Photo courtesy cdc.gov
New Delhi: The All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) has approved for the inclusion of Geospatial subject in GATE and NET examination on the recommendation of the National Geospatial Task Force Report 2013 under the Chairmanship of former ISRO Chairman, Dr. K. Kasturirangan.
Henceforth, students competing for National Eligibility Test (NET) for Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and lectureship in Indian universities and colleges, including IITs and NITs and Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) for JRF in CSIR laboratories, can now opt for Geospatial as a subject.
Geospatial data, is a term used to describe any data related to or containing information about a specific location on the Earth’s surface. There is a difference between GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and geospatial. While GIS refers to a system where geographic information is stored in layers and integrated with geographic software programs so that spatial information can be created, stored, manipulated, analyzed, and mapped, geospatial, which is a term used to define the collective data and associated technology, has a geographic or locational component.
“Geospatial science and technology is a rapidly evolving subject that forms the backbone of a plethora of planning, development and governance activities with unprecedented opportunities both in the government and private sectors. Swamitva, a recent scheme launched by the Prime Minister is a good example to map rural inhabited lands using drones and latest survey methods. The scheme among other things will streamline planning, revenue collection and property rights and thus have a huge positive impact on securing loans by the owners and dispute resolution related to properties,” said Prof Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, DST.
Department of Science and Technology (DST) as an organisation and many professionals have highlighted the need for Geospatial subject especially in GATE and NET examination at different forums.
Dr. K. C. Tiwari (Retd. Col), Department of Science and Technology’s Geospatial Chair Professor, Centre of Geoinformatics, Delhi Technological University, had made efforts for inclusion of Geospatial Subject in the GATE and NET examination, and the decision was an outcome of DST’s insistence and his hard work.
“This will benefit the increasing number of students who are taking up geospatial as a subject at different levels and help in the evolution of Geospatial Ecosystem in the country,” the Ministry of Science and Technology (DST), stated.
The Natural Resources Data Management System (NRDMS) under DST is an interdisciplinary research programme which promoted Research and Development in emerging areas of geospatial science, technology, and its applications to area-specific problems. Over the years, it had successfully demonstrated utilities of geospatial technologies in decision making and developed capacity for geospatial data and information management at state, district, and local levels at pilot scale.
– globalbihari bureau
