Executive Summary : | India's flagship programs, such as Digital India, Atmanirbhar Bharat, and Gati Shakti Program, have been utilizing geospatial technologies to support governance, sustainable development goals, and citizen empowerment. The National Geospatial Policy, 2022, aims to strengthen the geospatial sector for national development, economic prosperity, and a thriving economy. Capacity building across the value chain of geospatial science, technology, enterprise, and solutions is essential, as new stakeholders are being created and their needs in terms of skills and capacity building need to be addressed.
The user community of geospatial technology (GST) has grown from a limited group of specialists to a broader community, making it crucial to facilitate the use of geospatial technologies further and accelerate its integration in regular organizational processes. The United Nations Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (IGIF) has identified capacity building as one of the key pathways, with four pillars: awareness, non-formal, formal, and entrepreneurship.
India's National Geospatial Program has been conducting geospatial training programs since 2010, with the Institute of Environment Education and Research, Bharati Vidyapeeth University, Pune, setting up India's first Geospatial Education and Training Portal (IGET). The portal has completed 17 Level 1 Basic Summer/Winter Schools, 8 Level 2 Advanced theme specific Summer/Winter schools, and 25 Level 1, 9 Level 2, and 8 Geoinnovation Challenge Programs.
To ensure effective implementation of the capacity-building program, key organizations across the country must be identified, open source software used, participant profiles created, monitoring and evaluation, and advanced modules catering to users needing advanced training. |