The terrestrial mobile mapping survey, street view survey and surveying in Indian territorial waters shall be permitted only for Indian entities irrespective of accuracy, Union Minister for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh said in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
The minister said these were part of the Guidelines for acquiring and producing Geospatial Data and Geospatial Data Services including Maps issued by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) on February 15, 2021.
He said the guidelines envisages that Indian entities, whether in government or outside, will be free to acquire, collect, generate, prepare, disseminate, store, share, publish, distribute, update, digitize and or create geospatial data, including maps of any spatial accuracy within the territory of India including underwater within its territorial waters by using any geospatial technology, subject to regulations on attributes in the negative lists.
Terrestrial mobile mapping survey, street view survey and surveying in Indian territorial waters shall be permitted only for Indian entities irrespective of accuracy, he said during Question Hour.
The guidelines say nothing contained in it shall confer on any individual or an entity a right to physical access including through aerial and territorial water route to any establishment, installation or premises to which access is restricted by the Ministry or Department concerned as the owner of such premises.
Further, the minister said, there shall be a negative list of sensitive attributes that would require regulation before anyone can acquire and or use such attribute data.
The negative list of attributes will include attributes that shall not be marked on any map i.e., no personal or legal entity shall identify or associate any location on a map with a prohibited attribute, he said.
Singh said the guidelines also envisages that all citizens, companies, and organisations including government agencies, producing geospatial data and information shall be encouraged to collaborate in mutually beneficial manner and work towards open-linked geospatial data.
The government agencies will make all efforts to collaborate for acquiring geospatial data. Accordingly, further policy decisions are being deliberated upon to promote start-ups and small-medium enterprises in the geospatial mapping sector, he said.