FICCI : Industry's Voice for Policy Change

PSU Watch | Mar 06, 2021

Draft geospatial policy to be in public domain for consultation within a month: Top official

Professor K Vijay Raghavan, Principal Scientific Advisor to the government, said on Saturday that the new draft geospatial policy is in the making and will be available for public consultation within a month. He said that the new policy guidelines open up opportunities for the private sector for getting into zones of deep technology. “It is an extraordinary situation where above certain level of granularity business is open to all in the world, and at a finer granularity it is open to Indian entities and start-ups,” he said.

Addressing the Stakeholders Roundtable on ‘Guidelines for Acquiring and Producing Geospatial Data and Geospatial Data Services including Maps’ jointly organised by FICCI and Office of PSA, Professor Raghavan said that industry needs to develop domain understating in collaboration with academia to create path breaking value added products. He urged the industry to use all kinds of technological approaches to map areas that are of scientific, commercial and technological value leveraging the provisions under the new policy.

‘Data should be available without duplication to all govt agencies, private sector’

Addressing the roundtable, Professor Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science & Technology, said that liberalisation and democratisation are two aspects of the guidelines for acquiring and producing geospatial data and geospatial data services. “Data should be available without duplication to all govt agencies as well as the private sector,” he said.

Speaking on the perceived conflicts — government versus private, development versus security and domestic versus other country, Sharma said that the new policy guidelines is a step towards ensuring level playing field, overall national security while meeting developmental requirements and opportunities for both domestic and foreign entities to do meaningful business with confidence.

He encouraged the industry to work towards public-private partnership by leveraging the channels and schemes available. Some of the areas to work include Deep Ocean Mission and National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems, he said.

Dr Madhavan Nair Rajeevan, Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences, informed stakeholders about the space-based remote sensing policy that is now in the public domain and said that it will do wonders for the country. “New guidelines will encourage industry to invest in these areas and contribute to nation’s development,” he added.

‘Need to help, support to build start-up ecosystem in geospatial technology’

Dr Arabinda Mitra, Scientific Secretary, Office of the Principal Scientific Advisor, emphasised on the role of the private sector in ensuring that the guidelines will be followed by a comprehensive geospatial policy for deriving economical social good for everyone. He invited FICCI to provide guidelines to harmonise policy framework with industry inputs.

Putting forward his suggestions for industry Dr Mitra said that the geospatial industry could try leveraging its extensive work experience in other countries in getting accesses to resources there and help them building and planning their policies with the information you create for them.

Dr Mitra further emphasised on India being a start-up nation. “There is a need to help and support to build the start-up ecosystem in the geospatial technology”, he said. He underlined the need of creating a Geospatial Data Stack to empower the country and advised FICCI to consider forming a geospatial programme through which industry could help Govt with enablement of line ministries and departments so that they could leverage the technology and provisions under new policy guidelines.

The Times of India | Feb 22, 2021

Gujarat agriculture department wins two national awards

India Education Diary | Feb 20, 2021

Govt Guidelines In Removing Colonial Legacies For Regulating Acquisitions In Use Of Geospatial Data To Go A Long Way: Prof Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, DST

Prof Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, Govt of India today said that geospatial technology has made inroads across various sectors in the public as well as private domain in India. It is an effective tool for management, planning, governance, logistics, infrastructure, among others, and that there is a need to fully empower this sector, he added.

Addressing the FICCI National Geospatial Awards Felicitation Ceremony organised virtually, Prof Sharma said the liberalisation of policies, announced by the Government of India, in governing the acquisition and production of geospatial data is a move that will help in boosting innovation in the sector and create a level playing field for public and private entities.

“Our guidelines to remove colonial legacies for regulating acquisitions in use of geospatial data will go a long way. The guidelines were crafted with care and will empower both the government and the private agencies. In this scenario, everybody wins and is empowered, whether the public or private sectors. The goal should be to be able to carry out the mandate and activities without much hindrance. The real winner is the country’s development, whoever can do it with scale and speed,” he said.

Under the new guidelines, people and organisations in India will be free from seeking prior approval, security clearance or license for collection, storage and dissemination of geospatial data and maps. “A more comprehensive and solid policy in the making. I welcome all stakeholders to share recommendations, insights, and advice about various aspects of geospatial data; building on data; and how to bring the entire ecosystem in place to give it full muscle, Prof Sharma said.

“Another important aspect is the democratization of data. Sharing of data and ease to access of data is most important. People fail to realise data is bigger than them,” he further added.

Geospatial technology has made its impact along the length and breadth of Indian e-Governance. “Agriculture, IMD, Town and Country Planning, among others have been GIS dependent for a very long time and the Department of Science & Technology (DST) aims to utilize the power of Geospatial technology to revive various sectors of the Indian economy,” he said.

Lauding FICCI on recognizing and felicitating initiatives towards geo-enablement of the nation Prof Sharma said that there is a further need to recognise people and organisation for their work. “DST made more incubators and has supported more start-ups in the last five years than in the previous 50. We are integrating around 3600 start-ups and hundreds of them are directly related to this (geospatial technology) business,” he elaborated.

FICCI Committee on Geospatial Technologies that has been working towards achieving the Prime Minister’s vision of making India Atmanirbhar. “However, it is the cultural aspect of Atmanirbharta, Atmavishwas, which allows taking calculated risk. We need to empower youth in technology and awards are a great way of recognising and acknowledging talent and the good work that is being done in this arena,” he added.

Stressing on the utility and long-term cost effectiveness of using geospatial tools and technologies, Prof Sharma said that the geospatial industry is set to progress by leaps and bounds in the coming years. “We may very well use the term ‘pole-vault’ to describe the sector’s progress,” he quipped.

“There has been immense progress over the years in technology for the capture of geospatial data through ground-based survey techniques, photogrammetry using manned and unmanned aerial vehicles, terrestrial vehicle mounted Mobile Mapping System, LIDAR, RADAR Interferometry, satellite based remote sensing, mobile phone sensors and other techniques. This clearly signifies that technology has been moving ahead of us, our regulations and processees of doing work,” he said.

Prof Sharma also stressed on the need to build a knowledge pyramid. “Now that we have the data and the access to data, we should now look to build the knowledge pyramid. Moves on to info know innovation and uses know in a better way.

Going forward, drone industry is going to be one of the major beneficiaries of the recent policy change. Another area is blue economy wherein geospatial technology is expected to play an important role. Fisheries, deep sea mining, and offshore oil and gas make up a large section of India’s blue economy. India will soon launch an ambitious ‘Deep Ocean Mission’ that envisages exploration of minerals, energy and marine diversity of the underwater world, a vast part of which remains unexplored, he said.

Mr Rakesh Verma, Chair, FICCI Committee on Geospatial Technologies said that the FICCI Geospatial Technologies Committee has been actively working towards mainstreaming the use of Geospatial Technologies in various sectors and applications in India, collaborating with government to identify and address policy issues in this sector and facilitate a common platform to all stakeholders to strengthen feed-back mechanism among government, industry, and academia.

Further, on liberalisation of policies that were recently announced by Govt of India, Mr Verma said that governing the acquisition and production of geo-spatial data is a move that will help in boosting innovation in the sector and create a level playing field for public and private entities.

Mr Dilip Chenoy, Secretary General, FICCI delivered the vote of thanks and congratulated the award winners. He also complimented the jury for their contribution to the success of the FICCI National Geospatial Awards.

“These reforms in the geospatial policy and regulatory environment will certainly unlock potential in the sector and translate into benefits for government, industry, academia and common citizens of India,” he said.

The eminent jury panel for the FICCI National Geospatial Awards consisted of Dr Shailesh Nayak, Director, NIAS & Former Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences; Prof Dr Rabidyuti Biswas, Head – Centre for Analysis and System Studies, GIS, and RS, School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi; Ms Sulgana Chattopadhyay, Chief Editor, Geography & You; Prof A K Gosain, Professor of Civil Engineering, IIT Delhi; Mr Maneesh Prasad, CEO, Telematics Wire.

News Zhit | Feb 20, 2021

Govt guidelines in removing colonial legacies for regulating acquisitions in use of geospatial data to go a long way: Prof Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, DST

Prof Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Division of Science and Know-how, Govt of India immediately mentioned that geospatial expertise has made inroads throughout varied sectors within the public in addition to non-public area in India. It’s an efficient software for administration, planning, governance, logistics, infrastructure, amongst others, and that there’s a want to totally empower this sector, he added.

Addressing the FICCI Nationwide Geospatial Awards Felicitation Ceremony organised just about, Prof Sharma mentioned the liberalisation of insurance policies, introduced by the Authorities of India, in governing the acquisition and manufacturing of geospatial information is a transfer that may assist in boosting innovation within the sector and create a degree enjoying discipline for private and non-private entities.

“Our pointers to take away colonial legacies for regulating acquisitions in use of geospatial information will go a great distance. The rules had been crafted with care and can empower each the federal government and the non-public companies. On this situation, everyone wins and is empowered, whether or not the general public or non-public sectors. The purpose must be to have the ability to perform the mandate and actions with out a lot hindrance. The actual winner is the nation’s improvement, whoever can do it with scale and pace,” he mentioned.

Underneath the brand new pointers, folks and organisations in India might be free from searching for prior approval, safety clearance or license for assortment, storage and dissemination of geospatial information and maps. “A extra complete and stable coverage within the making. I welcome all stakeholders to share suggestions, insights, and recommendation about varied facets of geospatial information; constructing on information; and how you can deliver the whole ecosystem in place to provide it full muscle, Prof Sharma mentioned.

“One other essential facet is the democratization of information. Sharing of information and ease to entry of information is most essential. Individuals fail to grasp information is greater than them,” he additional added.

Geospatial expertise has made its impression alongside the size and breadth of Indian e-Governance. “Agriculture, IMD, City and Nation Planning, amongst others have been GIS dependent for a really very long time and the Division of Science & Know-how (DST) goals to make the most of the ability of Geospatial expertise to revive varied sectors of the Indian financial system,” he mentioned.

Lauding FICCI on recognizing and felicitating initiatives in the direction of geo-enablement of the nation Prof Sharma mentioned that there’s a additional must recognise folks and organisation for his or her work. “DST made extra incubators and has supported extra start-ups within the final 5 years than within the earlier 50. We’re integrating round 3600 start-ups and a whole lot of them are immediately associated to this (geospatial expertise) enterprise,” he elaborated.

FICCI Committee on Geospatial Applied sciences that has been working in the direction of reaching the Prime Minister’s imaginative and prescient of creating India Atmanirbhar. “Nevertheless, it’s the cultural facet of Atmanirbharta, Atmavishwas, which permits taking calculated threat. We have to empower youth in expertise and awards are an effective way of recognising and acknowledging expertise and the nice work that’s being completed on this enviornment,” he added.

Stressing on the utility and long-term price effectiveness of utilizing geospatial instruments and applied sciences, Prof Sharma mentioned that the geospatial trade is about to progress by leaps and bounds within the coming years. “We might very properly use the time period ‘pole-vault’ to explain the sector’s progress,” he quipped.

“There was immense progress over time in expertise for the seize of geospatial information by ground-based survey strategies, photogrammetry utilizing manned and unmanned aerial automobiles, terrestrial automobile mounted Cellular Mapping System, LIDAR, RADAR Interferometry, satellite tv for pc primarily based distant sensing, cell phone sensors and different strategies. This clearly signifies that expertise has been transferring forward of us, our rules and processees of doing work,” he mentioned.

Prof Sharma additionally harassed on the necessity to construct a information pyramid. “Now that we’ve got the info and the entry to information, we should always now look to construct the information pyramid. Strikes on to information know innovation and makes use of know in a greater approach.

Going ahead, drone trade goes to be one of many main beneficiaries of the current coverage change. One other space is blue financial system whereby geospatial expertise is anticipated to play an essential function. Fisheries, deep sea mining, and offshore oil and gasoline make up a big part of India’s blue financial system. India will quickly launch an bold ‘Deep Ocean Mission’ that envisages exploration of minerals, power and marine variety of the underwater world, an enormous a part of which stays unexplored, he mentioned.

Mr Rakesh Verma, Chair, FICCI Committee on Geospatial Applied sciences mentioned that the FICCI Geospatial Applied sciences Committee has been actively working in the direction of mainstreaming using Geospatial Applied sciences in varied sectors and purposes in India, collaborating with authorities to establish and tackle coverage points on this sector and facilitate a typical platform to all stakeholders to strengthen feed-back mechanism amongst authorities, trade, and academia.

Additional, on liberalisation of insurance policies that had been lately introduced by Govt of India, Mr Verma mentioned that governing the acquisition and manufacturing of geo-spatial information is a transfer that may assist in boosting innovation within the sector and create a degree enjoying discipline for private and non-private entities.

Mr Dilip Chenoy, Secretary General, FICCI delivered the vote of thanks and congratulated the award winners. He additionally complimented the jury for his or her contribution to the success of the FICCI Nationwide Geospatial Awards.

“These reforms within the geospatial coverage and regulatory atmosphere will definitely unlock potential within the sector and translate into advantages for presidency, trade, academia and customary residents of India,” he mentioned.

The eminent jury panel for the FICCI Nationwide Geospatial Awards consisted of Dr Shailesh Nayak, Director, NIAS & Former Secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences; Prof Dr Rabidyuti Biswas, Head – Centre for Evaluation and System Research, GIS, and RS, Faculty of Planning and Structure, Delhi; Ms Sulgana Chattopadhyay, Chief Editor, Geography & You; Prof A Okay Gosain, Professor of Civil Engineering, IIT Delhi; Mr Maneesh Prasad, CEO, Telematics Wire.

Orissa Diary | Oct 30, 2020

GIS-based landbank setup by DPIIT testimony to the growing potential of Geospatial Technology: CEO, MyGov

Mr Pawan Kumar Agarwal, Special Secretary (Logistics), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Govt of India today said that a lot of work is being done in the logistics space using geospatial technologies by the government and the industry is also warming up to it.

Addressing the webinar ‘Future of Geospatial Industry – Atmanirbhar Bharat: Developing World-Class Geospatial Solutions for Governance, Businesses & Citizens’, organized by FICCI, Mr Agarwal said, “I am happy to share that an RFP for a Logistics Planning and Performance Monitoring Tool (LPPT) is already underway. We are soon going to have an agency that will place the LPPT framework as an essential performance monitor for the overall logistics sector.”

Elaborating further, Mr Agarwal said that the department, over the last few months, has been trying to figure out how to transform the logistics sectors using digital technologies. “The National Logistics Portal (NPT) was essentially putting IT solutions. We revisited this idea and thought of not reinventing the wheel. We, instead, put them all together and integrated them through phases so that users can have a seamless experience,” he said.

Out of the seven areas that were identified where technology interventions can improve logistics, five use geospatial technologies, Mr Agarwal added.

“However, except for the maps that we use when we travel, its potential for use in logistics isn’t much realized,” he rued. “One of the major initiatives that we have taken up is to put together a logistics performance planning and monitoring tool that is essentially based on geospatial technology with multiple layers,” said Mr Agarwal.

Process optimization is of utmost importance to keep costs in check, said Mr Agarwal.

Mr Abhishek Singh, CEO, MyGov, and President & CEO NeGD; Ministry of Electronics & IT, Govt of India said that geospatial technology has been talked about for a long time and is being used across the country. “Its potential is well known whether it be managing projects or tracking taxation,” he said.

Elaborating on Geospatial Data and Information Systems (GIS), Mr Singh said that GIS automates the process and makes the system more efficient and effective. “GIS is serving as an important decision support in ensuring that we implement all developmental programs, especially with regards to roads, education, or health, in a more transparent and a more efficient manner,” he said.

“GIS-based landbank setup by DPIIT is a testimony to the growing potential of geospatial technology. Among others, GIS has also been used for the aspirational districts’ program for map-based identification of assets. Mining surveillance has been developed to check illegal mining on the map-based platform. Every asset created under MGNREGA is geo-tagged using GIS, Mr Singh added.

Going forward, information needs to be made more robust on a GIS interface, he said.

Mr Sunil Kumar, Joint Secretary (SMP Division), Department of Science & Technology, Govt of India speaking on the government’s initiatives said, “We’ve prepared a draft of Geospatial policy and soon we’ll have a stakeholder meeting to provide an enabling framework for Geospatial Industry.”

Further, Mr Kumar said that a society needs to be prepared for law or policy that is implementable. “We’re moving from a data-centric to a knowledge-centric world. The challenge will be to leave critical data to a security agency and open the remaining to the world,” he added.

Mr Prakash Kumar, Former CEO, Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) said Geospatial maps can be used by governments for quick decision making and granting new registration to taxpayers.

Mr Rohan Verma, CEO & Executive Director, MapmyIndia; Mr Rakesh Verma, Chair, FICCI Geospatial Technologies Committee; and Mr Rajan Aiyer, Co-Chair, FICCI Geospatial Technologies Committee also put forth their views.

Business Standard | Apr 10, 2017

Survey of India proposes to re-measure the height of Mount Everest Survey of India celebrates 250th anniversary

Survey of India completes 250 years of its service to the nation and is celebrating its achievements this year. A National Conference on, Users Perspective on Geospatial Policy Framework in India" was organized by Survey of India (SoI) and FICCI, in New Delhi today. The 10th of April is also celeberated as National Survey Day.

As a part of its 250 years completion celebrations, Survey of India has proposed to re-measure the height of Mount Everest during the year 2017. India was the first country under Sir George Everests leadership as Surveyor General of India to have declared the height of Mount Everest and establish it as the highest peak in the world in the year 1855. Subsequently, India once again carried out the exercise and declared the height of Mount Everest in the year 1956. After the Gorkha Earth Quake in the year 2015,various doubts were raised by the scientific community. In response to this, the Survey of India proposed re-measuring the height of Mount Everest as an Indo-Nepal Joint Scientific Exercise along with Survey department of Nepal. The proposal has been forwarded to Nepal through diplomatic channels and the expedition will start after the formal concurrence of Government of Nepal is received.

Discussions and deliberations of all stakeholders of Survey of India products and services focussed on users perspective on Geospatial Policy Framework in India during the panel discussions.

The Secretary, Department of Science & Technology, Prof. Ashutosh Sharma, said that the panel discussions and the opinion and suggestions from all the stakeholders assembled in the forum would facilitate the inclusion of wider spectrum considering present day technology scenario and developmental needs and challenges in the country, and will prove to be very useful inputs for shaping the geospatial policy paradigm in the country.

DNA | Apr 10, 2017

Dr. Harsh Vardhan launches 'Nakshe Portal' for free download of Survey of India's maps

Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Govt. of India, today launched the Nakshe Portal, a new web portal providing free download of Survey of India’s (SOI) topographic maps in pdf format for entire country on 1:50,000 scale to Indian citizens.

Topographic maps or Open Series Maps (OSM) containing natural and man-made geographical features including terrain or topography are prepared by the SoI and it is in conformity with the National Map Policy 2005.

These OSMs have been made available for free through Aadhaar-enabled user authentication process in line with the Digital India programme of the Govt. of India.

The Survey of India has completed 250 years of its service to the nation and is celebrating the achievement this year. As part of celebrations, Dr Harsh Vardhan inaugurated the National Conference on ‘Geo spatial Paradigm in India Users’ Perspective on Geospatial Policy Framework in India’ jointly organized by FICCI, Survey of India and Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India. The day also coincided with the National Survey Day.

The Conference also witnessed Curtain Raiser of GeoPortal and GIS Web Services provision platform by Y. S. Chowdary, Minister of State for Ministry of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Govt. of India. The GeoPortal has been developed for dissemination of the National Topographic Database (NTDB) prepared as per the National Map Policy (NMP) 2005.

Dissemination of NTDB data in the form of web services is required by the users of topographic data across country and SOI Open Map Series (OSM on 1:50,000 Scale) data has been re-engineered to serve as the Web Map Services and Web Feature services as per the prevalent government policies.

In his Inaugural Address, Dr. Harsh Vardhan said that as a part of its 250 years completion celebrations, Survey of India has proposed to re-measure the height of Mount Everest during the year 2017. India was the first country under Sir George Everest’s leadership as Surveyor General of India to have declared the height of Mount Everest and established it as the highest peak in the world in 1855.

After Gorkha Earthquake in 2015, to answer various doubts of scientific community, Survey of India proposed re-measuring the height of Mount Everest as an ‘Indo-Nepal Joint Scientific Exercise’ along with Survey Department of Nepal. Dr. Vardhan said that Aadhaar-enabled solar ATMs were being worked upon as the government was looking at making all products accessible to the citizens with complete transparency.

He added that SOI’s initiatives were widely unknown and as a people-centric government, the endeavor was to bring awareness about SOI’s work to enable people to avail its benefits.

On the development of the Geoid model, Y. S. Chowdary in his Keynote Address said that INDGEOID ver 1.0 for the country demonstrated the efforts being put in by the SoI in year 2017, while SoI is celebrating the completion of 250 years of Surveying and Mapping activities in the country.

Geoid model development is a major thrust area in the field of Geodesy in country as it has enormous potential to cut down the Engineering project survey costs and reduce the turn-around time drastically with reduction of Spirit levelling requirements in most of the engineering project surveys.

Chowdary also said that public and private sectors and academia needed to forge partnerships to achieve India’s vision of ranking amid the top five scientific powers of the world. Geospatial technologies will play a key role in the initiatives of the Government of India such as ‘Digital India’.

He added that SOI could facilitate in underlining the strategic vision and goal for policy framework. The government was also working towards eliminating obsolete Acts and was moving towards up-gradation of mindset, technology and vision.

Dr. Swarna Subba Rao, Surveyor General of India, Survey of India, Government of India in his Welcome Address,said that the SoI to its credit has the Great Trigonometrical Survey which aimed to measure the entire Indian subcontinent with scientific precision.

SoI had evolved over the years and keeping with the times was adapting varied scientific technologies and contributing towards the development of the nation.

Rajesh Mathur, Chairman, FICCI Committee on Geospatial Technologies, said that there was a need for an enabling policy framework for accessing geospatial data and information for feasible development and implementation of growth programmes in the country.

SoI was playing a leading role in making products available to varied stakeholders and was facilitating in adoption of geospatial technologies.

A presentation on Nakshe Portal was made by Bindu Manghat, Deputy Director, Survey of India, Govt. of India.

Bureaucracy Today | Apr 10, 2017

SoI’s topographic map is now available online

On the occasion of the National Survey day, the Ministry of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences today launched the Nakshe Portal to avail the users a free download of topographic maps prepared by the Survey of India.

This Topographic maps or Open Series Maps (OSM) contains natural and man-made geographical features including terrain or topography and it is in conformity with the National Map Policy 2005, Bureaucracy Today has learnt.

These OSMs have been made available for free in a pdf format through Aadhaar-enabled user authentication process in line with the Digital India programme of the Government.

The launch of the topographic maps is being marked with SoI completing 250 years of its service. As part of celebrations, the minister of Science & Technology and Earth Sciences, Harsh Vardhan inaugurated the National Conference on “Geo spatial Paradigm in India Users,” a Perspective on Geospatial Policy Framework in India.

The conference was jointly organized by the FICCI, the Survey of India and the Department of Science and Technology.

BW Disrupt | Mar 05, 2017

It's time Geospatial Tech got noticed by the government

Dr. Swarna Subba Rao, Surveyor General of India during a FICCI seminar on Geospatial Technologies said, “Government needs to recognize the importance of geospatial data and encourage the private partnership in this sector”. He also mentioned that there is an opportunity of penetration of geographic information system (GIS) technology and realization of its importance in all government sectors.

Dr. Shailesh Nayak, advisor and distinguished scientist, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Govt. of India, underlined the importance of big data approach to GIS, which allows analysis and decision making from huge spatial datasets, by using algorithms, query processing and data mining. He also mentioned that there are many areas such as disease surveillance and disaster response where geospatial technology has applied big data for enhanced analysis.

Stressing on the need for innovation in geospatial technologies, Sudeep Singh, director of India and West Asia operations for global startup community, Startup Grind, suggested that the Government and big industry players need to support young entrepreneurs to innovate and not just copy the available solution from the west.

Something which Esri India is looking to do.

Esri is the California headquartered undefeated world leader in GIS software developing with a market share of over 40 percent in every operating region across the world. Esri India, formed through a joint venture with NIIT Technologies, has a mentoring program for Indian geospatial startups.

“Geospatial tech and software is very expensive and not something a startup can afford. Free access to Esri’s state of the art mapping software and geodatabase management applications has helped us develop our prototype, said Ashwini Khaladkar of Maptoss, a smart water device manufacturing startup from Pune.

Ashwini further said, “India is morphing into a country of smart cities. And smart water devices like ours will be the future. Our prototype is good to go but there’s more we can improve on. We think having Esri’s support will definitely improve our chances of making this pilot a success.”

“The government is making efforts to expose Indians to emerging geospatial technologies and will be focusing on providing training in this area,” said Dr. Debapriya Dutta, scientist-G, NRDMS-NSDI division of the Department of Science and Technology.

webindia123 | Jun 08, 2016

"The Geospatial Information Regulation Bill, 2016'step in right direction but certain sections need to be relooked: FICCI

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) on Wednesday appreciated the efforts of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India for taking geospatial information into consideration in view of ensuring security, sovereignty and integrity of the nation.

There has been a requirement for a policy framework and well-articulated guidelines to regulate this sector, in order to allow public, private and public-private partnership projects to benefit from the geospatial technologies in a more legal and time-bound manner. An appropriate policy framework will help the geospatial industry to flourish without compromising national security.

The industry would also be able to ensure proper planning, monitoring and execution of Government's developmental projects, and more efficient use of public money.

FICCI has recommended that the government should re-consider some aspects of the draft Bill, especially mechanism for acquisition, storage, dissemination and distribution of the data so that, the growth of the industry is not adversely impacted, the benefits of this technology to citizens enjoying is not be hampered, and the initiatives of the Government of India, like Smart Cities and Digital India, do not get adversely affected. The draft bill is a step in right direction but certain sections of the bill need to be looked upon again.

On the issue of Acquisition of Geospatial Information of India, FICCI has suggested that the Government of India may consider replacing the 'licencing' with 'registration', and could also create a 'Geospatial Data Registration Portal' for making the process transparent and time saving.

Bringing each and every citizen under the purview of the Bill may not be required, especially when regulations ensure that only secured and authentic geospatial information is created and disseminated by agencies working in this area. Nowadays, a common man uses variety of location-enabled gadgets and apps like, smartphones, cameras, online shopping and navigation apps, which can bring such users under scanner as per the provisions of the Bill in its present form.

The draft Bill appears to retrospectively regulate geospatial data even if it was acquired through legal means or the data which is already approved by the appropriate government authorities, prior to the implementation of the Bill. Not only does this clause seek to charge for this retrospective vetting, but also suggests that the permission to retain and use the data may be denied and the data would have to be surrendered/destroyed. This will severely impact businesses and projects under execution leading to penalties and losses.

Further, the Chamber has suggested that there should be well-defined processes and guidelines to ensure smooth dissemination of geospatial data (especially non-sensitive data). The government may consider creating a regulatory body 'Geospatial Information Regulatory Authority' with an objective to ensure hassle free sharing of data between various entities, and for quick access of data for businesses and individuals.

The Government could provide a list of critical establishments or provide broad guidelines of establishments of a particular nature that need to be masked. This clarity would help content creators in preparing maps and geospatial information as stipulated government guidelines. Instead of complete masking, critical installations could be named as 'Government Building' or something like a common identity.

FICCI agrees with the intent of the Government of India to correctly depict national boundaries so as to ensure that sovereignty and integrity of the nation is maintained. It suggests that in order to maintain and ensure the usage of right International boundary, the ideal scenario would be that the government provides the same at a high resolution to all registered organisations for use in all published maps.

Furthermore, vetting should be limited to base maps and should not be applied on value added products and services. In addition, it should focus only on the sensitive data, i.e., administrative boundaries, restricted areas and points of interest. Taking real-time data out from the system and sending it for vetting instead of its actual site of application would not be practical for the agencies that create such data. It is suggested that data creators provide access to the data being generated to the Security Vetting Authority in a form which is practical, efficient and can protects the IP rights of the creator.

Regarding offences and penalties, FICCI advocates that there should be a provision of giving warning or notice to those who are found responsible (directly/indirectly) for misrepresenting Indian territories and boarders.

Finally, FICCI notes that the draft 'Geospatial Information Regulation Bill, 2016' is intended to regulate geospatial data pertaining to international boundaries and national security. However, the draft Bill needs certain modifications. The Chamber recommends that the Government of India could take steps to freely provide accurate boundaries for India in order to encourage correct representation of Indian territories.

The flagship projects of the Government like AMRUT, Smart City, Digital India etc., envisage involvement of industry and demand use of modern technologies, like IoT-enabled and location-intelligent devices to fulfil their objectives. However, various procedural barriers mentioned in the draft Bill could result in delays in clearance/ license, and hence the interruption in nation building exercise and relief efforts.

Geospatial Technologies

Team Leader

Sumeet Gupta

Timeline

Mar, 2023

FICCI Geospatial Awards

Sep, 2022

FICCI National Geospatial Awards 2022

Feb, 2021

FICCI National Geospatial Awards Felicitation Ceremony

Oct, 2020

Future of Geospatial Industry - Aatmanirbhar Bharat: Developing World-Class Geospatial Solutions for Governance, Businesses & Citizens

Sep, 2020

Webinar on Location Technology – Enabling Effective Emergency Response and Public Safety System

Mar, 2020

Geo Tech Summit - Leveraging AI & ML in Geospatial postponed

Feb, 2020

Geo Tech Summit: Leveraging AI & ML in Geospatial postponed

Jul, 2019

FICCI National Geospatial Awards 2019: Call for Nominations

Geospatial Technologies for Heritage Conservation and Management

Mar, 2019

Committee meeting of Geospatial Technologies

May, 2018

GEOIntelligence - led Policing & Emergency Response

Jun, 2017

Location Based Services (LBS) 2017: Transforming Coordinates to Business

Apr, 2017

Users' Perspective on Geospatial Policy Framework in India

Mar, 2017

Seminar on Geospatial Technologies in in India

Jun, 2016

Location Based Services (LBS) - 2016: Transforming Coordinates to Business

Jun, 2015

Location Based Services (LBS) - 2015

Jun, 2014

Location Based Services (LBS) - 2014: Transforming Coordinates to Business

Jun, 2013

Location Based Services (LBS) - 2013: Transforming Coordinates to Business

Jan, 2013

Launch of FICCI-Geospatial Today Publication "Empowering India through Geospatial Technologies - Select Stories"

Nov, 2012

Geo-enabling Uttarakhand: Opportunities and the Way Forward

Nov, 2011

Geospatial Technologies for Good Governance

Sep, 2011

GIS: Opening the World to Everyone – Visionary Talk by Jack Dangermond, President, ESRI Inc.

Dec, 2010

NSDI-10: National Geospatial Ecosystem The Road Ahead

Nov, 2009

Geospatial Technologies for Utilities & Infrastructure

Dec, 2008

NSDI 8: Geospatial Technologies in India – Challenges & Opportunities

Chair

Mr. Agendra Kumar

Co-Chair

Dr Aniruddha Roy

Mentor

Mr. Rakesh Verma

GEOIntelligence-led Policing & Emergency Response

Geospatial Technologies in India: Success Stories

Location based services: Adding another dimension to smart cities

FICCI Report on Location Based Services - An overview of prospects and applications

Empowering India through Geospatial Technologies: Success Stories