Karnataka was among the first states in the country to carry out geo-spatial mapping of its entire geographical area under the State Remote Sensing Applications Centre (KSRAC). It has now decided to upgrade the database with GIS 2.0, which received the Cabinet approval recently.
What is K‑GIS 2.0?
K‑GIS 2.0 is the next‑generation Karnataka Geographical Information System, a state‑wide digital map platform. The system will integrate satellite imagery, drone surveys, and geo‑tagged data of various departments of the state government into a single database, which will be updated constantly.
How different is it from the first version?
The first version, which was launched almost a decade ago in 2016, was static and did not allow for real-time updates of data. While it mapped the borders of all revenue villages, government assets and other infrastructure in the state, it was not accessible to everyone.
“The use of Karnataka Geographical Information System has been fairly good for governance as quite a few departments are using K-GIS for special sectoral decision-making but there are still many departments yet to use K-GIS. In addition to this, district-level authorities/local bodies and even Grama Panchayats are yet to use Karnataka Geographical Information System operationally and base their decisions,” according to a Cabinet note accessed by The Indian Express.
Compared to it, the newer version will be a dynamic system with real‑time updates. It will be made accessible to government departments, private players, research scholars, and the general public.
What are the features of GIS 2.0?
The new features include updating the database annually using satellites and drones, and integration of the dataset among sectors ranging from agriculture and water resources to urban planning and disaster management.
Using the system, the government aims to develop apps for the benefit of citizens in which they can track developments such as the progress of public infrastructure projects, and also place demands to implement works required in the region.
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It will look to promote private sector usage and services of K-GIS 2.0 with industries for monetisation. By making it widely used in private sector services, the government also aims to integrate it into various e-commerce and e-services platforms.
How much will it cost?
The project, which was a budget announcement made earlier this year, will cost Rs 150 crore for a three-year period. This will include purchasing all-flash storage of one petabyte, high-capacity data backups, and other technical requirements.