The Hindu Business Line : Spatial data infrastructure meet begins today

AN INTERNATIONAL conference on Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) and its role in disaster management, commencing on Monday in Chennai, will deliberate the use of space-based technologies and solutions in disaster management activities.

The three-day conference is being organised jointly by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, and PACON International University of Hawaii in the US.

Giving a background, Mr Nirankar Saxena, Joint Director, FICCI, New Delhi, told Business Line that the Indian subcontinent is prone to disasters — both natural and manmade. This holds largely true for the entire South Asian region as well. Spatial data means information that identifies the geographical location and characteristics of natural or man made features and boundaries on the earth — in the form of maps, aerial photographs, satellite images or even statistical data. Location is the fourth driver in any important decision, others being cost, revenue and benefit.

Advances in information technologies have enabled all spatial data to be available in digital forms. Spatial Data Infrastructure is a kind of soft infrastructure set up for purposes of acquiring, processing, storing, distributing and improving utilisation of spatial data.

Simply put, a spatial data infrastructure is a collection of technologies, policies and institutional arrangements to facilitate availability of and access to spatial data (acquired and held by different agencies/organisations) to a vast, diverse and ever growing community of users.

According to Mr Saxena, the international conference is being organised to bring together subject experts from all over the world who have already developed space-based technology solutions for dealing with disaster management issues and have demonstrated the utility of spatial data infrastructure in the process.

The three-day event shall see a congregation of over 200 participants including international participants, the Government of India services (including defence, fire and police), public and private decision makers, IT and telecom companies, insurance companies, institutions, academia and NGOs.

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