India has “Liberalized the Regulation on Geospatial Data”

Private companies can conduct surveying and mapping without getting prior approvals

• Indian Government has liberalized regulations on geospatial data and maps
• It is to achieve a $5 trillion economy and the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat or self-reliant India
• Aims to make the geospatial data and modern mapping technologies available to Indian companies

Crux of the New Policy

• The new policy has allowed to share the data for various applications ranging from the logistics and transport to road safety and e-commerce
• Further, the geospatial data generating from government agencies like Survey of India and Indian Space Research Organization will be made available to public and private companies
• It also restricts the terrestrial mapping and survey to public and private Indian entities

Key findings of the Liberalized Geospatial Data mapping

• As part of this, the ministry of science and technology on Monday issued guidelines for acquiring and producing geospatial data and geospatial data services, including maps
• What is readily available globally does not need to be restricted in India and, therefore, geospatial data that used to be restricted will now be freely available in India, the guidelines state
• corporations and innovators are no longer subject to restrictions nor do they require prior approvals before they collect, generate, prepare, disseminate, store, publish, update digital geospatial data and maps within the territory of India
• There shall be no requirement for security clearance, license or any other restrictions for these, according to the guidelines
• The availability of comprehensive, highly accurate, granular, and constantly updated representation of geospatial data will significantly benefit diverse sectors of the economy and will significantly boost innovation in the country and greatly enhance the preparedness of the country for emergency response
• Individuals, companies, organizations, and government agencies shall be free to process the acquired geospatial data, build applications, and develop solutions in relation to such data and use such data products, applications, and solutions by way of selling, distributing, sharing, swapping, disseminating, publishing, deprecating and destructing, the guidelines state
• However, self-certification will be used to convey adherence to these guidelines
• In every economic endeavor, spanning agriculture, finance, construction, mining and local enterprise, India’s farmers, small businesses and corporations alike stand to gain tremendously from the application of innovative technologies based on modern geospatial data technologies and mapping services

Spur domestic innovation and enable competencies

• India relies heavily on foreign resources for mapping technologies and services. “Liberalization of the mapping industry and democratization of existing datasets will spur domestic innovation and enable Indian companies to compete in the global mapping ecosystem by leveraging modern geospatial technologies

Policy and Economy