New Delhi: 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 on Tuesday (February 15) said that under the Modi government’s SVAMITVA scheme, geospatial technology along with drones will survey over 6 lakh Indian villages.
At the same time, pan-India 3D Maps will be prepared for 100 Indian cities, which will be a game-changer, he added.
Speaking as a chief guest commemorating the 1st Anniversary of the Release of Geospatial Data, the minister said that the Trinity of Geospatial Systems, Drone Policy and Unlocked Space Sector will be the hallmark of India’s future economic progress.
He said, this is in line with the strategic push by the Government of India (GoI) for adopting these sunrise technologies across national mission-mode projects to achieve the vision of the $5 trillion economy.
Dr. S. Chandrasekhar, Secretary, DST, Mr Agendra Kumar, President of Association of Geospatial Industries (AGI), Sanjay Kumar, Founder and CEO, Geospatial World, Rakesh Verma, Chairman and MD, MapMyIndia, Sajid Malik, Chairman and MD, Genesys, Prof Bharat Lohani, IIT, Kanpur Representatives from Google, Hexagon and other Industry members and officials joined the event.
Dr Jitendra informed that Geospatial Policy will be announced soon as the liberalisation of the guidelines has yielded very positive outcomes within one year’s time.
He said, 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 Programme 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 solution products and content in the areas of Forest Management, Disaster Management, Electrical Utilities, Land Records, Water Distribution, and Property Taxation.
Dr Jitendra said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi believes in breaking the taboos of the past and he is known for taking out-of-the-box and bold decisions be it the unlocking of Space sector for private players, joint ventures in Atomic Energy or Drone Policy.
He said, the focus will be to strengthen the Innovative Starts-up ecosystem with huge financial implications and job generation. The Minister assured the stakeholders that a synergy will be brought about in all these sectors to have a multiplier effect.
Dr Jitendra said, Geospatial technologies are the nation’s “digital currency” that find dynamic application into multiple sectors like Infrastructure, Manufacturing, Health, Agriculture, Urban Planning, Highways, and Service Delivery.
He said, 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 which is likely to grow to Rs 36,300 Crore in 2025.
Dr Jitendra said, in an era of knowledge explosion and rapid technological changes, India has to live up to the Global Benchmarks. He said, the era of working in status quoist mode is over as PM Modi’s arrival heralded a new work culture of moving with dynamism of the world.
Dr Jitendra said that Government of India’s (GoI) vision for a $5 trillion economy by 2025 and Atmanirbhar Bharat rests on the key pillars of Make in India and Digital India.
