Hyderabad,  Experts on Tuesday called for a forward-looking, industry-enabling policy on geospatial mapping and data, a sector that is set to grow at a significantly moderate rate at 13.39 per cent CAGR, from Rs 14,050 crore in 2021 to Rs 23,200 crore in 2025.

Proposing a Geospatial Industrial Development Strategy to further the role of geospatial, CEO and founder of Geospatial World, Sanjay Kumar, said, "The total economic impact of geospatial information and technology on India's economy is Rs 19.95 lakh crore."

"Geospatial technologies such as mapping and surveying, remote sensing, GPS and GIS etc. have been recognised as effective tools for planning and decision making by the state," said Tamilisai Soundararajan, Governor of Telangana.

Speaking at the inauguration of GeoSmart India 2021, Soundararajan added, "During the Covid-19 pandemic, the power of geography and location helped save valuable lives. It enabled our healthcare professionals and government agencies develop a better understanding of the underlying factors of the pandemic."

Terming the geospatial technologies as a nation's digital currency for evidence-based decision-making, the GeoSmart India 2021 conference has positioned geospatial technologies as any technology that enables the creation, management, analysis and visualisation of geospatial data.

The conference is the first big ticket event after the government had, six months ago, opened the space and mapping sector to private players.

Advisor in the PMO, Amit Khare, spoke about the emerging opportunities in the sector and how India can leverage the benefits with appropriate policy enabling the industry interface.

"This is very important to bring about a transformational change if you wish to be the world leader," he said.

"The pandemic has not only disrupted the world economy, it has also brought about very significant changes in the outlook of governments and humanity. The effort of Geospatial World is to look at the role of the geospatial technology in the Indian economy, its performance etc.," said A.S. Kiran Kumar, member, Space Commission, government of India.