In
India, the overall context of Geomatics is still in its infancy
but is fast becoming a major element of the resources management
and decision making sector. Much of the efforts in Geomatics and
its allied fields is concentrated amongst a limited number of government
agencies and a smaller number of the private sector agencies.
Some
of the agencies that are involved in the field of Geomatics are as
follows:
- Survey of India (SOI), who have the mandate to establish the digital cartographic database for the country.
- National Informatics Centre (NIC), who has the largest computer
network in the country and has tabular databases, organised
for a major part of the country. NIC also promotes the Informatics
culture amongst the different government agencies.
- Department of Science & Technology (DST), who provide a thrust to different
technologies - database organisation, information processing
etc.
- Census department of the centre and the states who have computerised
the total census operations of 1991 and have provided the
census data in digital mode.
- Department of Space (DOS), which through its constellation of
Indian Remote Sensing satellites, IRS and communications satellites,
INSAT, provide the necessary infrastructure for data acquisition
and dissemination. It also has the major role in the establishment
of the National Natural Resources Management System, NNRMS.
- Industries who are involved in the development of different computing
systems and in providing information technology to meet Indian
needs and applications.
- Educational institutions, universities and IIT's etc., who provides the
research inputs to many of the problems associated with
Geomatics.
- A host of user agencies who address applications in various isciplines. Many of these agencies have initiated projects to organise operational information systems in various fields.
To list a few:
- Geological Survey of India (GSI)
- National Atlas and Thematic Mapping Organisation (NATMO)
- Town and Country Planning Organisation (TCPO)
- National Capital Regional Planning Board (NCRPB)
- Bombay Metropolitan Region Development Authority (BMRDA)
- All India Soils and Land Use Survey (AISLUS)
- Defense Terrain Research Laboratory (DTRL)
- Defense Electronics Applications Laboratory (DEAL)
- National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (NBSSLUP)
- Various state departments and organisations, private sector agencies etc.
- Many Private entrepreneurs - Architects, Civil Engineers, Surveyors, Service agencies etc., who have adopted informatics based tools for their profession.
There is a large body of professionals working in these organisations.
There is a need to promote interaction between these professionals
and also promote the advancement of the technology and applications
of Geomatics so that it becomes a part of the information management
and decision making process. It is to serve to this end that the
Indian Society of Geomatics has been formed.