India's response to Google Earth to be launched in March

Bhuvan, India's response to Google Earth, will be launched in March 2009 and will provide high resolution imagery data of the order of five metres which would be of great help for real-time exercises, including disaster management and military operations.

"Google Earth is providing high resolution data in the order of less than a metre. But the data is two to three years old. But Bhuvan will provide the relevant data for any real-time exercise," SK Pathan, head, Geo Informatics Data Division, Isro, told PTI.

For real-time exercises, the latest data is a guiding force, he said. It can show the topography, altitude and other features of a location. The data could be of use to manage public services, internal security, town planning and infrastructure development activities.

However, it is not yet decided whether the data can be put on the web as it could be misused. Some locations can, however, be blurred or blocked due to security reasons. "Bhuvan will be created by March next year. Then we will seek the government's permission to put it on the web," Pathan said.