India to map 6 lakh villages, create 3D map of 100 cities, says Jitendra Singh

The Indian government will map all of its six lakh villages and create a pan-India 3D map of 100 cities across the country, Union Minister of Science and Technology Jitendra Singh said at an event marking one year of making the geospatial data available for general use. “The trinity of geospatial systems, drone policy and unlocked Space Sector will be the hallmark of India’s future economic progress,” the Union minister said in a statement.

At the event, the minister called for the empanelment of geospatial companies by the Survey of India for mapping six lakh villages in the country under the government’s SVAMITVA (Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas) scheme, which was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi back in 2020. In addition to this, Singh also called for the roll out of a pan-India 3D map of 100 cities across the country by Genesys International.

While calling the move to map villages in the country a ‘game changing decision’, the Union Minister of Science and Technology said the geospatial technologies were the country’s ‘digital currency’ and that they have applications in a variety of fields including healthcare, manufacturing, infrastructure and highway planning, agriculture and urban planning among other things.

Furthermore, the minister said that the easy access to the geospatial technology had helped in maximising the use and reuse of data just within a year of its launch. “We hope to see many more innovative solutions and new business models in the coming times building value upon existing resources,” he added.

It is worth noting that the Genesys Chairman and Managing Director Sajid Malik back in November last year had said the company was planning to finish the project for 3D mapping 100 cities across the country within 18 months. However, he hadn’t shared the exact timeline of rollout. He had also said that the company had invested a total of Rs 200 crore in developing its 3D mapping platform called ‘Digital Twin’ that was launched by NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant.

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