Query and Decision Support Shells
The ultimate end users of the NRIS system are expected to be the planners and decision makers, experts in their respective areas/ disciplines, who need not be the experts in the technologies like GIS and Remote Sensing. The mechanisms for access of the database elements are therefor made easy and explicit. On the one hand NRIS facilitates standards/ protocols/ procedures for database creation/ organisation, updating and database access using appropriate GIS and other software packages, but also includes customised shells for decision support. These shells focus on providing the user a transparent access to the database and software package environments and address the user specific planning problems. The shells are customised based on the analysis models specified by the users and the customisation tools provided within the GIS and other packages. The Query and Decision Support Shells consists of the generic query components and various problem specific decision support components.

Generic query shell: provides an easy to use, menu based access mechanism in point and shoot mode for making integrated query on all aspects (i.e. natural resources, socio-economic and infrastructure) in a single environment. It offers appropriate menus, graphic screens and icons to a user for specifying query in various modes like what lies here, where lies this, theme surface, criterion surface, reference, spatial window and on-the-fly the generation of user specific index. The shell also presents different user (spatial and functional) views of the database in user terminology, provides an illusion of seamlessness on the horizontal spread of the data base contents and keeps a user free about where and what of the data base elements in the computer storage.

Problem Specific Decision Support ShelI (SDSS): facilitates selection of the best course of action based on pre-declared objectives, decision rules and constraints. It also facilitates modification of the decision rules and navigation of the solution space in an interactive, iterative and integrative environment.

One of the problems addressed at present is the prescription on land development actions based on diagnosis of the land characteristics like slope, soil, current landuse and the ground water prospect. This particular shell works on a default if-then-else logic pre-captured in the system which can be modified by the subject expert end user in an interactive manner. Another problem specific shell facilitates planning the optimum location of water harvesting structures. It is also based on diagnosis of the land characteristics like slope, soil, current landuse hydrogeomorphology and the ground water prospect and provides ample scope for incorporation of subject expert’s knowledge. Yet another shell addresses the problem of estimating surface water run-off modelling and morphometric analysis.

Various other problem specific shells are in the pipeline. These include soil erosion index generation for prioritisation of soil conservation measures etc.

Demonstrated Applications
NRIS is being extensively used for generating the integrated land and water development plans as well as to provide development planning support with specific reference to rural development. Some of the demonstrated case studies in this context include:

• Identification of drinking water sources for flourosis affected villages.
• Demarcation of the regions having high potential for dairy development
• Prioritisation of micro-watersheds for implementing development schemes.
• Identification of villages for placing new schools
• Identification of priority villages to be taken up for development under Ambedkar Yojana
• Identification of check-dam sites for rain-water harvesting
• Identification of areas suitable for aforestation for integrated forest development
• Decision support system for fertiliser management and distribution.
• Plan for reclamation of salt affected lands.
• Priority villages for providing road connectivity.
• Priority villages for locating middle schools and for providing road connectivity.

Design Concepts
The major areas of concern addressed while evolving the NRIS Node Design and Standards were:

• Decentralised and distributed strategy for database implementation.
• Complexity and variability of input data formats.
• Nation-wide spread of the spatial framework of databases.
• Minimisation of database redundancy and increasing the data integrity.
• The database quality controls.
• End-user profile calling for independent development of applications facilitating explicit and transparent access to the databases and for planning and decision support.