The US-based web giant has popularised free access to satellite images of the world's surface. Whether you are trying to snag the best room for a vacation hotel or reach a refugee shelter, it's hard to top Google Maps and Google Earth. An open-source interface means that everyone from archaeologists to geologists can effortlessly access imagery that would otherwise cost them a fortune, and also upload information for others to pursue.

Google Earth has, however, raised national hackles in India and elsewhere. Most famously, the gunmen involved in the recent Mumbai terror attacks used it to familiarise themselves with their targets. British troops found insurgents in Basra printing out detailed Google Earth images of military bases in the UK. The service has also exposed Chinese military establishments along the Sino-Indian border.

In each case, Google's defence has been that: a) its imagery is derived from public sources, and b) this freely available imagery can be used for vital purposes like providing relief in natural disasters. On balance, Google is right. In taking stock of the ISRO initiative, we also address two key questions: the role of governments in technological breakthroughs and the role of satellites in tackling today's problems.

The Internet itself originated in 1960s' US military research, but its popularisation only took place in the wake of the commercialisation of the 1990s. Similarly, the Human Genome Project initiated by the US National Institutes of Health completed the first mapping of the human genetic code at the cost of $2.7 billion in 2003, but entrepreneurial spirits have since brought the cost down to $50,000.

What's clear is that it's independent entrepreneurs who usually deliver consumer empowerment via mass customisation. Whether governments can deliver to scale is questionable. But the role of satellites in tackling today's concerns is certain.

This week, two important satellite-based studies on India were reported. One was a domestic state of the environment report that found at least 45% of India's land degraded. Another relied on Nasa findings to say that groundwater stocks are being lowered in Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana by about 17.7 cubic kilometres a year, as compared to the water resources ministry estimates of 13.2 cubic kilometres a year.

Clearly satellites can supply more useful data to direct development in the country. Equally clearly, private initiative is necessary to best disseminate this data. Kudos to ISRO on promising better maps of India, but we will be evaluating how it opens up access to these maps.

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