Irrespective of the Indian government in power, the country’s maps have always been a sensitive issue for India, just like the rest of the world. Now, according to the draft Geospatial Information Regulation Bill, 2016, all information related to India’s geospatial data, which is by default accessible through it maps, will have to be vetted by a special authority before being permitted to be published. This could also mean that users would need a license before even sharing their location via a smart phone. The Bill in its current form does hamper innovation. However, the most noticeable fact is that anyone found guilty of possessing, sharing or making maps without a valid license can be imprisoned for seven years or fined up to INR 100 crore.
Noted Novelist and associate professor in the department of computer science and engineering at IIT Delhi, Amitabha Bagchi, in an interview with Business Standard correspondent shared his views on the Geospatial Bill. The interview has been paraphrased here. The originally published interview in its full form can be found here.
According to Bagchi, Even ordinary users who may be looking at a mapping service on their phones may be liable to take permission under this Act. Another instance could be during natural disasters like floods and earthquakes, tsunamis etc. At such times, new, temporary or permanent geographical features may emerge and quickly updating the same geospatial information may be critical to saving lives. However, according to the draft Bill, all geospatial data used under a license must be watermarked after vetting and only the watermarked data can be used. The act can also be a hurdle in getting private players involved in the pet project of the government – smart cities. Such smart cities will need smart maps and creating them will have administrative hurdles due to the proposed act.
