International Conference Atmanirbhar
Good Morning To All!
I am pleased to acknowledge esteemed guests on the dais Shri Naveen Tomar, Surveyor General of India;
Prof Raj Kumar, Vice Chancellor, Panjab University,Chandigarh;
Vice Admiral Adhir Arora, Chief Hydrographer, Government of India
Prof Krishna Mohan, President, Indian National Cartographic Association, and Dr Shailesh Nayak, Director, NIAS, Bengaluru, who has joined us virtually!
1. At the very outset, I would like to extend my warm greetings and good wishes for organizing INCA International Conference on the topic — Cartography for Self-Reliant India! I am glad to see that efforts are being made from all stakeholders to realize the dream of Atma Nirbhar Bharat!
2. Cartography is in a stage of transition. Like any other discipline, cartography deals with the representation of geographic phenomena, both real and virtual.
3. Application of Geographic Information Sciences (GIS) continues to grow as a global research tool for understanding the world around us. Cartography, the process of making maps, has benefited greatly from advancements in GIS technology in recent years.
4. GIS space exploration has become a crucial part of how NASA gets to know the features of other worlds, develops our broader understanding of geophysics and gathers valuable information about our own planet.
5. Geospatial Sector in the country has tremendous potential in creating employment, development of industry and dissemination of knowledge while contributing in its social and economic progress.
6. I am happy to share that India will have a coherent national location data framework by 2030. It will assist the country to move towards e-economies, e-service and e-commerce and improve services to citizens.
7. Organizations like Survey of India since 1767 have been doing wonderful work in production and circulation of maps. The unlocking of space this year for private players is a welcome step but new challenges need to be addressed.
8. It is a matter of pride that Survey of India is playing a leadership role in providing user focused, cost effective, reliable and quality geospatial data, information and intelligence for meeting the needs of national security, sustainable national development, and new information markets.
9. Revision in map policy and ease in restrictions have opened many opportunities before young students. In the management of COVID, the world realized the significance of maps in tracking and treating infected persons.
10. The drone mapping is making our geospatial data almost real time. Land records are digitized and its access is going to be only a click away for each one of us. Hence, cartography is a new utility in our life.
11. Modern cartography allows GIS professionals to understand everything from climate change to where companies should open business. Latest cartography tools have also contributed to greater accessibility in urban planning, public education, public safety programs and more.
12. It is heartening indeed that the number of students earning degrees in cartography is expected to rise to keep pace with the demands of technology and consumer needs. GIS professionals also have the opportunity to go into the commercial or defence markets to put their skills to use.
13. SVAMITVA, a flagship scheme of the Centre, is a reformative step towards establishing clear ownership of property in rural inhabited areas, by mapping of land parcels using drone technology.
14. It will help us to have a comprehensive village level planning, which would be the stepping-stone towards achieving Gram Swaraj in true sense and making rural India Atmanirbhar. In Haryana, revenue maps of 1239 villages have already been completed.
15. This region of the country – comprising Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh – has a huge patch of reserved forest, protected forest and un-classed forest. Even Chandigarh has a good green cover area. Proper mapping of green cover will be helpful in protecting our environment and addressing the problem of ecological imbalance!
16. Haryana has introduced a GIS mapping program at a large scale. In the entire state, over forty four thousand (over 44,000) sq km is being mapped through GIS.
17. Haryana Space Applications Centre, Hisar, is a collaborator of ISRO, and is the nodal agency for remote sensing and GIS applications of the Government of Haryana. It is playing a very useful role in planning infra, rural and urban development.
I am sure the deliberations in this international conference will go a long way in ensuring better application and understanding of cartography for the welfare of humanity. I wish the conference all the best!
Thank You!