NITI Aayog and ISRO collaborate to develop GIS energy map of India

Public policy think tank NITI Aayog has collaborated with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and developed a Geographic Information System (GIS) based energy map of India. On Monday, Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog, Rajiv Kumar and CEO Amitabh Kant, along with other senior officials of NITI Aayog, conducted the launch of the GIS Energy Map. Chairman and Department of Space Secretary of ISRO, Dr K Sivan, was also present at the event. The GIS Energy Map also received support from the Ministry of Energy, making the process more comprehensive. During the event, Rajiv Kumar said that the GIS Energy Map would be beneficial for real-time and integrated planning of the energy sectors across the country due to its coverage of geographical distribution and interdependence. Sivan said that the GIS map introduced by the NITI Aayog would provide a holistic view of the Indian energy resources. It includes the presentation of energy installations, oil and natural gas wells, petroleum refineries, coal plants, coal blocks, zonal-wise data of renewable energy plants and renewable energy resource potential and others through 27 thematic layers. The GIS-based map will perform as an essential tool in framing out productive investment decisions in energy. It will aid in disaster management through its available energy assets. It will help in data integration across several organisations and present it in an organised way to make its user interface interactive and appealing. It will help identify and locate primary and secondary energy resources in India and their transportation for proper energy distribution in India. Image Source Also read: New GIS-based masterplan for Panaji