Space Exploration by India and Socio-economic Cooperation with SAARC Countries

For the last 50 years, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has seen a tremendous development in the field of space science and technology. Outer space exploration in social programme (education, telemedicine, communication and information) and economic activities (agricultural forecasting, meteorological data, telecommunication and broadcasting) helped India grow faster. Over the past few years, India is also engaging with other countries, offering them the space science and technology for their overall development. Very recently, Prime Minister of India offered the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) nations SAARC satellite for the socio-economic development of the region. Engaging with the SAARC countries will not only help India economically, but also geopolitically, and this is very important for India's future security reasons. This article examines the tremendous success of India's space programme in the socio-economic field and finds out the scope of extending India's support to the SAARC nations for outer space development in the region. South Asia is considered as one of the most under-developed regions in the world, and this article tries to find out possible cooperation between India and SAARC nations in utilising the space science for socio-economic development of the inhabitants of the region.