One wonders why this was not initiated much earlier. But, now that it has been set afoot, we can draw some consolation by resorting to that good, old adage – better late than never.
In a surprise move, the Union Ministry of Science & Technology has unveiled a new policy for the geospatial sector or business (entails offering geographical data in static or dynamic forms) in the country. The move entails significantly liberalising the mapping business, allowing the entry of domestic private players in a major way. While announcing the sweeping changes, the ministry strongly maintained that the initiative responds to the government’s larger vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat and the goal of a $5 trillion economy.
“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. Furthermore, our corporations and innovators are no longer subject to restrictions nor do they require prior approvals before they collect, generate, prepare, disseminate, store, publish, or update digital geospatial data and maps within the territory of India,” a note from the ministry specified.
The issue of allowing private parties in the larger geospatial data services hasn’t found much prominence here in the past even as it has proved its efficacy in the developed and better digitised markets across the world – something that the government note acknowledges in no uncertain terms when it says it is ‘readily available globally’.
It remains a mystery as to why digital experts and companies in the space have not been that forceful in their demand for its early adoption and why even the government took so much time in giving its green signal despite digital orientation being one of its hallmarks since 2014. But, now that the decks have been cleared, there is a sense of relief among the stakeholders in the mapping data business and there seems to be a unanimous conclusion that the initiative will unlock a new domain of unlimited opportunities.
The geospatial policy, which was in existence till it was replaced, meant strict restrictions for private companies intending to make a mark in the geospatial business. They had to go through a series of approvals to undertake collection, preparation, publishing, generation, dissemination and updating of digital geospatial data and maps in India. The domain was controlled by central government agencies like Survey of India and with security reasons as the prime parameters, private companies needed to get approvals from the Union Defence and Home Ministries to even selectively provide these services.
The restrictive regime on this front was, however, hardly a deterrent for a global tech giant like Google which today readily provides all static (fixed location) and dynamic geospatial data (movement of objects) on our smartphones through their Google Maps service. Even basic services like app-driven cab services and ordering from a food aggregator are now intrinsically linked to geospatial data services. In such a dynamic scenario, keeping domestic players out of the fray was not logical.
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
Liberalising geospatial data services is good news from the perspective of opening new avenues for consumer convenience since private players will now come up with more innovative offerings. At the same time, they will also vie with each other to effectively participate in major national infrastructure projects like the creation of industrial corridors, linkages of rivers, etc, by providing accurate data information.
Experts feel the entire mapping capability presently available in the country needs a major revamp as the government’s grand programmes like Digital India and Smart Cities need better mapping data backups. It also has immense scope in the fast-expanding e-commerce business as well as delivery, logistics and urban transport operations of all kinds.
Any logistics firm engaged in over dimensional cargo (ODC) will vouch for the fact that ferrying large consignments on-road often turns out to be challenging due to lack of micro-data on space availability and other critical concerns on the chosen route. The arrival of private players is expected to change the scene and gradually they will also become solution providers for a wide range of economic activities including agriculture, construction, mining, etc.
While unveiling the new policy, the government functionaries exuded confidence about the changed regime making India a global powerhouse in the mapping business in the coming years. And, considering the IT-centric innovative capabilities of Indian firms, their expectation may not be misplaced.