India, through ISRO, has once again shown its leadership in space-based disaster management by taking charge of the "International Charter Space and Major Disasters" for six months starting from April 2025, the space agency announced on Saturday.

The lead role began when the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC)/ISRO hosted the 53rd meeting of the Charter in Hyderabad from April 14 to 17, it said. ISRO mentioned that the meeting saw participation from major global space agencies, with 22 international delegates attending in person, all working in the field of space-based disaster management. 

"India is signatory to the Charter which celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2025, with ISRO being a founder member. The Charter functions as a collaborative framework involving 17 member organisations, who voluntarily provide Earth observation data and value-added products for managing disasters occurring globally," the space agency said in a statement. ISRO Chairman V Narayanan spoke to the board members of the International Charter and assured them that ISRO remains committed to using space technology to support disaster management efforts. 

"During the lead role period for the next six months, NRSC/ISRO would be coordinating the global disaster response efforts of the Charter using space-based assets, including managing the activation requests, rapid dissemination of products, leading strategic planning, and facilitating training, outreach and capacity-building activities," it said.