Applications
GIS based application for Rural Development - A Policy Warranted
GIS in India
India maintains a pre-eminent position in the use of spatial imagery. The capabilities in the development of high-resolution satellites and extensive network of associated infrastructure have contributed to the growing interest in the application of GIS for a variety of India’s development needs. Indications are that these applications will continue to grow even more rapidly in the coming years. Since the spatial imagery is becoming easier to use and more affordable, the user base for GIS is expanding in several directions in seeking holistic solutions beyond image processing capabilities.
The Information Technology policy of Government of India adopted in 1999 emphasizes the availability of spatial data to GIS user community and industry, thereby enabling the widespread development of Spatial Decision- Support Information System Network including Web enabled GIS application services. The Indian export from GIS segment is expected to increase to US $ 150 million in the next five years from the present level of US $ 60 million. The areas which are receiving priority attention include natural resources information assessment, monitoring and management, water shed development, environmental planning, urban services and land use planning.
Most States in India and several ministries and departments of the Central and State Governments have initiated special GIS programmes relating to ground water studies, cadastral mapping, power transmission and transportation infrastructure. The integration of socio-economic data with spatial data is increasing. The institutional infrastructures have been developed across the country catering to the local, regional and national needs. Some of the institutions with sophisticated capabilities are: National Remote Sensing Agency, Hyderabad, Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Dehradun, Space Application Centre, Ahmedabad, Regional Remote Sensing Service Centres at Bangalore, Nagpur, Jodhpur, Institute of Remote Sensing at Anna University, Chennai and Survey of India Training Institute, Hyderabad. These institutions offer a variety of training programmes relating to GIS besides undertaking or supporting large scale application projects.
At present a large number of private firms of Indian and foreign origin have been active a undertaking GIS projects. They have been particularly responsible in introducing in the country instruments, softwares and educational programmes. Central Mining Research Institute (CMRI), one of the premier laboratory of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is fully equipped with latest IT related infrastructure and their Scientist are capable for undertaking any GIS related projects of India and abroad. NIC is also providing assistance to several Central, State and Local bodies in fulfilling their specific GIS requirements. In recent years most of the organisations engaged in GIS activities have felt the need for establishing control points especially in applications such as land records management, cadastral survey and hydrographic survey. For these tasks, acquisition of Global Positioning System (GPS) has been increasing. During the year July 2000-June 2001 about 50 GPS equipments have been procured by several governmental agencies in the country. Despite these noteworthy achievements in GIS in India, there are still some limiting factors that need to be addressed, such as the restrictions on the availability of high-resolution data in sensitive areas, lack of nationwide control points, absence of more convenient repository and retrieval systems and lack of standardization of map scales.
The implementation of GIS in Research Programme raised a variety of conceptual questions for both the ecological and the socio-economic sectors of this regional, integrated research programme. In addition to these basic units of research, spatial links between the two sectors and levels of data abstraction for the spatial database had to be defined. Using the theoretical background of the hierarchical system approach and valuable experiences of spatial data handling a consistent spatial information database can be created. Despite problems with data accuracy, logical consistency and completeness of data, a powerful tool for regional and local planning can be developed which can serve as a framework for a variety of planning purposes at the local and regional levels, as well as the transfer of know-how between governmental agencies and institutions using an interactive approach.
Agriculture in India
In FY 1987, field crops were planted on about 45 percent of the total land mass of India. Of this cultivated land, almost 37 million hectares were double-cropped, making the gross sown area equivalent to almost 173 million hectares. About 15 million hectares were permanent pastureland or were planted in various tree crops and groves. Approximately 108 million hectares were either developed for nonagricultural uses, forested, or unsuited for agriculture because of topography. About 29.6 million hectares of the remaining land were classified as cultivable but fallow, and 15.6 million hectares were classified as cultivable wasteland. These 45 million hectares constitute all the land left for expanding the sown area; for various reasons, however, much of it is unsuited for immediate cropping. Expansion in crop production, therefore, has to come almost entirely from increasing yields on lands already in some kind of agricultural use. Due to lack of information about the land and their nature, we are still not getting the proper return with the yield of those lands.
The Community Development Programme in India was inaugurated in 1952 to implement a systematic, integrated approach to rural development. The nation was divided into development blocks, each consisting of about 100 villages having populations of 60,000 to 70,000 people. By 1962 the entire country was covered by more than 5,000 such blocks. The key person in the program was the village-level worker, who was responsible for transmitting to about ten villages not only farming technology, but also village uplift programs such as cooperation, adult literacy, health, and sanitation. Although each block was staffed with extension workers, the villagers themselves were expected to provide the initiative and much of the needed financial and labor resources, which they were not in a position to do or inclined to do. Although progress had been made by the early 1960s, it was apparent that the program was spread too thin to bring about the hoped-for increase in agricultural production. Criticism of the program led to more specialized development projects, and some of the functions were taken up by local village bodies. There was only a negligible allocation for community development in the sixth plan, however, and the program was phased out in the early 1980s.
The Intensive Agricultural District Programme, launched in five districts in 1960 by the central government in cooperation with the United States-based Ford Foundation, used a distinctly different approach to boosting farm yields. The program operated under the premise that concentrating scarce inputs in the potentially most productive districts would increase farm-crop yield faster than would a wider but less concentrated distribution of resources in less productive districts. Among these inputs were technical staff, fertilizers, improved seeds, and credit. Under the technical guidance of American cooperative specialists, the program placed unusual emphasis on organizational structures and administrative arrangements. For the first time, modern technology was systematically introduced to Indian farmers. Within a decade, the program covered fifteen districts, 28,000 villages, and 1 million inhabitants. The Intensive Agricultural District Programme was thus a significant influence on the forthcoming Green Revolution.