In India, activity relating to space started some six years after the world's first satellite 

went into orbit, with the establishment of the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching 

Station in 1963. The Indian space programme has now two main objectives, derived 

from a matching of the inherent capabilities of satellites in orbit around the earth 

with two major national needs. These needs are: 

--rapid development of mass communication and education, especially in the widely 

dispersed rural communities, and 

--timely survey and management of the country's natural resources. 

Thus the main thrust of the Indian space programme is towards the development 

of communication and earth observation satellite systems suited to Indian needs. 

Of course, satellites by themselves cannot achieve anything. Benefits become 

possible only when human beings utilise the unique capabilities of satellites to synopti-

c.ally survey vast regions of the earth and use them to take radio and TV to the whole 

country. It is worth pointing out that the greatest social benefits from space research 

and technology occur through large scale applications rather than through those 

which have limited scope.