In a very interesting and insightful session on the power of cartography, Sanjeev Sanyal, Principal Economic Adviser in the Ministry of Finance, Government of India, held a detailed discussion with MapmyIndia Founder, and CEO & Executive Director. MapmyIndia is a data and technology products and platforms company offering proprietary digital maps as a service (MaaS), software as a service (SaaS) and platform as a service (PaaS). The company is India’s leading provider of advanced digital maps, geospatial software and location-based IoT technologies. “As we (India) go digital, the cartography sector is going to be critical,” said Sanyal.
The background
Setting the tone for the discussion, the Principal Economic Adviser in the Ministry of Finance presented a history of cartography starting from the late 15th century all the way to the 21st century, highlighting all the important milestones involving multiple countries like Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
“Today, the science of mapmaking, or cartography, is used in everything from municipal management, traffic management to going to a friend’s place,” added Sanyal. In context of India, he explained how the British made sure that data sharing was prohibited, which led to the Survey of India holding a monopoly on cartography.
ALSO READ: New geospatial policy to open new avenues for growth, innovation
The change
In February 2021, the Government of India liberalized geospatial guidelines, under which the geospatial sector was deregulated and conditions such as prior approvals for surveying, mapping and for building applications were removed. For Indian entities in particular, a complete deregulation was announced, with no prior approvals, security clearances, licenses for acquisition and production of geospatial data and geospatial data services, including maps. “It was heartening to see the government come up with the new guidelines. When we started, India didn’t have the digital map database. Today, we all know that digital maps can bring a great deal of change in the lives of people,” said Rakesh Verma, Founder, MapmyIndia.
ALSO READ: Liberalization of geospatial data — the expected impact of new policy guidelines
The innovation
Meanwhile, Rohan Verma, CEO & Executive Director, MapmyIndia, talked about the evolution and innovation in mapmaking in the country. “India has come a long way in terms of mapmaking in the last few decades. Today, we are using technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), and are able to update maps in real time. This proves to be critical for areas like e-commerce, traffic management and urban planning,” he said.
Rohan also revealed that his company was providing APIs to app developers for different needs. “Take, for instance, the Covin platform. We made sure that everyone could use maps to figure out their nearest vaccination center, along with other important details,” he said. The CEO & Executive Director of MapmyIndia also exhibited how cutting edge could help the authorities in improving tax collection, evaluating development, and do a lot more.
ALSO READ: India deregulates map-making, announces guidelines for geospatial data & services
