Geospatial sector in India is expected to get a shot in the arm next month with the Union Government hoping to introduce and pass the National Geospatial Data Authority Bill in the Budget session.
“It is being discussed in inter-ministerial meetings. We expect that it will be introduced in the Budget session,” Mr Kapil Sibal, Minister for Science and Technology, Human Resources Development and IT and Telecom, said.
The geospatial sector in the country has been growing with the entry of private and international companies utilising data generated from space-based platforms like remote sensing and near-earth orbiting satellites about various features of natural resources and developing geographical information systems (GIS).
Addressing a press conference after inaugurating the four-day Geospatial World Forum here on Tuesday, the Minister said the Bill sought to create a mechanism with an independent regulator overseeing licensing and distribution of geospatial information. With a regulator at the helm, private sector would get confidence to invest in the sector.
Addressing the forum earlier, he said Survey of India would create national topographic database on 1:10,000 scale for all rural areas. It would also create 1:4,000 digital images for revenue system and 1:2,000 for 800 cities and 1:1,000 for metro cities in three years.
“The idea is to provide three dimensional information to citizens through handsets. The Government believes that 75-90 per cent of all information should be made available to the public. GIS has tremendous scope in the fields of education, health and agriculture,” he said.
Delivering the keynote address, Dr K. Kasturirangan, Member (Planning Commission), said that the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, had mandated that the 12{+t}{+h} Five-Year Plan should use geospatial technology in planning.
He said a National GIS System was being developed to synergise geospatial data and create a system to access the same. A task force would look into the capacity requirement for the industry and evolve a geospatial culture in the country. The task force was expected to submit its report in a month.
Awards
Mr Sibal presented awards to natural Resources Canada (category - Premier mapping Agency); Ms Vanessa Lawrence CB, Director-General and Chief Executive of United Kingdom's Ordnance Survey (Geospatial personality of Decade); Rolta group (World Leaders in Geospatial Technology) and Dr Kasturirangan (Lifetime Achievement).