India Geospatial Roundup 2022: Looking Back at the Year that Was
The year 2022 saw some landmark achievements for the Indian Geospatial industry, with the recent Cabinet nod to the Geospatial Policy 2022. As we step into the new year, AGI attempts to take a peek into the year gone by, reviewing updates, accomplishments, and announcements that were the year’s highlights.
Major Boost to the Geospatial Sector by the Government of India
One of the key highlights was the recognition by the Hon’ble Finance Minister in her Budget Speech this year, on the role of Geospatial technologies, AI, Drones, and Space Economy for achieving sustainable economic development in the future.
Union Budget 2022 Insights by AGI India
Further, a Post-Budget Session on “Transforming India through #Geospatial Knowledge and Infrastructure: Need for a National Geospatial Policy” was organized by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India and the Department of Science and Technology (DST), along with other scientific ministries and departments. It was moderated by the Surveyor General of India (Addn. Charge) & JS, DST, Shri Sunil Kumar, and chaired by Former Chairman ISRO Shri AS Kiran Kumar.
The Union Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Shri Giriraj Singh released the Rural Connectivity GIS Data in Public Domain this year, including GIS data for 800,000+ rural facilities as points, 1 Million+ habitation and 25,00,000+ km of rural roads. The data has been collected and digitised using the GIS platform developed for the PMGSY scheme.
National Rural Infrastructure Development Agency (NRIDA), the nodal implementation agency of the PMGSY scheme, signed MoUs with 3 renowned GIS Firms, including two AGI members Esri India and MapmyIndia. The agency also collaborated with Gati Shakti for releasing the Rural Connectivity GIS Data in Public Domain.
The CORS Network was also operational in the country in the year’s first half. Survey of India offered real-time and precision position services via the CORS Network for free in 6 states for three months (June-Aug 2022).
DST launched the Self-Certification Portal for the Geospatial industry. The new Portal replaces multiple approvals, security clearances, licenses and other restricting sanctions for collecting, generating, preparing, storing, publishing, and digitizing Geospatial Data and Maps within the territory of India.
DST Self Certification Portal to Fast-Track Geospatial Projects
A series of pre-events to the 2nd United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress (2nd UN-WGIC) was organized by DST to showcase the use of Geospatial technologies in national and/or state-level flagship programmes, the Indian Geospatial industry’s contribution to geo-enabling the global village, the Geospatial knowledge and innovations taking place, and the R&D capabilities with the Indian youth in taking forward technology applications.
The 2nd UN-WGIC 2022, convened by the United Nations Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management (UN-GGIM) and hosted this year by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, was held in Hyderabad from 10-14 October on the theme: Geo-Enabling the Global Village.
The Report on the “Indian Experience in Alignment with United Nations – Integrated Geospatial Information Framework” was unveiled by Hon’ble Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh, Minister of Science and Technology, Earth Sciences and Space, Govt of India during the official opening ceremony of the 2nd UN-WGIC. It gives a glimpse of the kind of work, innovation, and benchmarks that Indian public and private sector organizations are establishing using Geospatial information, and how well they are aligned with various UN-GGIM Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (IGIF) pathways at the experience level.
Indian Experience in Alignment with United Nations Integrated Geospatial Information Framework 2nd UN WGIC
2022 is ending on a high note with the recent Union Cabinet nod to the National Geospatial Policy that seeks to boost entrepreneurship for the country’s socio-economic development. The much-awaited policy also seeks to promote the use of geospatial products and services, generate useful insights from geospatial data and strengthen India’s geospatial infrastructure and capabilities.
Updates from the Association of Geospatial Industries (AGI)
AGI celebrated its 13th Raising Day in 2022. The new Governing Council and Office Bearers were elected for a two-year term, with Mr. Pramod Kaushik, Managing Director, Hexagon India, as the new President of AGI. The AGI Secretariat also welcomed Mr. Satej Panditrao joining as the Technical Manager.
On 15th February 2022, AGI co-hosted an interactive session with DST to commemorate the completion of one year of the launch of Geospatial Guidelines, reflect upon its impact on the Geospatial industry and the users, and discuss the expectations ahead given the reformed outlook. The session was graced by the presence of Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh, Secretary DST Dr. S Chandrasekhar, Surveyor General and JS, DST Shri Sunil Kumar.
AGI India’s flagship annual conference, the India Geospatial Leadership Summit 2022, was a resounding success. Themed on “Geospatial Technologies Supporting Economic Development”, IGLS 2022 was hosted by AGI in hybrid mode. The event was graced by 42 speakers from all over the country, 140 delegates and 1200 online attendees, including government, private sector, and academia. AGI also gave away the 2022 Excellence Awards to various user organizations across categories.
AGI India Excellence Awards 2022: Read About the Winners
In line with its objectives, AGI undertook multiple initiatives strongly impacting the adoption of Geospatial information and technologies in the country throughout the year:
Policy Advocacy
- Impact discussions with the Government on Geospatial Guidelines, Drone and Remote Sensing Policies
- Voicing industry expectations out of Government initiatives like Self-Certification Portal, CORS Network, etc.
- Sharing key announcements and analysis of Policies, Bills, and Budget with the AGI member ecosystem, including the National Logistics Policy 2022.
National Logistics Policy 2022: Summary and Comments from the Indian Geospatial Industry
Collaborations and Engagements
- 4 Steering Committees formed: Agriculture, Infrastructure, Urban, Water
- Report on Role of Geospatial Technologies for Urban Affairs released, endorsed by leading think tank National Institute for Urban Affairs (NIUA), and launched by Smart Cities Mission, MoHUA, Director Rahul Kapoor, and Ghaziabad Municipal Commissioner IAS Mahendra Singh Tawar, along with AGI President Pramod Kaushik and Senior Vice President Nikhil Kumar at the in-person AGI Urban Meet 2022.
AGI India Urban Report Launch
- Part of Working Group on Use Case Development for Urban Sector at the Industry-Academia-Government Conclave, GISE Hub – IIT Bombay & NSDI
- Conducted Webinar with MoHUA for Geospatial industry on building use cases on India Urban Observatory data
- Conducted Meeting with DST on National Data Registry Geoportal for data monetisation, EoDB and data integration
- Industry Engagement in Promoting Ease of Doing Business
Standards Development
- Active member of the Bureau of Indian Standards giving feedback to ISO/TC211. AGI also delivered a presentation during the BIS seminar on the Standards National Action Plan (SNAP) on making the Indian Geospatial landscape future-ready in terms of comprehensive, strategic standards.
- Mutual partnership with the Open Geospatial Consortium and participation in the OGC India Forum Meeting 2022.
- Technical discussions with the Government on Spatial Data Quality Certification, NSDI, National Data Registry, etc.
Skilling and Capacity Development
- AGI conducted a training program at NIGST, Survey of India, as a follow-up to the MoU between SoI and AGI on skilling. 18 officers of SOI participated in the training program.
- Task Force on Capacity Development formed under the vision and leadership of AGI’s Past President Dr. Rajesh C. Mathur.
- Signed MoUs with CEPT University, CEPT Research and Development Foundation (CRDF) and School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi.
AGI and SPA Delhi sign MoU for Geospatial Capacity Development
- AGI was the knowledge partner for an International Case Study competition based on the Geospatial industry organized by ArthaNiti: Economics and Public Policy Club of IIM Trichy on the theme of Space Economics.
- Supporting IIT Kanpur college placements for summer internships and final job placements.
Special Mention: 2nd UN-WGIC 2022
AGI actively participated in the 2nd UN-WGIC 2022. Our booth in the event exhibition showcased what we do for the Geospatial industry in India, aligned with the vision of Geo-Enabling the Global Village.
The AGI Secretariat was instrumental in the making of the IGIF Report launched at the 2nd UN-WGIC, having mobilized case studies from the Indian Geospatial industry and mapping case studies with the Nine Strategic Pathways of the UN-IGIF, along with writing, editing, and reviewing the entire report.
Other activities by AGI at the 2nd UN-WGIC:
- AGI President Pramod Kaushik was part of the Panel for the side event on ‘Indian Evolving Geospatial Ecosystem: Dialogue with Global Stakeholders’ as the representative of the Geospatial industry in India.
- AGI Secretary General Sreeramam G V addressed the side event on ‘Bridging Academia and Industry in Geospatial Research, Education and Training’ putting forth the industrial perspective.
- AGI Director Megha Datta (She/Her) was an esteemed judge for the side event on ‘Geo enabling the global village with Generation Z and Alpha’ evaluating presentations by 19 urban and rural schools from across India.
- AGI organised a Special Side Event on ‘Matchmaking Forum for the Indian Geospatial Industry and National Government Agencies’ with participation from multiple National Mapping Agencies across the Americas, Europe, and Asia, discussing potential partnerships with AGI members.
AGI Members Showcase: The Year at a Glance
AGI’s enterprising members marked the year with a long list of announcements, achievements, and innovations. While enlisting all of them would be well beyond the scope of this compilation, we have put together an indicative list of some of the best highlights from our member companies all year round.
Amazon Web Services launched a free tool for its #cloud customers, which tracks the carbon footprint of their cloud consumption – and compares it to the estimated footprint of an on-premise data centre as part of the Climate Pledge announced in 2019. AWS also launched its Innovation Pod Accelerator Programme initiative for different cohorts.
Esri India collaborated with the Symbiosis Institute of Geoinformatics, Pune, to empower the academic community with learning and entrepreneurship in location analytics. They launched the GeoInnovation 2022 acceleration programme for startupreneurs in partnership with AGNIi (Invest India) to help startups leverage Geospatial technology for their unique business models in the new geo-enabled era that India is stepping into. They undertook a brilliant initiative to train 5000+ women from rural India in GIS and mobile data collection at neighbourhood level. Certified a Great Place to Work for the second time in a row. Esri India also launched 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐨 𝐀𝐫𝐜𝐆𝐈𝐒 𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝 along with 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐆𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬.
Genesys International received a 250 crore funding boost with the Malabar India Fund and other marquee investors joining them. Announced a strategic alliance with Esri India for making the Digital Twin of the entire urban India. It announced a partnership with global infrastructure engineering software company Bentley Systems for the former’s 3D City Digital Twin Solutions for Urban India. The proposed project is the first of its kind in India to be launched by an Indian enterprise and will be powered by OpenCities 365, Bentley’s Infrastructure digital twin solution for cities and campuses.
Google India launched a 3-month equity-free Google for Startups Accelerator program for Women Founders in India. The Street View feature with a 360-degree panoramic view has been made available on Google Maps. Three AGI members – Google, Genesys International Corporation Ltd, and Tech Mahindra have partnered for this initiative. Genesys International Corporation Ltd, Google, and Tech Mahindra were awarded the Innovative Partnership: Enhancing Consumer Experience Award at the Geospatial Artha Summit for moving up the value chain to add rich content and localised features to serve Indian consumers better
HERE Technologies was recognized as the “Best Mapping Service” at the 12th India Digital Awards by the Internet and Mobile Association of India. They partnered with Zoomcar, the largest peer-to-peer (P2P) car-sharing marketplace covering emerging markets, to reveal a city-based map of India that depicts the percentage of good, average and bad drivers in 22 cities across the country. HERE Technologies is also powering Citility, an integrated mobility platform in India, with its HERE location services and APIs to provide citizens in Surat, Kolkata, and Bangalore with vital commute information
Hexagon launched the Sixth Sense Open Innovation platform for all startups in areas such as sustainability, big data, machine learning, artificial intelligence, sensors, and robotics. Hexagon’s Self-Guided Flying Laser Scanner “Leica BLK2FLY” was included in TIME’s Best Inventions of 2022 list. Launched the Leica AP20 AutoPole which boosts the productivity of automated total stations to the next level through tilt compensation, automatic pole height readings, and unique target identification.
MapmyIndia launched an incubation program in BITS Pilani for startups. They introduced the Mappls platform offering deep expertise in Geospatial and IoT and launched RealView 360-degree Panoramic Street View & 3D Metaverse Maps Service on the portal. MapmyIndia signed an MoU with the UP Police for improving real-time traffic safety and management. The Government of India integrated MapmyIndia Mappls APIs into ULIP to improve logistics management and delivery. Through the ‘Ramayan Maps’, MapmyIndia Mappls brought a unique offering that depicts the journey of the Maryada Purushottam Shri Ram – right from his birth to the establishment of the Ram Rajya. MapmyIndia also received the Innovative Marketing Campaign: Advancing Business Impact Award at the Geospatial Artha Summit 2022 in Hyderabad.
Maxar Technologies acquired ai and software engineering company Wovenware to bolster machine learning and 3D data production capabilities. Through its partnership with Blackshark.ai, Maxar also extended its 3D Geospatial capabilities.
Oracle tied up with India’s premier communications solution provider Airtel for transforming the latter’s shared services operations through automation and cloud ERP.
Trimble opened their brand-new office in Chennai India. This is Trimble’s biggest office space in APAC.
NeoGeoInfo Technologies have expanded its operations internationally with a new branch in Canada. Signed an MOU with Drone Destination for undertaking the prestigious SVAMITVA and LSM projects in the country. Inaugurated a new office in Kolkata. Received the Award for Innovative Solutions: Advancing Value for Indian Economy at the Geospatial Artha Summit 2022, organized by AGI member Geospatial World in Hyderabad
Secon launched the Real-Time Flood Forecasting & Spatial Decision Support System (RTFF & SDSS) for the Tamil Nadu government on a pilot scale to generate more localised rainfall forecasts and moderate the outflows of reservoirs in the Chennai basin.
TomTom released the 11th edition of its insightful annual Traffic Index, a report detailing traffic trends seen in 404 cities in 58 countries, throughout 2021, showing how people are moving on the local and global level, in real-time and over time.
Avineon announced the acquisition of Highland Mapping Inc, a provider of professional GIS services that supports local governments and other types of organizations throughout the southeastern USA.
Ceinsys announced the acquisition of AllyGrow Technologies, a tech-driven company with a presence in the US, Europe, and India, specializing in product design and robotics automation services. The company was able to make major headways in the US market, pitching the company’s unique offerings in AEC & Manufacturing domains. On the domestic front, Ceinsys successfully developed the MY BMC BUILDING ID application which was publicly launched by Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM). Additionally, the company consolidated its existing business by bagging a prestigious order from Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran (MJP), Mumbai for implementing state of art Asset Management software solutions across various MJP offices in the state.
IIC Technologies successfully completed the National Hydrology Project ‘Provision of services for Acquisition, Processing and Delivery of DEM and Digital Orthoimagery data’ for the Survey of India. They also executed a similar project for SOI under the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) initiative. In partnership with Monarch Surveyors and Engineering Consultants, IIC Technologies also successfully completed the final alignment design for the in-progress Mumbai–Pune–Hyderabad High-Speed Rail.
NVIDIA held the GTC 22 putting forth the latest breakthroughs in AI, virtual collaboration, graphics, and beyond accelerating real-world results across industries.
CyberSWIFT Infotech has started working with West Bengal Disaster Management & Civil Defence Department to develop eastern India’s first Integrated Geospatial based Disaster Management Platform to support citizens during Disaster and Disaster Risk Reduction leveraging IT & Geospatial technologies. They have also onboarded numerous corporate clients on their land management platform.
Excel Geomatics was shortlisted among the Emerging 100 Recognizing SME Businesses of India list launched by ABP Network.
Geospatial World signed MoUs with the Indian Space Association (ISpA), SatCom Industry Association (SIA-India) and IIT Tirupati to collaborate in Geospatial technologies and space. The formation of the Navavishkar I-Hub Foundation at IIT Tirupati was a key highlight of their academia collaboration this year. Geospatial World also launched two exclusive reports: The GeoBuiz Report 2022 and the Artha Report 2022. They were also the Professional Conference Organizers for the 2nd UN-WGIC 2022 in Hyderabad this year.
Marvel Geospatial Solutions Pvt Ltd announced the launch of its Anti-drone system, a significant tool to counter the threat of rogue drones. The system is entirely made in India and is a network-centric detection and jammer module system. Marvel continued its global expansion in 2022 with the establishment of its Europe office in London. The company was empanelled for the nationwide SVAMITVA project and is undertaking drone surveys in Gujarat and Karnataka as part of the project.
Roter Group of Companies was awarded the title of “The Best Drone Company” by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Airports Authority of India and FICCI. Inaugurated the first drone manufacturing facility in Uttarakhand, with a capacity to produce more than 150 drones per month. The facility was inaugurated by Shri Pushkar Singh Dhami, Chief Minister, Uttarakhand. Opened new sales and services office in Noida/Delhi NCR.
Satpalda signed MOU with SI Imaging Services to develop, plan, and implement collaborative remote sensing research and capacity development projects, as well as to blend SATPALDA’s geospatial expertise with KOMPSAT satellite data to produce valuable products.
UNL announced a strategic alliance with Genesys International to build a hyperlocal Location Technology Platform powered by a high-accuracy 3D digital map of India.
Excel Geomatics proudly announced the procurement of a multitude of projects this year, including GIS-based Master Planning, DP and Zonal Planning for 6 ULBs in Bihar and a Satellite Mathematical Modeling-based Flood Plain Zoning project in Ujh River flood basin.
Drogo Drones earned praise from far and wide for their usage of drones to create 3D maps of cities in India to track COVID-19 hotspots. Their solutions have already been implemented in Rajasthan, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, and Haryana so far.
GalaxEye Space signed an MoU with California-based satellite software provider Antaris Inc to develop the world’s first satellite containing both Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and optical sensors. Deemed among the 30 most promising Indian startups of 2022 by YourStory Media. Announced their Seed Round of $3.5 million, led by Speciale Invest.
Garudalytics was selected among 38 AI startups for the 2nd cohort of the Revv Up startup accelerator programme and as finalist of the Forest AI Grand Challenge by Telangana AI Mission (T-AIM). They launched the Garudalytics Smart Mapping (GSM) platform on their first corporate anniversary. Garudalytics also signed MoUs with the Lakireddy Bali Reddy College of Engineering, Andhra University, and Adikavi Nannaya University for Geospatial capacity building, research projects, internships, and infrastructure updates. They also received the Award for Innovative Startups: Advancing Analytics for Impact at the Geospatial Artha Summit 2022, organized by AGI member Geospatial World.
Nebula Cloud launched the Agisoft Metashape Professional Edition for customers in India. The photogrammetry and digital image processing software is completely hosted in India. launched Nebula Cloud Workbench for GIS Professionals in the Indian market, focused on the Geospatial industry.
Prakhoj Pvt Ltd launched the Zonociti app that provides a data-driven relative ranking of localities in a city. Localities are compared on various parameters using GIS-integrated information analyses. Different stakeholders may use these rankings in different ways, the crux being well-integrated planning and decision-making at a local scale.
