The Department of Science and Technology launches the Geospatial Self Certification portal

The Department of Science and Technology (DST) launched the Self Certification Portal for conveying adherence to provisions of Geospatial Guidelines by individuals, companies, organisations, and government agencies, in what can be described as a significant step towards liberalisation of the geospatial industry in India.

Prior to this, on February 15, 2021, the government issued new Geospatial Data Guidelines with the goal of bringing about much-needed improvements to the country's geospatial industry. This was one of the government's initiatives to promote the country's ease of doing business and entrepreneurship, with a particular focus on data and technology-driven growth.

The guidelines replaced the process of prior approvals, security clearances, licenses, and other restrictions for the collection, generation, preparation, dissemination, storage, publication, updating, and/or digitisation of geospatial data and maps within the Indian territory with a Self-Certification Regime for conveying adherence to provisions of Geospatial Guidelines by individuals, companies, organizations, and the government. 

With the launching of the Self-Certification portal today, the Department of Science and Technology aims to remove such restrictions and make the data more easily accessible for all. Making geospatial data accessible to all, individuals, corporations, and organizations alike would be free to process acquired data and use the same to develop required applications and solutions.

Developed in collaboration with the NIC, the portal is expected to substantially reduce the time it takes for Geospatial enterprises, researchers, universities, and innovators to receive permissions and approvals in order to carry out geospatial-related operations.

“The liberalised geospatial regime would play a pivotal role to modernize agriculture, manufacturing, construction, utilities, disaster management, urban development, and governance. Individual companies, organizations, and government agencies are free to process the acquired Geospatial data, build applications and develop solutions using such data and data products by selling, distributing, sharing, swapping, disseminating, and publishing without having to wait for clearances and approvals,” Dr. Srivari Chandrasekhar, Secretary at DST said while commenting on the development.

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