National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI)

Department of Science & Technology Ministry of Science &

Technology

NSDI Vision

National Infrastructure for the availablity and access to organised spatial data.
Use of the infrastructure at Community, Local, State, Regional and National
Levels for sustained economic growth.
India is fast moving into being an information and knowledge society - especially with the
emphasis on Information Technology and transparent e-governance. The next decade will
see further large-scale investment in communications technology as India moves to exploit
the full potential of the information age. Recent initiatives by the Government, including
the IT Act, as well as announced plans for private and public investment, make it clear that
within a few years an unprecedented capability will exist for sharing of data along
electronic superhighways. Amongst the variety of datasets that would be involved, spatial
(or map) information will be a major content. These Spatial information sets are vital to
make sound decisions at the local, regional, state and central level planning, implementation
of action plans, infrastructure development, disaster management support, and business
development. Natural Resources management, flood mitigation, environmental restoration,
land use assessments and disaster recovery are just a few examples of areas in which
decision makers are benefiting from spatial information.
Until recently, maps (usually in paper form) have been a mainstay for a wide variety of
applications and decision-making. This is changing as more spatially referenced data and
information on a wider variety of topics or themes (e.g., population, land use, economic
transactions, hydrology, agriculture, climate, soils) are being produced, stored, transferred,
manipulated, and analyzed in digital form.
A new wave of technological innovation is allowing us to capture, store, process and
display an unprecedented amount of geographical and spatial information about society and
a wide variety of environmental and cultural phenomena. Much of this information is
spatial - i.e. it refers to a coordinate system and is representable in map form. Current and
accurate spatial data must be readily available to contribute to local, state and national
development and contribute to decision making,economic growth, environmental quality
and stability, and social progress.
India has, over the past years, produced a rich base of map information through systematic
topographic surveys, geological surveys, soil surveys, cadastral surveys, various natural

resources inventory programmes and the use of the remote sensing images. Further, with the
availability of precision, high-resolution satellite images, data enabling by the organisation
of Geographical Information System (GIS), combined with the Global Positioning System
(GPS), the accuracy and information content of these spatial datasets or maps is extremely
high.
Encapsulating these maps and images into a National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI)
has been recognised and the emphasis is on information transparency and sharing, with the
recognition that spatial information is a national resource and citizens, society, private
enterprise and government have a right to access it, appropriately. Only through common
conventions and technical agreements, standards, metadata definitions, network and access
protocols will it be easily possible for the NSDI to come into existence.
NSDI History
Report of the Task Force on National Geospatial Data Infrastructure Constituted by
Department of Science & Technology

Task Force
Considering the importance of geospatial data and its varied applications in the present day
environment, Government of India constituted a Task Force to suggest the implementation
modalities. To meet the needs of users, planners, policy makers, industry and academia and
to reap the benefits of higher-end technologies like GIS, GPS, high resolution satellite
sensors, a single source of information infrastructure is a long felt need. Moreover, fast
computers and ICT technologies provide ways and means for supplying spatial data to the
users on their desktops. With this objective in view, DST constituted a Task Force with
Surveyor General of India as Chairman and Brig (Dr.) R. Siva Kumar, Head, NRDMS &
NSDI, DST as Member Secretary, on 30th October, 2000.

Background
Geographic, geo-spatial or spatial data forms the foundation of all planned human activity.
Disaster management, management and conservation of natural resources, infrastructure
planning and development, land use planning are just a few examples of areas in which
decision-making is contingent on availability of accurate and high quality spatial data.
Developments in digital technologies, particularly the rapid advancements in Geographic
Information Systems and Global Positioning Systems have now made it possible to
correlate and use diverse map information, in conjunction, at the click of a mouse.
The ability to make use of large volumes of different data sets in conjunction with one
another in a networked environment has given rise to the metaphor of data infrastructures.
Spatial Data Infrastructures are now sought to be established at local, national, regional and
global levels.

Global Scenario

The problems stated in the preceding paragraphs have been faced universally. In the last
decade or so, the concept of spatial data infrastructure has evolved and the need for
standardizing data-sets, creating meta data, and enabling internet based access to such data
bases aroused as a part of the process of knowledge enablement and empowerment of civil
society and governance.

National Scenario
The initiative to establish a national level spatial data/information infrastructure was first
mooted in 2000 itself by the Department of Space in a meeting convened by Secretary, DOS
with a large number of data producing and data using Departments. This meeting took note
of the various policy level and institutional problems faced in data generation, acquisition
and dissemination and use, especially the Map Restriction Policy of the Ministry of Defense
and discussed ways in which these problems could be resolved.

Dual Series of Maps

Considerations of national security have prevented a large part of spatial data, especially
spatial data .in the digital domain to be shared freely. To find a way to make data accessible
without compromising security requirements, the Department of Science & Technology
proposed to the Ministry of Defense the commissioning of dual series of maps, one for
restricted use by the armed forces and another for the unrestricted civilian use. The civilian
series of maps would use a different geo-referencing system, a different projection system
and a different sheet numbering system which would be compatible with the international
systems in use and which would make it impossible for such maps to be used for military
purposes. The proposal was approved by the Ministry of Defense and as far as civilian maps
series are concerned they agreed that their use and dissemination will be completely
unrestricted. The decision paved the way for DST to take the initiative towards the creation
of a National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). As a pre-cursor to NSDI, in May 2005 the
Cabinet approved the National Map Policy mooted by DST.
In November 2000, Department of Science and Technology constituted a task force under
the Chairmanship of the Surveyor General of India for evolving a vision for National
Spatial Data Infrastructure and formulating a strategy and an action plan. A vision, strategy
and action plan document was consequently prepared and discussed in an International
Workshop organized jointly by the Department of Space and Department of Science and
Technology in Feb. 2001. This workshop had active participation from Government
departments, the academia, industry and international experts. The strategy and action plan
document was unanimously endorsed by the workshop and the Government was urged to
expedite the establishment of the NSDI as conceptualized by the Task Force.
The Action Plan document was also circulated to a large number of Ministries and
Departments and various professional organizations such as the Institution of Engineers,
Institution of Surveyors, Indian National Cartographic Association etc for their comments
and suggestions. The document was also put on the website of the CSDMS - A Leading
,NGO dedicated for promotion and use of geo-spatial technologies. Thus a public debate

was initiated.
The initiative has received overwhelming support and endorsement from every quarter and
it is expected that the NSDI once operational will lead to an exponential growth of the GIS
and Mapping industry in India which is today a multibillion dollar industry elsewhere in the
world. It will also fundamentally transform the nature and quality of developmental activity
particularly in respect of infrastructure, urban development, watershed development,
agriculture, natural resources management, and environmental development. The strategy
and action plan was endorsed at the 2 nd NSDI Workshop held in Ooty in July, 2002 and
NSDI Task Force was endorsed with implementation of the same.