Neighbourhood First

Isro's latest launch shows India exercising its soft power

In terms of technology, the South Asia Communication Satellite, GSAT-9, launched last Friday, does not break much new ground. But it indicates that indigenous cryogenic technology has stabilised. The 2,230 kg satellite will provide services across domains such as communications, disaster relief, weather forecasting and the monitoring of marine traffic. But more than technical prowess, it is an excellent example of India exercising its soft power. By extending services gratis to neighbouring nations, India gains brownie points. Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan will benefit from its deployment; reportedly, talks are on with Afghanistan as well on terms of usage. The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) has provided such services by satellite before, and many times at that. But given India’s aspirations to be a regional power, GSAT-9 will enhance access to data and enable integration with key sectors in neighbouring economies. Most of the data from this operation will also be shared, and this will lead to closer cooperation between the scientific establishments of the participating nations.

GSAT-9 offers a bouquet of communication services, including TV and direct-to-home (DTH) services in education and telemedicine. The satellite has 12 Ku-band transponders and at least one such band can be offered to each participating neighbour for telecom. However, they will have to build the ground support infrastructure to utilise it. The satellite also carries remote sensing technology to gather real-time weather data along with geological and geographical data. This will enable better weather forecasting and stronger support for disaster management. This could prove crucial the next time there is a disaster such as a cyclone, an earthquake, a flood or a tsunami. GSAT-9 also carries a force-multiplier for GAGAN, India’s GPS Aided Geo-Augmented Navigation system. The enhancement for GAGAN accesses and tweaks the open commercial signal of the US Global Positioning System to improve accuracy to a precise, military-usable standard of 3 metres. This enhanced signal is available only to select Indian users. This steps into dual-use territory and it could be one reason why Pakistan refused to participate in the GSAT-9 mission. 

Pakistan already has several communications satellites, courtesy China. So does Sri Lanka. Afghanistan uses an old India-fabricated satellite. Bangladesh is also seeking to put up its own communication satellite with French help. However, India’s capabilities in space are way ahead of any South Asian nation and the deployment of that knowhow could help India coordinate regional efforts across multiple space-related domains. GSAT-9 adds another dimension to the “Neighbourhood First” policy that marks India’s attempts to increase its engagement with near neighbours. Isro deployed its Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) to put the GSAT-9 satellite into orbit and the fact that Isro was willing to risk the GSLV for a diplomatically important mission indicates it is now confident about its grasp of the technology. However, Isro deserves more realistic funding to enable faster development and delivery of the vital services it provides. Official estimates suggest the cost of the operation (equipment plus launch) was roughly $70 million, or Rs 450 crore. The satellite has a rated working life of 12 years. It could easily provide services worth Rs 10,000 crore ($1.5 billion) in commercial terms over that period.