India: Last month, we told you how the Government of India was mulling taking help from Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to keep a check on illegal extraction of minerals in the country. Now, the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) has finally signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) of the Department of Space to monitor mining activity through satellite technology, annulling the need of physical inspection every time.
According to the agreement, IBM will utilize Bhuvan-based services for monitoring mining activities and developing a mobile app for field data collection. This app will be used to verify ground realities with respect of approved proposals. The pilot project of this new understanding will be launched in Odisha and Hospet sector of Karnataka. This project envisages checking and validation of the consistency of differential geo positioning system points collected as part of the lease boundary survey program.
Source: Hindu
