GIS

Teledyne CARIS reacts to IHO request to support latest ENC Validation Standard

CARIS™ has announced the adoption of Edition 6.0 of IHO Publication S-58 for ENC validation checks, in the latest re lease of CARIS S-57 Composer™ 3.1.Its internal and customized quality control tests have been reorganized, rewritten and extended to match the standard. New messages have been added to the tests and the descriptions have been re-worded to add clarity. New test collections have been created to quickly determine if an ENC passes the mandatory Error and Warning checks. caris-info@teledyne.com

CompassTrac Enterprise Mobile Resource Management Solution

CompassCom Software has unveiled Version 7.1 of its industry leading mobile resource management (MRM) solution. It is an on-premise platform that receives location and status data from any GPS-equipped vehicle, handheld device or high-value asset and serves that information in real-time to a digital map app. Deployed extensively by public works, public safety, DOT, utility, and local government agencies to manage and dispatch fl eets and field personnel, the CompassCom MRM solution integrates with the Esri environment.www.compasscom.com

Plan to deliver authoritative pan- European open data services unveiled

Members of EuroGeographics have unveiled plans for pan-European open data services underpinned by geospatial information from official sources. The Open European Location Services (ELS) project aims to improve the availability of geospatial information from the public authorities responsible for mapping, cadastre and land registries. Funded by the European Commission, it builds upon the European Location Framework (ELF) project, which developed the standards, specifications, tools and technical infrastructure to deliver pan-European geospatial content. www.eurogeographics.org

China launches remote-sensing micro-nano satellites

China has launched two remote-sensing micro-nano satellites on a Long March- 4B rocket from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China’s Gobi Desert. The OVS-1A and the OVS-1B, the first two satellites of Zhuhai-I remote-sensing micro-nano satellite constellation, are expected to improve the monitoring of geographical, environmental, and geological changes across the country. http://news.xinhuanet.com/

Cartosat-2 and 30 other satellites placed into orbit successfully

On 23 June, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has successfully launched the 712 kg Cartosat-2 series satellite for earth observation in Cartosat-2 series – a dedicated satellite for defence forces – from the Sriharikota spaceport. The PSLV-C38 carried 712 kg Cartosat-2 series satellite for earth observation and 30 co-passenger nano satellites, weighing about 243 kg, the total weight of all these satellites was about 955 kg. The co-passenger nano satellites belong from 14 different nations, including countries like-Austria, Belgium, Chile, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and India. Cartosat-2 is a remote sensing satellite and its major objective is to provide highresolution scene specific spot imagery

Amul signs MoU with ISRO

Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) in India recently signed an agreement with Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for fodder acreage assessment using satellite observation and space technology. GCMMF markets its products under the brand name of Amul. Currently, Amul procures around 150 lakh litres of milk daily from around 35 lakh milk producer members from over 18,500 villages. The milk producer farmers of Gujarat will get benefit of fodder cultivation by using this technology. http://indiatoday.intoday.inx

INR 7L cr to be spent on highways in 5 yrs

In the next five years, approximately INR 7 lakh crore will be spent in building and expanding highways and constructing expressways across the country. While barely 15% of this investment will come from the private sector, the remaining 85% will come from fuel cess and toll, monetisation of completed highway stretches and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) raising funds from the market.

Road construction is coonsidered a major employment generator. Sources said around 40,000 km of highways will be expanded till 2022, which includes about 24,800km covered under Bharatmala in programme. According to government estimates, construction of 10,000 km of highways annually has the potential of generating four crore mandays. The inter-ministerial panel for approving government investment known as Public Investment Board (PIB) has approved the Bharatmala programme and the entire financing plan for highways development for five years in set to be cleared. It is also learnt that the NHAI Board, which will have representatives from ministries and Niti Aayog, will get the authority to appraise and approve proects up to INR 2,000 crore.

Officials admitted that private investment was likely to be much less than the desired level of at least 30% and hence government has to invest in a big way to push infrastructure growth. With the government making it clear that user charge or toll will be collected on viable stretches, NHAI will recover the investment. It can even auction completed highways projects to private players to get money upfront for fresh projects. For construction and widening of identrified projects. For construction and widening of identified projects, the government aims to generate INR 34,000 crore by monetising some of the completed stretches. The PMO has asked the highways ministry to accelerate monetisation of completed projects.