Replacement/Augmentation and Others (Rs.2298.00 crore); and d) Grant-in-Aid to Autonomous Bodies (Rs.484.00 crore). 2.3 The Department also brought to the notice of the Committee that it has carefully re- prioritised the projects/programmes to ensure that the on-going projects/programmes are not affected. Depending on the approval status of new projects, progress on on-going missions and facility build-up, the Department would approach Ministry of Finance for additional funds at RE stage and through the mechanism of supplementary Grants. 2.4 The Committee notes that the budgetary allocation in BE 2018-19 of the Department has been pegged to Rs.10783.42 crore which was Rs.9155.52 crore in RE 2017-18, registering an increase of Rs.1627.90 crore. The Committee, therefore, enquired about the manner in which the Department proposes to utilise the increased budgetary allocation in BE 2018-19. The Department in its response submitted the Action Plan for the year 2018-19 which is as follows:- Action Plan for the year 2018-19 Action Plan Action Taken /Proposed to be Taken a) Launch of India’s 2nd mission to Moon,  Realisation of Orbiter, Lander and Rover Chandrayaan-2 with indigenous Lander, modules of Chandrayaan-2 mission are Rover and Orbiter Module on-board underway. GSLV-F10 vehicle  Launch of Chandrayaan-2 is targeted during 2018-19. b) Launch of India's advanced  GSAT-11 Communication satellite is communication satellite, GSAT-11 undergoing spacecraft level tests. which will carry Ku & Ka Band  Launch of GSAT-11 Satellite is rescheduled to communication payloads with multiple 2018-19 based on the availability of procured beams, capable of providing up to launch services. 10 Gbps throughput for space based broadband services. c) Completion of developmental phase of  Various Stages of the vehicle (i.e. S200, L110 India’s next generation launch vehicle, and C25) are under realisation. The launch of GSLV Mk III capable of launching about GSLV Mk III -D2 flight, carrying GSAT-29 4 Ton satellites into Geo-synchronous communication satellite, is targeted during Transfer Orbit. GSLV Mk III-D2 shall 2018-19. carry GSAT-29 communication satellite. d) Launch of advanced cartography  Realisation of various subsystems of the satellite, Cartosat-3, with improved spacecraft is in progress. Launch of Cartosat-3 imaging capability for enhanced is targeted in 2018-19. cartographic applications. Cartosat-3 is planned to be launched on-board PSLV. e) Realisation and launch of Radar Imaging  Realisation of various subsystems of the Satellite - RISAT-1A, with day night all spacecraft is in progress. Launch of RISAT-1A weather imaging capability, on-board satellite is targeted in 2018-19. PSLV. f) Launch of 3rd generation Oceanographic  Realisation of Payload and various subsystems satellite – Oceansat-3 on-board PSLV of the satellite is under progress. The launch of Oceansat-3 is targeted in 2018-19. 2.5 The Committee notes the action plan of the Department for the year 2018-19 with a hope that the Department with its enhanced allocation of Rs.1627.90 crore in BE 2018-19 would be in a comfortable position to take necessary action to achieve its targets as per Action Plan envisaged for the year and will make earnest efforts to utilise the budgetary allocation optimally. 2.6 The Secretary, Department of Space during the meeting held on 19th February, 2018 brought to the notice of the Committee that the Department would require additional budget to the tune of Rs.1360 crore for programmes like PSLV Continuation (Phase-6), GSLV Mk III Continuation (Phase-1), GSAT-20 Communication Satellite and High Resolution Satellite Constellation. A detailed justification for seeking additional budget is given below: Details of Additional Budget Required in BE 2018-19 (Rupees in Crore) Sl Project/ Additional Remarks No. Programme Budget Required 1. PSLV 400.00 The proposal for additional 30 flights of PSLV Continuation Continuation programme is being processed to (Phase-6) obtain approval of the Union Cabinet. The programme is envisaged to provide operational launch services for our satellite programme. As the approval of the programme is expected during 2018-19, an additional allocation of Rs.400 crore is essential towards initiating advance actions for procurement of materials and renewal of fabrication contracts with the partner industries. 2. GSLV Mk III 800.00 The developmental phase of GSLV Mk III project Continuation capable of launching 4T class of satellites into (Phase-1) GTO will be completed during the first half of 2018. With the completion of developmental phase, the Department envisages to start the operational phase of the programme encompassing 10 flights of GSLV Mk III during 2018-19. A proposal is under process for approval by Union Cabinet. Towards this, an additional allocation of Rs.800 crore is essential to initiate the advance actions. 3. GSAT-20 100.00 Necessary approvals have been obtained for Communication realisation of GSAT-20 high throughput Satellite communication satellite for providing broadband services. Considering the demand for the satellite based broadband services, there is a need to expedite the completion of the project. Towards this, the Department would require additional allocation of Rs.100 crore. 4. HRSAT 60.00 Approvals for establishing a constellation of three Constellation high-resolution earth observation satellite with daily revisit capability have been obtained. Post National meet on application of Space Technology for Development and Governance, there is an increased demand for high-resolution data for various application projects. Towards this, additional allocation of Rs.60 crore is requested. Total 1360.00 2.7 The Committee is of the considered view that the programmes/projects for which the Department has sought an additional budgetary support of Rs.1360 crore are of national importance and if not supported with the requisite financial support will in turn not only hinder the performance on count of its physical targets but also will act as a barrier in the overall growth trajectory of Indian space programmes. Thus, the requisite financial support is imperative to help the Department of Space to act towards the realisation of the targets set. 2.8 The Committee, therefore, recommends the Department of Space to sensitise the Ministry of Finance about the importance of PSLV Continuation (Phase-6), GSLV Mk III Continuation (Phase-1), GSAT-20 Communication Satellite and HRSAT Constellation in the overall growth of our space programmes and impress upon them to seek the needed budgetary support at RE stage. 2.9 The Committee also recommends the Department to ensure that the objectives/targets envisaged by the Department to achieve with the help of this additional grant of Rs.1360 crore are attained and the Department will take necessary approvals of Union Cabinet in respect of PSLV Continuation (Phase-6) and GSLV Mk III Continuation (Phase-1) programmes in order to proceed further in the matter. 3. CENTRAL SECTOR SCHEMES/PROJECTS (A) SPACE TECHNOLOGY 3.1 The Committee notes that under the space technology, provision has been included for the activities of various ISRO Centres namely Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), ISRO Inertial System Unit (IISU), Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), ISRO Propulsion Complex (IPRC), ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC), Laboratory for Electro-Optics Systems (LEOS), Satish Dhawan Space Centre-SHAR (SDSC-SHAR), ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) & Master Control Facility (MCF) and also for various space technology projects undertaken by the Department consisting of Launch Vehicle Projects & Satellite Projects including Developmental and Operational Projects. 3.2 The Committee further notes that in BE 2017-18 an amount of Rs.5850.69 crore was allocated under the head Space Technology which was increased to Rs.5984.42 crore in RE 2017-18 and in BE 2018-19 the budgetary allocation has further been increased to Rs.6576.02 crore registering an increase of Rs.591.6 crore in comparison to RE 2017-18 allocation. The Committee, accordingly, sought to know the road-map prepared by the Department for the utilisation of the budgetary support of Rs.6576.02 crore during 2018-19. 3.3 Responding to the query of the Committee, the Department of Space in its written submission informed that the increased allocation sought in BE 2018-19 is towards the following: i. Towards increased launch frequency of operational missions of PSLVs. ii. For Semi-cryogenic engine development towards completion of test facilities, procurement of materials and test charges. iii. Work towards EO missions like Oceansat-3 series, Resourcesat-3 Series, Cartosat-3, RISAT-1A, GISAT-1, HRSAT constellation and NISAR mission; iv. Technology development programmes like high thrust Electric Propulsion System, uprated Cryo stage development, SAMUDRA project, etc. v. Augmentation of Technical Infrastructures like establishment of Trisonic Wind Tunnel Facility, 2 Peta Flop Supercomputing Facility at VSSC; Cryo-Turbo Pump Test facility, Integrated Cryogenic Engine and Stage Test facility at IPRC, Mahendragiri; Augmentation of Solid Motor Production Facility, PSLV Integration Facility at SDSC- SHAR, Sriharikota; New Compact Antenna Test Facility at ISAC etc. 3.4 As regards the reasons for the additional allocation sought by the Department at RE stage (2017-18), the Department submitted that this additional allocation was sought due to the following reasons: i. Towards realization of additional flights of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle and 2nd developmental flight of GSLV Mk III. ii. Procurement of materials/electronic components/fabrication charges for Earth Observation Missions like RISAT-1A, NISAR etc. iii. Towards meeting the milestone payments of Second Vehicle Assembly Building at Sriharikota which is nearing completion. 3.5 The Committee while underlining the importance of the space technology programme of the Department enquired about the impact of the programmes/schemes/activities undertaken for the overall growth of the space technology sector. 3.6 The Department in response to Committee's query informed that the programmes/schemes/activities undertaken under the head Space Technology has helped the Department in providing assured launch services for indigenous satellites, technological capability for space commerce, development of heavy lift launch vehicle capable of launching 4Tonne class of communication satellites, technology development towards low cost access to space, augmentation of INSAT/GSAT capacity for various communication services, Capability building for navigational services, augmentation of Earth Observation capability with enhanced resolution etc. 3.7 Apprising the Committee about the major achievements under the head Space Technology during last three years, the Department informed the following:  Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) made 12 successful flights during this period (up to January, 2018). These flights have placed 26 Indian satellites into their required orbits, while at the same time 197 foreign satellites have also been successfully launched, on commercial basis as co-passengers. PSLV has proved to be a versatile launch vehicle capable of performing variety of missions including low earth orbit, sun synchronous orbit, transfer orbits to Geostationary/Planetary/Lunar missions, multiple satellites into an orbit and satellites into multiple orbits. With the newly introduced feature like re-start of the upper stage of PSLV, to meet the need for placing satellites in different orbits, and the recent success of launching 104 satellites in a single go, has made the PSLV as one of the sought-after launch vehicles in the world, in its own class.  The indigenously developed Cryogenic Upper Stage (CUS) has been successfully used in 3 consecutive flights of GLSV Mk II, that has proved its reliability in placing 2-Tonne class of spacecraft in Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO). These achievements have made the GSLV Mk II a proven launch vehicle for operational services.  The first developmental flight (GSLV MkIII-D1) of India's heavy lift launch vehicle GSLV Mk-III was successfully conducted on June 05, 2017 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre SHAR, Sriharikota with the launch of GSAT-19 satellite. This was the first orbital mission of GSLV Mk III which was mainly intended to evaluate the vehicle performance including that of its fully indigenous cryogenic upper stage during the flight. Weighing 3136 kg. at lift-off, GSAT-19 is the heaviest satellite launched from the Indian soil.  Scramjet Engine: The first experimental mission of ISRO’s Scramjet engine towards the realisation of an Air Breathing Propulsion System was successfully conducted on August 28, 2016 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota. The Scramjet engine uses Hydrogen as fuel and the Oxygen is picked up from the atmospheric air as the oxidiser. The test was carried out by mounting the Scramjet engines on a solid rocket booster and demonstrated critical technologies such as ignition at supersonic speed, supersonic combustion, air intake mechanism and fuel injection systems. With this test, India became the fourth country to demonstrate the flight testing of a Scramjet engine.  Reusable Launch Vehicle – Technology Demonstrator (RLV-TD) is one of the technologically challenging endeavors of ISRO towards developing essential technologies for a reusable launch vehicle to enable low cost access to space. RLV-TD was successfully flight tested on May 23, 2016 from SDSC SHAR Sriharikota validating the critical technologies such as autonomous navigation, guidance & control, reusable thermal protection system and re-entry mission management.  Semicryogenic engine: The semi-cryogenic technology envisages the design and development of a 2000 kN semi-cryogenic engine for a future heavy-lift Launch Vehicle. The semi-cryogenic engine uses a combination of Liquid Oxygen (LOX) and ISROSENE (propellant-grade kerosene), which are eco-friendly and cost-effective propellants. Turbo pump systems of semicryogenic engine, namely, Low Pressure Oxidiser Turbo pump (LPOT), Low Pressure Fuel Turbo pump (LPFT) and Main Turbo Pump have been realised. Cold flow tests (nine tests) for LPOT and cold flow tests (two tests) for Low Pressure Fuel Turbo Pump (LPFT) were conducted successfully. Further tests for LPFT and Main Oxidiser Pump (MOP) are in progress at Cold Flow Test (CFT) facility at IPRC, Mahendragiri.  Satellite Navigation Constellation: 3 more satellites of the Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) constellation were successfully launched during the period on board PSLV to realise the full constellation of seven satellites to enable Navigation related applications in the country and the region. The constellation is named as ‘NavIC’, and dedicated to the nation. The constellation provides navigation services over the Indian region and up to 1,500 km beyond the Indian land mass. This new constellation is expected to bring in a new dimension of applications, in terms of location-based services, in the country. The launch of eighth satellite of the series, IRNSS-1H on-board PSLV- C39 was unsuccessful.  Earth Observation Satellites: The above period also witnessed the launch of 7 Earth Observation satellites, viz., 4 high resolution imaging satellites (Cartosat-2 Series), advanced weather monitoring satellite (INSAT-3DR), satellite for cyclone tracking, climate and environmental studies (SCATSAT-1) with Ku-band Scatterometer, and a remote sensing satellite for natural resources management (Resourcesat-2A). 3.8 The Committee notes the physical progress made by the Department of Space under the head space technology during the last three years with satisfaction. The Committee also notes the roadmap shared by the Department with regard to its proposed activities under this head for the year 2018-19. The Committee hopes that the Department would continue its efforts towards making the Indian space technology as pioneer in the world and make earnest efforts to achieve the targets set for the year 2018-19. 3.9 The following table indicates the BE, RE allocations and actual expenditure (upto December, 2017), year-wise, for the years 2016-17 and 2017-18 and BE allocation for 2018-19 under the Space Technology scheme as provided by the Department:- (Rupees in crore) Sl. Name of 2016-2017 2017-2018 2018-19 No. Organisation/ Scheme BE RE Actuals BE RE Actuals* BE Space Technology 1 Vikram Sarabhai Space 1131.32 1185.00 1169.51 1362.00 1368.90 972.02 1395.70 Centre (VSSC) 2 ISRO Inertial Systems 60.00 55.00 54.98 66.88 62.45 48.05 74.00 Unit (IISU) 3 Liquid Propulsion 311.75 377.19 378.21 454.78 478.50 289.86 559.52 Systems Centre (LPSC) 4 ISRO Propulsion 333.00 250.00 248.79 533.54 324.40 194.08 499.00 Complex (IPRC) 5 ISRO Satellite Centre 418.00 490.00 500.06 628.60 637. 70 480.95 718.85 (ISAC) 6 Laboratory for Electro- 45.00 55.00 57.56 72.10 60.00 43.77 70.00 Optics Systems (LEOS) 7 Satish Dhawan Space 598.00 635.57 642.89 867.19 792.00 592.41 866.40 Centre - (SDSC-SHAR) 8 ISRO Telemetry 170.00 165.00 166.67 209.00 216.50 151.67 248.05 Tracking & Command Network (ISTRAC) 9 Master Control Facility 108.00 110.00 108.39 170.90 120.70 78.47 145.25 (MCF) 10 Polar Satellite Launch 400.00 400.00 400.00 501.00 650.00 597.03 750.00 Vehicle - Continuation Project (PSLV-C) 11 GSLV-Operational 180.00 155.10 150.00 170.00 160.00 141.66 125.00 12 GSLV Mk III 100.00 110.00 122.00 50.00 120.00 91.94 22.00 Development 13 Space Capsule 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Recovery Experiment (SRE-I&II) 14 Manned Mission 12.00 19.60 20.50 1.00 15.50 11.57 2.50 Initiative/Human Space Flight Programme (HSP) 15 Trisonic Wind Tunnel 0.10 0.10 0.00 10.00 0.10 0.00 96.00 Facility Project (TWT) 16 Semi-Cryogenic Engine 160.00 112.18 120.53 180.00 160.00 108.20 220.00 Development 17 Semi-Cryogenic Engine 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.10 0.00 0.00 0.10 Clustering 18 Semi- Cryogenic Stage 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.00 0.00 0.00 0.10 Development 19 Advanced Launch 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.00 0.00 0.00 0.10 Vehicle Development 20 PLSV Continuation -- -- 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.10 Programme (Phase-6) 21 PLSV Mk-III -- -- 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.10 Continuation Programme (Phase-1) 22 Technology -- -- 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.10 Development for Orbital Module 23 Small Satellite launch -- -- 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.10 Vehicle (SSLV) 24 PSLV Integration -- -- 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 50.00 Facility (PIF) 25 Geo-Imaging Satellite 70.00 40.00 34.40 60.00 44.35 33.92 50.00 (GISAT) 26 Resourcesat-2A 75.00 50.00 45.27 15.00 31.42 22.61 0.00 27 Cartosat-3 30.00 5.00 5.74 20.00 41.30 21.91 70.00 28 Scatsat 35.00 27.50 32.94 10.00 29.10 21.31 0.00 29 RISAT-1A 35.00 8.00 7.35 25.00 116.10 47.07 127.35 30 OCEANSAT-3&3A 30.00 15.00 34.76 65.00 68.05 23.10 78.70 31 Cartosat-2E 50.00 8.00 8.02 45.00 73.30 61.12 34.00 32 RISAT-3 0.10 0.10 0.00 0.10 0.00 0.00 0.10 33 Navigational Satellite 80.00 90.00 81.73 50.00 60.00 47.42 50.00 Systems (NSS) 34 NASA-ISRO Synthetic 100.00 15.00 20.63 30.00 70.40 56.48 87.20 Aperture Radar Mission (NISAR) 35 Resourcesat-3S&3SA 20.00 0.15 0.14 10.00 20.00 5.19 40.00 36 Resourcesat-3&3A 0.00 0.00 0.00 10.00 13.65 8.77 25.00 37 High Resolution 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.00 8.00 0.07 40.00 Satellite Constellation 38 Realization of Second 245.00 200.00 175.00 163.50 225.00 171.05 65.60 Vehicle Assembly Building (SVAB) 39 Solid Propellant Space 0.00 0.00 0.00 50.00 3.00 5.05 45.00 Booster Plant (SPROB) 40 Third Launch Pad 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.00 0.00 0.00 0.10 41 Development of Space 12.00 6.00 12.15 16.00 14.00 9.37 20.00 Materials & Components 42 Advance Ordering 5.00 1.56 1.84 ------Total 4814.27 4586.05 4600.06 5850.69 5984.42 4336.12* 6576.02 * Upto December, 2017 3.10 On scrutiny of the overall fund utilisation performance of the Department with regard to the budgetary allocation made under the head Space Technology during the year 2017-18 (upto December, 2017), the Committee observes that against the total amount of Rs.5984.42 crore, the Department could manage to spend Rs.4336.12 crore which is 72.45 per cent utilisation of the budgetary allocation. The Committee, however, finds that though the overall fund utilisation has been satisfactory yet the fund utilisation under some of the component of the Space Technology such as ISRO Propulsion Systems Centre (LPSC), Master Control Facility (MCF), Cartosat - 3, RISAT - 1A, OCEANSAT - 3 & 3A, Resourcesat - 3S & 3SA, Resourcesat - 3 & 3A and High Resolution Satellite Constellation has been very discouraging. The Committee, therefore, feels that the Department should have been more prudent while utilising the budgetary allocation for the intended purpose. 3.11 The Committee is of the considered view that the realisation of financial targets set by any organisation speaks volume of its financial prudence in the form of making best use of funds made available to it. The poor funds utilisation of the above mentioned components is also indicative that the Department has lost sight of its financial targets. The Committee, therefore, recommends the Department to do an internal assessment of its fund utilisation capacity and take desired remedial measures to ensure the optimum utilisation of the budgetary support. 3.12 The Committee further hopes that the Department would do justice to the budgetary allocation of Rs.6576.02 crore made in BE 2018-19 by making earnest efforts towards the judiciously utilisation of this financial support without losing sight of its financial and physical targets as spelt out in the roadmap prepared for the year 2018-19. (B) SPACE APPLICATIONS 3.13 The Committee notes that under the head space application, provision has been included for the activities of ISRO Centres namely Space Application Centre (SAC), Development and Education Communication Unit (DECU), National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) & Indian Institute of Remote Sensing (IIRS) and also for various Space Application Projects undertaken by the Department consisting of National Natural Resources Management System (NNRMS), Earth Observation Applications Mission (EOAM) and Disaster Management Support (DMS). 3.14 The Committee further notes that an amount of Rs.1746.25 crore has been earmarked in BE 2018-19 under the head 'Space Applications' which was Rs.1586.46 crore during RE 2017- 18. The Department in its written reply informed that the budgetary allocation of Rs.1746.25 crore would be utilised towards the following: a) Capacity building in terms of technology development and establishment of technical infrastructure in ISRO Centres dealing with Space applications (SAC, NRSC, DECU & IIRS) for development of payloads for EO, , SATCOM / SATNAV applications. b) Execution of major application projects as part of National Natural Resources Management System (NNRMS), Earth Observation Application Missions (EOAM), National Information system for Climate & Environmental Studies (NICES), Disaster Management Support Programme and enhanced services etc. 3.15 Responding to the information sought by the Committee about the major programmes/schemes/activities undertaken by the Department during the last three years under the head 'Space Applications', the Department informed that space applications are being executed both at Central and State Government levels in the country. This includes EO based mapping and monitoring, SATCOM based connectivity and related applications, SATNAV based applications using NavIC constellation and also GAGAN enabled location based services and Disaster Management Support services. Some of the major Applications undertaken during last three years are: A. Meeting the connectivity requirement of Andaman & Nicobar Islands Enhancement of satellite bandwidth connectivity to Andaman & Nicobar Islands (ANI) was planned during 2016 to address requirements of ANI administration and the central schemes like Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) and Public Finance Management System (PFMS). Sufficient satellite transponder capacity was made available to enhance the connectivity from 382 Mbps to 1 Gbps by end of 2016. B. Tele-education Connectivity North Eastern States Tele-education networks in the North Eastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura connecting 325 schools/colleges were taken up in 2016 for reactivation. About 250 terminals are made operational and the work is in progress to bring-up the remaining. In addition, establishment of tele- education network connecting 25 locations in Manipur is also in progress. Jammu & Kashmir Reactivation of Tele-education network in Jammu & Kashmir was undertaken in 2017. About 36 terminals were made operational by June, 2017 and activities are in progress to make another 20 terminals operational.

C. Tele-medicine Connectivity New tele-medicine connectivity was established at 19 locations to cover some of the pilgrim places, Defence services, cancer care, etc. About 20 tele-medicine centers were reactivated. Currently, about 130 tele-medicine centers are operational at various parts of the country. Apart from tele-consultations, regular programs on continuing medical education are also conducted. D. Applications of NavIC system Fishermen Messaging Service Ockhi Cyclone created serious crisis, particularly for Kerala and Tamil Nadu fishermen community. This was because the warnings and alerts on cyclone and rough-sea could not be communicated to the fishermen who were already in sea. NavIC messaging service can specifically provide solution for such situations, covering the oceans upto 1500 km from Indian Coastline. Using an indigenously developed “Matchbox sized NavIC device and App” (mobile through Bluetooth connectivity) alert messages on disaster warnings, deep sea and sea-state alerts, are provided to fishermen in local languages. Information are also provided on potential fishing zones and alerts on approaching international waters to ensure the fishermen do not stray into restricted regions. Successful field trials were done off Kerala coast by 6 fishermen vessels that traversed more than 100 nautical miles into the sea and came back with good response. 700 devices are planned to be released in Kerala and Tamil Nadu fishermen. Multiple industries will be brought into realise larger number of devices soon. The technology is already freely made available to Indian industries through design publication on ISRO website, to realise devices in bulk at affordable prices. Recognition of NavIC by IMO for maritime applications Towards utilising NavIC for the maritime services, a proposal was submitted and being pursued further for the recognition of NavIC as part of World Wide Radio Navigation System by International Maritime Organisation (IMO). NavIC in Launch Vehicles Ruggedised hybrid (NavIC & GPS/GAGAN) receivers have been designed, developed and tested on PSLV & GSLV launch vehicles for determining trajectories. E. Real-time Train Tracking Application ISRO and Railways are jointly implementing automatic acquisition of train movement data for improving operational efficiency and quality of passenger information, namely “Real-time Train Information System (RTIS)”. The system uses the NavIC/GAGAN for position and navigation information and return satellite link for communicating the train position to central control center in real-time. Trials were conducted to ascertain the overall workability of the system and found satisfactory performance. It planned torolled out track about 10,000 trains across the country. Indian Railways with technical assistance from ISRO has taken up the implementation in 2700 trains initially. F. Satellite based Search and Rescue The satellite based search and rescue capabilities are being enhanced by augmenting the existing system to process Medium Earth Orbit Search And Rescue (MEOSAR). G. Earth Observation Satellite Applications Crop Inventory and production estimation:  Assessment of Post kharif rice fallows and site suitability analysis for growing pulse crops in rabi season for six Eastern States (Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, & West Bengal) has been taken up under Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India (BGREI).  Analysis is completed for Chhattisgarh state and the results indicate that approximately 74% (26.35 lakh ha) of kharif rice areas are left as rabi fallows and 29% of kharif rice-rabi fallow lands have potential to grow rabi pulses. The results are hosted on Bhuvan geoportal to increase the outreach for enhanced end use.  Rabi-pulses estimation methodology developed by ISRO has been transferred to MNCFC for operational use. As R&D effort, Agromet products are being developed for early warning advisories of mustard-aphid. Coordinated programme on Horticulture Assessment & Management using geoiNformatics (CHAMAN)  Horticultural crop inventory of 7 major crops (Fruits: Banana, Mango, Citrus, Vegetables: Potato, Onion, Tomato, Spices: Chilli) concentrated in 185 districts of 12 States is carried out to create systematic spatial database. Inventory of 170 districts have been completed.  Production estimations for Potato (Bihar, Gujarat, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal) and Late Kharif & Rabi Onion (Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh) are operational. The methodology is being developed for Tomato (AP, Bihar, Karnataka, MP, Odisha, Telangana, WB) and Chili (AP, Karnataka, MP, Odisha, Telangana, WB).  Studies on suitability of horticulture crops in North-eastern region: Orange in Papumpare district, Arunachal Pradesh, Banana in Goalpara of Assam & West Tripura, Pineapple in Senapati of Manipur & Dimapur of Nagaland, Grape in Champai of Mizoram, Turmeric in Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya and Cardomom in West Sikkim.  952 Ha of Mango orchards and 12733 Ha of Apple orchards are identified for rejuvenation. R&D Studies: Yield Modelling, Precision Farming, Spectral Signature Studies. Crop Intensification- Vegetables in Haryana and -horticulture – Dharbanga, Bihar completed jointly with MNCFC  Trained State Horticulture Dept officials for field data collection Fodder crop Assessment  Assessment of Fodder crop during summer season was carried out for parts of Gujarat state using multi-date LISS-III data.  MoU has been signed with AMUL and NDDB for fodder crop assessment  The study has been extended to other districts of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Haryana states.  The fodder crop area was estimated using 120 multi-date IRS LISS-III since obtained from March to June 2016 and ground truth data collected over 500 sites. Indian Forest Cover Change Alert System (InFCCAS)  The system envisages semi-automated identification of forest cover change locations, on an annual basis. Completed for entire country 2014-15 to 2016-17.  Alert System helps the state departments to take suitable measures to arrest the loss and to initiate afforestation activities. Integrated Studies of Himalayan Cryosphere Using Space Based Inputs and Impact Assessment Due to (2016- 2018)  Generation and analysis of Himalayan Snow cover products for the period of 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18 for 33 sub-basins of Himalaya. Spatial and temporal analysis of Snow and glacier melt run-off  Snow cover products at 5 and 10 days interval generated using NDSI algorithm for the period 2015-2016.  Glacier monitoring for area change has been done for glaciers using LISS III data of 2001 and 2016 for 950 glaciers. Desertification Status Mapping of India  Desertification/ Land Degradation Status Mapping of entire country at 1:500 K scale and for selected 78 districts at 1:50 K scale and change analysis has been completed. The output is in the form of geospatial data base and “Desertification and Land Degradation Atlas of India”. Multi-sensor data based Water Body Information System (WBIS) Water body information at National level is being generated at fortnight Interval. Published as Water Body Information System (WBIS), provides visualization of temporal water spread and its dynamics, useful for:-  Pre & Post Monsoon scenario of water spread across the country – for Blue revolution project objective identified by GOS.  Water spread Sustainability analysis – useful for Ministry of Tribal Affairs identified districts.  Sustainable water bodies mapped for 177 tribal districts of the country for supporting aquaculture as an alternate livelihood. Assessment of Spatial and Temporal Variation of Water Quality in River Ganga using Remote Sensing Techniques  Assessing the variation in the water quality in River Ganga from Kannauj to Varanasi with respect to space and time using Remote Sensed and in-situ Water Quality Data.  Bhuvan Ganga portal developed and 65 geospatial layers have been uploaded. Bhuvan Ganga Mobile app is used to geotag more than 650 pollution sources across River Ganga. Satellite data Inputs for Baseline Studies on Water Use Efficiency (WUE) of Irrigation Projects (User Project)  To estimate the total irrigated area, area under major crops/crop groups and to assess the condition of major crops at dis-aggregated level during the 2016-17. Also, to evaluate the irrigation system performance for the year 2016-17 using water use efficiency (WUE) and other performance indicators.  Satellite data analysis completed. Bhuvan-Walamtari portal and mobile apps developed. Ground data measurements on canal efficiencies completed. Compilation and analysis of results in progress.  Capacity building through on the job training carried out. Integrated Watershed Management Project (IWMP)  Geospatial tools, Mobile Apps and Web Applications are deployed for online monitoring and evaluation of about 86,000 micro-watersheds covering 38.60 M. ha in the country and its verification by appropriate authorities. Nearly 10 Lakh geo tagged field photographs have been uploaded by state nodal agency teams, facilitating transparent and precise reporting.  High resolution satellite images are used to monitor IWMP interventions such as creation of structures and the treated watersheds are also being ranked based on cropping intensity, vegetative cover, increase in number and spread of water bodies etc.  6700 satellite data products pertaining to 2013-14, 14-15, 15-16 and 16-17 are uploaded on Bhuvan. Drishti v2.3 is operationalised.  130 impact reports have been submitted to Department of Land Resources. IWMP Dashboard developed on Bhuvan. Bhujal Portal for Ground Water Prospects  Bhujal Portal was established in Bhuvan, to identify prospective sites for ground water and suitable sites for recharging.  Nearly 100 wells drilled in Karnataka during the acute drought season of 2016 and more than 400 wells drilled in Tamil Nadu during the 2017 drought to augment drinking water supply. Natural Resource Census Projects  13th Annual Cycle of Land Use/Land Cover mapping during 2016-17 at 1:250,000 scale; Land Use/Land Cover Mapping and monitoring during 2015-16 at 1: 50,000 scale and Land degradation mapping (2nd cycle) at 1:50,000 scale have been completed.  Mapping of degraded & wastelands (2015-16) completed for enabling crop intensification, afforestation and enhancing land productivity in the rural areas. Space Based Information Support for Decentralized Planning (SIS-DP) and Empowering Panchayati Raj Institutions Spatially (EPRIS)  EPRIS is aimed to facilitate outreach activities of Space Based Information Support for Decentralized Planning (SIS-DP) database along with asset mapping for selected Panchayats with the involvement of State Remote Sensing Applications Centes (SRSACs), NGOs and academia.  Activities being carried out under this project include - (a) Organisation of several capacity building programmes for PRIs, line Departments, academia and NGOs, (b) Asset mapping using Bhuvan Panchayat mobile application and (c) Activity planning at three tiers of Panchayati Raj along with its implementation and monitoring. AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation)  Remote sensing Images in conjunction with geospatial tools are being used for creating large scale geo-spatial database for urban planning. Urban & Regional Development Plans Formulation & Implementation (URDPFI) Guidelines have been released.  It is helping Urban Local Bodies for preparation of master plans covering 500 cities/towns under AMRUT programme on 1:4,000 scale. PFZ and Navigational Alerts to Fishermen  India’s fishing community is greatly benefited through satellite based potential fishing zone advisories, being provided in local languages. Such advisories help them in increased fish catch (2-5 times) and reducing searching time (about 30-70%), which is one of the unique successes.  Fishermen are being further supported through information on weather and navigation alerts on their mobile. ISRO has devised a user friendly App that works on basic smart mobiles along with a compact Bluetooth enabled NavIC device. Through this system fishermen will be able to receive the alerts on emergencies such as cyclone, high waves, tsunami, potential fishing zone advisories and international maritime boundaries. Assessment of Renewable energy  Using solar insolation data from Indian Meteorological satellites, assured solar power potential and hotspots have been classified into different zones viz. very low, low, moderate, high and very high. The zones with high to very high assured solar energy are identified as hot spots.  Estimation of Solar energy potential for nearly 98 SMART cities and 60 SOLAR cities has been carried out. 48-Hour solar energy forecast (at 15 minute interval) and MobileApp for assessing location-specific Solar & Wind Energy potential developed. Mobile & Web Applications for Governance  MGNREGA: Geo-spatial tools and Location based services are being utilized for planning, implementation and monitoring of assets and activities. So far, nearly 2.13 Crore assets are geotagged and moderated.  Integrated Watershed Management Programme - 86,000 micro-watersheds being monitored online. More than 10 lakh field photographs of development activities uploaded.  PMAY (Urban)-Geo-tagging of the beneficiary houses at different stages of construction. Currently about 6.5 lakh houses have been geo-tagged in 26 States.  Inventory of Post offices (1,49,437 locations) and its services uploaded on Bhuvan Portal.

Management Plans for Heritage Sites  Inventory completed for all notified 3658 nationally important archaeological heritage sites & monuments demarcating management zones viz. Prohibited, Protected & Regulated zones.  Towards Ease of doing business, a customized mobile application is developed to enable M/o Culture for online processing of Citizen Requests for granting No Objection Certificate. The application is integrated with National Monument Authority server & ISRO’s Bhuvan Portal. Disaster Information Services  Established Decision Support Centre at NRSC, Hyderabad. Operationally provides space based post disaster information for natural disasters.  Floods – The flood situation is monitored during the flood season using satellite data. During 2015-2017, more than 315 flood inundation maps were provided in near real- time to the concerned State Relief Commissioners, Ministry of Home Affairs.  Cyclone – The accurate early warning of cyclones viz. Hudhud (Oct 2014), Nilofar (Oct 2014), Vardah (Dec 2016) has immensely helped in saving the lives of people. Two more satellite, INSAT-3DR (providing half hourly images) & SCATSAT-1 (providing ocean surface wind vectors) launched to further improve accuracy of cyclone predictions. Flood inundation during cyclones was provided to the Governments agencies for preparatory activities.  Landslides – Seasonal Landslide inventory completed for 13 States. For the recent rainfall event (Jun-July, 2017) in NER, about 10000 new landslides mapped. Early warning for landslides is live in Bhuvan for the three regions (Uttarakhand, HP and NER)  Forest fires – Operational daily forest fire alerts are being detected and web-published through BHUVAN. Transfer of alerts generated through fully automated routine with TAT< 30 min to Forest Survey of India & simultaneously web-published via Bhuvan. Rapid burnt area inputs for Uttarakhand state forest departments for forest fire management. In fire season, a total of 22539 (2015), 35679 (2016), 36000 (2017) active fires were observed.  Under the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters, IRS data products were provided for 59 disaster events from 23 countries. National Database for Emergency Management (NDEM)  It essentially serves as a national repository of the country to assist the disaster managers at various levels in decision making for managing emergency situations. NDEM products & services are being utilised by all 36 States/UTs.  NDEM v3.0 with improved features services are deployed to all 36 States/UTs. Also, a customised portal has been developed for NDRF for National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) for disaster response, rescue and relief operation. NDEM Services have been customised for Andhra Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority (APSDMA).  So far about 1751 value added disaster specific products were served through NDEM portal. Bhuvan (http://bhuvan.nrsc.gov.in)  Bhuvan currently hosts multi-temporal, multi-sensor and multi-resolution satellite imageries, thematic maps of 12 natural resources, 10 million Point of Interest data, 54 geo-physical products for downloads and provides major services including Bhuvan 2D/3D, NRSC Open Data Archive, Thematic services, Disaster Services, Crowd Sourcing applications, Online mapping applications.  It has more than 55,000 registered Users. Bhuvan has established as a geospatial platform for other Ministries to showcase their activities as well as to carry out their planning and monitoring activities.  More than 200 Web & Mobile Applications have been deployed to support the needs of various Ministries/ Departments for enabling improved governance. MOSDAC (http://mosdac.gov.in)  MOSDAC archives space based weather and ocean data and data products from ISRO missions such as well as from ground based systems and disseminates through web based services for the needs of scientific/research community in the country and ensures continuous weather and ocean data availability in near real time mode.  It caters to large number of Registered Users and Institutional Users. It provides Weather Forecast (24, 48 & 72 hrs. at 5 Km), Ocean State Forecasts (6 hourly), Cyclone Track, Intensity & landfall forecast, Alerts for High Intensity rainfall, Cloud Bursts, Heat wave etc. National Information System For Climate & Environment Studies (NICES)  The mandate of NICES is to build an information base for climate change impact assessment and mitigation.  54 Geophysical products are already uploaded in Bhuvan portal and about 10 Geophysical products are planned to be uploaded shortly. 3.16 The Committee appreciates the overall progress achieved by the Department on account of its space applications programme during the last three years. The Committee is of the considered view that the activities undertaken by the Department under the head space applications are of far reaching importance. 3.17 The Committee further notes that the Department under its tele-education connectivity programme has so far made about 250 terminals operational and the remaining work is in progress and similarly the task of establishment of tele-education network connecting 25 locations in Manipur is also in progress. The Committee while underlining the strategic importance of the North Eastern States feels that the completion of these remaining activities will further strengthen the overall development process of these States. The Committee, therefore, recommends the Department to expedite its action in the matter and make a time schedule to complete these remaining tasks so that timely completion of these tasks can be ascertained. The Committee also recommends the Department to speed up its activities in the direction of making 20 terminals operational in Jammu & Kashmir under the tele-education connectivity programme. The Committee is of the considered opinion that it will be in the fitness of things if the Department attaches more importance and focused approach towards the activities undertaken under tele- education connectivity programme in other parts of the country as well. 3.18 The Committee also recommends the Department of Space to reach-out to all the State Governments/Union Territories for establishing the institutional linkage between the Department and the respective governments in order to promote higher-education with the help of its tele-education programme, considering their demands. The Committee also feels that the Department can run an awareness campaign to further popularise the advantage of its tele-education network to provide curriculum based education. 3.19 The Committee also takes note of the 130 tele-medicine connectivity centres currently operative at various parts of the country. The Committee, however, feels that given the huge size of our country and its population, 130 tele-medicine connectivity centres is a drop in the ocean and thus the number of these centres needs to be increased manifold so as to penetrate into the larger part of the country. The Committee, therefore, recommends that the Department of Space should chalk out a roadmap for the purpose and make earnest efforts for increasing the number of tele-medicine connectivity centres across the country in a time bound manner. The Committee also recommends the Department to earmark funds for this purpose so that the work related to establishment of these centres is not hindered due to lack of funds and ensure that the funds so earmarked are utilised for the intended purposes only. 3.20 The Committee further applauds the Department of Space for implementing automatic acquisition of train movement data for improving efficiency and quality of passenger information with the help of it Real-time Train Information System (RTIS) in collaboration with Railways. The Committee further notes that the Department of Space planned to roll out tracking of about 10000 trains across the country and Indian Railways with technical assistance from ISRO has taken up the implementation in 2700 trains initially. The Committee, in this regard, desires the Department to furnish a detailed note on the implementation of this tracking system and the number of trains in which this system has already been implemented and the time scheduled fixed by the Department to reach its target of tracking 10000 trains. 3.21 The Committee enquired about the BE, RE allocations and actual expenditure for the years 2016-17, 2017-18 (upto December, 2017) and BE allocation for 2018-19 under the Space Application programmes. In its written response, the Department provided the following information:- (Rupees in crore) Sl. Name of Organisation/ 2016-2017 2017-2018 2018-19 No. Scheme BE RE Actuals BE RE Actuals* BE Space Applications 1. Space Applications 578.39 650.00 666.89 1105.39 1046.80 750.05 1124.25 Centre (SAC) (71.65%) 2. Development and 22.00 23.02 21.68 28.53 16.40 10.36 20.00 Educational (63.17%) Communication Unit (DECU) 3. National Remote 312.00 342.00 328.64 511.54 428.90 344.00 494.50 Sensing Centre (NRSC) (80.20%) 4. Indian Institute of 45.00 45.00 43.49 58.10 55.60 40.51 66.00 Remote Sensing (IIRS) (72.85%) 5. Earth Observation 5.00 3.75 2.65 4.00 3.76 2.46 5.00 Applications Mission (65.42%) (EOAM) 6. National Natural 35.00 23.00 23.59 34.45 20.00 10.94 11.50 Resources Management (54.70%) System (NNRMS) 7. Disaster Management 22.00 20.00 16.22 25.00 15.00 7.84 25.00 Support (DMS) (52.26%) Total 1019.39 1106.77 1103.16 1767.01 1586.46 1166.16 1746.25 (73.50%) * Upto December, 2017 3.22 The Committee notes that against the total allocation of Rs.1586.46 at RE (2017-18) stage, the Department could manage to utilise Rs.1166.16 crore till the end of December, 2017 which is 73.5 per cent of the total budgetary allocation. The Committee finds the overall financial performance of the Department during the last two years i.e., 2016-17 and 2017-18 (upto December, 2017) satisfactory. 3.23 The Committee, however, further notes with concern that fund utilisation in respect of the activities pertaining to Disaster Management Support (DMS), National Natural Resources Management System (NNRMS), Earth Observation Applications Mission (EOAM), and Development and Educational Communication Unit (DECU) has only been to the tune of 52.26%, 54.70%, 65.42%, and 63.17% respectively. The Committee finds this underutilisation worrisome raising questions on the efficiency of the Department to utilise the budgetary support made available for these organisations/schemes during the year 2017-18. The Committee also finds it hard to understand that poor fund utilisation of the Department under the head space applications would not have adversely impacted the realisation of physical targets envisaged by the Department in respect of the above mentioned activities. The Committee is of the view that the Department of Space has failed to exercise the desired financial prudence in the matter. The dissatisfactory financial performance of the Department is also reflective of the lack of focused and proactive approach of the Department. The Committee, therefore, recommends the Department to submit the detailed reason led to the underutilisation of funds on count of Disaster Management Support (DMS), National Natural Resources Management System (NNRMS), Earth Observation Applications Mission (EOAM), and Development and Educational Communication Unit (DECU) during the year 2017-18. 3.24 As regards the increased allocation of Rs.1746.25 crore in BE 2018-19 under the head space applications, the Committee would like to caution the Department that it must ensure that the funds made available for the purpose are utilised judiciously so as to achieve the physical targets set and put in place an efficacious budgetary monitoring mechanism to keep check and balance over the fund management under this head. (C) SPACE SCIENCES 3.5 The Committee has been given to understand that under the Space Sciences Programme of the Department of Space, provision has been included for the expenses of Space Science Programmes undertaken by ISRO which include Sponsored Research (RESPOND), Sensor Payload Development Planetary Science Programme, Climate and Atmospheric Programme, Small Satellite for Atmospheric Studies and Astronomy, Space Science Promotion, Aditya 1, Indian Lunar Mission (Chandrayaan I and II), X ray Polarimeter Satellite (XpoSat), Space Docking Experiment Mission, II and Mission to Venus. 3.26 The Committee notes that the budgetary allocation in BE 2017-18 was Rs.188.11 crore which was reduced to Rs.179.67 crore in RE 2017-18. The budgetary allocation, however, in BE 2018-19 has now been increased to Rs.230.10 crore which is Rs.50.43 crore higher than the RE 2017-18 allocation. The Committee taking note of the variation in the fund allocation under the head space sciences enquired from the Department about the reasons for this variation in the budgetary allocation. The Department in its written reply submitted that the increase in allocation is mainly towards completion of Chandrayaan-2 mission and work on other approved missions such as Aditya-L1, Xposat, and space docking experiment for which Rs.39.45 crore has been allocated. In addition, enhanced allocation of Rs.10.98 crore is sought for Climate and atmospheric studies (ISRO Geosphere Biosphere Program and Atmospheric science program) and Sponsored Research programme and others. 3.27 The following table presents the BE, RE allocations and actual expenditure for the years 2016-17 and 2017-18 (upto December, 2017) and BE allocation for 2018-19 under the Space Science scheme:-

(Rupees in crore) Sl. Name of 2016-2017 2017-18 2018-19 No. Organisation/ Scheme BE RE Actuals BE RE Actuals* BE Space Sciences 1. Sensor Payload 0.50 4.63 0.93 12.01 10.27 10.24 10.30 Development/ (99.70%) Planetary Science Programme 2. Sponsored Research 24.00 25.00 23.69 28.36 24.60 19.41 30.00 (RESPOND) (78.90%) 3. Small Satellites for 2.10 0.30 0.25 2.40 1.30 0.22 2.30 Atmospheric Studies (16.92%) & Astronomy 4. Space Science 6.05 3.95 3.92 3.15 3.15 0.33 4.90 Promotion (10.47%)

5. Climate & 35.20 19.00 14.57 32.00 18.00 11.22 20.60 Atmospheric (62.33%) Programme 6. Aditya -L1 25.00 35.00 38.48 40.00 30.00 21.33 50.00 (71.1%) 7. Chandrayaan -1&2 80.00 35.00 40.33 50.00 81.00 65.18 85.00 (80.46%) 8. -1 & 2 1.00 0.25 0.25 The project has been completed. 9. Mars Orbiter Mission 0.00 0.00 0.00 The project has been completed. 10. Mars Orbiter Mission 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.10 0.00 0.00 0.10 -II 11. Mission to Venus 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.10 0.00 0.00 0.10 12. X-RAY Palarimeter 5.00 4.54 0.04 10.00 8.35 5.36 16.80 Satellite (XPOSAT) (64.19%) 13. Space Docking 0.10 0.00 0.00 10.00 3.00 0.59 10.00 Experiment Mission (19.66%) Total 178.95 127.67 122.46 188.12 179.67 133.88 230.10 (74.51%) * Upto December, 2017 3.28 The Committee observes that though the overall fund utilisation of the Department has been to the tune of Rs.133.88 crore i.e. 74.51 per cent of the total funds of Rs.179.67 crore made available during the year 2017-18 under the head space sciences scheme of the Department yet the financial performance under Small Satellites for Atmospheric Studies & Astronomy, Space Science Promotion, and Space Docking Experiment Mission has been very poor and dissatisfactory. The Committee is deeply annoyed to note that the Department could only utilise upto December, 2017 16.92%, 10.47% and 19.66% of the budgetary support earmarked for Small Satellites for Atmospheric Studies & Astronomy, Space Science Promotion and Space Docking Experiment Mission respectively. This beyond acceptance underutilisation speaks volume about the nonchalant attitude of the Department towards these activities. Similarly, the fund utilisation position with regard to X-RAY Palarimeter Satellite (XPOSAT) has not been very heartening to note. The Committee finds that the Department could manage to utilise only Rs.5.36 crore i.e. 64.19 per cent of the budgetary support of Rs.8.35 crore earmarked during 2017-18 (upto December, 2017) for the purpose. 3.29 The Committee further desired to know the action plan prepared by the Department to utilise the budgetary allocation of Rs.230.10 crore allocated in BE 2018-19 under space sciences scheme. In response, the Department submitted its proposed action plan to utilise the BE 2018- 19 allocation of Rs 230.10 crore on account of the following activities: (a) Realisation of Lander, Rover and Orbiter modules of Chandrayaan-2; completion of spacecraft level assembly, integration and testing activities and progress towards launch of Chandrayaan-2 mission; (b) Progress in other ongoing missions like Aditya-L1, XPOSAT, Space Docking Experiment etc.; and (c) Carrying out space science research in the areas of Climate & Atmospheric Sciences. 3.30 The Department also submitted a detailed roadmap towards future Space Science and Planetary Exploration missions envisaging the following: (a) Exploration of Moon through Chandrayaan-2 comprising of an indigenous Orbiter, Lander and Rover. The mission planned to be launched during the year 2018 using GSLV Mk-II vehicle. (b) Undertaking XPoSat Small Satellite mission to study the degree and angle of polarization of bright X-ray sources (5-30 keV). The mission is expected to be launched in 2019. (c) Aditya-L1 - First Indian mission to study the Sun from Halo orbit around Sun-Earth Lagrangian point-1 (1.5 million km from Earth). It is planned to be launched during 2020 by PSLV. (d) Formulation of future interplanetary missions to Mars and Venus. 3.31 The Committee notes the proposed action plan of the Department for the year 2018- 19 and hopes that the Department will be more vigilant while utilising the budgetary allocation of Rs.230.10 crore and make earnest efforts to achieve the envisaged targets. (D) INSAT SATELLITE SYSTEMS 3.32 The Committee notes that under the INSAT Satellite Systems provisions has been made included the expenses of various INSAT GSAT class of Satellites including to expenses of launch service contracts and expenses of leasing of transponders. 3.33 The Committee given the activities being carried out by the Department under its INSAT Satellite Systems deemed it appropriate to take a stock of the major programmes/schemes/activities undertaken during the last three years and their impact. Accordingly, the Committee sought the information and the Department in its written reply informed about the major programmes/schemes/activities undertaken along with their outcome for the last three years which is as follows: A. Satellites Launched Six communication satellites (GSAT-6, GSAT-15, GSAT-18, , GSAT-19 & GSAT-17) were realized and launched during last three years. Communication satellites have provided continuity to critical services and added additional capacity.  GSAT-6 is a high power S-band satellite using state of the art technologies like 6m unfurlable antenna and 5 spot beams for supporting compact hand held user terminals for critical mobile communication services.  ‘South Asia Satellite (GSAT-9)’ for the use of South Asia countries was realized successfully. The satellite is currently operational and demonstration of services to various countries has already been completed. The establishment of ground segment by different countries is in progress.  GSAT-19 is a communication satellite that demonstrated various new technologies prior to deployment of India’s heaviest and first high throughput satellite, GSAT-11 (planned for launch in May 2018). The satellite is designed for providing a throughput of about 4 Gbps and has successfully demonstrated new technologies like use of Ka band, multiple narrow spot beams, onboard RF antenna tracking systems, etc.  Satellites providing service continuity:GSAT-15, GSAT-17 & GSAT-18 satellites have provided continuity to critical services and augmented the capacity in various frequency bands. GSAT-17 carries the first Indian payload for providing connectivity to . B. Planned Satellites: Among several other communication and navigation satellites that are taken up for realization, three communication satellites (GSAT-6A, GSAT-29 & GSAT-11) are under advance stage of realization and are planned to be launched during the first half of 2018. Four more satellites (GSAT-20, GSAT-22, GSAT-23 & GSAT-24) are in different stages of realisation. Realisation of three more communication satellites (GSAT-30, GSAT-31 & GSAT-32) is being taken up. 3.34 The Department further replying to the query of the Committee about the steps being undertaken by the Department to reduce the cost of launching of satellites informed that it is contemplating a series of actions to reduce the cost of launching of satellites as a high priority activity. The future launch cost reduction are attempted in enhancing the payload carrying capability of ISRO’s launch vehicles by (i) using the extended payload fairing to accommodate larger volume; (ii) uprating of the propulsive stages; (iii) development of advanced avionics; (iv) optimization of structural mass of upper stages; (v) adoption of alternate materials to achieve cost effectiveness; and (vi) as well as increasing the vendor base to bring in higher competitiveness. 3.35 The Committee notes the progress made by the Department of Space and the efforts being undertaken to reduce the cost of launching of satellites with satisfaction and hopes that the earnest efforts of the Department will continue in the next financial year as well in order to achieve the new horizon of success. 3.36 The following table presents the BE, RE allocations and actual expenditure (upto December, 2017) for the years 2016-17 and 2017-18 and BE allocation for 2018-19 in respect of INSAT Satellite Systems:- (Rupees in crore) Sl. Name of 2016-2017 2017-2018 2018-19 No. Organisation/ Scheme BE RE Actuals BE RE Actuals* BE INSAT Satellite System 1 INSAT - Satellites 14.00 11.00 8.62 6.00 6.00 1.98 8.00 2 INSAT - 4 /GSAT 15.10 19.24 20.58 31.58 65.13 48.66 82.00 Satellites 3 Service Chages for 75.00 38.70 89.39 100.00 80.00 67.31 100.00 Leasing INSAT/GSAT Transponders 4 Advanced 30.00 769.03 771.95 110.00 100.00 15.53 20.00 Communication Satellite (FSAT-11) INCLUDING Launch 5 GSAT-15 Satellite 34.00 55.00 56.96 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 6 GSAT-15 Launch 2.00 0.40 0.40 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Services 7 GSAT-16 Satellite 1.10 3.50 3.34 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 8 GSAT-16 Launch 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Services 9 GSAT-17 & Follow- 120.00 110.00 109.23 100.00 95.44 81.08 48.00 on Satellites 10 GSAT-17 & Follow- 302.50 257.57 258.48 31.78 32.43 32.56 0.50 on Satellites-Launch Services 11 GSAT-18 Satellite 120.00 135.00 146.35 33.00 48.03 45.25 0.00 12 GSAT-18 Launch 55.00 34.96 34.59 2.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 Services 13 GSAT-19 Satellite 25.00 30.00 39.66 40.00 38.00 34.17 6.50 14 GSAT-20 Satellite 1.00 1.00 0.00 50.00 28.97 0.00 50.00 15 GSAT-21 Satellite 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.00 0.00 0.00 0.10 16 GSAT-22/23/24 0.00 0.00 0.00 2.00 16.00 6.94 50.00 Satellite 17 GSAT 25 & 28 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.10 Satellites 18 GSAT 26 & 27 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.10 Satellites 19 GSAT-29 Satellites 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 45.70 20 GSAT-30 Satellites 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.10 21 GSAT-31 Satellites 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.10 22 GSAT-32 Satellites 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.10 23 GSAT Follow-on 0.20 0.20 0.00 0.20 20.00 0.00 0.10 Satellites Including

24 Augmentation of 1.00 1.00 0.00 10.00 0.00 0.00 0.10 Capacity through Leasing of Transponders from Foreign Satellite 25 Procurement of 1.00 1.00 0.00 10.00 0.00 0.00 0.10 Heavier Class Satellite 26 Procurement of 0.10 0.10 0.00 1.00 0.00 0.00 0.10 Heavier Class Satellites 27 Development of a 0.10 0.10 Satellite for SAARC Countries Total 796.10 1466.80 1539.55 518.56 530.00 333.48* 411.60 * Upto December, 2017. 3.37 The Committee is not very pleased to note that against the budgetary support of Rs.530.00 crore, the Department could only utilise Rs.333.48 crore (upto December, 2017) which is just 62.92 per cent of the total amount allocated for the purpose during the period 2017-18. The Committee is at loss to understand that when the Department got an increased allocation of Rs.530.00 crore at RE stage compared to Rs.518.56 crore in BE 2017-18 why it failed to make full use of increased allocation. The utilisation under the head INSAT Satellite Systems also showcases the irrational budget projection on the part of the Department. The Committee, therefore, recommends the Department to furnish a detailed note stating the reasons for the underutilisation of the budgetary support allocated during the year 2017-18. 4. OTHER CENTRAL SECTOR EXPENDITURE (I) INDIAN INSTITUTE OF SPACE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY (IIST) 4.1 The Committee notes that Indian Institute of Space Science & Technology (IIST) is an autonomous body under the Department of Space and is one of the leading scientific organisations engaged in the area of advanced Space Science & Technology education and generating high quality human resources requirement of DoS/ISRO. The Committee further notes that the Institute has undergraduate, post-graduate and doctoral programme in the area of space science, technology and applications. 4.2 The following table presents the BE, RE allocations and actual expenditure (upto December, 2017) for the years 2016-17 and 2017-18 and BE allocation for 2018-19 in respect of IIST:- (Rupees in crore) 2016-2017 2017-18 2018-19 BE RE Actuals BE RE Actuals* BE 73.00 96.50 76.50 100.00 100.00 66.00 110.00 *Upto December, 2017 4.3 The Committee notes that the budgetary allocation in favour of IIST has remained same at Rs.100.00 crore at BE & RE stages during the year 2017-18. The Committee observes that the IIST upto December, 2017 could only utilise Rs.66.00 crore i.e. 66 per cent of the funds allocated for the year 2017-18. The Committee also takes note of the fact that there was underutilisation of funds in 2015-16 and 2016-17 too. 4.4 The Committee, therefore, expresses its displeasure over the routine approach of the Department which also gets reflected in its inability to utilise the budgetary support made available for IIST year after year. The Committee, in the light of the inability of the Department to make best use of the budgetary allocation, opines that the Department lacks a focused approach towards the completion of the developmental work of IIST. The Committee, therefore, recommends the Department to fix a timeline by which all the work related to completion of campus development work at the Institute and upgradation of laboratory facilities in the campus and ensure that no indecisive approach is allowed with regard to adherence to the fixed timeframe for the purpose and the budgetary allocation of Rs.110.00 in BE 2018-19 is utilised judiciously. (II) SEMI-CONDUCTOR LABORATORY (SCL) 4.5 The Committee learns that Semi Conductor Laboratory (SCL) is engaged in the Design, Development and Manufacture of Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSIs) devices and Board Level Products to meet the stringent quality requirement of strategic sectors. 4.6 The Committee enquired about the major programmes/schemes/activities of the Laboratory during the last three years and how successful have been these activities towards the growth of Indian Space industry. The Department in its written reply informed the Committee that Semi-conductor Laboratory (SCL) is engaged in providing end-to-end solutions for Development of Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), Opto-electronics Devices and Micro Electro Mechanical System (MEMS) Devices. The Committee further has been given to understand that the efforts are directed towards activities focused on realisation of critical & high reliability device requirements of DoS and other strategic sector users. Achievements of the Laboratory include the following:-  SCL has completed Design and Fabrication of over one hundred fifty types of devices in last three years, after upgradation of Wafer Fab to 180 nm CMOS technology. These include devices with Radiation Hardness for space application, Devices for Railways, Strategic users like DAE, DRDO and devices for ground applications.  SCL is meeting specialised requirement of Indian Air Force and delivers the critical Anti Spurious Fire Warning Modification (Firemod) Systems for Mi-17 and Mi-8 Russian Helicopters as well as twenty three types of Indigenised Electronic Boards & Modules for AN-32 Aircraft, Mi-8 & Mi-17 Helicopter and for related ground applications.  PisharotySonde Systems, for atmospheric studies before the launch and for other similar applications, are being assembled and provided on regular basis to DoS/ISRO, NAVY, IMD, SAARC STORM Project.  SCL is supporting MEITY on ‘Special Manpower Development Project’ (SMDP) for developing a skilled manpower in niche area of micro-electronics and India Microprocessor chip project. SCL keeps a strong interaction with Academia and has been supporting a large number of institutions all over India. Twenty four designs have been already fabricated and dies delivered to Institutions like IIT Bombay, IISc Bengaluru, IIT Delhi, NIT Kurushetra, IIT Guwahati etc. 4.7 The Committee also noted the increase in the budgetary allocation at 2017-18 RE stage and sought to know the reasons for this increase from Rs.210.00 crore to Rs.320.00 crore and the Department in response submitted that the allocation has been enhanced to Rs.320.00 crore at RE stage towards the following:  Grant-in-Aid – General to cater to the running cost of the facilities and Annual Comprehensive Maintenance of the Fab facility, procurement of consumables & Spares and outflow on Power, security etc (Rs.190.00 crore).  Grant-in-Aid – Creation of Capital Assets towards Augmentation of VLSI fabrication facility (Rs.47.00 crore).  Grant-in-Aid - Salaries to cater to the annual increments and DA (Rs.83.00 crore). 4.8 The following table provides the BE, RE allocations and actual expenditure (upto December, 2017) for the years 2016-17 and 2017-18 and BE allocation for 2018-19 under the head ‘Semi Conductor Laboratory’ as provided by the Department:- (Rupees in crore) 2016-2017 2017-18 2018-19 BE RE Actuals BE RE Actuals* BE 278.37 259.87 224.00 210.00 320.00 157.50 250.00 (49.21%) *Upto December, 2017 4.9 The Committee notes that the Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL) against the budgetary allocation of Rs.320.00 crore could manage to utilise only Rs.157.50 crore in 2017-18 (upto December, 2017) which is just 49.21 per cent utilisation of the funds earmarked for SCL. The Committee further notes the fact that the Department in its written reply to the Committee submitted that it had sought Rs.190.00 crore to cater to the running cost of the facilities and Annual Comprehensive Maintenance of the Fab facility, procurement of consumables & Spares and outflow on Power, security, etc.; Rs.47.00 crore for creation of Capital Assets towards Augmentation of VLSI fabrication facility; and Rs.83.00 crore to cater to the annual increments and DA, however, the Department failed drastically to utilise the funds for the intended purposes. The Committee is of the considered view that had the Department shown little concern towards meeting the obligations for which it had sought Rs.320.00 crore at RE stage, the fund utilisation performance could have been improved to a great extent. The Committee strongly feels that the Department needs to shrug off this complacency. The Committee, accordingly, recommends the Department to take immediate action in the matter and make sincere and earnest efforts toward optimum utilisation of the RE allocation of Rs.320.00 crore during the remaining period of the financial year 2017-18. (III) NORTH-EASTERN SPACE APPLICATIONS CENTRE (NE-SAC), SHILLONG 4.10 The Committee notes that NE-SAC, set up as an autonomous society jointly with North Eastern Council, is supporting the North Eastern region by providing information on natural resources utilization and monitoring, infrastructure planning and interactive training using space technology inputs of remote sensing and satellite communication. 4.11 The Committee sought to know the reasons for the increase in budget of NE-SAC from Rs.21.63 crore at BE to Rs.30.00 crore at RE in 2017-18. The Department in its written submission informed that the increase is on account of the following:  Grant-in-Aid – Creation of Capital Assets towards establishment of Outreach Facility at Shillong, NERDRR establishment, DWR etc.  Grant-in-Aid - Salaries to cater to the annual increments and DA. 4.12 The Committee also sought to know the proposed activities of NE-SAC for the utilisation of budgetary allocation of Rs.35.00 in BE 2018-19 to which the Department has proposed to be utilised towards the following:  Creation of technical infrastructure in the Centre to carry out different projects/programmes in the areas of Remote sensing & GIS Application Projects, Satcom Activities, Space Science & Atmospheric Studies and Disaster Management and for establishment of an outreach facility.  Grant-in-aid general for maintenance and upkeeping of facilities  Grant-in-aid salaries 4.13 Apprising the Committee about the major programmes/schemes/activities undertaken by the NE-SAC during the last three years and impact thereon in the overall development of the Region, it was informed that North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC) has provided important services and carried out various projects covering natural resources management, infrastructure planning, health, education, satellite communications, disaster management support and atmospheric science. 4.14 The following table gives the BE, RE allocations and actual expenditure (upto December, 2017) for the years 2016-17 and 2017-18 and BE allocation for 2018-19 as provided by the Department:- (Rupees in crore) 2016-2017 2017-18 2018-19 BE RE Actuals BE RE Actuals* BE 20.50 20.47 17.24 21.63 30.00 18.57 35.00 (61.9%) *Upto December, 2017

4.15 The Committee appreciates NE-SAC for the physical activities being undertaken by it for the overall growth of the Region. However, scrutiny of the fund utilisation capacity of NE-SAC during the year 2017-18 (upto December, 2017) does not present a very encouraging picture. The Committee notes that out of total budgetary allocation of Rs.30.00 crore for the year 2017-18, NE-SAC could utilise Rs.18.57 crore only upto December, 2017. The Committee is not pleased with the fund utilisation capacity of NE- SAC and is of the considered view that given the track record of good work being done by NE-SAC in the overall well being of the NER, had NE-SAC been more financially prudent while making optimum utilisation of the funds allocated for its activities, the funds utilisation would not have been to the tune of just 61.9 per cent upto December, 2017. The Committee, therefore, recommends NE-SAC to revisit its fund utilisation mechanism and take remedial action to factor out the reasons leading to underutilisation of the budgetary allocation. The Committee also recommends the Department to keep a vigil over the financial performance of NE-SAC and ensure that the budgetary allocation of Rs.35.00 crore allocated in BE 2018-19 is utilised fully and optimally. (IV) NATIONAL ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH LABORATORY (NARL), TIRUPATI 4.16 The Committee notes that National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NARL), Tirupati, a registered Society, is responsible for carrying out advanced research in atmospheric and space sciences and related disciplines. 4.17 The Committee noted that in B.E. 2017-18, the budgetary allocation was to the tune of Rs.30.00 crore which was reduced to Rs.24.20 crore in R.E. 2017-18. The Committee, accordingly, sought to know the reasons for the reduction at RE stage. The Department in its written reply informed that at RE stage, the allocation for NARL reduced to Rs. 24.20 crore based on the unspent balance available with the Laboratory and assessment of spendability for the year 2017-18. The Committee also desired to know about the proposed action plan of NARL for the year 2018-19 to utilize the budgetary allocation of Rs.40.00 crore allocated in BE 2018- 19. The Department responding to the query of the Committee submitted that the amount is proposed to be utilised towards the following:  Creation of civil and technical infrastructure in the Laboratory including setting up a Petascale High Performance Computing data centre.  Carrying out research activities such as Differential Absorption Lidar for Ozone measurements, GNSS/NavIC receiver network for weather forcasting, X-band polarimetric Radar etc.  Grant-in-aid general for maintenance and up-keeping of facilities and payment of salaries to employees. 4.18 The following table presents the BE, RE allocations and actual expenditure (upto December, 2017) for the years 2016-17 and 2017-18 and BE allocation for 2018-19 as informed by the Department:- (Rupees in crore) 2016-2017 2017-18 2018-19 BE RE Actuals BE RE Actuals* BE 26.80 23.17 26.40 30.00 24.20 13.14 40.00 (54.29%) *Upto December, 2017 4.19 The Committee notes the proposed action plan of NARL for the year 2018-19. The Committee also expresses its satisfaction over the physical achievements of NARL. The Committee, however, notes with concern that NARL fails to utilise the budgetary allocation of Rs.24.20 crore earmarked for the year 2017-18. The Committee further notes that against the total of Rs.24.20 crore, NARL managed to utilise Rs.13.14 crore only upto December, 2017 which is just 54.29 per cent of the total budgetary allocation. The Committee fails to understand as to why NARL could not utilise the budgetary allocation for the year 2017-18 optimally raising questions about the casual and routine attitude of NARL towards the budgetary support earmarked for the purpose. 54.29 per cent utilisation of funds also highlights the absence of robust internal financial mechanism in the Department of Space leading to underutilisation of the budgetary allocation. The Committee, therefore, recommends the Department to exercise financial prudence while earmarking budgetary supports to its allied wings considering their fund utilisation capacity in order to avoid underutilisation of the budgetary allocation. (V) PHYSICAL RESEARCH LABORATORY (PRL), AHMEDABAD 4.20 The Committee learns that PRL is one of the premier research institute engaged in basic research in the areas of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Solar Physics, Planetary Science and Exploration, Space and Atmospheric Sciences, Geosciences, Theoretical Physics, Atomic, Molecular & Optical Physics and Astro-chemistry. The Committee further notes that the primary mandate of PRL is to carry out research, publish scientific papers and develop appropriate instrumentation to enable their specific science goals. PRL is also responsible for the administration of Udaipur Solar Observatory. 4.21 The following table presents the BE, RE allocations and actual expenditure (upto December, 2017) for the years 2016-17 and 2017-18 and BE allocation for 2018-19 under Physical Research Laboratory as submitted by the Department:- (Rupees in crore) 2016-2017 2017-18 2018-19 BE RE Actuals BE RE Actuals* BE 132.20 151.00 131.37 180.00 190.00 141.34 180.00 (74.38%) *Upto December, 2017 4.22 The Committee while noting the reduction in the budgetary allocation for the year 2018- 19 in comparison to the allocation made at RE stage (2017-18) desired to know the reasons thereof to which the Department replied that the reduction in budgetary allocation is mainly on account of 2.5m telescope planned to be established at Gurushikhar observatory at Mt. Abu for which major payment milestones had been completed during the last financial year. The Department also shared the roadmap for the utilization of the budgetary allocation of Rs.180 crore for the financial year 2018-19 which is as under: -  Creation of technical facility in the Laboratory including work towards setting up a 2.5m optical telescope and related facilities; Labs for Geosciences, flow citometer, space-borne instrumentation, reaction microscope, Aerosol hygroscopic analyser and sun tracking radiometer etc.  Carrying out research work in the areas of Theoretical Physics, Astronomy, Space & Atmospheric Sciences and Planetary & Geo-Sciences.  Grant-in-aid general for maintenance and upkeeping of facilities and Payment of salaries to employees. 4.23 The Committee, first of all, congratulates the Department of Space for adding one more feather in its cap in the form of Gurushikhar Observatory at Mount Abu. The Committee notes the fund utilisation capacity of PRL with satisfaction and is certain that PRL would make the best use of the funds made available during the remaining part of the financial year. The Committee while noting the roadmap prepared by PRL for the year 2018-19 hopes that the physical targets envisaged by PRL would be achieved and the budgetary allocation in BE 2018-19 would also be adequate to cater to the financial requirement of PRL. 4.24 The Committee also notes that a total of Rs.664.20 crore (RE 2017-18) has been allocated under the head ‘Autonomous Bodies’ of which these bodies could only utilise Rs.396.55 crore upto December, 2017. The Committee observes that none of these bodies, except PRL, could utilise the budgetary allocation to the expectation of the Committee. It is worrisome to note that the utilisation upto December, 2017 of these bodies has only been to the tune of 59.70 per cent which is not a good sign of spendability capacity of these bodies and also a reflection of ad-hoc approach towards the budgetary allocations made available during the year 2017-18. 4.25 The Committee is of the considered view that due importance must be given to the funds allocated for the purpose and any case of underutilisation amounts to negation of the rationale behind making these funds available. Thus, the propriety demands that utmost care is to be taken while making use of the budgetary allocation and the Department must make earnest efforts towards the full and optimal utilisation of the budgetary allocations. The poor and dissatisfactory financial performance of these bodies also indicates the lackadaisical approach of the Department in keeping strong check and balance over the financial performance of these bodies. The Committee, therefore, recommends the Department to revisit and revamp the financial monitoring mechanism of these bodies and take necessary remedial preventive steps in the matter. 5. INTERNATIONAL CO-OPERATION 5.1 Under International Co-operation head provision has been included for the expenses of international Co-operation and Centre for Space and Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific (CSSTE-AP). 5.2 The Committee underlining the importance of International Co-operation for the Indian space programmes sought to know the level of our international co-operation during the last three years. The Department responding to the query of the Committee submitted that Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is pursuing international cooperation with other nations for enhancing India’s space programmes. Following are the highlights of ISRO’s international co- operation during the last 3 years:  ISRO signed 35 bilateral agreements with 16 countries (including 7 new countries) and one multilateral body.  Many new areas of cooperation are initiated such as planetary exploration, joint scientific campaigns, joint satellite missions.  ISRO/India launched South Asia satellite in May 2017 as a gift to neighboring countries, , , , , and .  ISRO conducted the joint campaigns with NASA of USA, namely, (i) Balloon borne measurement campaign in India to characterize Asian Tropopause Aerosol layer (BATAL); and (ii) AVIRIS hyperspectral instrument in ISRO’s aircraft to acquire hyperspectral data over Indian sites.  ISRO organised the 24th session of Asia Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF) in India jointly with ’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) at Bangaluru during November 14-17, 2017.  The NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) satellite is under development to be launched during 2020.  Significant progress has been made in India-ASEAN space cooperation.  In supporting International Charter activities, ISRO provided more than 160 satellite data products to support management of 62 disaster events.  More than 600 officials from different countries have benefitted through courses conducted by CSSTE-AP and IIRS on space technology areas.  ISRO’s international cooperation is contributing to enhance overall space activities in India. 5.3 The Committee acknowledges the progress made by the Department for the overall growth of our space activities with the help of its International Co-operation programme. The Committee also of the view that the institutional linkage will further strengthen our prowess in the space industry globally and also helps in exchanging the scientific advancements. 5.4 The following table presents the BE, RE allocations and actual expenditure (upto December, 2017) for the years 2016-17 and 2017-18 and BE allocation for 2018-19 under the head International Co-operation as submitted by the Department:

(Rupees in crore) 2016-2017 2017-18 2018-19 BE RE Actuals BE RE Actuals* BE 4.00 2.00 1.92 4.40 3.12 0.15 4.90 (4.80%) *Upto December, 2017 5.5 The Committee observes that the BE allocation under the head ‘International Co- operation’ in 2017-18 was Rs.4.40 crore which was reduced to Rs.3.12 crore at RE stage. The Committee learns that the reduction in allocation at RE stage was on account of reduced requirement from Centre for Space Science and Technology Education in Asia and the Pacific (CSSTEAP) as reserve funds to the tune of Rs.1.2 crore were available with the Centre which were utilised instead of contribution from the Department of Space. 5.6 The Committee further finds that against the reduced allocation at RE stage in 2017- 18 of Rs.3.12 crore, the Department could hardly make headway as regards the utilisation of the allocated funds under this head. The Committee is also surprised to note that only Rs.15 lakh could have been utilised by the Department upto December, 2017 which is just 4.8 per cent utilisation of funds made available for the purpose during the year 2017-18. The Committee, therefore, recommends the Department to furnish detailed reasons for the underutilisation of the budgetary support made available under the head International Co- operation. 5.7 The Committee considering the financial performance of the Department during the year 2017-18 is little susceptible about the utilisation of the budgetary allocation of Rs.4.90 crore made in BE 2018-19. The Committee, therefore, cautions the Department in the matter and expects that the budgetary allocation for the year 2018-19 would be utilised judiciously minimising the scope for underutilisation of the same.