New Delhi, Dec 17: Describing geospatial technologies as a foundational pillar of India’s development journey, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology Dr. Jitendra Singh Wednesday said that geospatial information has emerged as a critical enabler of planning, execution, and service delivery across sectors such as infrastructure, agriculture, defence, urban development, climate action, and disaster management.
Addressing the National Workshop on “Strengthening of Geospatial Ecosystem- Geospatial Mission: An Enabler of Viksit Bharat” through a video message, the Minister underscored that India’s geospatial transformation over the last decade reflects a decisive shift from regulation to empowerment under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Dr. Jitendra Singh highlighted the landmark geospatial liberalisation reforms of 2021, followed by the National Geospatial Policy, 2022, stating that these measures have democratised access to high-accuracy geospatial data, spurred innovation, strengthened industry participation and significantly expanded the use of geospatial technologies across domains. Building on this momentum, he said, the National Geospatial Mission has been launched as a transformative, whole-of-government initiative to create a modern, accurate and accessible national geospatial infrastructure aligned with the vision of Viksit Bharat 2047.
The Minister emphasised that national priorities such as smart cities, road and rail infrastructure, precision agriculture, logistics optimisation, natural resource management, disaster risk reduction, climate action, and next-generation defence preparedness will increasingly depend on reliable, interoperable, and robust geospatial data. Commending the Survey of India, he noted that as the country’s oldest and most trusted mapping organisation, it has played a pivotal role in strengthening India’s geospatial ecosystem and supporting nation-building through technological modernisation and institutional leadership. On the occasion, Dr. Jitendra Singh also launched the Survey of India Coffee Table Book, showcasing the organisation’s legacy, technological evolution, and contribution to India’s growth journey.
The National Workshop was organised today at Yashobhoomi, Dwarka, New Delhi by the Survey of India, Department of Science and Technology, and brought together senior officials from Central Ministries and State Governments, experts from India and abroad, representatives from industry, academia and research institutions to deliberate on strengthening India’s geospatial ecosystem in line with national policy objectives.
Welcoming the participants, Hitesh Kumar S. Makwana, IAS, Surveyor General of India, highlighted Survey of India’s leadership in developing the national geospatial framework. He informed that SoI has established over 1,100 Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS), with more than 15,000 users currently availing these services, and is integrating State and research CORS networks into a unified national geodetic reference framework.
Delivering the keynote address, Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, said that the Geospatial Guidelines 2021 and the National Geospatial Policy 2022 have created an innovation-driven ecosystem. He stated that the forthcoming National Geospatial Mission will focus on geodetic modernisation, interoperability, strengthening of geo-ICT infrastructure, integration of emerging technologies such as AI and machine learning, promotion of R&D, and capacity building for a skilled geospatial workforce.
The workshop featured focused deliberations on modernisation of the National Geodetic Reference Frame, densification of CORS infrastructure, strengthening of geospatial data and mapping capabilities, and creation of a robust Geo-ICT framework to enable seamless access to data through platforms such as the National Geospatial Data Registry (NGDR) and the Unified Geospatial Interface (UGI).
During the workshop, it was announced that Survey of India, on behalf of the Government of India, has joined the multilateral Memorandum of Understanding of the United Nations Global Geodetic Centre of Excellence (UN-GGCE), reinforcing India’s commitment to strengthening the global geodesy supply chain. An exhibition organised alongside the workshop showcased key SoI products and services including the Geodetic Asset Register, Geodetic Asset Maps, CORS services, and multilingual State maps.
The National Workshop reaffirmed the Government of India’s commitment to leveraging geospatial data and technologies as a strategic national asset to strengthen governance, enable evidence-based decision-making and accelerate India’s journey towards a resilient, inclusive, and globally competitive Viksit Bharat. (PIB)
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