ISRO carrying out studies in disaster mgmt, monitoring haze

The Indian Space Research Organisation is carrying out studies in disaster management and monitoring of rice crop, global rainfall, fire hotspot and haze, Union minister Jitendra Singh informed the Rajya Sabha today.
Space Applications Working Group, one of the four Working Groups of Asia Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF), had recommended to further promote space applications, including rice-crop monitoring, global rainfall monitoring, fire hotspot, haze monitoring and disaster management, at the 24th session of APRSAF held at Bengaluru in November 2017.
ISRO is carrying out studies in these areas, Minister of State Jitendra Singh, who holds multiple portfolios, including Space, said in a written reply to a question in the upper House.

The ISRO shares information it gathers with other neighbouring countries, in the event of disasters, through many programmes including Sentinel Asia (APRSAF's initiative for disaster management support), International Charter 'Space and Major Disasters' United Nations Platform for Space based Information for Disaster management and Emergency Response (UNSPIDER).
In response to another question, Singh said, Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), designed to orbit Mars, is functioning well since its positioning in Mars orbit in September 24, 2014.
"The designed mission life of MOM was six months but has successfully completed more than three years and is expected to function further. All scientific payloads continue to perform well," he said.