Hyderabad start-ups at UN World Geospatial Information Congress

Hyderabad: A geospatial incubator and the ‘Bhunidhi Portal,’ both developed by the National Remote Sensing Centre in Hyderabad, were among technologies unveiled at the Second United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress which began here on Tuesday.

The event will be held till October 14 at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC), Kondapur. The theme is ‘Geo-Enabling the Global Village: No one should be left behind.’ The event will involve panel discussions centred on enhancing the communication, understanding, knowledge and application of geospatial information management. Several exhibits by firms working with geospatial technology have been set up at the venue as part of the event.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, via a video message, said India's geospatial economy was expected to cross `63,000 crore by 2025 and would provide employment to over 10 lakh people. He said geospatial technology has been driving inclusion and progress in national development projects like Svamitva (property survey in rural areas), PM Gati Shakti Master Plan (a multi-modal connvectivity project uniting 16 ministries), and the JAM trinity of Jan Dhan accounts, Aadhaar and Mobile Phone.

Minister of state for science & technology Dr Jitendra Singh unveiled five initiatives in the geospatial technology sector — a geospatial incubator and the Bhunidhi portal, both developed by Hyderabad’s National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), a solar calculator developed by ISRO’s Space Application Centre in Ahmedabad, the National Toponymy Database and a report titled ‘Indian experience in aligning with IGIF (Integrated Geospatial Information Framework).’

Speaking at the event, the minister said more than 250 geospatial start-ups in India were working across a range of domains like waste resource management, forestry, urban planning and mapping of roads.