INDIA: India’s budget for the fiscal year 2024-25 has been announced, with a strong focus on boosting employment, skilling initiatives, and supporting the middle class. The budget includes a package of 5 schemes and initiatives with an outlay of [?] 2 lakh crore to facilitate employment, skilling, and other opportunities for 4.1 crore youth in the next 5 years. Additionally, the budget envisions sustained efforts on 9 priorities for generating ample opportunities for all, with a special emphasis on women-led development. The budget also includes provisions for agriculture, rural development, infrastructure, and tax relief measures for individuals and pensioners. Overall, the budget aims to drive economic growth and development across various sectors in the country.
Sanjay Kumar, CEO, Geospatial World
The Union Budget 2024-25 outlines a forward-looking and ambitious roadmap for India’s growth, innovation, citizen welfare, women empowerment, skill development, and social inclusion.
The country is set on the trajectory of resilient growth through a consistent focus on land records digitalization, agro innovation, energy transition and security, rural empowerment, urban regeneration, and strengthening the vital manufacturing sector. Geospatial plays an indispensable role across all these pillars of citizen participation, social development, and engines of economic transformation.
The budgetary outlay has enhanced the role and scope of geospatial in India’s developmental journey.
Geospatial technology and space applications will play an integral role in harnessing the country’s untapped potential, driving equitable socio-economic development throughout the vast and diverse geographic terrain, boosting connectivity, creating opportunities for young entrepreneurs, and bridging the various divides.
Geospatial and its convergence with next-gen technologies will be critical to achieving the milestone of Viksit Bharat by 2047. It will also accelerate automation, leading to more impactful grassroots solutions and newer business paradigms.
INR 1,000 crore outlay for a Space Economy Venture Capital Fund is a laudable step in the right direction. Through investment, hand-holding, market access, state-of-the-art technology development, and start-up incubation, we can foster a conducive New Space ecosystem that will turn India into a global innovation and R&D hub for NewSpace, catapulting the country to greater heights, and diversifying our space offerings.
Saurabh Rai, CEO of Arahas
The budget outlines a comprehensive plan for modernizing land records, which includes the digitization of cadastral maps and GIS mapping of urban land records. This initiative will not only streamline land transactions but also enhance transparency and efficiency in land management. The digitization of land records with GIS mapping is a game-changer for improving accuracy and accessibility. It provides a solid foundation for advanced geospatial analytics, which can be leveraged to offer innovative solutions in urban planning and resource management.
The Indian government’s commitment to the space economy is evident with the proposal to set up a venture capital fund of ₹1,000 crore. This fund is designed to support private sector-driven research and innovation at a commercial scale. The establishment of a venture capital fund for the space economy opens new avenues for collaboration and innovation. Arahas is excited about the possibilities this creates for developing advanced space technologies and contributing to India’s growing presence in space exploration.
In the realm of agriculture, the budget proposes a digital crop survey in 400 districts, alongside the issuance of Jan Samarth-based Kisan Credit Cards. This initiative is aimed at improving data governance and resource allocation in agriculture. The introduction of the Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (Bhu-Aadhaar) for all lands, along with the survey of map sub-divisions as per current ownership, is a significant step towards modernizing land records. This initiative will simplify land ownership verification and transactions. Modernizing land records through Bhu-Aadhaar and digital surveys will enhance land management efficiency and reduce administrative bottlenecks.
Ankit Kumar, CEO, Skye Air Mobility
The budget presents big opportunities in agriculture, infrastructure, and deep tech sectors. The focus on boosting agricultural productivity is likely to drive the use of drones for crop surveying, precision spraying, and monitoring. This could transform farming, increase yields, and reduce resource waste.
The major infrastructure investment, especially in Northeast states, opens new doors for drone applications. Drone logistics are expected to play a key role in improving access to healthcare, e-commerce, and other essential services in remote areas. This aligns with the government’s goal of inclusive development and could greatly enhance the quality of life in hard-to-reach regions.
The budget’s emphasis on the deep tech sector is seen as a boost for innovation in drone technology. This could lead to advancements in AI, machine learning, and IoT integration with drones, enhancing their capabilities and expanding their uses. One of the most exciting prospects is using drones for transporting perishable goods. The industry expects that drone technology could cut perishable wastage by over 50%, tackling a major issue in India’s agricultural supply chain.
