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India Geospatial Roundup 2023: Key Government Announcements to Look Back At

2023 has been a game-changing year for the Geospatial industry, with numerous key developments following the release of the National Geospatial Policy in December 2022. The policy has provided a much-needed boost to the industry, leading to an increase in innovation and investment in the sector. As we enter the new year, AGI attempts to take a peek into the year gone by, reviewing the various updates, accomplishments, and announcements in 2023.

This blog talks about major Government announcements and updates relevant to the Geospatial sector in 2023. To view the complete year-round bulletin, visit the AGI blog.

Headed for a Geospatial Revolution: Proactive Steps by the Government

Budget Highlights

With the vision of a technology-driven economy for India, the Union Budget this year announced significant hikes to the Ministry of Science and Technology (Rs. 16,361.42 crores; Hike of 15%; DST receives Rs. 7931.05 crores), Ministry of Earth Sciences (Rs. 3,319 crores; Hike of 25.11%), and Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (Rs. 16,549.04 crores; Hike of 16%), all of which have direct implications for the Geospatial sector in India.

Geospatial Hackathon

Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh launched the Geospatial Hackathon early this year in an online seminar. A collaboration between DST, Microsoft, and IIIT announced on 6th February 2023 Hyderabad, the Hackathon dwelled on the pillars of open innovation and open data sharing to empower developer communities to create geo-enabled services and applications. The Hackathon was open to deep-tech developers, researchers, working professionals,  entrepreneurs, students, and startups. Winners were awarded an equity-free grant of Rs. 7 lakhs each, access to datasets, maps, and APIs from Survey of India, and tech support from IIITH Researchers to build their products and solutions. AGI member Garudalytics was one of the Hackathon winners.

Geospatial Policy Conference

The Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, hosted a Conference on “Geospatial Policy for National Development” in New Delhi from 21-22 February 2023 to disseminate awareness about the transformative Policy among various stakeholders and engage them in forward-looking discussions. Hon’ble Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh graced the event with his presence. AGI was the official Associate Partner for the event.

Digitized Land Governance in the Northeast

The Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India, announced the formation of a Task Force for Land Governance in the northeastern States at the National Conference on “Land Governance in the Northeastern States” held in Guwahati, Assam from May 3–4. The Territorial and Autonomous District Councils of the States of Assam, Tripura, Mizoram, and Meghalaya at the conference concurred that the digitization and modernization of land records are crucial for development.

Discourse on Bhu-Aadhaar

Department of Land Resources organized the National Conference Bhumi Samvaad IV on the implementation of Unique Land Parcel Identification Number or Bhu-Aadhaar on March 17, in New Delhi. Hon’ble Minister, Ministry of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Shri Giriraj Singh was the Chief Guest on the occasion. The conference had sessions on Democratization of Land Records Data and Matribhoomi; Application of Bhu-Aadhaar in Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) and Ease of Living; and Best Practices – National and Global (Georeferencing / Survey/ Resurvey/ Use of Bhu-Aadhaar and Way Forward.

Bhoomi Samman

Hon’ble President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu, bestowed the “Bhoomi Samman” Award and Platinum Certificate on 75 districts for exemplary work in land administration modernization and digitization – a brilliant encouragement for the Geospatial-led modernization of India’s land administration systems. AGI is glad to have been part of the event and mobilized participation from the Geospatial industry in India.

SKOCH Award for DILRMP

The Department of Land Resources (DoLR), Ministry of Rural Development, GoI, was conferred with the prestigious SKOCH Award Platinum for e-Governance for DoLRs Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP). DILRMP is a central sector scheme of the Government of India that focuses on digitizing land records, ensuring their accuracy, and making them easily accessible to the public. With the help of cutting-edge hybrid survey methodologies, including the use of High-Resolution Satellite Images (HRSI) followed by Ground Truthing / Survey using Differential GPS (DGPS) and Electronic Total Station (ETS), DILRMP has been converting old land records into a new digital format with geo-referencing.

Space Strides

It was a remarkable year for space-related developments in the country. ISRO launched the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV-D2) on February 10 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota. Along with the earth observation satellite EOS-07, ISRO also launched two co-passenger satellites – Janus-1 and AzaadiSat2. The AzaadiSAT-2.0 was designed by 750 girl students from across the country under the guidance of Chennai-based startup Space Kidz India.

The Indian Space Policy 2023 was announced by the Government of India subsequent to several reforms in the space domain in preceding years. The Policy document adds a layer of regulatory certainty to space activities towards the end goal of a thriving space ecosystem in the country. The overarching, composite, and dynamic framework laid down by the Policy is targeted at building a flourishing commercial presence in the Indian space sector.

India became the first country in the world to land on the moon’s South Pole. The Chandrayaan 3 mission landing was a carefully planned process that perfectly demonstrates the coming together of modern Indian technology, the ingenuity of our scientists, and their constant pursuit of accuracy. Spatial information gathered in real-time served as the compass that directed spacecraft through the unexplored lunar terrain during the descent and landing phases.

ISRO also launched Aditya L1, the first space-based Indian mission to study the Sun. The spacecraft is to be placed in a halo orbit around the Sun-Earth system’s Lagrange point 1 (L1), about 1.5 million km from the Earth. This is planned for a greater advantage in observing solar activities and their effect on space weather in real-time. The spacecraft carries seven payloads to observe the photosphere, chromosphere, and the outermost layers of the Sun (the corona) using electromagnetic, particle and magnetic field detectors.

Click here for PART 2 of the Yearly Roundup.

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