A detailed assessment of the country’s mineral resources is required before mines are put up for bidding with the aim of revenue maximisation, said the Economic Survey. “In order to meet the objective of revenue maximisation in an open, transparent and competitive manner, this should be preceded by detailed geological mapping of the mineral wealth of the country,” said the Economic Survey 2012-13, tabled in Parliament. http:// articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/

$3 billion generated by Indian geo services industry in 2011

The Indian geo services industry generated $3 billion in revenue in 2011 alone while accounting for approximately 1,35,000 jobs, according to a BCG report commissioned by Google. The report said that the impact of the geo services industry is valued at approximately 15 times it’s own size

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has launched its fi rst copy of the UAE’s electronic statistical atlas. It comes within the framework of the strategic initiatives of the NBS to meet requirements of data users. The atlas is the latest sophisticated data device linked to the GIS technologies and their applications. http://gulfnews.com

The British Geological Survey is to use a state of the art laser scanner to map volcanoes, glaciers and other natural phenomena. The RIEGL VZ-1000 purchased from 3D Laser Mapping will be used around the world to collect data that will be used to create photorealistic fl y-throughs, 3D height models and highly accurate area and volume calculations.

Under the watchful eye of ESA’s Vecmap initiative, the Asian bush mosquito is about to get bitten in Belgium. First observed in Belgium in 2002, the Asian bush mosquito can spread viruses such as Chikungunya, Dengue, and West Nile. Vecmap tests the accurate mapping of mosquitoes in Europe and in particular, mosquitoes carrying diseases.

Esri has joined the ocean business alliance World Ocean Council (WOC) and will support its international initiatives for sustainable development and conservation of the ocean. Esrichief scientist Dawn Wright will share her geospatial expertise with WOC’s Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning (CMSP) and Ocean Science working groups. WOC members are oil and gas, seafl oor mining, shipping, fisheries, aquaculture, tourism, and offshore renewables companies.

Gothenburg, the second largest city in Sweden, launches a unique 3D web service engaging citizens to contribute with ideas and suggestions for the development of the city. Citizens can explore the city in 3D on the web and interactively propose projects based on the latest gaming technology. Suggestions are shared on Facebook and rated by the community using common social media features. Users can easily navigate in the virtual 3D model of the city and make changes to the model with user friendly tools.

VisionMap Ltd has announced that its A3 digital aerial camera imagery is now supported by Intergraph’s LPS photogrammetry software. This new compatibility provides LPS users the ability to perform stereo compilation with A3 imagery for mapping applications.

The U.S. Army Geospatial Center (AGC) and Engineer Research and Development Center recently released the Hydrologic Data Resources Application (HyDRA) – a Web-based data survey and analysis tool created to provide the Dept. of Defense (DoD) logistics and geospatial intelligencerelated water communities with information on water resources data collection, visualization and dissemination in a mobile, enterprise-enabled environment. HyDRA allows users to view, collect and edit unclassified water resources features via Android 2.2+ OS smart devices using Google MapsTM and Google EarthTM applications.

The UN Cartographic Section (UNCS) is planning to develop global multi-scale geospatial datasets (or UNmap) for rapid map production and web mapping in support to the Security Council and the Secretariat including UN field missions. Currently, an interim version of UNmap in scales of 1:1 million, 1:5 million and 1:10 million are in the final stages of completion. These maps are being used as primary geo-databases for UNCS and UN field missions.