Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Tuesday, Jun 13, 2006
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Tuesday, Jun 13, 2006 |
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Info-Tech
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Internet Industry & Economy - Science & Technology India map soon on Web officially Our Bureau
New Delhi , June 12 About 60-70 per cent of the land area of India could be officially available on the Internet based on several wide parameters including latitude, longitude, altitude, water bodies and forest cover in about a year's time. As on date, this much of area, consisting of 3,100 maps, has been cleared by the Defence Ministry for publishing, said top Government officials. Till recently, policy did not permit publishing Indian map details on the Net. Even now, the exact level of access has to be decided based on NSDI policy that would address issues like costing, copyright and licences and value addition. However, some broad details of map should now be available with the Union Cabinet recently approving the mandate of National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). NSDI would be an autonomous body, spearheaded by a task force headed by the Minister of Science and Technology, with an Executive Committee chaired by Surveyor-General of India.
Big opportunity
This is likely to generate a huge business opportunity for the geographical information system (GIS) firms from various Government agencies during the next few years. "We are going to outsource majority of the work," said the Union Minister of Science and Technology, Mr Kapil Sibal, at a conference here today. To start with, in a month, a detailed 3-D mapping image of Chandni Chowk, a heavily populated area of Delhi, would be available on the Internet on the NSDI Web site. Chandni Chowk, which is the constituency of Mr Sibal, has been digitised to the extent of each lane and building being visible on the map with an approximate cost of Rs 9 crore. Other State Governments and municipal agencies can take up 3-D mapping of their territories provided they fund for it. When fully developed, the NSDI data could have a revenue potential of Rs 2,000 crore, said Dr T. Ramasami, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology. "The Defence has already cleared 3,100 maps that cover 60-70 per cent of the country's land area. What is left is some 50 km breadth along the international borders, Jammu and Kashmir and the North East," said Dr R. Siva Kumar, Director, NSDI, Survey of India.
Organisational structure
The NSDI would have a two-tier structure - National Spatial Data Committee chaired by the S&T Minister with secretaries and experts in geospatial sciences as members. A lean secretariat (10-member team) would be set up under the MST. "The committee would decide on the usage charges for various users," said Mr Sibal pointing out that there could be wide ranging applications for NSDI. The committee would also have participation from eight user industries, said Dr Ramasami. As of now, about 15 Central agencies have been identified from which standardised, digitised data would be sourced. The agencies include the Survey of India, National Atlas and Thematic Mapping Organisation, the Meteorology Department, Forest Survey of India, Geological Survey of India, Town and Country Planning Organisation, National Capital Region Planning Board, Department of Land Resources, Department of Drinking Water Supply, National Information Centre, Office of Registrar of Census and All India Soil and Land Use.
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