Geospatial industry is considered a ‘sunrise’ sector for long in India. I have been waiting for several years now for the sun to rise. It has not happened so far and the sun be persuaded to rise quickly!
 Kapil Sibal Union Minister for Science & Technology & Earth Sciences Communication & IT Human Resource Development Government of India |
Planet earth is an example of a unified, self-regulated mechanism. Earth regulates itself and each part of the planet supports the other. On the other hand, Homo sapiens are neither unified nor selfregulated. And therein lies the problem – with our politics, with our scientific community and the relationship between government and private sector. If India has to move forward as fast as we want it to, we must first and foremost realise that we are Indians and we have to work for the country. Also critical in the way forward are dialogue, discourse and debate because it is important to understand the other’s point of view. Often, one can get a better view of things if they are far away from it because they can look at the issue more objectively, understand spatially the unity of the object and the interdependencies required within the system. In the context of geospatial sector, there is a rationale of an effective mapping policy precisely for this reason.
EMPOWERING PEOPLE
The purpose of information is to empower people, be it the IT sector, the geospatial sector and whether the information comes through Right to Information Act or otherwise. Technology is only an enabler; it is not an end in itself – we need to understand this as a nation and have a directive to provide information to the people of the country. If we base any national strategy or map policy on this concept, we realise that restriction on information is a disempowering process.
Every department in the Government of India, subject to security concerns, is not willing to share data and this is disempowering. And those who, through technology, restrict information are actually not serving national interest. There is no point of employing geospatial technology if the cost of the service doesn’t enable and empower people. To this end, we need to have a policy on spatial data information dissemination. This would require all government departments to come together and provide data. For this reason, we need to have a rational, forward looking data sharing policy.
ASSOCIATION WITH GEOSPATIAL
My association with geospatial data came about accidentally, when the drive to demolish unauthorised structures was at its peak in Delhi several years ago and courts were bombarded with cases. I called all the secretaries in my ministry and asked them for a technology solution to address the issue. They suggested geospatial technologies, which I found to be fabulous. Utilising onground video recording, satellite imagery and aerial photography, we had software which could pin-point any illegal construction happening at any given point of time.
My immediate idea was to extend it to entire Delhi. I met the chief minister and explained that a lot of problems can be solved using this technology. One can map water systems, sanitation systems, electricity distribution lines, hospitals, educational institutions, manage traffic and in case of a tragedy, find the quickest way to the nearest hospital etc. However, people were not willing to accept the idea. There can be a topographical map of an area but in the absence of updated attribute data, it is not an empowering tool. Mapping is not just about topography, it is about data, it is about information.
We initiated the Delhi project but the line departments in Delhi were reluctant to share their data. Slowly we demonstrated to them what an empowering tool it is and today there is a reversal in situation. Now the line departments are asking for more data because they need these solutions. They now realise that if they have this technology along with other layered data which is accessible to them, they can actually monitor the systems better. This instance just highlights the transition.
CHANGE IN MINDSET
As we see, this is a mindset issue. We need to convince government departments, line departments and district authorities that this is a tool to empower people. At the moment it is being looked as a tool to empower government departments to tackle their issues effectively. For example, to identify power theft and property tax defaulters. It is not yet perceived as an empowering tool for the people of India. We must move beyond that – beyond government departments, beyond line departments, so that people of India can believe this is an empowering tool for them. I am associated with telecom sector of late and I am studying the policies around the world with respect to information and telecom sector. In Finland, broadband is a fundamental right and nobody is charged for broadband.
Broadband is information and information is a fundamental right. Nobody charges anything in Finland for providing information on broadband. We would be able to see this kind of road map clearly only with a changed mindset. Information is for people. Even the line department information is for people. At the click of a button, citizens should know their tax liability and be able to pay quickly without the need for a tax inspector or to line up in municipal offices to pay tax. This would empower them and this is all based on spatial information. This is the mindset that needs to be brought in to this country if we want to move ahead in this sector.
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY
Spatial information is the basic requisite for geospatial sector. This information must be ultimately provided by the government as it is the custodian of most of the information in this domain. Once that basic information is on a portal, private sector can use it to empower itself and add more value to it. Take the instance of a shopkeeper. If he has some business intelligence like the profile of people living around the retail store in terms of their buying capacity, their eating habits, nearest shops, the kind of facilities people around the store want, which is possible to provide using geospatial technology, he can strategise his business plan and stock goods accordingly. He can add on his intellectual property to the layers provided by the government. Agencies authorised to collect and provide that information for retailers can license that information for a price. There’s a business opportunity in this. This can be true of information to architects. This can be true for any student on a look out for prospective educational institutions. On the click of a button, he or she should have information about all educational institutions in India on a portal, should be able to find out information about available facilities in a particular institute like faculty, infrastructure, laboratory and library facilities etc. Through 3- D, they should be able to move from room to room of a college to find out more about the facilities available in the college/institute. Why should these children not be empowered? Why should they not be empowered to make a choice that best suits their vision of life? This can be done and only geospatial technology enables such capability. There’s a wealth of opportunities that exists in this sector for both the government and private players.
FRAMEWORK FOR GROWTH
To create such business opportunities, the critical element required is a regulatory framework. In line with Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, a geospatial regulatory authority could be constituted to regulate the procedure for granting licenses. The map policy should be revisited in the context of the vision I have just suggested. There is a need for a data sharing policy which specifies exactly what kind of data will be shared and will be available at the click of a button to an ordinary consumer. Only authorised agencies need to produce data and a legal framework is essential to deal with agencies/persons providing incorrect, inaccurate data. Then there is a need for a licensing regime. Again, the licensing regime should empower and not hamper growth. The more information people have, the more empowered and productive they would be. This is the kind of national framework we need to look at and embrace as we move forward in this sector.
The 1:10,000 mapping initiative is a starting point. This will be accomplished in three years. I have suggested having the IT industry collaborate and partner with the Ministry of Science & Technology and Ministry of Earth Sciences to better use geospatial technology. In addition to the 1:10,000 mapping initiative, mega cities like Delhi, Mumbai need higher accuracy data at 1:1000 scale. This process must start simultaneously. The private sector should be involved in these processes as well. Once such data is available, many security aspects and civil issues can be dealt with more effectively.
A LAYMAN’S PERSPECTIVE
I am a layman, I look at every technology from people’s point of view. To reiterate, technology by itself is not empowering, it is only an enabling factor. Empowerment comes through availability of information. Geospatial sector should look at things through the lens with which I’m looking at the whole geospatial industry. And I for one, wherever I am, whether I’m in this ministry or not, will always support the geospatial industry.
(Based on the speech delivered by Kapil Sibal at NSDI-10 in New Delhi, India).
