Climate-smart agriculture (CSA)—productivity enhancement, resilience-building and emission reduction—has become central to India's food security strategy, given that agriculture supports 45% of the workforce and remains highly climate-sensitive. Satellite-based technologies provide the spatial, temporal and objective data essential for CSA.

Role of Satellite Technologies:

• Crop monitoring and forecasting:
  • FASAL and CHAMAN programmes use Resourcesat, Cartosat and Sentinel data for area, yield and horticulture estimation.
  • Enables early warning of production shortfalls.
• Soil and land-use mapping:
  • Bhuvan portal (ISRO) provides soil moisture, land degradation and wasteland atlases.
  • Guides crop planning and land restoration.
• Weather and climate services:
  • INSAT-3D/3DR and Megha-Tropiques support monsoon prediction and cyclone tracking.
  • IMD's agromet advisories reach 4 crore farmers via Meghdoot app.
• Precision agriculture:
  • NDVI-based crop health monitoring, variable-rate fertiliser and drip irrigation.
  • Drone-satellite integration under SVAMITVA and Kisan Drone scheme.
• Irrigation and water management:
  • Satellite-derived evapotranspiration guides PM Krishi Sinchai Yojana command-area planning.
  • Groundwater assessment through GRACE mission data.
• Insurance and disaster response:
  • PMFBY uses satellite-based yield estimation and smart sampling to speed claims.
  • Flood and drought mapping via RISAT and Sentinel-1.
• Carbon and emission accounting:
  • Enables MRV (measurement-reporting-verification) for climate finance and carbon credits.

Challenges:

• Cloud cover limits optical imagery during monsoon.
• Small landholdings need higher resolution.
• Digital literacy and last-mile dissemination gaps.
• Data-sharing and interoperability across agencies.

Way Forward:

Integration of ISRO's Bhoomi and Bhuvan platforms with Agristack, promotion of NavIC-enabled devices, AI-driven analytics, and PPP for extension services can transform Indian agriculture from rain-dependent to climate-smart, safeguarding food security amid intensifying climate risks.