GIS-enabled portal maps land-related information

GIS-enabled portal maps land-related information

Context:

• In a little over six months beginning February, the Centre has brought out an online database developed by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) and the National e-Governance Division in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology as well as the BISAG – an institute for space applications and geo-informatics under the Gujarat Government.
• The Geographic Information System-enabled database also has details of close to 3,000 industrial parks/clusters, as well as area-wise availability of agricultural/horticultural crops, and mineral production.

Information collected by the database:

• At present, the database has mapped 539,501 hectares of land and 2,978 industrial clusters/estates/parks/regions/areas/corridor/zones including Special Economic Zones and National Investment and Manufacturing Zones.
• It currently has specific area-wise details in each state on industrial parks/clusters, the focus sectors, common facilities available for industry, industrial land in use and available industrial land, approved and pending projects, infrastructure including state/national highways, airport, ports and railway stations and electricity, Central/state government incentives, investment/employment-targets and what has been achieved, range of land sale price and lease/rent rates, waste disposal facilities, and contact details of nodal officials.
• The database also has information on the distance from airport/port to each industrial area/cluster and a satellite map view of the area.
• Data is available on agricultural crops such as fibre crops, food grains, oilseeds, and so on.
• Also available are the details of mineral production.  

Utility:

• This database is initiated in the backdrop of the Centre firming up a new industrial and manufacturing policy to push up the contribution of the manufacturing sector in India’s GDP to 25% by 2020 from the current level of about 16%.
• The aim is to make India a global manufacturing hub and in the process generate employment locally.
• The details on the database about government-approved technical institutions will indicate the availability of skilled and semi-skilled talent.