New Delhi, Feb 16: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh has said that under the Modi Government's SVAMITVA scheme, geospatial technology along with drones will survey all the over 6 lakh Indian villages and prepare pan-India 3D Maps for 100 Indian cities.
Speaking as chief guest at a function to commemorate the first anniversary of the release of the guidelines for acquiring and producing geospatial data and geospatial data services, including maps, he said that the trinity of geospatial systems, drone policy, and unlocked space sector would be the hallmark of India's future economic progress. This was in line with the strategic push by the Government of India for adopting these sunrise technologies across national mission-mode projects to achieve the vision of a US dollars 5 trillion economy.
Dr S.Chandrasekhar, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, Mr Agendra Kumar, President, Association of Geospatial Industries (AGI), Mr Sanjay Kumar, Founder and CEO, Geospatial World, Mr Rakesh Verma, Chairman and MD, MapMyIndia, Mr Sajid Malik, Chairman and MD, Genesys, Prof Bharat Lohani, IIT, Kanpur, and representatives from Google, Hexagon, and other Industry members and officials joined the event.
Dr Jitendra Singh informed that a geospatial policy would be announced soon as the liberalising guidelines have yielded very positive outcomes within one year. The open call for empanelment of geospatial companies by Survey of India for mapping 6 lakh villages under the SVAMITVA scheme and the launch of pan-India 3D Maps Program by Genesys International for 100 cities, based on the concept of `Digital Twins' are historic and revolutionary in nature and will be a game-changer decision. The Minister also drew attention to the launch of Indo ArcGIS by Esri India to address the need for ready-to-use GIS-based solutions in the areas of forest management, disaster management, electrical utilities, land records, water distribution, and property taxation.
The Minister noted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi believes in breaking the taboos of the past. He is known for taking out-of-the-box and bold decisions, be it the unlocking of the space sector for private players or joint ventures in atomic energy or drone policy and said that the focus would be to strengthen the innovative start-up ecosystem with substantial financial implications and job generation. Synergy will be brought about in these sectors to have a multiplier effect.
He noted that geospatial technologies are the nation's "digital currency" that finds dynamic applications in multiple sectors like infrastructure, manufacturing, health, agriculture, urban planning, highways, and service delivery. The size of the Indian geospatial market in 2020 as per one industry estimate was Rs 23,345 crore, including Rs 10,595 crore of export, and it is likely to grow to INR 36,300 Crore in 2025.
Dr Jitendra Singh said that India must live up to the global benchmarks in an era of knowledge explosion and rapid technological changes. The period of working in status quoist mode is over as PM Modi's arrival heralded a new work culture of moving with the dynamism of the world. The Government of India's vision for a $5 trillion economy by 2025 and Atmanirbhar Bharat rests on the key pillars of Make in India and Digital India. (India Science Wire)
