Science, technology and #38; earth sciences minister Kapil Sibal 
"The new legislation seeks to create an independent regulatory authority which will determine and regulate the basis on which data should be used and shared seamlessly amongst the various departments of the government and other stakeholders', he said inaugurating a meet on geospatial technologies organised by the Union department of science and technology, National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) and FICCI on December 22.
He said, the government's view was that data to be used for public good should be made available free of cost. "People can then add value to it. This could be a source of profit for industry". The next revolution in the domain of Information Technology, Sibal said, would be in the mobility of knowledge (data) and the pace of data access. For this to happen, there is imperative need to devise a national data format so that there is seamless flow of such knowledge.
Elaborating on the power of geospatial data use, he said, with the help of 3-D technology it would have been possible to know the exact location of each room in the Taj and Trident hotels in Mumbai which were attacked by terrorists recently. Armed with full 3-D access to every nook and cranny of the buildings, each member of the NSG could have figured the location of the enemy. That would have made their task so much easier and effective, he pointed out. Geospatial technology can also become an effective tool to ensure fool-proof security for the upcoming Commonwealth Games in 2010, he said.
"But to do this, you need international experts to conduct flights equipped with camera, for which permission is required from the other departments of the government," he said, adding that since international experts are looked upon with suspicion, the whole process gets bogged down. "Bureaucracy cannot be allowed to stand in the way. It must change its mindset. Internal security and technological solutions for boosting economic growth demand results today, We cannot afford to wait for 10 years," the minister said.
Sibal also launched the 'India Geoportal', a repository of national infrastructure for the availability of and access to organised spatial data. It is for the use of the community, local, state and regional and national levels for reducing costs and ensuring sustained economic growth
Eminent space scientist and Member of Parliament K Kasturirangan said there was need for a regulatory body for the National Spatial Data Infrastructure data has to be protected to safeguard national security, privacy and confidentiality and to check misuse. NSDI, Kasturirangan said, was an umbrella of technology, policies, standards, and human resources under which organisations interact to foster more efficient use, management and production of geospatial data. T Ramasami, secretary to the department of science and technology, talked of the crucial importance of de-bottlenecking of information sharing within government departments and other stakeholders.
