How Bhuvan Outmapped Google Maps

ISRO chief S Somanath recently announced this significant milestone for India’s national space agency’s Geoportal-Bhuvan, which people have mixed feelings about.?

10x better than Google Maps?

"India's Geoportal-Bhuvan delivers information that is ten times more comprehensive than what Google offers," Somanath beamed.?

The introduction of Bhuvan-Panchayat and the National Database for Emergency Management (NDEM) marks a major stride in enhancing data access and utility.

This integration of local government bodies on a GIS platform is unparalleled globally. "Panchayat is one of the sectors integrated in GIS. This is a GIS system that integrates all the government departments, which really does not exist in any other country," said Radha Krishna Kavuluru, principal engineer at Dhruva Space & former project manager at ISRO.

According to a recent study, Bhuvan-Panchayat provides high-resolution data to over 250,000 village panchayats across India, enabling precise governance interventions.

NDEM integrates vital datasets to bolster ISRO's disaster response capabilities. "It plays a vital role in risk assessment and mitigation during emergencies, reflecting ISRO's commitment to leveraging space technology for societal benefit," Somanath added.?

Since its launch, NDEM has been instrumental in managing over 500 disaster events, providing critical data for efficient responses.

Similarly, ISRO’s Bhoonidhi Data Hub, which provides open access to Earth observation satellite data, serves as a comprehensive source of satellite images and essential geospatial data is also at par with NASA or ESA.

Origin of Bhuvan?

Launched by ISRO in August 2009, Bhuvan began humbly by displaying medium-resolution satellite images and thematic maps. But those initial six years allowed Bhuvan to grow in all directions.

Over its initial years, from 2009 to 2015, Bhuvan grew significantly, both horizontally in diverse application areas and vertically in terms of image resolution and map services.?

By 2015, it was providing data up to 1m spatial resolution. The platform will celebrate its 15th anniversary in August 2024, marking a significant milestone in its journey of empowering India with detailed geospatial data and tools.

Meanwhile, India’s space tech startups have taken off, quite literally. At the AWS Summit, Clint Crosier, the director of the AWS Aerospace and Satellite business, called India the next space technology hub. AWS sees India as a significant growth market and plans on investing over $16 billion in Indian infrastructure by 2030.?

This comes in the backdrop of AWS selecting 24 startups out of the 180 that applied to its first-ever space accelerator programme in India.?

Bhuvan vs the world?

Bhuvan distinguishes itself from other geospatial platforms with several unique features tailored to India's needs. It excels in data access and geoprocessing, allowing users to download and consume data as OGC web services for analysis.?

The platform's open web portal maximises access and utility for the public good in India. This democratises access to India's Earth observation data, making it freely available to all.?

In contrast, platforms like Google Earth, ArcGIS, and Bing Maps have their own unique strengths, such as global coverage, advanced GIS capabilities, and location intelligence.?

"There is no such GIS system which is open for the public and available in the real world," noted Kavuluru, saying that Bhuvan democratises access to valuable geospatial data and satellite imagery that can be utilised for a variety of purposes, including navigation.

"Almost everything that can be done with satellite imagery, like land use, land cover, flood information system… everything is already integrated into Bhuvan,” he added.?

"If you just open Bhuvan 2D and see the applications, scroll down, and you will see a lot of them," said Kavuluru.

Currently, the Bhuvan platform hosts an extensive collection of vector datasets, including the locations of post offices, Aadhaar centres, and disaster response agencies. It also powers sector-specific applications such as School GIS, Tourism GIS, Water Body Information System, and real-time forest fire alerts.

Read the full story here.?

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Many people are fixated upon finding the hottest new language, the coolest tech stack, or the latest trends, but this isn't going to land them a job.?

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