Why was Sriharikota chosen by ISRO as the launching site of PSLV?

1. Location, Location & Location:

• Located nearer to the equator, Sriharikota is the ideal launch site for geostationary satellites.​
• Sriharikota is ideal for eastward launches. SHAR’s location on the east coast ensures that it gains an additional velocity of 0.4 km/s due to Earth’s rotation to easily launch rockets. Most satellites are launched eastward. Click & search for eastward to know "Why are most satellites launched eastward?"
• There is also a proposal for a new launch pad at Kulaseka­ra­pa­ttinam in 2013 which is ideal for southward launches. (refer: ISRO News)

2. Accessibility:

• Their equipments are huge and travel from across the world. For this very reason, It must be accessible by all means of transport; Land, Air, Water.
• At the same time, The site is prone for accidents. So, it should be remote away from inhabitants.
• Being a coastal islandish area with no habitation proves advantageous for Sriharikota because it is on National Highway (NH-5), 20 KM away from nearest Railway Station, and 70 KM (Chennai) from nearest International Ports by air & ships. Can you ask for more?

On the left:
Red dot - Railway Station, Yellow line - NH 5


3. Coastal Site:

• You never know what falls off from a flying object. The maximum distance of impact from the launch site can be upto 6,500 kms. See the map towards the east of Sriharikota. Need I stress more?

4. Climate:

• See the chart below? The red horizontal line signifies the temperatures registered in Sriharikota across the year. The blue vertical line represents the rainfall in mm. Heavy rains come only in October and November allowing them to test outdoor for 10 months in an year. There's no bad day than a rain day and Sriharikota offers you optimal rainfall.

It is no accident that Sriharikota is chosen. Sriharikota is not chosen among few options. It is THE OPTION for ISRO. Sriharikota silently played & playing it's role in making India proud ever since the "Rohini-125" sounding rocket was launched in 1971 helping 35/43 successful launches as of June, 2014.