Dr. Jitendra Singh Proposes National Geospatial Data Repository and PPP Model

GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 11th August. Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh today proposed the establishment of a ‘National Geospatial Data Repository’ and a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model during a joint meeting of all Science Ministries and Departments of the Government of India. The meeting, held at Prithvi Bhavan, emphasized the creation of a unified Geospatial interface to benefit industry and the startup ecosystem.

Dr. Singh, who chairs the Ministry of Science and Technology, instructed the Department of Space, Department of Science and Technology, and Ministry of Earth Sciences to develop this unified Geospatial platform. The aim is to foster the development of innovative and indigenous products to aid farmers, rural artisans, and other communities.

Highlighting the importance of integrating Geo-ICT infrastructure, Dr. Singh advocated for a sustainable ecosystem supported by knowledge pooling and collaboration with the non-governmental sector in a PPP mode. He stressed the need for early industry linkage to amplify benefits for the common people when such initiatives achieve scale.

The meeting also included a review of the month-long National Space Day celebrations, culminating in a major event scheduled for August 23 at the Bharat Mandapam. Additionally, Dr. Singh reviewed progress on the proposed “Vigyan Shakti” portal and discussed improvements to the Unified Web repository of Indian Science and Technology.

Dr. Singh further reviewed the status of the ‘One common portal’ for research under the Department of Biotechnology. He concluded the meeting by recalling the Prime Minister’s vision of India @2047 and underscoring the critical role of Science and Technology in realizing this vision.

Key figures at the meeting included Dr. A.K. Sood, Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India; Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Secretary, DST; Dr. Rajesh Gokhale, Secretary, Biotechnology; Shri Ravi Chandran, Secretary, Earth Sciences; and Dr. N. Kalaiselvi, DG, CSIR. Dr. S. Somanath, Chairman of ISRO, participated in the meeting online.