Normative regulation and liberalization of geospatial information are global problems. Topics, regularly discussed in Moscow, turned out to be relevant for India.
Annual GeoSmart India conference 2021 ended on December 9. State representatives and entrepreneurs took part in discussions on GT, their legal status, economy, business, and sustainable development.
Recently announced policies, strategies and initiatives were widely discussed. Among them were Guidelines for Geospatial Data, Drone Rules, Draft of Space-Based Remote Sensing Policy of India, Draft National Geospatial Policy, and the Draft of Satellite Navigation Policy. Commenting on the aforementioned, Sanjay Kumar, CEO, Geospatial World stated: “If implemented in a timely and phased manner, these guidelines and the policies will have a significant impact on the Indian Geospatial Market and Economy”.
The participants also discussed the potential development of GT if the acts, mentioned above, would be realized. The speakers agreed that geospatial data liberalization and its openness would lead to:
- Scalability of Solutions
- Geospatial Industry Competitiveness
- Open and Easy Access to Geospatial Information
- Partnership and Collaboration
- Enhanced Adoption across Non-Traditional Sectors
- Impetus to Geospatial Education
Another part of the discussion was dedicated to the problem of sustainable infrastructure. Along with GT, other technologies like building information modeling (BIM), Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), cloud, and Big data were defined as a priority.
The conference became a platform for various specialists to exchange their knowledge and get acquainted with new technologies, methods, and solutions in the fields of their expertise. Experts considered water resources management as one of the promising areas of GT development. Now, according to Nikhilesh Kumar, CEO of Vassar Labs, the technology is actively used to monitor the water level in reservoirs, as well as to track illegal encroachments.
The same technologies can be applied for collecting data on assets and resources, analysis and interpretation of data, making reports, monitoring, planning, and operative decision-making. Geospatial technologies decrease the time for project deployment, increasing the process effectiveness and ensuring rational management of resources.
Amit Khare, the adviser to the Prime Minister of India, told how GT simplify logistical tasks in the process of vaccination of citizens.
Agendra Kumar, Managing Director, Esri India, announced the launch of Indo ArcGIS. The data provided by the service can be used for forestry and disaster management, power supply control, land accounting, and property tax management.
GeoSmart was not the last Indian event, dedicated to GT. The organizers of the conference presented the logo of the upcoming Second UN World Congress on Geospatial Information (UNWGIC), which will be held in India on October 10-14, 2022.