Governance Issues in GIS Infrastructure in India

Abstract

This article illustrates the role of GIS in development planning and the management of resources. The major Indian initiatives of GIS infrastructure development such as the NRIS, NRDMS and GISNIC have been discussed in detail. It gives recent initiatives like large-scale mapping, VRC, and NSDI. The article borrows the theoretical concepts from the literature on general information infrastructure and applies them to spatial infrastructure. Governance issues in NSDI are analysed on such theoretical concepts. The article also discusses governance issues in implementation of GIS-enabled planning in India. Finally, the article concludes by spelling out the insights gained from the study. The article is based on the review of literature, the author's experience in the development and implementation of spatial infrastructure, and limited unstructured interviews of various stakeholders. This study will be equally useful for planners, practitioners and academicians involved in planning and implementation of both the information infrastructure and spatial information infrastructure.