India: The National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI), under Department of Science & Technology of Government of India, has released Metadata Standard 2.0. The publication is prepared by the working group on ‘Metadata Standards’ chaired by Dr. S K Pathan, from Space Applications Centre (SAC), ISRO, Ahmadabad.
The National Natural Resources Management System (NNRMS) Metadata Standards defines the schema and design for the NSDI Metadata. The Metadata standards contain a set of relational tables that standardise the layer metadata, the geographic search metadata, the access metadata etc.
Metadata is first element of the NSDI which enables a user to find spatial data that is available in different NSDI Agency servers. Metadata serves two major purposes – both for the spatial data generator and for the spatial data user. For the generator, the Metadata provides a framework to document the spatial data and declare its content for users. For the user, Metadata serves many important purposes, including finding the spatial data as per need; browsing spatial data; deciding on whether the spatial data will meet the application need and finding how the spatial data can be accessed. This Metadata Standards 2.0 is an important document that defines the schema and design for NSDI Metadata.
ISRO, with the involvement of Survey of India (SOI), National Informatics Centre (NIC), Geological Survey of India (GSI), Forest Survey of India (FSI), National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (NBSSLUP), National Atlas and Thematic Mapping Organisation (NATMO), Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), Central Water Commission (CWC) and the private sector, has led the effort of defining a ‘National Metadata Standards’.
