GIS technology has come a long way from its specialized origins, transforming into a versatile and easily accessible tool that is empowering people from varied backgrounds
With the successful landing of Chandrayaan – 3 on August 23, Bharat became the fourth country to achieve a soft landing on the lunar surface. Next came the aim to reach close to the sun by launching Aditya – L1 to study the solar atmosphere. These innovations, a very successful G-20 summit, along with the aspiration to be a developed economy by 2047 make it clear that there is no stopping India from assuming a leadership role in the global economy. As per CRISIL, India will spend nearly Rs 143 lakh crores on infrastructure in seven fiscals through 2023, which is more than double of what was spent in the previous seven fiscals starting in 2017. Apart from the core infrastructure, railways, roads, and urban infra are the priority areas for the government.
Over the last few years, the changed policy environment, while providing much-needed clarity, has also made accountability for adherence a big ask. Actionable insights through data analytics take paramount importance. GIS provides a location-based platform for analytics, presenting results in a highly visual form for better understanding and decision-making.
Impactful Outcomes with GIS
The use of GIS has proved very valuable in segments like Water Resource Management, Defense and Intelligence, Disaster Management, Land Resource Management, Urban Development, Utilities sector, and management of other natural resources. There are opportunities to draw benefits from this technology in engineering and construction, manufacturing, retail, logistics, finance, agriculture, health sector, sustainability, and climate change-related areas.
With so much investment planned in infrastructure, we need to be mindful of the fact that 60% of the large infrastructure projects get delayed, and cost overruns are in the 20% to 60% range. The construction sector is way behind in using digital technologies and the spending on R&D is below 1%. By using GIS and associated BIM technology, an average of 13% in terms of cost savings can be realized.
In agriculture, the use of GIS technology is picking up, but further use of GIS in agricultural planning and optimizations of resources, especially water and other inputs like fertilizers, etc. can go a long way in developing more sustainable agricultural practices and increasing farmers’ incomes.
Many states and central bodies have been using GIS to control the outbreak of vector-borne diseases and to set up additional healthcare facilities in the areas where the availability is low. The use of GIS helps in making decisions based on past data, demography, and local conditions. GIS played a crucial role in the better management of the COVID situation across the globe. The successful eradication of Polio is another global feat where GIS helped by mapping all the instances of Polio till the last one was cured and global administration of Polio vaccines.
We have seen the remarkable use of GIS in managing disaster situations like cyclones. By using GIS, coastal states now have cyclone shelters, evacuation paths, and facilities for people so that the loss of human lives due to a cyclone is reduced from thousands to a single digit. GIS is also helping with faster recovery, rehabilitation, and reconstruction.
Conclusion
GIS technology has come a long way from its specialized origins, transforming into a versatile and easily accessible tool that is empowering people from varied backgrounds. Today, GIS serves a diverse community, from individuals to government bodies, businesses, scientists, and more, offering economic value across sectors. Several factors have contributed to the growth in the adoption of GIS: the increased accessibility of geospatial data, the integration of GIS into everyday applications such as navigation apps and social media, the emergence of web-based mapping platforms, the fusion of GIS with Internet of Things (IoT), data analytics including big data and AI, and the rise of cloud-based GIS. These developments have made the use of GIS easier and impactful, leading to their widespread adoption in social and business applications.
(This article is authored by Agendra Kumar, Managing Director, Esri India)
