It has been a journey

From apprehensions to aspirations,

Enthusiasm to endurance,

Potential to performance.

It is not about desires

But more of deliverables.

Finally, it happened on July 2, 2013.

India successfully launched IRNSS-1A

The fi rst satellite of Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS),

Nurture Nature
Climate change baffl es us all with
Undesirable consequences
As extreme heat and cold in many parts of the world
Floods in Europe, Flash fl ood in India
Unexpected summer and winter.
The mankind with fl aunting intelligence and knowledge
And powerful technological tools
May be able to understand and explain such phenomena
But may not be able to address them
Unless changes …

Convergence – The mantra
The mobile phone has it all.
Camera, music, LBS, Internet, wireless, TV,…
Many such functions were not imagined
When mobile was invented
As its mobility in itself was a major technological leap.
The positioning and navigation technologies
Appear to be following the similar logical transitions
Where in various positioning tools and functionalities
Not only of within the domain but from …

The Survey of India complains
Against Google’s Mapathon 2013
Brings again the spatial data issues to the forefront

The earthquake, tsunami and the nuclear devastation.
18,500 deaths, 400,000 houses destroyed.
Thousands still live in temporary houses.

Though India has the fourth highest number of think tanks in the world,

But none among the global top 50.
Says ‘Global Go To Think Tanks’ report
By the University of Pennsylvania..

Industry, market, growth, potential
Innovation applications
Evolving technology tools
Military, civil, commercial…

Recently, the arrests of some unsuspecting citizens
For their alleged ‘offensive comments’ in twitter and facebook,
In the biggest democracy of the world,
Triggered a debate on ‘freedom’ of ‘expression’.

19th United Nations Regional Cartographic Conference for Asia and the Pacific
Emphasizes the need of global reference datasets,
Global geospatial information base and framework,
And establishing best practices in institutional arrangements.