{"id":168782,"date":"2022-02-15T19:00:05","date_gmt":"2022-02-15T13:30:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=168782"},"modified":"2022-06-22T15:27:27","modified_gmt":"2022-06-22T09:57:27","slug":"geospatial-sector-in-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/geospatial-sector-in-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Geospatial Sector in India &#8211; Explained, pointwise"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<table style=\"width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: #f7f2f2;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 100%;\">For\u00a0<strong>7PM Editorial<\/strong>\u00a0Archives click<strong>\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/7-pm-editorials\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE <\/a>\u2192<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h5>Introduction<\/h5>\n<p>Geospatial Technology is a term used to describe a range of modern tools like the Geographic Information System (<strong>GIS<\/strong>), Remote Sensing (<strong>RS<\/strong>) and Global Positioning System (<strong>GPS<\/strong>). Geospatial technology enables us to acquire data that is referenced to the earth and use the data for analysis, modeling, simulations and visualization. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Geospatial technology has moved from being a niche to mainline technology driving public-private partnerships for large infrastructure programmes. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The use of Geospatial technologies can help ensure timely completion of projects through tracking, monitoring and managing performance as per plans.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It&#8217;s been almost a year since the Government of India announced the Geospatial Data Guidelines in 2021 that deregulated the geospatial sector. Through the guidelines the Government provided much needed push for the sector<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> but there remain some bottlenecks that should be duly addressed in order to ensure a more decentralised and democratic adoption.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"content-box-blue\">\r\n\t<span style =\"font-size: 20px;\">ForumIAS is now in <span style = \"font-weight:bold; padding:1px; color: #053259 ; \">Hyderabad<\/span>. <a style =\"color: blue\"href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/we-are-coming-to-hyderabad-with-sfg\/\"><b>Click here<\/b><\/a> to know more<\/span>\r\n<\/div>\n<h5><b>What is Geospatial Technology?<\/b><\/h5>\n<p>Geospatial technology uses tools like GIS, GPS and Remote Sensing for geographic mapping and analysis. These tools <strong>capture spatial information about objects, events and phenomena<\/strong> (indexed to their geographical location on earth, geotag). The location data may be Static or Dynamic. Static location data include position of a road, an earthquake event or malnutrition among children in a particular region while dynamic location include data related to a moving vehicle or pedestrian, the spread of an infectious disease etc.<\/p>\n<p>The technology may be used to create <strong>intelligent maps<\/strong> to help <strong>identify spatial patterns<\/strong> in large volumes of data. The technology facilitates decision making based on the importance and priority of scarce resources. <span style=\"background-color: var(--global--color-background); color: var(--global--color-primary); font-family: var(--global--font-secondary); font-size: var(--global--font-size-base);\">Geospatial technology has become an indispensable part of everyday life with its use in tracking everything from transportation to personal fitness to changes on the surface of earth.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><b>What is the Current Status of Geospatial Sector in India?<\/b><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to <\/span><b>India Geospatial <em>Artha<\/em> Report 2021<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the Indian geospatial economy is currently valued at Rs 38,972 crore and employs approximately 4.7 lakh people. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The past decade has seen<\/span> an increase in the use of geo-spatial data in daily life<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with various apps. These include food delivery apps like Swiggy or Zomato, e-commerce like Amazon, cab hailing apps like Ola and Uber and many weather apps. However, t<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">he sector is still <\/span><b>dominated by the Government<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as well as government-run agencies such as the Survey of India (SOI).<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><b>What is the significance of Geospatial Sector?<\/b><\/h5>\n<p><b>Economic Growth: <\/b>The sector<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0has potential to grow to Rs<\/span><b> 63,100 crore at 12.8% by the end of 2025 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">as per India Geospatial <em>Artha<\/em> Report 2021.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Employment Generation:<\/b> Private <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Companies like Amazon, Zomato etc. use this technology to smoothly conduct their delivery operations which supports livelihood generation. Further the estimated human resource size of the sector is expected to reach 9.5 lakh by 2025.\u00a0 <\/span><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>National Security<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: The Government of India started investing heavily in geospatial technologies after the Kargil war. The war highlighted the adverse effects of dependence on geospatial data sourced from foreign countries.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>\u00a0Implementation of Schemes<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: The flagship schemes of the Government like <\/span><b>the <em>Gati Shakti<\/em> program<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> can be smoothly implemented using geospatial technology.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The scheme involves huge investments in construction of about 25,000 Kms of highways, multimodal transport, and modernization of land records.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Boost to Make in India<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Focusing on the sector will allow Indian companies to develop indigenous apps like an Indian version of google maps.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Land Record Management<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Using this technology, the data related large number of landholdings can be appropriately tagged and digitized<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. It will not only help in<\/span><b> better targeting <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">but would also<\/span><b> reduce the quantum of land disputes in courts<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Barring Karnataka, the records are not updated in other states.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Crisis Management<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Technology and logistics were perfectly supported through the use of geospatial technology during the Covid 19 vaccination drive.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><b>What steps have been taken by the Government for the sector?<\/b><\/h5>\n<p><b>Guidelines for Geospatial Data, 2021: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The guidelines were released by the Ministry of Science and Technology in February 2021. The guidelines <\/span><b>deregulated existing protocol and liberalized the sector<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to a more competitive field. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The guidelines eliminated the requirement of permissions as well as scrutiny, even for security concerns for Indian Companies.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Companies now can self-attest, conforming to government guidelines without actually having to be monitored by a government agency.<\/span><\/p>\n<table style=\"border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 100%;\"><strong>Read More: <a href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/dst-announce-liberalization-of-geospatial-data-and-mapping-policy\/\">DST announce liberalization of \u201cGeospatial data and Mapping\u201d Policy<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/niti-aayog-launches-geospatial-energy-map-of-india\/\"><b>Geospatial Energy Map of India<\/b><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: It has been developed by <\/span><b>NITI Aayog<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in collaboration with Indian Space Research Organization (<\/span><b>ISRO<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">). It aims to provide a comprehensive view of energy production and distribution in the country.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It will be useful in planning and making investment decisions. It will also aid in disaster management using available energy assets.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Union Budget 2022-23: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Government would support the <\/span><b>use of Kisan drones<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for land assessment, digitization of land records and spraying insecticides and nutrients.<\/span><\/p>\n<table style=\"border-collapse: collapse; width: 100%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 100%;\"><strong>Read More:<\/strong> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/answered-discuss-how-kisan-drones-will-help-in-the-development-of-agriculture-sector-what-are-the-initiatives-offered-by-our-government-for-the-promotion-of-drone-use\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How \u2018kisan drones\u2019 will help in the development of agriculture sector<\/a><\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><b><a href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/government-launches-yuktdhara-portal-to-facilitate-geo-spatial-planning-of-mgnrega-assets\/\"><em>Yuktdhara<\/em> Portal<\/a>:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The Ministry of Rural Development has launched a new geospatial planning portal named\u00a0 \u2018<em>Yuktdhara<\/em>\u2019.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It will serve as <\/span><b>a repository of assets<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (geotags) created under the various National Rural Development Programmes, such as MGNREGA. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It will integrate a wide variety of thematic layers, multi-temporal high-resolution earth observation data with the analysis tool.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><b>What changes have happened after the deregulation?<\/b><\/h5>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span>experts are projecting the <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">geospatial market to reach around <\/span><b>1 lakh-crore by the year 2029 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">with 13% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR). <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The geospatial sector<\/span><b> is seeing new interest from more investors <\/b>e.g.,<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the initial public offering (IPO) of MapmyIndia got over subscribed (154 times) and listed at 53% premium. The other noticeable activity was the launching of a city mapping programme by Genesys International in India.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><b>What are the challenges impairing progress of Geospatial Sector?<\/b><\/h5>\n<p><b>Absence of a sizeable geospatial market<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: There is low demand for geospatial services and products on a scale linked to India\u2019s potential and size. This is mainly due to the lack of awareness among potential users in government and private sector.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Human Resource Deficit<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: There is dearth of skilled manpower to collect, store and analyze the data across the entire geospatial pyramid. Unlike the West, India lacks a strata of core professionals who understand geospatial technology end-to-end.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Lack of data availability and sharing constraints<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: The unavailability of foundation data, especially at high-resolution, is also a constraint. Further the lack of clarity on data sharing and collaboration prevents co-creation and asset maximization.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Lack of Tailor made solutions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Barring a few cases, there are still no ready-to-use solutions especially built to solve the problems of India.<\/span><\/p>\n<h5><b>What should be done to promote the Geospatial Technology Sector in India?<\/b><\/h5>\n<p><b>First and foremost <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is the need to publish the entire policy document and raise awareness among Government and private users. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The data available with government departments should be unlocked, and data sharing should be encouraged and facilitated.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Second<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, there is a need to <\/span>establish a geo-portal to<b> make all public-funded data accessible through data <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>as a service model<\/strong>. It is important to inculcate the culture of data sharing, collaboration and co-creation. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Further there is a need to develop a<\/span><b> geospatial data cloud locally<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and facilitate a solution as service.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Third<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, there is a need to generate foundation data across India. This should include the <\/span><b>Indian national digital elevation model (InDEM<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), data layers for cities, and data of natural resources.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Fourth<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, India should <\/span><b>start a bachelor\u2019s programme in geospatial<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in the Indian Institutes of Technology and the National Institutes of Technology. Besides these, there should be a dedicated geospatial university. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These programmes will propel research and development efforts which are crucial for the development of technologies and solutions locally.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Fifth<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Digital India should prioritize<\/span><b> the creation of 3D national digital twins<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> of our environments (water, road, rail, cities &amp; rural) to track and monitor ailing structures and utilities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Sixth<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, National organizations like <\/span><b>SoI and ISRO should be entrusted with <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the responsibility of regulation and the projects related to the <\/span><b>nation\u2019s security and scientific significance<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. These organizations should not compete with entrepreneurs for government business as the latter remains in a disadvantageous position.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Seventh<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the <\/span><b>draft National Geospatial Policy (NGP) <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and the Indian Satellite Navigation Policy (SATNAV Policy) should be duly finalized to augment the sector.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Conclusion<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Geospatial will be a crucial technology that will drive growth ambitions of the country \u2013 providing employment and also aiding the new-age ecosystem by providing location intelligence at your fingertips. More and more sectors such as agriculture, environment protection, power, water, transportation, health etc. desire the technology in order to truly realize their potential.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/opinion\/op-ed\/geospatial-sector-in-india-and-possibilities\/article65048521.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Hindu<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For\u00a07PM Editorial\u00a0Archives click\u00a0HERE \u2192 Introduction Geospatial Technology is a term used to describe a range of modern tools like the Geographic Information System (GIS), Remote Sensing (RS) and Global Positioning System (GPS). Geospatial technology enables us to acquire data that is referenced to the earth and use the data for analysis, modeling, simulations and visualization.&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/geospatial-sector-in-india\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Geospatial Sector in India &#8211; Explained, pointwise<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10322,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[130,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-168782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-7-pm","category-public","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":{"total":20,"cached_at":1698470745,"cached_date":1698660450},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168782","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10322"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=168782"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/168782\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=168782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=168782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=168782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}